It’s strange to contemplate a full week without riding my mountain bike but I have something very different to do. I’m riding by scooter to the Netherlands, Belgium and France with 6 good friends. We tend to focus such trips to Europe on commemorating the wars and in this case we’ll be visiting areas onContinue reading “Seven days without riding.”
Flower of the Week, 2nd May.
Corn flowers are another wild flower which have been adopted as a garden plant. In corn fields they grow from seeds after corn has been planted and set seed before it has been harvested. I love the geometric pattern of the buds.
Cornering technique.
I was determined to ride my mountain bike today but we have friends coming round this evening and it would, lets face it, be rude to fall asleep halfway through the evening. A short ride wouldn’t harm, though, but I still wanted the ride to have purpose. On my last ride I realised that, afterContinue reading “Cornering technique.”
Bike, Hike, Boat.
The title describes my last 3 days of activity beginning with a fairly long and certainly energetic mountain bike ride. Yesterday I returned to part of the area where I’d ridden not 24 hours previously to walk our dog, Freddie. Mountain biking is never far from my mind, though, and we walked down a fantasticContinue reading “Bike, Hike, Boat.”
The Egg Hillock.
As I walked the dog this morning I decided that, at just 11 celcius, I was more likely to enjoy a mountain bike ride than a trip in my boat. This thought raised another question, how could I possibly match either of my last 2 rides? They had both involved fast sections within a trailContinue reading “The Egg Hillock.”
Flower of the Week, 27th April.
We have at least a dozen Acer Palmatum or Japanese Maples. They give delightful fresh colours at this time of year and a spectacular final flourish in autumn.
Chasing the Dragon.
I hadn’t ridden my mountain bike for 5 days and it was all my own fault. When I was 17 years old I had salmonella food poisoning from an unknown source and when it seemed to be over I developed rheumatoid arthritis. It was seriously debilitating but faded after about 6 months, only to returnContinue reading “Chasing the Dragon.”
Flower of the Week, 22nd April.
All garden plants are derived from wild plants but many have been selectively bred until they are barely recognisable. We do, however, have some plants and flowers which are still in their native British form. More will bloom later in the season but we already have a few beginning to flower. At the top isContinue reading “Flower of the Week, 22nd April.”
Sessioning the Graveyard.
A strange title, perhaps, but by sessioning I mean riding a mountain bike trail several times in succession to learn it’s intricacies. This may allow you to go quicker the more times you ride the segment but today I was also keen to make riding the unfamiliar safer. I used the roads to reach theContinue reading “Sessioning the Graveyard.”
Flower of the Week, 17th April.
The garden is constantly changing with an increasing number of plants reaching their best, but what are we aiming at? I thought I’d show you what we are trying to achieve by posting some pictures taken over the last few years.
Mountainbiker 