…just cos i find it inspiring. I won’t start, as I have so many to choose from…

over to you

Today 😀 6 hour trip on the N Y Moors while everybody else is working. Sunshine,dry singletrack and a mid point pint. Deep deep joy indeed.

The next one…

your mum 😀

Today’s as it was a cheeky blue sky sunshine dust 😀

Out in the snow just before christmas from Hayfield with all my riding mates, felt really fast. Sunshine + epic clouds + Amazing snow + good mates + an incredible burger at the end = the meaning of life. Photo shamelessly stolen from BWD’s blog.

A couple of years ago now, in the Summer, riding from Halton Gill in Littondale, over to Hubbberholme, up the valley and over to Horton then back via Hull Pot. With just the right riding buddies…

Rachel

The glare of the sun. Haze.
Dust, stinging sweat and salt on the frame.
Gritted teeth, the buzz and chirrup of insects.
The thwap of foliage, the thump and scour of tyres.
Sweet flow and effort.
The emptiness of one at the end.

*sniffs* – wanders off muttering.

Today:
Full sun, blue sky, no wind, road bike, white & Dark peak 😉

Good.

original sin > goat’s gulley > in deep > fatcrobat > too tight > angry pirate > a-line
over and over again… 😀

end of november ’09 stayed over in Betws-y-coed with a friend at the dragon b&b for a wintery monday ride on the marin trail , at breakfast we looked out and yes light rain , dull and grey . Oh well lets get on with it we said , rode up the road from the bridge to join the trail halfway round and as we hit the trail the rain started getting heavier! We both started riding like kids popping through the puddles and having a giggle ..we got further round and the it got really heavy and very dark in the trees ! ( it was at this point i was glad i’d left my hope vison 2 on the bars !!) switched it on and mate followed me through the darkness and down trails flowing with water ..we couldn’t see the rocks and drops but this made it soooooooooooo much more thrilling . by the time we’d finished we were drenched through and riding down the flooding road back to the car ..with huge grins on our faces .Good times

South Downs Way over 3 days in the summer. Carrying all our own kit and biving out everynight

Last year’s Dusk till Dawn ride from Bridges YHA, up over the Long Mynd, down Minton Batch, quick pint in Church Stretton, round Ragleth and Hope Bowdler and anti-clockwise all the way around Caer Caradoc, back into Church Stretton, up Cardingmill Valley down the otherside and head over to the Stiperstones, over those and then on to Cordon Hill, round Cordon and up to Mitchells Fold Stone Circle for sunrise and brandy before riding back to Bridges (via the Stiperstones again) for breakfast.

Best ride ever, pics were on fotopic.

Dunster, Horner, Porlock, Minehead, in the sun, with mates.

T-shirt and shorts, speed, dust, drifting rear wheel, into the shady woods, pumping, carving, getting away with it, gasping, laughing!

First time I did the Dyfi enduro. Sunny day, loads of mates, riding the Dyfi forest (including a few bits I hadn’t seen before). Awesome days riding then back to Aber for curry and beers. Awesome.

2005- with http://www.bushpilotbiking.com in canada. the whole fooking holiday. smoke sells dreams

Single best ride is hard. Have to be the Scottish offroad tour a couple of years ago. A hundred and plenty miles mainly easy offroad in a few days in a big loop around the Grampians. Riding was nothing too exciting but a few bits to keep one amused, great weather and camping, Scenery to die for

16 West from above Kinlochleven by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

Over the Pang La pass in Tibet, and seeing Everest for the first time.

Grizedale with a blow job and a shag in the bluebells half way round 🙂

Ullock Pike then going for an evening cross ride with my mate Gary.

Riding in Aviemore for the first time with my then girlfriend (now wife).

First time my wife and I rode erection section in Verbier in early evening sunshine.

Ciaran Path in the pissing rain many years ago.

Easter ride with my mate Gary up the Lairig Ghru.

Walna Scar in December under blue skies.

Too many to chose from!

Too many to chose from!

unless they’re all the same, only one can be “best”…

Apart from old skatepark days, probably the last uplift I had at the Forest of Dean. Perfect weather and company and I was riding well all day til that “one last” jump!

LEJOG a few years ago, coming out of Altnaharra and over moors towards Bettyhill to see the north coast of Scotland, blue skies and sandy beaches, worth the 14 days riding to get there 🙂 🙂 A great road trip seeing UK and completing End 2 End too

Friday afternoon, a bad day at work, felt like crap, felt like everything was against me. Left work, the sun was shining and my bike was in the boot of my car as I had picked it up from the repair shop earlier. Thought “sod this, I’m going to Cannock” despite that fact that I had no kit with me bar my shoes and an old water bottle. It was one of those rides that just “worked”, the sun was shining through the trees, the weather was warm and the trails just felt soooooo good. I guess that fact that it was a little impromptu, that the evening sun looks so good and that I saw a small herd of deer on the trail at one point just made it one of those perfect rides.

On the other end of the spectrum, on holiday with my parents, we stayed at a campsite in Bourg d’Oisans, at the foot of Alpe D’Huez. The people who looked after the campsite were a middle aged couple, who had raced mountain bikes in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s and had moved out to France. The guy ran guided rides around Alpe D’Huez (in fact, I think he was mentioned in an old article in STW a few years ago) so me (a 13 year old kid) and my dad (a 45 year old man with bad knees) decided to join him. We returned 6 hours later having been introduced to rock gardens, mountain streams and steep switchbacks. I suspect that ride is why I still love the alps and mountain biking nearly 20 years on.

I’ve been to some amazing places biking, but oddly, think the best ride I’ve had was just popping over chinley churn after work one night with a mate. Sun coming down just as we reached the gate at the top, and everything took on an amazing orange/pink glow as we rattled down dry dusty trails to the TV transmitter.

It’s either that, or the one the other weekend where I managed to fit in 2 tea and cake stops (could probably have managed 3 but it was going dark) in 5 hours of riding.

Was going to have a read through these then post mine, but SFB’s has made me feel quite ill 😡

Mine was in Mountain Bike World magazine, day 3 of a mag feature we did on the South Downs. Fantastic day and I bonked at the the end (but in a different way to SFB)

Here’s a pic from one of the days (me, Rory Hitchens & Matt)

6′ blonde millionaire ex public schoolgirl. She was filthy. If she hadn’t have been so psychotic she could have been the one!

A Spring descent in the High Atlas mountains. Started off from our snowy, high altitude camp all wrapped up in fleeces and cold weather gear. Ended up in shorts and t-shirts in blazing sunshine cycling through scented orange groves towards the town of Taroudant for a spot of R&R 🙂

Best in company; Coulin – Achnashellach – Coulags – Annat with 13thfloormonk last year, had a real sense of “..hey, we’re doing something worthwhile here…”

Best solo; spent the Saturday closest to the longest day last year on the north shore of Loch Maree, heading over to Fionn Loch… A real sense of “..started so I’ll finish..”

All with the caveat: “so far…” 🙂

The first time down some proper singletrack riding Barry know best all those years ago. Difficult to describe but I just got that “this is what its all about” feeling and it all clicked…. 😛

Is this an appropriate time to make mother/sister/father jokes?

Passportes Du Soleil a few years ago, weather was perfect.
Remember being sat in chatel at a feed station having just done a few hours awesome DHing, sat by the lake @ the feed station thinking it can’t get much better than this.
And it hasn’t yet 🙂

Passportes Du Soleil for me too. Last year. The perfect day.

Blazing sunshine.
No climbs!
The anticipation as I’m putting the pads on waiting for the first lift
No climbs!
Absolutely Breathtaking scenery.
No climbs!
Crusty bread and stinky cheese.
No climbs!
Battered fork seals.
No climbs!
The still silence of another chair lift.
No climbs!
Chips washed down with fizzy French lager
No climbs!
Clear blue alpine skies
No climbs!
Cooked brakes.
No climbs!
cracking company – truly the best
No climbs!
Riding with what seemed like every other bald fat bloke from England
No climbs!
Cackling like a maniac on another black run with the brake lever coming back to the bars
No climbs!
Lying on the grass in front of the hotel with a beer, Utterly exhausted and blissfully happy
No climbs!

Did I mention: NO CLIMBS!!!! All day! Just mile after mile after mile of Alpine mentalness

Oh… and a goat. And not just any goat. The mythical goat of Morzine. Actually… best not think about the goat too much

Squamish

Stop at that bike shop for map book

set off

ride fire roads

think this is shit

steep climb to top of ridge with that there canadian foresty stuff on it

start descent – fantastic

get to bottom

lost expensive sunglasses but don’t care it was brilliant

join walking trial up hill

pass posh old english chicks talking bollocks

start fire road climb to start of next trail

goes on a bit

pass old sawmill in canadian foresty bit

get to top

try to find trail start

ask german tourist who have no clue either

decide small path must be it

set off

broken mini north shore indicates yes it is the trail but not in use

shitting it cos I’m on my own

start descent proper

madness steep

trail comes within 2m off 1000 feet drop cliff face

trail disappears

shit myself cos I think I’m lost

find trail again

map indicates about to rejoin easier trail

fly down last piece of uber tech trail

join easier trail

film jump over log

goes pear shaped and land on my head whilst breaking seat post bolt

ride the rest of the trail standing up

5 miles later go to nearest garage for bike bottle of cold coke

still brings tears to my eyes how special it was

The one through here:

but SFB’s has made me feel quite ill

luckily we’re not all of such nervous dispositions :o)

I found a mountain in the Lakes that I thought might be a goer, pushed up it and thought it might not be such a wise idea, then pulled some of my best A-game out of the bag and didn’t die. That was pretty spectacular.

It was one of those rides where everything came together perfectly, made all the better because I’d set off with the wrong bike and been worried it was going to be awful for most of the way up.

I could tell you where, but then I’d have to kill you.