Isabel Cashman describes the success of the recent mountainbike marathon training ride

Four London Phoenix mountainbikers headed for Amberley on the Sunday morning train from Victoria to conquer the South Downs. Abi, Geraldine, David and I launched ourselves with vigour on the trail only to encounter the first ‘mechanical’ 20 metres from the train station! My shoes would not clip in – and refused to for the remainder of the ride. The patience of all was tried in that first hour as we progressed slower than anticipated but once we had our momentum, there was no stopping us.

Abi was driving us to attack those hills and she was a mine of information on technical and historical aspects throughout the ride. Geraldine was on top form and ascended as fast as she descended, overtaking us all on hills. There’s no phasing Geraldine as she even made a spectacularly swift recovery from a fall at speed. David set a swift pace throughout the ride and rose like a Phoenix out of every valley! I had more time to appreciate views on the hills as I mounted, so I saw model airplanes, kites, paragliders, deer, rolling hills, long-horned cattle, mansions, forests, druid forts, Leith Hill in the North Downs on the horizon and the huge expanse of nature’s virtue, all in good company and narrated by Abi.

We did have to cross the odd dual carriageway and watch out for the Bank holiday hikers, especially their dogs but it’s what we all do it for – the variety of challenges, phenomenal views and the ability to be fit while enjoying the most beautiful countryside on a magnificent sunny day. I left the group when we came back near Amberley as the next steep climb promised by David would have been too much for my unclipped legs – that was at 3pm and they did another 3 hours!

I can’t wait ’til the overnight off-road to Brighton!