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….”
Trail riding with plenty of climbing.
Climbing is an excellent way to build fitness for mountain biking. Today I decided to ride to the hills around Rivington to get some ascent done. It’s a 4 mile road ride first, leading to a continuous 750 feet climb to Rivington Pike. The gradient varies and in places needed my lowest gear ratio andContinue reading “Trail riding with plenty of climbing.”
Time to train.
I noticed on the app. Strava that I’d only ridden my mountain bike 4 times so far in January so yesterday, the 24th, I knew it was time to train. I like to maintain my fitness year round but this winter has brought us some snow and ice which has impacted on my riding. TheContinue reading “Time to train.”
Nicely icy!
Today’s mountain bike ride was never going to be a big training ride, I just needed to get out after 6 days without riding. We’ve had another cold, frosty period but the smattering of snow has disappeared. The road outside our house never gets salted and was so treacherous that I turned onto the mainContinue reading “Nicely icy!”
Riding in wet weather.
We’ve had an awful lot of rain in the 6 days since my last ride. The local trails would be very wet so not only was this unlikely to provide the usual level of entertainment but could also damage the trail. I wanted some exercise but don’t enjoy riding on the road on a mountainContinue reading “Riding in wet weather.”
When it’s too wet to ride but you ride anyway.
I planned a trail ride but as soon as I left the house it started to rain. It was fairly light rain and continued throughout the ride but once I was out I wasn’t going to turn back. I wanted the ride to be oriented towards stamina so would ride at a steady pace, gettingContinue reading “When it’s too wet to ride but you ride anyway.”
Training for recovery.
I need to train for recovery this year. I don’t mean recovery after a ride but rather after a big effort, such as a hill climb, during a mountain bike ride. It will be a big help as I negotiate my planned ride with 6 ascents totalling around 4,500 feet. I wanted a ride todayContinue reading “Training for recovery.”
Targets for 2023.
I feel that it’s important for me to set some targets for my mountain biking each year. I may well add further targets later in the year but you may be wondering what happened to the targets I set for 2022. At the start of the year I only set 2 targets. One was toContinue reading “Targets for 2023.”
New shoes.
After my last ride 3 days ago I noticed that the sole of one of my mountain bike shoes was parting company with the upper. This is very disappointing after only around 6 months and is a tiny fraction of the life of the shoes they replaced. Naturally I don’t have the receipt so can’tContinue reading “New shoes.”
Boxing Day ride.
I haven’t ridden for 20 days due to snow and ice, then a trip to Scotland just before Christmas. This is unprecedented for me and must have impacted on my fitness. I wanted to get off road today, despite the sodden conditions so rode to our local hill, Healey nab, with a determination to rideContinue reading “Boxing Day ride.”
Happy Christmas.
I’d like to wish a Happy Christmas to all my readers from my wife, Ali, Freddie, the bucket of mischief above, and myself. I haven’t ridden my mountain bike since the 6th of December due to snow and ice which made it too dangerous even to reach the trails. It’s all melted away now, though,Continue reading “Happy Christmas.”
Flower of the Week, 10th December.
After a week of freezing temperatures we were bound to get some snow. We woke up this morning to a couple of inches though with the temperature now rising to one degree Celcius, I don’t think it will stick around for too long. The garden is transformed to a winter wonderland.
Flower of the Week 7th December.
The colour may be gone but many of the decaying plants exhibit a statuesque elegance. With temperatures of minus 4 celcius last night there was some ice on the pond. Last winter we left the pump running to keep the surface clear and allow oxygen into the water for the fish. Running the pump takesContinue reading “Flower of the Week 7th December.”
Frosty morning ride.
The weather is now approaching from the north, straight from the frozen arctic, rather than its accustomed south westerly origin. This is bound to mean that it’s cold, despite Global Warming. We’re even expecting snow over the next few days so I was glad that I could ride today when it was only slightly frosty.Continue reading “Frosty morning ride.”
An old school ride.
In the 1990s, when I used to ride my mountain bike with friends, we’d often loop around town to link some classy sections of trail together. We aimed to keep the route as much off road as we could and that was the kind of old school ride which I undertook today. I wanted theContinue reading “An old school ride.”
Mechanical mayhem.
Today the weather has remained dry so I set off on my Trek Fuel EX8 mountain bike for a ride to Healey Nab. Unusually, I had no particular plan for my ride, which is not good for training or improving fitness. I wanted a relaxed ride so didn’t set any targets but just getting outContinue reading “Mechanical mayhem.”
A wet fartlek!
Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning speed play. The aim is to ride continuously, taking it easy on some sections of the ride whilst working hard in other parts. You need to recover from the bigger efforts so by riding in this way you can improve your ability to recover. This will always be importantContinue reading “A wet fartlek!”
Putting the effort in.
By analysing my last 2 mountain bike rides using the app. Strava I found that I was riding rather slowly for much of the time. I’d like to improve my fitness so this clearly isn’t good enough. Last time out I was obviously still fresh towards the end of the ride because this was theContinue reading “Putting the effort in.”
Rivington Pike.
If you asked a local mountain biker for a good placec to ride, they’d more than likely say “Rivington”. Rivington itself us a tiny hamlet but is often used to refer to the West Pennine Moors where Winter Hill at 1,498 feet is the high point. On the western flanks of the hill lies RivingtonContinue reading “Rivington Pike.”
Flower of the Week, 24th November.
Summer may be a faded memory but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to see in the garden. Above are the glorious shades of an Acer palmatum.
Making the most of the autumn.
After discovering that my fitness had fallen compared to previous years, I’m now determined to train harder during the autumn and forthcoming winter. I rode 5 fast laps of a hilly circuit this week and 2 days after wanted another challenging activity. Great Hill rises to 1,253 feet and gives me a 16 mile, almostContinue reading “Making the most of the autumn.”
Mountainbiker 