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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2881 |
5th July 2018 Mt. Biking: Viking Trail, Tunstall Forest Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Sunny and hot :) Max Speed: 14.14 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 10 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Thursday 5th July – bike ***** Viking Trail, Tunstall Forest – sunny and hot :) 10 miles covered, 1 hour 50 minutes out, 14.14 knot max speed. After 7 windsurfing sessions in 7 days I was in need of a rest which I got yesterday when I took my book to read in the bedroom at 2 and fell asleep until 5. We were now ready for some more action and with the good weather continuing for days it was time to pack the van and go somewhere local. Our first thought was by the River Deben at Bawdsey but we have done that earlier in the year and it’s a long way to drive and not get prime position. We loaded the bikes and set off to the Forestry Commission Sandgalls carpark in Tunstall to do the Viking Trail which we haven’t done for a couple of years. I had taken the top box off and put the two mountain bikes inside the van so when we parked in our usual secluded corner we actually put the roof up!!! Something we haven’t done for years. It was very dusty so we cleaned it with several baby wipes and opened the side vents which cooled us nicely as it was very hot and windless! As it was so hot we decided to eat in the van before setting off. Mag made a delicious mackerel salad and we relaxed reading, mag in the van with me out in the sunshine. Then at 3.15 we set off on the 10-mile trail which is red graded due to its width rather than its severity. Some sections are still technical, so care should be taken. The trail is mostly fast, narrow and flowing single-track through the trees, with berms and short climbs. Pits with steep entries may be found alongside the waymarked route. We think a lot of work has been carried out here since we last visited by TROG (Tunstall and Rendlesham Off road Group) adding lots of bumps and banked turns :) The experts fly around but Mag and I took a more leisurely pace through the beautiful forest full of different pines with a bed of tall green ferns. There was amazing colour too considering it hasn’t rained for weeks! Boy it does bring a smile to your face - laughing our way around trying to avoid crashing into the trees! I tried both the steep pits and made a pig’s ear of both, not having the balls to take the brakes off. At the snake pit I fell off big style sending up a cloud of dust and worrying Mag – she was following me and saw me turn off, plunge down and go over the front of the bike, landing at the bottom of the bank! I was lucky not to hurt myself badly but did cut my hand and scratch my legs, that’s more tan gone! It was good fun whizzing along although Mag took a more cautious approach and had to get off a couple of times when she wasn’t in the right gear for a couple of the high banks – a good excuse for a breather :) There is a section closed near the end due to forestry work but they added some straight paths so we still did just over 10 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes of fun:) Cuppa time, relax in the sun followed by yummy baked potatoes with tuna mayonnaise (copied from Linda and Neil Hurrell when we had lunch at their caravan recently:)) The last time we were here on a Thursday several riders turned up to do the trail in the dark and I followed slowly due to inadequate lights. They haven’t turned up yet so will let you know tomorrow if they arrive in the dark. Tomorrow we will pack a picnic and head towards Iken/Snape and see where we end up:) Photo Gallery Here |
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