I am a lifelong mountain biker who rarely lacks motivation. I had always ridden bikes off road like most kids but in 1976 I bought a “scrambler” for 70 pence. This was a bike which was dedicated to off road use. In 1977 I added a homemade suspension fork. I used the front suspension unitsContinue reading “Why I’m writing this….”
An old school ride.
With autumn undeniably with us I have to consider the likely trail conditions before every ride. I remembered back to around 25 years ago when I’d ride with my mates to Rivington and particularly the western flanks of Winter Hill. We’d ride the area at weekends right through the winter so surely it would beContinue reading “An old school ride.”
Great Hill for a great trail ride.
I had no aim on my ride today except to ride to the top of Great Hill at 1,250 feet to enjoy the fabulous downhill into Brinscall Woods. From there I’d climb the back of Healey Nab for a shorter descent towards home. I walked our dog, Fredddie, under cloud this morning but by theContinue reading “Great Hill for a great trail ride.”
A boat based workout.
My homemade pedal powered boat had been close to perfect but I couldn’t pedal quickly enough. This was barely making me breathe but stressing the leg muscles so I knew it would be difficult to cover longer distances on the canal where I sail. I added a chain and sprockets to double the pedalling speedContinue reading “A boat based workout.”
A lovely day for a trail ride.
Today was a great autumn day where temperatures must have climbed to around 20 celcius. I walked the dog and noticed that in the open the ground was quite dry. We’ve had only light rain this week and despite some muddy puddles under the cover of trees things looked favourable for a mountain bike ride.Continue reading “A lovely day for a trail ride.”
Time to train.
I took my pedal powered boat down to the canal today and expected to get some training in. Unfortunately I still have work to do on the chain drive element which I’ve added but it went well enough during my trip to suggest that my modifications are on the right lines. I needed to supplementContinue reading “Time to train.”
Modifying my boat.
My homemade, pedal powered boat took a long time and many incarnations before I was satisfied with it. I tried 4 different propulsion systems before I found one which propelled me at a satisfying speed. I then only needed to strengthen it for reliability and I had a boat which I could cruise around inContinue reading “Modifying my boat.”
Road riding at speed.
After an Indian summer during September we now have something more like a monsoon. I know that this is technically in the wrong order but it’s what we now have to cope with. During Britain’s tenure in India the monsoon would be followed by a glorious period of weather which was not too hot andContinue reading “Road riding at speed.”
My best boat trip so far.
We didn’t have anything important to occupy us on Sunday afternoon so I thought a trip in my homemade pedal, powered boat sounded like a good idea. My wife, Ali, is not convinced by the boat and flatly refuses to accompany me and bring the dog, Freddie, along. He did get the chance to seeContinue reading “My best boat trip so far.”
I just needed to get out.
Weather and life have got in the way of my mountain biking. OK, I could have ignored the drizzle and damp ground and ridden anyway but I seemed to have a lot to do in the last few days. I used my pedal powered boat 2 days ago and it’s easy to use this asContinue reading “I just needed to get out.”
Following the river to the end.
I’ve followed our local river, the Yarrow, on my mountain bike from it’s source at Horden Stoops at 1,066 feet above sea level back to home. Today I thought I should do something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and ride from home to the point where the Yarrow joins the bigger RiverContinue reading “Following the river to the end.”
Great Hill. Enjoying it whilst the weather holds.
We had a very late spring this year. It snowed in May and the garden and countryside were weeks behind what is expected. I’ve been surprised, therefore, to see an early autumn. Some tree, like the horse chestnuts, have already changed colour and lost leaves. Meanwhile were having a good, dry and often sunny spellContinue reading “Great Hill. Enjoying it whilst the weather holds.”
Two downhills, two punctures.
Maybe I should have joined the modern age years ago and fitted tubeless tyres to my mountain bikes. The reasons that I haven’t are a slight aversion to change, the difficulty and expense of making the change and the fact that around 3 punctures per year are barely inconvenient. I can certainly remember 2 punctureContinue reading “Two downhills, two punctures.”
Normal service is resumed.
After a brief but welcome Indian Summer we had rain and thunder yesterday afternoon. It’s like returning to normality after a glorious period of dry trails and has meant that my last ride using the 2004 vintage Whyte JW4 may be it’s last outing of the year. I don’t like to put my classic mountainContinue reading “Normal service is resumed.”
Making hill climbing easy!
Using my pedal powered dinghy has revealed to me that I tend to use a rather slow cadence, that is the rate at which I turn the pedals. On my last few rides I’ve been practicing upping that speed of rotation and have learnt a lot. I live in an area of hills which areContinue reading “Making hill climbing easy!”
Spinning those pedals.
I’ve been giving cadence, that is that rate at which I rotate the pedals, a lot of thought recently. It isn’t mountain biking which has brought the matter to my attention but using my pedal powered boat. In the boat it’s not possible, due to the resistance of the water, to spin the pedals atContinue reading “Spinning those pedals.”
Training by boat.
My boat build is officially (almost) finished! When I launched my first incarnation of my home designed, pedal powered boat I’d painted it all nicely. Unfortunately I had to try many different versions of all kinds of parts of the boat so it ended up looking rather battered. After several successful trips, including using aContinue reading “Training by boat.”
Cadence.
Cadence is the rate at which you spin the pedals on your mountain bike, or other pedal powered contraption, for that matter. My own cadence has come to my notice not through cycling but as a result of using my pedal powered boat. A cycling cadence for a road rider will usually be in theContinue reading “Cadence.”
A recovery sail.
After 4 days of inactivity with my first cold in around 2 years I was keen to get out today and thought that a trip in my pedal powered boat was the best option. It is definitely less aerobic than a mountain bike ride and there often seems no need to work hard since it’sContinue reading “A recovery sail.”
Man flu.
It’s a well known fact that what may be a trifling cold to a woman is a serious case of influenza to a man. Personally I haven’t had a cold since well before the Covid crisis so it must be getting on for 2 years. This suggests that all the social distancing and mask wearingContinue reading “Man flu.”
Getting over an injury.
On my last mountain bike ride, which was 4 days ago, I had a freak accident. I hit some wet tree roots at the bottom of a set of wooden steps and slid to the ground. It would have been fine if I hadn’t fallen onto a stone structure and hit the base of myContinue reading “Getting over an injury.”
