More random trail thoughts:

Monday Morning Debrief 34

What did you get up to?

A few laps of the Commonwealth Games track at Cathkin Braes. A nice change from the more natural stuff I usually ride, but I found the ‘grooming’ a bit too loose. Maybe it needs some rain on it?

Cowes Week.

Nuf said.

I rode rigid forks around LLandegla, chasing two mates on hard tails. Hard work but more fun than you might imagine!

I got to Cutgate and had to ponder the question, has the technical bit at the southern end been made more technical in the last month or two, or has my riding deteriorated by an equivalent amount?

I had a 2/3 success rate of riding the s-bend, but this time I got there and no way was I going to even attempt to ride it 🙁

I kinda hope the path has had some maintenance because otherwise I’m losing my bottle at a hell of a rate.

Exmoor Explorer. Challenging conditions, but I had a really good ride with new friends.

[Still extracting mud and grit from odd places, and the bike needs a complete rebuild/re-grease]

Worked all weekend. I didn’t even get a proper road ride in as my rear tyre was flat and I had no spare tubes til today.

Sat – London Freecycle. Wonderful day of bikes, music, smiles and closed roads.

Sun – Bedgebury singletrack – first time I’ve ridden there for a few years and had a surprisingly fab ride – bermtastic! Picnic with ducks to end a wonderful weekend of bike-based japery 😀

TM

Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. A hard mornings work in very windy conditions.

Tough swim, even the fast lads were 8 minutes slower over the mile compared to last year.

Beat last years bike time.

Beat last years run time despite losing 9 weeks of run training this year due to injury.

Fell asleep on the sofa Sunday afternoon watching the London bike race.

Frankenstein’s Castle.
Twice.
Was a bit warm though for ascending hills.

Group of us did the NW Alps Saturday morning, 7 left the visitors centre………..only 4 returned!!

Had family visiting, but managed a ride out on Sunday afternoon – just in time for the torrential rain. This time, the passing shower… didn’t. So we rode in the rain for a while more. Nearly lured in to the Blue Pig beer festival, but thought we might never make it back out so had to miss out.

Queen Elizabeth Country Park (red) on Saturday.

Purbecks Middle Route (Courtesy of old STW story) on Sunday.

Good for getting used to short stem and wide bar combo.

Also all in aid of Mrs STS who has been in training over the last few weeks for her first visit to CyB. I suspect this might be the last time i’m asked to organise her birthday celebrations though…

Saturday: Liverpool – Colne (Canal)
Sunday: Colne – Leeds (Canal)
4 starters – 3 finisher.
No mechanicals.
Ideal conditions
Weekend well spent
Nuff said!

Sat – 33 miler in the Peak starting in Wildboarclough through Macc Forest, Cat and Fiddle, Derbyshire Bridge, Cat and Fiddle finishing with Cumberland Brook and two pints of Cheshire DBA in the sun at the Crag Inn 😀

Sun – blast of a-pretty-busy FTD @ Cannock Chase.

Lots of climbing (including a little hike a bike session) in the sunny weather on Sunday at Tai Mo Shan, starting to feel old though as the knees are hurting today.

went with my Missus to “Cyclopark” in Gravesend, Kent to try out their road circuit for the first time – only to find someone had booked it out privately for a race and it was shut to the public. their website had not mentioned this. Spent on £30 for 2 train tickets to get there, cheers Cyclopark!

But, we ended up riding around Gravesend, then back to NW London through Dartford, Bexleyheath, up Shooters Hill, down into Greenwich Park and along the Thames.

Crossed Tower Bridge which was closed off to road traffic – fantastic!

Then ended up in the City of London riding through all the closed roads from the earlier Ride London event (I guess before the Pro race started)- fantastic feeling with no cars on the roads.

Watched the Pro race on the TV after finishing the ride.

One of those days which had gone very wrong at Cyclopark, ended up well, just under 40 miles of pleasant road riding on a sunny although windy day.

20 miler on Saturday afternoon from my doorstep. Steep technical stuff, woodsey swooping singletrack, rocky moorland stuff, smooth moorland stuff, some tough climbs, some excellent descents and some cracking views of people stuck in their metal boxes on the M62 around the stubborn farmers…

All whilst being on call for work. Paid to ride = win.

30 miles in the Peak District from Ladybower – over to Edale and then did Jacobs ladder loop, then back to Ladybower via Potato Alley.

lowlights of the ride include 2 crashes, 2 near-crashes, 1 broken spoke, and the fact that I felt that I had the co-ordination of a pi55ed giraffe.
I really struggled with the loose rubble that has been washed out, and the earlier crashes meant that I psyched myself out on parts of Potato Alley that I have ridden before, but I neshed them 🙁

Saturday fell race, Sunday cx ‘training’, life’s too short for enjoying yourself 🙂

Couple of laps at Swinley with a couple of mates, with a bit of sessioning of the jump gulley and black run area. Then fell off at about 3mph on a completely flat straight bit of trail and bruised my knee! Ouch! Annoyed!

Exmoor Explorer. Challenging conditions, but I had a really good ride with new friends.

[Still extracting mud and grit from odd places, and the bike needs a complete rebuild/re-grease]
Likewise.

One of the best routes for a couple of years, tons of singletrack, but the 40 miles in torrential rain was hard work.

Still the best event I.M.H.O

A very wet, but very fun, few laps of the blue and red at FoD on Sunday – surprisingly grippy!

Rode the western half of the South Downs Way on Sunday (Winchester – Worthing)….an amazing day, but seriously tough…Now to think about the full run!

Strava

2 Laps of Forest of Dean blue in heavy rain on sunday. Great fun

Did awesome (and overambitious) 140km road ride in the South of France, taking in a col used by a local cyclosportive (no chance of a KOM there then), flat barren plateau, an amazing swoopy hairpin descent and a couple of rivers full of people.

My hands hurt today, but oddly my legs feel OK.

Whinlatter red route Friday,
Saturday, most of Hellvellyn climb from Glenridding and back down again, did a dynamic risk assessment near the top and turned back from the 50mph+ winds.
Grizedale red on Sunday.
Good weekend!

Sunday: Manchester SkyRide with a few other thousand people. Took some friends to Clayton Vale and they loved it.

2 weeks to the alps so keeping it quite tame, lap-and-a-half of glentress red on sunday. (I’ve been wondering for a while what it’s like to ride it from top to bottom without stopping. Tiring, it turns out. Who would have guessed?)

Great ride round Hebden on Sunday. Not been out on the 5 since being seduced by 29er hardtail. Blue Pig and Midgehole were good fun, the 2700ft of climbing less so! Saw a very stylish couple dressed in matching Hope gear with matching Hope stickered Gyros.

Forgot to add a pic from mine:

Sat’day, 100 mile road ride on mtb’s with my son Ben as prep for our C to C in 4 weeks. From home (Methley) to Yorks Wolds via Fairburn, Gateforth, Selby by-pass, Bubwith and country lanes. Caff stop at Millington and back via Pock, Wheldrake and Sherburn.
Felt great early on, flying with wind behind but paid for it on way back 😯 I was hanging on last 35 miles! Good training though 😀
Steve.

Just started our second week with Bike Verbier. Awesome first week. Cant wait for the rest. I know it will be just as good

Both days spent exploring Perham Down near Tidworth. Not entirely sure we should be there, although plenty of tyre tracks make it look like it is frequently used by others. Now sure that a compact chainset on the CX bike is not right, or, I need to man up and get some more riding in so that I can grind up the hills with less wheezing.

A few miles on the Falkirk Callendar Estate Trails, here – http://www.callendarestate.co.uk/things-to-do-in-falkirk/cycling-routes

50mins from the garage to home!
Not been out for ages, really enjoyable albeit a slow ride. 🙂

Caught in a biblical storm in the Black Forest Saturday, Nice ride today finding Ze Cheeky Trailz…met some really nice people and had a good chat…

Desperately hot at 38 degrees and slipped off a leafy traverse and scratched up my fork stanchions .. 🙁

I was at work again. 😥

On Saturday afternoon i did a lap of the Twrch trail and the downhill at Cwmcarn and then avoided the rain on Sunday and did Monkey Trail on Sunday on the way home. Fantastic weekend 🙂

Saturday 4 of us did our loop around Rivi.I was chuffed as this was the first time I’ve ‘cleaned’ Lead Mines Clough since it got got properly modified in last years summer monsoon.
Sunday I did 36 miles on the road bike including one of the two hardest climbs around here,just got home before it poured down!