Long story short (under "Villains") - Neal's brand new Giant XTC SX got dented to b*ggery by a drugged ned whacking it with a metal bar to try and break the U lock.
He fought the law and the law won.
Unfortunately that leaves us with a ruined frame and no practical recourse.
[fanfare] Step up the good people at MTB-Distribution who we were starting to talk to about sponsorship ... and The Bike Chain, Rodney St, Edinburgh - both examples of the successful businesses spinning out of the growing significance of mountain biking in Scotland.
... and in a few days time, the running gear from the Giant should be happily residing on a spanking new - and very lovely - Viper World Cup XC hardtail frame.
This is the first step down the road of us both riding Viper mountain bikes and we're very much looking forward to doing so.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Crane Sports (Aldi) Heart Rate Monitor
Went in to Aldi to see if they had any car seat covers left from last week (thinking ahead to next muddy trip to the Borders). They didn't - but they did have a few HRMs left @ £12.99.
Seem like a bargain - wireless chest strap, preset and custom training zones, time in/out zone reporting, out of training zone alarms, stopwatch, clock, fitness calcs, etc etc - most of the stuff that quite expensive HRMs do at a fraction of the price.
Purchase was justified a few days later when I did a static bike session in a hotel gym while away on business. This is usually quite a heartless, difficult to motivate activity, but the HRM was really useful at making me work harder than I would have done otherwise.
This will also help me make more practical use of the "Mountain Bike Fitness Training" book as much of this is couched in terms of training zones.
Seem like a bargain - wireless chest strap, preset and custom training zones, time in/out zone reporting, out of training zone alarms, stopwatch, clock, fitness calcs, etc etc - most of the stuff that quite expensive HRMs do at a fraction of the price.
Purchase was justified a few days later when I did a static bike session in a hotel gym while away on business. This is usually quite a heartless, difficult to motivate activity, but the HRM was really useful at making me work harder than I would have done otherwise.
This will also help me make more practical use of the "Mountain Bike Fitness Training" book as much of this is couched in terms of training zones.
21st January 2007 Extension Exploration
A long week in London at a trade show caused an enforced break from training.
Looking for ways to a) extend my longer weekend ride and b) add in more off-road, I looked for a link between Clatto Reservoir (which I can get to from pretty much the furthest away point of my road route) and Clatto Den, which in turn would link into my series of woodland hops.
This just reminded me me of a Burt Lancaster film where he crosses the affluent LA 'burbs by swimming across the pools in garden after garden. At least that's my memory of the film ...
Anyway ... what started off looking like a path from Clatto Reservoir soon started to look more and more like a deer track - a view that was confirmed when I found the skeleton of one in the ditch at the side of the track. Some time since anything omnivorous this way trod methinks.
Eventually I crossed a barbed wire fence and carried the bike up a fairly high steep banking to get onto a very vague track which did take me round to Clatto farm and the Clatto Hill/Edensmuir Forest woods which is the furthest I ever got in my woodland hop.
My intention next time is to do this in reverse: Through Lochmuir, Kirkforthar, Drummy, and Torloisk woods - find the best link across to Clatto reservoir from there, and return by road. This should increase overall distance and off-road proportion.
Looking for ways to a) extend my longer weekend ride and b) add in more off-road, I looked for a link between Clatto Reservoir (which I can get to from pretty much the furthest away point of my road route) and Clatto Den, which in turn would link into my series of woodland hops.
This just reminded me me of a Burt Lancaster film where he crosses the affluent LA 'burbs by swimming across the pools in garden after garden. At least that's my memory of the film ...
Anyway ... what started off looking like a path from Clatto Reservoir soon started to look more and more like a deer track - a view that was confirmed when I found the skeleton of one in the ditch at the side of the track. Some time since anything omnivorous this way trod methinks.
Eventually I crossed a barbed wire fence and carried the bike up a fairly high steep banking to get onto a very vague track which did take me round to Clatto farm and the Clatto Hill/Edensmuir Forest woods which is the furthest I ever got in my woodland hop.
My intention next time is to do this in reverse: Through Lochmuir, Kirkforthar, Drummy, and Torloisk woods - find the best link across to Clatto reservoir from there, and return by road. This should increase overall distance and off-road proportion.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
New Year, New Focus
Now we're in 2007, we start to have some real objectives, dates to work towards that are measurable in weeks rather than months or years.
The first mtb marathon we plan to do is 13th May - so we're talking about making a decent fist of 100km off road in 5 months. Sounds like a long time, but with 2 or (rarely) 3 training opps a week it doesn't feel like long.
Right now, a long ride for me is 40km - but that's mainly on the road. I need to keep extending that distance and add in as much off-tarmac as possible.
The first mtb marathon we plan to do is 13th May - so we're talking about making a decent fist of 100km off road in 5 months. Sounds like a long time, but with 2 or (rarely) 3 training opps a week it doesn't feel like long.
Right now, a long ride for me is 40km - but that's mainly on the road. I need to keep extending that distance and add in as much off-tarmac as possible.
Weight Log - Festive Impact
The lowest I got pre-Xmas was 12st 9lb.
Highest at the end of the festive period was 13st.
Turns out that 5lb is the most common weight gain for the period.
I guess it's not too bad - I'm back down to 12st 13lb today so hopefully it will be all off in the next few weeks - though being away in London at a trade exhibition won't help.
Highest at the end of the festive period was 13st.
Turns out that 5lb is the most common weight gain for the period.
I guess it's not too bad - I'm back down to 12st 13lb today so hopefully it will be all off in the next few weeks - though being away in London at a trade exhibition won't help.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
3rd January 2007 Kinross the Long Way
It was my Mum's birthday today so I came up with the genius idea of takig her present by bike - and to avoid the main road by going round the north side of the Lomond hills to get to Kinross via Falkland and Strathmiglo.
Most of this was pleasant enough, except for the long, long climb from Strathmiglo round West Lomond. Did I mention it was long? And into a very, very strong wind with gusts that almost stopped me in my tracks if I was crawling up an especially steep bit.
So by the time I got to Kinross and refuelled on Xmas cake and black bun, I took the shorter but busier route back. Still very windy with a few decent climbs, so not a cop out by any stretch.
Longest distance I've done in a day, longest time in saddle, etc. Not sure how to factor in the break in the middle. Yes it was recovery time, but also seizing up time so it worked both for and against me.
Part 1: 29km, 2hrs 15min
Part 2: 19km, 1hr 30min
Total: 48km, 3hrs 45min.
Most of this was pleasant enough, except for the long, long climb from Strathmiglo round West Lomond. Did I mention it was long? And into a very, very strong wind with gusts that almost stopped me in my tracks if I was crawling up an especially steep bit.
So by the time I got to Kinross and refuelled on Xmas cake and black bun, I took the shorter but busier route back. Still very windy with a few decent climbs, so not a cop out by any stretch.
Longest distance I've done in a day, longest time in saddle, etc. Not sure how to factor in the break in the middle. Yes it was recovery time, but also seizing up time so it worked both for and against me.
Part 1: 29km, 2hrs 15min
Part 2: 19km, 1hr 30min
Total: 48km, 3hrs 45min.
29 December 2006 Glentress Red
Down to Glentress with Neal for an end-of-year ride.
It was very cold, windy and raining so we decided to do the red route (usually we mix and match different parts of Glentress) and just meet back up at the Hub, rather than have Neal keep waiting for me.
It's great how you can keep going back to places like Glentress and make it new. This time we started at the Hub rather then going up to the Buzzard's nest car park - and the Spooky Wood section was open. We seem to have been unlucky with that in the recent past and have had to follow diversions half way up the hill.
I actually caught up with him twice, which was quite gratifying, but discovered later that Neal had taken a tumble on the first bit of downhill. He was ok, but when I caught up with him at the very top of the course it turned out he had buckled his front wheel quite badly.
He'd pressed on as it was ok-ish uphill, but under the circumstances all we could do was to loosen off his v-brakes to clear the buckle. Unfortunately the first bit of Spooky Wood downhill (which I loved) made it clear he didn't have enough stopping power, so we had to teeter all the way back down on the forest tracks - especially frustrating as the stop at the top had turned us from toasty warm to absolutely freezing and now we couldn't get warm again on the way down. Salutory lesson on just how cold you can get and how quickly when you're wet.
So, a bit of a frustrating outing; Neal needs a new bike.
It was very cold, windy and raining so we decided to do the red route (usually we mix and match different parts of Glentress) and just meet back up at the Hub, rather than have Neal keep waiting for me.
It's great how you can keep going back to places like Glentress and make it new. This time we started at the Hub rather then going up to the Buzzard's nest car park - and the Spooky Wood section was open. We seem to have been unlucky with that in the recent past and have had to follow diversions half way up the hill.
I actually caught up with him twice, which was quite gratifying, but discovered later that Neal had taken a tumble on the first bit of downhill. He was ok, but when I caught up with him at the very top of the course it turned out he had buckled his front wheel quite badly.
He'd pressed on as it was ok-ish uphill, but under the circumstances all we could do was to loosen off his v-brakes to clear the buckle. Unfortunately the first bit of Spooky Wood downhill (which I loved) made it clear he didn't have enough stopping power, so we had to teeter all the way back down on the forest tracks - especially frustrating as the stop at the top had turned us from toasty warm to absolutely freezing and now we couldn't get warm again on the way down. Salutory lesson on just how cold you can get and how quickly when you're wet.
So, a bit of a frustrating outing; Neal needs a new bike.
24 December 2006 Frickin' Freezin'
Taking the chance for a last pre-Xmas ride meant a 7.30am start.
Dark, freezing temperature and dense fog.
Intention was to do something like the familiar 40km route but after a short way it was clearly not safe to be on the road in such dense freezing fog so I played around in the first lot of woods for a couple of hours. It was a chance to explore some of the side tracks that have been too soggy recently - as they were hard frozen!
Very spooky with "things" darting around in the lights in the foggy darkness.
Came back with frost in my eyebrows, frosty tyres and shoes. Brrrrrrr.
Dark, freezing temperature and dense fog.
Intention was to do something like the familiar 40km route but after a short way it was clearly not safe to be on the road in such dense freezing fog so I played around in the first lot of woods for a couple of hours. It was a chance to explore some of the side tracks that have been too soggy recently - as they were hard frozen!
Very spooky with "things" darting around in the lights in the foggy darkness.
Came back with frost in my eyebrows, frosty tyres and shoes. Brrrrrrr.
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