Tag Archives: mountain biking

The Bike Leasing Company

Why Should Anyone Invest In Somebody Else’s Bike Business?

That’s a good question.

To put money into anyone else’s idea, you first have to know what good is going to come of it – for you, not just for the business.

Sure, the business gets access to funds to help it grow, but what’s in it for the investor?

To put it bluntly, a successful small business is more likely to be bought up by a major player in the market. Successful niche companies have a habit of being bought by bigger companies, looking to increase their loyal customer base and share in the some of the good feeling that a great smaller business generates. The bigger business can usually offer customers a wider range of great products too, so everyone wins.

The best bit is that the bigger business, the one doing the buying, usually pays good money for the great smaller business which has grown through your investment…. So you make a profit, in return for helping the small business to become so attractive.

Crowd Funding? What’s That?

Crowd Funding is an awesome idea which probably wouldn’t have worked before the internet. It’s a way of making it possible for small investors to contribute to big plans. By reducing the costs of organising funding and increasing the ability of normal people to see where their investment will go, crowd funding allows people like you and me to share in the growth of great businesses.

The Bike Leasing Company

The Bike Leasing Company on CrowdCube.com

I got my bike from The Bike Leasing Company about 12 months ago. I should really publish a “year long review” piece here, but for now I’ll just say that the experience was painless and I got a lot of bike for not a lot of money. The Bike Leasing Company is now set for growth but needs investment, so they’ve turned to CrowdCube to see if the internet can make it happen.

On the right hand side of this page is a widget showing how the appeal is going, and by clicking the “Help Fund This Pitch” button you can see what freebies you get for your investment straight away – and don’t we all like something for nothing? But don’t forget, your investment isn’t only for a free t-shirt, or a free lease of a totally cool new bike…

It might help to get a lot more people riding cool bikes. It might also make you a handsome profit.

Tell the bank manager Phill sent you 😉

Rules Of The Road – Not Just For Cyclists

Hi there.

Yes, I’ve been quiet. Sorry about that: I’ve got some stuff going on right now.

I read an excellent little article today over on the Bike Tinker Blog. It’s an excellent blog all about doing weird stuff with – and for – bikes. A lovely pastime. Check it out.

Anyway, this article listed some Rules Of The Road, which I’m going to reproduce here. I hope the author doesn’t mind.

Rules Of The Road.

  1. Expect to share the road with bicycles.
  2. Expect to share the road with cars.
  3. Move predictably.
  4. Never attempt to kill or injure another person intentionally.
  5. Pay attention, so you don’t kill or injure anyone unintentionally.
  6. Stay aware of other peoples’ presence, speed and direction.
  7. Alert people to your presence, but do not startle them.

To these, I’m going to add two more cyclist-specific rules which Baron Sugar of Clapham suggested in an interview on the soon-to-be-defunct Chris Moyles Radio 1 breaksfast radio show:

  1. Always wear a helmet, even if you’re just going around the corner.
  2. Assume that everyone else on the road is trying to kill you.

Do you have any more to add? I’d be interested to see them. Or, distil your best 3 and put them here, because everyone knows that you can’t remember more than 3 things at the same time.

…Go! 🙂

Sunday Social Shenanigans

It’s Been A While

Since starting up the #12×100 Monthly Cycling Challenge I’ve tried to keep up a regular routine of cycling and it’s definitely helped. There are very few Tuesday nights I don’t get a few miles in, and every other weekend tends to have a good ride in it, too. Most of my cycling has been done alone though.

I do like riding my bike on my own. The chance to gather my thoughts out of the house, to take in the views, to enjoy the weather and listen to the sounds around me is a chance I like to take. More recently though it’s become obvious that although I know loads of other cyclists, I don’t often ride with any of them.

A close neighbour now rides me with me most Tuesdays on his old boneshaker. I’m hoping that his Missus will let him buy a better bike once he’s proved that he likes cycling and he’s going to keep it up! At first I struggled to adjust to the possibilities of conversation and sociable tea-and-biscuit consumption, but now I have to admit that it’s been good to have someone along.

There are always going to be good chances to ride alone and I’ll keep taking them. My lack of fitness and ambition are less obvious when I’m plodding along alone, lazily winching up the hills and flowing down them. My opportunities to take photos and capture the beautiful countryside within which I live are also more plentiful when I’m not encumbered by anyone else’s conflicting desire to cover more miles or keep their heart rate up.

But, when Chris suggested it was time for a social MTB ride, he was right.

A Bad Start

Going out for morning bike rides with diabetes is sometimes a pain in the bum. Managing my diabetes means that I tend to fuel up in pretty short bursts: you don’t really carbo-load when you know it’ll push your blood sugars high. The normal short-term, in-day rules apply but carbs usually have to be ingested to suit the exertion planned. Basically, that means: eat for today, not tomorrow.

We’d arranged to set off from mine at 10am. When I got up on the day of the ride my blood sugar was a bit higher than I’d have liked, so a big porridge breakfast wasn’t on the cards. I opted for a brioche whilst the lads turned up, pottered about and we all scratched our heads over Joby’s totally screwed rear brake. More about that later.

Powered only by instant coffee and a small helping of French bread with choccy bits, I led the lads down the canal towpath and up beside Clegg Hall towards Hollingworth Lake where we were meeting Adrian, our fourth rider and expert guide for the day. On getting there, we all joked about Joby’s knackered brake, suggesting either that he should descend first so as not to hit us in the back when he went OTB, or go last so that we weren’t inconvenienced when he bit the dust on the rocky Pennine descents Adrian had planned for us.

Brief hellos done, we set off towards the M62 viaduct where Rochdale and Littleborough are left behind and “the moors” are entered. Immediately, a massive gap opened up when the lads steamed up the first climb and I just let them go. Admittedly, they did climb very quickly (Strava told me later) but I was over a minute down on my usual time for an ascent which takes less than four to finish. I didn’t know that at the time: I just knew I was knackered!

I knew I’d be hanging off the back of the party all day. On the next climb, I got up without dabbing but at the top I was properly worn out. Only 5 miles or so ridden, all of which I’ve done many times alone, and I needed to get off the bike for a long rest. Thankfully a horse asked us to hang back (well, a woman riding a horse, but a horse asking would have been amazing) so I didn’t feel so guilty sat on the grass, sweating, not talking, with three blokes wondering whether I was going to bottle it and go home.

I’m glad I didn’t. It wasn’t a race.

Starting To Enjoy It

From there, we went along to Piethorne reservoir where the descent to the waterside and the views are amazing. Adrian got told off for startling two lady walkers but he had the good grace to feel a bit guilty, so that was ok. Poor Joby’s back brake had evidently spilled all of its hydraulic innards and was totally useless, so he followed gingerly down the descent, leaning off the back of his bike with the front brake on, somehow managing to avoid any face/rock interfaces.

The lads were beginning to talk of sausage butties by this time, so I played my trump card. Everyone needs to bring something to a social ride, and I’d brought my knowledge of where the best food was! One problem though, the climb from Piethorne reservoir to the Ram’s Head is a bit unpleasant. Rocky and steep, with hefty water bars and no clear view to the top – but remember, there was a pub at the top, so we got there.

How nice does THIS look?

How nice does THIS look?

You know you’re getting a posh burger when the chips are arranged in a little mesh chip pan which has clearly never been immersed in a fryer. Suffice to say that it tasted bloody marvellous. You should go to the Ram’s Head – it’s actually easier to get to from the road than the moors, for you roadie-whippet types.

Final Legs

Dropping back to Piethorne ressy from the pub was lots of fun for everyone except Joby on his single-braked steed, then we took the easy service road alongside Piethorne and Ogden reservoirs before a little portage back up towards the junction where I’d flaked out earlier. The burger and chips were working their magic and I felt much, much better with some proper carbs (and meat, and fat – all the important food groups) working through my system.

A final little climb and back down to t’Lake finished off a great couple of hours in the hills, so we said goodbye to Adrian and headed back to mine along the canal towpath.

Lessons Learned

Let’s make this clear: I had a really good day out. I loved the cycling, the company, the scenery and the food. This social ride was a brilliant idea. Thanks Chris for the suggestion and thanks Joby and Adrian for being there too.

I learned three things on this ride:
1. As a diabetic, a poor feed means a poor ride.
2. I should ride with other people more often.
3. I’m even less fit than I thought I was.

My fitness isn’t a problem when I’m out alone. I’m fitter than most 42 year old men, but the trouble with grossed-up statistics is that they don’t reflect your individual circumstances. Most 42 year-old men spent last Sunday eating crisps and watching the Olympics – they weren’t trying to keep up with 3 fitter, younger men on mountain bikes in the foothills of the Pennines.

Being fitter than most 42 year-old men isn’t good enough. I need to get as fit as most men who regularly ride mountain bikes in the hills. I guess that means that I have a goal to achieve.

Strava map of our social ride

See the ride on Strava.

You can see the full ride on this link to Strava. 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!

 

Trail Dog – Should I Or Shouldn’t I?

I think you need a bit of background information on this one….

In The Oldham Days…

… I grew up with a dog. Shep was a corgi-jack russell cross – basically the fattest-looking jack russell you ever saw.  She was docile, friendly, the colour of beach sand and a wonderful companion on many walks.  A silent confidant through my teenage years and a great family member.  When she left us, cats took over the home and whilst I love cats, they never loved me back. They don’t, do they? Evil little sods that they are. 😉

My partner has also loved dogs and TrixieWixieWooWoo (I know) was also a much loved family member, before my time.

More Recently…

… We’ve been having conversations along the lines of:
“We should get a dog”
“But we both work”
“We should get a dog”
“But we like to go out”
“We should get a dog”
“But I don’t want to be tied to the house”
“I want a dog”
“But it’s not fair on the dog”
“I want this dog (shows picture of cute little handbag dog from the internet)”
… Then other family members joined in…
“I want a dog too”
“Why do you want a dog?”
“I want a schtizu”
“Isn’t that a zoo with no penguins? (Yes, clearly a diversionary tactic)”

… and so on and so forth, with no progress.

Then I read this blog post over my lunchtime sandwiches just now.  Then my heart and my will soften a little bit.  Then I googled “Best trail dog” and read this closed forum from Singletrack World.  If you don’t already know this, I’m a Singletrack subscriber like most MTB riders, especially ones from anywhere near Lancashire.  So I had to take it seriously.

Clearly Not A Trail Dog

Clearly, Not A Trail Dog

Now I’m thinking…. Now I need some help.

Help!

Should I take the leap or not?  What should I do? Where should I go? How much will I regret it? What kind of dog should I possibly maybe discuss the possibility of an idea of considering?

Please help me. I need to get some information before I go all mushy and make a bad decision, or before I go all stubborn and miss what might be a great opportunity.  Tell me what I should do, or what I need to know.

You know the drill, just fill in the little form below – thanks! 🙂

 

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