Clearly I'm going with a roughly weekly posting schedule here. Still, better intermittent than not at all, or something. And as it turns out, I've been doing quite a lot of stuff.
Last week the Turner importers had a press thing at Coed Llandegla. That's a long way away, so I had a look for something to do on the way up. Cannock Chase was in a handy place, Sprokitt off the forum agreed to show me round, and a splendid afternoon was had. There's a ton of riding in those woods, some purpose-built, some "evolved". And several cafes and a decent bike shop in the car park. Splendid.
Llandegla was pretty good too. Could do with a more interesting first climb, but the black sections are good fun and the cafe is lovely. I can particularly recommend the bacon butties, the hot chocolate, the coffee, the lasagne and probably everything else.
Proper news on the Turner bikes soon. One of them was certainly tested for robustness - I stuffed it into the back of a double, but mainly just damaged my own knee.
Which made the weekend's challenge most interesting - a Helly Hansen-sponsored adventure race at Longmoor. Which is possibly the sandiest place in Britain that isn't actually a beach. Short run, 15 mile bike, bit more of a run, comedy "special challenges", inflatable canoes, bit more of a run, finish. The BM team did pretty damn well, we think - full report soon, once the results and pictures are out...
It's been somewhat wet of late, so Gore Bike Wear's splendid Alp-X PacLite shorts have been out quite a bit. Some local rides, couple more Quantocks sorties. Rode with a massive four other people the other day, something that very rarely happens - my usual group size is one, and I rarely exceed two.
Look at that - start with the best of intentions and already a week's gone by since I last put anything in this 'ere box.
Couple of rides of note (I'm not really counting the local stuff - it tends to get a bit repetitive): Cwmcarn for a quick trundle around the Twrch trail and to check out the new freeride trail. It's good fun - needs a few runs down it to get the flow right, I think, and obviously I'll need to learn to jump properly for some bits. The choice-of-heights ladder drop is nice, and I like the kickers into the berms. The wallride goes the wrong way for my brain, though. Not that I could do much with it if it went from right to left, but never mind.
Interesting to note that the Cwm Down uplift service was doing a roaring trade all day, despite it being a weekday in November.
Also a cracking ride in the Quantocks last week, testing out the Ibis Mojo (so far so good). Met up with Phil G to swap trail notes - I knew some stuff he didn't and vice versa, so we both came away with new trails. Result! And of course a hearty lunch at Stella's. Generally pretty dry conditions and not too chilly - lovely.
No riding at the weekend, but a bit of shed fettling. And sheds are important. Progress is quite good, still needs a couple of coats of paint, though. Then there's the bike hooks to go in, and the tool board (which'll need to be quite clever considering the curved wall in the shed) and an extra bit of worktop for the wheelbuilding station. Unfortunately it's not all that big a shed. I hope it all fits.
I may pop out for a ride later, but at the moment visibility is about six feet so I think I'll wait for it to clear.
Lovely frosty ride on the local trails this morning. The Dialled PA was the only bike vaguely in working order so that came out for a play. It's being the test bed for some bits and bobs at the moment, of which more later. I took some helmetcam vid, but the low morning sun was shining right at it and it wasn't keen ;-) Wildlife count: One deer, one rabbit, three pheasants.
Mike Davis
