mountain bike adventures and mishaps

The Bike Station, Edinburgh.

2012-02-13T21:00:00.000Z

One of my customers as well as good friends

New record for Pentland 24 mile winter loop (again!!)

2012-02-12T21:06:00.001Z

Baz, Clive and me set off at 6pm tonight (Sunday) for what Clive and myself thought was a gentle Sunday night ride. Baz had other ideas! My efforts on Friday night were like a red rag to a bull and he set off as if his pants were on fire with the two of us hanging in behind for grim death at first. A new fastest time at the top of the Balerno tar road only served to spur us on and even an owl nearly taking Baz out at one point couldn't stop us setting both a new fastest riding time of 2 hours 3 minutes dead as well as an overall time of 2 hours 6 minutes. That mileage also got me up to the 100 miles for the week again after I'd intended to have an easy 60 mile week!

Survival was the name of the game last night.

2012-02-09T22:23:00.000Z

Another trip round the "Pentland 24 mile winter loop" last night and there was no chance of any records being broken, only bones, with the ice beginning to take on the form of mini glaciers on some of the tracks! No actual incidents, apart from Baz, coming off on the climb up the seven steps much to his disgust!
Best laugh was Roger's reaction when a huge owl flew of a fence post as we passed and nearly knocked his helmet off!

Not bad for this time of year considering the conditions

2012-02-07T08:42:00.000Z

112 miles last week, off road and in the dark at an average temperature of -4 centigrade, not bad at all I thought! The lights have performed brilliantly both on the handlebars and helmet, but I'm beginning to look forward to riding in daylight again without the fear of coming off on ice and damaging my already fragile collar bones! (And a few photos as well!)

Fastest time yet on the Pentland winter 24 mile loop.

2012-02-02T21:59:00.000Z

Conditions were nearly perfect for our 24 mile Pentland loop last night with the ground brick hard with the frost and no wind, which was a first for about 6 weeks, during which time we've had to face the climb to the Howe and beyond in the teeth of howling gales! Four of us last night, Dougie, Roger, Neil and myself, the only difficulty being ice here and there attempting to catch the unwary! When we'd finished the Garmin showed a riding time of 2 hours 16 minutes, 13 minutes better than our previous fastest time and with the average temperature at -4 centigrade it'll be interesting to see what time we can do it in the summer (if it comes this year) in suitable conditions. Oh, and I managed to get the compulsary punture yet again!

Clive steals the show today!

2012-01-28T20:44:00.000Z

"Thats where we're going", Clive points the way to Allermuir Hill

Me with a herd of bikes (or what ever you call them)

Baz on the point of losing control before the multiple collision!

(note the interested hiker)

Clive just after one of his many offs today!

(note the hiker has lost interest now!)

A Saturday ride this weekend starting in daylight at 2 pm and taking in the full Castlelaw climb, where I had a puncture, and then continuing up to the top of Allermuir Hill. The descent from there was terrific with frozen ground, the odd patch of ice and some snow. Clives first off was here followed at regular intervals with a few more, makes a change as it's usually me! The temperature was below freezing for the 28 mile ride which we finished in the dark at 6 pm ish. My total for the week so far is 92 miles, not bad for the depths of winter!

Thats the 10000 miles up on the Trek....and still going strong

2012-01-26T19:00:00.001Z

Last night saw the magic 10000 miles recorded on the odometer on the Trek ex8 since new from 1st May 2009. Around 90% of that has to be off road with roughly the other 10% spent on my backside. To witness the momentous occasion with me last night were Clive, Dougie and Roger who provided the tasty tablet we toasted the event with in the pouring rain at the top of the torturous seven steps. We made a rough calculation that I'll be about 97 when I reach the 100000 mile mark, not so sure some of them will make it till then though.......

Nearly at the 10000 mile mark for the Trek

2012-01-22T17:53:00.000Z

Water running down the track after the heavy rain overnight.

Allegedly you can hear magical sounds by putting your ear to this device, I heard sod all!!

The North Esk in spate over the weir after the heavy rain.

Needing 48 miles for the 10000 miles on my Trek since new, I managed to reduce that by another 27 miles this morning after our ride in the Pentlands today. It was a rain jacket day today something I'm not keen on as I tend to overheat with too much clothes but was glad I had it on as it chucked it down for half the trip this morning as well as the wind blowing at gale force. We're hoping all this bad weather traning stands us in good stead when the Spring eventually arrives, though in Scotland its hard to tell the seasons apart sometimes!

The magic figure should be achieved this week and the complete drive chain will be renewed then as its on its last legs, jumping and occasionally chain sucking into the bargain. And I thought this was a cheap sport when I first started........

There should be a law against this....

2012-01-21T20:35:00.000Z

And that law should be that every time a hawthorn or for that measure any prickly hedge is trimmed with a mechanical cutter the debris should be brushed and then gathered up and safely disposed of, I'm totally hacked off with punctures at this time of year with irresponsible hedge cutting!!!!! (Rant over for the time being)

There's a first time for everthing (even Baz and Clive agreeing)!

2012-01-15T19:03:00.003Z

We were hoping for a crash in the icy mud but Clive made it through successfully!

This morning started off with Clive not even being able to get the padlock on his bike shed open but a mixture of de-icer, release oil and some heavy breathing (from me) got it to work eventually! We then had varying degrees of difficulty with frozen derailleurs, Baz's in fact lasted the whole morning, his legs spinning furiously for 4 hours, much to our amusement! I managed to come by a puncture about two minutes after confidently announcing we'd be back home earlier than we thought we'd be. I'll keep my mouth shut next time I'm out, thats the second time that's happened! Slightly different route today with a detour round Harbour Hill before the descent to Glencorse. Just over 26 miles today to bring my weekly total to a modest 50 plus miles.
By the way, Baz and Clive, for about the first time ever, agreed in a political debate (which is quite common on our bike rides!) that Scotland would be daft to seperate from the rest of the UK, and I must say I have to agree myself!! All this agreement has to stop or the rides will become boooooooring!!!!

Never been on my backside as often as today!

2012-01-08T16:33:00.000Z

More or less all downhill from here.

Fording the burn near the bottom of the glen.

Off at 6am this morning and with daylight not until about 8.30 there was some tricky riding on some of the muddy section we did today in the darkness. I may not have covered myself in glory but I managed to cover myself in a fair bit of mud as I went for the world record of coming off in slow motion crashes. My sense of balance in the darkness is certainly not the best! Luckily all the offs were onto soft and pliable muck which while not doing much for my cleanliness didn't damage me much either!

No rain or wind to speak of today and with temperatures in the high 30's F it made for a good morning's riding.

Too many mishaps today!

2012-01-02T18:39:00.001Z

Near the top of Loganlea reservoir and its bloody cold!

On the track up from the Howe.

My three riding buddies this morning.

Mishaps aplenty this morning but nothing too serious thank goodness because it was goddamn cold but at least dry. First Clive's chain parted company with his bike and left him pedalling furiously but going nowhere. A joining link fixed that and we were soon on our way again though Clive suspected there was more wrong with his bike, he gets a bit paranoid when he has problems, but he was later proven to be correct! Then Baz developed a puncture and that took up a bit more time with a tube change before we got going again. About 4 miles to go and Clive had disappeared off the back of the other three of us so we stopped and he appeared limping if that's possible on a bike with something obviously wrong. A quick look revealed the front derailleur was broken and causing the chain to rub against the guide making the sound he thought was some catastrophic frame failure (or worse!). He wasn't amused when I told him I thought there was a "LINK" with his chain breaking and this breakage! However we managed home with 24 miles and no crashes on what started out as very icy roads.

End of year round up!

2011-12-31T19:16:00.000Z

2011 has been quite a year. It started with snow and ice, went very warm and dry in April and then deteriorated from May right through the summer and autumn with rain and cold weather virtually non stop. Winter began later than last year despite warnings of several feet of snow by the end of October and has alternated up to date between short cold spells and severe gales and rainy spells. The night riding has been a feature this year with the new Magic Shine lights on the bike and the Aye Up helmet lights making things decidedly easier, though I still manage a few offs in the dark! The tinted riding glasses certainly don't help the night time riding so maybe I'll invest in a pair of clear lens ones next year. The overall mileage on the Trek stands at 9764 miles so I'm still on target to hit the 10000 mile mark before the end of February, weather permitting
Happy New Year from Scotland!!

Mid-day bike ride (makes a change seeing where I'm going)

2011-12-29T19:20:00.000Z

After yesterdays storm when bike riding would have been impossible it was relatively calm today, that is only a 20mph wind which was kind enough to blow us back up from Harelaw to the saddle. Only mishap today was Dougie having a flat on the descent to Glencorse but that was rectified fairly quickly. There may yet be a video of this descent to put on the blog as Roger had his camcorder today in the hope he'd record me on my backside at some point but sorry to say I managed to remain upright! Sorry, Roger. 24 miles in temperatures hovering around freezing.

The calm between storms?

2011-12-27T17:12:00.000Z

Always liked this little bridge, reminds me of the bridge on the willow pattern for some reason.

The sheep obviously can get a bit embarrassed when getting up close and personal.

I never get tired of this view of Glencorse reservoir, especially today when it was dead calm.

The house known as "The Howe" which stands at the top of Loganlea reservoir, a desolate spot on a wild winter's night!

After the last day or two of gale force winds (nothing to do with the brussel sprouts eaten at Christmas) it was a relief to get a wind free day and with a ride planned for tomorrow when another storm is forecast I decided to get out on my own today and attempt to burn off some of the Christmas calories. I did the 25 mile winter route in the Pentlands which doesn't have just as much mud as some other routes but still has a fair bit of climbing. This was a daylight ride, the downside of which is that there's loads of walkers out as well who don't take too kindly to bikers for some reason, (we're probably getting more miles in than them)!

If the weather does turn out crap tomorrow at least I've done something this week!

The annual Christmas bike ride.

2011-12-22T21:10:00.001Z

A short break in the ride!

Last years ride never took place due to heavy snow but conditions couldn't have been much different this year with the temperature around 10 degrees C. Keeping riding clothes to the minimum while still remembering its pretty cold higher up at Glentress was quite tricky. Its the first time we've been to Glentress for a few months now and I for one had forgotten how hard the 9 mile climb to the mast on the black route is! We did most of the black, then went back up to the top of the red and finished off with the final descent on the blue. No mishaps, but a close shave here and there, in our 20 mile ride.

Ice cold in Scotland!

2011-12-19T19:53:00.000Z

A short video clip highlighting my inadequacies as a commentator as we pedalled up towards the descent to Glencorse on Sunday morning!

This was a morning for ice spikers!

2011-12-18T16:43:00.000Z

Looking east along Threapmuir reservoir.

The long haul up from Harelaw.

The sun just rising above the horizon at the top of the descent to Glencorse.

There's more than us who are a bit wrong in the head on a winters morning up in the Pentlands, here's a couple of runners we met!

If ever there was a need for studded tyres it was this morning. The snow that fell a couple of days ago had melted slightly and then froze leaving ice everywhere we went this morning. With the temperature at -5c Baz's front and rear derailleurs froze, leaving him pedalling furiously, stuck in a low gear! The average speed today was 6.5 mph not one of our fastest jaunts but the conditions dictated caution, and with dire threats hanging over our heads if we returned with broken limbs we took it easy! 24 cold but enjoyable (and injury free) miles.

S'no there anymore....(the snow that is)

2011-12-11T11:25:00.000Z

This time last week there was about 2 inches of snow, in fact even on Friday night there was snow and ice, but an overnight thaw meant that this morning it was mud instead of ice we were faced with. Temperatures were only a couple of degrees above freezing but it meant no black ice, my worst case scenario, after coming off twice last week. I'm developing an impressive bruise on my arm down from my elbow and if this continues there'll be a picture of that posted up for posterity's sake!

My helmet resplendent with its new lights courtesy of Baz who had an unfortunate incident with some new lights he ordered, (the battery blew up), and managed to blag an extra set of lights out of the supplier if he didn't publicise the fact, it could have ruined the company, so I got an early Xmas present!!

25 miles today and no mishaps to report!

Wasn't looking good this morning for tomorrows ride.

2011-12-10T17:54:00.001Z

This was the scene this morning, 3 inches of snow and bitterly cold. Things didn't look promising for tomorrow morning's ride but there's been a partial thaw through the day and we're hopeful we'll get out for our Sunday morning jaunt in the hills!

I was out last night with Dougie and managed my daily over the bars when I caught my handlebars on his back-pack as I attempted to pass him as he held a gate open for me! However, one thing about frequent fall-offs is you learn how to fall off!!! So no harm done and we managed a respectable 24 miles in icy conditions at an average temperature of -4 Celsius, cold enough to freeze my front derailleur and the jockey wheels on the back one. Good night's riding........... Dougie then went off to work night-shift!!!

Ouch!! That was painful!!!

2011-12-04T12:08:00.001Z

You've heard of knobbly knees, well I've now got a knobbly elbow as a result of a fall on black ice this morning before we'd even reached the hills! the bike just disappeared from under me and I went down quicker than the Titanic, landing on my elbow to the accompaniment of some foul and abusive language!

Barrie sits astride the "throne" after the hard haul up from Harelaw.

It's good to be alive on a fine morning like this!

Off at 6am and immediately Baz and I discovered the roads were icy, Three miles later and I came off taking a corner at about 3mph on black ice and ended up with an elbow that looks like its got an egg attached to it now!

We ended up having to walk up Castlelaw tar, it was just too icy, but once we got higher up into the hills the covering of snow gave us grip. The average temperature was a couple of degrees below zero for the ride but with plenty layers on we never felt it, 26 miles today, and winter's definitely arrived.

Reached the 9500 mile target tonight.

2011-11-30T22:43:00.000Z

Just Roger and me tonight as I went for the 9500 mile target on the Trek in the two and a half years since I got it. I needed 22 miles tonight and the prospects didn't look good with the rain getting heavier by the minute and the wind gusting to gale force. But we Scots are a hardy bunch, actually Roger's English, so I'd better say "we British" and we set off up the Pentlands into the teeth of the gale! No actual mishaps tonight, though at one point I was nearly blown backwards by the wind and it was a relief when we turned for home with the wind in our tails. The 22 mile target was reached with a bit to spare so the next target is the magic 10000 miles!

Cant have been much windier than this morning!

2011-11-27T17:26:00.000Z

There's actually a waterfall in the darkness at the back of me!

I don't know how Baz can go in shorts with the temperature just above freezing.

Wet and greasy on the descent to Glencorse.

A different waterfall but equally as impressive as the first one!

Wet, windy and generally horrendous weather at 6am this morning when we set off up the Pentlands, we had to stop in the first wooded section to pull a branch that had been blown down off the track. The first hour was the worst with the occasional heavy rain trying to pierce the skin on our faces with the gale force wind, at one point I was nearly blown into a ditch!Why do we do this? Because we're half mad, maybe fully mad, but thats the fun of it, never two rides the same! 25 miles today and a new return bit of single track discovered as well as the waterfall that Baz is pictured beside!

Time for a fork service

2011-11-24T22:16:00.000Z

It's time for the Rock Shox Rebas to have a service, in fact it's well past time for them to have a service! However there's no way I'm going to be bikeless over the time they're away so tonight they were removed from the bike and the old Fox's were put back on again. They'll still do a turn for a day or two, though the way the weather forecast is it might be chancing it a bit!

First time for the West Kip loop in the dark (and probably the last!)

2011-11-20T09:19:00.000Z

On the way to the Pentlands

Narrow path descent to Glencorse reservoir

Washing the bike in the burn after the West Kip descent

Baz and I set off at 3.30pm yesterday on an afternoon ride and decided on a West Kip loop which was going to take in a fair bit of route in darkness. It's fair to say that this could well be the last time we do this route this winter as conditions could only be described as slippy and unbelievably muddy. Apart from the muck it was a fantastic ride with the hairy descent to the |Howe in darkness one of the highlights for me. We managed to find a deepish pool in the burn at the bottom of the descent to dip the bikes into, to wash the worst of the muck off them before we cycled home.

Five go night riding in the Pentlands!

2011-11-16T23:10:00.000Z

Five of us up the Pentlands tonight, Dougie, Roger, Dylan, Baz and myself for a 24 miler in good conditions for the time of year. One mishap was a front puncture on Dougie's bike, makes a change as its usually me that has them! Another highlight was being passed as the tube was being changed by a couple of topless (males unfortunately) runners. We could only presume they were soldiers from Glencorse barracks out on a toughening up run (or could it have been a punishment run). Anyway it was bloody cold for that sort of nonsense! In the photo Dougie's on the phone arranging to pick up a spare key for his house as he'd locked himself out when we left earlier on!!

What a way to celebrate my birthday!

2011-11-12T22:08:00.001Z

Roger does the river crossing or "bike wash" as its now known!

Toiling manfully up the last muddy stretch to West Kip

Off out this morning, my birthday, with two mates, Dougie and Roger for a jaunt up the Pentlands with Roger kitted out with his video camera to record me coming off in the mud at some point of the ride! I feel really bad as the only time I did fall off, when a hole in my shorts caught on the nose of the seat as I dismounted, Roger had fallen behind so the moment was lost. It would have been a cracker as I wiped out Dougie and his bike at the same time! The weather made the ride as well, a short rain shower to start with but then clear blue skies later.

Night-time and Clive and me headed back up Castlelaw again for another birthday ride, this time at a more leisurely pace, but we still managed a 15 miler to finish off a good day!

Shimano SLX front derailleur gives up the ghost

2011-11-08T21:01:00.003Z

My front chain ring shifting has been decidedly dodgy for a week or two and on Sunday morning it more or less packed in. On inspection I discovered that a pivot pin had worked its way out putting excessive pressure on the main alloy cast pivot point with the result that it had broken. Ever the tight wad I managed to source a Sram X7 front derailleur at about half rrp and after a quick 11.5 miler tonight my front gear changes are back to normal.

Ice Alert for first time since last winter!

2011-11-06T19:24:00.000Z

7 am at Glencorse reservoir, calm as a mill pond.

High in the Pentlands.

Me in contemplative mood this morning!

Look at the colour (of the leaves, not Baz's bike!)

6 am start this morning and a nippy one at that with the temperature a couple of degrees below freezing. A quick climb up Castlelaw soon got the heart rate and the sweat going though and once again we did a bit of new track discovery......but not with much success today, the sheep track petered out and we ended up in a bog! By the time we had pushed and pedaled across to the rightful track our back derailleurs and cassettes were full of heather and long rank grass. We'll not be doing that one again!
27.5 miles completed though so a good mornings biking..... blighted by the discovery that my front mech had given up the ghost. Tomorrow night it's into the garage for repair work (ie replacement!)

A quick pre fish supper bike ride!

2011-11-05T18:36:00.000Z

What better way to feel ready for a Mario's fish supper than a quick 11 miler through the woods!
Apparently it's going to be frosty tomorrow morning so that should be interesting.

2000 off-road miles, 6 months to the day since I got my Garmin!

2011-10-30T20:49:00.000Z

Baz stands on the direction indicator on the top of Allermuir Hill

Me still recovering from the climb up Allermuir at the trig point at the top.

A new track, but a bit precarious in the strong wind today!

The Garmin tells no lies ( though it is a bit grubby!)

18 miles were needed this morning to pass the 2000 miles mark in the 6 months since I got the Garmin and we did it with one of the hardest routes we've tried in the Pentlands. First off it was up Castlelaw and then up to the top of Allermuir though there was a bit of hike-a-bike involved near the summit! Brilliant descent back down the steep grassy slope and up over and down to Glencorse by another new track. Back up via the track at the side of the wood strip and then another previously un-cycled (for us anyway) sheep track to the top of Castlelaw again! From there the descent down (thank goodness) the north side of Castlelaw and right down to the side of the Edinburgh Bypass, along to Hillend, up to Swanston and back home via Old Pentland. In the relatively short route of just over 18 miles there was nearly 3000 feet of climbing with an average speed of just over 6 mph, not very fast but pretty knackering!

Roger takes half the Pentlands home with him!

2011-10-27T18:49:00.000+01:00

Four of us out last night up the Pentlands, Dougie, Roger, Clive and me. It started off dry and then rained a bit later on but no wind made it a good ride. 23.5 miles all in and the highlight, for Dougie, Clive and me, was the state of Roger after he came off in what must have been the muddiest spot of the whole ride. He had a chocolate coloured covering from head to toe right down one side! He later posted on facebook that he had to call out dyno-rod to clear the drain in his shower. And who's to say this wasn't the case..........
Unfortunately it was too dark to record this moment for posterity with a photograph!

It was windy....but at least it wasn't wet!

2011-10-22T22:26:00.000+01:00

Does this picture in any way convey the strength of the wind up the Pentlands this late afternoon?

First time I've done this section in daylight for a few weeks and I was a bit more successful today.

Well not totally successful, I did manage to put my foot in one rather deep, muddy hole!

Baz fords the burn with dry feet thanks to his new all singing, dancing, waterproof shoes!

Baz and I started at the strange time for us of 3.30 pm today and did a successful 27.5 miler. The climb up Castlelaw was helped by a tail wind (always good!) and the ride through the muddy section later on was my best effort for a week or two as it was daylight, I don't seem to have a very good sense of balance in the dark!!
By the time we had finished the lights had been switched on and my riding glasses were greeted with a cry of "like your specs babe!" from a group of girls as we got back to civilisation. Good job it was dark and she didn't get a good view of the "babe"!!!!!

Temperature hits freezing for the first time this winter (or is it still autumn?)

2011-10-19T22:13:00.000+01:00

Went out and did a 15 miler up the Pentlands tonight and discovered from the Garmin on my return that the temperature was at freezing point for nearly all the ride. Luckily all my extremities were well covered up, but hells teeth, it's only the middle of October!

Let there be light.....or lights even!

2011-10-18T19:50:00.000+01:00

Two up top

Or three up top?

Last winter I ran with one light on the helmet but this year so far I've tried two. Now I'm wondering if my neck can take three up aloft and if it will make any difference to my eyesight......
Certainly for crudeness of fixing it takes a bit of beating!

The Great Alphonso Challenge!!

2011-10-13T19:46:00.000+01:00

Baz had been boasting to one of his workmates, Alphonso (he's of Italian descent in case you ask!) or Alf for short, of our exploits on the mountain bikes up in the Pentland hills and said he'd like to see him try and keep up with us, to which Alf replied "You wont break me!"
This was a challenge that couldn't be passed by so last night along with three others (experienced bikers by the way) we set off on possibly the hardest route we could find that could be done before all our lights ran out of battery power!
Alf was riding Baz's old Trance which we kitted out with flat pedals and armed with one of my "exclusive twin light helmets" but alas no padded shorts he battled up Castlelaw climb down round the other side, sliding off on the grassy descent and having a few offs through the section that is now wet, muddy and totally manic!
Highlight for me was following him down to the Howe where instead of fording the fast running stream he rode down it until he was in about 2 feet of water!
In truth he acquitted himself fantastically well and to be honest I don't think we did break him, though it was a near run thing, however I do believe he's got the sorest backside in Britain today!!
No pictures......it was too dark.

It's all about gadgets......

2011-10-09T11:33:00.000+01:00

The cockpit of my bike is becoming slightly overcrowded with an accumulation of various gadgets, but I've always been a sucker for anything that makes the ride more interesting. The latest one is a 1600 lumens front light, tested out this morning and found to be very illuminating!

The bikes having a chat while we refuel this morning.

The view back down to Glencorse this morning through the wind and rain!

25 miles this morning in a strong wind accompanied by horizontal rain, just the thing to get the blood pumping through the veins! The good part was that the wind was in our face for the first half but blew us home on the return!

A pair o' drookit rats!!

2011-10-02T12:16:00.000+01:00

Nothing sums up this morning's ride better than "drookit rats", a fine Scottish expression for soaked to the skin! The rain pelted down all the time we were out although the temperature did at least remain in the low 50's Fahrenheit which in Scotland at this time of the year is positively roasting! I must have emptied half a pint of water out of each cycling shoe when I finished. We did however manage a very soggy 25 miles!

More piccys from The Tour de Ben Nevis

2011-09-29T22:40:00.000+01:00

As you can see I was pretty knackered by the time this photo was taken!

Baz and I had just finished when there was a heavy shower of rain but despite a frantic search we couldn't find the crock of gold at the rainbow's end, personally I think it's an old wife's tale.........

The Tour de Ben Nevis....a competitors biased view!

2011-09-25T19:57:00.000+01:00

The camp site we stayed at, The Red Squirrel Campsite, had simply stunning views of Glencoe.

The riders gathering before the start, waiting to be piped along Fort William High street by the local pipe band, no wonder everyone raced up the steep hill on the first stage!

The first stop for a drink after a few miles of continuous climbing.

The view back down from the hard climb up from Kinlochleven was awesome!

The river crossing in roughly the middle of the event was one of the highlights and all thoughts of removing socks etc. were forgotten as our feet were totally soaked by that time anyway!

This sums up the rough track across the highest part of the track, lots of water, lots of bog and lots of rocks!

The race was an experience not to be missed, whether I'd ever do it again remains to be seen! The first 20 miles were relatively straightforward until we reached the descent to Kinlochleven which is just sheer madness! Whats even more impressive is the fact that quite a few of the riders actually cleaned it, I found even walking some of the sections a challenge trying to hold on to a bike. This was where Baz suffered a puncture and almost blew a gasket when the valve on his replacement tube broke in two. After we eventually managed to repair the pinch puncture in his original tube we'd lost nearly 30 minutes, but a lesson learned, always carry 2 spare tubes on a long event (and keep your cool!!)
The second half of the event was definitely the toughest, with after the river crossing, a 2 mile "hike a bike" over terrain that was difficult enough to walk over without the addition of a bloody bike as well!
The total climbing amounted to over 5400 feet with one of the highlights for me, at least, being a 3 mile descent back down a fire road at breakneck speed!
One of the final timed stages seemed to have been devised to finally finish off anyone who had survived the rest of the course but somehow we survived and looking back it must be the toughest yet..............but we DID IT!!!!!!!!!

Less than a week to go to The Tour de Ben Nevis

2011-09-18T18:28:00.000+01:00

Wet conditions this morning, ideal training for next weeks' event!

With The Tour de Ben Nevis next Saturday today's ride was perfect preparation, wet and cold, exactly what it will probably be like at Fort William next week-end, probably the wettest location in Britain at any time of the year! The event is a loop round Ben Nevis of approximately 70 kilometers with 5 special stages thrown in for good luck. There's also a few water crossings as well and if the rain continues to fall (which it probably will) some of the crossings could be a couple of feet deep or more! Anyway today we did 25 miles over the Pentlands in full wet weather gear and coped reasonably well, so here's hoping it's no worse next week-end!

Prototype 4 wheeler unveiled!!

2011-09-15T22:18:00.000+01:00

James from the Bike Station in Edinburgh demonstrates the 4 wheeler that was built in a couple of hours by a group of kids from two old BMX bikes and various bits of scrap that happened to be lying about! I don't think it's going to take the biking world by storm because when he took it outside it proved to be a bit awkward to steer and he narrowly missed scraping the side of my van! I think there's still a bit of development to be done before it makes it onto Dragons Den!

Baz's birthday bike ride!

2011-09-10T22:09:00.000+01:00

The birthday boy on his birthday bike!

Baz's birthday today so what better way to celebrate than a ride over the Pentlands on the bike he gave himself for his birthday! With the weather forecast horrendous for the next few days we went tonight (Saturday) and someone must have been looking down on us from above as we seemed to have the wind in our backs no matter what direction we cycled in!
We managed a creditable 26 miles which included a puncture in the new bike after about 2 miles but apart from that no other mishaps to spoil the ride.

Plenty of mishaps!

2011-09-08T19:06:00.002+01:00

Roger and Dougie discuss tactics!

I'd changed all the drive chain the previous night and not really tested it properly and was well and truly found out when I went out last night with Dougie and Roger. My new back cassette has a 34 tooth sprocket to compensate for my new 26 tooth granny ring, at least thats my theory! Unfortunately when I changed into the lowest of the low, the idlers were catching the cassette and wouldn't change up again! This caused no end of problems climbing Castlelaw and then to make matters worse I had a snake bite puncture crossing one of the ditches. The tube was changed reasonably quickly and we got going down towards Glencorse where first Roger went over the bars and then I managed an even better over the front! After that I was lucky if I stayed upright for 20 yards and came home with half the Pentlands muck either on me or the bike. Not the most skilful ride I've done but one of the best for fun!

PS Just finished a 12 miler tonight and after a few tweaks the gears are now working okay.

Tour de Ben Nevis training continues.

2011-09-04T19:52:00.001+01:00

The sun begins to rise above the hills at about 7.30 this morning.

Enjoying the view at the Font Stone high above Nine Mile Burn

Baz's new bike presents no problems getting over fences.

What a view!

A chilly start at 6 am this morning with the temperature at 41 Fahrenheit but the climb to the top of Castlelaw soon got us warmed up and with the sun shining and the heather in bloom it turned out to be a cracking day.
The garmin showed us to have had in total, 3176 feet of climbing and to have covered 34.01 miles.
Mishaps today seemed to be all mine, a broken chain and a couple of over the handlebars, but luckily into soft boggy ground!
By the way I did another 10.5 miles in late afternoon to take my weeks total up to 115 off road miles!

Solo 17.5 miler tonight in the Pentlands

2011-08-30T21:45:00.000+01:00

The start of the climb up Castlelaw

Round the first bend and still going up!

Over the gate and getting steeper!

Only about another half mile of climbing to go!

Looking back up to the top of the climb.

An interesting ride tonight, I met a guy in the middle of nowhere who needed two sticks to walk because his knees were so bad with arthritis, he said he was considering getting a bike as he thought it might be a bit easier on the legs! Then I met up with a girl who had recently qualified as a vet and had an interesting chat with her till we went our separate ways, no two nights are the same when you're out on the hills!

Bicycle repair man gets ready to go!

2011-08-25T22:21:00.000+01:00

Not quite the bicycle repair man made famous by Monty Python, but James from The Bike Station in Edinburgh was getting ready to set off for some bike maintenance when I was in the shop today. He also, if you look at his t-shirt, does a front and rear shock service called Flotec with his mate called Taj (don't ask how he came by that name!!). Anyway he refused to pose topless for the photo!

Tuesday night 23.5 miler

2011-08-23T23:49:00.000+01:00

Clive, Roger and Dougie.

Tonight's ride was part of the Tour de Ben Nevis training master plan!! If the weather is anything as benign as it was tonight it'll be a doddle, but knowing our luck it'll be a howling gale and horizontal sleet on the actual day of the event. (Or in other words, just a normal Scottish summer's day!)

We find the Kirk Road from Silverburn over the Pentlands

2011-08-21T13:31:00.000+01:00

Some hardy campers high up in the Pentlands this morning.

Starting off up the Kirk Road track over the Pentland Hills

At the top, now for the descent back down!

At the signpost just up from the Howe.

After last Sundays escapades trying to find the old right of way from Silverburn over to Balerno, we tried again this morning and turned left instead of right this time. The last 200 yards or so of the climb beat us and we had to push the bikes but the view from the top was outstanding and the descent down to the Howe at the top of Loganlea quite hairy on the wet grass. To think that in olden times keen church goers walked over this track to the church at Balerno! Makes you wonder just how far some of the lardarses of today would manage!
30.5 miles in total this morning and another route to add to our list of Pentland tracks.

Baz goes down the 29'r track!

2011-08-17T22:31:00.001+01:00

Baz and his new Anthem 29'r high in the Pentland Hills.

At speed further along the track!

I was the first of us to go full suss and now Baz has taken the next step and taken the lead from the States and bought himself a 29'r. Tonight was its baptism out on the tracks up the Pentland Hills and while it might have started off all bright and shiny, by the time we returned 2 hours later it was pretty grotty with mud and a fair bit of sheep sh#t, always a good sign that its been an interesting ride!! First impression are really good at how it handled the natural riding that the Pentlands provide, next step will be to see how it copes with a trail centre like Glentress.

Lost in the hills! (well sort of)

2011-08-14T12:39:00.000+01:00

Baz cycles up a part of the track that was washed away with the recent heavy rains.

This is where we realised we were about a mile and a half from where we should have been!

Baz searching for a crossing point!

He eventually settled for this bit.

Me, nearly up to my knees getting over!

Not the greatest of starts for me this morning , I must have set the alarm wrong and thought it was a bit on the dark side only to discover it was only 4am. However I was ready for Baz in plenty time for our planned 6am start and after last nights rain at least it was dry this morning. The heavy rain of the last week has gouged out parts of the track on the way up into the Pentlands and also made some of the grassy sections a bit on the soft side. Baz suggested we try a new route today after we skirted the side of West Kip, so we went down by Eastside Farm onto the A702 and cycled back along to Silverburn where he said there was track back up over the top of the Pentlands again. The first 50 yards of the track were flooded so the feet got well and truly soaked there and after a couple of steep climbs, which Baz to his credit managed to clean we made our mistake. The track divided and I insisted we go right, bad choice!! The route we took seemed to consist mainly of sheep tracks and there was a fair bit of pushing involved. The fun of mountain biking is discovering new tracks and even though I wouldn't do this particular route again there was the satisfaction of doing something different. (Well we told ourselves that anyway).
To get back eventually onto the return track we had to come down through heather which did its best to remove the skin from our shins and then cross the river at the bottom which thankfully had gone down a bit from the previous few days. (But was still bloody cold!)
28.5 miles today and probably a mile and a half of that was pushing through heather and bracken!

New riding glasses make all the difference!!!!

2011-08-09T22:15:00.000+01:00

The new riding glasses pose for a photo!

Halfway round tonight's ride just before the path down to Glencorse Reservoir

After a weekend of heavy rain and not a pedal turned in anger I got out last night (Monday) and tonight again armed with my new posing riding glasses! At last I have a proper pair of riding specs done to my personal prescription and admittedly they are a bit over the top but hey, you need a bit of fun in your life (even if it's only the specs you wear!!!)
17.75 miles last night and 15.5 miles tonight, a good start to the preparation for the Tour de Ben Nevis which Baz and I have entered in September.

You've no fear when you're young!

2011-07-31T22:32:00.000+01:00

8 yearold Dunc crosses the fallen tree in style.

5 year old Logan does likewise.

Dunc does the "Steps of Terror" at speed!

A great week doing the local trails and making up names for some of the parts of them with 8 year old Dunc and 5 year old Logan (and their father as well!). In all they covered over 70 miles on their mountain bikes. I've convinced Dunc that he's in training for the 2024 Olympics, and to be honest if he keeps on improving I don't see why not!

5 year old conquers the "Descent of Doom"!!!

2011-07-24T20:21:00.000+01:00

Logan at 5 years old comes down the steep little hill his brother and him call "the descent of doom"!
He did have a look of abject terror at one point but recovered his composure to announce it was a piece of cake! The family tradition of complete disregard for personal safety lives on!!

I'm beginning to believe in the "Curse of Baz"

2011-07-17T21:45:00.001+01:00

This is usually easy to cycle through, nobody risked it today.

Another flooded section but we all made it through.

Clive's rear derailleur looks slightly knackered but he limped home the last 5 miles with it.

The dreaded "Curse of Baz" which means that nearly every time he turns up for a ride, the heavens open up big time, struck again today. We'd only gone less than 2 miles when the rain started but rather than give up we kept on going, Clive going for 250 miles for the week and me after 150 miles. The normally quiet stream up from Flotterstone had turned into a raging torrent after the thunderstorm of last night and the downpour again today. Baz confidently announced he would ford it and be photographed doing so but had a change of mind when he saw the depth and strength of the water!
The mishaps today were my rear brake spring that separates the pads breaking up, but at least the brakes kept working and, more expensively, Clive's rear derailleur main spring either breaking or coming undone somehow. Luckily we were not too far from home and we made it back with only the odd push up the steeper bits.
After fixing my rear brake at night, Clive and I decided another short ride wouldn't hurt so we did another 10 plus miles to take our totals for the week to 260 and 160 miles respectively.
It's fun cycling in the wet but "Hells Teeth" it's supposed to be the height of summer, so what's winter going to be like?!!

Thunderstorm stops play!

2011-07-16T21:02:00.000+01:00

The curse of Baz struck again this week as he arrived at my house for a trip into the Pentlands just as a thunderstorm started. "It's OK" he declared , "it's going away from us", alas his hopes were unfounded and the storm circled overhead. We did a short loop but decided to take the safe option and live to cycle another (hopefully drier) day. This is the second Saturday running this has happened, I'm beginning to think somebody's got it in for us!

26 miler round by West Kip

2011-07-15T08:39:00.000+01:00

Time for refreshments

Another one bites the dust

A bit of blood (admittedly not very much) means the ride was good

Much to Clive's surprise the trip round the West Kip loop proved to be a mile longer than the previous night's ride. The presence of a few dribbles of blood at the end of the ride meant it had been a good one!

The trails are drying out (a bit!)

2011-07-12T22:56:00.000+01:00

A view from the Pentland Hills over Edinburgh with Arthurs Seat on the right and Edinburgh Castle in the distance on the left.

The sheep track as we call it is starting to dry out.

After the torrential rain of last week when my mountain biking was practically non existent it's been good to get out the last two nights. Some of the tracks are showing the results of the heavy rain with a fair bit of rutting here and there but on the whole it's beginning to dry out........until the next downpour!

Baz's bike gets a face lift! (and Clive goes all roadie!)

2011-07-09T18:45:00.000+01:00

While Baz was on holiday he got his forks serviced and I cleaned up his bike after I refitted them. For a 5 year old bike that's seen a fair bit of service it looks in quite good nick!

Clive cycles to his work, a round trip of 20 miles, most days and alternates between an old Giant XTC and his Bianchi road bike (but we wont hold that against him!)

Saturday night/Sunday morning....65 miles in the hills!

2011-07-03T19:28:00.000+01:00

Clive successfully fords the burn!

The start of the descent down to Bonaly reservoir.

My bike taking a breather at the Font Stone high in the Pentlands.

You don't get many days like this in Scotland!

Saturday night Clive and I were out and did a 24.5 miler in the Pentlands with the descent down to the Howe from West Kip being the highlight as usual. Sunday morning and we each had a free pass for the day so it was off at 9.30am for a biggy! Clive's gears started playing up and to be honest the whole drive chain is just on its last legs! However we percevered and did a double West Kip loop to rack up the miles and finished with the fast descent to Nine Mile Burn and the return home via Penicuik Estate and the Penicuik/Dalkeith cycle path . We managed our target of over 40 miles, with the Garmin showing an average temperature of 71 degrees Fahrenheit (virtually unheard of in Scotland!!). Highlight of the days ride was seeing a small green lizard high in the hills, how he survived the winter, goodness only knows. The little blighter was too shy to hang around and get his photo taken and scampered off into the long grass!
My total mileage for the week off road :- 123 miles.

I thought the bike was going too well!

2011-06-30T22:22:00.000+01:00

Bike under repair, miles from anywhere.

A view of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth beyond from one of the tracks in the Pentland Hills.

The cycle path goes through these wild flowers about 3 miles from home.

Just when the bike seemed to be going really well (I should have known better) it decided to play up in the middle of nowhere high in the Pentlands. First of all a spoke in the rear wheel broke and snagged the chain bringing my progress to an abrupt halt. I managed to get this unsnagged and got underway again for about a hundred yards when a hideous scraping noise started. the bike was turned upside down again and eventually after removing the rear wheel I discovered the spring holding the brake pads had somehow managed to come out at one end and rub against the disc. I managed to free this off slightly and continued on my way to the accompaniment of much scraping and screeching which eventually got quieter as the spring wore away!
I managed a rather noisy 18 miles in the end and tomorrow night's going to be repair night!

Black Hill done in reverse!!

2011-06-29T21:57:00.000+01:00

Dougie does the climb up the side of Black Hill.

And still going strong into the distance!

Dougie and I did a fairly rapid 23 miler tonight in the Pentlands with over 1600 feet of climbing, and in Dougie's case some pretty rapid descending! The route in reverse to what we usually do round Black Hill was remarkably dry considering the recent rain and the reservoirs appear to have filled up quite a bit again. Great night's biking!

Late Saturday night riding (and falling off)

2011-06-26T19:08:00.000+01:00

Military land ahead.....don't touch anything suspicious (like a ripped old tyre?)

Quite a spectacular over the bars from Clive when he under-estimated the gloopiness of the mud in this hollow!

Clive and I didn't get out till after 7pm in our attempt to do the West Kip loop on Saturday night and even though we had to abort the final bit round West Kip due to the time we still managed to do 27.5 miles with over 2000 feet of climbing. The highlight was Clive's bike doing a fairly good impression of a bucking bronco when the front wheel got stuck in the thick mud at one point and he very kindly lay until I got the camera out to record the moment for posterity! It was still reasonably light when we got back home at 10.30pm , a reminder of just how far north we live! With another 10.75 miles today that takes my off road biking for the week to 83 miles.

Tricky conditions on the wet grass

2011-06-19T19:15:00.000+01:00

All right, this photo was staged, but this is how Baz ended up after loosing control on a wet, slippy, steep grassy descent and into the bargain I nearly ran over him as I came down behind him! Yesterday's rain made the top surface this morning greasy and slidy and when his back wheel started to overtake his front one there could only be one result. Luckily there were no rocks of any significance and apart from a small cut on his elbow and a massive dent in his pride everything was fine. (How I laughed though!)

This contraption I'm attempting to crawl through isn't a cat flap but must be one of the most remote dog flaps in Britain, I think next time I'll use the style.
28 miles this morning for Baz's final bike ride before he goes on holiday to warmer climes next week, I'll make him suffer from lack of training when he gets back.

Glentress 7, cuts, bruises, etc.(But no photos as the camera didn't work!)

2011-06-12T20:00:00.000+01:00

Did the Glentress 7 yesterday, and did it solo! First time I've done an event solo and didn't know what to expect. Would I go too quick to start with, getting caught up in the excitement, would I be able to last the pace anyway and maybe have to stop early and make a fool of myself. In the event I think I managed to pace myself reasonably well and did 6 laps, finishing third in my class. I came home with a few souvenirs, a sliced knee and grazed elbow, courtesy of a crash on a greasy corner and a bruised shoulder when a tree jumped out at me on the final descent. Oh and also a painful thumb when I came off on a particularly greasy bit on the last lap, but then nearly everybody around me were coming off on that bit.
The course itself was a classic with a mix of standard singletrack and special for the event sections added in. The route stood up remarkably well considering the rain that fell in the afternoon, I heard that one competitor got taken to hospital with hypothermia, the temperature never got out of single figures centigrade, and this nearly in the middle of June!
All the marshalls round the course did a great job in the rotten weather and deserve a round of applause.

Ruby the Jack Russell does a runner!

2011-06-04T18:00:00.001+01:00

This is Ruby the Jack Russell who took one look at Baz and me and promptly took to her heels and bolted. We'd gone down a previously unridden track and met her and her minders (they were only looking after her) coming up the way. She obviously has a dislike of bikers, probably had her tail run over at some time, and ran off with her desperate surrogate owner in pursuit! We followed at a discreet distance and to our relief after at least a mile he managed to grab the little b##### at the second attempt! All's well that ends well though I don't know who was more relieved, him or us.

I'm wondering if it might not be a lot less strenuous on something like this, it matches my cycling top at least.

Baz decides the brown one is more his style, looked a bit more speedy!

Over 30 miles today with over 3000 feet of climbing and a temperature nearly 10 degrees Celsius less than yesterday, but then that's Scotland for you, no two days the same!

Mishaps before we even started!!!

2011-06-03T08:58:00.000+01:00

Looking down over Glencorse reservoir.

High in the hills.

Clive's bike had a flat front tyre before we'd even started ,so we changed the tube. After half a mile it was flat again, a protruding spoke I suspect, and we put another tube in. This never even fully inflated and in the end we decided to return to base and start all over again! With a new tube and a change of tyre we eventually got going again and ended up with 19 miles on a beautiful night, well worth all the trouble at the start!

Pictures up in the Pentland Hills

2011-05-30T22:14:00.000+01:00

I managed to get the camera working tonight and did some of the route we did on Saturday night. The first photo shows where I've come from.

This one shows where I'm going to!
Just over 18 miles again tonight in great conditions (for a change)!

Another new route in the Pentland Hills

2011-05-28T22:45:00.000+01:00

Saturday night ride due to family commitments for Baz and me, so it was off just after 6pm for a look for new paths. The camera played up so no photos but the view down over Edinburgh at one point was pretty good. Next time we're on that route I must make sure the thing's working! We did just over 18 miles and didn't push it too hard as I'm trying to get into 7 hour solo mode for the Glentress 7 in two weeks, maybe I should be doing a bit longer rides.......time will tell!

Ten Under The Ben....wettest and windiest ever!

2011-05-22T21:39:00.001+01:00

Things looked ominous the night before the race as we drove up to the camp/park site with the snow level lower than any of the previous two races we'd done! The pre race meal was at the Snow Goose restuarant halfway up Aonach Mor, reached by gondola, which swung alarmingly in the gusty wind. Halfway through the meal there was a heavy snowstorm, just the thing you want to see the day before the race!

After about half an hour of sleep on Friday night, interrupted by torrential rain and storm force winds, we crawled out of our rather basic pop up tent, the small blue thingy in the background, to discover we'd nearly been clobbered by a gazebo that had been blown to bits through the night

The Le-Mans style sprint start to the race itself. Somewhere in the throng is Baz, elbowing his way through the runners in the race for their bikes!

In another 20 years this could well be a contender in one of the solo events, I never asked whether it was male or female.
We left the race early, beaten by the weather (and a desire to get home to a warm dry bed) . At the time of leaving we were second in our class but until the results are posted up we wont know where we eventually finished. Not the best race we've ever done but good friendships renewed and a great experience.

Next week it's Ten Under The Ben!

2011-05-15T16:36:00.000+01:00

The long haul up from Glencorse reservoir.

Honestly I've only stopped for a second or two!

Baz on the Font Stone, at this point it was only a couple of degrees above freezing point!

Off at five this morning for the last big ride before next week's Ten Under The Ben at Fort William. It was fair when we set off and within 4 miles Baz had a puncture in the front tyre. We couldn't have picked a better place to have it though, in a sheltered spot in the trees and a quick change of tube and off we went again. We did a route today we hadn't done for a while, skirting West Kip to take us down to Nine Mile Burn. The Garmin later showed the temperature up the top to be just above freezing and with the wind nearly blowing us off the bikes, it felt like it too! From there, back along the road and down past Penicuik House, eventually coming out at the west end of Penicuik where we went down onto the Penicuik-Dalkeith cycle path, coming off at Auchindinny and then home to record just under 34 miles with 3373 feet of climbing in four and a half hours. The rest of the week wont be so strenuous!

Shiny new cassette, chain, inner and middle chain rings etc.

2011-05-13T21:00:00.000+01:00

Ten under the Ben beckons next weekend and the usual nonsense started on the bike before an event, i.e. everything that could go wrong with it went wrong. First the forks, which to be honest were looking the worse for wear started to under perform really badly, so they were replaced, then one of the pedals started to go wonky, they were replaced, finally the gears started jumping all over the place and the chain slipping so that meant a complete new drive gear replacement. Oh and I forgot the back wheel developed a bit of play so I replaced the bearings in there at the same time! Mind you the difference is amazing, I hadn't noticed what a creaky old wreck I'd been riding through the winter. With this surge of confidence in my revitalised bike I've also signed up to do a 7 hour solo event at Glentress on June 11th! Better keep the training going a bit longer!

Another 3000 feet plus of climbing at Glentress today.

2011-05-08T19:24:00.001+01:00

Had to take a piccy of the Garmin which now rules my riding!

Lifting Baz's bike up in celebration of a successful climb has bent my legs!

The start of the new blue descent route, not technical but good to finish of a morning's ride.

Chucking down with rain this morning so off went Baz and myself to Glentress where at least there's a bit of shelter under the trees. The Garmin 800 now virtually dictates how I ride, i.e. how far each time, how long each time and what vertical gain each ride achieves! Cant wait when I get home to link it up to the PC to see what rate my heart's been beating at today or if my cadence has been up to scratch!! Still got a few things to learn about it yet and as computer literacy is not my strong point it may well take some time! It is an amazing little bit of kit though and should prove to be bloody helpful. 24.5 miles today with 3343 feet of climbing involved. We discovered a recently opened new bit of Blue descent track and although not technically difficult it was a good way to end the ride.

Over 3000 feet of climbing today, (thanks to Garmin!)

2011-05-01T18:39:00.000+01:00

Mist rolling up the Pentland Hills at 6.30 am this morning.

What a view! (No, not the over sudocremed backside!)

The welcoming committee at the gate onto the road to Flotterstone.

A 5.30 am start this morning and the temperature just above freezing had us wishing we'd opted for full finger gloves. However the climb up Castlelaw soon warmed us up and we were treated to some spectacular views as the mist was blown up over the hills. A slight technical hitch with the Garmin meant that I missed out about 3 miles so we had to rely on Baz's bike computer for the final total today of just over 34 miles. We also had a loan of a mini camcorder but some work is needed on the positioning of it before any videos worthwhile are produced. It even failed to catch me coming off on the final descent from West Kip! Baz did the scree slope twice in spectacular fashion, nearly over-shooting the track at the bottom the second time.
Apart from the "technical dismount" as I like to call it, and a puncture, there were no more mishaps today.

What better way to celebrate the Royal Wedding than a bike ride!

2011-04-29T20:19:00.001+01:00

Heading north over the Forth Bridge at the start of the ride.

A stop at Burntisland for a drink and then an ice cream!

That's what you call a nail, no tyre can withstand that size!

With the Royal Wedding virtually shutting down the country and no particular desire to sit and vegetate in front of a television watching it, Baz and me decided it was time to try the Fife Coastal Path eastwards from Inverkeithing. Judging by the people we met both walking and cycling there were more of the same mind as ourselves! The new Garmin 800 was used for the first time and proved that Baz's bike computer was hopelessly over calculating his mileage, no wonder he says he does so many miles each week! We ended up with27.53 miles with two punctures, me with a piece of glass and Baz with a nail which was about two inches long. When we got home they were still wittering on about the days events on the telly.......talk about boring!!!

130 off road miles for the week

2011-04-24T11:12:00.000+01:00

somebody hit a boulder please!

the only way is up.

Saturday night and needing 28 miles for 130 miles for the week. So it was off with Baz and Clive to do the West Kip loop to achieve it. When we got back to the house we were still a bit short, so alarmingly for grown ups, we cycled around till we reached the desired mileage! Just how sad is that?

No mishaps tonight (and plenty pumps)

2011-04-22T22:20:00.000+01:00

After last nights debacle with the pump and gas canister shortage, we set about doing the West Kip route again but this time equipped with enough pumps and gas canisters to blow up the tyres on a London bus. Needless to say there were no flats and we did the trip with a little extra thrown in at the end to finish up with 27.2 miles. It's all getting too easy.......I just know I shouldn't have said that................

This was Mishap Thursday

2011-04-21T23:03:00.001+01:00

Clive and I set off at 6.45 pm with the intention of doing the West Kip loop, a distance of just over 25 miles, and reached halfway up the pass above Loganlea reservoir when we discovered Clive's rear tyre was down. We'd left home and Clive had remembered he'd forgotten to change his pump over from one rucksack to another but I foolishly declared that I had a pump and also 3 gas cylinders to put the tyres up in the event of a flat. Anyway the pump failed to work very well and then the handle parted company with the body, "we've still got the cylinders" I stated confidently, only then discovering there were only 2 not 3 as I had thought. The new tube in the tyre was duly inflated with one and a half cylinders and off we set only to discover that after about quarter of a mile the tyre hadn't been properly seated in the rim and had popped out and jammed the wheel! We had to then let air out the ruddy thing to get the tyre seated again and with only about half a cylinder of gas pump the tyre up again, which wasn't very hard at all! We decided to abort the West Kip route, too rough, and go back by Harelaw where we were bound to meet another cyclist but tonight of all nights there were none to be seen. However with careful nursing of the almost flat tyre we made it back down to the Flotterstone and civilisation again where we eventually managed to stop a roadie of all things and borrow his pump to put a little extra pressure in. (these roadies do come in useful sometimes). The last 4 miles were incident free and we managed to do over 24 miles which considering the tyre only had just over 10psi most of the time wasn't too bad at all!

Innerleithen to Peebles and back via Southern Upland way and Drove Roads

2011-04-17T17:21:00.002+01:00

Baz does the bomb hole!

Back down to Innerleithen this morning bright and early, started at 6.05 am and did the climb to Minch Moor, then the descent on the Southern Upland Way to Traquair. Along the road from there and then the climb up over the hills till we arrived at the old Drove roads that descend to Peebles via Gypsy Glen. The brakes didn't half squeal on the way down though, probably would have been better not to have been of the sintered variety! 18.5 miles to Peebles from the car park at Innerlethen and a hard (apart from that descent) 18.5 miles at that! We returned to Innerleithen by the back road along past Cardrona and the entrance to Traquair House to get back to the car with 26.7 miles and 4 hours 15 minutes since we left.

The exit from the bomb hole

The cairn at the top of Minch Moor

Hows that for a view?

Final river crossing at bottom of Gypsy Glen

A couple of bacon butties and Irn Bru to finish things off!

A quick 21 miler in the Pentlands tonight.

2011-04-13T22:17:00.000+01:00

Off at 6.30 tonight with Dougie for a fairly rapid 21 miler in the Pentlands. Amazing how the tracks dry up at this time of year and help to make the biking that bit easier, even though the climb up Castlelaw isn't ! A final run along the newly extended cycle path to the ponds finished off the ride.

Some fellow bikers starting the descent down to Glencorse Reservoir.

Innerleithen-Glentress Loop, not for the faint hearted!

2011-04-10T11:41:00.000+01:00

The mobile snack shop at the start of the ride at Innerleithen, I started to fantasise of this after about 30 miles and I'd run out of food and energy drink! Unfortunately the camera went on the blink after this and I didn't manage any more pictures

This trip has been bugging Baz for some time now and with a good weather forecast and a free Saturday we went for it! The first 100 yards or so at Innerleithen are pure torture but after overcoming that we made good time up to Minch Moor.We then had the fast and furious descent down the Southern Upland way to Traquair, along a narrow road and then the agony began, a never ending grassy climb, which come to think of it, seemed to be what we did for the duration of the ride! After eventually reaching Peebles we were then faced with the climb to the mast on the Black route at Glentress where at 25 miles Baz began to cramp (yippee it wasn't me!!). This actually made me feel stronger for some strange reason (he'll never hear the end of this) and the torture continued until the final suicidal descent from the top of Lee Penn down to Innerleithen. The last 1/2 mile along the tarmac road to the car park seemed like heaven, but on reflection, which is always the case, it was an epic ride! The total distance was 35 miles, but felt more like 50!!

23.5 miles in gale force winds!

2011-04-06T22:39:00.000+01:00

Baz, Dougie and myself went out for a Pentlands ride tonight and although the temperature was just short of 20C the wind was gale force and threatened to blow the bike over on some of the more exposed parts higher up. The darkness comes down quickly about 8.30 pm and we finished the last 10 miles or so with the lights on and thankfully a tail wind!

One of the windier parts of tonight's ride

Clive makes another comeback!

2011-04-03T13:26:00.001+01:00

The start of the Castlelaw off road climb, at this point Clive was feeling bad!

20 miles further on and Clive's feeling good, and who wouldn't with this view!

He does the steps to finish things off in style!

With Baz on holiday Clive and I set off at the more civilised time of 7am for a Pentands foray. After being away on business all last week and no great biking having been done in the weeks before, Clive was a bit apprehensive as to how he'd perform today and after the Castlelaw climb he was all for a fairly short trip. We took a trip down a previously unridden track and found it to be quite disappointing in its challenges so decided to go for the West Kip trip which involves a fair bit of hard climbing (and a fair bit more miles as well!). The end result was a 32 miler, both of us suitably knackered, but the satisfaction of a good mornings mountain biking!

Solo 34 miler today

2011-04-02T21:07:00.000+01:00

Did a mid-day solo 34 miler in the Pentlands today, seemed strange seeing so many people both walking, running and cycling up in the hills but then we're usually out either before dawn or in the evening so I suppose there's not so many nutters out at that time(except me and my biking buddies!). That's 93 miles for the week, still short of the magic 100.

The scree slope claims a victim........me!

2011-03-27T12:48:00.028+01:00

Before it all went wrong

Baz sets off down the scree slope

The result of my unsuccessful descent of the scree slope!

The final humiliating crash!

31.5 miles today up over the Pentands and more than my fair share of spectacular offs! After reasonably negotiating Castlelaw and Black Hill, Baz and I decided that the scree slope was well within our capabilities, well it was for Baz but my attempt ended in near catastrophe with me diving over the top of the bike and it nearly cartwheeling on top of me. Baz, needless to say was doubled up with laughter as I licked my wounds, and there were one or two, and recovered the bike to examine the damage. Luckily there was none (to the bike). On the return journey through bluebell woods I wondered why Baz dismounted at a small gully we usually have no problem with and promptly went straight over the handlebars......must take a slightly different line next time! No lasting damage though to bike or body and as we always say "A bit of blood makes the ride more interesting"!

My home "grown" repair passes the Pentlands test!

2011-03-23T22:27:00.001Z

A 20 miler tonight over the Pentland Hills without a creak (from the bike) has given me reason to believe that my home made rear dropout is working and will do the trick until the official part arrives. At present I've no plans to go into mass production of this seemingly rarely broken part!

Home made dropout to the rescue!

2011-03-22T20:41:00.000Z

This innocent looking little blighter in the picture got me into a bit of a panic last night. It's the rear non drive side drop out on my Trek ex8 and there was a bit of play around it. Thinking it needed a tighten up I delved into my trusty toolbox and with the adjustable spanner gave it a good tweak. Unfortunately I didn't realise it was made of butter and the damned thing broke in half. I half-heartedly tried to super glue it together knowing full well that wouldn't work (but still tried it!) and in the end went to bed to dream most of the night on how I could repair it. A phone call in the morning to the bike shop only confirmed my worst fears, it would take 2 weeks to get a new one. However I have some resourceful friends and armed with the size of threaded bolt to make a new one I called on a customer who builds his own hot-rods and more importantly has a lathe! This challenge was right up his street and in no time he'd produced a steel version of the butter drop out which only required a few minor bits of hacksawing and filing when I got home to get the bike back together again. The test ride seems to confirm everything is tickety-boo, but the real test will be a Pentlands ride tomorrow night........when I think about it the other side dropout is still of the butter variety!

Saturday night 26 miler in the Pentlands

2011-03-19T22:22:00.000Z

We started at 5.45 pm and managed to get the first hour in before we needed lights. The photo was taken just down from the underground earth house built around 200AD, I'll bet the occupants then never had mountain bikers puffing their way up the climb at the side of their residence. Conditions tonight were dry overhead but muddy on the tracks, so no clear rounds tonight! The final descent from the top of the hill above Balerno down to Flotterstone was fast and furious and made up for all the climbing that went before.
That's 75 off road miles I've managed this week, I'll have to increase this if I hope to reach my annual goal of 4000 miles by the end of April.

I seem to have got rid of that annoying creak!

2011-03-17T22:18:00.001Z

No, not one of my bike riding mates, but a creaky crack that sounded only when going over hard rooty tracks, parts of Glentress for instance. I finally changed the bearings on the main pivot point of my bikes rear suspension, not without some difficulty I might add, as well as doing the headset which actually seemed OK. A 14 miler last night and a 15 miler tonight with as much hard rooty stuff as I could find and not a creak (from the bike) but a few from me. Hopefully that's it fixed, though I probably broke every rule in the mountain bike repair book with some of my methods!

Glentress nearly beat us today!

2011-03-13T18:56:00.000Z

Reduced to pushing higher up the black route

Where the hell's the track gone?

A snowy descent near the top of the black.

Baz goes for the jump!
We decided on Glentress today as the Pentlands looked snowbound and it turned out to be a reasonable choice given that it was only near the top of the black route that snow started to get a bit awkward, involving a bit of pushing at times. We came back down to Spooky Woods from the top of the black to escape the snow and ended up having to cycle back up and do it twice after I discovered I'd lost a light when I'd had to carry out a repair on the bike. The light was discovered, I found a nifty pair of riding glasses, and we added about another 3 or 4 miles onto our trip! The mishaps today :- my brakes playing up in Spooky Woods and Baz's overshoes looking decidedly dodgy as they threatened to fall to bits as we pushed the bikes in the deep wet snow higher up the track! Just over 18 miles but it felt like 38 !!

Night time visit to Glentress

2011-03-10T22:11:00.000Z

A trip round the Red route at Glentress last night night with Mark, a mate I know through work. It was good to go round in the dark (with lights of course!!) as it completely changes your perspective of the track. It's been a few months since I've been down and at times in the dark I forgot where I was on the track. It still amazes me how sheltered it is in the trees at Glentress as it was a wet and windy night, a good wee ride of just over 11.5 miles.

40 miler today with a bit of everything thrown in!

2011-03-06T20:36:00.000Z

Baz celebrates a clear run up to the gate (grrrrrrrrr!)

There was about half a mile of north shore, most of it a fair bit higher than this bit.

Baz with the distinctive peak of West Kip in the background.

A 5.30 am start this morning with the aim of 40 miles today. It was frosty when we started and to be honest it didn't really get much warmer up until we finished at 11 am. The 40 miles was reached at an average of 8.6 mph and a new track was discovered into the bargain. The mishaps today...... Clive had a dress malfunction in that he had to rearrange shorts and thermals , a bit of chaffing, he said, and as we stopped for this Baz discovered a sudden need to disappear into the woods for some reason or other!
The highlight was Baz eventually putting a foot down when it looked like he was going to have a clear round!
Clive and I both breathed a big sigh of relief as we'd never have heard the end of it!
Great morning's biking, how can we better that?

34 miles today!

2011-02-27T18:26:00.001Z

No, Clive's not sitting on the loo (though it does look like it).

Me at the start of the long slog up to West Kip.

Clive struggles to find a route through one of the boggy sections.

The picturesque descent from West Kip down to Loganlea reservoir.

After a 6 am start in a temperature just above freezing we soon got a bit of warmth up with the climb up Castlelaw, Clive who hadn't been out on the bike for 2 weeks was struggling at this stage but hung in and every week now the daylight comes a little bit earlier. The mudfest, as we call a particularly muddy technical section, was done in daylight and guess who cleaned it today, yip, me!!!!! (Much to Baz's disgust though to be fair he did give me the route through some of the tricky bits!). The long climb to West Kip was slightly easier today as conditions were drier than last week so we had time to throw in an additional 4 mile loop back round by Threapmuir reservoir to take us up to the 34 miles at an average speed of 8 mph.

Another epic morning in the Pentlands!

2011-02-20T16:11:00.001Z

A week ago this reservoir overflow was 6 inches deep.

A long hard climb in muddy conditions up to West Kip.

The new track we explored today, with the descent to Loganlea reservoir in the distance.

Baz came to grief and kindly lay until I took the photo! The wood was treacherous by the way!

Just Baz and me this morning for our jaunt up the Pentlands with our aim today to explore a new track I'd been told about around the north side of West Kip. First of all, after the Castlelaw climb, was the mud fest back down toward Glencorse reservoir and Baz only just failed to clean it today (thank goodness!) with a one foot dab.The climb up to the track round West Kip was brutal, the track up was mud, mud and more mud but apart from a few technical dismounts(?) it was well worth it for the descent back down to Loganlea with the final part being particularly steep and rocky. On the way home we took a detour round a path we hadn't been on before and as Baz took a detour round a wooded section the bike went from under him on the wet greasy wood. Luckily he's not lean and mean at the moment, more of a quite well padded out body shape, and he bounced quite well as he went down so no harm was done! 30.5 miles this morning with the temperature never much above freezing.

Spills and spills in the mud!

2011-02-17T21:55:00.000Z

Just when Baz was comparing his riding style to Barcelona's footballing skills it all went wrong! I'd had a couple of dabs on an as yet un-named section of track up the Pentlands, when to the sound of a loud yell Baz disappeared into the mud for a full body plant, and he followed this up with three more for good measure! Not his best ride over this section which is really wet and muddy with all the recent rain but very entertaining in the dark to see his lights shining everywhere but down the track. We really must make up a name for this section, "muddy malarkey" being our best effort so far, (not very inspiring I know).
Anyways no injuries were incurred in the fun we had and we managed a very muddy 17.5 miles.

Mountain bikers are honest people........on the whole.

2011-02-12T21:57:00.000Z

I managed to drop my cycling glasses at this gate halfway up Castlelaw climb tonight and didn't realise it until about an hour later. We'd passed a couple coming down the track and wondered if they would have either seen them and pocketed them or maybe even stood on them as they lifted their bikes over the gate. Anyways we did a 15 mile loop and came back to the gate again and there the glasses were, they must have seen them, picked them up and put them on top of the gatepost. Whoever you were, thanks a lot, the glasses weren't particularly expensive but the fact that you left them on the post for me to find restored my shaky belief in human nature. 28 miles tonight to take my total for the week to 93 off road miles.

Scree slope Sunday!

2011-02-06T12:20:00.000Z

Baz sets off on the maiden voyage down the scree slope.

Halfway down and sliding..........

Nearly right down and still sliding!

Clive makes it to the bottom as well.

After a disastrous start to today's ride when I suffered even more punctures and looked as if I'd have to cut short and head home, my rear tyre eventually stayed hard and we managed a 27 miler in cold wet conditions.
The highlight was after struggling along a very muddy Black Hill track, Baz announced he was going to attempt the scree descent which we've eyed up for quite some time now. It's a tricky run into it and it might take a try or two till we get the start of it right but the descent itself is exhilarating as you have to hang right over the back of the bike as you come down. All three of us made it down unscathed with Clive in particular conquering his vertigo to loud cheers from Baz and me! Off now to fix more punctures........................

Aaaaaagggghhhhh........more punctures!!!!!!

2011-02-01T21:36:00.001Z

I kid you not, I must have had a 3 foot thorn in my tyre tonight, well okay, maybe 1/4 of an inch, but it happened again and to make matters worse the handle of my pump decided to part company with the body of the pump as I started to blow up the replacement tube. Luckily I had my compressed gas instant inflating canister with me and with a combination of foul and abusive language and this contraption I got enough air into the ruddy thing and struggled home. Strange thing was, the pump behaved perfectly normal when I got home, spooky.........................

Great morning's mountain biking in the Pentlands!

2011-01-30T12:34:00.000Z

Baz just fails on a particularly steep little climb.

Clive daren't look to his right!

Look at that view, this is why we do it!

A fellow biker we met with the prize for the blingest tyres of the day!

The weather forecast at 5.30 a.m. this morning said "a light dusting of snow on the hills", and that's exactly what it turned out to be, (accurate for once!). I seemed to have most mishaps (of a minor nature) this morning on one of the descents when I seemed to hit every muddy hole on the track, but no damage was done. We managed a respectable 30 miles this morning with a few new tracks flung in on the return to make things interesting. I think the fitness is slowly returning (hopefully).

P####d off with punctures

2011-01-29T13:24:00.000Z

That's 5 bloody thorns in my tyres I've had this week after two night rides! The hedge cutters have been on the go again with their machines that scatter hawthorn far and wide in search, it seems, of my tyres, for even though I try to stay as far away as possible from the source of said thorns, the little buggers still manage to locate them, grrrrrrrr........................it's costing me a small fortune in patches.