Reaching the limit of grip on a mountain bike is nirvana for me! I know a lot of riders may hate to reach the point where the wheels start to slide but I’ve always thought that, at this point, I’m going as quickly as it’s possible to go so it’s always been a destination forContinue reading “Sliding around in the autumn.”
Category Archives: MTB
The Road to Wigan Pier.
This is not a review of the book of the same title by George Orwell, written in 1937. In fact the only Orwell novel I’ve read was 1984 and I bet you can guess when I read that! Wigan isn’t by the sea and so doesn’t exactly have a pier but a number of buildingsContinue reading “The Road to Wigan Pier.”
Hill climb training.
The weather was rather gloomy today. It was overcast and whilst it wasn’t exactly raining I could feel tiny drops of water in the air as I started my ride. I thought today that I’d concentrate on some hill climbs which, whilst short, are very steep. This is the kind of terrain which differentiates mountainContinue reading “Hill climb training.”
Winter training.
I’m sure that some mountain bikers will reduce their riding in winter merely to avoid unpleasant weather and ground conditions. I’m lucky that due to the maritime climate in the north west of England we are rarely unable to ride. I don’t want to allow my fitness to fall during winter and then need toContinue reading “Winter training.”
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.”
A good training ride.
The windy weather was bound to have dried the mountain biking trails, at least in the open. I thought it would be good to ride to the top of Great Hill today but not to use my favourite woodland trails on the descent. Instead I’d continue across the open moorland before committing to a particularContinue reading “A good training ride.”
Checking out some winter riding.
The weather in the north west of England is unpredictable. Yesterday started with our first frost, then was gloriously sunny. Later clouds came over and have remained overnight and today. With winds from the north yesterday it was suddenly colder than it had been so it feels as if we are slipping into winter. OfContinue reading “Checking out some winter riding.”
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?”
The bike for winter.
I have a Trek Fuel EX8 mountain bike which I inherited from my son. It has 29″ wheels and 120 mm of suspension travel at each end. The picture above is from early this year when I was last using it. It’s a 2014 model which was a time of transition in mountain bike design.Continue reading “The bike for winter.”
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.”
Mountainbiker 