Y Ddraig Goch Ddyry Gychwyn

After competing in the Helly Hansen adventure race the previous week, and still up for more challenges, John and Jon decided to head off to sunny Wales (well that’s what BBC weather site forecast) with Mrs John to tackle what has been called Mountain bikers Nirvana, Afan Forest Park. Concerned for the fearsome reputation of the Gaelic tribes (Twll dîn pob Sais! Ed.) we thought it best to go up in force, so teamed up with a posse that Ad and Ju had put together. With bikes prepared, Vince the camper van loaded with provisions and sufficient nutrition for the forthcoming assault (Al would have approved of the energy bars and drinks that J & J had prepared, but not the choice of music that accompanied the journey) the trio headed off on Friday night to Devizes to rendezvous with TCA veterans Ad and Ju.

Once ensconced in their house, having eaten and drunk Ad and Ju out of house and home, we went to bed at a reasonable time, as an early start was needed to get to Afan for a 10am start the following day.On arrival in Wales (just over the Severn Bridge) guess what..? It was raining! As we headed to Afan the rain got steadily worse. On arrival at the Glycorrwg campsite in Afan Park, we met up with the other intrepid adventurers: Scott the single speed king; Charlie Boy; Charlie Girl and Ed. After some debate the group split into 2, with Ju's heading off to the main park centre to meet with 3 more riders, where an assault on the “Wall” trial took place. The rest of us then decided to attack the infamous “Skyline” trail, or at least part of it as the weather was truly disgusting.

Croeso i Gymru

In for a penny and in for a pound, Mrs John decided that she too would come with us , on the basis that apparently after a fairly short but technical start the trail became easier. It should be pointed out at this stage that the only “serious” off road riding Mrs John had done up to this was some single-track riding in the relatively flat Thetford Forest, two weeks previous. The start was extremely technical due in part to its design, route, the presence of lots of boulders, tree roots, switchbacks and extent of the vertical ascent, but the extreme wet also added to the difficulty. After what seemed an age and with the majority of the group having to wait for the struggling but determined Mrs John (at this stage let’s introduce her real name - Emma) and her concerned (and feeling very guilty for getting her into this) husband, we arrived at the top. (it should also be added that although at times Em’s sense of humour failed, at no times were there any expletives or threat of divorce mentioned, unless that was they were under her breath).

Emma (centre) , still smiling!

The trail then switched on to mixture of forest fire break tracks, single track, with some spectacular downhill’s and allegedly some equally spectacular views over the Welsh hills (well that’s what Jon told John!), but being up so high and that we were in the rain cloud, this could not be validated. Due in part to the time it had taken and the fowl weather conditions the group decided to take one of the short cut routes back to the start. Up to this point the intrepid seven had suffered a number of falls, but Em was to suffer one which prevented her from riding further (it’s not so easy steering when one arm refuses to play). Fortunately a jeep appeared soon after Em’s fall with a very helpful couple of guys in who were doing a reckie for a forthcoming RAC rally in the park. Em and her bike were loaded into the Jeep for a trip back to the campsite (with mobile phone to let us know she had arrived safely). Joking aside the guys were very helpful and went out of their way to help so John owes them a debit of extreme gratitude. On the way back down to camp they gave Em lots of useful info about the area, think they were worried about her going into shock so just kept on talking to her (sometimes in Welsh). The infamous 6 continued onward - tackling an excellent, but technically and physically demanding downhill section - back to the site. The excitement for the day was not over; with several of the group suffering from falls, and one puncture, but all eventually made it back down in one piece. Back at the campsite the bikes were all jet washed down, the riders put themselves through cold showers (they were supposed to be hot, but the water tanks could not cope with the volume of people needing showers that day…still charged 50p for the privilege)!

In the Touchdown Café the group tucked into some excellent cakes and hot drinks, and collectively decided that we would call it a day and head back to their respective homes. The weather forecast for the following day was as bad, the campsite was looking like a water meadow, plus the promise of warm beds, the thought of a lie in (plus the extra hour in bed due to change to GMT), Sunday papers, Sunday roast, etc etc (you get the idea) all contributed to the decision. Vince was packed up with soggy clothing and tired, cold riders (John, Jon and Em). We set off home, arriving some 3.5 hours later, in time for Jon to get home to order his takeaway curry. Afan park offers an extremely diverse range of trails, all of which clearly have been thought through and are well maintained. The campsite at Glycorrwg offers a good site with, showers, an excellent café open to 10pm and a very good mountain bike shop. Despite the weather and difficulties encountered, John and Em were very happy to be asked along, as the group were all very friendly, helpful, and patient, and despite all there was still an excellent sense of humour present. Ad and Ju’s hospitality was much appreciated on the Friday night so we will hopefully be getting back to Afan at some stage next year, but better prepared next time (including first aid kit and strong painkillers)…and hoping for some good weather (Don't bank on it - it is Wales after all! Ed.)

(Posted by: John)

Return to West Marden

On a friday night, not a usual day for a TCA ride, we all met up at Ad and Ju's former home at Nyewood, South Harting. After a few running repairs to Jons bike, another flat tyre and adjustments to his chain, we waited round for Julie who had travelled back from her new home in the west country, some place beginning with a D. She had been left to her own devizes and was late, something to do with catching the cat and putting her in the car, (I think that I got that right) we left just about before 7. The hardcore couple of Scott and Sophie had already arrived in their Tandem from Petersfield. We had not forgotten the route and stormed away apart from Jon down through Nyewood, outskirts of South Harting and along West Harting Down. The missing link in Jons bike chain was playing havoc though as he could not engage the higher gears so the pedaling was fast and furious in order to try and catch up with the others.

Coming down from West Harting Down, there was a gradual meandering down hill through small farms, Ladyholt, Eckensfield and Hucksholt farm and then onto a small section of road. Unfortunately, we met a ramble of amateur mountain bikers in various guises littering our way ahead. One chap had a broken chain. Jon was in no mood to engage in offering advice and it looked like the chap could do with the exercise in walking his bike back home. We quickly sped past them and then cycled down and up a field up to Robin Wood. The weight of the Scott and Sophie Tandem had no problem in dropping down and up this field but for the rest of us the going on the grass was tougher.

After a pleasant ride through the wood, we cycled onto open downland and admired the wild flowers, Cowslips at Horseley farm, and then sped towards the West Marden. The sleeping policemen present along this track in past rides had been removed which was a shame. They had provided entertainment in previous rides in gaining lift off on the downhill. Ade still thought of doing his crazyhorse bmx antics again but thought better of it. Once at the pub, we ordered the Timothy Taylor Landlord, pissy lager for Julie and a fruitjuice with a dainty pink umbrella for Sophie. We had an interesting conversation about partners nicknames, oddities, etc which it is best not to go into here suffice to say that we should congratulate Juls and Ade on their engagement.

From Left: Scott, Sophie, Ad, Jon, Julie
(Necking drinks without even a pause to toast absent friends?! Ed.)

In supping up Juls tried to offload her pissy lager but there were no takers. At this point, Sophie tried to impress with a war wound experienced through an altercation with a door at the pub. (Sorry Sophi,e the drawing of blood has to be through an official off on an active duty to count for the purposes of TCA membership and in large quantities)!

We then cycled up towards Locksach Farm with Ade in the lead and soon were approaching the gully between Harting Down and Beacon Hill. We took the gradual ascent up the gully taking the higher route and as per usual had to circumvent the gate. By now it was getting dark and we undertook one of my least favourite rides down the Devil's Toilet down off the Downs towards Telegraph Lane. As per usual, Julie and Jon took it carefully negotiating exposed holed out tree roots which had the unfortunate knack of capturing your back wheels. Scott and Sophie and Ade just bombed down. We got home to Nursted and much to our surprise had a welcome meal prepared by Ade's mum on the hoof. The pizza, garlic bread and a noodle creation made to a Mathews family secret recipe went down very well.

(Posted by: Jon)

Weekend at Afan Forest Park

Afan Forest Park covers an area of 11,000 hectares and lies to the south of the Breacon Beacons in Wales. Most of this is woodland and is part of the 30,000 hectare Valleys Forest, the largest urban forest in Europe. The Forest Park is a popular destination for walking, cycling, orienteering and camping. We deliberately chose a campsite that allowed open fires to get the true outdoor camping experience. Billybob will be pleased to hear we successfully utilized the Swiss-fire starter on numerous occasions – Ray Meares style!

Back to the biking - Afan Forest Park is renowned for its dedicated mountain bike trails and its twisty, rooty, rocky and in places wildly exposed single tracks which are the enthusiasts (that’s us!) dream. What they say: "The trails here have been carved out of hillsides into 4 world class mountain biking trails; ‘Penhydd’, ‘The Wall’, ‘Skyline’ and ‘White’s Level’, boasting over 100 km of single track heaven" (below, click to enlarge).

Our weekend got off to a spectacular start - the morning dawned bright and clear and we all emerged from our tents to find a campfire roaring and the kettle on thanks to Charlie-man! After a hefty breakfast to fortify us for the day ahead we travelled to the much anticipated start of the Penydd Trail. We turned up with expectations of a challenging and adrenaline pumping ride - and that’s exactly what we got! We started off on an up hill fire track; Sophie and Scott on a tandem, veterans of the trail. Charlie-girl, Jenny, Jess, Charile-boy and Ed (all Namibian Dustbadgers and virgin TCA riders) had dusted off their bikes for the occasion. TCA regualrs Jon, Ad and Jules also made the trip (below).

With S and S in the lead we started the slow incline up the first part of the trail with spectacular views over the forest. The going was hard, the weather hot and the pace slow. Riding with S and S, Julie had a lone biker in her sights and took off to overtake him, only to find on the way past that he was middle aged and overweight, no points there then! After a refreshing break at one of the corners the crew took off again this time with Charlie and Jen in the lead.

The Terrible Tandem

The up-hill seemed to go on forever – Jon was in his element and once the top was reached we were more than ready for the first downhill stretch - aptly named Desolation. Jess, Jen and Charlie-girl took a shortened route to the top of ‘a ridge too far’. The rest took the single track by storm, S and S in the lead, then Charlie-man then A.D. Ed, anticipating getting some serious speed up, hung back to give himself some space and Julie brought up the rear, having no hope in hell of catching up with Evil Kinevil Ed.

Near the bottom of the track A.D called out a warning to Ed. This was interpreted as ‘if you speed up you can jump it!’ and E.D came flying down the hill, faster than a speeding bullet, and slammed, full speed, into the ground. Barely pausing for breath he was back up and on his bike before the rest of us could recover from the shock.

We met up with the others at the top of the ridge and tackled the first technical section of track – a jaw clenching, adrenaline pumping descent littered with switchbacks, rocks and tree roots. Charlie-man, always prepared, had a mini cam on his helmet and filmed the dangerous descent. It was during this section that Julie’s bike branded her with a classic chain mark after she misjudged a section of bank. Blood was drawn but unfortunately none vial-ed in order that the official TCA membership form could be signed in blood by the two founding members (who, coincidentally, were both absent from this particular outing).

More uphill ensued and before we knew it we were at the top of the next downhill section. This was technically easier than the previous descent and was enjoyed by all, most especially Jess who loved the tight and twisty singletrack through Side Winder. We had a breather at the bottom, grinning widely after the rocky, rollercoaster ride.

It was discovered that Jen’s water bottle had become dislodged during the arduous, arm-jarring descent. A.D bravely volunteered for the task after a rider came down and told us that it was only 100 yards up the track. The boys really got into the spirit of the ride, and took off down Dead Sheep Gulley, racing round the corners to keep up with the terrible tandem, descending at breakneck speed.

Ad's desperate attempt to impress the executive committee.

We went up and over one more hill before coming to a favourite of Stu’s – the river crossing. The descent to the stream saw A.D tip head over heals over the handlebars, but not into the drink. After evidence of blood was produced it was decided he too probably had now attained membership to the TCA . The going was relatively straight forward back to the car park and it was a happy group that pulled up to the cars, ready for lunch and a break!

(Posted by: Julie)

The Chichester Challenge 2006

Team TCA from left to right: Scott; Jon; Al

An early breakfast was the order of the day as team TCA prepared for their second attempt at the 'Chi Chal.' There are a number of categories for entry: several walks of varying distance; a few runs and two distances of off-road bike-rides - 30km and 55km. The 'off' for the 55km was 08.30 so, having kitted up at Jon's around 07.00, Al and Jon met Scott at the start line around 08.00 to discuss tactics. The temperature was already well into the mid-20s centigrade.

Elite athletes are interviewed before the 'off'

As the horn was sounded by the mayor all the tactics went out of the window as Scott shot off into the distance on his fixed-gear bemoth (crazy fool!) never to be seen again that day... Jon and Al initially also got separated in a bizarre 'novice horse-rider plus dog blocks the path' incident. However, Jon caught up with Al on the first ascent, only for Al to pull away on the following down hill section; and so it continued. After the first long ascent past the familiar charcoal burners we caught our breath and regrouped at the first check point over a cup of water.

The first 1/4 of the route followed our regular route up onto the South Downs way east of Harting Down and, having finally reached the top, Al slowly pulled away from John with his lower centre of gravity finally paying off. I think we perhaps both took stock after passing a less fortunate rider who had had a nasty spill on the very fast but rutted section of the track, just before the Royal Oak at Hooksway. We were perhaps reminded of Jon's rather nasty 'off' when we previously entered this event (severe enough to split his helmet!).

At around half-way Al pulled up for an snack (Above) and was caught up by Jon after a few minutes who cracked open his multi-grain feast (it looked much more appetising than Al’s very chewy Boots toffee & banana flavoured energy bar). Still, it was a relief to stop under the shade of a tree to get out of the boiling sun. We settled back in the saddle and soon hit the official half-way checkpoint above Buriton, got our cards stamped, took on more water and pushed on knowing that there would be time to get our breath back on the long, tarmac descent.

We were able to stay together for most of the remaining 17 miles; Jon edging ahead on the up-hill sections, Al screaming past on the down-hills. Or so it was until Al missed a sign-post on the gradual climb to the hills above Chichester. Having put in about 0.5km in the wrong direction Al noticed Jon in the distance climbing a different track – something of a Whacky Races moment. Turning round in hot pursuit Al got within 50 meters of his quarry on the super-fast descent and caught Jon at the final check-point. The last, slightly tedious, road-ride back into Chicester is a slog we were only too familiar with having done it many times on the ‘long Chicester route'. We eased the pain a little by slip-streaming a group of 5 rather fit-looking cyclists who towed us along nicely.

We crossed the line together, after approximately 4.5 hours and immediately made our way to the bacon butty stall, and then the fabled Women’s Institute stand for a cuppa and a slice of cake. We reflected on our super-human acheivement but were brought back down to earth during a chat with a chap who had just completed the 23 miles x-country run (a TRAINING run for an ultra-distance event in Switzerland). Having taken on essential nutrients and being thoroughly demoralised we had a quick pint before rather painfully remounting and cycling the short distance back across town back to Jon’s for a much-needed shower.

(Posted by: Al)

Jon Ditches it at Ditchham

Present: Jon; Julie; Scott

The ride kicked off at Julie and AD’s with Scott as keen as beans, turning up on his bike from Petersfield. Jon arrived late after a mad dash back to Chichester to pick up his helmet and Campelpak. We set off up toward the Harting Store before turning right and taking the track that would lead us to the bottom of Torberry Hill.

Scott – the new recruit and keen local biker guided the ride and led us on a similar route to that which AD took us previously. We climbed to the top of the hill and then, after a brief photo stop, raced down the track, passing some very startled (terrified more like!) mountain bikers in yellow who watched in trepidation as we careered over the numerous speed bumps and up the other side.

The next part of the ride saw us biking through arable crops with wonderful views toward Ditcham. We followed tramlines along the downs for awhile enjoying the sunshine, peace and quiet when the next thing Jon had toppled head over heels over his handle bars after hitting a deep rut (above, left) at reasonable speed (off-spot pictured!) – go the veteran TCA member! Jon picked himself up and dusted himself off ready for the next downhill stretch.

The remainder of the ride to the Victoria Pub in West Marden was relatively un-eventful except for the numerous run-ins with stinging nettles and brambles gradually overtaking the narrow tracks, all par for the course. We stopped at the pub for a pint (Julie still on fizzy lager!) and crisps before starting off again up the hill toward the back of Uppark.

We biked along the top of the downs until arriving at West Harting Down (above, right) and the most challenging part of the ride – the Devil’s Toilet. Once again with our hearts in our mouths we tackled this demanding stretch of down hill and reached the bottom with relief. Then it was plain sailing home to the ‘Caravan’ and Julie’s basil, lemon and feta chicken with greek salad and strawberries and ice-cream to finish. The ride was completed in record time, attributed in part, to Julie’s improving fitness (now only 1 mile behind the boys instead of 2!).

(Posted by: Julie)