kennyp, i want to be there! looks amazing

My first 100 mile ride (solo, with full panniers, and a bottle of wine for the final 20 miles – after all, it’s just not on to turn up empty handed …)

Taking a friend mountain biking up on the Carneddi for the first time – all the more special as she is in her early 60’s, not many women start mountain biking at that stage in life, and seeing the looks on a few people’s faces as this tiny grey haired lady went blasting past them through the mud was classic 🙂

Jedi, it was amazing. Though we were so, so lucky with the weather.

Kennyp: That’s a nice view across to Sron Ulladale in Harris!
I Had some riding (squeezed into a family holiday) in Davos and Lake Garda..Garda too hot in July and very hard to find the best riding without hiring a guide and a lot of the downhill trails would destroy any bike capable of riding uphill.
Best days out were in Scotland:
-Blair Atholl-Bruar-Minigaig-Feshie-Geldie-Bynack Lodge-Tarf-Tilt-Blair was a monster back in June (78km and 2600m ascent and 8hrs of riding)and I made it extra hard for myself by being unprepared and under-equipped (solo ride,no extra food/clothing or bivvybag; I even left on Minions DHF & DHR!)
-Peebles-Traquiar-SUW to St Mary’s Loch-Megget Water-landy track up to Dollar Law-Pykestone-Thief’s Road-totally lost in dense plantation and back to Peebles (60km and 2000m and soft going this year)

The most memorable ride for me this year was the first. Early January, cold but sunny, single speed rigid jump bike (DMR Drone) on 2 hour ride on local trails. Set me up for a year when I gave up smoking, bought a geared road bike, turned my 3 hour rides into 4 1/2 hour rides and did my first 50 miler (road). Still remember that January ride though – let’s all look forward to next year!

Some inspiring stuff in here, a reminder that there’s a lot of great riding out there.

It doesn’t feel like I’ve ridden enough this year, although looking back there have been some good ones. From snowy bothy rides in the borders at the start of the year to a few incredible days in Torridon in the summer.

There was a great wee autumnal tour of the Cairngorms [Blair Atholl – Gaick Pass – Glen Tromie – Inshriach for cake – overnight in Glen Feshie – Geldie – Tilt] and a superb ride on a hired boingy bike from Soller into the Sierra Tramuntana on Mallorca.

The best was probably escaping work on a Wednesday evening, heading out around the sunny Pentlands with a few folk off here and finishing off in the Spylaw Tavern for a couple of beers and a blether.

Ach, there’s still a fortnights worth of the year left and I plan to head to the highlands with a bicycle for that 🙂

Whilst visiting friends in Morzine I had a day riding with Victor Lucas, Emmeline Ragot, Ffion Griffiths & my friends. It had rained solidly all week & this was my last day riding before driving to the SouthWest Coast to pick up the wife & kids.

The rain stayed away & ive got to say it was a great day of riding; no egos, no bull & very relaxed. It was a pleasure & joy to meet & speak with some of the nicest folk I’ve ridden with in a long time. It was especially great to watch Ffion ride the new black DH run (can’t recall name – pinball or something) near the choux fleurie without brakes, & Emmeline absolutely pin every techy DH section clipped in without any drama whatsoever (unlike fat lad here Who managed to uproar & destroy a tree that caught me whilst sailing over the bars).

for me it wasnt so much the riding but the being there, i loved ssec this year in belgium, really good like minded people all getting **** up and riding bikes

FWIW, Gypsy Glen is absolutely superb.

This has to be my highlight:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL6rzYy2DnU[/video]

Never thought in a million years id be able to do anything remotely like that, especially when comparing to videos from a year or so ago, still get a bit of a smile every time I watch it back 😀

Never thought in a million years id be able to do anything remotely like that, especially when comparing to videos from a year or so ago, still get a bit of a smile every time I watch it back

Very impressive! 😉

Doing the driest ever and possibly last ever TransWales was pretty special, as was the bone dry Black Mountains 3 day!

Yeah – Black Mountains 3 Day was pretty fantastic as well – probably my event of the year. Looking forward to it next year, so long as they arrange the weather again!

Riding the Cape Argus race in Cape Town with 35,000 riders, 68 miles around the Cape, baboons by the roadside, amazing coastal scenery, crazy feed stations with dancing and loud music then finishing the last few miles into Cape Town in a chain gang doing though and off, flying through the suburbs like nutters. Already got it booked for next year.

A sneaky mid-week outing in the summer when I discovered that the best trail I’ve ridden locally ends five minutes away from my front door. We stopped half-way down and just kind of floated about on a small cloud of disbelief. That was good.

An oddball sunshine cross ride over Holme Moss on the road then threading back home on the Pennine Bridleway with cakey punctuation courtesy of Crumbals in Marsden.

A drunken blur of flat-out dusty speed on small slice of Spanish singletrack that’s been unaccountably relocated to somewhere above Mossley.

The Ullswater singletrack with a good mate doing the Lakes Epic – quality riding, quality company, dubious weather transcended.

Any number of surreal sub-zero snow rides last winter.

And the bit in Morocco when it stopped snowing and raining, the sun came out.

So that’s quite a few moments really.

And this – which was January 🙂

The highlight has to be California!

Riding ‘The Repack’ with Charlie Kelly (and then having a BBQ at his house in the evening!!)…

Riding ‘The Downieville Downhill’…

Riding the Kamizaze at Mammoth Mountain…

Lots of amazing UK riding as well and too many pics too post – I just love MTB!

Any day out on a bike, especially the time I had a free 2 hours and snuck out and back and was ready to head out for some posh do!

However Whistler was the best riding – only time that I will be in a full face helmet and DH bike!

MTB this year has been a bit hit-and-miss, one especially good ride in the Pentlands with folks off here who actually relented to my route choice which meant descending of Caerketton ridge in a beautiful sunset down a fast bobsleigh of a grassy trail. Lovely.

Rest of the highlights have been on the road bike (20 mile solo time trial at the end of the Bealach Mor sportive to sneak in 20seconds under 5 hours) or hillwalking (8 hour ridge walk/scramble on Arran in the sunshine, or Beinn a’Bheithir in perfect winter conditions).

Surprise highlight of the year was meeting a gorgeous girl at a mate’s wedding reception, visiting her in Vancouver and getting a sneaky guided ride on the North Shore with one of her mates boyfriends while the girls gossiped over a bottle of wine 8)

My highlight of 2010 was crossing the finish line of the K100 after it beat me last year.

Don’t have many things in my trophy cabinet (shelf) but that thermal mug takes centre stage

Love it – people on this board do good stuff!

Indeed they do jhw

My highlights were a long awaited trip to the Highlands and Skye in April. The weather was amazing as was the riding. I did the fantastic Torridon loop from the Kenny Wilson book. Possibly my favourite ride this year. I rode solo and the ride had an element of everything. Long climbs, big descents, isolation, amazing scenery, etc, etc.

Then the Quiraing and Sligachan loops on Skye. Hoping to go back and do more riding in these areas next year as well as spending more time riding in Scotland. It’s just a shame I live in Leeds 🙂

My other highlight was my first trip to the Alps. I did the Tour du Mont Blanc with MBMB and loved every minute. Riding out of Chamonix into Switzerland, then Italy and back into France on some fantastic trails. The climbs stung the legs and lungs and the singletrack descents were breathtaking. I felt a real sense of achievement. I also managed to get a ride in the day before doing the Animal Park route.

The riding is at another level in the Alps both in terms of fitness and technical ability. The former I’m reasonable at, the latter I need to improve on 🙂

I can’t wait to go back and test myself again, although maybe under my own steam this time and maybe Verbier rather than Chamonix unless I can sort a roadtrip and do both.

Whinlatter, with my son on his Scoot

DSC_0022 by ir_bandito, on Flickr

closely followed by the driest Dyfi Enduro ever.

Witnessing sunrise a few weeks ago on the day my bro in law was getting married. That cheeky, early ride revealed this 🙂

2retro4u
Marin County, Cali

The highlight has to be California!

Riding ‘The Repack’ with Charlie Kelly (and then having a BBQ at his house in the evening!!)…

That day made the top three for my year also.

Inspiring stuff!

My first MTB race (SITS on a team) incorporating my first ever night ride, first go on MTB tandem, first CX race. Quite a few firsts… finding out you *can* do things is great 😀

Life has had to be quite cheap this year so there’s been a lot of bike commuting and cycling day trips to keep me out of trouble. I think my favourite was cycling to Ilkley and back for a Yorkshire curd tart from Betty’s tea room (at 50 miles round trip I probably should have run to two…). None of the others had such quality cake.

Can’t work out how to post pics so you’ll just have to imagine the joys of the rainy Pennines on a CX bike… Now off to look up where everyone else has been and try and get there.

Many firsts for me this year. 1st Fred Whitton sportive, South Downs Double, 1st 10hour enduro with podium finish and started cx racing. Hope 2012 to be full of highs to.

Taking a wrong turn on the Gap Road route. In the rain. Getting lost. Working out that the easiest way to get back on track was a hike a bike section across country, up and down through several deep ravine like gullies.

Awesome.

Riding off Carn a Chlamain in the sunset on a crisp blue sky day last month was pretty terrific for me.

Ben Lawers with Captain Mainwairing and Italspark was another cracker of a day topped off with dinner at the Lawers Hotel. Great to finally meet and ride with the Captain.

Doing the Tour De Mont Blanc anti-clockwise with my mate Graham over three perfect days in September.

Return trip to Verbier after missing a year.

Glas Alt off Lochnagar in the evening sunshine in October was another highlight.

Riding the seven peaks in the Pentlands again for the first time in over a year.

Ridng my Salsa Fargo in Mallorca and passing roadies on the big climbs with my daughter sitting in the child seat on the back made for big smiles.

Doing a couple of dawn rides around Aviemore at Easter with my friend Paul. It’s hard to beat pre breakfast rides in the Spring when the sun is barely up and there isn’t another soul around.

Aye, it’s been a top year for riding and one that I hope to build on next year. 😀 The more adventure biking side of things has really gotten me fired up for exploring and putting together some epic routes around Scotland and the Lakes.

A couple I didn’t get round to but have planned are a circuit of Loch Lomond taking in The Cobbler and the Three Lochs Way as a day ride and a multiple pass ride from Ambleside over to Keswick. I also fancy trying a route that Gary Tompsett wrote about years ago taking in Helvellyn, Scaffel and Skiddaw as a day ride. It would be a monster day but something about it really appeals to me.

Highlight of a good year was the Tour Divide. This pic is with 300 miles to go:

101_0162 by blackhound59, on Flickr

Seeing this smile on a family ride….

Riding flat bars like a boss!

@matt,
great shot, the water is splashed up!

Tour de Ben Nevis for me. Brilliant day out in fantastic mountains. Right up there with the best mtn days out, bike or not 🙂

Trying track riding for the first time on one of the hottest days of the year with my friends….great atmosphere, couldnt have asked for a better day for outdoor track riding and excellent coaching from pros.

Spending a whole month touring Portugal and Spain with my bf…35 degrees most days, smooth tarmac, loads of hills, plenty of seafood and coffee and courteous drivers.

Setting off at midnight to climb Ben Lomond, reaching the summit for sunrise which was epic then descending in the glorious morning sunshine. Epic.

Pics here: http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=557&start=10#p18326

Cool Sanny – for me it was a close one between that day on the Col de Balme and the Grand St Bernard day with Bike Verbier, probably the best single day I’ve had on a bike…the singletrack after we crossed the river below La Fouly…!

Love the Ben Lomond pics just above – am looking at heading north for some fun on the ice in mid-Jan

Can’t narrow it down to one, but these ones stick out in my memory…

Possibly the Pila to Aosta freeride run. Amazing track and I was riding at my best that afternoon.

Helvellyn a month or so ago. Absolutely loved the descent from Grisedale Tarn.

“Magic Carpet”, Peisey I think near Bourg St Maurice/Les Arcs – neverending flowing descent, what I always thought the Alps would be like. Made even more enjoyable by meeting hungry_monkey off here, who showed us round…

Surrey Hills – a six-hour ride with a good friend who has recently got back into MTB. Perfect late summer weather, miles of brilliant dusty trails and good company.

(Honourable mention to a day riding the steep tracks down under the Super Morzine lifts, particluarly “porridge”)

Alps on a hardtail – so it can be done 🙂 Must get back to LA when I have the money…

Difficult year for me. Personal tragedy, family bereavements, split with the wife meant that in order to have my kids as much as I wanted I had to give up biking on a weekend.

However, its been the bike that has kept me sane this year… week riding as much as I can but the highlight was a lads long weekend in the lakes. Nothing as inspirational as the pics and stories that you guys posted above, but that one weekend went a long way to helping me get over this year.

P6030282 by lowey.com, on Flickr

Personally, it’s a toss up between the weekend in Torridon and the two weeks on the Western Isles.