27/6 Firle Snake Offroad

With glorious summer weather this was a good time to repeat our newest off road route, 'Firle Snake'.

Ivan is already in  serious off road training mode for the SDW randonee  and so rode all the way over to meet the rest of us at Firle (and would go on to ride all the way back home)

At The Bo Peep Car Park!

Heading along the 'Drovers Track' towards Alfriston gave sufficient time for the muscles to warm up before the steep road climb up to Bo Peep. From here it was the usual wonderful descent down towards Seaford before turning west to go through the golf course to Bishopstone.

We now had to regain all the height we had lost as we were basically riding uphill parallel to the Bo Peep descent. The climbing seemed endless especially as some of it was quite over grown. Ivan and Malc didn't like it much but I appreciated the stiff workout it was giving my thigh muscles.

At last we rejoined the SDW and headed towards Itford hill. Ivan and Malc as unusual took a steep shortcut to avoid the chalky main path. Pete unwisely decided to join them and was scared half to death, so I don't think he will do that again?

After So Much Climbing Steve was Feeling A Bit Hoarse!

Following the route we eventually came to the famous 'Snake'. Its incredible that after 20 years of South Downs riding we only discovered this twisty climb last year. The valley its in is even more remote than the so called 'Hidden Valley' near Ditchling. We didn't have it all to ourselves this year as there was another cheery  mtb cyclist following the same route. With hindsight I should have made the effort  to chat to him and pass on one of our business cards as we could do with some more mtb recruits! The angle of the slope is so perfect for riding and the grass so short and firm that 1.5 mile climb is the best I know of on the Downs.

The snake finishes above Lewes. From here there is a steep seriously eroded and chalky descent straight down to the centre of Lewes. This would be extremely treacherous if there was even a trace of moisture but with all the dry weather today it was a safe but bumpy route down to the town.

Rather than eat at one of those overpriced tea shops we headed for Anne of Cleeves' house where there is a more informal tea shop with a nice garden and far more reasonable prices.

Suitably refreshed , our next objective was to reach the top of Mount Caburn.After one navigational error that had us touring a large car park we were soon back on track and climbing up the only road up to the top of the mount. This road is so incredibly steep and narrow. There was a white van behind us and two cars in front. As there is only room for one vehicle at a time, I wondered how they were going to get through , but they must have managed it somehow , as near the top I heard the sound of a vans wheels spinning and the van sped past us.

Ivan remembered the rights of way route through the golf course . We were slightly tense as there was always the risk of golf balls coming flying in our direction.

We Need To get Down There!

Reaching the top of the mount we began the descent up to the point where the route splits left and right. last year we took the left fork but this year we tried the right one. It was worth a try but the right fork turned out to be more congested with people and gates although it did have the advantage of bringing us out nearer to the A27 from where we crossed the rode back into Firle.

 For the next two weeks Ivan, Malc, Paul and Josef will be stepping up their training even more,as they begin their final preparations for the SDW randonee (July 15), so its back to lovely smooth tarmac for me for the next three weekends!