ToSH 26/08/06 course conditions UPDATE

[huw williams]

Did a dry run yesterday and it rained like its never rained before! But only for about 45 minutes thankfully. Total monsoon.

The course
The dry weather has not been kind - although the volcanic surface at Tanhurst was in the best condition I've ever seen it (ie: no rivers coming down it and no mud) there were lots of lanes where sand and gravel patches have appeared having been dragged off the bridleways and car parks by horses, MTBs and 4x4s.

Nothing overly dangerous as long as you don't go crazy on the descents. This reafirmed why we won't go if its at all wet - the descents will be suicide in that state - fortunately yesterday we'd done the final tricky dowhnill just before the deluge hit.

Estimated Times:
Amy and I took around 4hrs 30mins actual riding time Boxhill to Boxhill (top to top) only missing out one small section (around 5 miles).

As we'll be riding out and back on the day and stopping for lunch you can safely estimate an extra 2 to 2.5 hours at least on top of that so steady-paced riders completing the entire route should be back at CSS around 4.30pm.
Consider the extra time you might need for punctures, extra food stops etc but there are lots of places where you can cut the route short if you need to get back earlier

Highly recommended: New Tyres!

As promised a revised pdf map showing all the 'cheat' points is now available, PM me marking your request 'cheats map' if you'd like one. Your inbox will need to be able to accomodate a 3.1m file but I'll be giving them out on the day if required

H