An old school ride.

In the 1990s, when I used to ride my mountain bike with friends, we’d often loop around town to link some classy sections of trail together. We aimed to keep the route as much off road as we could and that was the kind of old school ride which I undertook today. I wanted theContinue reading “An old school ride.”

Mechanical mayhem.

Today the weather has remained dry so I set off on my Trek Fuel EX8 mountain bike for a ride to Healey Nab. Unusually, I had no particular plan for my ride, which is not good for training or improving fitness. I wanted a relaxed ride so didn’t set any targets but just getting outContinue reading “Mechanical mayhem.”

A wet fartlek!

Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning speed play. The aim is to ride continuously, taking it easy on some sections of the ride whilst working hard in other parts. You need to recover from the bigger efforts so by riding in this way you can improve your ability to recover. This will always be importantContinue reading “A wet fartlek!”

Putting the effort in.

By analysing my last 2 mountain bike rides using the app. Strava I found that I was riding rather slowly for much of the time. I’d like to improve my fitness so this clearly isn’t good enough. Last time out I was obviously still fresh towards the end of the ride because this was theContinue reading “Putting the effort in.”

Rivington Pike.

If you asked a local mountain biker for a good placec to ride, they’d more than likely say “Rivington”. Rivington itself us a tiny hamlet but is often used to refer to the West Pennine Moors where Winter Hill at 1,498 feet is the high point. On the western flanks of the hill lies RivingtonContinue reading “Rivington Pike.”

Flower of the Week, 24th November.

Summer may be a faded memory but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to see in the garden. Above are the glorious shades of an Acer palmatum.

Keeping pace.

To complete a mountain bike ride as quickly as possible you basically just need to maintain the same amount of effort throughout the exercise, getting gradually more tired. With luck you’ll reach exhaustion as you cross the finish line. This may be possible in a velodrome or maybe a flat road with no wind butContinue reading “Keeping pace.”

A very muddy ride.

I fitted a new 11-46 tooth 10 speed cassette to the Trek Fuel EX8 so I’m now ready for a winter of mountain biking, whatever the weather throws at me. The only part which I still need to renew is the bottom bracket, which is an easy job. It was good to have a newContinue reading “A very muddy ride.”