Forum menu
A different part of Shropshire (yes, it does exist, actually) to @steamb - I was just around Telford and the Ironbridge Gorge this afternoon. Not enough time to get further afield than that, but Brown Clee looked good at one stage in the sun. 25-year old Shimano boots are still keeping my little tootsies warm in sub-zero temps.
As a bit of an aside, the weirdest thing happened while I was stopped here. I did a snot-rocket, and that started a nose-bleed (I get them quite a bit) so several drops of blood fell on the track while I was dealing with it using a fistful of snow. A few mins later when I was putting gloves and helmet etc back on, a robin came down and started pecking at/feeding on the red snow. Never seen that before.
Probably the last of the frozen trails here in Leeds for a bit, so made the most of my commute to work this morning ...
Death slide conditions today where Gallowayboy was two days ago.

But I don't like being beaten, and I'm just mulling over putting the old 26" spiked tyres on the monstercross to repeat these sections of track tomorrow, shooting video to illustrate the insane level of grip they give...

Cheeky ride after a hard day at work. Never fails to make me feel better! Trails a mix of ice, mud and puddles. Even bumped into a couple of other riders, which I've not done yet on a night ride.
Ride out yesterday morning from Durham out to the Waskerley way, then back across on the byway over to Wolsingham and back to Durham via road/byway/rail path. No snow here, but everywhere was frozen and the wind was biting. There was snow looking over towards Simonside:
Spent the day at Skyline Rotoura. Laps in the bike park till late afternoon then a zip line followed by chasing each other for a couple of hours on the luge.
First mtb ride since crashing and hurting my ribs at the end of October. A slow unfit lacking power pootle around the Chevin
Back into the Whakarewarewa Forest today riding some awesome trails once again.
The forest is so vast and diversified there is something for everyone. Great to see all ages taking advantage of it.
I see your Whakarewarewa Forest Tracey, and raise you Leeds' trails in the slop, at night!
4 of us out last night, first ride together on all our relatively new SS builds! 2 x Pace 529's, Identiti AKA, and my Pipedream Moxie. All trying to tear each other's legs off like the olden days!
What a bunch of dropouts ...
Another day in the forest for us. Dropped on a rider, Royston, who recognised us from the Forum, had a chat and rode a couple of trails with him. It was still hot after yesterday's and last night's storms and the trails were mostly dry.
I could get used to this 😎
We travelled further south yesterday so that we could have a Helimtb assisted ride today However the wind and rain meant that it was cancelled. Booked it for tomorrow and just had the call to say it's not going ahead due to adverse weather. 😪
We're in the back of beyond so today was plan B
After a two week break from bikes (fell off and crumped my ribs in the snow), two rides in two days to test out the body . 40 un-photogenic km of towpath yesterday and a lovely breezy ride over the tops this morning. There's a bit more light and thrushes are singing almost feels like a bit of spring. Back to winter next week I believe.
Trails are a reyt mess... So out on the road bike on the lanes/lumpy climbs north of Leeds at lunch time in the vague hope of maintaining some bike fitness.
Daffodils out in a sheltered spot on the Harewood Estate!
....i think this false spring will have been put back in it's box this time next week looking at the forecast.
Yep. Trails are sh*t at the minute. But that didn't stop me and a mate getting out on our SS HT's last night for a 40km smasher. TBH, I thought I didn't have the ride in me, following a long weekend off with lots of riding & running, plus 30km commuting yesterday, but I forced myself out and glad I did! Trails are just going to get worse over the next few days ...
Well no riding today. The adverse weather arrived and we have had torrential rain for the last 2 days. Looks like the North Island has had it bad with loads of water about and flooding
Will see what tomorrow brings but not going out on the bikes in this stuff.
Splendid cross-stratification evident in the walls of this 1820s fort yesterday, after I used strong tailwinds to blast over to the west coast.

Tuesday night ride with a couple of mates. We'd get so much more riding in if we stopped chatting after every trail! Great fun, still.
Took a break from skiing today. Unlike last time, there is much more snow and ice on the trails; even on the sunny side of the valley. The snow on the open trails is surprisingly manageable, since it is hardened and not recent. But under the trees, the singletrack is totally sheet ice once you get to any decent elevation. It was still great to be on the bike, and I did manage to get some singletrack towards the bottom of the trails.
Great day out at Codgers in Nelson. Managed to get 4 uplifts with Gravity Nelson and some pointers from the driver Ben. Trails were sweet, steep and dry. Every thing flowed. Finished up on a 5km black down to the bottom and a short pedal back to town for beers
Yep. Trails are sh*t at the minute.
I don't know if I've just gone a bit wrong, or if there's a 'horses for courses' thing going on, but I'm LOVING the trail conditions at the moment. Get yourself an old school CX bike and stick some 40mm tyres on it. Maybe next year I'll even singlespeed mine 😍
Well, it was nice to see a bit of sun this morning, albeit peeking through the moody mist in places. Nice extended commute, but sketchy on the back roads with damp frost / black ice.
Almost spring-like for me this morning. I'd intended a short loop but the day was too good to waste so I put my big boy pants on. No food eaten, and the only fluid intake was a pint of bitter about 2/3 way round....



Considering the amount of rain there’s been, the local trails are superb, absolutely stunning day and makes one very grateful to be alive! 🙂
I’ve been doing lots of maintenance at the local jumps recently and clearly it’s been worth it as they are all running beautifully after a tiny bit of spade work. I even got a bit giddy and have decided to learn to whip to the left, no big angles yet, but there is promise 🤣 😆 talk about down with the kids. Or something.
17 miles blast after work. My body wasn't up for it after the 1st mile or so, but soon sorted itself out. Slopfest again, but great fun!
Today was my birthday ride. Usually ridden in the Peak, cold, wet, muddy and sometimes rain or even snow.
This year was different and we had an uplift day at Cable Bay, 15 minutes drive from Nelson. It was hot, dry and not a rain drop or snow flake in sight.
Managed four uplifts along with some climbing to take in some awsome trails. Mainly blacks linked together with some great blues.
Coffee and pies at the end. I think pies are a staple diet here and then out tonight for pizza and beers.
Lanes and off road round here mingling at the moment, so change of scenery and got my fix today in Hove riding w EpicJnrSnr. I need to up my skillz, but good fun. Suspect my bike not best suited to the terrain. They need to paint the benches a different colour, yellow doesn't go with my red highlights 

Managed to get out yesterday morning for a 25 mile loop from home and beat the gloom by getting above an nice inversion over the Deerness valley:
Last day of our stay in Nelson and we just had to ride The Gorge. Heard so much about this place and how it was developed.
Went with Gravity again for the uplifts and managed 2700 metres of punishing descents, rocks and roots, over the day. So many amazing trails. Dont think we could have done much more.
Moving further South tomorrow for a couple of days R and R
Not at all jealous… honest
I failed this week. Put off by the weather. I tempted the turbo trainer yesterday and abandoned after 20mins, combination of a bit of cold and not feeling it.
First ride in Queenstown for us today. Took advantage of the shuttle and then the gondola to get in an awsome day on the trails at Coronet Peak. Views were stunning as there aren't many trees about.
It was hot, trails were dry and fast. Finished off with a jug of beer at Canyon Brewery at Arthur's Point on the way back.
Shuttle and gondolas didn't come cheap but worth every penny.
@tracey ... Yep, that's pretty much exactly the same weather/riding we have right now in Yorkshire!
Very grey, chilly, bleak 28km on the SS gravel bike at lunchtime yesterday. Took me half the ride to warm up!
And then, popped out for a dark walk with the dogs in the evening ... love the dark bare winter trees at night ...
I could get used to riding warm climates instead of the grin and bare it that I've been used to. Certainly going to be a consideration for future trips.
Been riding for four weeks and so far only had to brush the dust of the bikes 😎
Spent the day at Skyline and the Ben Lomond trails in Queenstown.
Again the uplifts for the day aren't cheap but worth it for the miles and smiles.
Did just over 2700m of descent in 5 hours.
Wanted to go back up for another run but needed to get back for the parking meter so called it a day as it was beer oclock
Couple more days of riding before we move on.
First day of riding in Christchurch for us. Trails are good and dry. Flow well and not many riders about. Called it a day after four and a half hours as the temp was 30°. Went for beers but too tired to risk a swim.
@Tracey - how do you transport your bikes out. Battery issues etc?
*Edit - just looked closer, are you on Enduros/Stumpy's rather than Levo's?



































































































