The Rat Run Rally with the New Forest Off-Road Club

Last week The 'New Forest Off-Road Club' were out on The Rat Run!

Around 50 riders turned up on Friday and headed off on the 160-mile loop.

First things first, pre-ride coffee and snacks: of course! It was so nice to see familiar faces arrive, as well as plenty of new ones.

We couldn't have asked for better trail conditions. A sprinkling of autumn rain after a very dry summer has brought the forest back to its former green glory!

Harry and Vee (the wizards of Wizard Works) joined on their beautifully curated touring bikes: Harry on a Stooge Scrambler, Vee on a fresh Clandestine (which had attracted a lot of attention at Bespoked Dresden the week prior!).

I love the first section of The Rat Run, winding south from the shop through the forest and into Roydon Woods, one of my favourite local sections.

The route uses 'The Old Railway Track' with its beautiful old bridges, as it heads towards Christchurch town.

It was nice to have some en-route supporters!

Lots of food stop options in Christchurch, just before Bournemouth seafront promenade, which can be the easiest or indeed hardest part of the route depending on the wind direction.

This time though, it was heinous!
Velo Domestique in Southbourne provided a much-needed respite from the headwind.

My favourite ferry; it continues to feel like I'm going on holiday whenever I make the crossing, no matter how many times I do it!

Welcome to Purbeck!

After 10 miles of seafront promenade headwind, the Purbeck hills were feeling challenging!

Down to the lowlands for some rough stuff on 'Frank's Tank', the most technical section of trail on The Rat Run. Especially challenging on a loaded bike!

Corfe Castle, the most picturesque village in all of Dorset – possibly all of England? 

Time was ticking on, and the crew's legs were feeling the fatigue!

A big group convened in 'The Fox Inn' for food and drinks to assess whether the rest of the day 1 route was sensible to attempt. 

Up the Kingston climb and out to Swyre Head is an undertaking, exposed to the wind and weather. It's far too easy to shortcut it from Corfe, and most did, including me.

It was time for Stan and I to make our way back to Lyndhurst via the Wareham to Brockenhurst train, we'd planned to do a day ride as we both had commitments on Saturday.

We felt sad to not be joining for the whole ride, the group trauma bonding was real, and we didn't want to miss out!

I had around 70 miles in my legs when I got back to my van, I hadn't really prepped for a big ride and certainly not ending through the woods in complete darkness, with only a borrowed small front light! 

It was nice to have a ride with some 'on the hoof' decisions and mild chaos!  

Later that weekend, I was enjoying the regular Sunday social ride so much that I'd almost forgotten that the Rat Runners were due to roll back into the Forest!

According to the remaining riders on the event, Saturday had been pretty wild, with showers and howling wind. Sunday must have been a welcome change and nice moral boost, 20 degrees, light wind and clear skies!

As I rolled down a hill to check on one of the riders with a puncture, Max (pictured) and his friend were heading towards me, having completed 90% of the route. They were on the last leg, and we decided to ride back to the shop together with the rest of the Sunday crew!

Max had us build this beautiful Brother Big Bro a couple of months back, it was the bike's first big trip!

He was extremely stoked with the setup, and commented that it had been pretty much the perfect bike for the route! Max has big plans for this Big Bro, I look forward to seeing where it takes him next!

All afternoon I greeted groups of riders as they rolled back to the shop, with massive smiles on their faces! It is incredibly rewarding to witness the joy that a few days out on your bike can do for people, especially if it was a real challenge. 

On the right, spot Joseph and his Woods-built Singular Peregrine and next to him Louis, who collected his Brother Mr Wooden a few days after the event! 

Thanks to the New Forest Off-Road Club for getting the crew together and to all the riders involved! 

Cheers! Tom. 

xxx