by Ryan Walker
I’m fairly new to the sport (2 months) and have only really ridden local bridleways around my local area of Haywards Heath.

I turned up last Thursday at Stanmer and feeling mildly daunted by the whole prospect, particularly as this was the first time I’d even considered night riding, was made to feel at ease by Ronnie who promised me that they wouldn’t leave me behind.

The ride was fine for pace up until we started ducking, diving, weaving and bobbing through trees, bumps etc… That was the moment that I realised that I was not quite up to the same pace as the other guys but, as promised, someone stayed behind me and there were more than enough stops for me to comfortably catch up and not feel like I was holding the group back.

This was a totally new style of riding for me but by then end of it I could tell I was getting better, faster and more confident. (Even after I took a flying rugby tackle at a birch tree for my first ‘off’ since buying the bike).

In short, I’ve been looking for a new sport to get into since hanging up my running shoes, and have been slightly worried that this might not be the answer.
I can now relax as mountain biking is everything I hoped it would be and can’t wait to get better at it and start doing some of these silly Enduro races and the like.

See you on Thursday.