Guided rides around Epping Forest ( aka Follow the strange tall man into the woods )

New dates ok for you Mick?

Better in fact!

I've just got my ride for this sorted.

That actually works better for me. Get-in.

Better in fact!

Marvellous.

^^ Indra, if you turn up on that I shall send you straight home again.

I've just got my ride for this sorted.

^ Howard, are you by any chance the same Howard that me and Alexis from LMNH met up with at Epping forest a good few months back?

I haven't been around Epping for a while on anything other than my road bike, so no, I don't think so.

I haven't been around Epping for a while on anything other than my road bike

Mad skillz!

Will you be bringing the Dale?

Hah!

A dale probably, whether it's the snot green monster will be decided by the weather...

Weekday rides are a brilliant idea.......weekends are already booked

Weekday rides are great. You can get the place to yourself sometimes.

I'll be actively avoiding Sunday mornings if possible. Not through my devoutly religious lifestyle, but because it gets so busy. Afternoons are good though and it'll be nice and light in the evenings by then.

I'm currently keeping an eye on this thread in case there's anything that I've not considered yet. Social ride etiquette

Obviously that thread covers a lot of rules for the road and managing traffic, which shouldn't really be a concern on these rides - assuming of course that you all know how to safely cross a busy road....

I'll stick some rules & regs on here soon, which you can freely add to if I've forgotten anything obvious.

1. BareNecessities
   
2. mmccarthy ( potential deputy ride guide and holder of the "ugly bike but nicer in real life" award )
   
3. Howard
   
4. Andrew
   
5. dicki
   
6. cake
   
7. mdizzle
   
8. Mikey5000
   
9. weazlepopper
   
10. zeez
    
11. Shoosh
    
12. IndraRipper ( potential sacrifice to the forest gods? carrying all tools, food, drinks and changes of clothes)
    
13. Alkali
    
14. Texas ?
    
15. NurseHolliday
    
16. dimi3
    
17. Mirius
    
18. J.Dennis
    
19. Alfie
    
20. Tenners
    
21. Ramaye
    
22. Zebra cyclist
    
23. malandro (+1 possibly)
    
24. Sparkles
    
25. Stedlocks (shift pattern allowing)
    
26. Jake
    
27. VVV
    
    

I'll sweep in at 15

Good to have you on board NurseHolliday!

As the start of these rides is now only three weeks away, next week I'll start figuring out who would like to ride when - just so I don't find myself leading five different rides each day, every day for two weeks straight :-/

Looking forward to this.

The new dates are looking promising for me...I've got some annual around then. I went down there Thursday..it's drying out a treat! I rode down from bishops Stortford, a few trails, and managed to get a 2nd place on a strava I never knew existed, before riding back. I was bolloxed after my manflu though....it's really knocked me bandy!

The new dates are looking promising for me

Good.

I went down there Thursday..it's drying out a treat!

Even more good.

I was bolloxed after my manflu though....it's really knocked me bandy!

Not so good.

Were you on your new titanium hybrid?

One day when I have a mtb I'll join you lot.

Looks like that day has come.

Nice find.

Or he could ride his gangsta I guess.

Really looking forward to these rides, any idea when the last ons will be?

any idea when the last ones will be?

Officially - This batch will finish on the 9th of June.

Unofficially - Depends on when I have to get back to Norwich ( unknown )

If anyone turns up this time, then I'll do some more later in the year. My main aim for now is to show a few of you where the good bits are, so you can then go back whenever you like.

Ok so that gives exactly a month for me to get something built.

I'm sure these rides will be popular and I'm really looking forward to learning the good trails.

^ Cutting it fine much ;-)

I'm pretty sure Mick knows more of the trails than he thinks. Probably just need to show him how to link a few of them together.

Looks like that day has come.

Yeah boy! Pretty stoked. Can't wait to go and ride the fuck out of it.

Are there any dates yet;).....planz have to be made

Are there any dates yet;).....planz have to be made

I think you were interested in the weekday rides weren't you Tony? These will most likely be on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I'll get the dates of all the proposed rides posted up here this evening.

Starting and finishing point for all rides will be at Chingford Station. There's lots of room for people to wait around with bikes and plenty of shops nearby for last minute stocking up of food/drink/fags/booze etc.. For anybody driving there, I can give you directions for parking nearby.

The duration of the rides isn't set in stone, so they can be cut shorter or extended depending on what people want to do.

Weekday rides aren't yet specified as morning or afternoon, but for those arriving by train I need to account for peak time trains not allowing bikes on board. There's scope for them to be in the evening if no-ones available during the day.

There's various places to stop throughout the rides. The tea hut has some weird opening hours, but there's plenty of pubs about in the area.

I don't ask much, but these are some guidelines that I'd like to set out:

Please try to sort your bike out before the ride. Don't decide that your brakes need bleeding while we're all standing about in the car park. Fettling is fine ( pumping up of tyres/forks/shocks ), but do your best to have a fully functioning bike when you arrive.

Try to carry the basics – Something to drink, some food, at least one spare inner tube & some patches. I will have a pump and basic tools with me, so those things are optional. I'd recommend wearing gloves, but helmet use is entirely up to you. I won't lead you into doing anything silly or dangerous, but you are responsible for your own well being out there.

Epping Forest is not a racetrack. If you want to race, go and enter a race. Obviously some element of competitiveness will rear it's head. This is fine, but please limit it to racing uphill, where you've less chance of hurting yourself or anybody else.

Please don't scare horses, run over dogs or generally endanger anyone else using the trail. It's not Whistler bike park. The trails are open and shared and sometimes busy, so don't act like a twat towards people out enjoying themselves for the day. LFGSS forum members are well known for their polite and deferential manner, so I know this won't be an issue.

There will be a mixed range of abilities on the rides. Several back markers or 'sweepers' will be required. This won't be a day long job and nobody likes to be stuck at the back, so people can take it in turns. As long as I know who's going to be the last rider through at each point. I really don't want to have to go looking for anyone. We'll stop to regroup at the top of any climbs, the bottom of descents and at any road crossing ( some of which can be a bit dodgy ).

If you're uncertain of your ability to ride an obstacle please tell me. There are no razor sharp rocks, or deep ravines to go crashing into, but even flying off into a small bombhole the wrong way could land you in hospital. It's advisable to give some vocal warning to the rider behind you, if anything dodgy is up ahead.

Please do take lots of photos. I want plenty of happy memories to look back on :-)

Here's my mobile no. I rarely answer it ( I will answer it on ride days ), so text me, or contact me through the forum for any questions you might have.