I know better, its been discussed by most of us at some time but on Sunday afternoon I fell foul of the UCT, I got home and had to hang around for a wee while in my riding shorts (for various reasons) I knew it was happening, I could feel the burn at the bottom of my cheeks, just at that point where the crease is !!
And then once out of the bath for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to apply some minty arse lard or Assoss Chamois cream as its technically known (I was obviously more dehydrated than I thought), thats not a good idea in any shape or form !!
so an unsettled night followed when I needed a good night sleep and woke on Monday morning feeling pretty sore and stupid, its eased a little over the day, enough to allow for an evening ride along the river, just under two hours in the sunlight.
Summer appears to have arrived
Sore again now but at least I didnt put any more minty arse lard on !!
Hard to believe the sudden switch from cold to hot.
We headed out to Gisburn Forest for a spin to check out the trail pixies latest delights as well as a long overdue tasting of it’s old school offerings.
And we learnt it’s easy to break a black terrier in hot conditions. Even throwing Pip in every stream we came across wasn’t enough to keep her cool enough to cover the miles in comfort. We need to plan in case we get a proper summer….
It’s a strange thing being British and all. We get a lot of weather, and talk about it a lot. So when we get a truly nice day (like yesterday up in Drumlanrig - not a cloud in the sky, or today in Tod - blue sky and warm - my first ride in in a T-shirt this year) we wonder what the catch is… OK, so it’s a lovely, warm, spring day. The trees are greening up and sucking the moisture out of the ground, drying the trails, the air is warm. So our immediate thought is ‘Well, this isn’t going to last, wonder when the rain is going to come back’. And traditionally, we’ve been right in thinking that. May usually has a balmy fortnight and then it all goes to pot.
But, hey, perhaps this year will be different, eh? All tanned limbs and dusty bikes… Start the positive vibes now. Buy suncream (and keep the Goretex to hand, just in case…). Incidentally, Sunday’s rain didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm at the UK singlespeed champs. Pictures of that tomorrow when I remember my camera…
…my knee that is. I’m going to test it out with a gentle road spin tomorrow with Jazzy Brian. Then expect me to be riding the easy bits of the SS UK race at Drumlanrig this coming weekend. Having raced all of the previous 13 years of the Singlespeed UK Champs, it would be silly to miss this one. Not that I’m much of a singlespeeder these days…
Oh, and I have a new trials hero on Youtube for you:
Fitted Saturday night (eventually, they require superhuman strength and patience) first ride this morning..
bloody hell they are fast, even with tubes fitted (its a long story, dont ask) and kind of springy, which is odd, they have made my previously super stiff and fully rigid VooDoo Aizan into a sofa soft ride ?
More (and photo’s) next week after the first competitive outing at the SSUK08 funfest next weekewnd in Drumlanrig
Well, I’m back from the Sea Otter and back into the swing of things. Before I left, I’d been taking things easy as I’d been feeling under the weather. I’d only managed a couple of rides in a month before I left, and I didn’t ride while in California. So I was looking forward to riding last night. None of the locals were out, so just Jazzy Brian and I went out for a spin. We went up and over London Road, down ‘Hell Yeah!’*, past the pub, up Knott Wood and down ‘Vietnam’. Having survived all this, we deserved a pint in the Stubbing Wharf. And then riding home, my wheels slipped on a flowing canal spillway and dumped me onto my knee. I now can’t bend my leg, so no riding for me for a while again. Ho hum. Perhaps this wasn’t meant to be a fit year…
I’ll be down at the Enduro Six this weekend anyway though, I’ve gone from half of a pair, to a supporter for a solo. Never mind, Emily has a new Santa Cruz Blur XC that she can’t wait to ride a lot, so she’ll probably be happy. Now, do I take the guitar or not?
I’ve been after something new to play with since the Santa Cruz Jackal went back. It had to be geared, it had to be fun and ideally something that gave some trail feedback rather than the isolated feel you get from a lot of full suspension bikes.
With this in mind, and with an eye on a neglected Orange Sub3 that’s been knocking around the office for a while now, I gathered up a load of bits and set to fettling. New stem, tyres, wheels, brakes, forks and shock later and the monster has been created.
Geometry wise it’s ended up quite close to Sim’s Meta 5.5 and out on it’s initial ride it hasn’t disappointed.
It climbs better than your average MLC bike but downhill still comes alive; very snappy steering and just enough back end bounce to take the sting out of rocky descents whilst still feeling “involving”.
A few more tweaks are in order but it’s looking good*
*beauty may be in eye of beholder. Terms and conditions apply.
I went to the US premiere of Seasons last night, in the company of the filmmakers, most of the riders and half of the bike industry. The film was shown on a big screen, with 500 applauding viewers and a great sound system - the best way really to see a films with monster soundtracks. The film is split into four sections, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, with a smallish group of riders pictured in each one.
It starts off with Peaty in Sheffield in Winter - and does a great job of making riding bikes in the rain look exciting and something that you want to do… Other sections show riders like Cam McCaul jumping into his swimming pool off a huge ramp at his house in California - the film goes on to feature the different seasons, some big jumps, a feature on Mont St Anne and other Canadian hotspots, like the Shore and Kamloops. It’s different to Roam in that it’s mainly shot in Canada and there’s a lot more rider interviews interspersed between the wonderfully shot scenes. Fans of Ryan Leech will be sorry to hear that there’s no trials section, just full-on freeriding.
The film is shot very well, with a great deal of wire-work and the camera ‘floating’ above the trail. There are no stunning advances in cinematography - and we now take for granted that any new film will have wire tracking shots, 60ft jumps and a killer soundtrack. My one concern is that the extensive rider interviews between the riding won’t last up to repeated viewings - if the bit in Roam where Jordie Lunn’s dad is talking gets on your nerves, then you’re in for more of the same kind of stuff. However, look between the interviews and the voiceovers and there is some top notch riding and a very entertaining soundtrack. The DVD should be out in late May… And the UK will see a series of film premieres as seen in our story here.
All the tell tale signs that winter is over are now in place. Last night I noticed that the Curlew are back up on the moors; their tell tale calls are one of those little hints that spring is here (despite the snow).
Riding bikes has made me notice these things more, the smell of the Wild Garlic in the woods, closely followed by Bluebells and then Nettles. The arrival of the moorland birds, Curlew, Lapwing, Golden Plover, and Short Eared Owls all supplementing our stock of Red Grouse.
And soon night rides in the woods will mean dodging the bats, just like last weeks meant dodging amorous toads on their way to spawn.
These are all good things, and here the tree hugging tale endeth.
