Was musing today about whether winter riding is more “paying your dues / putting in the miles” in order to reap the benefits come the summer. But then realised that I love riding through the somewhat shitty weather of winter, and on any ride there are always some great bits to experience and remember.

So, my highlights from today’s somewhat wet, grey, and chilly 6 hr ride:

– watching a red kite hunting in the field next to me
– see the snowy peaks of the mountains clear of swirling valley cloud
– the best ever mid-ride veggie cooked breakfast at the Conwy Falls cafe

So, for those of you out paying your winter riding dues – what were today’s highlights for you?

I had a great ride, 22 miles and 700 feet of climing. Didnt even feel that cold either.

Hopefully get out on the mtb tomorrow for a ride.

Had some great rides so far this year.

Hole-ing a tubeless tyre beyond repair by 0930 this morning, rang up my wife and she drove over with a spare wheel and tool-box so I could swap it 🙂 Top bird.

I had two hours out around above Aber Falls and saw some wild horses and an out of control Akito dog chasing said horses. I got half way to the res below Drum and realised that I had a slow puncture and no ability to remove my tyre to put in a new tube! limped back to the car, went home and cleaned the kitchen

2inches of snow at frimley and 4hrs of cold but great fun. Some interesting moments, but a goodun all he same.

Did the new bits at Llandegla with 3 great mates. Good day today

puncture #1 within 200 yrds of car park , put in spare tube,
puncture #2 about 1 mile later . gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrr.
On insepction the rim has delaminated and ovalised around the valve hole , and was cutting away the valve stems ,rendering it next to useless . ggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Nice walk with bike through the snow back to car , shame as 1st ride with new people and i looked a ‘tard.

Not been out since earlier in the week when we had the full moon.
My cheap compact does not do the sky any justice but you get the idea.

You could see the stars, some of the planets (i think) and the air was wonderfully still.

The grip was limited so it was fun on cheap continental slash tyres. They only seem to work in one type of condition. (stood still on a showroom floor)

Blimey … was today National Puncture Day???

b r – your wife is indeed a top bird for doing that 🙂

As seen elsewhere, going out and playing with my chubby front

Only three offs too 🙂 and no punctures!!

My highlight was a particularly good sausage sandwich in Fiona’s Pantry. Sadly that’s not a euphemism 😀
That and riding for 2 hours without meeting a single walker, horse or bike; very unusual round these parts on a Sunday.

Highlight of the (road) ride today was to do a ride i could only dream of when i was 14 (from home to my grandmas and back) – only 38 miles return trip but a ride i have wanted to do and never got round to until today. 19 years later!!

Highlight was mid ride cup of tea – at grandmas house! Good job she is partially sighted as i was in lycra!!

First non-solo ride for quite a while today…..highlight (other than the company) was being able to ‘let it rip’. I’ve been riding within myself for so long I’d forgotten what a bit of adrenaline feels like 🙂

My highlight was cleaning every climb on my local loop, in spite of the all still being covered in compacted snow/ice. Almost made me feel like I’m almost a half decent rider (technique wise, not a chance fitness wise, as I’m a right biffer).

Just as I lost the feeling in my feet, it started raining. Deep joy.

Highlight – The journey into town to get supplies; a short, fast and chilly road blast at 9am. Encountered about, say, thirty cars and only one got so close I could feel it. That’s a joy in anyone’s book.

Downside – Arriving at the shop front about thirty minutes later and finding the store didn’t open until 11am. The return journey was a bit of struggle as my backpack was stuffed full forcing me to use the rain cover to hold yet even more supplies, giving an all-in weight of about 20kg. Tough.

Upside – a nice fire crackling away when I returned. Lovely…

Playing in the snow, from riding 20 cm deep powdery stuff as going over 1m high windblown stuff. You are never sure with the windblown stuff if it will hold ,went throught the top crust on one most of my frontwheel disappeared did a nice front flip over the bars and not even a scratch.

Funny thing is I have ridden same windblown earlier old tire marks 5cm to right and cleared it will prob have another go tomorrow or tuesday befor eit melts away.

Only did about 40 mins round the gravel pits but it was nice to get out after spending most of the year so far injured.

Simply being back out on the bike was good for me. Had a week without it after popping the shock and finally got back on it today.

Was a boring ride of my normal loop on the road but was all good 🙂

Cut up by a boy racer on a roundabout, nearly ended up over his horribly styled bonnet. Between my new bikes gears and brakes giving me grief and near misses by impatient drivers, I’m not having much luck with road riding this time round.

Due to lots of mud, road riding on the mtb, caught train to liverpool, 2 cyclists behind me, fell backwards down the up the up escalator, almost taking a few peds with them, luckily my shouts of press the button stopped the thing.They where shocked but no blood.

On the return, a fiesta, almost hit me by pulling out on a roundabout, shouted the usual jovial rant, they screanmed off, quickly followed by a police mondeo, blue light flashing. He- he.

Not getting dropped I think, proper hard ride today. Loved it.

he lives..!! 😀

Riding a 100k with five strangers and instantly gelling. Plus handshakes all round afterwards.

First ride in about a month so even slogging up farm tracks was a highlight. Quite a painful ride but still worth it.

Not been yet and it is getting colder by the minute! Planning to be out the door in 90mins though, but looking at the above might just pack an extra inner tube and clothes just in case

First ride for me today on my new (well second hand) Butcher. Loved it.

Sliding my way around muddy trails at Stile Cop and realising that I was no longer slightly fazed by winter conditions 😀

Playing on the jumps at QE park, riding the switchbacks and losing the back end after coming into an icy corner to fast 🙂

The weather and super-techy Comrie Croft = ace days riding!


yes that is Scotland, and yes it is warmer than the rest of you lot :p

I was slowly riding a flat, frozen boggy, tussocky track and the front wheel just disappeared down into a thawed bog. I went over the bars and face into the bog. The bike flipped up behind and fell on me with the saddle wedged into into the top of my shorts. I crawled on all fours dragging my bike out the bog by my shorts. I was soaked, but carried on riding!

another puncture here, split a tubeless which took forever to seal. Felt like crap after a week not feeling great. So my high point was getting home and putting the bike away. 🙁

Highlight of todays ride – 3 laps of The Monkey at Cannock – was the final 2 descents that make you want to go around again! So I did!
But the whole ride was fun – it’s nearly all absorbing singletrack so the murkyness of the day is irrelelevant.
Winter riding can be great – last week I rode the local lanes which being frozen were the same as in the summer – complete with cloudless sky. Then there’ve been a few Peaks rides under clear skies with frozen mud and snow covered scenery.

Doing my first 100 mile bike ride. 101.5 to be exact. 😀

Proper chuffed.

Yesterday: The first time I’ve gone on a snow ride where you could really ride most of the trails – was buzzing down singletrack faster than in the normal winter’s mud (we did a good job piste-bashing the trails on Thursday’s night ride). Blue skies, crisp but not chilling air, curiously quiet woods, and my riding partner’s dog looking deliriously happy. Landing a 3′ drop on the snow and sliding into the subsequent corner. The tyres hardly touched dirt all afternoon – just clean, grippy but slippery snow. Back to the mud next week, I suspect!

losing it on an icy jump and bailing down a hill to avoid hitting a tree at qecp

Done 24Km around the Dublin mountains today – great day for it and a great ride, but like others got punctures!

Put new Hope/Flow wheels on the bike during the week,tubeless. Was out yesterday OK, but today I managed to burst the back tire off the rim and also put a nice dent in the side of the rim to go with it – jagged rocks 🙁

Tube in and about 50 M down the trail I go over the bars and into a ditch trying to get over a 2 ft culvert! Lucky enough the other two I was out with had falls over the day too – not just me being laughed at!

Highlights today were the fact that i could feel my feet at the end, first time for a while

Had a weekend away so here are my highlights.

Friday Llandegla for about 20 minutes u til we bottled out on the ice.
and then went for some moisture at The Marin trail.

Yesterday was the view from the top of Snowdon.
, the great descent and coffee at the bottom.

Today was Penmachno in good condition – a real gem of a trail.

Finding a new trail on my doorstep I’d been meaning to try for years, then finding it is a cracking piece of singletrack. Needs some old burnt out whinny bushes cleared of the bridleway a bit and it’s be a great descent.

New trails by Lee Collis, on Flickr