I’ve only averaged one bike ride per week for the past month. Not sure why really. Maybe I just rode a bit too much over December and January (which were two of the best riding months ever it has to be said).
But hopefully the recent arrival of some shiny new and extravagantly coloured test bikes will kickstart me again. I may even start posting on this Blog more frequently too 
of all the riding thats going on around but without me, my chest infection refuses to bugger off (and needless to say I havent been to see the doc despite my better halfs numerous attempts at advice), its settled into a rasping but wet cough now, I cant tell if it hurts anymore or I’ve just become immune to the pain!
After reading on the forum about the adventures that everyone’s been having in the snow I’ve decided that this Sunday will see me on my bike come rain or shine or snow, prefferably snow. I’m getting the bike out of its slumber, rounding up some friends and dammit I’m going for a ride.
I’ll be flying in the face of the fashionistas and fitting Crud Guards front and rear, wearing long tights and Goretex to cover my weak and withered body (actually thats not true, I havent withered at all, in fact just the opposite) and I’ll have a full compliment of gears to help me up those steep sided valley’s.
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They’ll have to wait for me at the tops, there will be pisstaking and much laughter at my wheezing old body, they’ll force me to drink from a hipflask and make me eat Haribo’s..
They may have to drag me out of any cosy looking pubs we stumble across
But frankly I wont care a damn, it’ll be me bike riding again, it’ll be me doing the thing I love, it’ll be me getting stronger with every pedal stroke, it’ll be me logging into my memory all the jokes and half wheels in readiness for the summer when the payback starts
see here for details of the fun I’ve been missing
 http://www.simonbarnes.net/ridediary/
Quick update -
Events conspired against a group ride so a solo off and on ride local to me was completed, 2 and a half hours of coughing and spluttering but it felt good, riding bikes is ace - thats all
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I didn’t take the Singular out last night, I rode my loverly, loverly, Soulcraft which I’ve had since 1999 and has recently been ‘refreshed’ with a whole new SRAM and Truvativ drivetrain, new pads on the Magura Louises and some pimp Fox F80s. Not through any ‘bike suitability’ choice, but simply because it had pedals and lights already on it.
Everyone but Ed and I bailed out before the ride, so the two of us had free rein on route choice. We don’t mind a bit of UP-ness, so we did two big climbs and descents, taking in the best of the frozen, and super grippy, singletrack. Although there were barely two centimetres of snow, it was enough to give the world a snowy glow and to give a surprising amount of traction.
We’d both brought hipflasks along, and the joy of looking out at the frozen landscape, sipping on an Islay whisky, was unparalleled.
And as Vaughn Monroe sang… ‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…’ - more of the same please, weather!
We’ve had snow here in Calderdale. Not quite the half a foot that some folks have had, but enough to make the place appear white and chilly. I’m out for our regular Thursday night ride tonight, but it sounds like half of the regulars are doing other things. A pity (for them, that is…) because snowy nightrides have made for some of my favourite moments here. Woohoo!
Reckon I’ll ride the Singular tonight, see how the big wheels and nine gears get on.
Does being away from the bike (say, on deadline…) make it better when you finally get to ride? Or is it as good as it would be normally? I can’t say I know the answer, but I do know that the weather following our deadline has been magnificent and highly conducive to riding bikes A LOT.
The magazine went to the printers on the Wednesday night. So Thursday night I rode, then again on Saturday, Sunday and even on Monday. And today (Weds) we all took a couple of hours off and rode this afternoon. With the skies clear and the ground hard, frosty and grippy, it’s silly not to…
We get the issue back tomorrow. Time to have a flip through and see if all the missed evenings and weekends were worth it. Unfortunately, it nearly always looks good enough to have been worth it. We’re still trying to do an issue one day where no one has to give up a weekend of their time…
One day Shep, one day…