Managed to get out on the bike last night, didn’t plan to go very far, but conditions have improved greatly, so ended up not getting back home until almost 1am.
Not many photos as I was having too much fun!
Light beams in Wednesday's mist
An old paved packhorse route on a north facing slope that takes a lot of drainage in wet weather, steeper than it looks. The Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyres are surprisingly competent off-tarmac given their semi-slick tread but I wasn't getting up this on them today....
Penultimate climb of the day up the cobbles to Stirling Castle on a VERY dry drivetrain after 118km of mud and rain.
...and the final climb up to the Wallace Monument 🤮
...and the final climb up to the Wallace Monument
Nasty! Have done it as a hillclimb 'race' (making up the numbers TBH). Some interesting trails for the descent though.
Early morning rides are so much nicer when the sun actually rises while you're out 😎
Falkirk trails early today before work:
If the sun gets a chance, it definitely feels like spring. 
^Top of Stocks Lane near Mt Tabor? I was up that road myself this morning on a pleasant Sowerby-Oxenhope-Cullingworth-Queensbury-Halifax loop.
Top of Stocks Lane near Mt Tabor?
Yeah, one of my go to road-ish loops, pecket well midgeley, luddenden dean, mount tabor and back to hebden by sowerby and scout road.
@montgomery - are you massively tall riding 29ers or moderately tall riding small bikes? Your bike set up always catches my eye (and the great views behind them!) and just wondered!
Nasty! Have done it as a hillclimb 'race' (making up the numbers TBH). Some interesting trails for the descent though
They've tarmacced the pedestrian path up now, looks even nastier, steep tarmac hairpins 🤩
are you massively tall riding 29ers or moderately tall riding small bikes?
Well, ^that is a repurposed XL 26" frame, while the one below is the XL 29" Frontier this morning. Rather than derail the picture thread I've put this here.
Extended commute this morning. Nice enough, but the weather is still indecisive about whether it's Spring, or still hanging onto winter ...
Splendid day to be retired and out on a bike
A few snaps from a lunchtime ride on the gravel bike yesterday, then a couple of commutes on the MTB today. Nowt special, just quick local blasts but great to be out!
Good local trail news #1
Someone's refreshed / refined an old jump spot that was looking very disused last time I looked. Looks really decent what they've done so looking forward to taking the MTB down at some point.
Good local trail news #2
Local woodland MTB stuff round here is properly ace but it does suffer in the wet....but a few days dry weather has done wonders and it was almost all riding really well today - close to prime, really! All but the worst spots no slop, lots of tacky grip and fun to ride again 😎
Bad local trail news #1
Raining tomorrow afternoon so that's going to set it back again 🙄
Ilkley Moor tonight, very dry in places but still a bit of mud here and there.
are you massively tall riding 29ers or moderately tall riding small bikes?
Well, ^that is a repurposed XL 26" frame, while the one below is the XL 29" Frontier this morning. Rather than derail the picture thread I've put this here.
thanks - interesting. I’ve started to go higher lately with my bars too although not as much as you.
A mate & I took our SS HTs up to Stainburn last night.
For those who know, you'll probably think this was a very silly idea.
For those who don't, Stainburn is a small, steep area of woodland between Leeds/Otley and Harrogate. There is a very short, and a short red trail, and a black trail, on one side of the road, and then a load of short, mostly steep, informal runs on the other side of the road.
The red is quite hard going - just quite rocky & chunky, beats you up even though it's quite short. The descent is followed by a quite steep, tech climb back up to the top.
The off-piste is steep-ish/steep, loamy/muddy, some chutes, drops, roots, ruts, rocks. Half the lines are accessed by a natural tech climb, lots of roots and a section of rocks bordered by a bog.
It's not natural HT territory. It's certainly not the place where your think "I know, the SS will be the ideal tool for the job"!
Anyway, we geared down, I was riding 32/22 on 29er wheels, mate was 32/20 on a mullet.
And we had a right good laugh! Challenging and tough. Rode the red ascent with just two small dabs (rear wheel got snagged on rocks on a couple of tight corners). Rode the full tech ascent up to the off piste lines twice with just one dab on each run (It's a 50% success rate for me on a geared FS bike, so pleased with that!)
Descents were a bit of a giggle, slightly out of control in places. Needed more careful line choices and a slower speed, but we got down everything we attempted.
Appreciate this was a bit of a niche activity, and the legs are feeling it today. But, was great stuff!
A quick ride at Rivington very early this morning before work. Was too windy to use the drone further up at the pike.
Golden, but very chilly extended commute this morning ...
Eccup res? water looks a bit choppy
Eccup res? water looks a bit choppy
Well spotted - yep, proper white horses on the reservoir this morning.
Hamsterley. Basically had it to myself!
Sun's here, off we go!
Crackin' afternoon, running north with the wind and sun at my back. Got a bit hostile towards dusk, though, so I got the tent in behind a fell wall; whisky and toons in my sleeping bag, warming up before I cook dinner.
Great day to be out for a couple of hours. Still plenty of wet, muddy spots but the dry bits are beginning to outweigh them.
Over the hill to Keighley, over Ilkley moor to Ilkley, cow and calf road to Baildon, canal to Leeds and train home. Lovely morning, t shirt weather after half ten. 
The skylarks were going for it before dawn.
Trying to leave the ebike in the shed at least once a week.
First ride on the Stanton since I mulleted it and against the current trend, dropped the bars slightly. Absolute blast of a bike, feels just right now.
Last bit of today's sunshine
I went Mullet today, trying to decide what new rear rim to build on my day to day wheel set.
Yesterday I swung my leg over a mountain bike for the first time in over 4 years, not just any mountain bike! one without 26" wheels, a mullet and an electric mullet at that. Blowing a howling gale from Edmundbyers up and over to Blanchland and up to Bolts Law then back down a fantastic descent to Edmundbyers. 23 miles in blue skies, I hadn't ridden since October last year but the legs managed it just fine.
EDIT Oh FFS why can't I post pictures 3 blasted attempts
Spring has definitely sprung. I did a wee bit of exploring round Abernethy way today and also checked out a fave bivvy spot.
I got back just after 6 without even needing any lights - whoopee!
First time out for a long while. The motor was horribly underpowered and the battery only lasted minutes, but it was still great fun.
Last GMT night ride for me as away next week. Was a good one 🙂
Monday nights health ride
A big day yesterday, riding the green lanes south for the train home. Had to be careful riding through puddles and pools along the way: it was Frog Gangbang Day!
Going to miss these dark evenings....
Another glorious sunny day.
Headed out for what was just meant to be an xc-tech ride for a couple of hours, but ended up playing about at the local jump spot, and finally cracked a silly little gap-jump that has been a proper mind-f*** for me for months! I'm not a big jumper at all, but have done longer/faster gap jumps, and longer/steeper tabletops, but this one has always had me riding past or bailing ... until today!
Also cleaned a couple of tech climbs on the SS that I've not managed before, so all in all, a good confidence booster before heading to BPW this weekend!
Lovely afternoon for a spin out, but got rather chilly once the sun went down!
NBD. Bike is great but needs a little fettling with bar position. The wind over in Airedale was horrific. It was a slog along what is normally an enjoyable piece of Singletrack was slog into the headwind.
An overlong gravel expedition following both banks of the river Earn (sort of) between Crieff, Perth and Auchterarder. Challenging conditions for an amateur photographer, lots of drab brown fields and grey skies! 😆
New Panaracer X1+ tyres in 45mm, a step up from the 40mm I had been used to. Didn't notice any immediate improvement in comfort over the bumps but certainly seemed fast, either a faster tread (compared to the fish-scale Terreno Dry this seems unlikely) or maybe the added suspension effect.
Did our caves route tonight in sub optimal conditions. I was blown off the bike once!
Rode straight from my office to try and beat the wind - almost succeeded.. 🙄
It pretty grey and blustery by the time I'd finished, but stayed dry and no lights needed!
Post-ride, pre-work clean-up on the patio. That's two months' worth of meths and gas for cooking there - what, you mean you're not building up your emergency stash? You're clearly an optimist...
Tree down after yesterday's high winds. Can I get through....?
Of course I can! Hands and knees job, dragging the bike behind me. Try that with an e-bike....
Have a few days off this week, so was meant to be out for a long-ish gravel ride, this morning, but the rear brake on the gravel bike was rubbing / sticky piston, so grabbed the HT/Gravel + bike instead.
Gorgeous - if cold - morning. Out from North Leeds over to Otley Chevin, Menston, Otley, over the Wharfe, up through Denton and over the moors to Lippersley Pike, Timble, Swinsty, Stainburn, Lindley Wood, then back via Eccup. 75km / 1200m ascent.
Trails mostly riding well, with a few greasy or muddy spots.
For whatever reason, I couldn’t be bothered this morning. No idea why. Eventually dragged myself out on the hardtail over Baildon and Bingley.
was great to get out in the sunshine.
I was really tempted by the train to avoid the hill home, but the timings didn’t work, so rode home. If I’d been on the train however, I’d have missed the bluebells.
Day off work so went to Hayfield then up to Jacobs Ladder, Mam Tor. Stopped in Castlefield for a coffee and bite to eat. Was cold but lovely in the sun
Lovely gravely ride around Thetford
Gorgeous - if cold - morning. Out from North Leeds over to Otley Chevin, Menston, Otley, over the Wharfe, up through Denton and over the moors to Lippersley Pike, Timble, Swinsty, Stainburn, Lindley Wood, then back via Eccup. 75km / 1200m ascent.
Beautiful pictures! I feel like I've over-dosed on my local farm tracks and field edges type rides, could do with some nicer micro-scenery that isn't ploughed fields and wind-blasted trees! 😂
Gravel wheels deployed for Wednesday’s group ride and out again yesterday before the weather turned grey again.
