Currently sat on a train from Ilkley to Leeds, having had a big yomp out from Leeds, across the Chevin, and Ilkley Moor.
Before getting on the train, I had a lunchtime pint and some chips.
Before my beer and chips, I rode 35km. Trails muddy and greasy, but I've ridden in worse! Excellent ride out though ...
Cor, weather looks glorious though!
No pics from this morning's early hoik around the woods because it was dark and misty and I'm pretty sure a bear was following me. Muddy and greasy sounds about right, though.
This was the Quantocks 2 weeks ago , went again Wednesday still hoping up well 👌
My local trails are this ATM
Will see on Sunday, first mountain bike ride in about three months planned. Fingers crossed for dry and dusty. 😂
Back into the Forest for us. Its vast so rode a different area. Hot and humid, climbing in this heat is punishing. Worth it for the awsome endless down hills.
What better way to finish with a private spa followed by steak and beers.
Hot as buggery here too. Went on a 45km adventure loop from home. Found some new to me moto tracks. Saw some illegal attempts by landowners to close roads, and like @Tracey got home to a cool pool (plus an ice block) and am now starting a new keg of homebrewed amber ale whilst cooking sausages on a woodfire waiting for a thunderstorm to hit.
Bored of mud so road my gravel bike on the road yesterday and today. I have 3 sets of wheels set up tubless. But the 700c on the gravel bike aren’t. So i had my first puncture in years today
Well those pics from @tracey and @reeksy haven't made me jealous at all !
Still first 50km/1000m climbing day of the year. Been feeling a bit ropey so it was good for some MTB fitness to finally turn up! Staunton/Yat was pretty mucky- no surprises there, but all very rideable and we mixed up the trails for an excellent day out.
Then rode past our favourite pub because you know 14 days to go 😉
Still recovering from surgery so no mtb just yet. A very pleasant bimble around the Shropshire hills country lanes in some wintry sun. It was just a real joy to be out today, still buzzing about it hours later.
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It's my birthday tomorrow, so dragged some very unwilling mates off to Dalby for a ride of the off-piste stuff. Nice social pace, lots of chat ... Great fun!
Trails were running pretty well - quite greasy in lots of places and a few spots of peanut-butter-mud, but we all stayed upright and the right side of a few comedy 'my front and back wheels are doing two different things' moments ...
Mid Wales emptiness for me today. The last time I was on this particular BW was 20 years ago. The tussocks are worse than I remember leading to several comedy moments. The Strata Florida track back down to Pontrhydfendigaid has been sanitised in places. I didn't keep my eye on the ball and stacked it at some speed. I'm really going to ache in the morning.
The gravestone is for a single leg, severed in a farm accident. The owner later emigrated to America.
Evidently so. This site is SO poor. Anyway, here's some more info about the poor chap:
https://heritagefutures.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/strata-florida-the-resting-place-of-a-leg/
- Put some new wider tyres on the gravel bike and it transformed the ride off road as expected. To the annoyance of some people I have different brands front and rear. If only Continental were capable of making a tyre that was round vertically and laterally. When you are pushing the width limit on the front a 1cm wobble in both dimensions doesn’t work. No amount of positioning before inflating helped. Thankfully Maxxis do make round tyres.
Night ride last night. Slopfest, but great fun riding with mates. Forgot to take any photos, other than the aftermath of my riding trousers!
No pics today - rain, fog and generally grey, dank muddyess.
But to answer the question in the title...
Probably about as shitty as they get. Would have been a proper miserable chore on a normal bike.
But on the ebike and wearing my drysuit, it was loads of fun
Horrendous up my local, Errington woods. Some of the upper south and west facing trails were running well but everything on the north side wasn't worth riding, sopping mud and steep doesn't mix well.
It was almost a farewell ride to my 2016 specialized enduro for me yesterday too, I've owned it since new, rode everything from 35 mile 1000m xc rides, DH tracks, jumplines, trail center hooning and gnarly off piste on it. I've never felt the need to own any other bike whilst I've had it as it's been okay at everything I've chucked at it, not perfect for every job, but good enough. Expect my new bike to be built and arrive in the next week or two. Not sure what to do with the Enduro yet, part of me says keep for spare, another part of me says strip it and use the parts for a hardcore hardtail build.
Not sure what to do with the Enduro yet, part of me says keep for spare, another part of me says strip it and use the parts for a hardcore hardtail build.
That's what I did when I replaced my 2012 Enduro with a Capra in 2016 - bought a second hand PP Shan frame
Not sure what to do with the Enduro yet, part of me says keep for spare, another part of me says strip it and use the parts for a hardcore hardtail build.
That's what I did when I replaced my 2012 Enduro with a Capra in 2016 - bought a second hand PP Shan frame
The biggest concern I've got is parts compatibility. I know most frames have returned to threaded BBs over push fit and that's fine, can put a new BB in, and I'd like to run the 160mm pikes up front which means finding a modern frame in xl that accommodates a 650b setup, or buy new front forks and a 29" wheel for a mullet build. Will have plenty of time to mull it over whilst enjoying my new bike this year anyway 🙂
Soggy slog in the gloop yesterday. New fox wellies did the job though.
Yeah I was surprised when I got back to the car and realised I wasn't plastered in mud. Not much for it to stick to on the shoes and the waterproof trousers are also new and must have repelled it well.
Ended up a solo one today, everyone bailed because if the weather. First ride on the new eeb so did a big loop of Wharncliffe. Bike was ace, although the Mavens were a bit underwhelming, I'll give them a bleed and some sandpaper attention this week to see if that improves them.
Trails were in pretty good order despite the rain. Didn't bother with Deepcar end as I knew that'd be slop.
No ride today. Grim weather, so retreated to a warm shed with a big pot of tea 🙂
Hardcore hardtails are ace. I'm a serial bike swapper, but this BFE has bucked the trend. Bought December 2021 and other than an opportune fork swap, some shorter cranks and a transmission replacement, it's slogged through 4 winters without complaint. Changed the inner and outer gear cable today as shifting had gone from "a bit random" to "not really working at all".
It might be a bit more agile with a shorter fork, or a bit more peppy without 2.6 tyres and inserts, but it's basically indestructible and will get me down anything I'm prepared to have a go at. I would not ride a FS on our trails in the winter.
Also, is it just me that seems to need about 20 tools for even the simplest of jobs? All the bolts holding the cable guides were really cruddy so I had them all out to clean them, then did the same with shifter as that was rank! Then found load of other jobs before remembering all I was due to do was changed the inner and outer gear cable.
Still this whole dry jan thing means I'm always looking for something else to do. So, after all that, I tided the shed. I'll never find anything again!
Spooky wood looking a bit spookier today in the fog
Filthy up on t'Moors but some judicious route choice minimised bogs and axle-deep puddles. Rocky stuff was actually running pretty well.
New Bird is lovely to ride. Wish I'd got onboard with the whole modern geometry thing sooner.
The Slinky edit:
Too big.
Too much:
Just right:
I swear I spend more time clearing the trails than riding them. I attacked the old school gloop though:
That led to a dry section:
And through to a fine section of Beech woodland:
Some solo laps round Blacka Moor on Saturday, then a big ish lap of Ladybower with mates yesterday. Dank and dreary both days but loads of fun and mud.
A very pleasant bimble around the Shropshire hills
Haven't we decided that you can't actually get to Shropshire because of the ice wall or area 51 or something..?
Weather was too crap for me to bother with getting all my shit together in the car to go anywhere, so did a "there and back again" along the Trans Pennine from home. Still ended up getting slathered, and dropper cable is now fubar. Ah, the delights of winter MTB!
The trails around the Chilterns are pretty horrid at the moment. Lanes for preference today, along with the first snowdrops for my year.
aberdeenshire - we still have snow, trails almost completely unrideable - oh and more flooding rain and sleet on the way
aberdeenshire - we still have snow, trails almost completely unrideable - oh and more flooding rain and sleet on the way
That's my fault, new bike arrived on Monday so I've jinxed the weather.
Snow has all melted in the city, but there's a yellow weather warning for rain.