I’ve been tired since we returned from holiday but know that I need to get back to a higher level of activity if I’m to do my planned big ride. This will involve an almost exclusively off road ride, climbing around 5,000 feet of ascent. I thought that it would be good to ride aContinue reading “Training for a big ride.”
Category Archives: MTB
Back to life!
I haven’t ridden my mountain bike for 13 days, which is almost without precedent. We went for an 8 day holiday in south west England and although I’d intended to get a lot of riding done in the week before we went I was thwarted by the weather. I only managed one bike ride andContinue reading “Back to life!”
Training for our holiday.
My wife, Ali, and I are going away next week for a holiday which is likely to be a smorgasbord of cultural delights. So why should I need to train? Well this time I’m not taking a mountain bike and it’s unlikely that I’ll engage in any aerobic activities for the entire week. What IContinue reading “Training for our holiday.”
Back on the bike.
I haven’t ridden my mountain bike for 6 days which is almost unheard of, for me. I haven’t been idle in this time, though, because I’ve had 2 trips in my pedal powered boat. Using the boat is good exercise but isn’t exactly the same as riding a bike. I’m finding it less aerobic evenContinue reading “Back on the bike.”
Was it all worth it?
Today I was reminded of a post I wrote in the spring entitled “Life gets in the way of mountain biking”. My wife, Ali, had asked me early in the year what I’d do in our garden if I had a blank canvas and within days we were digging up many years of work. IContinue reading “Was it all worth it?”
Messing about on bikes.
Today is hot by the standards of northern England at 26 celcius. Whilst for many around the world this may seem refreshingly cool, to us it’s rather hot to be riding a mountain bike. My plan was to ride Brinscall Woods to be out of the direct sunshine and to ride with no particular plan.Continue reading “Messing about on bikes.”
Riding up Ben Nevis.
Ben Nevis is Britain’s highest mountain. OK so it’s only 4,406 feet but it’s normal to climb it from around sea level so you have to ascend the whole height to reach the summit. I’ll confess straight away that, whilst I’ve climbed it many times previously it isn’t something I’ve done recently. I’ve run toContinue reading “Riding up Ben Nevis.”
A training ride and how I gained motivation.
This evening England play Italy in the delayed Euro 2020 football final and I hadn’t planned to do anything else today, apart from maybe a bit of gardening. By the middle of the day I needed something to occupy me so what could be better than a mountain bike ride? I thought I shouldn’t tireContinue reading “A training ride and how I gained motivation.”
Back to the hills.
On my last ride of 22 miles I only climbed 101 feet of ascent. That was mainly during my first and last half miles on my way to the Leeds/Liverpool canal, which obviously doesn’t rise at all, excepting tiny undulations of the towpath. I have a plan for a big and challenging ride which willContinue reading “Back to the hills.”
Less climbing.
My recent rides have involved a lot of climbing. In a week of 3 rides I climbed a total of 6,104 feet according to the app. Strava. I have a plan to do a big ride as a challenge for this year which should push me to the limit of my fitness and ability. HavingContinue reading “Less climbing.”
Mountainbiker 