tonight up and around Kilvey Hill,Swansea playing on the tech tracks and the downhill course on my 456
quite happy to have sold the DH bike now 🙂

The last 2 days have been 64 miles of my rides to and from work, but Saturday was a lot better finishing down at the old wire works in Shining Cliff woods 🙂

muffin-man – if riding company would help I'm always out and about round our local, be a shame to miss the last of the sun before a long winter!!

40km from Church Stretton up Carding Mill Valley, across to Devils chair, roound the tops a bit, via Eastridge woods back over Long Mynd and down into Church Stretton again.

On Saturday just gone, was most tired afterwards

Marin trail yesterday morning in the pouring rain. Soaked but happy!

Inverness to an teallach and back earlier this eve.on a motorbike though.

Weekend before last, Poto trails near Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was the last time I rode my Dialled Bikes Love/Hate before I gave it away too.

last ride was on Saturday and was pretty much an all dayer around the clwyds, Fine weather and some lovely views.

Clearly nobody else was sad enough, for me last night was 45 minutes of intervals on the turbo.

Summer in the North East, it's what dreams are made of…

apart from this mornings 10 mile road commute, I took an offroad diversion from Leeds to Otley on the way home last night. I have never, ever, ever, got that wet in my life. Reminded me what it's like to use rim brakes in bad conditions anyway! Scary!

Helvellyn Yesterday

Quick 1/2 hour blast around the Chess valley (Bucks) after getting home from work last night to catch the very last of the sun – watched it go down as I was pedalling along. Saw two herons by the river – a first. Probably the last week of post-work riding without lights in 2009. It's amazing how cold it gets in the valley bottoms now as soon as the sun goes.

Before that – great ride along the river Coln in the Cotswolds on Sunday afternoon with Mrs Ononeorange.

If only we'd had a full summer like the last few days……

Cheers for the offer of company theboatman – I feel I need to get a few rides under my belt before I inflict my shocking lack of fitness on other riders though!!

3 full laps of Lee Q on friday evening including black section on each lap. Fasting for the next 27 days now so no riding, 🙁 . The daylight hrs are pretty long which is when i cant eat or drink from about 4am till 830pm. Been pulling wheelies at the top of my drive after work to pass time till sunset.

Verbier 14th August, missing it already

Tracey

3rd August, downhilling near Aberystwyth…was a very short ride and have had my arm in a cast since then!

A quick blast to work on my road bike this morning. 4.3 miles. 15 minutes. 17.2 mph average speed.

Silly, ground-too-wet attempt at the Pentlands on Sunday afternoon, serious gales higher up constantly blowing me off-track. Gave up on the way to Allermuir before anything nasty happened…

A Lesson Lived is a Lesson Learned, as Hatebreed say

Last Thursday did another 10 mile shake down of the 29er to see if the seat pillar has stopped slipping.

Now it's creaking from the pedals/crank area. Tightened and greased everything but now waiting for the chainring bolt spanner to arrive.

Did nearly 200 miles on the V-Strom over the weekend with a nice ride to Buxton.

Last night, out of Sheffield, up over Stanage Edge, down into Hathersage – pint and a butty, then train home. Lovely

Cwmcarn uplift day 7 weeks ago when I crashed on the big double at the bottom of the DH run and dislocated my wrist and a grade 2 open compound fracture of my right radius.
Off the bike for 12 – 18 months.

It sucks.

Hope route in the Peak District on Sunday. We attempted to do the route out of this months MBR (Hope, Hollins Cross, Edale, Hope Cross, 'The Beast', Hagg Farm, Derwent, up Hagg Side, Rowlee Farm, Hope Cross, drop down from Wooler Knoll into Hope. However we cut short the route due to a time, as we lost a good few hours with bikes breaking and people coming off. Good ride though!

20 mile ride in to work this morning, just limbering up for the ride home into a very stiff headwind. Saw a few folk out on the ride home yesterday so hopefully have some bodies in the distance to chase tonight since it's dry again.

Sunday afternoon – Ladybower down broken railway, up to Aston, up Hope Brinks to Hope Cross (probably passing lots of MBR readers going the other way), Blackley Clough down "potato alley"(?), up Rowlee, Lockerbrook descent to Gores Farm and reseroir, tea and flapjacks at Fairholmes, then up (push mostly) to Whinstone Lee Tor, and fast down to Ladybower pub.

Slightly too fast down as put a half inch hole in back tyre, fortunately only 50 metres from the pub – had to improvise repairs with cardboard to cycle back to car 😉

Silly, ground-too-wet attempt at the Pentlands on Sunday afternoon, serious gales higher up constantly blowing me off-track. Gave up on the way to Allermuir before anything nasty happened…

I was up in the Pentlands on Sunday as well, on the cross bike. Also did a shorter than planned route as I got knackered very quickly riding into that wind.

Last night for a 2 hour bimble up the back of Rossendale valley, am out up to Gorple Rocks tonight for a drop more fun, can't wait.

Just come back from Norland Moor (Halifax).Started out glorious sunshine..then bucketed it down!

60 second ride round to a friend's house this morning to see if I'd left my wallet there.

I quite enjoyed it. Nice smooth road with a couple of corners, downhill there, uphill back. Still enjoying how fast the sb8s are after 2 years on cinders.

coming third in the tag-along race with my son at the Big Bike Bash on Sunday 🙂

Yesterday- tarmac bashing from Fort William to Nevis Range via the Witch's Trails red, then 6 runs down nevis red with the lift assist including the last bit of Off Beat (Fort William DH), then topped off with a compilation of 10 Under the Ben and the Witch's Trails world cup route and a bit more tarmac.

I love my Soul… Uplift day and red descending? But of course, this is what I was made for. DH course? Yeah, cool, why not. XC race route? Nae bother. Tarmac grinding home? Ah, if you must.

5 mins ago.
a local loop round easton on the hill, collyweston, wothorpe on the hill round burghley park and back into stamford, just giving the maverick a little spin to see if it needs anything major before it goes north in a couple of weeks.
a neww bb is in order from the creaking that was going on ;-(

15th Feb , Eastridge – stiperstones – eastridge, Broken tib and fib just below the left knee.
Going for my 1st proper road ride tonight. Quite excited now.

The Mendips, Saturday just gone. Wanted to conquer some demons having dislocated both shoulders riding up there in June. Having them re-set under morphine at WSM General was a hideous experience I'm not keen on repeating.

2 days ago -Pootle to Bath from Bristol via the cycletrack.

Mapping out some new road routes.

This is a gallery to some pics from last Autumn.
Taken around my 2 or 3hr loop in the Watford, Ricky, Chorley Wood, Chess Valley, Chandlers Cross area of SE Herts.

http://www.everybodysmile.biz/cgi-bin/directlink.cgi?event_id=71459

Ridden every 2 days to keep my hope alive of maybe surviving the Keilder Killer Loop on 05 Sept!

Last night, 7 blokes and I rode from Edale, Jaggers clough, Hope down Roman road, where we had the leg badger interface.
Road back through Edale, then mostly push up Back Tor(?) to Hollins cross and back down the descent to the Edale carpark. Was great fun, also the stars were bright, 'cos no cloud.

Penhydd and The Wall today. A damp morning with a torrential downpour early afternoon. Sunshine all day after that. It's easy to forget how good Penhydd is!

Today. Les Arcs. Coaching/skills session on the DH track and Bike Park in the morning, shredding singletrack down to Bourg Saint Maurice in the afternoon. Sweet. 8) Although it did chuck it down later in the afternoon…

This evening – Pentlands again. Nice to start with but raining at the end. First proper run out on the Soul for ages though so good fun despite zero grip from the Racing Ralphs.

This afternoon – took the dog round the local woods on a shonky Giant Rock. She's just been "done" so isn't allowed off the lead (the dog that is)