Monday Morning Debrief No. 26 – What did you do?

An hour a day on the exercise bike at maximum resistance looking at the grey wall of the gym. 3 weeks offshore & another 2 to go doing 12 hours a day 7 days a week.

You’ve no idea how much I am looking forward to my 5 day / night camping / riding / solitude trip to Edale when I get back!!

Glad to read / see what everyones up to & that you’re all making the most of it. Keep it up & save me some good weather for when I get back; I have my heart set on a dry, dusty, sunny traverse of Cut Gate followed by a few pints in the sun at the Ladybower Inn…

😉

Saturday, a very warm lap of glentress black with extra bits. Yesterday, ridiculously dry and dusty uplifting at Innerleithen. 3 weeks ago I was complaining that it was snowing, now I’m complaining it’s too sunny! Normally hardpack trails becoming scree slopes.

Not as much bike as I’d have liked but did get a quick blast around Swinley in the sun. It started bizarrely with a crazy guest at a wedding going mental at me in a strange roadrage incident because he had to reverse 30 yds to let me (and the 3 cars behind me) past a load of (other guests at the wedding’s) parked cars! Properly out of his car ranting lunatic running up the road behind me 🙄

But then it got better as I nailed two more of the doubles on the downhill section called Double Up on the red. 4 down, 1 more is doable I reckon 😆 Beautiful day too and hardly anyone on the trails.

Saturday, I rode the Velodrome at Newport

Sunday, rode from Swindon to Newport on NCN 4/41/42 lovely CX’ish ride through avon Gorge etc.. Train home, seat to myself as I stank.

Why does Newport have this strange attraction? Must come from living in Swindon?

Road biking both days and a quick ride of my new hardtail locally on sunday evening 🙂

Built this up and went around Follow the Dog a few times to make sure it would hold together for Mayhem next week. Absolutely loving it.

Stem feels a bit long and front a bit too high, but it’s near enough. Doesn’t look too silly given it’s an XXL, should see the state of my 26ers. Slaughtered all my old Strava times at what felt like gentle pootle speed.

Alarm at 4:40am on Saturday – Woke up family.

40k road ride

Back for espresso and jam on toast by 7:00am. Knocked large empty metal bucket off wall – Woke up family again.

Top ride. Was in the doghouse until about 9:30. Was worth it.

Ride around that London on single speed – not something I normally do but it made me ride at a different pace than normal and was able to see much more

Friday…

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The First Blackawton, Dittisham, Bowden Axis Beach Barbie of 2013 :-)[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

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The Old Abu Fish Smoker About to See Some Action….[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

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Also on the Menu[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

Saturday & Sunday…..

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011[/url] by Shinythings2[/url], on Flickr

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Looking Towards Redlake From the Avon Dam[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

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Dartmoor Breakfast[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

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Jim’s Posse[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

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Cally & Loz Leaving Dartmoor[/url] by Slugwash[/url], on Flickr

Finished mid-field in the IG Nocturn Track Bike Race. At least bikebouy had brakes and could coast through the bends. One of our club said there were “goings on” at the Le Mans start of the folding race.

And a nice beer afterwards to watch the pros.

Swinley on Sat am – first time on the red
Son’s football club ‘fun day’ on Sunday – freezing cold, lost 3 out of 4 games = not actually a lot of fun for anyone!

A gloriously sunny charity bike ride that started and finished at the Beer Hall in Staveley. Bikes and Beer -does it get any better!

TiRed, indeed there were goings on at the start… And around the course come to that.. But hey, that’s commuting by Foldie eh!!
I cheated a little too ok, ok so I know the course and the lumps and drain covers, but I claimed my line a few times when a couple of guys in front wobbled over the road.. I then rode past… But it was a free for all, I got jostled into a tight right hander and lost my nerve and backed off. Some of the other guys were soooooo faaaast… I barely got through the heat, finished nowhere in the final, poor show by me 😆
It was huge fun though wasn’t it? Glad I took part, glad I had brakes!!

It was indeed a lot of fun. But the pace of the winners in our race through Turns 1 and 2 meant I lost 10m a lap just on the bends. Still averaged 22.5 mph though, so was pretty pleased.

And nobody on fixed could hold a line, it was a free for all, just trying to stay off the barriers!

Three laps of Richmond Park in the sunshine on Saturday, complete with epic headwind. I reckon I’ll go for 4 next time, assuming it’s not quite so breezy.

Just shy of 17 hours and 151 miles on the bike, from 4am ish to 9pm ish on Saturday. Swindon to Eastbourne via Winchester and the SDW. Still tired now! Would have been a couple of hours quicker were it not for using a bodged shimmed seatpost that started slipping after about 70 miles and just would not stay up. Had to stand on all the hills and seated pedaling on the flat was rubbish – like riding a kids bike. Pretty chuffed to have finished the SDW without bailing out – it was definitely a case of mind over matter!

Thursday to Sunday at the Boot Beer Festival in Eskdale, Cumbria.

Stunning place, fantastic weather, three great pubs, great beer and food. Riding each day on dusty, rocky trails up and down some of the best landscape in England, followed by good food and great beers in the pubs – then up to do it all again the next day 🙂

Best 4 days of the year so far.

Saturday – 3hrs round Tunnel Hill and Porridge Pot, pint of cider followed by a walk round Windsor Great Park in the sunshine.

Sunday – 8hrs and 102 miles off road round the Surrey Hills riding every trail on Winterfold/Pitch/Holmbury/Leith and a few on Whitedown. Was a brilliant day on perfect trails. Been trying to make it to 100 miles on the garmin for about a year… Cured the too short battery life with extra speed.

Sat done the Kieran path and the Dudes of Hazzard routes then on Sunday done stage one of the Dudes.
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image[/url] by thegman1968[/url], on Flickr

38 miles around Afan taking in rookie, w2, some roads and tracks to and from the trails and one misread sign added a nice climb and an extra 4 miles :). Great weather trails running nice and good banter on the trails too.

Had a great spin at Afan, explored the limit of my skills and confidence!!! Awesome!!

Perfect summer’s riding HTs showing the Mendip lads all my local woodland singletrack. Some schlepping though fields and lanes to link up all the good bits. Some nice tech skills shown off, riding lines I’ve only looked at; now I’ve got to ride them too!

Hyper cheeky riding today on my flex-day. I’m not gonna say where!

Saturday swimming lesson with one year old then took four year old to buy his second big boy bike.
Rest of saturday pm spent fettling his riding position and getting him started on his 16er.
Sunday family bike ride – espresso, cake, childrens play area and picnic lunch and bbq in the evening just the four of us.

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Friday after work I ran/scrambled/climbed my way along the coast.

Saturday, I ‘recovered’, by doing usual Saturday chores, then sat around under a tree, reading up on the 1759 battle of Quebec.

Sunday, back out running again.

No archery, and no bicycle action this weekend.

Did a bikepacking/hillwalking ride from Bonar Bridge to Beauly (via Ullapool, Dundonnell, Shenavall, Poolewe, Kinlochewe, Glen Torridon, Achnashellach, Glenuaig and Strathconnon).

Will write a proper ride report with some more photos when I get the chance.

Grabbed the family and took a flight from Bristol to Inverness on Thursday evening, where we stayed with friends at their places in the town and up at Brora, a couple of miles from Golspie..
Great hospitality with some sight seeing, time for the wives to catch up and have a natter.. a wee bit of malt and then off out on the trails for a few hours..
Sunday we drove through to Fort Bill to watch the finals, what a place, the walk up the course to the top would have been a good day out in itself, even without the event.. Ewen spotted Danny MacAskill as we wandered up the hill, so I had to stop him for the obligatory fan photo.. then it was back to Brora in the evening for a couple more days of family stuff, mince and tatties, trails and craic..

The Highland Wildcat Trails at Golspie are superb, great flow and technicality with a fantastic surface and some stunning views..

Fort Bill.. good work by the Atherton family

Back to Golspie

Spent many hours in the saddle of this… I’ve fallen back in love with hardtails 8)