I’ve noticed quite a few plants are starting to poke their heads above the surface in our garden and yet it doesn’t feel like we’ve had winter so far. The rain has continued, though today has been sunny at times. The wind has also dried the surface in the open but so much local riding … Continue reading Is spring in the air?
It would be simple if my only priority was to ride my bike though life might be little one dimensional. Today I wanted to fit in a bike ride especially since the weather forecast didn't look good. Rain this afternoon and a wet weekend with the chance of snow. What happened to the spring like … Continue reading Priorities of a mountain biker.
Younger readers might think that I'm about to review an exciting new mountain bike called the Sciatica, whilst older readers are likely to know that sciatica is a debilitating pain in the legs! Sciatica is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve which runs from the spine to the legs. It causes a sharp pain … Continue reading Sciatica……
I've been thinking of going to an area which I rode regularly 20 years and more ago. Today I did and was pleasantly surprised. I rode the segment "Drop to Birky" where I set a new fastest time on my last ride. I noticed how much easier the Boardman is to ride fast on the … Continue reading A pleasant surprise.
I've been doing plenty of hard work at home in addition to daily dog walks so on my last 2 rides I've felt tired. I don't know much about the science of training in this state. If I start out already tired will training improve my stamina? I realise that I won't be out for … Continue reading 2 rides whilst tired.
Today I thought for a long time about where I should ride. I considered Rivington, which has plenty of choice of popular rides. I also thought about some other local riding, relearning some old trails ready to ride them when the weather dries up. I finally decided to ride Great Hill because it is an … Continue reading Great Hill. A great ride.
Not a tale of my origins in Yorkshire but a great ride this afternoon to Brinscall Woods. The picture at the top shows a few roots at the bottom of a fantastic downhill section. It has loads of exposed roots and some big drop offs where the ground has eroded under the tree roots. It's … Continue reading Back to my roots!
I have been trying my Rockshox Pike fork with different numbers of volume spacers in my last few ride. For todays ride I removed them all. This would give me a more linear spring rate, rather than starting soft and ramping up as the spring compressed. The expectation is that the fork wouldn't perform as … Continue reading More suspension testing.
Last year I used spacers to reduce the air volume in my forks. I had noticed that the performance on repeated small bumps wasn't as good as my older bikes on a bike less than 2 years old. Unfortunately I made 2 changes to the fork at the same time so I never really knew … Continue reading Pop!
Actually, for me, it's more like "it's no fun", rather than snow fun. I've never enjoyed riding in snowy conditions and we've had snow lying on the ground for the last week. Instead of riding, to help my fitness, I've done some long walks with my dog, Freddie. I walked up Great Hill on Sunday … Continue reading Snow fun.
