Category Archives: Photography

12×100 Peer Pressure Priorities

January is passing me by. Before 2013 began, I resolved to write an inspirational “Start Of The Year” article, highlighting the wonderful things that cyclists had done in 2012. It was to be a work of gravitas, impact, empathy and skill. It was to draw on the wonderful successes of the London 2012 Olympics and it was going to apply some of those successes to the very real achievements of you, the readers and the 12×100 cyclists.

But I didn’t do it. It’s too late now. It’s mid-January and all the “New Year” blog posts have been done. Extremely well, in most cases.

So instead, you’re getting this. I’m hoping you’ll like it.

2012 In The 12×100

I’m based in the UK. The bulk of the 12×100 riders are, too. As a consequence we didn’t ride as many miles in 2012 as we did in 2011. The weather in the UK has been rubbish. Not biblical (unless you’re living in parts of Yorkshire or Dorset) but consistently rubbish: rainy, dark and cold. Not conducive to riding bikes.

With that said, the results have been amazing. A grand total of 63,640 miles cycled by the 34 people who logged miles in 2012. This is an average of 199 miles per month each for those cyclists who logged each month – most of those miles were for leisure. People having fun on bikes. This makes me smile. I hope it makes you smile, too.

A little surprisingly, the month with the highest miles logged was May, just before the rain began. The rain didn’t stop until late December.

If you’ve not taken part in the 12×100 Monthly Cycling Challenge yet, hit the link on the menu above. There’s a little form for you to fill in. Do it now. All you have to do is decide to ride your bike regularly. Try to ride 100 miles or more every month, but if you don’t do it, don’t worry too much.

I’ll share something with you which isn’t a secret – I don’t do the 100 most months. In 2012 I only actually cycled 624 miles. Not exactly a sparkling achievement. But it’s 624 miles more than the other 43 year-old bloke who spent all his evenings and free days watching TV and eating crisps.

My life will be longer as a result of those 624 miles. If I can do 100 miles a month in 2013, my life will even longer still.Will yours? I hope so. Ride your bikes. Tell ‘em Phill sent you 🙂

Mountain Biking, Exploration and Discovery: There’s Farms In Them Thar Hills.

Yesterday, I had a job to do.  The job was painting the base of our new trailer. The good news was that I needed to leave it for 4 hours between the primer and the top coat.  “What’s this got to do with Mountain Biking?” I hear you ask.

Well, those 4 hours gave me enough time to (1) Avoid a rain shower and (2) Explore the hills on my bike.

Exploration

I’ve got into a habit of riding up past Hollingworth Lake, under the M62 and over Tunshill then back home.  I love that ride but I fancied trying something new whilst I had the time and a lovely dry afternoon on a Bank Holiday (hurrah for leftover pagan holidays!).  Despite the stupid climb from the motorway bridge past Tunshill Golf Club up the top of Tunshill, that’s the way I chose to climb.  On foot.

On reaching Four Lane Ends, the easy option would be to head back towards t’Lake, so I decided not to do that.  The path towards Ogden and Piethorne reservoirs ambles gently downhill from the junction, so for the first time, I headed that way. Good decision!

The full route I took is on Gpsies here, it’s worth a look. A nice uppy-downy afternoon out 🙂

You can see from the old map extract that the farm buildings had fascinated me.  Some digging (on the internets, not in the ground) after I got home revealed that Rag Hole Farm had been a busy Rye and Barley farm in the 1850’s, before the reservoirs through the Piethorne valley were commissioned in 1878.

Presumably the farmer walked away from the property with a nice big cheque and lived happily ever after, leaving the rye and barley fields to be lost beneath the reservoirs and the farm buildings to be reclaimed by the land.

Isn’t it amazing how things change, and how the simple act of an afternoon’s bike ride can uncover new knowledge?

Learn a little more about Rag Hole Farm and the area here:
United Utilities information about Piethorne Valley
Rag Hole Farm photo on Geograph

I love my Mountain Bike!

 

Pennine Bridleway Exploration #12×100

New Bike, New Route

With the British weather being so busy since Christmas, my #12×100 mileage had been a bit pants through January.  So, with a steely determination and wearing almost every item of technical fabric I possess, I headed out to try a new loop on Saturday.

The Pennine Bridleway cuts all over the foothills of the Pennines near where I live, and I’ve ridden little bits of it up near Hollingworth Lake a few times.  I figured that I couldn’t really call myself a Rochdalian mountain biker until I’d explored a bit more of it, though.

I chose to do half of the route which Evans Cycles had used for an organised ride the week before, heading along the canalside before heading up to Watergrove Reservoir and taking the PBW across the hills to Summit, between Littleborough and Todmorden.

Pennine Bridleway and Rochdale Canal Loop

Out by the PBW, back by the canal.

The snow began as I left home and continued for the whole ride.  I was loving it.  I’ve found that snow itself isn’t slippy.  It’s compacted snow and hidden ice that’s slippy.  I only had a single arse/floor interface, when I failed to spot a large frozen puddle beneath my wheels until the bike suddenly flipped rubber-side-up and dumped me unceremoniously on my side.  The only saving grace was that the ice was thick enough to support my weight, so I crawled back to my feet, checked that nobody had seen anything (they hadn’t, it was pretty deserted thanks to the weather) and cracked on with my ride.

I’ve stuck a few photos here for your enjoyment, and to remind me what a great time I had.  If you like them, please say so below 🙂 If you hate them, then shut up, you’re wrong 😉

After a few miles on the PBW and arriving at Summit, I decided that getting back home along the canal towpath was the most sensible idea because, quite frankly, I’d run out of bovril.  So, tucked my head down and cracked on home.

If you want to, you can see the map at my DailyMile site.  Tell ’em Phill sent you 🙂

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? 😉

 

Cycling Photojournalism Awards 2011

The Cycling Photojournalism Awards 2011

This is my personal entry for the presently non-existent “Cycling Photojournalism Awards 2011

They say that a good picture paints a thousand words.  This one is more concise.  This one paints 10.

"We went on a bike ride. There was a pool."

“We went on a bike ride. There was a pool.”

This may not have a potential running theme like Jamie’s excellent “Bike And Gate” series, but I quite like it.

Got any entries? If I get enough links in the comments below, I will publish them and give an actual prize. The rules are as follows:

1. You have to own the picture.
2. It has to tell a story about cycling, in its own right .
3. A caption of up to 20 words is allowed.

Tell your friends. Tell ’em Phill sent you 🙂

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