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Usually, around this time of year, a bunch of us head to the Lakes for some glorious 'Indian Summer' rides on the trails and fells. We'd not managed to get a good date for everyone, and the weekend most people could do, I can't ... So I've come on a mini solo adventure.
Not to the Lakes - as the forecast this weekend was pretty grim.
Forecast (if not the full reality) in the North Yorkshire Moors has been OK, so here I am, in a pod, in Dalby forest ...
Today, I did a 83km XC ride on the HT, starting with some of the red trail at Dalby, then over to Hole of Horcum, down to Levisham, across and then alongside the railway, and up and over the moors to Goatland. Weather started off OK, but then endured 2 hours of persistent rain ...
Crossed the A169, and across to and skirted the edge of Fylingdales Moor. Incredible devastation, partly the great tranches of moorland cleared as a fire break, and of course the charred landscape. Still smouldering in places (today's dump of rain will have helped a bit), and plenty of fire crews and farmers with tractors and water trailers still on the scene ...
Back into Dalby, and completed most of the red (despite some sections being signed as closed due to the National Gravel Championships, which is being held here this weekend) ...
Overall, a great, tough, wet ride.
Nice day out! I was short on time so went for a run. It was not deserving of being captured for posterity in photo form.
I see your 83km, and offer … a 4 mile blast round the local woods on the hardtail. Only had a short window (nearly always the case these days with work and young kids) but still loved it. Haven’t ridden the hardtail without my little girl on the back for months so it felt sprightly!
Spring showers here meant Tewantin trails were empty.
I wasn't feeling too sprightly and wanted to take it easy for the last race of the season tomorrow.
Also I found a roofing screw stuck in an spd hole my shoe this morning. Mental. 
I did a 30 mile foodie trip on the gravel bike yesterday. Wind was blowing everywhere but felt super fast. Like to think it was my fitness or extra 5psi in tyres but probably not! Headed to Beverley via back roads and off road lanes to collect free sourdough starter from Bluebird Bakery while picking up some Luke's sourdough which I've been meaning to try. Got myself a fat scamp too.
Probably my fave gravel ride locally especially the bit in the photo that I always persuade myself is Italy. Got soaked in the only shower I came across. 
Started off damp, became increasingly wet! Trails still good tho and glad I got out for a short but fun ride. Yeah that bike, blame the Stiff final sale. I bought my only other SC from Stif 25 years ago! Sad to see them go, but this was such a monster bargain I couldn't resist. NBD post coming 🙂
Probably not going to make it out this weekend.
*Jaws theme music plays*
Compton Scorpion. Cotswolds
Pottering around York having got here to get my son installed in his university accommodation, dodging the showers
Travelling from Ainsa to Sospel. Stopped of in Carcassonne for some R and R before we hit the trails again
Got properly soaked! Tried to hide under some trees for a while but had to emerge eventually. Good fun though.
See the menacing wall of rain over sheff and moving towards the steel city race 😬
Finally got home last night (after the stress of Ryanair needing a replacement airplane for the flight home). Im always knackered after a week away with work - I assume most folks are the same. Anyway, even though the forecast was pretty miserable, we decided to head out for a ride at Tollymore. And lo and behold, most of the morning was beautiful weather. It certainly helps the mood when the sun breaks out.
Well that wasn't ideal...
Last race of the season began with a bad night's sleep and a looming feeling.
First issue was a closed bridge making the drive 2 hours rather than 1.45.
First stage Reeksy1's rear brake died. No chance of getting a Magura lever on a Sunday so we decided to share my bike.
The format is three stages and as many repeats as you like. In reality it means a sighting lap followed by a race pace lap.
Our race involved two laps followed by mad pedal and suspension settings changes.
Along the way my virtually brand new dropper died (swapped for the boys) and I snapped a multi tool trying to get a pedal off.
I did manage to beat 
my mate by 0.7 secs so it wasn't all in vain 😂
My body battery is now in debt.
I was riding at Golfie today and had a jolly nice time. Yesterday I was at Pitlochry Highland Games and the grass track racing was pretty moist.
Well, I just found out that grass track racing is a thing! Never been to a Highland Games in my life, but this sounds like it would be fun to watch.
Grass track cycling at the Highland Games | Cyclist
First ride for a few weeks due to amongst other things laziness.
Managed to avoid the showers, it did feel very autumnal though. 
Started Friday with some trail tweaking:
Sunday it was Biblical. Steep off camber was never going to work:
Front brake cable ripped out 😥.
We also realised that the Time pedals sprog was using are over 20 years old. I gave him two pairs when he was in his early teens. Candidate for the best MTB clip in pedal ever?
Never been to a Highland Games in my life, but this sounds like it would be fun to watch
It really is - velodrome racing with the added spice of 21c slick tyres on wet grass and Highland dancers occasionally nipping across the track to their stage. Add to that the range of competitors from serious club cyclists to 85 year olds on their Bob Jacksons all in the same race and it's like there's three races happening all at once.
Front brake cable ripped out
Does not compute.... 🤔 😜
Went out for an easy lap w EpicsJnr before jnrepicjnr heads up to hardtailonly territory next weekend.
We took a bit of a detour to the Chattri, just north of Brighton, to reflect on how we respected, and even venerated, different cultures many years ago, versus what was happening in London yday..... 
A late start yesterday so missed the nice weather, but it was still good to get out. Only managed 20 miles as it started to rain, which I wasn't dressed for.
As a side note, I'm super impressed with these new tyres. Very similar to G-Ones but better on the loose stuff.
I'll hopefully get out on the MTB later in the week.
Alright it's Monday but squeezed in a short morning blast around the Cleveland Way, in the rain and wind, brilliant 
Me and the little one made it to lee quarry for a couple of hours before the grim weather set in. She found a lot of it tricky going unsurprisingly, but she seemed to like it overall and says she wants to go back! Will to try to find a drier day next time to incorporate the comb up to and a lap of cragg quarry as well. 
@hardtailonly thats a great ride, its lovely up there, i'm lucky its not too far from me.
As I posted on my Strave, this weekend definitely felt like we've headbutted straight into slop season - long, slow, wet XC trudges (on a hardtail of course!) will be the backbone of my riding now till Easter!
34 miles on my freshly rebuilt bike - ditched Shimano at last and gone with Eagle 90 Transmission and Motive Ultimate brakes - very happy so far.
Potentially the last ride on the Aspen's for a while though 🤣
Potentially the last ride on the Aspen's for a while though 🤣
I was thinking the same about the XR2/3 combo on my HT - aim to change those tonight for something a bit toothier ...
But late to the party but had a morning at Wharncliffe with the food lady in Saturday before heading to the Steel City DH. Felt like everything wanted to kill me after 2 weeks of Canadian dust and granite.
Really enjoying the Stif Squatch picked up in their sale, a really fun bike!
A bit of XC on Saturday.. 
And then some Bikepark fun at Twisted Oaks yesterday!
Potentially the last ride on the Aspen's for a while though 🤣
I rode all last winter on Ground Control F, and FastTrak R, running both at low psi, and it worked almost everywhere, better than people running nobblier tyres at slightly higher pressure. Even greasy green south downs chalk. Only time i found it didn't work was descending a very glassy grassy slope w a shallow mud layer underneath, but then everyone else struggled w that too