Singletrack Staff Blog

While big, epic days out are great, sometimes things don’t pan out that way and you either don’t get to ride, or you have a two-hour spin rather than a seven hour epic. At times like that, some people would get frustrated - worrying that they’re either missing out on training miles, or missing out on fun or on life itself. It depends, however, on what you’re doing instead of riding.

In my case, I popped up to see Michael and the lovely Linzi in Penrith. With me was Emily (my girlfriend) and Kristen, an old friend who’d come over from Paris to see me for the weekend. We’d planned on pitching up to the Lakes and doing a big ride while Kristen wanted to bag a peak or two. But we got to Michael’s, the coffee was served and the rain started. We eventually made it out for a ride - only a couple of hours or less, but we got to ride along Ullswater on some fab singletrack and only got slightly wet on the ride back. Thinking back, though, I’d spent a wet Bank Holiday Saturday chatting with some of my favourite people and STILL got a ride in. AND we had fab food served to us when we got back! Glass half full, that’s (usually) me.

Oh, and I got to ride Michael’s box-fresh Orange Five, custom painted in Clockwork colours and - is that new XT I see? You’ll have to wait to see how it worked for a couple of weeks as Sim’s off to the official launch in France in a couple of weeks…

I have to put my hand up that I’m incredibly lucky. I live in a place that is beautiful the riding is excellent and have community of great friends around me.
I also enjoy my job. In my main role as the ad guy I do have to do the shitty stuff like make sure the magazine pays for itself with advertising , get ads for the web, and the horrors of spreadsheets (They weren’t mentioned in the interview)All in all though quite tolerable and work is often genuinely fun, we have great people turn up, there’s always new kit to be prodded and and our coffee machine makes coffee that’s possibly illegal in strength.

Deadline however does something terrible to you, in the last weeks melee of last minute ads, reviews to be finished and general threat of missing the print deadline, you just see work as terrible drudgery and after work I don’t even want to look at a bike. everyone seems fairly despondent at this time, and wonders what on earth there doing for a living..
Hindsight and the mag has gone and Of course work life isn’t really like that , if it were always deadline week you’d pop in a couple of months.

If proof were needed of how good life is?This weekend I rode Saturday and Sunday in mixed weather with great friends and only had to step out of my door to start the ride, The Fox and goose had a beer festival on and spent yesterday pleasantly inebriated whilst letting my legs recover..

Ben and I are off to Europe next week for a road trip and I’ll be out riding tonight.

So here’s to issue 35 that’s just gone and here’s to issue 36 a summer of riding ;]

We normally have test bikes show up for an issue a couple of weeks into the production process - that gives us four weeks or so to ride, swap, shoot and write about test bikes for each issue. This issue, however, we’ve been super-organised and three of the test bikes for next issue are already here. But we’re working flat-out on finishing the current issue, so the bikes will have to stay, boxed up and dormant for another couple of days.
Then, however, there’ll be no mercy. Nothing gets between a bike journo and a bike ride once the magazine’s gone to the printers. Apart from working on the next issue, but then nothing! Well, sleep is pretty good. As is wine and good cheese… And then riding!

We have an unwritten rule here at Singletrack that if you’re still working after 8pm on deadline week, you get bought dinner. And seeing as we’re 60 seconds walk from two great curry places and a fab pizza place, it makes working late something to look forward to. And given that the off licence is 30 seconds’ walk too, it’s a wonder we don’t try and have more deadlines…

Just received the final missing parts required for completing my Shimano DXR’d Redline Monocog - a 34T chainring and a rear V-brake.

Both items are almost elegant in their no-frills but shiny ‘n’ crisp construction. The chainring is particularly nice - unramped, shiny black, simple Shimano logo laser etching.

It’ll be a shame to get them covered in crap this weekend. Oh well.

I is bike geek.

Spent the weekend first fettling, then riding bikes. It’s been a while since anything has really needed working on, but after watching Matt’s sterling effort at the Dyfi I decided it was time to sort out our tandem which has been neglected since last year. New brakes and tyres fitted, thudbuster sorted for the rear and we’re ready to go.

The Jake the Snake has had 46cm Salsa Bell Laps, Avid flak jackets, and a Control Tech Carbon seatpost and 70mm stem fitted. I decided to lose the cross tops in the process as I never used them anyway. A quick lap of the usual loop and I have to say I prefer the handling and the bars are very reassuring in the drops on rocky drops, if you see what I mean.

Back today… Quite brutalised. My first ride on a tandem and a fairly long one at that ;] The Dyfi is probably one of my favourite organised rides; the climbs are long, the descents are genuinely testing and the people that organise it are some of the most friendly and hospitable you’re likely to meet. Next year I think (pray) I’ll be on a more normal bike but one thing is certain - I will be there! ;]