All hail the Singlespeed is here!!

Have just finished my latest bike project. My lean green singlespeed/hack/training machine. Took her out for first ride today and discovered I've built her with a 'heart attack' gear ratio! Rode to Henley and back and nearly died in the process. Ah well, as they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".....(after one climb however it could have gone either way!!). Goes without saying I'll be looking for a smaller chainring on t'internet later.........

The 'dale gets her new winter booties!

With autumn well and truly here and after one too many 'off's' I decided it was time to put the Schwalbe semi slicks into hibernation for the winter and treat my Cannondale to some new winter booties. After much deliberation I ended up going for Michelin XCR Mud 2.0's. They almost never even made it on the rims though as they are hellishly tight! Persistence, soapy water, and plenty of swearing finally did the trick, so hopefully I'll find out what they ride like this weekend...........

Pyrenean trip and the Vuelta a Espana

We have just returned safe and sound from our little road trip to get our beloved Landy back over to Sierra Nevada. On the way down we stopped off for a week in the Spanish Pyrenees, at a fantastic place called La Molina (you might be hearing a lot more about this place soon!).

After that we headed down via a few days layover in Denia on the Costa Blanca, where we did the 'beach' thing for a few days. We were fairly eager to get down to the Sierras though as the Vuelta a Espana was due to come past close to Trailbase lodge.
After positioning ourselves half way up the Puerto de la Ragua climb we had a great veiwpoint from which to see the leaders go flying by.......
........swiftly followed by the rest of the pelloton.
As if that wasn't enough excitement it also happened to be Fiesta week in our local village. The normally sleepy little place comes alive with thousands of people descending on the place to enjoy the party as well as to experience the more serious religious side of the festivities, such as the procession of the cross. Although as you'd expect the serious stuff doesn't last very long before the beer starts flowing again and the party swings into full gear!
Out of the 4 short days we were there we didn't get in till 5am in the morning on 2 occasions, so needless to say we enjoyed ourselves but are actually glad to be back home now as our kidneys need a chance to detox! ;-)

Trailbase MTB trip, Sierra Nevada (or pain in Spain part 2)

After dropping an injured Gez (see El Chorro post) at the airport, and playing host to my wifey and mother in law for a few days, the 3 Amigos (Mark, Ollie, and Pete) came over to Trailbase lodge for a spot of biking. However 3 very rapidly became 2 as Mark bust his collarbone on the first day out after a high speed off! We managed to get him off the mountain and to hospital where they very kindly dressed him in a white cape and strapped both shoulders back making him look like a cross between a super hero and Norman Wisdom. Needless to say he flew home the next day (get well soon mate).

So the week continued (if a little more subdued) with a few rides. One ended down in the valley which was unbearably hot so for the rest of the week we stayed high up in the mountains where it was a little cooler. After a fairly big day on the bikes the lads decided they fancied a break so we had a day hiking and made the summit of Morron del Mediodia. At 2753m it wasn't exactly the easy day they were looking for, but enjoyable none the less.

The rest of the week consisted of more rides, chilling out and consuming the odd beer or two.

The sun continued to shine and before long the week was over. 

Latest news on Mark is he's due to get a metal plate put in (ouch!) to hold those old bones of his together. So we hope all goes well and hopefully he'll be fighting fit for the next trip.

 

Climbing trip to El Chorro (or pain in Spain part 1)

Gez and I finally made it down to the world renowned sport crags around El Chorro near Malaga for a few days climbing. 

Due to not much climbing this year our hard won climbing strength has sadly abandoned us, and so with the temperatures hitting the high 30's (not to mention hitting the beer a little too hard the night before!) we decided to make it more of an exploratory trip and keep it to a handful of easy climbs.

Initially we checked out one of the high level crags that stays fairly shady, and has amazing views across the surrounding area. We knocked out a handful of easy climbs before the heat began to boil our ale marinaded brains. We decided to head down to El Chorro gorge itself to try the Kings walkway but the Via Ferrata cable that allows access seems to have been removed so we settled for almost getting mown down by a train in one of the tunnels instead!
After the most uncomfortable night ever trying to sleep in the Landy we headed back to a crag that is set high above the gorge. Once again with amazing views and with Vultures circling over head it made for a pretty spectacular setting. But if we thought it was hot yesterday it was like a bloody furnace today. The afternoon was bought to a timely close when Gez took a fair sized fall, catching his foot in a crack on the way down and badly spraining his ankle.
With it all bandaged up and a makeshift walking stick (the first aid course staring to pay off!) we headed home, but vowed to return next spring before the heat gets turned up again as it is an amazing place. So if anyone fancies tagging along for a spot of climbing in a world class destination then give us a shout......

Polaris Challenge 2009....

Just spent the last 2 days hammering round the Peak District competing in the 2009 Polaris Challenge. After deciding I needed some sort of goal to kick start my training (New Years resolutions have a lot to answer for!) I stupidly signed up earlier in the year for my first ever race. Of course it all came round far to quickly and I found myself pedalling out on the first day feeling vastly unprepared. 

I discovered (the hard way) that it's all about the route planning by making a pigs ear out of the first day by taking on far too many climbs.  After using almost all the allowed time of 7 hours I'd only managed 13 checkpoints and needed a good rest to think about where it had all gone wrong. Luckily Jo (she deserves 'wife of the year' award) ran our support area like a pro, getting me all carb'ed up ready for day 2.

Come the second day, and with a master plan devised (ok some pretty patterns drawn on the map) I set out to try and better my lack lustre 54th place (out of 87) in my age group from the previous day. After using all but 10 minutes of the 5 hour time limit I felt like things had gone a little better. It had been a pretty hot and arduous day and I was relieved to finally pedal back in and get the results from my wrist tag downloaded to see how things had gone.

When all was said and done I ended up 40th out of 87 in the men's senior category (97th out of 220 overall). A bit disappointing but not too bad for a first attempt.  Plenty of room for improvement though so I might just give it another go.......(yes I really am that stupid!)