Monday Morning Debrief 100

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All the leaves are brown…and the sky is grey…Calderfornia dreaming…on a September day…

It’s been a fine weekend here – in contrast to last week’s persistent wet and cold, the weekend gave us a welcome helping of settled weather. Hurrah!

For me, Sunday was all about bikes, with an early start to get in a spot of practise at going down steep stuff before Red Bull Foxhunt in a couple of weeks.

The first leaves are falling.

Once I’d finished slithering about in the woods on the Saracen Ariel, it was time to head home for family duties, which happily also involved messing about on bikes. The local community had arranged for the road up Cragg Vale (the longest continuous incline in England) to be closed for a series of races and events – there was even a crowd pleasing tractor parade. I was there for the Tour de France in 2014, and the joy of seeing everyone out enjoying the closed road was as much of a treat as seeing the pro riders whizz by. This is the first time since then that they’ve managed to get all the permissions in place to close the road, but let’s hope it becomes a regular fixture – it’s a joy to see everyone out enjoying the freedom that the absence of cars gives.

Car free fun.

Those of a sensitive disposition should look away now, because Andi has done terrible things to his bike. Well, it looks terrible but he says it’s amazing to ride. And that’s what is important.

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Good ride today on the Moto Shan GT. 29er up front 27.5+ rear! Fast and fun. . . #productionprivee #shangt #29er #plustyre #hardtail #steelisreal #steel #MTB #mountainbike #mountainbiking #bike #bikeriding #bikeporn #bikeride #reservoir #dvosuspension #spank #derbyshire #peakdistrict #hills #singletrackmag

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Argh. So many colours.

Speaking of many clashing colours, the master of the unexpected colour combo, Chipps, was off riding the 3 Peaks Cyclocross race for the ninth time. He hasn’t actually done any training, so we should probably give him a round of applause. Or maybe just a golden cushion for his punished posterior.

Almost as many colours as Andi’s bike.

Out there in our extended Singletrack family, Tom Nash was out with his drone catching some riding footage. He says ‘This ride was all about getting folk who don’t all often ride together in the same place and the same time!’ – I think we can all relate to that and have mates we never quite manage to ride with as often as we’d like. Do it now, make a plan, catch up with old mates.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZZbmIGDdk8/?taken-by=ridingbikesrocks

Adele Mitchell was talking about bikes rather than riding them:

I was speaking about women’s mtb at the NEC cycle show this weekend. Paralympian cyclist Corrine Hall was one of the other speakers, and at the end of her talk I got to hold her Paralympic gold medal from Rio 2016 (which she won with Lora Turnham) . It chimes when you shake it so that visually impaired athletes can differentiate between gold, silver and bronze.

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I got to hold @corrinehall1 Paralympic gold medal at @cycleshow today. It chimes when you shake it, for the benefit of the visually impaired athletes. Also, it's really heavy. What a thrill to get to hold it – thanks Corrine!! @velovixenuk #womenscycling #paralympics #rio2016 #goldmedal #cycleshow #velovixen #cyclinglife #cyclinglove #shero #tandemcycling #velodrome

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Sadly that’s your lot, for despite Ross having a crash that was apparently very dramatic looking (he’s got a sore wrist but the rest of him seems to be ok) he let the side down by failing to capture it on camera.

There’s no Fresh Goods Friday Live either, since we went to the pub to celebrate our designer Rob Crayon’s last issue of Singletrack heading to the printer. Sniff. So we’ll send you on your way into the new week with this, a peek at the next issue’s bike test.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWdR5lhbjG/?taken-by=singletrackmag

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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