The weather in the north west of England is unpredictable. Yesterday started with our first frost, then was gloriously sunny. Later clouds came over and have remained overnight and today. With winds from the north yesterday it was suddenly colder than it had been so it feels as if we are slipping into winter. OfContinue reading “Checking out some winter riding.”
Great Hill with my dog.
I walk our dog, Freddie, every day but don’t usually think of our walks as exercise. Today, though, in glorious sunshine, I decided we should walk to the top of Great Hill. I usually arrive at the top by mountain bike which I ride from home but that would be too long for a dogContinue reading “Great Hill with my dog.”
Bike or boat in the wet weather?
We’ve had an awful lot of rain recently and the ground is thoroughly soaked. I wondered whether I’d be better to use my pedal powered boat for exercise since the mountain biking trails would be in a bad state. There were many years when I had the alternative of mountain biking or running but whenContinue reading “Bike or boat in the wet weather?”
The bike for winter.
I have a Trek Fuel EX8 mountain bike which I inherited from my son. It has 29″ wheels and 120 mm of suspension travel at each end. The picture above is from early this year when I was last using it. It’s a 2014 model which was a time of transition in mountain bike design.Continue reading “The bike for winter.”
Cross training.
By choice I’ve tended to use only my mountain bike for training for many years. I had a restaurant business until 2012 and since then I’ve had the ability to ride in daylight hours so there has been no need to supplement mountain biking with other training. Before 2012 I’d often do a midweek runContinue reading “Cross training.”
Getting ready for winter mountain biking.
The weather isn’t too bad at the moment. Today has been dry with the temperature at 12 Celcius and a light breeze. These are good conditions for a mountain bike ride because I was never going to be too warm or too cold. Having said that it’s no longer summer and the trails are damp,Continue reading “Getting ready for winter mountain biking.”
Returning after a cold.
I hadn’t had a cold in around 2 years but have now endured 2 in quick succession. It started last Friday and only yesterday did I feel well enough to return to my regular exercise regime. I can only presume that my resistance to colds has been reduced by not having to fight one inContinue reading “Returning after a cold.”
A video of my boat!
It’s a small world. I’ve had a message from James Cameron-Clarke who is someone I’ve never met. He had watched a Youtube video about a trip by a narrow boat along the canal near where I live. James lives in Blackburn about 10 miles from my home town of Chorley and he realised that he’sContinue reading “A video of my boat!”
An old school ride.
With autumn undeniably with us I have to consider the likely trail conditions before every ride. I remembered back to around 25 years ago when I’d ride with my mates to Rivington and particularly the western flanks of Winter Hill. We’d ride the area at weekends right through the winter so surely it would beContinue reading “An old school ride.”
Great Hill for a great trail ride.
I had no aim on my ride today except to ride to the top of Great Hill at 1,250 feet to enjoy the fabulous downhill into Brinscall Woods. From there I’d climb the back of Healey Nab for a shorter descent towards home. I walked our dog, Fredddie, under cloud this morning but by theContinue reading “Great Hill for a great trail ride.”
Mountainbiker 