This weekend was all about the local, riding straight from the doorstep and as it turned out alone. Best laid plans and all that; which meant not taking any overly interesting photo’s, sorry kids.
Saturday saw a quick blast with Pip the Patterdale. She actually behaves herself around other dogs better when she’s running with the bike. Most of the doorstep riding is more akin to a water feature than to singletrack at the moment, so I was quite glad the I’d lit the woodburner before we set off so we both had somewhere to thaw/dry out when we got back. A short and sweet ride managing to miss the heaviest rain? That’ll do nicely.
Sunday was timed to avoid the deluge and make the most of the brief appearance of blue skies and sun. A bitterly cold wind made the decision to leave the dog at home easier which meant a longer ride was possible. I tried to choose a route that stuck to rock and hardpack as much as possible though the return part of the loop was considerably wetter and muddier than the start. I was glad to have got out, first ride of the winter in softshell and merino glove liners done.
For the winter I’ve built the Highball alloy up 1×10 and so far I’m pleased with how it’s running in the clag. With the clutch equipped rear mech I’ve so far managed to avoid needing a chain device, if the chain starts dropping I may revise that though. More info on that soon in a Long Termer update.
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Meanwhile over the hill Sim and Matt are riding slither-tech™ when it all goes wrong. Dry stone wall top stones meet Matt’s ankle and from the looks of things Matt’s ankle comes off worse. Ouch. Broken or sprained? No news at time of writing…
If you got out at the weekend, let’s see your photo’s here: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/anyone-venture-out-today-take-any-pics
Complete Clart – fest up in the borders this weekend…
Cold frosty day on Saturday was perfect for riding but took the kids for a walk instead. Hey! Isn’t that my bike in the photos?
A corker of a weekend away riding with a club mate. Observing the pattern of storms forecast by the met office we headed to The Lakes on Saturday and were rewarded with fine weather on fast and rocky, if watery, trails around south lakes. It was clear that for Sunday, North Wales would be sandwiched between departing fronts and the new arrival, giving another calm sunny interval. So we headed for Llandegla red/black. It was warm enough for just a jersey over base layer. It was raining back home.
Kind of like the reverse of being a storm-chaser then, eh Buzz?
You know these Monday morning w/e debriefs, well would it be possible to know the location of the riding and the writer’s name at all?