Wafty Crankers

Well, I may be cursing things somewhat by announcing this but the weather is liiking to improve as this week progresses. Definitely going for a ride on Wednesday night and if the weather holds out over the weekend a trip to Sherwood Pines could be on the cards. Yay!

I just hope that CRC can get hold of a new freehub for my rear Spin Doctor hub as the bearings have gone in mine and my cassette is rattling around like a very rattly thing .

No, not the 80's cheestastic saccharin pop  band. Went out for a ride yesterday and got completely drenched. Phil wasn't even wearing a jacket (hardcore dood) and looked like a drowned rat. It is a shame that summer appears to be over before it really got going, I hope we get at leat one more week with some dusty trails before winter sets in for real. Fingers crossed!

This is just getting plain crazy. Anyway, I am determined that I will go out for a ride this afternoon regardless. Stiff upper lip and all that.

that'll be my fault that the weather has changed... spoke too soon!

won't be seeing much of Daim then! Happy biking!

Not wanting to tempt fate here but we had a cracking springtime ride around the vale today. 21 miles taking in some of the Viking Way which is drying out nicely. The fitness seems to be returning too with a moving average of 11mph. 55 miles for me so far this week. Karl has done110 but then he needs all the training he can get for the Merida in a couple of weeks.

Hopefully we are off to Sherwood pines tomorrow to drag the kids around for an hour or so. The weather is still due to be sunny so it should be fun all round!

Hit Sherwood Pines today with the family and Karl and family. Dragged the kids around on trailers for an hour or so. Lots of fun but Korben said that it was a little bumpy. (This may have something to do with the fact that we decided to try some single track through the forest as we quickly bored of the fire roads.) The weather was okay but a little chilly. Despite this it was incredibly busy up there today. Certainly the busiest I have seen it this year. Looking forward to some warmer days ahead now.

Karl, Tom, Phil and Daim all went for a 30 miler around the vale today. Took in some of the Jubilee Way for the first time. Incredibly muddy to the point of being pretty much unrideable but we all had fun regardless. Karl will no doubt have some candid photos that we will have to add to the blog when he gets his act together and sends them to me.

We have all contemplated contacting the authority that covers the Jubilee Way as not only is it pretty much unrideable it is difficult going on foot. It could be a great route if it was properly managed.

We all ventured out for a local ride today which turned into a complete mud bath. Great fun was had all round as we got muddy (very muddy!), got lost, got scratched, got tired and eventually got home again. 22 miles in total from my house which is a good little ride with the vast majority of it off road. Some of the new trails we found will definitely get ridden again but I think they are best left until the summer when you would not be far better off with a hovercraft or on horseback.

Muddy!

Okay! So it was a bad landing!

He-Man!

Ouch! (This is what mountain biking is all about!)

North Shore (...of the Denton reservoir)

Well we all made it out and back last night despite the fact that the ground was littered with hawthorn that caused lovely punctures for Tom and I. We definitely need to get out an do this more often now that the weather (and light!) should be improving.

I think I will try some new tyre liners to see if I can avoid getting punctures from the hawthorn that has been trimmed from the hedges. The Slime liners I am currently using were no match for the javelin sized thorn that went straight through my tyre, liner and tube last night. I have read that Mr Tuffy are worth a try as they are stronger than the Slime ones. I will report back.