15/9 End Of Season- The Hidden Valley

At The Top Of Ditchling Beacon!

last year was the first time we had ridden the 'hidden valley route' and myself and Derek were keen to do it again. We were all a bit worried about the weather forecast ,as rain had been predicted for the early afternoon but as we set off for kingston and climbed up past Lewes prison, there was hardly a whisper of any wind and the skies were a dazzling blue. Good to have Jon S out with us at last, this would be a good workout for his new mtb. We made good time to Ditchling Beacon, from there we descended through the hidden valley and along the off road stretch parallel to the A27. I was looking forward to tea and scone at the Stanmer tea stop but no sooner had we sat down before the skies turned dark and the wind started to pick up, looked like the predicted rain was on its way. So we didnt linger as long as we usually like to and got on with the job of  climbing back  up towards the  beacon before taking a southern 'dog's leg' towards St Mary's farm. Here I misread the gps and we took the wrong track north wards. Eventually I realised my mistake and was all for turning back but Ivan persuaded me to keep going as eventually it would reach the SDW way anyway. This track turned out to be just as good as the one I had intended to us, perhaps we can use this track on a different ride? Once on top of the downs it was easy fast riding all the way back to Folkington. Sure enough by 1:00 the first rain drops appeared but now we were safely tucked up in our cars we no longer cared.
This is the end of the offroad season for me, I wont be organising any more until June next year, its back to the road for me although Derek and josef are off to Wales for some more serious mountain biking next weekend. Its been the best season for many years, lets hope next year is just as good.