On my knees
Perhaps in hindsight, heading off down a new piece of trail consisting of a combination of greasy mud and chalk, sharp flints, rooty ladders and little hops over fallen saplings, stretching out over a mile and a half of ribbon wide, looping singletrack that contoured beautifully down toward Juniper Bottom in the fading light, after a day of heavy rain was not the best idea of last night’s ride.
But what a ride it was, just me, Colin and Jez motoring along at a fine old lick and storming three steep climbs past Tanner’s Hatch, up Box Hill and finally up onto the Mickleham Gallops. Had I managed to ride uninterrupted by illness for the past couple of months I could of gone faster. I have gone much faster, but last night was as much as I could manage as my tired legs are reminding me today.
All was blissfully fine until Jez took us down a peach of a trail he knew (ahem, more of a footpath really) which starts out opposite the Best Western at Box Hill, skirting the edge of the caravan park before heading off down the valley, steep in places but entertaining throughout. Colin seems to think the DoMTB folk call it Egg & Chips, maybe someone can explain?! Colin could of course be completely wrong though…
Anyway, two thirds of the way along I was getting tired and things were getting increasingly slippery. Perhaps my bike may have been lacking some lateral stiffness or had too much vertical compliance (hat tip to the Bike Snob NYC) or perhaps I can’t ride for toffee. It amounted to the same thing, an off camber slide on some wet ladder roots that pitched me off onto some wickedly sharp flints. Ouch!
The worst part of it all though (aside from having to lift flaps of skin to properly clean the cuts in the bath) was that I have a perfectly good pair of knee pads freshly delivered from the UKBikestore at home which for some reason I didn’t manage to put on before last night’s ride. Must be saving them for Wales.
I just hope it’s true that chicks dig scars, even if in my case I’ll just end up with a strange pinkness to my knee that’ll last all summer.
About the author
Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.
Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.
An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.
If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.
There are 5 comments on ‘On my knees’
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Colin says:
Hi Matt,
It wasn’t the doamtb crew who that name came from – it was a bloke called George who rides with Nirvana.
And you are a tart for posting up a pic of your pinprick wounds!!
See you Sunday non-sans-pads
Colin
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Posted on May 2, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Matt says:
What do you mean, they’re real enough from where I’m sitting, bleeding slightly all day as I bend my knee.
I’m about as injured as I wish to get on a mountain bike which has given me a rare chance to hint at my manly ruggedness.
It’s surprising how quickly you get reminded of the chance of hurting yourself sometimes though.
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Posted on May 2, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Muddymoles says:
And another casualty
Colin gets it wrong over on Holmbury Hill.
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Posted on June 20, 2008 at 9:48 am
Muddymoles says:
Kyle Strait 661 knee pads review
Eventually it dawns on you that some of the riding you’re doing might be a little less risky if you took some time to buy some knee pads. But, where to start…?
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Posted on June 30, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Related: And another casualty | Mutterings, Stuff & nonsense | Muddymoles: Mountain biking (MTB) in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley