Yesterday was my birthday. It wasn’t a significant one. I didn’t change age category on the app. Strava, that’ll be next time. We’re doing a massive garden project at the moment so I didn’t have the time for a long and indulgent ride, which is what I really need. My last ride was a short … Continue reading Birthday Boy!
Late last year I noticed a rider trying desperately hard to set a fastest ever time on the app. Strava. We follow each other’s progress though we have never met and before he managed to grab the King of the Mountains title for a fastest ever lap I had a go at it and accomplished … Continue reading A virtual race.
Spring has 2 possible start dates. The equinox around the 21st of March used to be considered correct but nowadays it's probably more common to cite the first of March. The other day I looked at weather.com which predicted 10 days without rain in our area. This is excellent news for every mountain biker so … Continue reading Spring has started early.
“Believe me my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So says Ratty to Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s classic novel ‘The Wind in the Willows’. I'm building my own boat so in the spring, when I launch it, I'll be able to confirm or … Continue reading Wind in the willows.
In recent weeks I've only ridden twice a week. I don't think I've been training myself well and probably not maintaining the same level of fitness I had last autumn. In many ways it doesn't matter because I don't have much to train for apart from 2 challenges which I've set for myself to achieve … Continue reading Training for 2021.
It's easy to enthuse about a winter ride. You can enjoy it for it's good points but who are we kidding? Riding dry trails is far better. We seem to have had a wet winter after a strange summer. We barely saw a drop of rain in March, April and May then barely a dry … Continue reading Spring can’t be far away.
The temperature yesterday never rose above freezing but this morning was more like 5 celcius. We had strong winds from the east yesterday whilst today the wind was still blowing strongly, now from a warmer southerly direction. With no rain or significant snow since early last week it's amazing how dry the ground has become. … Continue reading Perfect winter conditions, and a broken bike.
I could tell when I walked my dog, Freddie, this morning that conditions were going to be good for mountain biking. After what's seemed like a wet winter we now have a cold period. It's colder than it's been for at least 10 years with winds blowing from the east. We are more used to … Continue reading A dry day in winter.
I enjoyed my last ride to the top of Great Hill. I climbed around 1,500 feet and loved the downhill, which lasted for over 15 minutes. I would have liked to do the same ride today but it snowed overnight so I thought about the potential dangers of riding an exposed area of high ground, … Continue reading Safety first?
My last ride was superb. The wind dried, frost hardened ground rode like it would have done in summer, in places. A real treat in our coldest winter in 10 years. I'd hoped that the cold conditions were going to persist to give me another good ride but things have warmed up by quite a … Continue reading Returning to Great Hill.
