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I took my new bike out for it's 2nd shakedown ride last night around my local, Chacefield Woods. I've got the reach dialled in, the tyre pressure sorted, need to drop a few more psi from the fork and really need to bin those brakes. They feel shite and 160mm rotors do not stop chunky Beagleboys.
A wee bit sad that the lovely network of trails that folk have put a lot of work into are getting torn up as the spruce plantations in the forest is getting logged, especially as these woods are virtually on my doorstep and serve as a great wee place to ride on a dark winter's night. Fingers crossed that the damage to the birch woodland is kept to a minimum.
Highlight of the evening was seeing a rabbit erupting from the undergrowth in front of me, squealing in terror as a stoat chased it down for dinner. Remarkable to see such a tiny predator take down prey that must be 10 times its size!
Weasel, rather than a stoat? I was once cycling along and became aware of a weird squeaking noise; started angling my head, trying to figure out where it was coming from on the bike - and nearly ran over a weasel holding down a rabbit! They both made their excuses and left.
Fun fact: the Chinese word for weasel is huang-lang-shu (literally 'yellow-wolf-rat'). I always liked that one, almost as much as owl (mao-tou-ying, or 'cat-head-hawk').
After some really horrendous news last week I needed some space to clear my head, so I set off to beat the weather this morning and managed a nice ride around Great Asby Scar and Orton Scar.
Looking across towards Crosby Ravensworth:
Great Asby Scar, with the Howgills in the background:
Classic limestone pavement:
