trailbase.co.uk

Christmas Eve Ride

2011-12-24T18:43:00.001Z

Out getting in some base training miles (including a coffee stop of course!) this morning with my mate Gez. My fitness seems to be a bit of a lottery at the moment, some good rides and some very bad ones. Seem to be dipping in and out of some pretty deep troughs of fatigue since winter began. After the disappointment of abandoning the Kielder 100 it's made for a slightly depressing end to the year, but I think alot all stems from having too much going on work wise at the moment. Hopefully things will pick up and there's lots to look forward to as well so it's all good really.

So wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Whatever your passion in life keep it burning strong throughout the coming year, and live every day to the full.

Dave.

D.N.F.......For friks sake!!!

2011-09-05T19:40:00.001+01:00

Attempted the Kielder 100 on Saturday. They say: One lap. One rider. One adventure. One hundred miles. I experienced: 6 hours of rain. 2 sets knackered brake pads. 1 pair of seized forks. 1 set of knackered shock bushings. 1 knackered back/neck. 50 miles. And a big fat DID NOT FINISH!
700 starters. Only 177 finishers, and I wasn't one of them. FAILURE!

Dave.

The Climb

2011-07-19T21:15:00.001+01:00

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Pain. Another wave courses through the legs. But more muted this time, the mind beginning to detach from sensations it knows too well. Instead random thoughts tumble past, a hundred thoughts a second.

How long to go? How long's it been? Why do I do this to myself? For triumph? Over what, over who? I haven't seen a living soul nor even a passing car for 30 minutes, maybe 45, or an hour, or maybe days. How long have I been on this climb?

ALONE.

A glance to the right, the incoherent ramblings of a dehydrated sun baked mind flutter away like blossom in the wind. Have I really climbed that much? The ribbon of black tarmac snakes away far below as the mountains give way to orange groves peppered with white washed villages running out to the coast. Beyond, through the haze, sun sparkles off the sea. Sublime. Calm. Peace. TRANQUILLO! But the climb does not care for such moments, it continues unrelenting.

Switchbacks. Out of the saddle and embrace the pain. An explosion of images flood the mind, brought about by action not location. Mercx, Pantani, Mayo, Armstrong, or short Columbians, or rangy Dutch, all dancing on the pedals around tight hairpins. The beauty in the movement. But I'm no champion and breathlessness comes quickly to put me squarely back in the saddle. But for a moment it was beautiful, body and mind urging the bike upwards in the dance of the climb.

Now still breathing hard the road kicks up one final time. As if in the throes of death it stubbornly rears up, a last attempt to break the weak of mind and tired of leg. But not this time, I've come too far. As the heart quickens the mind races away on tangents again.

"Bridge to engine room, we need more power!"

"But she can'ee take anymore Captain!"

Just a little.

And then it eases, and it's done. The top. A mental pat on the back and a wave of euphoria washes away the pain. But dehydration drives me on without pause. The sinuous descent unravels ahead. Big ring, drop cogs like machine gun fire. Bullet speed. The road snakes, bank left, shift weight, bank right. I can't contain the grin. Surrounded by mountains, the synergy of speed and control, the exhilaration total. PURE UNADULTERATED HAPPINESS!

The endless descent finally begins to flatten. A village. A restaurant! Never have plastic patio chairs looked so welcoming. "Una caffe con leche y una coca cola por favor, senior". I'm not normally one for sugary drinks but never has a coke tasted so good. Relief. Exhaustion. And as I sit contented, sipping coffee under the bluest of blue skies the thoughts begin again. I suppose I could do the climb again tomorrow. After all, it was beautiful out of the saddle on those switchbacks......

Location: Marina Alta Mountains, Costa Blanca, Spain. As a side note I'm thinking of heading back out there in October so if anyone fancies tagging along for a little biking holiday/training camp just drop me an email. The biking is awesome.

Dave.

SPD Sandals and brown corduroy flares...

2011-06-08T10:26:00.001+01:00

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Problem: Current stable of bikes all too precious to lock up outside shops etc. Solution: Trawl ebay for bargain 'utility' bike. Result: 'The Animal'

Managed to find ebay bargain in the shape of a virtually unused Pinnacle Sentinel. 200 notes later and she was mine. I whacked some mudguards and a pannier rack on, and hey presto my commuter/hack/winter trainer/utility bike was born. Then in a moment of bike snobbery I covered over the Pinnacle logos with some Animal stickers to try and salvage some 'street cred'.

Mates ribbed me as to whether it came with a free pair of SPD sandals and brown flares, or if I might be making a career change to become a librarian. But between me and you I love her. She's already saved me a fortune in diesel with various commuting roles, and the other day to truly embrace the beardie, ale drinking, elbow patch wearing, map pinned to handlebar way of life I took her for a ride on the National Cycle Network. Turns out that if you don't mind the odd towpath and gravel track you can string together a fairly decent training route. And the 'Animal' did me proud, 93 miles and not so much as even a puncture.

Yes I may be getting old, and yes it's maybe not as cool as my carbon race bike or full susser MTB, but I'm telling you when you stop mid ride and pull sandwiches, sausage roll, and a flask of coffee out the old pannier bag your mates begin to stop laughing (or at least you don't notice them as much as you revel in your utilitarian comforts and consider what colour corduroy flares to buy next)......

Dave.

Parisien trackstands

2011-06-06T20:40:00.001+01:00

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Doing some work for a bike tour company this summer. Just back from support riding/driving a London to Paris trip for a great bunch of lads. The sun shone, the rain rained, the wine flowed, and the beautiful French countryside rolled by in cinematic soft focus. All good!

And my personal highlight? Cruising round the streets of Paris on a borrowed titanium Condor in trainers and civies, no lid wind in my hair, dodging pedestrians and track standing at lights: Traffic, noise, people, wind, architecture, bike, atmosphere, FREEDOM!.....Pure Bliss.

Dave.

Road Trip, take two...

2011-05-18T20:11:00.001+01:00

After the previous aborted attempt (see 'Pure Bliss' post) at my little road trip I decided to give it another bash only with the wifey in tow this time to keep me sane in the event of any more nightmares. So with the Landy all packed we set off once again, this time making it to the Pyrenees without incident. We were greeted at Luz Saint Saveur, at the the foot of the Tourmalet, by lashing rain and mist so binned the campsite idea in favour of a little B&B. As we were running to a very tight schedule on this trip the only way I could get a crack at the Tourmalet was to be on the bike for 5am the next morning.

Luckily the rain gave way to a dry but pretty nippy morning as I set off with lights ablaze into the darkness on the eerily deserted roads. A little way above Bareges a sign indicated the col was closed but I decided to press on anyway hoping luck would be on my side. Just above the ski station the barrier was closed across the road but I skirted round the edge still feeling optimistic. This didn't last long as rounding the next corner I discovered my way blocked by a 20m wide section of snow where the piste ran off the hill straight over the road. Arse! Still not wanting to admit defeat I shouldered the bike cyclo cross style, remounted and carried on. After repeating this procedure half a dozen or so times the going started to get decidedly sketchy with sheet ice and rock fall debris littering the road. DEFEAT! So after snapping a few pics I had to turn for home feeling a little bit disheartened. Having miscalculated just how cold a true Alpine descent can be I absolutely froze my arse off on the way down. At one point I thought one of my wheels had maybe come loose only to realise I was shivering so hard it was causing speed wobble. I almost ripped past the B&B like a bullet train through a station as my now useless frozen claws refused to apply any pressure to the brakes.

So with project Tourmalet proving elusive once again we had no option but to carry on with our little road trip. The only consolation was a great little ride on two of my favourite climbs, and a day or so chilling out with the wifey, on the Costa Blanca a little later in the week. The rest of the time was pretty much pedal to the metal with the occasional stop to empty my wallet at various service stations. The Tourmalet remains on the list under the heading 'Unfinished Business'. In the words of a great Austrian philosopher "I'll be back".......

This road trip was brought to you courtesy of Red Bull, Peanut M&M's, and vending machine cappuccinos.

Dave.

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White Horses and the Chiltern Big Dipper

2011-05-03T17:04:00.001+01:00

Managed to get some good miles in the other weekend. A company I'm working for this summer very kindly invited me to an all expenses paid weekend near Swindon which involved a 60 mile organised ride on the Saturday. With the mention of free food I didn't need asking twice and so enjoyed a great day riding 'white horse' country (a number of huge chalk carvings in the hillsides adorn the area) with some very keen cyclists and new colleagues. There was another ride taking place on the Sunday but I had already committed to riding in the Chiltern Big Dipper Sportive so made my excuses and raced home on Saturday evening.

After doing a couple of Sportives on my own last year I had promised myself I wouldn't enter any more unless someone else was willing to come along and suffer with me. However, even with a lack of suitable lemmings because this event was taking place literally on my doorstep it felt rude not to. With the previous days ride still in the legs and a late night to boot it was never going to be a steamer but none the less I made it round the 100 mile route feeling reasonably happy. It took in a lot of the superb little climbs we have here in the Chilterns which was painful and great in equal measure but unfortunately the route marking left something to be desired leaving a few people a little unhappy. Luckily local knowledge paid off enabling me to keep on route and ending up ambling round to finish in 35th spot out of a 100 or so who rode the full distance.

Obviously my performance won't give Contador any sleepless nights but laid in the sun in the garden afterward with a cup of tea on the go I had that warm fuzzy feeling, a mixture of fatigue and contentment, that comes after all great days out.

Dave.

Pure bliss amidst the mother of all bad weeks....

2011-04-08T08:13:00.001+01:00

It should have been simple: 1 x Landrover, 1 x blow up mattress, 1 x bike, 7 days worth of casual and riding gear, 7 days food provisions. CHECK

Jump the ferry to Calais, and drive down to our place in Spain, pick up our trailer, and stop en route to have a crack at the Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. Simples. However, somewhere in the math the following was added, without my consent, to the equation:

1 x broken water pump, 2 x French mechanics ("parlez vous anglais?..."NON!"), 1 x very slow crawl back to Calais, 1 x extortionate last minute ferry crossing, 3 x cans of cheap Redbull substitute, 1 x very, very slow crawl back home. Fantastic. And just to complete the formula of disaster 1 x large repair bill, and last but not least 1 x chest infection.

Could this week get any worse? I really hoped not. So feeling restless being stuck in the house I decided to grab the mountain bike, head into town and meet the wife for lunch. It suddenly struck me that I do very little commuting on the bike, which made this journey unexpectedly satisfying. Then on the way home I decided to take a snidey short cut on a footpath through the local woods and across some fields.

Feeling a little under the weather I decided to stop and take in the view for a bit. Laid on the grass watching the clouds blow by I tried to remember the last time I had done this, and the realisation dawned that I don't think I ever have. In all the years riding bikes I have never just ridden to somewhere for no other reason other than to sit, chill out, and take in the view. Sure I've had mid ride rest stops, and hung with mates waiting for stragglers on climbs etc. I've stopped for punctures, food, mechanicals, pubs, off's, laughs, cry's, and all sorts. But never just for half hour or so of pure indulgent nothingness. It was pure bliss, and I just couldn't help but picture myself a character in a 'Mint Sauce sketch' (for anyone not familiar with Jo Burt's legendary creation go to http://homepage.mac.com/pfellows1/thisiswhy/index.html to begin your education).

And so there you have it. When everything in the world goes to s%$t just take your bike, find a nice spot, and do absolutely nothing for half hour or so. Singletrack for the soul.

Dave.

The sun shines on the righteous...(and diligent trainer)

2011-03-31T16:24:00.001+01:00

Just back from a week in the Alps (snowboarding not riding) and made the effort to get straight back out on the bike pounding the back lanes in search of that bag of fitness. The sun shone and the legs didn't feel too bad. Onwards and upwards:-)

First decent length training ride this year (81 miles, tougher than I thought it'd be!).

2011-03-15T21:13:00.001Z

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You all might be wondering why I've suddenly got so much time to post blogs. Well with one work project nearing an end and our own big project (more on that another time) crawling along snail like I find myself in limbo with a potentially very disjointed summer ahead. Pros: lots of time to ride and climb etc. Cons: money in very short supply. Oh well as the Howies ad once proclaimed 'Time not Cash'! (the sort of idealistic rhetoric normally spouted by someone earning a tidy wedge). Hey ho.

And so I find myself needing to beat some fitness back into the old legs to allow me this summer of 'bliss'. As I mentioned in a previous post my winter training has been of the one step forward three steps back variety so the realisation has now dawned that I really need to get some long miles in to rebuild the old endurance.

So this morning I headed out to have a little look at the Chiltern Big Dipper sportive route for this year as I've (stupidly) signed up for it thinking it would help push the training on. Needless to say after only doing short rides through the winter it came very hard indeed. By the 65 mile point I decided that I was running low on energy and bailed out of the route, taking the short (still totalled 81 miles mind) route home. There's a fair bit of climbing (by my standards anyway) involved and I have to say it was a bit of a rude awakening as to where my fitness is at at the mo. This was magnified when on one climb an old dude breezed up past leaving me for dead but not before giving a cheery hello and passing comment on the length of the climb! My ego assures me he must be an ex pro who looks a lot older than he actually is. Git!

So by the time I got home I was good for nothing, just about managing to get myself into the bath where I sulked for a half hour or so contemplating just who or what had snuck in over those long winter months and stolen by bag of fitness. I WANT IT BACK!

I see some more long rides and plenty of pain just around the corner........

Dave.

When we were young.........

2011-03-13T19:03:00.001Z

Grab the bike, out the door. No faff.

Drop the kerb, hop the drain and sprint,... just because.

Knock for someone, knock for someone else. Now we're trouble.

Laugh, laugh some more, sprint, hit the jump, cross it up.

Wheelie competition from this manhole cover to that, and that, and that, and that.

Energy low. Home. Dump bike on grass.

Marmite sandwich, bourbon biscuits dipped in orange squash. Refuelled.

Out again and ride, just ride.

No agenda, no destination, ride to ride, ride to laugh, ride like the devils on your tail.

No heart rate monitors, no hill repeats. No mobile phones, no GPS.

No energy gels, no sports nutrition. No carbon this, no hydraulic that.

Ride to be free, ride to laugh, ride because you can. Just ride.

Yeah, when we were young we didn't know much. But we sure knew what was important.

Dave.

"God damn it my batteries are flat.....but what a great day!"

2010-09-12T18:32:00.006+01:00

Eager to get out with my new toys (see last post) I talked Mark into being my model for the day and we headed over to Swinley Forest on a perfect sunday morning. The sun shone, the trails were fantastic and all was great until after a few shots my flashgun batteries died. And like the idiot I am I hadn't taken any spares with me. Doh! Rookie mistake, oh well live and learn eh?

Still it was a superb morning so we cruised round hitting some fine singletrack and stopping for the odd pic here and there when the light allowed.

I have to say it was one of those mornings where I was just totally blissed out on being out on the bike in the sun. Sweet little sections of trail were interspersed with idle banter as the sun flickered through the trees and clouds tracked across a brilliantly blue sky. I drove home with my arm out the window, some good tunes on, and thinking that if Carlsberg made sunday mornings they'd probably all be like this!

"just one more time please mate....."

2010-09-12T17:43:00.004+01:00

This was meant to be the year that I put a bit more effort into my photography but like all good intentions the year raced by and the camera just hasn't found it's way into the rucksack that often. So hoping to make amends, and after a fair bit of ebay time, I purchased a new flashgun and some radio slaves for my digital SLR. All that was needed now was a willing stooge to ride various bits of trail over and over again while I faffed around with my new toys.

So after convincing Gez I could make him look as good as Steve Peat (honest!) we headed out.

Anyway the shots above were what we came back with. Not too bad but I don't think Stirling Lorence has anything to worry about for a good while yet. Oh well, it's good to be putting some effort into taking pics again and I'll just keep plugging away and try and hone the skills a bit more.....

Team Trailbase @ Sleepless in the Saddle 2010

2010-08-22T19:21:00.002+01:00

Trailbase HQ @ Sleepless

Earlier in the year on a sunday morning ride what started out as harmless banter somehow evolved into four unsuspecting stooges signing up for this years Sleepless in the Saddle 24 hour mountain bike race. Cue the inaugural Team Trailbase: Myself (Dave Olinski), Gez 'now I'm angry' Wall, Campbel '0% APR' Fletcher, and Mark 'no pressure, I'm not racing' Denton (Mark actually stepped in at the last minute to replace Craig who in a moment of clarity realised the reality of the insaneness and feigned 'I'm a little too busy now'). And so after months of hard training (not) we arrived at Catton Park ready to do battle.

Gez racing through the pack in stealth camo mode

Gez volunteered (read: was forced) to get us underway in the Le Mans style 800m, before grabbing his trusty steed and doing a sterling first lap. At app. 8 miles per lap we were lapping around the 40min mark initially, dropping to around 45mins when the sun (and at times our morale) went down. I'd dragged the missus (Jo) along to be our support crew and with her keeping a diligent eye on our lap times things ran pretty well with transitions (passing the baton) going sweet. We decided to go with the strategy of doing single laps (rider 1 out on the course does 1 lap then passes the baton to rider 2 etc) which meant with a team of 4 you got about 2 hours before you had to go out again. While this sounds like a long time it is amazing how quickly that time goes and it just doesn't feel like you can ever relax.

Crossing the line to finish my final lap (23.04 hours of racing!)

Racing through the night was interesting to say the least, but a great experience and powered by a deadly but effective cocktail of energy gels, baked potatoes, beans etc somehow we made it through in one piece. To go out on your first daylight lap of the morning and see the sun coming up with the mist hanging over the trees was truly a memorable experience and a massive morale boost. All we had to do now was keep it going until 2pm that afternoon and then it'd be job done.

But fate had one cruel trick to play. By now we'd made it almost 24 hours without a single puncture or mechanical between us, a fact which Gez naively voiced out loud just before going out on his final lap. The gods of fate heard these boastful words and leapt into action providing him with a puncture and a broken pump just a mile out from finishing his lap. After torrent of expletives he uttered his infamous catch phrase 'now I'm angry!', turned green, ripped open his shirt and ran the bike in the last mile (note: some facts may have been modestly embellished). A trooper to the end. After which yours truly, Mark and Cam all gave it our all to get 1 more lap a piece in before the cut off, with Mark delivering a stunning lap considering several hours earlier he had declared he was a broken man.

Cam bringing it home

And so it was over. When all was said and done we finished 24th out of 78 in our category. Not bad for the teams first outing. Bleary eyed Trailbase HQ was dismantled and we began the redbull fuelled drive home. It had been a great, if somewhat surreal at times, weekend. The team performed superbly, Jo's support was a life saver, and I was grateful to have had such a good bunch of mates with which to endure the insanity that is 24 hour mountain bike racing.

Bring on the next one!

Road trip to see the Tour de France on the Tourmalet

2010-07-28T20:36:00.003+01:00

Using the excuse of having to bring our Landy back from the Sierras in Spain to get it MOT'd we decided to take a little road trip/summer holiday and catch a stage of the Tour de France along the way. So after after a day or two at our place in the Sierras we packed up our trusty Landy and headed up to Costa Blanca to stay at Jo's mum's place in Denia. Bringing my road bike with me definitely paid off as I found some superb riding both along the coast and up in the mountains. After 10 days of riding, relaxing, eating and drinking it was time for the good life to end so we packed up and headed north to the Pyrenees.

After a short stop in La Molina, where I also found some more amazing riding (22km climb at sunrise, eagle, wild horses, mountain vistas etc!!!), we headed west to the Col du Tourmalet to catch a very historic stage of the Tour de France as it was the 100th anniversary of the first ever Pyrenean stage. After cruising up and down the Tourmalet a couple of times we finally managed to find the perfect spot to camp amidst the thousands of other people who had also come to pay homage. The weather couldn't have been more different from the Costas though. Mist, fog, thunder and lightening, and torrential rain made it feel more like being back home! After a short walk down to Bareges for a beer or two we squeezed into our little tent for what turned out to be a fairly sleepless night due to the thunder and lightening.

We awoke on the morning of the race to more bad weather but it didn't matter any more. The Tour was in town, the atmosphere dialled up, and the mountainside was alive with madness and expectation. Finally at about 5 o'clock, after the 'caravan' had come through whipping up a frenzy while showering bystanders with various freebies from the sponsors, it was the main event. Police motorcycles cleared the road and the first riders came flying by. First a lone breakaway hotly pursued by Schleck and Contador, both moving at an incredible pace considering the terrain. This was the day they marked each other like for like before Contador sportingly let Schelck take a well deserved stage win on the finish line.

After Contador and Schleck various groups flew by with all the big stars included, most importantly the legend that is Lance Armstrong (we love Lance!), which was undoubtedly the highlight for me as I am unashamedly a huge Lance fan. As this was also the last big mountain stage of his career it was that bit more special to see.

And then it was over! As fast as they had come they were gone and on up to the finish line at the summit. So after packing our tent away we attempted to get off the mountain, as did the other 200,000 people it's estimated were there that day. So after 2 hours down the mountain, 2 hours to Toulouse, and 1 hour trying to find a hotel we found ourselves in a service station carpark trying to kid ourselves a Landrover is almost as good as a hotel room (Jo in no uncertain terms can now assure you it's not!!). So after another sleepless night we pointed our now well abused Landy northwards and made the rest of the epic drive home.

When your arrive home filthy, hungry, and bleary eyed with that thousand yard stare, but elated and with stories to tell you know it's been a successful road trip.....

Sierra Nevada MTB Traverse

2010-06-24T19:08:00.002+01:00

I recently received an email from my mate Karl (of Ride Tribe) asking if we could accommodate, at Trailbase Lodge, a group of clients/friends he was guiding on a traverse of the Sierras. So to cut a long story short we put them up for a night and then I jumped on the trip with them to lend a hand wherever possible (or go on a 5 day jolly around the Sierras, it depends on your point of view!). Anyway on the first day I headed out cross country and they, coming from the other direction, knocked out a fairly stiff little road climb and we meet at Puerto De La Ragua. All good. That is until we started to head back to Trailbase Lodge at which point the weather turned epic. Lashing hail storms and freezing temperatures (sorry no pics, too bloody cold!) sent moral into freefall and a beer and a sun lounger was replaced by a much needed cup of tea and a hot shower when we arrived back at the lodge. Not exactly what you expect of Spain in mid June! Still hopefully tomorrow normal service would be resumed.

The next day dawned a little better with I guess what could best be described as British summer riding conditions, ie sun, clouds, rain, and neither hot or cold. A mixed bag. After breakfast we headed out starting with a fair old climb straight out the door of about 400 vertical metres. We headed west mostly on jeep tracks with a little singletrack thrown in and finished up with a long road drag into Trevelez (the highest village in Spain) our final destination for today and with some 7+ hours in the saddle behind us. After some well earned coffees and beers in the first bar we came to we found our hotel for the night and checked in. Jack our logistics man had played a blinder ensuring our bags were already at the hotel and had smoothed the way for us to store the bikes in the lobby. A successful day.

After a great little carb heavy breakfast we headed out initially taking in some road as we'd been tipped off that the track we had intended on using was blocked by a land slide. Similar weather prevailed today with one particularly hard shower holing us up in Bubion while we waited it out. Only minutes earlier we had been enjoying the sunshine while tanking down some great singletrack thanks to Karls local knowledge. More jeep tracks and techy singletrack followed with the day ending up being pretty epic (10+ hours) with some stiff climbs the, last of which was a monster. The Grit & Determination award was definitely picked up by Paul (Radders), Murray, and Callum for making it up this beast of a climb. The Most Wise Thinking award being taken by Bob and iPaul who took the shorter and flatter road option. When we finally rolled into the hotel in Lanjaron very late in the evening they were sunning themselves on the roof terrace with a crate of beers. Smart thinking!

Once in Lanjaron we had to make a judgement call. The original plan had been to ride to Monachil the following day then up and over the Veleta Pass the day after that. We had however been reliably informed (Jack again) that there was too much snow up high and the pass was closed. Arse! So over a few beers we made the decision to do a short(ish) loop out of Lanjaron the next day and then hole up there for another night before taking an alternative route back to Bubion where we had originally intended on finishing. So with the sunshine finally out in force we had an easier day with a nice little loop out of Lanjaron, lunch at a local restaurant, and then some of the lads took in the Spain World Cup match in the afternoon in a local bar. Then out for dinner in the evening and by now it was big smiles all round after a fairly relaxing day, in fact it almost started to feel like a holiday!

However as the morning dawned on our last day everyone snapped straight back out of holiday mode as the realisation set in that there was still a fair bit of pedalling to be done. It was to be a day of 2 climbs. The first was a bit of a monster mainly on jeep tracks straight out of Lanjaron. There after followed a mix of sweet singletrack and jeep track descents before the final long road climb up to Bubion. After 4 hard days in the saddle everyone turned in stunning performances to finish the trip with all making it back to Bubion under there own steam. After a quick sprint up the road to Capillera to find a bar that was open the beer flowed and everything was once again good in the world. So thanks to Karl, Murray, Paul (Radders), Callum, Bob and iPaul for a great few days biking, beering, and lessons in cockney rhyming slang (cheers Radders), hopefully we'll hook up again some time.

The Veleta Pass remains unfinished business......

King of the Downs Sportive, and hanging out with Christian VandeVelde

2010-06-04T17:51:00.005+01:00

So I've been kinda keeping it quiet for a while now but after another winter of discontent (mud, mud, mud), and some experimenting with a singlespeed I finally decided to dabble with the dark side and build myself a road bike. So after a lot of internet shopping I managed to put myself together this little beauty! Once I had her out on the open road there was no going back. I got myself a gimp suit (a nice gay little lycra roadie outfit), joined the local cycling club (G.S. Henley), and can now be found flouncing around the Chilterns pretending I'm Lance and shouting at car drivers.

Next up I decided to enter the Evans King of the Downs Sportive. At 113 miles with 9000ft of climbing it was a fairly big ask for my first sportive but I'd rather fail at something hard than complete something easy. Anyway the sun shone (hottest day of the year so far!) and I managed to amble round in 7h 31mins coming 145th out of 619. I was fairly pleased for my first bash at this kind of thing.

A couple of days after the event we headed over to La Molina in the Pyrenees to continue working on our little project there. Amazingly Christian VandeVelde, the American Pro who rides for Garmin, was staying in the apartment next door to us! After breaking his collarbone only 2 weeks previously he was already back on the bike altitude training in preparation for the Tour de France. So all in all it's been a very busy and very gay roadie orientated past couple of months.

Not to worry though I haven't lost the plot completely. I'm off for a weeks mountain biking in the Sierras next week to get back to my roots.......

Climbing trip to Sierra Nevada, Spain.

2010-05-02T13:30:00.003+01:00

At the end of March we ran a climbing trip for a small group to check out some of the crags in the area around our place (Trailbase Lodge) in Sierra Nevada, Spain. No time was wasted as on route from Malaga airport we made a quick stop to the crags above the town of Loja to stretch the legs and get our first touch of rock. After transferring back to the lodge we decided the next day to check out the Orgiva crags (above) which are a short drive down the valley. It's beautiful little gorge like area which makes for a fantastic little crag with a pretty good range of grades.

Then in the afternoon we headed to the crags above Capileira, another good little crag with a stunning backdrop of the snow capped high Sierras.

After an evening of beer, pasta, and a sunset excursion to the fire lookout above our lodge to try and spot some wild boar we headed to Diezma the next day where we found more great routes. After starting climbing in glorious sunshine we watched in awe as a storm moved up the valley finally engulfing us and bringing the days proceedings to an atmospheric end.

So with that comforting sleepy but hugely satisfied feeling that comes from spending days out in the mountains we headed back to the lodge to refuel on the dependable mix of good food, good beer, and some dvd's.

Wanting to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of the trip we made one last 'crag attack' on our way back to Malaga airport by stopping at Alfacar just outside Granada. Once more a great spot with loads of lines to choose from and lot's more sunshine.

So with another successful trip in the bag everyone headed home with big grins and sore fingers.

Our trip last month (march) to La Molina, Spain...

2010-04-25T21:54:00.003+01:00

Jo checking out the slopes (it's a bit crowded though!)

A quick break for a sandwich and a bit of sunbathing.

Standing proudly on a little bit of the Pyrenees that will become very important

to us in the near future............will keep you posted.

There appears to be something behind you!

And then it really snowed......

Trailbase Lodge, Sierra Nevada winter trip

2010-02-24T18:24:00.005Z

We had a few odd's and end's to tie up in Spain so headed over to our place for a brief visit. After a very frustrating day in Granada (they love their red tape in Spain!) we had a few days at our lodge. We had some classic mountain weather with some nice sunshine, torrential rain, and finishing up with almost a foot of snow!

We also found a new track on the ridge opposite which the wild boar have forged to get down to the river. It makes for a good little hiking trail, albeit with a big stick in hand just in case! It led to a little crag with a nice view back to our place. A good spot for a little impromptu bouldering.

Then on the last couple of days it started snowing and we ended up with about 10 inches making it look amazing everywhere. It also added a little adventure to the proceedings with iced up locks, dicey tracks, and almost getting the Landy stuck. All ended well though and as usual it was tough having to come back to dreary old Blighty. Now how soon are we back over....?

Also managed to film some of the snow with my new ipod nano which I thought wouldn't be all that but was rather pleasantly surprised.

The next trip just can't come quick enough!!!!

Another early sunday morning ride....

2010-02-01T10:42:00.002Z

The usual suspects met at Watlington for another early sunday morning ride. Despite being feckin freezing the weather was very good, although it did snow very briefly!

Conditions were very icy in places, as Jan demonstrated by giving us a demonstration of how to stop quickly (read painfully) on sheet ice!!!! Thankfully only a little blood was shed and all in all it was another fantastic ride.

Winter ride

2010-01-18T20:05:00.002Z

After hearing countless people moaning about the snow we decided to embrace it and get out for a quick blast....

It has to be said though it was more of a meander than a blast. Conditions seemed to alternate between slushy/icy/dicey, to deeply/slowy/no go'ey!

There's no doubt about it though this weathers for boards not bikes!

Still, it was an interesting ride and good to be out anyway.

Sunrise snowboard session at Christmas Common!!

2010-01-09T19:31:00.002Z

After the recent snowfall we decided to make the most of this once in a blue moon opportunity and head to Christmas Common near Watlington for a sunrise session.....

It seemed pretty surreal to be contemplating snowboarding in our usual mountain bike stomping ground but none the less we headed out and not only found some decent snow but also amazingly a couple of little kickers someone had lovingly crafted!

It turned out to be a very atmospheric session.

Can't believe this is the south of England, this scene could pass for backcountry Canada!

Amazingly we weren't the only addicts looking for a rare home grown powder fix as we found when we bumped into another board junkie, Tom from Bracknell. Hope your morning went well mate, and I guess we'll all be keeping our fingers crossed for some more of this crazy weather.

Sunday morning mud fest around Watlington

2009-11-16T18:45:00.002Z

Our sunday morning jaunts around the Christmas Common/Watlington area are starting to become a regular fixture now. This weeks ride got off to a very dismal, wet and windy start, but with our best turn out for some time with Gez, Mark, Craig, Yan, and myself all in attendance a great ride started to take shape.....
Amazingly it all brightened up and we were treated to a stunning if somewhat muddy classic autumn morning.
The new Michelin XCR Mud tyres that I wrote of in a recent post seem to be performing well, with the only dicey moments being due to operator error!
So with dirty grins all round it turned out to be a fantastic morning. Hopefully we'll keep it going now right the way through whatever winter has to throw at us!!!!

All hail the Singlespeed is here!!

2009-10-30T18:18:00.002Z

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!

2009-10-30T17:45:00.003Z

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

2009-09-28T21:51:00.004+01:00

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)

2009-07-14T18:06:00.003+01:00

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)

2009-07-14T16:44:00.001+01:00

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....

2009-06-15T21:12:00.000+01:00

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!)