We’ve had an awful lot of rain in the 6 days since my last ride. The local trails would be very wet so not only was this unlikely to provide the usual level of entertainment but could also damage the trail. I wanted some exercise but don’t enjoy riding on the road on a mountainContinue reading “Riding in wet weather.”
When it’s too wet to ride but you ride anyway.
I planned a trail ride but as soon as I left the house it started to rain. It was fairly light rain and continued throughout the ride but once I was out I wasn’t going to turn back. I wanted the ride to be oriented towards stamina so would ride at a steady pace, gettingContinue reading “When it’s too wet to ride but you ride anyway.”
Training for recovery.
I need to train for recovery this year. I don’t mean recovery after a ride but rather after a big effort, such as a hill climb, during a mountain bike ride. It will be a big help as I negotiate my planned ride with 6 ascents totalling around 4,500 feet. I wanted a ride todayContinue reading “Training for recovery.”
Targets for 2023.
I feel that it’s important for me to set some targets for my mountain biking each year. I may well add further targets later in the year but you may be wondering what happened to the targets I set for 2022. At the start of the year I only set 2 targets. One was toContinue reading “Targets for 2023.”
New shoes.
After my last ride 3 days ago I noticed that the sole of one of my mountain bike shoes was parting company with the upper. This is very disappointing after only around 6 months and is a tiny fraction of the life of the shoes they replaced. Naturally I don’t have the receipt so can’tContinue reading “New shoes.”
Boxing Day ride.
I haven’t ridden for 20 days due to snow and ice, then a trip to Scotland just before Christmas. This is unprecedented for me and must have impacted on my fitness. I wanted to get off road today, despite the sodden conditions so rode to our local hill, Healey nab, with a determination to rideContinue reading “Boxing Day ride.”
Happy Christmas.
I’d like to wish a Happy Christmas to all my readers from my wife, Ali, Freddie, the bucket of mischief above, and myself. I haven’t ridden my mountain bike since the 6th of December due to snow and ice which made it too dangerous even to reach the trails. It’s all melted away now, though,Continue reading “Happy Christmas.”
Flower of the Week, 10th December.
After a week of freezing temperatures we were bound to get some snow. We woke up this morning to a couple of inches though with the temperature now rising to one degree Celcius, I don’t think it will stick around for too long. The garden is transformed to a winter wonderland.
Flower of the Week 7th December.
The colour may be gone but many of the decaying plants exhibit a statuesque elegance. With temperatures of minus 4 celcius last night there was some ice on the pond. Last winter we left the pump running to keep the surface clear and allow oxygen into the water for the fish. Running the pump takesContinue reading “Flower of the Week 7th December.”
Frosty morning ride.
The weather is now approaching from the north, straight from the frozen arctic, rather than its accustomed south westerly origin. This is bound to mean that it’s cold, despite Global Warming. We’re even expecting snow over the next few days so I was glad that I could ride today when it was only slightly frosty.Continue reading “Frosty morning ride.”
Mountainbiker 