Category: Words

I have a Blackberry 8310 as a work phone and to be honest the camera that’s built in is about as useful as a solar powered torch, but nonetheless as I carry it around with me all day every day so it does occasionally come in useful for snapping photos. One of the good things about the university is the witty graffiti* that appears from time to time. I’m not sure what context this advertising poster was in.

Annoyingly I can’t remember or read what it says on the line under “it depends what TV”, which is a shame, but does leave it open for you to suggest comments…

*Don’t assume the students are responsible. I know two academics who have admitted to carrying permanent marker pens so that they can correct spelling mistakes and poor grammar on various signage and notices that they encounter.

Weather: Hot, cloudy, cold, windy, wet, cold, warm, wet, sunny, dry (repeat to fade)
Bikes: 2 out of 4 broken
Traffic: Same old same old
Work: Far too busy
Riding: Commuting only

Headed over to Llandegla again for a breakfast ride with Phil, Neil and Lardy. Kathy and Ele took the kids walking after the rain stopped and they’d had some tea and cakes in the cafe. The climb up to the mast was in perfect conditions, dry and grippy and easily rideable on the singlespeed, whilst the descent down was not the usual stream bed, but also dry and in great shape. Neil said they were the best conditions he has ever ridden. Back along Offa’s Dyke woodwork and then through the forest before joining up with the blue for a blat back to the cafe. Short run, but it was all that time allowed.

The Race Face Deus cranks on the Singlespeed Deluxe are goosed. I found the drive side crank loose after Penmachno last weekend, so stripped them and rebuilt them with threadlock. Halfway around Llandegla, the drive side crank was loose again, but the bolt holding them on was still torqued up tight. The spider is also bent from a previous event, so they’ve now reached the end of their life. Looking at another pair of Deus (the design has been revised) or some SLX cranks. Not sure which one to go for yet, still mulling it over. This coupled with the need for new pedals on all the bikes and a new pair of rims for the Remedy are all adding up to some expense on the horizon.

Bumped into Fiona and John at the Cafe. They’re friends from Ride the Alps trips and Fi was the photo model for many shots dues to her welcome choice of some great colourful biking outfits that really stood out in the shots. We’re hoping to get some Peak District riding organised for later this year. Here they are enjoying the descent from Kleine Scheidegg towards Lauterbrunnen.

It was November 2006 that Tyrrell and I first rode the trails at Penmachno in Snowdonia. About 15 minutes drive from Betws-y-Coed the trail is far less well known or popular as the Marin Trail. Today I returned and for the first time rode the new-to-me Loop 2 section to put together a 27km route. The new section offers some great views and some superb singletrack including a very nice section in deciduous woodland which is rare in most of Northern England in my experience.

It’s also a mofo of a ride on a singlespeed. It’s the first time in years I’ve had a both quads cramp up on a climb, but it’s not the climbs that get you it’s the files of rocky and bumpy trails that just wear you down. It might only be 27km, but it feels like you’ve done double that at the end. Still, I passed a lot of people on full suspension bikes on the way around, but only on the Loop 1 section. I had Loop 2 all to myself and didn’t see a soul.

Jack is one of the Sport Scholars here at The University of Manchester and is a bit handy on a bike. Check out this video of him getting in some training in the Spanish Heat. Why is it that video always makes downhill look so flat when the reality is so steep?

http://www.pinkbike.com/v/191154/l/

Oneal rider profile: Jack Reading on pinkbike.com

I saw a biker being tended to by the side of the road today at the second set of lights on the way into work. He’d had a coming together with a blue Skoda Fabia and was nursing either a badly bruised or broken thigh. I hope it’s only the former. Sometimes seeing the aftermath is worse that the actual event. It leaves your mind free to contemplate what might have happened to cause the crash.

Back from a holiday in France and exploring some more of the local trails near our home there. The weapon of choice for this trip was the Ti Deluxe which has now had it’s brakes professionally serviced (tried and failed the DIY route without the proper Magura bleed kit). After a 60km ride with 1000m of climbing I am back  in love with the bike and have to admit to not really remembering why I stopped riding it in the first place. It’s a great bike – the only other work needed was a quick tweak to the cones on the rear Chris King hub and I wrapped some insulating tape around the rear disc hose to stop it rattling in the titanium braze ons. The trails were dry and dusty…

I’d forgotten how good it is to sneak in a mid week ride. After fantastic weather on Wednesday I was looking forward to escaping the city and heading back over to North Wales. The disappointment at waking to see Mancunian drizzle on Thursday morning, was matched by it’s incescent downpour to the extent I went back into the house to get waterproofs.

The rain might have stopped around Chester, but the reprive was short lived and on the 30 minute uphill climb from Neil and Lardy’s to Llandegla the weather and low cloud returned. Arriving soggy at the cafe meant it was only fair to warm up again by having some tea and cake before heading up the main climb. It was great to blitz around the near empty trails and ride the skills areas without the unspoken judgement of people half your age and ten times better than you watching an amateurish performance. I still have no idea how your supposed to get enough speed into those first skill area big jumps to clear them all.

Pea soup type low cloud and the kind of tacky trails that suck all the power out of your legs didn’t deter from the moment. It was great to ride around knowing colleagues were at work and that you’d played the trump card and escaped. The discovery of a slow puncture in the front wheel and a broken spoke in the back didn’t spoil it either. Must do it again.

If your clipless pedals have a tendency to eject you when you least expect it, then riding home in traffic and taking one hand off the bar to gesticulate at the bus driver who has just cut you up, coupled with an timely pothole could be enough to put your foot in the spokes of front wheel. Nearly died, did look like a complete eejit and do have a buckled wheel.

It’s been months since I went on a proper mountain bike ride. It’s perhaps an expected outcome of fatherhood, but it was great to be back out in North Wales riding and exploring some new trails with Neil and Wayne on Saturday. Neil’s still finding new local trails and has a great ability to link up some terrific sections. We rode for about four hours cross country over to Llandegla, stopped at the cafe for lunch and then headed up to the top of the climb to ride the new swoopy blue section.

From there we cut through back to the top of the climb to ride the boards over the bog along Offa’s Dyke trail. Then the real fun began as we blazed a trail across the moor. As we reached the summit of our last major climb for the day, the advantage of the first dry trails of the year were clear – they led to an epic and fast descent back towards Wrexham. A great day out in sunshine and warm weather and by the time we arrived back at base my legs were spent from a six hour day riding. At least I kept it together and didn’t hit the wall, but I definitely need to get out on the bike more.