Due to poor form on my part, I didn’t have any actually rideable bikes in the garage until yesterday evening, so only one ride this weekend in the slop on a singlespeed this morning. It was a pretty eventful ride in the end…

Conditions were sloppy and slippy but good fun. From the tyre tracks there were plenty of other riders around the woods enjoying the mud too.

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A Photo a Ride 2020 #15 Out on the singlespeed as it's the only bike currently rideable (or at least it was…). Bit wet round the woods to say the least, but the only rides you regret are the ones you didn't do… And the ones where your bike just gradually falls apart, but that's another story… #aphotoaride #fattyresurfer #MTB #MTBlife #lifebehindbars #bike #cyclist #surfingdirt #neverknowinglyunderprocessed #cotic #coticbikes #BFe #singlespeed #onegearnoidea #monochrome #blackandwhite #colourisoverrated #2020feelslikeamonochomeyear #mudmudgloriousmud #muddyride #mud #specializedtyres #specializedbutcher #outinallweathers

A post shared by Fat Tyre Surfer (@fat_tyre_surfer) on Feb 2, 2020 at 9:37am PST

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A Photo a Ride 2020 #15 The only rides you regret are the ones you didn't do… #aphotoaride #fattyresurfer #MTB #MTBlife #lifebehindbars #bike #cyclist #surfingdirt #neverknowinglyunderprocessed #cotic #coticbikes #BFe #singlespeed #onegearnoidea #monochrome #blackandwhite #colourisoverrated #2020feelslikeamonochomeyear #mudmudgloriousmud #muddyride #mud #specializedtyres #specializedbutcher #outinallweathers

A post shared by Fat Tyre Surfer (@fat_tyre_surfer) on Feb 2, 2020 at 9:39am PST

All was going well until about 15km in the was a noise from the saddle and then the saddle wasn’t there. Inaugural ride for some cheap Chinese Tioga Spyder ripoff I found intriguing one Friday night on Facebook after a couple of beers. It was comfy but clearly not all that durable…

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So I guess the lesson is… beware cheap gear from China. It was all going so well to start with, the saddle was pretty comfortable but then about 15km into it's first ride CRACK! and I didn't have a saddle any more. Resigned myself to about 10km of standing up to get home but that didn't really go to plan either… Time to put the Scoop back on I think. #aphotoaride #fattyresurfer #MTB #MTBlife #lifebehindbars #bike #cyclist #surfingdirt #neverknowinglyunderprocessed #cotic #coticbikes #BFe #singlespeed #onegearnoidea #broken #buycheapbuytwice #hovis

A post shared by Fat Tyre Surfer (@fat_tyre_surfer) on Feb 2, 2020 at 9:44am PST

So… I was then resigned to a 10 or 12km ride home standing up which seemed doable if irritating. About 3km in though there was another sudden nasty noise, this time from the drivetrain and my chain tensioner had lunched itself without warning…

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The worst ride ever part two… After 2 or 3km of standing up due to a lack of saddle there was a CRUNCH! and my singlespeed chain tensioner had lunched itself. Didn't have a chain splitter with me so that was ride over. For only the second time in 20 years I had to call on a support vehicle to get me home (didn't really fancy a two hour walk). #aphotoaride #fattyresurfer #MTB #MTBlife #lifebehindbars #bike #cyclist #surfingdirt #neverknowinglyunderprocessed #cotic #coticbikes #BFe #singlespeed #onegearnoidea #mechanical #goingnowhere #trailsiderepairs #goingtoneedmorethanamultitool

A post shared by Fat Tyre Surfer (@fat_tyre_surfer) on Feb 2, 2020 at 9:49am PST

The minimal toolkit I carry on local rides wasn’t up to sorting this so for only the 2nd time in 20 years, I had to call on Zoe and her support vehicle to get me home, but even that needed a 2km walk to get a signal to call her.

Not quite the worst ride ever (that still goes to the one where my freehub exploded at the bottom of Roych Clough – we had started the ride in Hope…).

If you’re still with me, can I ask a favour? If you like my odd little riding pictures, it would be great of you head over to @fat_tyre_surfer on Instagram and give me a follow. Started it up so I can keep all my bike photography ‘unadulturated’ in one place. It will also be the home for my little 2020 MTB project of multiple offroad coast to coasts around the country. Thanks.

Went for a little spin after watching the cx worlds. No idea if it’s possible to share pics from Google photos but I’m going to try as I want to move away from Flickr…

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TuHCg9tPP93Xkq2u6

Well I had 2 perfectly functional MTB’s in the garage but zero motivation, the weather has been chuffing rotten this weekend. Couldnt be arsed.

Had Thursday and Friday off, no motivation on Saturday, so instead of 125km on the road, I did loops of a small off road climb for a bit. Was going to go out again today, after fitting some Tannus Armour, but was too hungover…

A 54 mile loop from home, taking in a chunk of the old Formantine-Buchan railway line and home via some farm tracks and bits of forest. Never got above 1 C but good fun none the less.

Wetter than an otters pocket at Carron Valley yesterday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ei_60F35T/?igshid=c0foswlokwfg

My brother doing his epic bike riding impression as we had a soggy run out Hassop way today.

Properly shitted up – it must have pissed it down overnight as it was drying up a bit when I rode on Friday night

Tries the Ramin with some plus tyres, not the best choice given the mud and water 🙁

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2io9btR]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2iocMzA]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

and after a wash

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2io9bia]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

We were out in the Peak for the weekend in the camper and decided at the last minute to leave the bikes at home due to the high wind and rain forecast.
Had a couple of days walking and the trails we would normally ride were in surprisingly good condition for the mild winter we have had.
Didn’t see anyone out riding so expect most cried off like us.

47 miles and 6,000 feet around Afan on a rigid singlespeed this weekend. Its almost fun when there are ten other like minded idiots riding one gear and half the bikes are rigid!

Quick 30 miler on Saturday,windy as hell!!

47 miles and 6,000 feet around Afan on a rigid singlespeed this weekend. Its almost fun when there are ten other like minded idiots riding one gear and half the bikes are rigid!

Errr… Afan on a singlespeed rigid? Bonkers!!!

For me, a slip and slide at my ‘local’ Covert woods with a group ride, great fun – you know you’re alive when you nearly die 3 times on a single run!

And tonight had a quick night ride (the first for ages), to test out the Bikehut 1600 and cheap alsi helmet light setup. It’ll do just fine. A dissapointing lack of wildlife though, no vampires, werewolves, tigers, zombies, or even foxes, or doggers. Just a couple of devil rabbits. Oh and they’ve fenced off a route through the woods, so that’s cut down my (actual) local riding by a fair bit.

Still properly muddy out there, less than 10 miles and me and the bike were caked. Riding at night means you can’t tell the different between firm mud and soft, deep mud patch that causes a (quite majestic) running dismount, from clipped in I might add.

I’m building a singlespeed hardtail next winter.

Just any old Saturday:

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Penises, benches in the park, floods, flat donuts & mild beer…oh and some hard miles into a vicious headwind #gravel #gravelgrinder #gravelbikes #unlearnpavement #lowspeedadventures #ukgravelcollective #ukgravelco #gravelbikes #gravelbike #gravelgrinder #willtravelforgravel #DirtyDropBarGoodness #thesupplelife #cycling #CyclingLife #funon2wheels #justgetoutandride #UKgravelCO

A post shared by UKgravelCollective (@ukgravelco) on Feb 1, 2020 at 12:24pm PST

Few laps around Follow The Dog at Cannock Chase. Muddiest time I’ve ever been I think 😂.

Slightly off topic what is the purpose/ benefit of all the # bike stuff on the Instagram posts? Do you have to type all those things out each time or can you do some sort of template for each post?

I’m nearly 50 😪 so it’s a genuine query rather than anything sarcy.

Forecast was grim but drastically improved this morning so I got out for a decent ride from home. Reyt muddy. Rather than trying to enhance the colours which were rather lacking, best to go full dreary!

Bloody DIY and sorting out a change of car. @colournoise have given you a follow (very infrequent poster but do like the pics).

Biblically wet around Grizedale on Saturday. Utterly drenched. No pics as fallen out with Flickr.

One thing I noted though, of say the 10 other bikers I saw in the forest, all bar one were on ebikes. Sign of things to come.

I managed a relatively dry, massively tailwind assisted Dales ride on Saturday (felt like being on an ebike at one point, getting blown uphill at Malham Tarn). No trains due to a suicide for the second time in three weeks. Makes you realise how fortunate we are, even in the winter rain, mud, and gales.