Singletrack Staff Blog

So, I’ve been super distracted from riding my bike for what seems like years (but in reality is only 4 months), its the longest time for 20 years that I’ve had off. When I say “off” though I mean “off” from riding for fun as I’ve still been riding to work every day but just not much else really, sure there’s been the odd couple of hours here and there but for me my life is all about riding bikes.

Live to ride has long been my way, everything I did was focused around bikes and rides, its what I am…

 

or what I was

 

However this year has been different, to begin the year I’d decided that I wasnt going to race anymore 24 hour races (mostly coz I’d realized how crap I was) so therefore I could enjoy the riding rather than forcing myself to get the miles in.

I did decide to set myself some goals to ride my bike at Lands End and John O Groats and am still determined to do that, but mostly I was going to enjoy the hills again.

 

After a bit of a stutter/start to the year the rides came and I was having fun, but then a dark cloud appeared on the horizon, I got promoted at work and suddenly became responsible for all sorts of stuff that hadnt even breached my radar before, long hours and lots of stress meant that riding time dried up faster than the trails did back in April.Family comitments were still there and these were (mostly !) honoured by spending time out walking and photographing but I’ve been pineing (SP?)for a ride, last week the rides home were extended by a few miles each way in eager anticipation of whats soon to come.

 

The project I’ve been working on comes to fruition next week (hence why I’m here at work now typing this on a bank holiday weekend, yes Chipps its not just the bike mag business thats all glamour ) but the weekend after its the singlespeed world champs that my good friends “The Jocks” are organising. I’ll not be racing but I’ll be there riding in those wonderful Jockish hills and no doubt savouring a malt whisky or 3, and catching up with mates from all over the single speed universe and ridng my bike in the hills.

Did I mention I’ll be riding in the hills already ? and I can see a trip to John OGroats on the horizon, maybe this year wont be a right off ?

 

now, where are those dates for SSMM08 again :-0

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 25th, 2007 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Blogroll . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.