We organise a lot of rides and are often asked questions about what we do and how we do it. Hopefully your question may be here:
Do I need to be really fit to do this? No, not really. It kind of depends on the sort of ride we are doing:
We usually recommend people who are new to the fold to come out on one of our monthly Quest Adventure rides first to see how they go, these rides are aimed at everyone and as such the pace tends to be more relaxed. With the emphasis being on having fun and riding some nice singletrack and eating cake!
‘Normal’ rides at the weekend can last anything from a couple of hours to all day and tend to be at a quicker pace, or at least with less stops on the trail. Descents are often ridden as a complete trail, rather than splitting them up to wait for re-grouping.
Tuesday night rides usually last three hours or more and are typically at a faster pace. You will need a decent set of lights, even in the summer! Beer money can be an advantage for these too. Basically if you’ve been riding an MTB for any length of time and can manage to ride about 20 miles in between two and three hours you should be fine. Details of all upcoming rides can be found in the forum under ‘Arrange a ride’.
What sort of bike do I need for this? It’s not essential to have the latest shiny bike, you don’t need full suspension. The places we ride have a lot of varied terrain, but the bulk of the main tracks are relatively smooth and free from rocks. Obviously singletrack tends to be fairly rooty in nature but again, bags of suspension is not a necessity. As long as your bike is well maintained and fits you well you’ll be fine. The bells and whistles will just make it more comfortable for you.
What if my bike goes wrong? It’s your problem! Although we’ll endevour to help you sort your bike out if there’s a problem, ultimately it’s your responsibility to turn up on a bike that won’t self destruct over the course of the ride!
What else do I need to bring then? If you’re new to the ways of the MTB here’s a few suggestions:
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (mandatory) – Helmet and gloves. We don’t care what you say, you need to wear a helmet! We’ve broken enough between us to know that even the most innocuous low speed tumble can have terrible consequences if the old noggin isn’t well covered up. Same with the gloves really, you don’t want to slip off and skin the palms of your hands, it hurts!
NO HELMET, NO RIDE, it’s as simple as that!
CLOTHING – You obviously know what you feel comfortable cycling in, but we would advise you check the weather forecast the day before and check you pack appropriate clothing for the conditions. If you’re a relative newcomer to this MTB lark, we would suggest a quality pair of padded shorts will make the experience much more enjoyable for you. Also even if the forecast is good a lightweight windproof or waterproof tucked in your bag can be useful. It can be windy on the top of the downs so something to keep the chill out can be handy, even in the summer.
FOOD and DRINK – Keeping well hydrated is essential for good performance, especially on hot days. A hydration pack such as a Camelbak that will hold a couple of litres of your desired tipple is handy for keeping you going. Failing that most MTB’s have bottle cage bosses. Get a couple of large bottles on there and you should be sorted. Now it’s no secret round these parts that we like the odd slice of cake and indeed we can add any number of cake shop stops to our routes as they’ve been visited in the name of research many times, so bring some cash too. Still you may prefer to bring your own food, we recommend energy gels as they can really get you going again quickly when your energy levels are low. Of course during night rides single malt whiskies and Haribo Tangfastics, Dark Chocolate and Jaffa Cakes are all encouraged.
SPARES – You know what bits and pieces you will need to carry for your bike, but if you don’t can we at least suggest that you bring a spare tube? We’ve learnt some good trail bodges over the years if the worst comes to the worst! We recommend you carry a full first aid kit and survival blanket too, it doesn’t take up much space and you never know when it might save your life!
