So where did everyone get to then this weekend? Yorkshire Dales both days for me.

Saturday – solo ride from home over Flasby Fell to Hetton and Rylstone then Barden Moor.

Today – one of the rides I have been dreading, since a tearful incident when I was just starting mountain biking. Horton to Langstrothdale > Horse Head Moor and Foxup Moor. I don't know what I was worried about 🙂 the descent from Horse Head Moor down to Foxup is ace 🙂

I've been no where…and face the prospect of doing nothing until next weekend except my "commute" courtesy of uni exams all week and revision to be done 🙁

I know the feeling Becky, missed out on a few rides due to revision and final year project. Uni is almost over for me now though, just one more exam a week on Wednesday 😀

Was gonna go Cannock today but my car decided it didn't want to start, think the battery is nackered. So its just been a weekend of riding Western Park jumps. Did it on my bmx Friday which was a disaster, fell off so many times. Been up on the Trailstar yesterday/today which is effortless in comparison, flows through the jumps so easily 🙂

Yesterday up on the Quantocks (was visiting my girlfriend in Taunton, so it would've been rude not to)……

Drove up to the Lydeard Hill carpark about 10am, raring to go.
Got bike out of boot, put front wheel in forks, tighten up the allen bolt skewer….SNAP…..bloody thing had sheared!
So I drove all the way back into Taunton, remembered there was a bike shop near the train station – Ralph Colman Cycles – popped in & explained my problem, and rather than just sell me a new set of skewers like most shops would've they had a root around in the workshop and found a front Halo allen bolt skewer for me. Top guys!

Anyway, decided I'd better see the g'friend so back to hers for lunch, chilled in the lovely sunshine reading for a couple of hours, and then drove back out to the Quantocks at about 4pm.

This time the wheel went in ok. Cycled off, and managed to go over the bars within 5 minutes of the car park! Front wheel hit a root, and I just pivoted over the bars. Smacked my face on the ground, and grazed my arm and leg.

So…………5 minutes spent cursing my luck, and letting my head clear, then I carried on – not sure of what would happen next, my luck being not so good that day!

As it happened I had a lovely ride from then on, lots of lovely dry singletrack, some swoopy descents, sweaty up-hills, and a good 22 mile ride was finally had!

My face and shoulder really ache today though 😆

Gutted I didn't get out on the end. Celebrated my birthday last night and was only fit for sleeping the rest of the day. Got a 6mile run in around Winchester though

Dry and dusty goodness on the Surrey Hills yesterday. Lovely ride! Finished off with a pint and a bowl of chips outside the pub in Peaslake. Good to see Howard doing well, too!

Was in Dalby Forest on Saturday … half the Red and a loop of the World Cup Circuit … loved it all…

My w/ends riding?.Piss poor.Just been knocked my bike coming home from a 12hr shift at work 👿

Fri – Afan: White's (drizzle), then Wall (raining)
Sat – Whites (sunny) again then Cwm Carn: Twrch (very sunny)

All of a sudden I can't understand why I haven't been to Cwmcarn in such a long time, it's very very very (ad-infinitum) good.

Weekend off so no riding, went to the gym this morning but will head out after work tomorrow.

Trailbuilding in Dalby, started a new pump track at Dixons Hollow. That was between a play about on certain sections of the World Cup loop. Bloody hard riding, especially as my XC bike is awaiting new pads and rotors, so I rode the big 8" travel Giant Faith. Managed to ride a few of the ups, but the downs were fantastic, especially the boardwalk/rock step descent and Medusa's Drop. Not so good….. was unable to carry enough speed into Worry Gill drop so had to bail out, the Medusa complex climb is impossible, it was hard enough to push up it, but then again I doubt I'd get up it on my XC bike….
I still finished the day with a massive grin on my face though 🙂

Nowhere, didn't feel up to it, as you know. Sorry to let you down, glad you got a good ride in 🙂

Whites level today, all was going well until I somewhow nutter a tree and then jammed my ankle inside my frame, my shin is now huge 😀

woburn today
dry and dusty, real loose though! needs a bit of rain a mon avis.

really good fun, felt quick again :0)

lovely pootle up near dunkeld this morning.

fot my final year uni exams on thurs, but… meh.

cracking day out with a great friend of mine 🙂

fri local mix of road/off road on the ss cx
sat long mtb ride
sun took kids out
tomorrow off down the bmx track 😉

No worries, hope you are feeling better today 🙂

cwmcarn on Saturday which was ace and I was meant to be riding afan today but my legs need some recovery time from a couple of big crashes a week ago so I spent the afternoon scraping mung out of my knee and packing it full of antisceptic spray again 😥

Nice few days in Wales, a family spin down the Mawddach then CYB yesterday 😀

Feeling a bit rough today but I managed 29k up to Hertford and back. Nothing technical, but very nice to ride familiar trails.

stainburn and hebbers today, with my son………..was very nice too.

Making the most of the dry weather to do two fab rides round Swindale/Mosedale area this weekend 😀

Fri evening couple of loops of Twrch
Sat W2 at afan. What has happened to the trails?? They are like smoothed paths now…
Sun Skyline, much happier how I remember afan, proper singletrack, narrow, rocky, techy (well the non fire road bits)

Yesterday we went to Wycoller, up and over to Gorple and back very fast! It was fab, quick blast as time was short. The icecream at Wycoller (Fredericks of Chorley), delicious! Great to get out after a good Thursday evening round Widdop! Life's good 😀

Had 1 run down Red DH at Ft Bill, whilst crewing for a soloist 10 under the Ben…

15 minutes on the road bike. The joys of exams!

Hey Teagirl, if I get the map out would I be able to work out your route, Wycoller easy to get to from here and need to explore new places (need a change of scenery from the Dales).

Friday/Saturday I was on a skills course by Clive Forth in Mabie. It was effin marvellous!

Today my mind and body ache and I've mostly been sleeping.

Bit of training for the Paris-Roubaix sportive. Saturday 90 miles on the cross bike to bedgebury and then on to the bewel loop and home. Sunday 75 mile chaingang thrash. This better work!

Domino, join us on our Skipton Womens rides, or do I already know you? Got something planned for Wed and prob Thurs next week, mixed bunch but all do long off-road riding and shorter evening stuff. I live just outside Skipton. Our ning is,
skiptonbiking.ning.com

Wycoller is ace to start from and head south towards Widdop using the Pennine Bridleway. Like you say it's a change from the Dales!

Messed about on the Mendip for a few hours on my HT – very dry and fast singletrack. Xmas Trees/Santa's Grotto was fun indeed and there are some new jumps, one sensible and the other mental big. Chatted and watched a kid jump the big-un, very cool.

I was going to do the Monkey – well I had planned to do the Monkey till my LBS noticed that my bushes and bearings had worn out on my softail and will not get the replacement bearing pack till wed at earliest – this left me in a quandry as the monkey was to be a prep ride for a welsh w/end next week. I have spent my day stripping out my softail and building up my hardtail with all the new bits and bobs – hardtail for Machx and the tarwyn trail this weekend. Its light tho' 😉

Saturday: did some 'Southdowns way' action from Winchester only did 15 miles mates got man flu…..
Sunday: waisted best part of 2 hours watching the crap F1… Work tomorrow…Rubbish

Widdop on Sat, quick blast round Langsett today.

Ferry across to Dunoon, north round Loch Eck. Ride up eastwards over the Cowal Trail and 6km of bike a hike. Down to Loch Long then South past this tree house, note the chimney,

on past the submarine pens

and a bonus bit of singletrack to Ardentinny, back over the pass to Loch Eck and along the road to the Botanic Gardens..

Lovely!

Nipped out this arvo after the gp for a quick local spin.Somehow ended up doing 63.9km and 1800m of climbing….in 3hr26min!!!On a ss.And I don't feel beat up in the slightest.Dunno what the hell is going on with me at the mo-I'm 37,I don't "train",I've never been a whippet and I hav'nt even spent that much time on the bike this year.Someone must be spiking me food with EPO.Starting to freak myself out a bit. 😯

3-4 hours in the Surrey hills this morning. Fast, dusty trails. Great ride.

Hi Teagirl, no I don't think I know you. I've signed up, I'd be interested in some evening rides.

i did 2 coaching session s on saturday. (high 5 kev , katie and simon from nicloai )
then rode/built at herts shore

Good stuff! I think Cath will be posting a ride for Thursday that I should get to (wed is tricky). We always seem to end up in a pub btw….