Bedgebury Forest Mountain Biking Expedition

Date: Monday 6 October 2008

Following our Friday evening training rides, this term's expedition was a return to the brilliant singletrack mountain bike route in Bedgebury Forest.

It was already raining when we arrived at Bedgebury Forest and we eleven members of the Mountain Biking Club set out to thunder around the ten-mile technical mountain biking trail, while Mr O’Connor took a party of School House boarders to explore the Bedgebury Pinetum on foot. As it turned out biking conditions were treacherous with the hard-baked ruts of summer now greasy wet, lakes of surface water, loose mud and slippery tree roots threatening stability on the narrow twisting track. Many were the scrapes and falls and progress was slow.

As time ran out towards the end of the afternoon, we opted to take a short cut back to the minibus, following the fire roads through the forest. Except it turned out not to be a shortcut at all! An epic dash along several miles of track brought us out in quite the wrong place! We were covered in mud, tired, wet and getting cold; we were late for our RV with the minibus and uncertain of our location, yet there was never a negative remark, groan or complaint. The team’s enthusiasm and high spirits, its sense of adventure and the support individuals gave each other was impressive and heart-warming: what a great bunch of youngsters! Well done everyone: Sam Figgis, Brindley Kinch, Sushant Lama, William Kirsch-Mills, Charlie McLeod, Mackay-Miller, Sam Mousley, Tom Phillis, Eric Yung and William Bacon.