Archive for the ‘weather’ Category

On the Road

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Not that I admit very often to it but since it was a lovely day today I took off on the road bike for a couple of hours.

I know, darkside content, but still with the prospect of the Friday Night Series of Mountain Bike Races ahead I needed some training and road riding is a great way to get the miles in and base fitness going. I may be about 4 months too late to even start to aim for a podium place but hey I enjoyed the ride.

So what did I learn today on the road – well you get plenty of thinking time to look at your bike set up so I started thinking – the saddle nose is slightly too low forcing me onto the drops more than is comfortable, my neck hurts, even with a proper roadie helmet my neck is just not used to that position of being on the drops and having my head up and I need to go shopping for some better padded gloves, the mountain bike gloves I have have no padding on the hands – great for my MTB but not so good when you spend time on the hoods with no padded hands.

Then this got me thinking , maybe this is what new mountain bikers are like on the Intro and Novice courses – a little uncomfortable, a little wary of going over loose stuff in case they wash out and haven’t got completely suitable kit that works for them.

Maybe it is good once in a while to force yourself back to basics and experience life as a novice sometimes – its all too easy to take things for granted on a mountain bike but you forget what the new rider feels like.

Just don’t tell anyone I was on the road bike though eh – it’s not good for my reputation!

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Its the simple things

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

I know it doesn’t take much but maybe the cold of recent times is beginning to freeze my brain?

First by the end of a days instruction the milk in the hot chocolate from the flask was going a little sour -now you can’t beat a nice warm drink when you’ve finished the day and are washing down the bikes so its a pretty essential problem to overcome. So up pops a friends wise words:

“Well why don’t you used powdered milk and water then?” – BINGO! problem solved, back on the warm drinks.

Then I was trying to be healthy and when counting up the fruit and veg I eat each day there are very few days that I actually get my ‘five a day’ yet my diet isn’t unhealthy – having plenty of fibre & protein but watching the saturated fats. Then I was reading the newspaper and it says to ‘add dried fruit such as dates and apricots’ to your meals as a supplement – out goes the maple syrup and in come the dried fruit – a bit chewy but good enough for me when I’m in an ‘thou shalt have a healthy diet moment’ – It’ll last at least 3 days!

Why are some things so obvious that I just don’t see them – cold weather freezing the brain I think – now we have the sun roll on the warmth

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These are the days you ride for

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Clear blue skies, a bit chilly but the sun is out and just starting to have some warmth in it, with everyone else at work in an air conditioned office, don’t you just love these days when you can escape.

OK so its is a bit cold with the wind chill but with the correct kit on you don’t mind, the trails are empty as no one else has go the bike out of its winter hibernation or they are at work and its just you, the birds and the occasional rabbit.

These are the days you wait with the weather we have had, just when you don’t expect, one out of the blue they turn up and you have a great ride when everyone else sits indoors and wishes they were out riding.

Just book the day off and sneak out for a cheeky ride (just don’t pick the same day we are out riding the trails!)

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guiding in the rain

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Why is it that guiding a ride in the rain is just good and bad at the same time? – you get absolutely soaked as you are the first on the singletrack to drain all the water off of every bush and blade of grass (or pretty yellow gorse bush at this time of year) as you ride past. You really so need those Sealskinz socks, yet as you lead you get a clear view of the trail and can choose the lines on the route to suit yourself and please yourself (to a certain extent) to the speed you ride at.

I still can’t make my mind up whether it is easier to take the back up position at the back of the group or lead in the rain but get the wet feet?

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