So another 4 o'clock finish and the second chance for a last weeknight ride of 2010. I'm not quite sure what the drawer was but up from 3 to 5 out this week - to enjoy the crisp autumnal evening.
The weather has been fine(ish) all week so the going was dry as James (good to see you out on the bike again), Kev, Tony, Jon and I did the familiar climb up to Charity Lane. It was great to have a bigger crowd with some good chat on the climb and bike chat at the breathers - it sounds as if Jon is on the prowl for some air forks and Kev is on the prowl for a new bike! Good stuff.
So this week I was back out on the hardtail and god how much do I love this bike. It's now sporting nice light but laterally stiff 140mm air forks and it's transformed the bike from a heavy unwieldy dead ride to that seat of your pants twitchyness that makes you smile and keeps you honest. Oh and the acceleration, my oh my it's incredible - the super stiff cranks, super stiff rear end combine for awesome power transfer - and with an old school 8 speed setup it really does feel uber dialled. So the new forks were good and I found confidence on Charity Lane with them, growing as the descending continued. A good purchase.
Jon punctured on the descent (unlucky) but everyone else made it down in one piece. James taking things steady as he talked about maybe having run the Dawg too far into the ground - new bike time Jimbo?
Onwards and 'Bottom of the Oven' double track is getting overgrown making line choice less flexible at the top, but the marbles on a short hardtail were 'fun' made even more exciting by Jon and Kev chasing me down - I was trying to keep off the brakes, jumping literally from one side to the other to avoid big rocks and keep her pointed down - it's that sort of stuff that pushes your limits and improves your skills.
As it was the 'last last' ride we went on to the view point before doing the push up track descent back to the cars. Some lovely views of the sunset (see above - and spot Kev and Jon dissappearing in the distance).
So this week was the best. Fantastic riding. Great banter. Good bike chat. Awesome mates. I can't wait for next year - thanks for the memories and see you out over the winter at weekends!
I couldn't resist a cheeky extra shot of the Chameleon in it's Mk IV guise - super stiff, lightweight all mountain chuckable Peak district machine... lit with car headlight! :)
