I don’t usually have any problem with motivation when it comes to mountain bike riding, I love it and often wish I could get out more. Today, however, I simply couldn’t get excited about a ride. The weather was dull and gloomy with wet ground after overnight rain. The inevitably wet trails just weren’t callingContinue reading “Demotivated.”
Category Archives: boat
Last ride and review of 2021.
Today was bright, sunny and unseasonably warm at 13 celcius. A perfect opportunity on New Years Eve for a last ride of the year. After a considerable amount of rain since my last ride I chose Healey Nab for its well drained purpose built trails. But first, what has my mountain biking year been like?Continue reading “Last ride and review of 2021.”
A ride of two halves.
I thought for a while, whilst walking the dog, about where I should ride my mountain bike today. I decided on a mainly off road route but in two distinct halves. I joined the Leeds/Liverpool canal near home to ride north to the village of Wheelton. I’ve really gained a new appreciation of this fabulousContinue reading “A ride of two halves.”
Bike or boat in the wet weather?
We’ve had an awful lot of rain recently and the ground is thoroughly soaked. I wondered whether I’d be better to use my pedal powered boat for exercise since the mountain biking trails would be in a bad state. There were many years when I had the alternative of mountain biking or running but whenContinue reading “Bike or boat in the wet weather?”
Cross training.
By choice I’ve tended to use only my mountain bike for training for many years. I had a restaurant business until 2012 and since then I’ve had the ability to ride in daylight hours so there has been no need to supplement mountain biking with other training. Before 2012 I’d often do a midweek runContinue reading “Cross training.”
Returning after a cold.
I hadn’t had a cold in around 2 years but have now endured 2 in quick succession. It started last Friday and only yesterday did I feel well enough to return to my regular exercise regime. I can only presume that my resistance to colds has been reduced by not having to fight one inContinue reading “Returning after a cold.”
A video of my boat!
It’s a small world. I’ve had a message from James Cameron-Clarke who is someone I’ve never met. He had watched a Youtube video about a trip by a narrow boat along the canal near where I live. James lives in Blackburn about 10 miles from my home town of Chorley and he realised that he’sContinue reading “A video of my boat!”
A boat based workout.
My homemade pedal powered boat had been close to perfect but I couldn’t pedal quickly enough. This was barely making me breathe but stressing the leg muscles so I knew it would be difficult to cover longer distances on the canal where I sail. I added a chain and sprockets to double the pedalling speedContinue reading “A boat based workout.”
Modifying my boat.
My homemade, pedal powered boat took a long time and many incarnations before I was satisfied with it. I tried 4 different propulsion systems before I found one which propelled me at a satisfying speed. I then only needed to strengthen it for reliability and I had a boat which I could cruise around inContinue reading “Modifying my boat.”
My best boat trip so far.
We didn’t have anything important to occupy us on Sunday afternoon so I thought a trip in my homemade pedal, powered boat sounded like a good idea. My wife, Ali, is not convinced by the boat and flatly refuses to accompany me and bring the dog, Freddie, along. He did get the chance to seeContinue reading “My best boat trip so far.”
Mountainbiker 