Done!

Oh dear that's done it, I've just signed up for kielder 100. Hope I don't live to regret it. Need to get in some serious mileage training, I was out for 10 hours on sunday and still only managed just over half that. I think we get about 11.5 hours to do the 100 at kielder...hmm. Need to lose some weight too, about half a stone to get back to normal i reckon. I feel in pretty good shape, getting lots of excercise, I'm just eating too much.
Nice easy commute this morning, well it wasn't planned but going up the small hill from my house my legs screamed at me that this would be a recovery ride, a flatter, slightly longer route took an hour! Good job we're not nightriding tonight.

Local trails for local people

STW forum came to rivi this weekend, last time they were here I rode out to the meet point and back and managed a nice 47mile ride, this time we were meeting a bit further away so I was hoping to hit the big 50. Lowey and friends had a similar idea, ride out, do most of the ride and then dig in for the day at the pub stop (their nightride local). Usual route over to rivi then back up to the pigeon tower to meet lowey. ICR then mostly road to botany bay. Only 18 riders in all set off, not much for an stw ride but that meant a faster pace. Healey nab and wheelton plantation got us up onto great hill, and the sun came out melting all those wrapped up for the cold morning. Loweys mates were tiring so split at this point (maybe I shouldn't have reminded them of the climb to follow up winter hill - oops) Drop into white coppice was ace tho not without incident in the muddy top section, couple of wheel catchers and I nearly lost it in the very slippy mud. 2 proper quick guys came flying passed me whilst on the wrong line, a line change kept them in sight but I was on my limit they looked like they were cruising. Cross anglezark to rivi and we were hemorrhaging riders, we got to George's with just 7 left! Met up with another group so had some company up to winter hill, we nailed san marino which the visitors loved. Pub stop was a welcome rest (and a catch up with the early retirees :-) but we paid dearly for it, the climb up hoar stones was terrible with cold legs (and pretty boggy) over to ICR and then to lead mines clough, the climb out was not nice for tired little legs. We had a blast round the healy nabb red run then I split for home (via san marino again)
It was a good ride with good company, nice to do your local stuff with fresh eyes, Ton kept saying how much he liked the place and the massive variety of trails, open moorland, rocky trails, twisty singletrack forest stuff etc It got me thinking, yeah actually we are bloody lucky to have all this on our door step.
Anyway turns out botany bay is a lot further away than I thought I'd done 16miles before the meet no wonder my legs had a "run in" feel on the first climb and I overshot my aim a bit, 57miles 7700ft, walking up the hill to the train station was hard this morning. RIDING :-)

I'm sorry....have we met?

"...pushing's strangely satisfying. Everyone knows someone who treats an unrideable climb as a personal insult and throws himself at it repeatedly, suffering failure after failure and apparently confusing it with some sort of domination of the landscape, his bike, body and mind. In the meantime, the rest of us have sloped off up the hill for a virtual fag break whilst waiting for the novelty of smacking pedal against shin to wear off."

Nope I don't know anyone like that, oh no, not me, doesn't sound familiar at all. Uh uh.

Taken from Johnnie Pink's column in singletrack magazine, if you want to read the rest go buy it, it is rather good.

Blowing down the crescent

Forgot to mention this before, last week, this was a new one. Picture the scene, thursday evening rush hour, salford crescent (big road out of city centre) chockablock traffic, you're in your silver audi, you had a stressful day and the traffics doing your head in. Do you?
A drive carefully home and have a nice relaxing bath
B drive like a nutter get home and sink a few bevvies
C reach over to your wife/mistress/lady-friend/professional-lady-friend-currently-in-your-employ and pull her head down for a nosh to relieve the stress?

Yep some doughnut getting a gobble while driving through busy rush hour traffic, I was travelling at a similar speed 2 lanes away, thought I saw something dodgy and did a double take. Sure enough, everytime he has to slow for lights/traffic a head pops up, when they get going again down she goes.

"But officer there's no specific law against it and it is hands free"

Its grim oop on'thills

Plans were set for niteriding with trio and johnny, unfortunatley Johnny had to cancel. Got dressed up was just heading out into the gloom when trio rang to say she couldn't make it either. Some spurious excuse about a broken freehub, these part time fair weather cyclists eh?* Well I was all dressed up anyway so just grabbed my MP3 player for company and set off. It was horrible weather, proper grim rain and wind, soon had to bin my glasses due to them misting up, rain and fog so got plenty of grit in my eyes on the downs. I was hammering it, with all the rain I just wanted to get done and get home. Up barrow bridge, up old rake where it got a bit wierd, halfway up the gradient eases slightly, it felt and looked like I was on a flat road but it's still fairly steep, mind playing tricks on me. Was foggy on winter hill til I came round the shoulder of two lads where it suddenly cleared. Down wildeswood and up bastard climb where someone had helpfully left the gate at the halfway point open so I didn't have an excuse to stop (git) Down georges and up winterhill again and the fog was back, the pace was killing my legs, the climb was a slog. Didn't fancy san marino in all the rain and fog so down via holdens and along scout road to come down through smithills and home, only out for 2hours, I was in my wet weather gear and still got soaked through. Very tired today, a commute with a constant headwind this morning hurt. I need a lot more practice at quick rides.

*only joking Trio, hope rigger is better soon :-)

No introductions needed

So I finally went out mountain biking again, Junkyard came round and we set off from mine, he only had his SS available so I thought I better take mine too. About 2/3s of the way round Johnnie said "I've not ridden properly for 2months I was expecting a nice gentle introduction back into riding" Oh. Maybe should have mentioned that earlier, route was barrow bridge, winter hill, witton weavers, darwen tower, jumbles, home, 25ish miles I thought, turned out to be a hefty 30. I cut out the forest at entwistle (big steep power climbs) near the end as I didn't want Johnnie refusing to ever let me choose routes again. Was a good ride out, cold to start but gorgeous once we got on top of winter hill, bit of an inversion going on in bolton. Cleaned the steps at holdens for first time SS, got up first two stalled on the 3rd so hopped up it then had to hit the power to get up the last, san marino is well cut up but not too wet/muddy. Had to climb walls at belmont res again, riding up darwen tower from tockholes was a first for me on SS (cleaned), bombing down the other side was ace, stupidly fast with big water bars to jump/hop.
Cracking ride, loads of people out walkers and bikers, no crashes or mechannicals, 2 flats (boo!).

The Dreaded Lurgy

My mrs got struck down with flu so wednesdays planned nightride was off while I helped out with his lordship. Yesterday I rode in, just as I got to work I had a call off the mrs asking me to go home as she was worse - she's hard as nails normally so must be bad. Jumped on the train home and took charlie off her hands so she could spend most of the day sleeping and today I'm feeling rough so I'm resting, riding the train and hoping the flu passes me by. Missed riding opportunites, bugger and march started so well, hope this is just a blip.