you should post that picture in this weeks bike photography thread…

Where abouts is that?

Cheers Stavromuller :D

anyone got a picture, or know where there is a picture of the cargo bike that was entered? Cheers

My vote is not for water on the grounds that this is the driest spell we have had in absolutely ages up here!

What area have you moved to Chakaping? We ride from Bromley Cross (generally) on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings…

Yep, all the works along that track are finished now and it open again…

After a tough week at work I finished early today and went for a little pootle to take a few ‘railway’ pictures. The line is between Bolton and Blackburn and to find out a bit more then i have included the ride on my blog here:

Witton Weavers

The first place of call was the Armsgrove Viaduct which crosses Bradshaw Brook and the Wayoh Reservoir:

Next, a level crossing by the now long-gone Turton Station:

On to a bridge at Turton Tower. Its actually a folly and has no connection to a medieval castle whatsoever!

and finally the real reason for the ride..

oh brilliant! photographic evidence that i was overtaken by a fresian on a bicycle :roll:

Nice pics though – some good work done in photoshop!

Yep – Rebound did a great job and were a pleasure to deal with.

@Harry

Do you know anything about the pump track and skills area talked about in this article…
MTB Trails

Cheers gents. Just had a look at the link but im not sure that the standard protectors will fit (without butchering them) as the zesty has points along the chainstay where the rear gear cable is fixed to the frame. That means that the protector has to be shaped like this – note you can just make out the cut out on the bottom.

I’d be surprised if this issue hasnt been tackled by every other zesty owner so if anyone can suggest how to deal with the issue rather than an alternative protector it would be helpful! :-)

@nbt There are a few of me that i would like but unless i’m being thick, and it could be argued that this is a regular occurrence (!) I cant see a file name against the pictures so that i can tell you which ones i want… :roll:

Again the support was phenominal. People just kept popping up and asking if they could help. We had everything cleaned up by 2:45!

A few of my mates that didnt do the race yesterday wanted to sample some of the trails so we rode down there again this morning. Have to say that the place is spotless and you really wouldnt know that 300 or so people had been racing round yesterday morning. A real credit to the organisers and team of volunteers.

As above, I failed to make the evening drink – cream crackered and the bruises are darkening nicely!

Haha when we were leaving the event and heading back up to the rugby club i shouted “on your right” to a couple of people pushing their bikes. I was just so thrilled to finally overtake someone… :oops:

Today at Hit The North 4

Had a right blast this morning! Thanks guys for organising it – this was my second go at it and i might well return the favour and help out with marshalling next year – sure you will always need the numbers!

Im aching like mad right now. Managed to throw myself over the bars at the end of the second strip of rock. Nasty hole in the rock bed right at the end – told myself to go round it but the message got lost between brain and hands :o

Just jetwashed the bike as well – blimey that muds sticks like glue!

Cheers to everyone – smashing crowd and good to meet you, Mr Rusty Spanner!

done

Watch out for the Palace shirt!

I’ll bring Dougie freedman with me… you can take him home with you! :-)

This will be my second HTN and i’m hoping i learnt a few lessons last year!

One – it really doesn’t matter where you start. Try and start near the front with the ‘pros’ and you will feel like you are going backwards as riders surge past you! You will also subconsciously try and pedal a lot harder just to keep up! If its like last year, then the first section of the circuit is uphill – i was knackered when i got to the top and it spoiled the first half of the event for me.

Two – This is a ‘race’ for only a very select few. For the rest it will be about competing and enjoying themselves.

Three – dry feet = warm feet. It will be wet and muddy and pretty darn cold. Dress appropriately!

Looking forward to this one now!

Funny you should post this today. I recently had to replace my pads to my Formula RX brakes. I hadnt had the bike for too long, less than 6 months. Im not sure if that is to be expected but it certainly seemed a lot faster than the pads i had on my old bike.
Anyway, I had difficulty locating pads from local shops but managed to get them from Evans Cycles who had a fair range of them. At the time i bought the cheapest ones but today whilst cleaning the bike found that they have worn down to almost nothing already. So i’m going back tomorrow for more pads – probably more expensive ones this time.

I also find that my brakes are squealing like a banshee and that one side of the pad is wearing more than the other. Think i’ll have to investigate why this may be…?

Well you have given us a bit of a blank canvas to work on there! What sort of riding will you be wanting to do? ie on or off road? Will you be using the bike for a commute?

think you really need to tell us something about your intentions as well perhaps, as what the bike was like that you rode in Spain and what you did on it…

We have done 3 coast to coasts over the last few years. In 2010 we did the C2C from Whitehaven to Tynemouth. In 2011 we rode the Way of the Roses (Morecambe to Bridlington) and last year we rode the W2W from Walney to Whitby. All of the rides were over 3 days and varied between about 155 miles and about 180.

For me, the key to these rides are the banter and so its crucial to ensure good accommodation with good food, good ale and good mates. Plenty of people do it in 2’s or solo and take tents but that really wasnt for us!

Of the 3 rides we have done i’d say that the later (Walney to Whitby) was the best and Way of the Roses possibly the less great option (but still good). There are plenty of sites out there dedicated to the routes.

Couple of people saying that they had the hills to themselves. Up Rivington and Winter Hill it was blowing a gale and pretty damned cold. The place is normally crawling with walkers and today there were very few but i reckon there were more Mountain Bikers and runners out than i’ve ever seen before!

Absolutely loved it today! Cracking ride!

Winter Hill and Belmont

Snow drifted to about 2ft deep on this trail… Not sure how impressed my mate will be that i have posted this picture though!

Thanks for the replies. Sounds as though it will be £12.50 well spent!

Bolton & Bury Canal Society[/url] – this may be of interest…

Turton Area

The path around the reservoir is very popular with walkers so not a great place to ride. HOWEVER… away from the reservoir there are loads of places to ride. Like most places it will help if there is someone around to show you where to go. I would happily oblige but i’m away next weekend…

I bought this one from Decathlon (under £50) and its been really good. Very sturdy indeed…

Decathlon Workstand

another no

Cheers guys for the map
The path that I’ve found is a good run is the Witton Weavers Way from the top of Belmont Res “Old Mans Hill” to “Cadshaw” very smooth and very fast in places only problem is from Cadshaw it’s road back

Oh and it’s a bit of a climb to start with ripped up be MX bikes

Dont need to do much road riding back. Turn right on to the A666 at Cadshaw for about half a mile then turn right down Stones Bank Road. You can then pick the Witton Weavers up again and it will take you back to where you started near Tockholes Road.

Much of this can be seen in my ride here…

Tour de Witton Weavers

Try this link…

Camping Barns

We stayed at St Johns in the Vale and would go back there…

I like the biking and i like photography but i dont like having a bulk camera with me when biking and i really dont like the idea of having an expensive camera with me that could get wet or banged about.

Personally i would take a compact out with me when riding although i’m quite keen to buy the Go-Pro Hero 3 camera soon.

What sort of budget do you have? If you dont ride aggressively and dont mind carrying a good camera then have a look at the new sony…

http://www.johnlewis.com/231781842/Product.aspx?s_kwcid=ppc_pla&tmad=c&tmcampid=73

You could probably shop around and get a better deal…

They are on the gate on the right hand side of the road at the second cattle grid. If you go through the gate then the track leads down to the top of Coal Pit Lane although you can also go down to Walker Fold Woods.

We were up there the Sunday before last and met 2 blokes who were also discussing the signs – wonder if that was you Xherbivorex?

Anyway i think the signs may have gone up last year when the gate / fence was rebuilt though not sure if its Bolton Council or Chorley council over that side…

Not 100% sure that a gpx would help you that much in Rivington. If you like, tell me what sort of riding you like and ill do you a route. I can put in gpx if it helps.

Had internet issues all night – no idea why – not just strava…

Just a thought… I work in construction (Salford area) and we have done some work on Metrolink Tram stops. As part of our works we had to take out some ‘bike lockers’ which are now in our yard. You know the type – the ones you see at stations with Bike Locker Users Club or something like that on them… Would one of these not be a more secure solution?

Thanks guys. As a result of the link and discount code i have just ordered the magicshine MJ 880 2000 lumen light for £119.

Looking forward to giving it a go!

I’m in!

… and cant wait!

Thanks guys that pretty much makes up my mind!

Much appreciated!