Monday Morning Debrief No. 20 – Spring! What did you do?

Here’s what we did: http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/monday-morning-debrief-20/

How did your weekend go?

Blue Tier NW Tassie
Off for a 40th birthday with loads of people so managed some shuttling of a few tracks. Muddy fun on the RC, knee deep river crossings on the main descent, got 2 go’s of the 11km descent track in thanks to some kind shuttle driving.

Pics and vids and some point soon

Gisburn forest in the sunshine on saturday and whinlatter challenge on sundday, not in the sunshine 🙂

Saturday afternoon solo local ride, Shipley Glen/Baildon Moor.
Sunday morning trail maintenance and messing around in the woods in Brighouse and Elland.

Mt Buller shuttles.

Clif cross plus a few extra CX miles

All aboard my new EVO5 Kinesis CX bike 🙂 🙂 A good climbing day.

Mud mud glorious mud…

20 dry and dusty miles in Calderdale.
Techi fast fun.
Some of the old faves around Hebden Bridge and a few new ones up around Walshaw .
The best place to ride bar none.

Saturday, walk in Urbasa, Navarra.

Sunday, nice road ride round the Vizcayan countryside.

Saturday – W2 at Afan for the first time. I even got a few Strava top 10s on the descents which was a nice surprise. And very sore fingers!

Sunday – 4 hour XC enduro race at Cannock on the exact same bike (didn’t even touch the tyre or shock pressure). Finished 9th in top cat, happy with that for my first ‘serious(ish)’ attempt at xc racing.

First weekend for a while when I haven’t been able to get out.

This..

[/url] image[/url] by bikebouy[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Just a bit of road biking and got drunk.

*whispers* Roadie ride.. on my new Rose CX bike around the Killearn-Pipe Road-Callander-Aberfoyle-Kippen-Fintry-Killearn loop.
(79km with 1135m of ascent according to Endo)

Would have been a cracking day for a ride if it wasn’t for the headwind, which was a bit brutal at some points.
Still really nice though and great to see so many other bikes out.

Busy weekend with housey stuff so only had chance to get a couple of quickie road rides in. Some fab weather though. Cannock tomorrow

A nice 3 day road trip with friends. Brechfa, Afan and FOD.

Sunny, dry, fast trails, great company, great beer, great food. A perfect escape from the “real” world.

….showed my friends from up North the delights of a beautiful day on the Surrey Hills. Smiles all round.

Led a group of 13 people around the delights of Halifax’s trails in the sunshine. Absolutely brilliant. Day early for Simon’s trail maintenance though.

Simon (and Jason) – I’ll go up later this week and try and clear the bottom section as theres a few nice looking little trails that look worthy of an explore which seem to have appeared!

65km round the Yorkshire Dales starting in Horton in Ribblesdale.

Bit of an epic really.

Bit cold before the off:
[/url]

Lunch break at Malham Tarn:
[/url]

Was out for 7 hours in the end and got a bit SUNBURNT!!!

DBW – top trail is clear, like you say work needed at the bottom.

saturday – garelochhead womans road race.

rode round the peninsula backwards watching the race pass me at kilcreggan and the top of the coulport climb

Sunday

Turiff sprint tri. lovely sun – then torrential downpour as i came out the pool into T1 and on the climb then loads of standing water on the downs. Ran like a turtle and finished up 18/70

then rode back from turiff to culter

Longest ride of the year form me on Saturday. The Four Towers! 38 miles in glorious sunshine.

Was brilliant.

Snowdon and Penmachno on Saturday. It was spectacular.

Definitely spring: I heard a cuckoo in the woods at Penmachno.

First ride in 5 weeks since my back went a bit funny, only 20km but it was nice to be back out on the bike.

Broken wrist recovery week 2, so just a couple of hrs 1 handed on the rollers……..

Saturday – long morning walk with the dog in the sun, then off to training with him to do some agility. Follwed by a bit of pottering in the garden finally planting veggies, and the first BBQ of the year

Sunday – Thetford with Mrs H, the dog and my brand spanking new GoPro to take videos of riding flat (dusty!) trails slowly. Giggling like a kid as I raced back and forth to get the camera.

went to the Peak District on Saturday – parked at ladybower, Hagg farm, Roman road (which was dry, but as wide as a motorway) over to Hollins cross, back down via the back of mam tor, then back over potato alley, with Lockerbrook to finish. was ace and warm in the sun!

Two full laps of the great Gisburn ‘8’, plus Hope Line, Skills loop and tricky bits and bobs.

A glorious sunny Saturday! Knees looking brown again 🙂

Cheers
Paul

Excellent ride in Macc Forest area, including Charity Lane, Cumberland Brook (twice), 3 Shires head, Gradbach and the Roaches. 37 miles, 1900m. Fair bit of road, but mostly climbs, and some really great technical singletrack.

Couldn’t believe that such good riding was so deserted – if this was in the Eastern Peak it would be mobbed. Only saw about 6 other riders.

Well worth the drive from Sheffield, and the Peak View Cafe has the finest cake selection I’ve ever seen!

Snowdon Ranger’s Pass, my word that’s a ride and a half, on saturday – saw mintimperial on the way down as we were pushing up that same bit!

Coed Y Brenin on the Sunday, in the rain.

A sunny sunday exploring the Stubai valley here in Tirol. Still lots of snow about though, so I was limited to playing around in the valley bottom, with a couple ventures up onto the quicker drying south facing stuff. Proper lovely.

Stupidly, we chose to ride Gwydyr in the sun on Saturday, before attempting Snowdon on Sunday. Idiots. We had to turn back just past Clogwyn station due to the 55mph gusts of wind and driving rain.

Why we didn’t change our plans and ride Snowdon on Saturday I will never know.

Still, Gwydyr was a blast:

Friday night went to tidy the garage after reading the bikepacking thread again.
Found an old frame and some bits and this happened:

Saturday was a mad garden fettling with a quick local loop. Occasionally interrupted by adding bits to the bikepacker. Took parents out for tea with youngest son and watched Dr Who which my 86 yr old Mum failed to grasp at all.

Sunday was bonfire day, clearing all the chopped bushes and more bike fiddling. Stripped camper wheels off and prepped for respraying, failed to get the Syncro running – dead battery and alternator, washed the Beetle. Went for Thai mean with Mrs Cat for our 18th anniversary and then went to see Andy Parsons at Buxton Opera House.

Brilliant weekend, just needed a bit more riding.

EDIT: Yes I know the lawn needs sorting!!! 😀

Brilliant ride up Gorple Road, left onto that superb bit of that Pennine Bridleway over to Wycoller.
Lunch at that excellent little caff at Coldwell Reservoir and back home via a bit of cheek.

Best.
Ride.
Ever.

Till the next one.

No ride this Saturday,been busy building this 8)

Fresh powdercoat

Cannock as usual

Solo on Friday felt good and destroyed it all.
Went again on Saturday with Mate A felt suspiciously good and re-destroyed everything even mate A commented on the high levels of trail destruction.
Again With Mate B on Sunday on an allegedly ‘recreational’ ride which of course turned into a Ride Of Mass Destruction

Am feeling very fragile this morning

Saturday:
Dismantled the Nukeproof Mega.
Bolted a 2 stroke engine on an old Hercules bike.
Rode 20m round trip to the fish mongers on the old faithful Diamondback.

Managed to get in a couple of hours after dark in the Peak District around work/uni assignments. Worth it.

Lovely out and back along the West Highland Way with a couple of mates along the shore of Loch Lomond. I decided to try the low route before Rowchoish Bothy. It was more walk than ride so we cut up the hill and rejoined the main path. It took the best part of an hour to travel one mile! Ha! Ha! The ride was great. All seasons in one day with some cracking trail to be ridden in both directions.

[/url]
DSC00612[/url] by vw.splitscreen[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
DSC00588[/url] by vw.splitscreen[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
DSC00583[/url] by vw.splitscreen[/url], on Flickr

Had my first proper off in months on Saturday, going over the bars after getting my front wheel jammed in an eroded rut on a rooty, rocky descent. A few scuffs and bruises and a hole in my Goretex jacket. 😥

On the upside, the first properly sunny and warm ride of the year. Cream tea on Ventnor seafront mid-ride, followed by ballbreaking lung bursting singlespeed climb from sea level to the tops of the downs.

Hole in jacket didn’t matter so much cos it spent most of the ride crammed in my rucksack. Shirtsleeved riding, where you been all my life? 🙂