Tag Archives: 20111k

Glentress Day Out – A #Nov100 Treat

Taking Advantage

I was in Scotland on business last week, spending a couple of days up at HQ with my team.  I’m normally back in Lancashire by midweek when I’ve been up to the bonny land, but last week I wasn’t due to head back down south until Saturday.  So, I had an idea…

Glentress

The 7Stanes trails at Glentress are a fairly short diversion from my usual drive back from near Edinburgh to the top of the M6 before heading home.  Last Saturday I had the Fat Boy in the back of the car and took that diversion.  What a great idea that was!

Before you even get onto the trails at Glentress, it’s obvious that you’ve arrived somewhere special.  The facilities are exceptional, with a large bike shop, great cafe, great car park (only £3 all day) and informative signage all visible before you even get out of your car.  Hungover from a previous evening spent in the finer establishments of Edinburgh, I headed for the cafe first.  With change from a £fiver for beans on toast and a pot of tea, I was delighted.  When the enormous portion of “beans on” arrived, I was chuffed to biuts: this was proper man-sized mountain biking fuel!

The Trails

If you read any of the MTB press, you’ll know that a lot of investment has gone into the 7Stanes networks, and into Glentress in particular.  Getting out onto the trails at Glentress, you can tell.  I picked the Blue Route, as this was my first visit and I was feeling somewhat delicate.  Hearing of over 2,000 feet of climbing, I was not looking forward to the upward slog.   Having ridden at Gisburn Forest in the past, I was expecting a vomit-inducing fire road drag up to the top.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  At Glentress, you take in the fantastic views and the scent of fresh pine as you climb along red paths between the tress, dodging left and right through many, many switchbacks on your way up.  There are a few short fire road bursts, sure, but it’s almost a pleasure putting the hill beneath you.

About two-thirds of the way up, there’s a car park (for cheats) next to a skills area and freeride zone which looked like loads of fun, but which was too much for my limited bike and more limited talents.  So, I pushed on upwards to the top of the Blue Route before the long journey back down to earth.

And what a journey.

Glentress In 20 Words Or Less

Swoopy.  Jumpy.  Fast.  Dark.  Trees.  Red.  Rocky.  Loamy.  Grass.  Ferns.  Exciting.  Plush.   High.  Manageable.  Fantastic.  Friendly.  Organised.  Clean.  Fun.

That’s 19.  Can you add one? 😉

 

National Cycle Network NCN Route 66 Improvements, Rochdale Canal

Getting Our Kicks On Route 66

On Sunday, the kids and I set out on a sunset ride up to my favourite place in the whole world.  Our outward journey was the usual Rochdale Canal towpath trawl out to wards The Waterside Restaurant, then up Lake Road to Hollingworth Lake.  Halfway around the lake we stopped to watch a beautiful sunset as a group of dinghies finished their afternoon’s races.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, we supped our hot drinks (chocolate for Em, cappuccino for Ben and tea for me) and pulled up our buffs as the temperature dropped.  Steeled against the cold, we set off home.

New Towpath Access = New Choices

For quite some time (around 200 years I think), it’s been possible to get onto the Rochdale Canal towpath at Clegg Hall by using a flight of steps or a steep, rutted short path.  In their wisdom, British Waterways and the National Cycle Network guys at Sustrans have replaced the terrible path with a properly-laid, gravel covered slip road which connects the bridge over the canal from Clegg Hall with the towpath.  It’s absolutely ideal for cyclists.

Having spotted the new slip road on recent rides, we travelled back from the lake via Wildhouse Lane (using the traffic-free cycle lane alongside the main road) then turned right down Branch Road and rode past Clegg Hall before joining the towpath for the last mile home.

We were glad of the new shortcut, as the temperature plummeted under beautiful clear skies once it got dark!  I think it’s full-fingered gloves time from now on!

Incidentally, if you like the look of Clegg Hall, it’s yours for a chunk over half a million.  Take a look.

Tell ’em Phill sent you! 🙂

Early #Oct100 #Cycling Round Up

Why So Early?

I know that October hasn’t quite finished yet.  It’s only the 31st as I write this.  But I was thinking…. it’s Monday, it’s quite warm out (in the UK at any rate) and there’s technically one more riding day until November… So maybe, just maybe, this article might push a few people out of the door tonight.

I’m also hoping that I might pressure myself into a final ride, as I’m about 16 miles short of the target for #Oct100.

How’s The #Oct100 Looking?

As at today, we’ve got 4,169 miles ridden in October by 25 cyclists, of which 3,423 was either outdoor leisure miles or time on the turbo trainer.

You can see the graph by clicking onto the Monthly Cycling Challenge page on this site and if you haven’t joined in yet, why not give it a whirl? There’s a wee form there, just fill it in to join or to ask me about it.

Worth A Mention:

Mental John Berry turned in his 10,000th mile of 2011 during the month, with over 1,000 miles in this month alone.  If that’s not worth a special mention, then what the hell is?

End Note

If you think you can, just pull the bike out, check it works and get on it.  You might only get round the block, you might notch up a 100 mile day like Mental John does some days.  But I promise you this: you will enjoy yourself.

Just get the bike out and ride it...

Get Your Bike Out.

So just do it. Tell ’em Phill sent you.

What A July! Now What? #Jul100 #Aug100

A Record-Breaking July (Almost)

OK, we didn’t break any records. Not really.  But, a couple of weeks ago I though we might do more miles in July than we’d done in June.  Bloody Hell!

The sun came out, we got our bikes out and we did some miles.  Boy, did we do some miles?!

As I write this on the first day of the #Aug100 there are 7,330 leisure (and turbo) miles on the spreadsheet, of 8,460 miles in total.  That’s more than any month except April, when the #30daysofbiking was in full swing.

What an awesome effort.  I’m humbled, and proud, and simply chuffed to be known to you all.  Superstars, you are.

New Members, Old Friends

During July, people like Lloyd at @cyclingnirvana and Craig at @fruitmeister have joined the fray, clocking up some serious mileage.  It’s great to have you along, guys! (If you want to say Hi, or if I’ve missed your name off, drop a comment below and make yourself known!)

Once again, Mental John Berry has topped the 1,000 miles for the month, winning whatever award I want to call it this month.  Let’s just call it the “Mental John Berry Award” from now on, shall we?  He’s a nutter.  He denies it, but he’s either lying or simply wrong.

Faithful friends like Matty, Jo Simcock and Chris Byrne have quietly pedalled away, chucking over 1,000 miles in between them.  You’re fantastic.

On a personal note, a modest 132 miles puts me in 26th place, but it’s 132 miles I know I wouldn’t have done without the peer pressure.  Month after month, I owe you all big thanks and probably a bunch of years on my life (but maybe off my knees) 🙂

Below you should see a graph of the current status.  Feel free to copy & paste to your own blogs or wherever you like.  Get some more people to join, why don’t you?  That’d be lovely!

Here’s a link to the spreadsheet, have a look!

Manchester to Blackpool : Track My Ride

Tomorrow, I’m riding from the Theatre Of Dreams to Blackpool, as one of thousands of cyclists taking part in the Bike Events Manchester to Blackpool bike ride.

I’m riding in memory of my Mum and donating all sponsorship raised to Springhill Hospice in Rochdale, a fantastic place that provides respite and end of life care to terminally ill people.  The help they gave to my family cannot be put into words, and they rely on donations to continue their wonderful work.

If you’d like to support me, and more importantly them, please visit my JustGiving page. Thank you.

How Do You Know I’m not Cheating?

Using the magic of Google Latitude, I’m making my whereabouts public for one day only.  By visiting this very blog page, you’ll be able to see (I hope), where I’m up to.  If I seem to be in Bamber Bridge for a long time, it’s because I promised my cousin I’d pop in for a brew. You’ve got to take your chances for free brews, haven’t you?

It’s not a race, but I’ll be happy to put 60 miles onto the #Jul100 sheet and raise some much-needed money for the hospice.  I’ve got my energy bars and my lift home, so I’m thoroughly looking forward to it… 🙂



 

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