Most of us nowadays think about our impact on the environment and wish to do no harm. Mountain biking may be a healthy outdoor pursuit but we can impact on the environs and are often blamed for erosion of the trails, usually by walkers. I get particularly annoyed by riders leaving debris such as foodContinue reading “Any harm done?”
All grown up.
Our son, Dylan decided, at around the age of 13, that he wanted to shoe horses for a living. The craft is called farriery and he has qualified this year as a farrier. It’s no easy task because Britain insists that every farrier is trained to a very high standard, which takes nearly 4 years.Continue reading “All grown up.”
What, no mountain biking?
I’ve been away on holiday for over a week and haven’t had access to a bike. This has meant no hard exercise beyond walking, often with our dog, Freddie. I took some running shoes which have only been used once in the last 6 or 7 years but have decided not to run whilst away.Continue reading “What, no mountain biking?”
Boating at last.
I built my pedal powered dinghy last year and after much development I’ve been able to use it as supplementary training instead of always riding my mountain bike. The boat never forces you to put additional effort in. It entirely lets you decide how hard you want to work and setting off with the boatContinue reading “Boating at last.”
Flower of the Week, 3rd August.
Crocosmia originate from Southern and Eastern Africa and are also known as coppertips. We have 2 types in the garden, the orange form and the much taller Lucifer variety. Both types are sometimes seen in the countryside as escapees from gardens but I’ve been surprised to find the bright red Lucifers in remote locations onContinue reading “Flower of the Week, 3rd August.”
Training again.
My last ride involved 5 laps of a 10 minute circuit with 178 feet of ascent on each lap. It was an excellent training ride and I wanted to do something as good today. I haven’t yet succeeded in my challenge to ride a local circuit in under 14 minutes, which I set as anContinue reading “Training again.”
Riding 5 laps. The biology and the psychology.
I feel like I haven’t been putting my usual, consistent level of effort into my mountain biking, so today decided to do something about it. It may be because I’ve already achieved 2 of my 3 annual challenges that made me relax but having tried for the outstanding target I was shocked. I was wayContinue reading “Riding 5 laps. The biology and the psychology.”
Flower of the Week, 28th July.
We have several types of lily in our garden, which flower at different times in the summer. We don’t remember the name if this particular one, which spent years struggling under the shade of an oak tree. In 21 years from the acorn the oak became too big for us, spanning the entire garden. NowContinue reading “Flower of the Week, 28th July.”
When you just need to get out.
For a variety of reasons I haven’t done any exercise more strenuous than dog walking for 5 days. I stayed away on Friday night, then had a busy weekend with rainy days so I couldn’t get out on either bike or pedal powered boat. Today we were also told to expect showers before a moreContinue reading “When you just need to get out.”
Flower of the Week, 24th July.
We don’t usually have areas of the garden with colour themes but by accident a border near the house is predominantly orange. We removed some over grown geranium and have planted a rose, the Lady of Chalotte. The crocosmia are coming into flower to join the orange and red nasturtiums.
Mountainbiker 