After falling in-love with the SENDEROS, I didn't think I'd fall in love again! The RESOLUTES swept me off my feet but kept me on my bike! 🙂
Testing testing...the North Downs Way!
Why not! I have the perfect bike and tyres! We decided to do this ride as a preparation for our upcoming adventures such as 100km London to Brighton Off-road and the King Alfred's Way.
Alex had done the North Downs Way so he knew the terrain. As for me, everything was new and very challenging.
A great opportunity had been presented when Alex said "I want to show you the North Downs Way." What is the North Downs Way you may ask. According to Wikipedia (!)
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Kent Downs AONB.
The ride was 100km but felt like it was 200! I was so knackered by the end, not so much of the distance but more of the mental and technical side of it.
There were a lot of rocky descents, often mixed in with tree roots and mud - and due to the overhanging tree cover this was also hidden by a tunnel of darkness on the approach!
I would have been completely dead if it wasn't for my adventure bike and choice of tyres. Having trust in your equipment - especially tyres and brakes - is really key to having fun on a ride.
The fatigue came from not having a lot of experience on riding challenging off-road surface such as roots and rocks together with climbing and descending.
I have been a road cyclist for awhile so I am very much spoiled when it comes to riding on a smooth country lanes. This was a good learning experience of what I needed to work on to get ready for similar terrain on other rides.
On the day I was impressed with the performance of the tyres. They gripped brilliantly, with no sliding even when climbing out of the saddle. I was relieved to have no sketchy moments when flying through dodgy descents with only partial sight on the approach! Any time I did get it wrong and hit a bump or root, the tyres seemed to cope with it. I even managed to ride some fairly deep sand which I've tried before on the Byways and had to jump off as there wasn't enough grip.
