After a brief but welcome Indian Summer we had rain and thunder yesterday afternoon. It’s like returning to normality after a glorious period of dry trails and has meant that my last ride using the 2004 vintage Whyte JW4 may be it’s last outing of the year. I don’t like to put my classic mountainContinue reading “Normal service is resumed.”
Making hill climbing easy!
Using my pedal powered dinghy has revealed to me that I tend to use a rather slow cadence, that is the rate at which I turn the pedals. On my last few rides I’ve been practicing upping that speed of rotation and have learnt a lot. I live in an area of hills which areContinue reading “Making hill climbing easy!”
Spinning those pedals.
I’ve been giving cadence, that is that rate at which I rotate the pedals, a lot of thought recently. It isn’t mountain biking which has brought the matter to my attention but using my pedal powered boat. In the boat it’s not possible, due to the resistance of the water, to spin the pedals atContinue reading “Spinning those pedals.”
Training by boat.
My boat build is officially (almost) finished! When I launched my first incarnation of my home designed, pedal powered boat I’d painted it all nicely. Unfortunately I had to try many different versions of all kinds of parts of the boat so it ended up looking rather battered. After several successful trips, including using aContinue reading “Training by boat.”
Cadence.
Cadence is the rate at which you spin the pedals on your mountain bike, or other pedal powered contraption, for that matter. My own cadence has come to my notice not through cycling but as a result of using my pedal powered boat. A cycling cadence for a road rider will usually be in theContinue reading “Cadence.”
A recovery sail.
After 4 days of inactivity with my first cold in around 2 years I was keen to get out today and thought that a trip in my pedal powered boat was the best option. It is definitely less aerobic than a mountain bike ride and there often seems no need to work hard since it’sContinue reading “A recovery sail.”
Man flu.
It’s a well known fact that what may be a trifling cold to a woman is a serious case of influenza to a man. Personally I haven’t had a cold since well before the Covid crisis so it must be getting on for 2 years. This suggests that all the social distancing and mask wearingContinue reading “Man flu.”
Getting over an injury.
On my last mountain bike ride, which was 4 days ago, I had a freak accident. I hit some wet tree roots at the bottom of a set of wooden steps and slid to the ground. It would have been fine if I hadn’t fallen onto a stone structure and hit the base of myContinue reading “Getting over an injury.”
An hour on the canal.
After an accident during my last mountain bike ride I still have a bruised shoulder. It’s the bone behind the collar bone and by referring to Google I can see it’s called the coracoid process. It was slightly uncomfortable and at this stage I didn’t want to stress the injury further so thought I’d beContinue reading “An hour on the canal.”
Wet.
The weather forecast was right. It rained. I don’t usually like to set out on a mountain bike ride if it’s raining already and this morning it was more a case of damp in the air than actual precipitation. I’d intended to ride to Rivington, a popular local venue, and thought I might meet plentyContinue reading “Wet.”
Mountainbiker 