Author Archives: Phill

Riding Together? Whatever Next?

By 12 commentsRides, , ,

I’m Not Sure How To Deal With This…

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Other Half.  I love life at home. I love arriving back from work to the welcoming bosom of my family.

But there’s a slightly unnerving feeling when your OH says she wants to join you on the weekly bike ride… isn’t there?

Let me explain.

My Tuesday Night Autopilot Loop is as much a part of my weekly routine as Saturday morning lie-ins and Sunday night Match Of The Day 2.  I don’t so much compete against myself, but I do hammer it some nights in an effort to give my quads a beasting.

The solitude of the ride is a relaxing departure from the chaos and demands of normal daily life.  Come rain, shine, hail, wind, ice or snow, the routine of following a similar loop week-in-week-out gives me an enjoyable escape.

With a second rider, no matter how pretty or how scintillating the conversation, the experience will be… well… just different.

So What Am I Going To Do About It?

I’ll tell you exactly what I’m going to do.  I’m going to embrace the opportunity.  I’m going to enjoy the company.  I’m going to enjoy the experience of watching another rider’s experience increase and skills improve.  I’m going to have the sorts of conversations that only take place when two people are relaxed.

Then I’m going to find another night to go out on my own and ride fast. 😉

Are you with me?

Truly Wonderful Skills by Danny McAskill, Daniel Dhers and Martin Sodastream

By 3 commentsTat, ,

I don’t usually repost videos, as others have worked so hard to promote them and deserve all the credit they get.

But this. Is. Brilliant.  In particular, stick with it until the last two minutes where the detailed slow motion shots show just how intricate some of these guys’ moves are. Fantastic stuff.

 

 

POC Bike Excursion from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo.

Enjoy! 🙂

What Mountain Biking Is About

By Rides, , , , ,

The Tale Of A Weekend Ride Resurrected

This weekend was my routine opportunity to build up a decent run to add onto the #Sep100 spreadsheet – and of course to enjoy the great outdoors.  Unfortunately circumstances conspired to make it impossible for me to get out on Saturday.

I won’t bore with you the details, but suffice to say that the following factors were involved: A fish; Some fungus; Rain; Work. Not necessarily in that order, or to scale.  I achieved a (not very impressive) total of marginally over 2 miles in a trip to the garden centre and back for essential supplies.

Hardly a long Saturday ride.

So, On Sunday…

… I was a bit antsy. We had plans for a houseful for late lunch so I thought I’d be stuck in all day.  My blessed Other Half perceived my angst, so she sent me off to play out on my bike.  I didn’t need to be asked twice. “Why don’t you have a couple of hours out on your bike while I sort this stuff out?” – “Ok, bye!” *whooosh*

I opted to try a new loop, climbing past Tandle Hills Country Park along Thornham Old Road (Thornham Lane) after a climb across to Royton.  I was really pleased with how the old legs held out, without needing a rest at all on the way up.  From the top of Thornham Lane it’s a great, grin-inducing descent to Slattocks.

From Slattocks, it’s less than mile alonf the towpath (avoiding the parallel main road) to Thornham New Road which leads back towards Royton.  I’d not ridden this lane before, and now I know why it’s not too busy:

 

Soggy Socks

Don’t Drive Up Thornham New Road!

 

At this point, I’d already ridden through three or four similar puddles but this was the deepest.  There was no option but to swallow hard, loosen up and keep pedalling. Thankfully there were no surprises lurking in the murk, so I got to the dry track unscathed and relatively dry.  My feet did get submerged as I pedalled but noting more unpleasant than that.

My Advice?

Don’t try riding the length of Thornam New Road unless it hasn’t rained for a week or more!

Having said that, I had a lovely 15 mile ride out, got lovely and muddy and cleared the cobwebs nicely.  Arriving home, refreshed and smiling, I hosed the bike (and my soggy shoes) down, went upstairs for a shower and prepared myself for my afternoon’s role as the gracious host.

You can see the route here, if you fancy a nosey.

Happy Days 🙂

Bikepacking – A New Bike Camping Adventure?

By 4 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , , , , ,

Bikepacking? What?

I think they used to call it “cycle touring“. According to bikepacking.net, the short answer is that it’s “backpacking with a bike“.

Why?

As a family, we spend our main holidays camping.  For us five, this means an 8-berth tent with separate bedrooms and lots of home comforts: electricity; a fridge; lighting; a heater; air beds; multiple changes of clothes; body boards; kits; inflatable dinghy…

We love our holidays.  But we’ve been thinking.

If my Other Half and myself want to go somewhere, an 8-berth tent is a bit much. So, we book into a hotel. At more cost than we really need to spend.  If my boy and I want to go exploring and doing some Father-Son bonding without the car, we couldn’t, to put it bluntly.

How?

I picked up a bunch of end-of-season bargains at Go Outdoors and added a few other bits so that we now have a full bikepacking kit.

A special note of thanks goes to Toby, from whose blog I won the panniers, saving us a small fortune.

As well as what you can see here, we’ve got a small gas burner; first aid kit; boy’s sleeping bag; mess tins and we’ll carry some food with us (most likely of the noodles-in-a-pot variety). We’ll head out with multiple thin layers; buffs; gloves and some baby wipes.

When? Where?

I’m kicking myself that the boy & me didn’t go on Saturday night for a dry run. The forecast was for horrible winds so we chickened out. As it happens, it was a warm, dry and fairly calm night. Ah well.

The updated plan is to have a short ride to Hollingworth Lake where there’s a little camp site for our first outing.  Then once we’re sure we’ve got what we need, we can graduate to something a little less organised and a little more wild.

So?

Do you think we’ve forgotten anything important?  I hope not.

#30DaysOfBiking – You Should, You Know.

By 9 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , ,

What’s #30DaysOfBiking Then?

To quote the 30DaysOfBiking facebook page:

“The only rule for 30 Days of Biking is that you bike every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online. We believe biking enriches life, builds community, and preserves the Earth.”

 

I can’t put it any better than that.

– Enriching life?  Certainly.
– Building community?  Damn right, I’ll vouch for that.
– Preserving the Earth?  Time will tell. But it’s a hell of a lot better than burning dead dinosaurs.

What Is It For Me?

30 Days Of Biking is a real challenge.  I’ve seen it twice before and not joined in.  This September, I bit the bullet.  It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do and my (very) short rides show that it’s not really helping me increase my #Sep100 mileage.

 

30 Days Of Biking, So Far

30 Days Of Biking, So Far

 

My worst day so far was taking the bike out of the car after returning home from a trip to Dunfermline at around 10.45pm, then riding it as far the door to my shed at 10.46pm!  That was 0.03 miles done 🙂  Having said that, I did ride it around Dunfermline town centre the night before after a team meal out, before hitting the sack in a little hotel.

My best day was a lovely afternoon with my better half, riding from Crosby to Formby and back, along the Sefton Coastal Path on Merseyside.  A lovely trip, an easy path and two beautiful beaches – not to mention the rather splendid Antony Gormley “Another Place” sculptures at Crosby.

Another Idiot. Another Place.

Another Northern Monkey. Another Place.

What Is “30 Days Of Biking” For You?

This is where you tell me.

Tell me why you’re not doing it.
… or if you are…
Tell me how it’s going for you.

Thanks! 🙂

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