Today I took my homemade boat to the canal again, not to test it this time but just to cruise. I had a tiny crowd of onlookers as I launched and forgot to start the GPS based app. Strava straight away. In total I covered around 2 miles and the mile and a half IContinue reading “Cruising!”
Riding up Ben Nevis.
Ben Nevis is Britain’s highest mountain. OK so it’s only 4,406 feet but it’s normal to climb it from around sea level so you have to ascend the whole height to reach the summit. I’ll confess straight away that, whilst I’ve climbed it many times previously it isn’t something I’ve done recently. I’ve run toContinue reading “Riding up Ben Nevis.”
I promise you this my young friend………..
In The Wind In The Willows Ratty says to Mole “I promise you this my young friend, there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” I’ve long held that it would be more true a statement if the term “in boats” was substituted with “on mountain bikes”. DespiteContinue reading “I promise you this my young friend………..”
A training ride and how I gained motivation.
This evening England play Italy in the delayed Euro 2020 football final and I hadn’t planned to do anything else today, apart from maybe a bit of gardening. By the middle of the day I needed something to occupy me so what could be better than a mountain bike ride? I thought I shouldn’t tireContinue reading “A training ride and how I gained motivation.”
Back to the hills.
On my last ride of 22 miles I only climbed 101 feet of ascent. That was mainly during my first and last half miles on my way to the Leeds/Liverpool canal, which obviously doesn’t rise at all, excepting tiny undulations of the towpath. I have a plan for a big and challenging ride which willContinue reading “Back to the hills.”
Less climbing.
My recent rides have involved a lot of climbing. In a week of 3 rides I climbed a total of 6,104 feet according to the app. Strava. I have a plan to do a big ride as a challenge for this year which should push me to the limit of my fitness and ability. HavingContinue reading “Less climbing.”
If a picture paints a thousand words…….
If a picture paints a thousand words then imagine how many more words a video could paint. I’m not an avid watcher of Youtube videos but the other day I watched some mountain biking footage, specifically routes near Darwen Hill which is one of my longer rides from home. Here’s a link to the videoContinue reading “If a picture paints a thousand words…….”
The perfect trail ride?
There are many factors which go towards making the perfect trail ride. For me, since I live in a great mountain biking area, it really needs to start from home. There’s no point in spending more time loading the bike into and out of a car and driving to the start of a ride andContinue reading “The perfect trail ride?”
6,000 feet of climbing.
No, I haven’t just done a mountain bike ride with 6,000 feet of climbing but this week I’ve climbed a total of 6,104 feet, almost exclusively off road. I set off today having already completed 4,470 feet in 2 rides so made sure that I climbed enough to get me over 6,000 feet. There’s noContinue reading “6,000 feet of climbing.”
Adding interest to a ride.
It’s important to me to keep my riding exciting and I have a few techniques which add interest. Timing the whole of a ride keeps you focussed and working hard but you can equally time sections and allow periods of relative rest. Sometimes I create a challenge by targeting a usually uphill segment, which isContinue reading “Adding interest to a ride.”
Mountainbiker 