It’s the weekend! Ride your bike. Take some photos…

First ride for The Mongrel on vaguely proper trails for my Friday head clearer. I’m obviously biased, but I think I might well have designed a pretty decent UK ‘play bike’ (or ‘mini enduro’ I guess – a bit more gnar-capable than a trail or down country machine and deffo heavier than either!).

As you could probably predict from the frame material and simple suspension design, it rides somewhere between my Cotics and my old Alpine 160, but I reckon pedals better than either due to the steep seat tube angle and running the shock fairly stiff (about 20% sag). 120mm at the rear feels like plenty for the local features and root gardens – we’ll see how it fares in The Peak tomorrow!

Yesterday’s ride before the thunder storm rolled in.
Black 8 off piste stuff wasn’t such a good idea in the rain.

Looks good

We had black 8 in perfect conditions last week. Last run of our days was chasing each other down Rock N’Arolles into Black 8

Hope you enjoy it

Black 8 was fine in the wet.

The stuff off it less so.

30 mile pootle to Kilbarchan on the cycle path.

Hiding in the woods…

edit: ridiculously impossible to upload pics now?

Oh bum. The photo uploader is still not working? (Nor the like button?)

Leaden skies but no rain, I’ll take that!

Out with one of the guides on his day off today.

Lazy afternoon ride with zero pedaling.

I haven’t been on here for a while, and I’ve only done 4 rides since last July and my Alps trip! Pretty much every dry weekend has been spent working on my van, getting the interior built so I can use it.

Anyway, did the gap today in the Brecon beacons. Thought I was ready for 750m of climbing. I wasn’t. Oh god, my legs. I was cramping up coming down the descent!

Love a bridleway with options

Some brilliant trails in Andorra and good guiding too. Definitely wouldn’t find this stuff without the knowledge.

This weekend I’m exclusively riding the sofa with my thick socks and hoody on.

how the heck are you guys uploading photos? I thought you just had to click the image button and then choose the photo from your photo library. It worked a while ago, but definitely doesn’t work now. Any tips?

Imgbb only way to be sure(ish).

Up Blackamoor way yesterday with a few of the club crew. Don’t often ride that bit of The Peak but it was good fun.

How the hell do you post photos now? It was easy before.

Better ones on GoPro, but that’s being a dick too

20240713_121012~2 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

20240713_121104~2 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

20240713_131732 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

20240708_192312 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

For those having issues, just copy and paste the photo hosting address directly into the post.

Short Purbeck loop Saturday morning, then a stop at QE on the way to Gatwick for an early flight to Madeira (bike free unfortunately)

Not this weekend, but just back from a week in Madeira guided by Freeride Madeira.

Short vid of one of my favorite descents into Machico

Longer one of first day, we did a lot of trails.. many of them epically dusty

It’s certainly a fun place to ride a mountain bike. Lots of different type of terrain on what is a small island. Be absolutely no fun without an uplift!

Above Les Lindarets

Just under 40km along the Suffolk Coast with MrsReady.  A most pleasant day was had – Southwold was very nice indeed.

I do like a random door in a wall – where do they lead to??

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As I was in Henley on Saturday I thought I’d check out The Ridgeway from Goring on Sunday.  It was a rather pleasant pootle up to White Horse Hill and back.  Trying to decide if I have the legs to ride Goring to Avebury and back in a day.

We’ve had to move out to the MIL’s in the countryside for a couple of weeks whilst some work gets done on our house. Luckily it’s a 5 minute cycle from a forest.

FFS – Images incoming…

https://ibb.co/9qjS0y4

How are people uploading photos now? It was mega easy and quick but now doesn’t work on either a laptop or a phone? Just get odd boxes but no pictures…

So we’re back to the old method of using a hosting site and pasting the address?

Just back from Scotlandshire for the social event of the calender – Duncfest – and very much a game of two halves riding-wise. Kirroghtree on Friday for lots of swoopy, wooded singletrack (I bloody love Kirroghtree!) and then a gravelly sort of coastal potter round bridleaways to the Isle of Whithorn on Saturday. Then we all got really really drunk and eat our own bodyweight in chargrilled meat. What a weekend! 😀