My mountain biking world seems rather small these days. I used to occasionally ride trails centres in North Wales or the Lake District with friends but they’ve all given up riding, now. I was going to expand my horizons this coming weekend with a ride of over 100 km but I’ve called it off becauseContinue reading “A small world.”
Tag Archives: speed
A different way up.
After a ride of around 45 miles on fairly level ground, much of it along canal towpaths, I wanted to do another slightly longer ride than usual today but incorporate some climbing. I had the idea to ride a long climb to Hordern Stoops, which is a high point when you take the tarmac roadContinue reading “A different way up.”
You don’t need your brain. It’s just a bike!
I decided not to ride my mountain bike today. Yesterday I had my second Covid 19 vaccination, the Oxford/Astrazeneca variety, and it’s left me feeling very tired. The first dose seemed to have no effect but today I’ve felt sleepy all day. That doesn’t mean that bikes haven’t been in my thoughts, though, so afterContinue reading “You don’t need your brain. It’s just a bike!”
A different kind of ride.
My last ride was a race but only against myself. I’d set a target to ride 4 laps of an off road circuit in less than an hour and managed to do it in 57 minutes 52 seconds. It may have been too easy to achieve but I certainly pushed myself and was spent byContinue reading “A different kind of ride.”
A big challenge, on a short circuit.
Each year I like to set myself some mountain biking challenges. It motivates me to work towards harder goals, which must be good for maintaining fitness. This year I’ve set only 2 challenges with the proviso that I can add others later. One is to ride over 100km, taking in 4 big hills in theContinue reading “A big challenge, on a short circuit.”
Riding Rivington Pike.
Today I rode to an old favourite, Rivington Pike. It was a part of so many rides in the late 1990s but I just don’t seem to get there very often now. It’s in an area which is a real mountain biking hotspot so I could expect a quality ride but I also wanted toContinue reading “Riding Rivington Pike.”
Explore, then explore some more.
The weather hasn’t been kind in May. We’ve had temperatures way below seasonal norms and quite a lot of rain. This is undoubtedly one of those “expected anomalies” which enthusiasts of Global Warming Theory use to “prove” their hypothesis. Still, it will never stop a determined mountain biker so I took the mainly off roadContinue reading “Explore, then explore some more.”
Making an everyday ride more interesting.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with regular rides in the same area. I have a firm favourite trail but the shine might go off it if I ride nothing else. Today I decided instead of my favourite to ride Healey Nab but again this is somewhere I ride a lot. So muchContinue reading “Making an everyday ride more interesting.”
What’s so great about Great Hill?
Great Hill is the northernmost high point at 1,251 feet of the West Pennine Moors, a chain of hills stretching for around 12 miles north of Bolton and east of my hometown of Chorley. The Highest point is Winter Hill, a little higher at 1,498 feet. The mountain biking is good from top to bottomContinue reading “What’s so great about Great Hill?”
Feeling far fitter.
Recently I’ve dug a pond by hand and paved around it. We had no access to use a mini digger and getting the heavy clay soil to a skip in the road meant using a wheelbarrow to cart it through the garage. Initially I thought the project wouldn’t affect my mountain biking since I expectedContinue reading “Feeling far fitter.”
