Just flicking through Flickr to grab some pictures for another thread, and I came across a few pictures that reminded me of a ride I did over the summer.
Just me and one other mate, perfect skies, not a breath of wind, and Dartmoor.
Best day of the year.
[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5344/8840916898_455339e9fb.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielsgroves/8840916898/ ]Princetown loop[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/danielsgroves/ ]Daniel Groves[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5444/8840975024_ceb2060b03.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielsgroves/8840975024/ ]Princetown loop[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/danielsgroves/ ]Daniel Groves[/url], on Flickr
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/8843678274_94cbe6c44f.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielsgroves/8843678274/ ]Princetown loop[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/danielsgroves/ ]Daniel Groves[/url], on Flickr
Stand out rides for me:
Frosty early morning solo road ride round Turton/Darwen in March
Monday Night Pub Ride highlights (in no particular order)
Dusty tracks around Darwen Tower
Steep switchback descents in Tod
The night time view of the lights of Manchester from above Hollingworth Lake
Haribo stop on the top of Bull Hill
Tourettes’ Leap in Philips
Talking cobblers in the pub almost every Monday and meeting a new bunch of top people.
Probably GT in April, more for the fact that 2 mates had never been before and the big smiles they were wearing after a few of the downhills
A day out in Pila. Finishing with the Pila-Aosta trail.
*enters a woman's name for comedy purposes*
I quite liked BPW a few weeks ago, that's mine.
favorite ride of this year....
thatll be the minch moor road in september in the pishing rain and fog with the g/f
probably nothing to do with the ride though. Jayne had just agreed to marry me 😀
I really enjoyed the Trans-Savoie but my best ride of the year was an epic solo evening scoot across the Grampian Mountains joining two big day rides.
Loch Muick to Clova to Mayar and back in an evening.
Into Clova via the Capel Mounth (that big Munro in the background on the right is Mayar).
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Up Corrie Fee.
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Top of Mayar.
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Down the Kilbo, up Bachnagairn, down the streak of pants to end at Loch Muick at sunset.
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One of my best days on a bike ever 😀
Winner (edit, trail rat I meant)
Helvellyn - not the best weather wise but added to it.
Followed by a long weekend in Dumfries riding Kiroughtree , Dalbeattie, Mabie and Newcastleton perfect weather/riding in August.
Has been a great year.
First trip to Rotorura in august got shown round and was great to ride properly made trails again.
Sierra Nevada's the other week. Lung busting climbs, brutal tech descents - high twenties temperatures. Awesome.
Theres a few this year.
A short Exmoor loop I did around wheddon cross - for quality of riding and quality of company
A couple of the bone dry peaks rides. Halcyon days
Sun,Seaside and Singlespeed 8)
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Went to St Luc in Switzerland earlier this year and had heard lots about a ride called the Brazilian. Researched the route to death. It ended up being quite possible my best ride ever. A true Gem, and self-guided Alps riding is something else.
Bike Park Wales in September. I think it was the only mtb ride I've had this year that wasn't at Woburn! Really need to ride more new places next year!
Yup best RotY for me was SSUK13.
Blokes,Bikes,OneGear,Beer.
Bimbles,Bumbles,Banter,Panting.
Boulders,Woods,Sand,Grinding.
Barging,Smiling,New Mates, Cheers.
Charlie the BM Rocks.
😆
A road bike ride 🙄
80 miles of solitude on almost totally deserted Suffolk country lanes on a sunny May morning (with the added bonus of escaping the outlaws for half a day)
Also a classic ladybower loop the other week. Not done it for at least 5 years and real trip down memory lane
Doesn't have to be a trail center, or col or peak bagging...
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Ride out to Loch Eainiach (+/- a few letters there) and back via Loch Morlich
edit: I'm sure the water splashes seem bigger and more numerous on the ride out than the tailwind assisted bombing back down the valley
Doing borrowdale bash for the first time in august. Proper lakes riding
And antur stiniog last month
Ride out to Loch Eainiach (+/- a few letters there) and back via Loch Morlich
edit: I'm sure the water splashes seem bigger and more numerous on the ride out than the tailwind assisted bombing back down the valley
Now that is one good ride. I ruined a type over the summer doing that route. 😳
Greets Hill, Apedale Road and Bolton Castle with the Mrs last week.
Bolton Arms in Redmire for a pint afterwards.
Blue skies, great riding, stupid childish grins, silly jokes and the best views in England.
Went camping with a friend in may. Arrived Friday morning went straight out and rode up & around skiddaw ending with lonscale fell. 2nd day did the borrowdale bash in glorious sunshine followed by Peroni & curry. Then whinlatter before heading home on Sunday.
Buchaille Etive Mor with my mate Donald - perfect conditions, blue skies, no wind, warm and some brilliant ridge riding that was definitely on the tech end of the scale.
Forth Fat was pretty awesome too!
Actually, Binenean Mor and Na Gruachean was another blinder of a day - similar conditions to Buchaille Etive Mor riding a line that I have wondered about for years. I now wonder no more and am itching to get back to it!
Scotland on a great day is very hard to beat especially when you go exploring and find gems. 😀
this year, a ride to york with the wife, with 2 nice cafe stops and a good ale stop. perfect day out.
Coming down Mt.Teide in Tenerife with Lavatrax.
Great weather, mix of terrain, downhill all the way and a nice cold pint at the end 🙂
Not a single day, but the Trans Scotland I did with Boblo in June.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/mcandmilesgofromskyetomontrose
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Mount Olympus at Easter with the person responsible for getting me into mtb riding 24 years ago
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8257/8661619224_294f8951a8_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/8661619224/ ]P4140011[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/8660518633/ ]P4140030[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
his job isn't without its perks:
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8660516577_60657f44e9_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/8660516577/ ]P4140017[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
Antur Stiniog while wearing a dress probably. 🙂
The back country day (I think it was referred to as that) on the last day of my holiday with The White Room. Fantastic day of riding, finished up by jumping into the lake at the end to cool off. 🙂
A boiling hot cheeky woods/coastpath ride during that really hot spell.. absolutely cooked hot then rode down a set of steps to a deserted little cove. The tide was really high and I just stripped off naked and waded in for a swim. Water was amazingly warm and crystal clear so just spent 20 minutes floating around saviouring how lucky and privileged we can be. Drove home as a huge full moon was rising over the headland with tired legs, a salty face and sand between my toes.
Black Canyon Trail Arizona in January - one of those once in a lifetime rides.
Arrochar Alps after a dusting of snow in Spring. Stunning!
and Chilterns north of Reading in the dry!
The Mondraker Gravity Enduro in Exmoor for me. Scorching hot July weekend, chilled-out campsite, great scenery and some blindingly brilliant descents.
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Mind you, the rivierabike ride that ended with takeaway pizza on the beach and beers in the van ride home was pretty good, too.
Your favourite ride of the year?
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gf suitable bimble loop just N of Aldeburgh up to river at Southwold, lovely day, random map picked loop ,off we went, sun, good tracks, had everything, singletrack, moor, forest, open, coast, sea, beach, river, windmills, swarmed by dragonflies at one point, ye olde tea shoppe, being waved down by some elderly twitchers (70s I'd guess)(as we biked thru the nature reserve) expecting the worst only to be asked how we got there, where we'd come from, was it all easy and told we've got our bikes at the hotel
Blimey (adp79's post).
Anyway, I've had all of about 3 rides this year unfortunately.
Best had to be the QECP Enduro day. Fab.
This thread makes me realise - I need to get out more. (the rest of the thread, not the lady on the peuce bike)
was a road ride around cowal - glasgow to gourock then over the ferry along to tignabruich up past loch fyne strachur, ardentinny and ferry and back to glasgow again
About 120 miles in total, a baking hot day of about 28 degrees with clear blue skies and no wind. Quiet roads deserted for the most part and fantastic scenary. Was solo and at times felt quite meditative just soaking everything in, days like that i think back to when having to clean the bike down after a winters ride!
3 Days bombing around the Fujimi Panarama bike park in Japan.
Ride all day, hit the hot springs, then great Japanese food and beer....and repeat.
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bit early for ROTY isnt it? Could be some cracking rides in the wet, wind, dark, miserable and muddy trails yet.
😕
borrowdale bash with warnscale bottoms tacked on, brilliant day, epic ride.
Quite a few.
There was a brilliant snow ride in Feb (?) The snow was packed down hard and it was still crisp, so fast and grippy.
Some hilarious descents with Riviera Bike in April. Piss wet at times, but thrashing full bore down some amazing trails you've never ridden before nose to tail with a bunch of guys you hardly know. Proper seat of the pants stuff. ****in' brilliant.
Dambusters 65th was pretty special.
There were more than a few other cheeky midweek Peaks rides in teh middle of the summer dry spell that were awesome.
Really enjoyed Nan Bield/Garburn.
Snowdon in October - despite crappy weather and hideously busy/blocked trails, that moment when you drop out of the clouds coming down the back of Cloggy, and get the full view over the lake, whilst riding balls to the wall over the rocks is pretty special!
I enjoyed Tour de Ben Nevis a lot. That might be the stand out so far.
Other highlights are a 6.5 hour epic in Torridon, wall to wall sunshine for Loch Muick/Capel Mounth loop, Inners enduro, first local road rides just whizzing along, and most other rides now that I think about it...
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small but perfectly formed - from the linn of dee to derry lodge and surrounds with mrs swiss in july. she can't go her bike much but when she can we make the most of the miles. loved it.
Very few this year - its been crap.
The one that I suppose stands out though is a local one with a mate at the height of the summer. All the South Halifax highlights crammed into an afternoons riding in high 20s heat with a massive crash by me on the last descent which did nothing to take the shine off a great ride in the dust!
Had a really nice ride a few weeks ago in Golspie.
Beautiful autumn day and a really nice trail
That a cracking day out on the bike with the missus in the summer riding a big loop that took us from aberfoyle to loch lomond and back, not technical in the slightest but a lovely day out on the bike
The 8 munro epic from Callater via Turc, Claise, Tolmount, Tom Buidhe to Mayar and Driesh. Kilbo decent then via Bachnagairn Woods to Broad Cairn and Carn Bannoch. Should have done C an T- Mor but (for number 9 but couldnae face it, only an extra 10 mins!). Finishing off with the classic descent down to Loch Callater.
Oh, also did the Pila-Aoste freeride descent;now that's a different class of manmade trail to what we get here!
Most memorable was on my first day in Andorra this summer with my son (just turned 10). We decided to try and film route 66 (andorran equivalent of the Venosc descent) .
He absolutely pinned it top to bottom, over jumped all the tables to flat and passed loads people. I was actually pushing to keep up with him and rode the whole thing thinking WTF!
Kirroughtree was up there. But i've had some great rides this year so hard to choose one. My first full year of riding has been pretty cool and done loads. Gisburn always stands out but so does surrey hills.BPW deserves a mention also. Every ride is pretty sweet as its with good mates!
Ride back from the local bike shop early this year along the canal. First one with blobby jr in his new hamax bike seat 🙂
Not done much mtb this year but the other standout was a few days Glentress. Second day there did the black, then the red, then the red... much fun. No mud, just fast single track, jumps and berms!
Mountain Mayhem 24hr, first time solo, 32nd out of 152.
14 laps, 105 miles, 6000m ascent. 20x packs of jelly babies, 14x energy gels, 10 bowls of pasta, 10 bowls of porridge.
2 years post cancer for the 2nd time.
Plus one Daddy's day card at 7am on the Sunday morning. Magical.
Can't name a particular ride, there have been lots.
What stands out is how much good riding round here I've either discovered or rediscovered. Oh and what a fantastic summer.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7429/9304077358_0116ebff92_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/richseipp/9304077358/ ]P1070958[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/richseipp/ ]RichSeipp[/url], on Flickr
I'm really tempted to say a pi$$ing-wet day at Pila. Sliding all over the place round all the massive berms and the craziness of the Pila-Aosta trail in those conditions really put a smile on my face - especially since I'd almost given it up as a bad job when I got there to find my brake hose had come loose and I'd lost all my fluid on the way over.
But really, it has to be this one, guides' day-off backcountry epic:
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Photos don't even do it justice.
Col d'Izoard, a 70+ mile introduction to road riding in the Alps, stunning 🙂
A few really.
A road race win. Taking the chequered flag in the pouring rain was something I'll never forget.
A day off work in the Chilterns. One of the best MTB days ever. Not just the ride, but the whole mood.
Aspin and Tourmalet was a great mornings ride.
And last weekends CX race was 'the' most enjoyable one ever.
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Sainte Foy with The Whiterooms in the Alps this year... Happy Days...
Can I have two?
[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/9225406280_9fd03d365b_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/9225406280/ ]Beinn a'Ghlo munro's by bike[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
and
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8385/8520067140_5e4b5278cc_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/8520067140/ ]Outdoor Instructor Training Course[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
No pics, but the first time I did Transmission-Accelerator-Nitrous at Hamsterley. I know it's a trail centre, and not too challenging, but it is fun!
Solo at torq 12:12. Culmination of a good summer's preparation, great course, great atmosphere, my first solo and I hit and exceeded all my goals. Only sad because the lady who inspired me to do it has sadly died since.
A morning on the ClimachX trail followed by a spin from Dolgellau to Barmouth for a birthday beer.
Slickrock in Moab like nothing else I've ever ridden or likely to again .
A lovely Derbyshire camping trip with little Miss FBJ. Wife away for a weekend, camping kit and daughter in the trailer, tent on the rack, pedal off into the Derbyshire Dales, , cookies and a brew on the way out, tent up on a quiet site, feed the ponies, walk to the pub for tea, play on the campsite, sit on a picnic rug for the evening with my book and a hip flask while daughter doesn't go to sleep and jumps around inside the tent until flaking. Sunday started with a nice camping fry up, plenty of stops on the very long way home for parks, picnics, duck feeding, trout tickling, paddling, a hot chocolate, some live music and stories courtesy of Buxton festival and home in time for tea.
Plenty of nice MTB rides this year too and 2 long, one very long road rides that will also live long in the memory.
Oldfart - I did Slickrock on a Colorado/Utah roadtrip about 15 years ago and it's still one of the rides I'll never forget. Need to go back some day and hopefully stay in the Lazy Lizard hostel again. That place had the finest red-necks, including a lad of about 12 who sat in dumbstruck awe watching us cook, eat and talk gubbins until he butted in with a question I'll take to my grave "what's your favourite kind of gun?". He seemed amazed we didn't really know any didn't own one between us.
Can't decide. Either the day at La Thuile with Stevo and Patrick from White Room, or the endurance downhill at Fort William (again). The former just because it is such fantastic riding, the latter not such great riding but I've never found a better riding atmosphere.
I'm a twit. I forgot to mention the weekend with DrP and co. on the south downs. I think those 2 days helped me survive the year.
A bit early agreed, but always a great pic thread theme.
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In hindsight it was managing to itch a long-standing itch by getting well out of my comfort zone, alone in New Mexico.
And a simple lazy bike-bivi weekend at the end of the summer, following that trip. Very different state of mind. Oddly both were solo trips, last year's best rides were with good friends in good places.
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One of the best days biking for me this year was the three passes (well four really, I did Garburn the other way as well) in the Lake District at the beginning of the year. Set off up Garburn in the dark to witness a fantastic sunrise
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After the descent looking back up
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After doing the other two passes (Gatesgarth and Nan Bield) the weather closed in and started snowing on the return leg over Garburn
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Seven-and-a-half hours of riding in blazing sunshine from Gréolières-les-Neiges to Cannes in the south of France. Biggest ride I've done in a decade, with a three-hour climb in the middle. Bonkers.