Proper commuting

Wow a full week of off road commuting, well 4 days which is a week to me :-) Trails were dryish, no dodging idiot car drivers, all round a nice way start and end the day. Not all perfect mind, serious overgrowth meant getting soaked from dew in the mornings and nettle stings twice a ride on average, I really need to get down there with a strimmer and sort it out but can't really be botherd plus wouldn't fancy explaining it to a copper in the unlikely event I got stopped. Over a hundred miles already for the week and more to come tomorrow as we have a peaks ride planned, jacobs ladder here we come.
Couple of mishaps, the tight left, steps, tight left section I've mentioned before had a huge puddle of sick halfway down the steps and a big old turd at the bottom right in the middle (human or animal not sure) Thats enough to put you off your line! Wierd thing is that whole mess wasn't there in the morning just the evening. On weds I went exploring a bit and found some pipes, think it's for TA training or something, just some huge piles of dirt with big concrete pipes going through, I thought it would be fun to ride through. If I leaned the bike over and ducked down I could squeeze through. Well I could fit untill the middle where the guage of pipe changed and I couldn't go any further. Couldn't turn round either, had to back out of the pipe pushing the bike - muppet!

Home invaders, lethal violence and explosions...

...well ok explosion - singular. Sounds like a recipe for a film don't it, but it was just my weekend, a lot less fun than it sounds. Got round to working through the punctured innertube pile mountain friday night, fixed a few and swapped the pompino's tatty front tyre for a new one, bugger to fit, eventually got it on started pumping it up got to 80odd psi when BANG! tube exploded, must have been caught under a tyre bead, damn apologies to the neighbours. Went in the kitchen later on hit the lights and found a couple of slugs that have been leaving trails on the floor, salted and binned them. Saturday night I was up late on the playstation, in the dark, on screen I was getting attacked by a giant spider when out of the corner of my eye I think I see something but carry on battling the spider then I definitley see something scuttling along the arm of the settee towards my head - eek! I'm not normally bothered by bugs but when they surprise me like that I freak a bit (big girls blouse that I am) jumped up and battered it to death with a magazine, looked like some sort of ear wig but without the pincers. Finished watching series 4 of The Wire, been buying my dad the box sets over the last 12 months or so christmas, birthday etc, finally got round to borrowing them off him a couple weeks ago and motored through all 4 - he's still on series 3. Excellent stuff, bit funny bit, sad, bit of social commentary and just bloody good entertainment. Will have to buy him the 5th series for christmas - tho the sellophane wrapping may not be intact when he gets it :-) No riding and not very rock and roll but it was a decent weekend.

PMSL

Just had to share this

Dead legs

Dunno how Matt does it, a couple of days on the bike and my legs aren't fit for owt. Legs were feeling a bit sore yesterday after the A&E ride, I'd taken it real easy on the way in and going home was going proper slow, a guy I've seen before on a nice but really creaky scott road bike came passed me, I resisted the urge to chase and watched him slowly pull away from me. Five miles later just before I got home I caught up to him, he'd got stuck at a load of red lights, more haste less speed and all that. Went out up rivi with Johnnie later, felt fine sprinting up leadmines clough and round anglezarke but the race home (got stuck without lights again) legs didn't feel too hot. Was considering not riding in this morning but can't miss weather like this so dragged myself out of my pit and rode in offroad. Just mapped out last nights ride 27 miles no wonder my legs are fooked, 19 hilly miles on tuesday, 52 yesterday and I'm now halfway through another 25 today.

A and E

Nice day for it yesterday, me and burk went to the lakes and did an Ambleside and Elterwater ride, started looking very gloomy all dark skies and low, low cloud but halfway up the first climb we were shedding layers and an hour later the sky was clear and the sun was beating down. Good day out. Last time we did this ride I came off and trashed my mech hanger, I didn't escape unscathed this time either. Before the ride even started I had to bend Burks disc rotor back into shape, must have been a rock strike at the end of the 3 passes ride, we both got 1 flat each during the ride then on the downhill into elterwater my back wheel seems to hook up on something. Quick inspection at the bottom showed it was my bash guard and chain ring that had caught on a rock I think, writing off the bash guard and bending the chainring. I bent the ring back and carried on but thats gonna cost me.

Wasted days

Thats 2 sundays in a row that have been good weather for riding that I've missed. Last week was due to me being a tart, not signing up for the STW ride so ended up going out on saturday getting tanked up on dirty, dirty cider and being too hungover for a local ride. This week I just could not motivate myself. Come winter when I'm trudging through the mud and slop I'll be regretting these missed opportunities!

3 passes

So I went back to Nan Bield on Friday with Mark, weather was looking good and I guess it was, clear blue skies but it was uncomfortable, not that hot and didn't feel humid but as soon as you put in any effort at all sweat pored out of you. Different route to last time, parked in kentmere and went straight up stile end cutting out green quarter, loose rocky drop into Sadgill and first big climb up gatesgarth, nasty. A "bit" of pushing ensued, but was dispatched without too much unpleasantness. Gatesgarth was said to have been sanitised which had me worried but it seems rather than turn it into a tame boring downhill it's actually harder. On the switchbacks they've cut a run off ditch out, so as you get to the corner your stuck in a ditch you have to climb out of as you corner - tricky. Anyway pretty good downhill. Quick break at the bottom before the 'orrible climb up NB. An hour of pushing carrying swearing and cursing followed. The downhill was worth it tho, bloody brilliant and no offs this time. Coasting back into kentmere we ignored the car and the easy way out and instead headed up passed kentmere hall going for the hat trick, garburn pass too. About 10 minutes from the car I ran out of water, damn, 2 litres in just over 3hours, ah well I could scrounge a bit of Burks 3L only for him to announce a few minutes later he'd run out too. Ah. The route round to garburn was OK, and the climb started off easy, despite being bloody thirsty. It soon steepened up tho but was mostly rideable and is probably 100% rideable on fresher hydrated legs. Garburn was a decent downhill, fast rocky bit of tech just not quite as good as the other 2. Was pretty knackered by the time we got back to the car and needed a caffeine boost at Staveley before the long drag home. Legs didn't feel too bad Saturday but my back and arms were aching from all the carrying. Good route tho, well recommended.