I took it easy on my last mountain bike ride because I had some discomfort and swelling in a tendon at the top of my calf. It seems to have recovered so today I wanted to return to “real” mountain biking rather than riding along the canal bank. We’ve had plenty of rain so IContinue reading “Back to the hills.”
Injury.
I’ve suffered various injuries over the last 30 years of mountain biking. I’ve had a few broken bones and have lost plenty of skin but this week something different has stopped me riding, until today. I had some discomfort behind my left knee and on investigation I found a swollen area at the top ofContinue reading “Injury.”
Wettest ride in ages but still a good one.
We’ve had plenty of rain in the last few days, especially last night, but after 4 days without riding my mountain bike I wanted to get out. I don’t often ride the hills around Rivington at the weekends because they’re are usually a lot of walkers, many with dogs, so it’s better as a midContinue reading “Wettest ride in ages but still a good one.”
Demotivated.
I don’t usually have any problem with motivation when it comes to mountain bike riding, I love it and often wish I could get out more. Today, however, I simply couldn’t get excited about a ride. The weather was dull and gloomy with wet ground after overnight rain. The inevitably wet trails just weren’t callingContinue reading “Demotivated.”
Making the most of a small trail network.
We’re enjoying a very dry period and today we also had some sunshine. This is giving us excellent mountain biking conditions with the trails almost dry, even with temperatures in single figures on the Celcius scale. I decided to ride locally on my nearest hill, Healey Nab, and wanted it to be an essentially unplannedContinue reading “Making the most of a small trail network.”
Do I have a problem?
Today had me wondering once more if I have a problem with my mountain biking. I thought I’d go to a fairly small riding destination at Birkacre, the site of a mill until 1939. Since then all the buildings have been cleared, leaving some interesting trails surfaced with grit and dirt. I’ve been riding hereContinue reading “Do I have a problem?”
5 laps for valuable training.
The weather has remained dry and I’ve heard that rainfall has been half what would usually be expected in January. There’s also little expectation of rain for the remainder of the month which is excellent news for the mountain biker. I thought it was time to start training for the coming season when I haveContinue reading “5 laps for valuable training.”
Riding Great Hill on a winter’s day.
Today, like yesterday, was glorious. Cold but with blue skies and sunshine it was a lovely day to be outdoors. I walked up Great Hill with my dog, Freddie, just 24 hours before and thought that the ground looked dry enough to ride by mountain bike. It’s actually difficult to assess the state of playContinue reading “Riding Great Hill on a winter’s day.”
Walking up Great Hill with Freddie.
The weather was glorious today, after a windy and wet start. This is one of the joys but also penalties of living with a maritime climate. The Irish Sea, about 15 miles to the west, sends us an ever varying diet of weather conditions, which can change quite quickly. I loaded the dog into theContinue reading “Walking up Great Hill with Freddie.”
In search of single track.
A single track mountain bike trail is a narrow track with little option to alter your line. The picture above shows a trail I rode today, a perfect example of the type. I’d looked on Google Earth, which is a fabulous resource for finding new trails, and noticed a dotted line across a section ofContinue reading “In search of single track.”
Mountainbiker 