3/8/2014 Clayton West Off Road

Gorgeous Views On The Downs!

last year I mapped out a new ride westwards from Clayton. This was one of the best rides of last season and I was keen to repeat it. Together with myself were Derek , Duncan and Paul Baxter. Traffic was very light and we managed to get to Clayton in under an hour which was a nice surprise. leaving Clayton we descended the steep single track that leads down to the main road before reaching more open ground around devil's dyke. With a cooling breeze the riding felt a lot easier than the SDW last weekend and before long we reached the furthest western point. Here we left the SDW  and headed south towards lancing on an excellent track that had previously been unknown to us. On reaching lancing we had to use the roads for a few km to hook up back to the SDW but these are very pleasant roads with almost traffic so I rather enjoyed this section (my hard tail probably being better for this surface than a full suss). Ahead of us lay one of my least favourite ascents on the SDW, the rocky narrow and steep Beeding Hill. Normally I have to get off and walk part of this track but with the aid of a strong tail wind we all managed to cycle up it without to much bother although I did have to remount at one point where my front end lost control.There were some much more enjoyable  steady climbs up to Devils Dyke whose escarpments looked gorgeous in the sunshine and we were rewarded with a lovely steep descent down to the

220 years Between Us And Still Going Strong!

Hiker's rest' at  saddlescombe where we enjoyed some snacks and hot tea. The initial climb out of here is very steep and rocky before reaching an equally steep grassy climb. There was no way I would get up the rocky section but I did make it up the grassy climb, Derek was riding much better than last week and managed the whole climb. Unfortunately we were concentrating so hard on making it up the climb that by the time we noticed the turn-off for the eastern loop it was too late to shout out to Ivan and Paul who were too far ahead so we simply continued along the SDW all the way back to Clayton which made for an easier overall ride than we planned. Despite missing out the western loop, this is still a great ride, made even better by the refreshing breeze (unlike the stifling heat of last week)