TREK Rides in East Kent!

by Ian Roscow
(Sorry about the layout change - trying a new editor...)

Run 20th Feb 2005

Report 4th Mar 2005


Brrrrrrr......

We mostly met up at Eastry picnic site on a cold, but dry, winter's morning. We are Rob (DRZ), Mark (KTM), Francis (XR), Dave (DRZ), Steve (DRZ), Chris (YZF), Aidan (KTM) and me (KDX). I got a call that Martin (XR) couldn't get his new bike started, so we left without him. 300 yards down the road we met Martin coming toward us, so fortuitously we met up and he joined us for the ride.

The group was split about 50/50 for experienced riders and newcomers to trail riding. It is good to see new faces join us, and in fact I had to turn down other newcomers otherwise the group would have just got too big to manage - sorry to those that asked, but it is first come first served.


Rob slides in...


Slippery stuff.


Right, on to the first lane - perhaps not the best one for raw beginners to find their feet, but it was so cold we needed something to warm us up as soon as possible, and this did the trick! Down the steps and a slip-slide along the side of a field. The trick is to stand on the pegs and maintain a reasonable forward momentum, but this is easier said than done, especially if you're beginner! Anyway we all made it to the first stop safe and sound and a little warmer.


Aidan feels the cold... Rob doesn't!


Martin (XR400)



Francis (XR400)

Everybody checked out ok, and we had a quick chat with Martin - new rider, new bike, both being run in, so taking it very easy!


Some not nice people did this.



Heave ho...

On to the next lane at Chillenden, and what a mess greeted us! A serious bit of fly-tipping had recently happened, and it totally blocked the lane. We spent a few minutes clearing a path and carried on down (KCC have been informed and should have done something about it by now).


Dave sets off again. Tree maintains position...

On a mile or two to the main Roman road heading south. This lane is undamaged by 4x4 use (so far) and is a gentle ride, albeit a bit slippery at this time of year. On the way down here Dave had a knee/tree interface session and he came off worse. Here he is restarting.




Clip-clop (cheap sound effects!)

Met some horses - no problem, of course. All day we met 5 horses, 3 walkers and one person metal detecting who didn't hear us even when we were right behind because of the headphones he was wearing!


Ouch, ouch, ouch.


At the next stop Dave was starting to feel real pain in his knee and was hobbling around in a not happy way.


We discussed tyre pressures, riding techniques and let Dave rest his knee for a while.


Hisssss...



Fag time (not USA style)



Mind the hedge - too late...


Ouch, ouch, ouch...


Onward, down across the A2 and past the Lydden race track.

And on into the woods north of Alkham, but now without Dave who had to leave as his knee was hurting too much. (I now know that he also broke a couple of fingers. Bad luck, Dave. Hope you heal quickly.)


Rob poses...


and then gets out of the way of...


Francis, who's storming along, while...


Martin's in the groove.

And then on toward the village of Alkham.... but first


... a hill!! (Chris on his new YZF)


Aidan makes it.
(I didn't... it's steeper and slipperier(sp?) than it looks here)


<Off we set again.
<Mark mans the gate.
<More rubbish...
<A slippery lane

In general the lanes were a lot more slippery than they looked, so not a great run for beginners.

And it was to get worse (remember - this is the middle of February...)

<There might be a smile in there!
<Time for another fag break.
<A RUPP with a great view.
<Boots off - must be lunchtime!

Lunch was great. Stopped at the Marquis of Granby in Alkham and got a warm welcome - at least by everyone except one grumpy man educating his young boys about the evils of trail riding, but I suspect our smiles out-balanced his bigotry as far as the boys were concerned! The staff and other pub guests (even the walkers with plastic bags over their boots!) were very welcoming and the food was good. We soon warmed up...



<Sir wants more??
<Armoured dining suit?
<A little vinaigrette, perhaps...

Suitably refreshed we set off to do the many RUPPs and Byways around Alkham. The barmaid had mentioned something about rain being on the way, but it looked ok to us...


<Yes, this is a green lane!
<Where have the rest gone?
<Time to look at the view
<Grip was a rare thing.

A few flakes of snow were to be seen now....

And it was to get worse (remember - this is the middle of February...)

<More horse riders!
<Mark helps Martin...
<...who walks in.
<Strange birds.

Along a few more lanes and then across to the other side of the Alkham valley.

Here we found a few 'Operation Freedown' signs that seem at first glance to say that to proceed down the lane would be illegal. The actual wording is
" OPERATION FREEDOWN
ALL DRIVING DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
(Road Traffic Act 1988)
YOU WILL BE PROSECUTED
YOUR VEHICLE IS AT RISK
CAN BE SEIZED & DESTROYED ".

This is not the case on these lanes (check with me if you want to know which ones are ok). I will be talking to KCC about this very soon.

<A very misleading sign.
<A tricky hill.
<Always a problem until you know it.
<Out of another slippery RUPP.

Now the sleet and snow was falling and conditions were not good, especially for the newcomers who were new to this type of riding.

And it was to get worse (remember - this is the middle of February...)

<This was getting horrible.
<The surface was like Teflon®.


So, at about 3pm, we called it a day (but not before I had fallen off yet again!). We headed back for Dover to fuel up, and then we went our separate ways home to dry out and warm up. Although I know Mark had a puncture on the way home, I believe the rest of the gallant riders got home safely. I rode home, washed me and the trusty old KDX down at the local Tesco power washer machine, and then collapsed in a comfy chair for the rest of the day until I had warmed up and could feel my toes again... A good days ridng, perhaps even a mini-adventure!!

THE END - except for my sincere apologies if I identified anyone incorrectly!!

PS - Remember those runs where I would run out of film in the camera, so the report was a little truncated? Well, guess what, I ran out of memory on my digital camera this time!! Different technology, same idiot...