If you were to ask a mountain biker from our area about places to ride I’m sure that “Rivington” would be mentioned very soon or possibly first. When I rode regularly with friends we used the area around the tiny village of Rivington very regularly, all year round. Recently, and especially this year, I haven’tContinue reading “Riding Rivington.”
Finding inspiration where I didn’t expect it.
There’s a small chance that I may be able to ride the 47 mile Mary Towneley Loop on Sunday so I didn’t want to do a big ride today. I decided to ride to my local hill, Healey Nab, to ride 3 laps of the man made mountain bike trails. I’ve done this ride manyContinue reading “Finding inspiration where I didn’t expect it.”
26 inch wheels.
On my last 2 rides I used bikes with 29” then 27.5” wheels. For comparison, today, I chose to ride one of my classic mountain bikes which has old school 26” wheels. This is the wheel size used in the embryonic Californian scene which developed into mountain biking as we now know it. I rodeContinue reading “26 inch wheels.”
27.5 inch wheels
After my last ride on a Trek Fuel EX8 full suspension mountain bike with 29” wheels it would have been good to gain some more familiarity with the larger wheel size. Unfortunately the bike in question has badly worn rear wheel bearings which are preventing the gears from engaging easily. So today I chose toContinue reading “27.5 inch wheels”
29 inch wheels.
My own 4 bikes consist of 3 classic mountain bikes with old school 26″ wheels and one more modern bike with 27.5″ wheels. In the last century you had no choice. If you wanted an MTB you were getting 26″ wheels but in 1999 the first 29″ tires for off road use became available. ItContinue reading “29 inch wheels.”
Disappointed hopes.
The weather forecast for this Friday has deteriorated in the last week. From expecting a decent day a week ago it now seems certain that we’ll get a day of heavy rain. Everything else was in place for me to take on one of the 2 challenges I’d set myself for this year, to rideContinue reading “Disappointed hopes.”
Preparing for the big one.
I’m hoping to ride the Mary Towneley Loop a week on Friday. It’s a 47 mile circuit with 6,500 feet of climbing and is almost all off road. Before then my wife and I are visiting our son 270 miles away in Sussex where I might get a ride in. I’ll return next Monday, sixContinue reading “Preparing for the big one.”
A great downhill treat.
Today my ride had only one purpose. To enjoy the long downhill sections of the second half. First I had to reach the high point above Brinscall Woods, where my current favourite downhill begins. It’s a mainly off road route but there’s little excitement to the ride. It was, however, nice to be out inContinue reading “A great downhill treat.”
A long trail ride.
I’ve been thinking about my plan to ride the 47 mile, 6,500 feet of ascent Mary Towneley loop at the end of the month. I haven’t done any rides on that kind of scale for ages so I thought it would be a good idea to fit one in this week, with only around 3Continue reading “A long trail ride.”
The best downhill in Lancashire.
I’ve heard the route from the top of Great Hill down to White Coppice described as one of the best downhills in Britain. I like it but wouldn’t rate it so highly. It’s only a few miles to the hill, though the climb takes some time. Back in the late 1990s I rode the hillContinue reading “The best downhill in Lancashire.”
Mountainbiker 