The second round of 661 Mini Downhill took place on the Corkscrew track, with only one new corner into the finish straight. Conditions were damp and grippy, probably some of the fastest running conditions for the track even if the carparking area turned from frozen mud to slop.
One in Eight on Leckhampton
It was the Cycling Club annual dinner on Friday evening so Saturday morning on Leckhampton started of a little fuzzy. We made up for this with one of the longest DH push days I have done in a while.
Why XR muds win!
If I had not been reminded that I had a new bike then I would not have gone for the Tuesday evening club night ride. The morning consisted of a heavy rain shower which means that anywhere on the Cotswold's would be muddy. Cleeve hill is the best of a bad bunch in this situation, lots of the trails have a stone base so you can get away with it most of the time.
Dig to Ride - Rollers
As well as riding I regularly help the local trails through maintenance and construction. I believe that mountain bikers should take more of an interest in the trail construction and not just rely on the FC building MTB motorways everywhere (though they are very fun).
I am lucky in that we have a local farmer that lets us build trails on his land as well as a County Council owned jump site. Check out www.thecorrective.com for more details on both of these sites.
Medicine in the Forest
Todays ride was the first on the new Remedy and promised to be a good one with the sun out and rapidly drying trails. We started at the Pedalabikeaway center with the plan of riding the marked red and blue trails then tackling the enduro trail.
I got the poison...
In a previous post I mentioned a special package that I picked up in Milton Keynes. The package was actually my new bike, a 2012 Trek Remedy 8. Originally ordered in December and due for delivery in March but I recieved a call saying that there was a spare one if I wanted it.
For those that don't know the Remady is a 150mm travel bike, aimed at the all mountain end of cross country. My plan is to use it as a do everything kind of bike, but with a bias on riding rocky trails faster!
For those that don't know the Remady is a 150mm travel bike, aimed at the all mountain end of cross country. My plan is to use it as a do everything kind of bike, but with a bias on riding rocky trails faster!
Digging up my nemesis
The final corner on the Bushcombe DH track has been my nemesis over the last year, probably counting for me not getting the fastest time due to the number of over bar moments through it. Today I was very happy to put my mattock through it!
Sandy delivery
I had to go over to Milton Keynes to pick up something (more details to follow...) and so thought it was an ideal oppertunity to catch up with an old friend and ride some of the XC trails around Woburn.
Street Club 2
Another session in the underground carpark, this time with 9 riders, some BMXers and an MC.
Swim 2
When I arrived at the pool the boom was still up (splitting the pool in two) and there were no lanes. Because of this chaos I just did a few gentle lengths to warm up. When the boom went down I started the session properly.
Street Club
Street club is actually a training session in an underground car park. Excellent for the winter as it is rain and wind free also illuminated for evening action.
Shark attack on Jacob's Ladder
Another ride in the peak district today. Weather was nearly terrible with driving rain the whole way, still my waterproof 3/4 lengths did a stunning job. The seal skins waterproof socks not such a good job as I had a pool of water around my toes by the end.
Practice makes perfect
Its a miserable Thursday and I have to go to the cycling club committee meeting. This video from a nice hot day in May reminds me of the fun you can have practising on the simplest of trails. Of course there are a couple of minor spills on the way.
Swim 1
My regular pool is a traditional rectangular deck - level pool measuring 33.3 metres x 12.8 metres, according to their website. I usually swim over the winter when it is dark in the evenings, then more mountain biking in the summer. I am just going to post my sessions so that I can see if I am improving over the year.
Derwent Butterfly
This ride is called the butterfly after the shape of the route. Starting on Snake Road (A57) in the peak district then do a figure of 8 over the hills to Derwent reservoir. The three main climbs over the hills are fairly tough and technical in places. The descents are fantastic with more rocks than you can shake a stick at.
Old riding video
I have a couple of old videos that I thought I should post to add a bit of colour to the blog, this is the first. The footage in this video was all taken over a three year period (2003-2005) at various venues over the UK. The video finishes with one of my best crashes!
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