It's not the weather that's been the most challenging thing this weekend.
A conbination of DofE camping and
@mattbee what have you done to recover your MCL did mine about the same time, my knee is ballooning up every time I walk or ride.
Another fed up with the wet weather southerner here - yesterday a 4 hour Surrey hills ride went through brake pads front and rear, from brand new to dead in one ride - the Sandy rivers and puddles are worse than the winter at the moment!
yesterday a 4 hour Surrey hills ride went through brake pads front and rear, from brand new to dead in one ride
This happened to me at Swinley a month ago. Brand new SRAM pads gone in 2 hours of riding.
Totally ****ed off with the weather.
Currently on camping Hols in Devon (1st summer hold in 3 years) and it’s pissing down as opposed to the East Midlands where we live, which is lovely.
To top it off I’m still recovering from Covid and the constant damp has triggered my Asthma; I feel like I’m going down hi rapidly.
I’m about ready to throw in the towel and go home. I start a new job next week and want/need to be fit. I’ve never left a holiday early so it’s a big deal 😩
It is a bit grim at the moment. On the other hand, people are literally burning or drowning in many places right now...
Rode the East end of tweed valley yesterday. T-shirt got a soaked but 18degC so not cold. The bracken is brutal in places felt like I was being water boarded. Ground damp roots a bit slippy. Blaeberries are sweet, raspberries just about at end of season, chanterelles holding on.
All in all its good to be out.
Had to get a 5hr ride in this weekend. Moved it from Saturday to Sunday due to the rain yet it rained again on Sunday. I went out anyway, discovered my locale was ankle deep in water and after 2hrs of on/off finding my way around huge puddles in the rain I gave up and came home.
My local trails are as wet and sloppy as they are in mid winter.
Here in Herefordshire it's been pretty good. Even after all that rain, a proper day out in Symmons Yat left the bike a bit mucky, but the trails were still great fun. Slippy but perfectly ridable (if you chose the right ones!). I think of it as getting my winter skills in early.
Having had three weeks off after monging my hand/wrist, I was happy to get out even tho it was raining and clearly it wasn't going to be dusty.
Having the FoD/Yat on the doorstep does mean you can usually find good trails to ride, especially away from all the heavily used ones.
When the sun came out, we were in the pub 🙂
TLDR; riding is (almost) always better than not riding.
Went on a 100 mile ride from Edinburgh to the Borders yesterday. Mixture of gravel and road. Absolutely chucked it down several times. I loved every minute of it, although at one point I did think I must be warped!
I can find the trails, but i'm not feeling the love today... i think i've washed my bike 4 times in the last week and i'm sick of it now. I'm going to go for a forest walk. I still have to wash the Sworks later though... but washing 1 is better than 2 !
It is a bit grim at the moment. On the other hand, people are literally burning or drowning in many places right now…
I think we need to keep our issues in perspective. If the weather is doing our head in now, in another 30 years......
And FB has just thrown up a pic from 4 years ago today, showing me and the bike plastered in mud. Plus ca change and all that.
Got plastered on a 3 hour bimbling around TPT near Manchester, some gigantic puddles! Couple of monster rain showers as well.
QECP in Hampshire seems to have had some of the worst of the rain yesterday
Pics on Facebook show flooded berms and the award winning blue trail had a river flowing down the trail
Woke up this morning to find the end of my garden flooded and in turn the garage also, luckily i keep everything atleast 1 inch off the floor and all power sockets are at waist height so just a case of sweeping the water out the main door and into the drainage system
3 hrs yesterday evening and a visit to the pub, was lovely, dry trails with a few puddles a tad windy but otherwise a nice temp there was a short shower half hour after I got home.
It was a bit of a grim weekend, so I embraced it and went kayaking instead.
I was actually riding on the wettest day of the year so far, back in June I think.
Did a big ride at Coed y Brenin and was amazed how grippy it was with hardly any puddles. Basically could ride like it was dry.
So maybe go there OP.
I loved every minute of it, although at one point I did think I must be warped!
Nah you're just more heroic than most.
Top tips for shitey weather is keep the ride short and fast and sack off te water proofs and accept wetness.
When it rains in the Alps I'll still be out every day loving life. The wetter the better. Screaming down mountains sliding around in the filth is awesome fun.
Slogging away at 5mph on a saturated bridleway is my idea of hell.
had my father-in-laws 80th birthday party in the garden on Sat down in Kent.
My wife had been worrying about it all week due to the forecast. turns out she was right to worry about the weather. It was shocking. Whole place was a mud bath. But...we huddled under some borrowed gazebos and nobody died. We even had quite a nice time and the evening was lovely.
Didn't touch the bike but will be slogging out on the single speed this evening and ready with the hose. Looking up for this week though!
I think I’ll put some winter tyres on to encourage the ground to dry up.
Might work.
Doesn't work: purchase waterproof shoes and mobile pressure washer
Does work: injure myself such that I can't ride
I'm sorry, it's all my fault you see. I bought an E-Bike, and since picking it up on Saturday afternoon its rained here in Glasgow near constantly. Heavy torrential rain too, with blocked drains and some flooding.
Had I bought something normal and manual powered it would probably be glorious sunshine.
When it rains in the Alps I’ll still be out every day loving life. The wetter the better. Screaming down mountains sliding around in the filth is awesome fun.
Aggressive cornering on rain slicked rocks with a 5000 foot drop either side. Must be a hoot.
Yes. It's 12c. We're expecting another "once in a lifetime" storm (2nd on this week. 3 last week). Damaging wind, rain, flood, locusts and maybe hail.
Well, it is winter. (Well, djilba now the turn of winter to spring in Noongar calendar).
Too windy and cold in winter. Too bloody hot in summer. Never happy!
Where abouts are you?
DON'T TELL 'EM, PIKE!!!
