Hope

It was a ride from Hope last night. “Hope at 7pm Thursday” or “Hope at 10am Sunday” has become a bit of a running joke amongst the Peakmidweek lot, being a byword for not having much imagination. The thing is though; it’s a focus point for lots of great rides, the best in the Peak really. If only the Woodbine caff would open ‘til 10:30 on a Thursday night, it would be perfection.

Me, Derek, Steve ‘n Steve and Wayne turned up. 4 singlespeeds (2 Love/Hates, one Genesis and a Bodgervento) and a Pastey Ti with a cracked weld. We could either be an eclectic bunch of discerning riders on very individual bikes, or a bunch of sheep following the latest fad, you choose. It turns out we are all doing the Merida Enduro in Builth Wells in a few weeks time, and are all reasonably matched, so it could be a good little race if anyone wants to pick up the gauntlet.

It was a slightly drizzly night, but the trails were still summer firm. The grass on the way over to Old Dam was nice and slick though, and had me sliding a few times. It was one of those nights where the legs work well, but the brain and reflexes were having a nap. Every stone and bump had a little evil pair of eyes and cackled at me as I pinged of each one like a billiard ball. The “flow” had deserted me, it had pissed of into the “zone” or something.

Still, we had a laugh, Wayne got overly competitive then fell off on a pebble on a flat trail, in full view which was very good of him. Derek rode to and from Hope on his singlespeed, it’s his ‘endurance’ week which means something like 14 hours in the saddle, ouch.

A Summer's Evening in March

The clocks went back at the weekend, or was it forward? Anyhow, there is more daylight in the evenings now. I couldn’t ride this weekend because we had visitors and pissing off out on my bike would have been considered rude (although there is a good chance they’d be glad to see me go…but that’s another story). I decided to sneak a few hours out on Monday evening.

My 5 year old wanted me to stay in and play with him, giving me some good pangs of guilt, but MrsShonky told me to get out on my bike, so I did what I was told.

It was clear, sunny and windy cool. The trails had virtually dried into their summer state, the boggy trudge sections had turned into springy peat and turf and the rocky stuff had got nice and gravely and crunchy with lots of stones spitting out from under your tyres. I saw a hare, he loped along in front of me for a bit before giving me a backward look and stepping aside to watch me go past. I think he was enjoying the early summer too.

The shooting cabin descent was a blast, I am getting used to the capabilities of the Rocky Ridge so I hooned it down the rocky singletrack. You have to pull your weight over the front to make the Marzocchi AM2 forks do their stuff, it’s not intuitive for me, but it really works. I only needed the lights for the last half hour. Lovely, long may it last. There is snow forecast for the weekend though…

Update

Another long gap since I last posted.

Since then I have:

Been to Amsterdam. What a great city. Beautiful, relaxed, cultured and chock full of cyclists. They weave in and out of the traffic, carrying umpteen bags of shopping, with a child on the kiddie seat, all the while talking into a mobile phone. The cars look out for them and everyone shares the road really well. Apparently it is one of the safest cities to ride in Europe. We have a lot to learn.

Had a pay rise – woohoo. I’m a contractor and the hourly rates have been going up recently. A quick chat with the bosses and a few days later I get a nice pay rise. At least I can tell the agents I’m not interested when they phone. Most of the new money will disappear into fixing up the new house though.

Booked some family holidays – Menorca, Northumberland and Wales. And I go to Spain at the end of April for a long weekend with Freeride Spain.

Entered the first Merida in Builth Wells, 75km on the 15th April, on a singlespeed.

Entered the Dialled Bikes Rough Ride in May.

Ridden with the Hobo lot from Bikemagic, round the Peak. A great bunch, good riders, and a superb day out.

Erm, that’ll do for now.

Monday nightride

I took a couple of hours out last Monday night to give the new tubeless tyres a test. Chinley Churn was muddy and nasty, but the skies were clear and the moon was almost full. The views over Manchester were pin sharp, and the thought of all the drones sat in their Barrett homes watching Eastenders gave me a smug satistfaction. I put some earphones in and cruised my way over the tops and down to Hayfield on a happy high.

The tyres felt a little strange. I could easily feel the ‘thin-ness’ of the Racing Ralph on the back, which was unnerving, but it hooked up really well (except for the muddy sections). The front Nobby Nic was little different to usual, just a bit softer. I held back though, not wanting a blow out and crash up on the dark moors on my own. Apparently Racing Ralphs will give out quite quickly used tubeless like this, the sidewalls can’t take the Peak abrasion. We’ll see.

Towards the end of the ride, spinning along the Sett Valley trail, I startled an owl out of the trees right over my head. It dropped off its branch, spread its wings and glided directly ahead of me for a couple of seconds, lit up by my headlight, before doing a lazy turn and swooping out of view.

I did a true 'northern grit' ride into the teeth of a gale (it'll be a hurricane next time I tell the tale), sleet and rain blowing up my nostrils and out of my ears. It were so windy the sheep were blowing past me. Cold too, although I only wore 3/4s, being a hard (stupid and almost hypothermic) fooker.I actually gave up after about two and a half hours, having worn our my rear disc pads, and coughing up grit that had made it's way up my back passage and right through my digestive tract. I must put the mudguard on next time.

I tried to make it out in time to meet up with some friends in Hayfield, but didn’t get away in time. It was a day when I really needed company.