Early this morning I started thinking about my idea to ride the Mary Towneley Loop (MTL), next year. It’s a circuit of 47 miles in the Pennines with 6,500 feet of climbing. I read some forum posts from people who have ridden the route previously and have realised that most riders complete the ride inContinue reading “I’m thinking about next year, already.”
Feeling hopeful.
I was doubly hopeful about my riding, today. Firstly, I was taking a new route up Healey Nab, to add some interest. Secondly, it was frosty this morning. The weather forecast informs us that we can expect up to a week of cold but dry weather. That’s a treat, at this time of year. IContinue reading “Feeling hopeful.”
Sport and transport.
I usually only use my bikes for sport but in the past two days I’ve used my Proflex to go shopping. Yesterday I first visited a cash machine where I didn’t even need to get off the bike. It was vastly more convenient than having to park the car 100 yards away on the carContinue reading “Sport and transport.”
More exploring and a change of bike.
When I washed my bike after the last ride I found that I had a broken spoke in the rear wheel. In the old days, when the brakes used the wheel rim to slow you, you’d usually know if this happened because you could feel a buckle in the wheel when you used the brake.Continue reading “More exploring and a change of bike.”
Exploring by bike.
I used to think that I must know every trail worth riding, if I could ride there from home. In 2015 I met some other riders and rode with them a few times. They knew trails quite near home that I’d never seen before. I’ve found that Google Earth is a great way to findContinue reading “Exploring by bike.”
A glorious autumn day but I’ve heard something tragic.
A short period of better weather is quite a treat at this time of year. The trails are very muddy but in England we ride anything! I took the mainly off road route to the north side of Healey Nab and had already ridden for 23 minutes when I took 2 of the photographs inContinue reading “A glorious autumn day but I’ve heard something tragic.”
A bit of a shock.
I got a bit of a shock when I found that the shock absorber on my Boardman mountain bike would cost around £350 to replace. Even with a discount it’s being offered by a big supplier, Chain Reaction Cycles, for £279. How can they be so expensive? All they consist of is a tube containingContinue reading “A bit of a shock.”
A problem solved and a ride in the sunshine.
Yesterday there was no chance of a ride. It rained just about all day so I took the chance to look at my Proflex mountain bike. Despite it being from the beginnings of full suspension, before many of the difficulties had been solved, many parts are like new. It must have hardly been ridden byContinue reading “A problem solved and a ride in the sunshine.”
Making changes to beat the weather.
In Britain you have to be prepared to ride in the wet weather or you would need to supplement your mountain biking with other sport, just to keep fit. When I had a business it was much harder to ride during the week once the clocks went back, leaving me riding in the dark. IContinue reading “Making changes to beat the weather.”
Meeting a world champion.
I met a world champion on my ride today! The weather forecast have been rather pessimistic over the last few days. I was expecting a poor weekend. Today has been overcast but with no rain in the morning so I decided to ride. I knew the ground would be wet after a few rainy daysContinue reading “Meeting a world champion.”
Mountainbiker 