SSUK 2010

Well last weekend saw SSUK take place in sunniest Wales. I decided that seeing it was on home turf I'd ride down rather than drive. So 11.00am Friday saw me set off from Forest Freeride Towers on yet another loaded single speed (the monster cross was having a weekend off). The idea was to keep riding south until I'd had enough, bivvy under the stars for the night before a final leg on Saturday morning.

Surprisingly everything went pretty much to plan. The slightly vague route I had in mind turned out to be a winner, the detour into the Doethie valley was a real gem, steep, twisty and narrow and lined with brake grabbing ferns!

I threw the towel in around 8.15pm, after all I'd been riding since 11.00 with two five minute stops and a ten minute one to grab a brew. Bike unpacked, tarp up and it started to rain which was perfect timing as it was just the excuse needed to climb in side my bivvy bag and try to stop my legs from turning imaginary pedals. Morning arrived quickly but any thoughts I'd had about a leisurely start also left quickly ... the midges were some of the worst I've ever had the pleasure of breathing in!

10 miles further and I was done, I rolled into the campsite around 8.30 to be greeted by what seemed to be the worlds biggest bacon butty and copious tea. All I had to do now was stay awake until the "race" at 2.00.

The course was pretty good, half climbing (the first half) followed by a fantastic and very long descent ... superb fun, the braking bump and rigid fork combo' helping keep the concentration levels nice and high. The evening saw me talking bikes with old customers, veteran WRT riders and a vast selection of other one geared weirdos ... as you can imagine I had a great time.

Normal service is resumed.

It's been a while but here I am. The Monster Cross had an outing to sunny France for some fantastic riding and a couple of nights under the stars too. 100°+ temperature, BIG 1000 metre plus climbs and loaded single speeds just seem to fit together like a glove on your foot - but it was fun non the less. There should be a picture here to give you an idea of the terrain, when they describe it as volcano country they certainly mean it. I didn't really have a defined route, just a rough idea of what direction I was meant to be heading. This gave loads of scope to explore all the little tracks and trails I came across ... some superb and some not so. I discovered that wild camping within French national parks is very much a no no, so late camps, early starts and stealth was the order of the day.

MonsterCross ... It's like Marmite!

Thought I'd share this. It's a 29 inch wheeled, rigid, 2 speed single speed with drops so we'll just call it monstercross ... think cyclocross only bigger. This is possibly about as far removed as you can get from most right thinking peoples idea of what a mountain bike is or should be- however, this thing is great fun, it really is. Trails that you can fly down on a more normal bike are now interesting again.

Even though it's a single speed there are 2 cogs out back, an 18t for flatish stuff and a 20t bail out gear for when you meet the proper hills. It's going to get a shake down run this week then it's over to France for a few days exploring the mountains and volcanoes around Volvic. The monstercross and me will be wild camping while we're out there and I'm hoping that 20t cog will be enough ... looking at the map there's some real climbing to deal with. I'll let you know how we get on.

Bivvy Season.

The Welsh Ride Thing rolls out of Forest Freeride this Saturday, 60 brave soles heading for the hills for a couple of nights under the stars and over 100 miles under their wheels. The WRT always heralds the start of the summer bivvy season so if you fancy giving it a try then why not book yourself on a weekend. You don't need any experience or fancy equipment (we'll supply you with anything special) all you need is a sleeping bag and some way of carrying your gear.

Bivvy out weekends aren't a race paced route march, they're far more relaxed affairs ... after all you don't need to get back before it goes dark as you'll be carrying your bed with you. Some people worry about the weather, particularly rain but there's no need. Everyone carries a tarp besides their bivvy bag which if erected well, will ward off most bad weather. If things turn out really horrible then we head for a roof and four walls, almost bivvying indoors.

If you like the idea but are still a little unsure, feel free to get in touch with any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

A week in the Beacons.

I've just returned from a week in the Brecon Beacons where I've been leading a group from Harrow school on a D of E gold award cycle expedition. The weather was fantastic all week with no rain and plenty of sun ... even if that did mean it got a bit cold at night.

For some of the lads on the expedition it was their first time riding off road. Add the fact that they were fully loaded with camping gear and food they did pretty well all things considered. They covered around 260km over 4 days with about 40 % off road and the remainder on quiet lanes. There were a few shocked faces when they realised they were expected to ride across parts of the Sarn Helen trail, obviously rocks, steep descents and foot deep puddles weren't what they expected!

Anyway here's a picture I took last week as proof that it doesn't always rain in Wales!

Happy People!

Hearing from past customers telling you how much they enjoyed themselves and how their riding has progressed is one of the best parts of my job. Last night I got a thank you email from Annika who was here at weekend, she's written about her experience on her blog so I thought I'd share it.

 http://satu.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/what-i-did-on-my-holiday-weekend/

I was also pointed in the direction of a couple of Bike Radar posts today which make nice reading ... and give me a warm glow inside.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12679953&sid=1a166201a26b2e1894a6178a0b1bbebe

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12653571

It makes digging trails in the rain and standing around while the wind tries to remove the skin from my face all worthwhile.

Men Ride Pink

Or so I keep telling myself. Fresh from the Forest Freeride workshop my new On-One 456 in a slightly odd colour. I've put it together as a new bike for guiding duties, hence the full compliment of gears and a lightish wheelset. If you're coming riding with us this year and for whatever reason you'd rather be seen dead than be seen with this bike, just let me know and I'll ride something else!