Went out today for first time in ages, just taking it easy, local trail.

Loved it.

Why didn’t I do it sooner?

Anyway, good times and feeling a bit less like a has been!
😀

Will be back out soon.

Good stuff, looks nice too. Where is it?

Hardest bit is getting out that door so well done!

Nickquinn293 that’s a great photo 😀 would love to ride where you were.it’s a fantastic feeling when you do get out on your bike.good luck mate (and to anyone else trying to get started again 😀

How did this thread get past me!? I’ll have to read later. Hopefully it will inspire me to get out, I’m in a similar situation as you RaceFace.

Good to see it’s doing the trick for you! Keep up the diary! << Hope it inspires me a little. My current excuse is I’m waiting for a chain!

I recognise all those pics from Wiltshire…my old stomping/riding ground. Some lovely English countryside ’round there. Keep it up! The fitter you get, the more fun it’ll be.

I recognise all those pics from Wiltshire…my old stomping/riding ground. Some lovely English countryside ’round there. Keep it up! The fitter you get, the more fun it’ll be

Likewise 🙂 though not a million miles away these days.

Was going to suggest the Set2Rise then realised it had gotten a rename and change of format.. suspect I’ll be there, solo if need be and possibly singlespeed, though I’ll need to work on the fitness and bloody mindedness for that.

It’s calderglen country park in east Kilbride. South Lanarkshire.

It’s actually not a great place to ride as its a busy place with pedestrians and dog walkers etc.

I usually avoid it but it’s handy and saves driving down to a 7stanes, plus my cars goosed just now.

Just good to get out. Off work till Saturday so will be out again.

Anyone else that hasn’t been out for a while have nightmares about going back to your shed to get your bike and finding your once pride and joy is a rusting hulk? Its always a relief to find it’s fine!

Will post a picture of my dog which is my main excuse for not getting out in the last year, hope to get her running alongside the bike in the near future.

Here she is…

Nickquinn293 now you have 2 good reasons to get out on your bike.lovely dog by the way (hope that didn’t sound wrong 😀

Not at all!!

😀 😀 😀

Good write up Raceface. Ideal conditions for riding Wiltshire just now. I’ve ridden most of the trails you describe but not necessarily in that order.

BTW you can squeeze a bit more off-road from your last route by going 500m up the A4 towards Calne from Beckhampton and then taking the bridleway/BOAT on the right which takes you over to the back of Avebury where it meets the track from Windmill Hill.

Good on you mate – I’ve not ridden much in the last 18 months after getting CFS/ME and depression as a result. I too am going to make a big effort to get back into it though, starting with this – http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/went-up-hellvellyn-today-couple-of-pics

Onwards and upwards. 😀

grum that is some awesome photos (god i’d love to ride somewhere like that! 😀 am glad that you are feeling better (and riding your bike again 😀 good on you man! uponthedowns thanks for the heads up on that route (i really do not like riding on the road bit) 😀 are you the guy who offered to go riding with me/practice guitar a while back?apologies that i put it off (was my depression/laziness kicking in 😳 would you like to go for a ride this sunday. am meeting some people from setting a scene (am being driven to the west kennet car park) details here http://forum.settingascene.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=829 you (and anyone else) are more than welcome to join us.if you cannot make it,would definitely like to go riding with you sometime (and this time i mean it 😀

Nice Pointer there Nickquinn. 8)

I do enjoy reading these kind of threads with people getting such a buzz from being out and about. 🙂

well hello and apologies for not updating until now (i haven’t given up riding 😉 basically i have been suffering with the dreaded jeremy kyles 😡 :oops:. i went out on a bike meet with some guys from setting a scene on 03/04/11 http://forum.settingascene.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=829&start=0 it was a great ride (unfortunately i forgot my computer DOH! so cannot give any distance/speed e.t.c.i think we did 25 miles though. we saw 2 of these beautiful pheasants absolutely beautiful birds 😀 i even managed to climb every hill (bar the last one) was well chuffed.we basically rode on the ridgeway from the car park (on marlbrough road).we then rode to barbury castle,rockley e.t.c via a route that trevkg took us on (there was a great descent over roots that came back to the marlbrough/swindon main road.it was a great ride 😀 unfortunately since have been off bike due to aforementioned problem 😳 last week i saw doc though and have been using some cream on affected area 😳 which feels a whole lot better 🙂 so tomorrow have decided to go out on my bike again YIPEE 😀 i have planned a route from devizes to roundway hill,cherhill,beckhampton roundabout.then to avebury offroad,ridgeway,back to car park,cross marlbrough road,then offroad to wandsdyke.then back to devizes.basically have looked at map (along with some hints from people on this forum about connecting off road routes) and am going to try it.will take map with me.to be honest cannot wait to be out on bike again 😀 it will be nice not to have to ride the main road from beckhampton to avebury (am using a connecting byway/bridleway to avebury.near to stables on calne/beckhampton road).will write a report of ride when i get back tomorrow.damn you jeremy kyles DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL! 😉

just got back from probably one of the best rides i’ve done in a long while 😀 i left at around 6:30 pm and proceeded to climb roundway hill and then connect with the off road part (by the picnic area.next to west wilts golf course)i continued on to cherhill monument,where i met a guy riding an s works enduro bike.was chatting with him for around 10 minutes.proceeded to follow route that we did at first setting a scene ride (on page 1 with all those pics.and i did do the jump off a root again 😀 i then connected with beckhampton roundabout,but this time took a route away from main avebury road to avebury (am so glad that i have found this now (thanks uponthedowns 😀 i then took the route that i described before (avebury,ridgeway,marlbrough downs,rockley,barbury castle (via marlbrough downs) and then returned the way i came.the great thing was that as i got to the gate (with the ridgeway sign) there was a guy with an orange g2? mtb who was eating a sarnie.i bid him good day,then continued through gate.as i was opening another gate i saw him following,so i waited for him and asked if i could ride with him for a while.he was doing a loop from swindon to barbury castle.we ended up riding to barbury castle together.it’s always good when you meet a fellow mtb’er and ride with them for a bit (cheers sam,hope i ride with you again). once we descended barbury castle track,sam turned off back to swindon.i continued on the ridgeway back to avebury then farm track home. total distance 37.47 miles (at least 90% off road 😀 total time 4:02:59 av speed 9.2 mph max speed 29.0 mph all in all it was a fantastic ride (even though i got a pucture about 4 miles from home,and nearly ran over a small frog on canal towpath 🙁 (i was paranoid that i’d killed it 🙁 but went back to check on it and all it’s limbs seemed to be fine (it jumped into some long grass 😀 sorry froggy 😳 p.s had no issues with the dreaded jeremy kyles 😳 PHEW! 😀

Nice one keep’em coming. Bikes are fun.

My word, you are really putting some miles in raceface! It’s good to read your ride reports – really encouraging others to get out there and enjoy the trails.

Looking forward to the next one. 🙂

Hehe, lookin good 😀 I was out last wednesday for about 4 or 5 hours water of leith, corstorphine hill and yesterday up arthurs seat and some other places.

Although I’ve been using my bike to get about, those two are the first real MTBing i’ve done, except easy runs for an hour or two via cycle paths.

I will try and post up some photo’s and riding clips from my escapades!

thanks everyone 😀 kaesae looking forward to seeing your photos.cinnamon girl it’s surprising how many miles you can do when you have eaten 6 crumpets with chocolate spread before going out(lovely). at the 24 mile mark i stopped and had 4 apple and cinnamon bars from morrisons (£1.49 for pack of eight) they are absolutely fabulous (will be buying them from now on 😀

well have finally decided to update the riding that i have done. last wednesday (27/04/11) cycled to melksham cycle centre (on towpath) to buy an inner tube 20.3 miles. on sunday though i met up with a couple of guys from setting a scene forum (big shout out to divedaz and easy rider 🙂 i hope you don’t mind if i copy paste the route (from divedaz description) Other side of the road (from roundway hill) to cherhill white horse, the route is roundways, smallgrain, cherhill down, the old bath road, play in the wood on knoll down, accross the road to windmill hill, then on the cycleway around the back of yatesbury airfield and into cherhill village then on to calne, this is where i go back to chippenham and you go back to devizes, its a lovely ride, similar to the ride of my last video, “cherhill from work” (divedaz youtube video). it was a great ride (although i had to really peg it sometimes to try and keep up 🙂 total distance 29.02 miles, time 2:56:19, av speed 9.8 m.p.h, max speed 36.2 m.p.h. have just come back from a ride today that i did (and it was fantastic weather/views 😀 i cycled to melksham cycles via towpath again (to get my rear wheel trued thanks guys 😀 i then headed through melksham park to main road lacock/melksham. i then turned off up to spye park (via a bridalway) it eventually brought me out on main chippenham/bromham road.i crossed road and joined a farm track which eventually came out at the heddington road. i then followed road until it got to base of roundway hill. i then climbed (what is known as heddington steps). it’s basically a trail that takes you up to roundway hill. (have only ever climbed all the way once. it seems to go on for ages/probably no more than 1.5 miles in truth though 😀 well i managed to climb all the way today (admittedly was going slower than a tortoise,but am well chuffed 😀 i continued onwards to cherhill monument and then went to that wooded bit (where the photo of me getting RAD! air 😉 and played about there for a while. i then returned back to devizes via the way i came. it was a great ride (well apart from seeing a dead badger by the side of the trail near to roundway wooded trail 🙁 total time 3:52:24 total distance 38.75 miles av speed 10.0 m.p.h max speed 37.0 m.p.h p.s excuse my posts being squeezed up,but do not know how to put spaces in my posts (i try but as soon as i send it,it gets squeezed back up again)

man have just found out that my computer has been giving false distances e.t.c 😡 🙁 was really chuffed with my improvements) but was beginning to question the distances that it was recording.well have confirmed from my ride yesterday when i checked on here http://ridewithgps.com/ that i reckon the computer is some 8 or 9 miles out!!! (around 30/31 miles as opposed to 38 😯 🙁 am absolutely pi**ed off (not with riding though.loving that 😀 am going to get the cycle shop to measure my wheel (as i do not have a tape measure) failing that just feel like binning the computer and getting a gps (when i can afford it),to record distances/times e.t.c p.s i did double check the wheel size on the computer (a cateye os 1.1 wired computer) and it said 26 x 2.10 which is what my wheel size is maxxis crossmax tyres.and that it was m.p.h. am certainly not going to give up riding though 😉 p.s if anyone gives a damn and replies,and i do not.is because my internet credit has nearly run out (not because i have jumped off the cherhill monument due to shame 😉