Borders trip booked

Woohoo, Scotland awaits. I booked accommodation this morning in Peebles again. Rough itinerary....

DAY 1, 21st Sep - leave Macclesfield early doors and get up to Dumfries for Mabie/Ae. Ride in afternoon. Onto Peebles in the evening.
DAY 2, 22nd Sep - ride Glentress red route in the morning. Spend the afternoon on the freeride park.
DAY 3, 23rd Sep - have a lie in and then ride Innerleithen all day.
DAY 4, 24th Sep - head for home leaving early, and stop off at the other forest Mabie/Ae. Get home mid evening - shattered but smiling!

James H and myself are definites, with space for Leo and Ste L if they want it? Let me know asap (email or blog) and I'll update the booking for the B&B. The B&B is based in Peebles and is an old favourite, not sure if you can be based in Edinburgh for this trip Ste, or even if you are up there by then (dont want you missing freshers week!). We could pick you up somewhere (?!) if required!

Anyway, can't wait, we're bringing 4 bikes between the 2 of us, so woohoo! Let me know...

Results news from Tom

Had some news from Tom - sounds like he's had a bit of bad luck with the bike but good results! Flying the Fearingout flag abroad!!

James,

I've managed to get on the computer at work cos theres no one about.

Its been pretty hectic for me this last month or so. I went to morzine for 2 weeks then went to the Maxxis cup where my bike got stolen. From then I have been borrowing waynes bike. I raced in spain at a spanish national last week where I got 2nd with a crash in both race runs.

At the midlands this weekend i got 4th, just 1.1 secs of the winner and I went off the track and got stuck behind a tree. Pretty disappointing really.

Next week I go to Austria for the world cup on another borrowed bike.

Speak again when possible...

Tom

Patience of a Saint?

I've succumbed!! A brand new set of Shimano Saint (22.32.bash) cranks are on there way to me along with new chain, cassette and gear cables.

The Chameleon will be proper pimp for the freeride park at Glentress in September! Rock on!

Who would work for a living?

I love being on holiday. I've been out on a bike pretty much every day this week. Started the week of with a little BMX down at my local skate park. I've not been down there for a while so was slightly shocked to see half of it has been sprayed flourescent pink! Its brings some colour to the concrete curves so I'd recomend buying a can and painting your local park ;)

Spent most of Wednesday at Ae just sessioning the final decent on the XC route. It's a mix of big tables, berms, drops, norht shore and some nasty doubles. I'd recomend going to Ae just to ride that section if you dont feel like riding the whole route as its a great place to learn to jump. A friend of mine who hadnt jumped much was clearing the biggest tabletop at the end of the day.

Thursday was spent down at the now name "secret squirrel" jumps with the jackrabbitt guys (http://jackrabbitt.co.uk/). We spent some time digging and the rest riding the dirt jumps and the drop that I built a few weeks ago. I was a great day just chilling and riding with some good trails with good riders.
There's a few photos in my photobucket album so have a look if you fancy. CLICK HERE
Anyway thats all for now........

Forest Jaunt

Thursday evening and I found myself motoring up towards the forest with the electric blue Kona a passenger in my Imperial Blue chariot. Passing by the Railway Inn en route I spotted Hamez carrying out roadside first aid on his bike. Pulled over and got out to help, but his stead was a sick puppy and Hamez had to abort mission, heading back prematurely. I, on the other hand, headed on up to the Smithy and met Phil - mwahaha.

Weather was gourmet... The Pickford and the Woolrich enjoyed a pleasant climb up to the top of Charity Lane, with only brief stoppage and no pushing whatsoever. The lane was a good blast too, although due to the recent rain it did throw up a load of mud. On to the decorative stone lane (not sure what it's really called but hey!) and the spot of rain it seemed had actually helped to firm it up. I felt more confident on it this time round and not only stayed off the brakes, but cranked it too and gave it some lean into the corner. Continuing on to standing stone carpark, myself and Phil both reinstated on the next section. Did it notably faster than on previous rides - momentum is key on this one I think!

So there we have it, the usual Macc Forest ride. Same old route, but I never get bored of it!

Slightly better luck this time...

My second trip to Gwydyr had me hoping - praying - that it was going to be better than last time. A buckled wheel was bad enough, but it turned out I buckled my back in the process. Not nice.
It started well this time, if a little bit wet, but that lasted about 5 minutes. Chain snapped before even reaching the fire road, so off we trudged back to the car for some emergency repairs. That done we steamed up the hill (literally steaming by the end) and down the first few descents. Great fun - enjoyed the flowing corners and little jumps, and don't have Glentress to compare it to yet. My turn to film saw Scott bombing it past me with no-one else in sight. Then comes James down the track (on bike) with arm held high like a too-clever school child. The middle section up until the last two descents was a bit draining, and with nackered up gears meaning when climbing I had a choice of Granny ring or something more suitable for the flat it lasted longer than ideal. Still, the last two sections were great fun, even with blood oozing from scraping shins down a pedal, and the legs held out until we made it back to the car.

Oh, and I ripped my shorts too.

Some scars never heal...

OWWWWWWWWWWW

I had a shit ride at Gwydwr. I just kept thinking (up until I wiped out) 'this isn't as good as GT/Innerleithen'. Probably serves me right then when Gwydwr bit back and I overcooked a mild right hander at speed behind the boy Warnock and went to ground. Destroyed my shorts, ripped my t-shirt and even with pads managed to open up the old scar tissue on my right hand elbow - game over for me so I limped back to the carpark.

Gutted that I didn't have fun bring on the Scotland trip in a few weeks :) (hopefully my arm will be better by then - I'm out all this week lads :(

Gwydyr wetness

Yesterday saw a small troop of 5 escape to the rain forest of Gwydyr! Fucking soaked, but hey, I loved every minute! First outing in the stinky on our "home" route and it rocked. I was slower than a snail climbing, but hey, the stinky and i performed beautifully :) The bike flowed so well on descents and it really "stuck" in the wet, great grip all day.

The sections were different to memory (which is getting a bit useless with old age!), however there were a few favourites in there like the dragon's tail (gnarly as ever!) and the final 2 descents to the car park. A few nice jumps have been added and it is weathering well, but could do with that little bit extra (to be a bit more like GT really!). Still, the sore arms, legs and hands were familiar at the end!

No crashes or bike incidents for me, though there were 3 crashes (1 of note), a puncture and a snapped chain and a bent rear mech. Proper wet through, but as we kept the banter and (slow) moving pace, we were warm enough!

And then in the car waiting at the end of the ride.......warm dry clothes.....braw!

7th at Caersws

Tom finished 7th for SantaCruz Electric (co-sponsored by us!) at Round 4 of the NPS DH at Caersws at the weekend...

Final Downhill Results

1. BEAUMONT Marc MBUK Santa Cruz 2:07.547
2. ATHERTON Dan 2:08.046
3. DONOGHUE Neil MBUK Santa Cruz 2:11.584
4. SIMMONDS Matt 2:11.976
5. BERTRAM Lee 2:12.111
6. REID Ben 2:13.395
7. DEACON Tom 2:14.079
8. LONGDEN Will MBUK Santa Cruz 2:14.135
9. SMITH Robert 2:14.538
10. SMITH David 2:16.128

Astound yourself...

You don't 'really' want anything until you're giving everything you have to get it.

Loose cranks and punctures

Good fun tonight and a personal triumph as I successfully pulled stair jumps which have been eluding me for some time, and even built up to some fairly big stuff at the Church at the end of the ride.

After a slow start at the BMX track where Scott and I chilled more than rode we met Ben and headed over to West Park and found the skate ramp and odd tarmac jumps. Then found some step gaps (as mentioned) and onto some natural drop off - cue Scott trying it and nailing himself - reinstate!

Back via this old Church in the town centre for some more trials skill practice, hopping and the like, where Ben caned his cranks - good lad.

Delamere for certain next week once Mumfordo has his bike back!

Bugger

It seems like my bike doesn't really like the (metaphorically speaking) ass-raping its getting on a regular basis. I'd only sorted my gears and chain earlier in the week, so the bike was feeling remarkably spritely on the way up.
However. This time its my rear wheel thats buckled, not so bad as last years banana wheel at Gwydrwdwyr yet enough to prevent a second full blast down charity lane. Its now sitting somewhere in Halfords with a "bike technician" sitting around drinking coffee. Still good fun, but gutted about missing mondays ride, and I'd just started to get a bit more technique in the jumps
Now all there is left for me to say (as most has already been said) is "C'mon you Halfords!"

Lessons learned..

Lesson number 1) Do not use muc-off anywhere near your brakes. Especially the brake pads, as last night saw me ride the whole evening with brakes on (the pads had swollen from some freak oxidisation or something!), which wasn;t good for climbing, or nailing it down.
Lesson number 2) Don't follow people closely down Charity Lane, as it's dangerous (nuff said).
Lesson number 3) Go first down Charity Lane, as getting stuck behind people makes it a descent not worthy of previous attempts!
Lesson Number 4) If you do follow someone down, make the most of the 2 jumps and tweak it big style, it makes the slowness almost worth while :) Possibly my biggest air and tweak yet last night!

Apart from that last night was great to see a turnout of 6, the kona gang + others! We really should be sponsored (cue hint to "Team Manager")! Plus the badly named "secret trail" was excellent. Looks like others have been riding it, so the overgrown grass wasn't so hazardous in hiding the trail, and I personally felt it was riding real fast. The bottom half was pretty rutted and rooted, but slower and technical is all good too.

Anway, roll on the next ride (I'm loving 2 rides a week, 1 in each "discipline").

Reinstate?

Tonight was fun...

After over 3 months of the regular Macc forest rides we had the old gang back together again... with a special guest appearance from Mr Cubbin.

Took things easy and answered the age old question of how many engineers does it take to fix Leo's bike (in answer - 5)... we made a slow start up to Charity Lane.

In true Fearingout spirit we stopped numerous times for chat and banter but Scott managed until the barn before talking about bike components - good work.
Onwards and just as we got to the road Mr Cubbin came storming up the hill - a late starter but a reinstatement of a whole new level.

Then onto the main event - the Charity Lane downhill. With promises of being the fastest ever Scott and James shot off with me in close pursuit but within 50m the dreaded 'hiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssss' so on the others went leaving me with a bastard Nokian tyre to remove!! All fixed (although unfortunately with a dodgy Nokian tube) the others pushed back up for a second go... This time Leo led the way and although massively improved over riding his old Rockhopper he still hasn't found quite his speed on the new Coiler - still he had fun and I relished taking it slightly easier - although the two of us nearly had an airbourne coming together towards the bottom. Good foot out lairy back end drifting style (or was it just out of control) Mr Pickford at the bottom...

Onwards to the 'secret trail' - good fun but overgrown... had a few moments personally but arms pumped I was grinning from ear to ear.

So 4 of us now ride Kona full sussers... I would suggest it may even be 5 by the end of the year with Phil eyeing the new rigs up - big smiles all round and good to get such a good turnout.

Minor wheel buckling issue for Mumfordo to sort before next week so I think he's out of the street ride on Monday... but should be back for next Thursday and then Gwydwr on Sunday 20th!

4th at Portreath - NPS 4X Round 5

Congratulations to team rider Matt - 4th in class at the NPS 4X 5th round down down down south west in Portreath.

Full results and writeup as well as photos can be found here.

New purpose...

What a difference a........ STEM makes!

Echoing Scott's comments about last nights chortles my bike felt absolutely fantastic on the BMX track. All commented about my pop and aerial bike handling skills, which to be fair used to be ok but not as hot as Scott and James - then BANG - new stem new purpose.

The bike was always light I guess, but the lower and shorter cockpit has made picking it right up a doddle. I'm going to push myself over the coming months to bring in some more style now I've got the control nailed... whips first, and if my balls are big enough start doing some proper doubles trying to lay the bike a bit flat.

There is something special about learning a new skill. It feels good to push yourself and your boundaries. Everyone is different though and as I tried Ben and Scott's bikes last night it became obvious that although the Chameleon suits me and my style, the burly overbuilt nature of the Sanchez and Double Shot (Ben's Felt) suit them for different reasons. One things the same though - the desire for having a laugh.

Bring on Delamere next week, and a street mission to Leeds over the Autumn. Watch this space.

Keepin it Street

Last night was a short blast round the BMX park, followed by an investigation into a local hoodlum's hotspot. The latter was a bit cack, so we'll leave that there, but the park and the general chortles were good fun.

New stem changed the feel of the bike quite a bit, and the natural flow of the jumps felt a lot better. Much less effort required, so concentrated on getting the shape right. Loved nailing the drop at the tennis courts, and the forks feel planted and stiff with the new fitted spring. Only downside was a lat eon puncture after jumping up a step wrong! Oops.

Next week is Delamere and I'll be going full honk stylee!

Painburn

Only the third ride on my new stead and I found myself heading over to Stainburn Forest in North Yorkshire. With Scott piloting the Dadmobile we made it over there in about an hour and a half. Meeting Tez in the carpark, we decided to tackle the 'natural' trail first as a warm up. Although not overly technical, the going was slow due to the soft ground and singletrack climbs. Not the sort of riding I relish, especially in the heat with hordes of insects trying to take a bite. Still, there were some flowing sections, especially the final run, complete with a small jump off some logs, which with lots of speed has the potential for some good air. After a brief rest back in the carpark it was time to try the other loop. The difference was immediately apparent, with hard-packed stone chippings giving a good firm ride. Some cheeky little jumps and twists in the trail kept it interesting and things were looking good. Then it all went a bit hardcore... Dragons tails of the highest order lay before us, literally trails made out of big rocks and slabs. Skills were needed here and quite frankly I'm still getting used to the bike! At some point a rock decided to encroach on one of my chainrings... This in turn twisted my chain, which then caught up in my rear mech and as I was still pedaling it then wrenched the whole thing round and stripped the thread out of the hanger. Not a happy bunny, but at least I only need a new hanger! Overall, good to see somewhere different, but technical singletrack climbing is hard going, especially when you can go to somewhere like Gwydwr and climb up a nice fireroad, leaving plenty of energy for the downhills! Photos can be found at FLICKR here

Stainburn forest

Yesterday saw myself, Leo, and the rarely seen, lesser spotted Tezbo make an appearance over by Harrogate/Otley at Stainburn forest. The guys at singletraction.org.uk have been busy, and after reading it up in MBUGay, I decided it was time FO had a look. Good drive over and a sunny, close day guaranteed we'd be sweating like pigs. Met a guy in the car park from singletraction and with some advice, we went over to do the natural loop first, something that reminded me of the days of building the FO course! Similar terrain, soft underfoot, but much longer and a good blast every now and again. I have to say all 3 of us struggled with technical singletrack climbing all day, I for one do not have the power in my pins for it! Despite this, there was the ocassional section where you just let go, and being the kamikaze leader into the unknown, there was a real buzz from yours truly about the unknown!

After a breather in the car park, we headed to the man made, gravel and stone encrusted trails. This proved to be a real eye opener, really technical in sections, and athough you could flow with practice, it was our 1st outing and we gingerly made our way round! It was a real buzz pulling off the slab ride and the 25ft (estimate) decline down the narrow stone pile after the narrow hairpin bend, and once I'd balls-ed out my line choice, I was buzzing! Terry's skills got him through as usual, not sure what Leo was making of it all. After that there was some flowing stuff in the woods, and some mental challenges to get round/over some of the rocks. My bashguard was loving it! As were my pedals judging by the squeels of delight!

We helped out with some building for a bit (gotta do your bit) and I am as intrigued as ever about building, so I got some tips for the political side of things! All in all a good day out, very different, very technical and not the flowing singletrack we perhaps expected, but a real learning experience, and I enjoyed the buzz in any case.

I'll let Leo summarise his bike situation (ask me no more!).

Ah, the sunshine...

Last night we were back to normal. Perfect riding conditions; sunny, not too warm and a wee breeze. Got to charity lane and the talk was all off protege james m following my back wheel. As if son! Though I did puncture annoyingly. Only had 3 punctures in 8 months and 2 of those recently, grrrrrr. Anyway, charity lane was tops as usual, then som chortles on the way home.

Good to have Ben back and that he's here for the year and not just the summer. Looks liek we've got a few riders for the street/4X as well as the forest rides.

Good stuff.

Still can't decide on what licence to buy for 2007 and what event to race in! We'll continue the debate, though chain tools and what bike gets the most attention may well decide ultimately!

It's been a while...

I thought its about time I write something on here, since I've been riding for a few weeks now.

Awesome. You really appreciate what we have on our doorstep when you live in Cambridge, where the rocks, trees and holes are replaced by kerbs, cobbles and white vans. Different kind of adrenaline I think.
Last night was a good ride - nice and gentle up to the top, and a good blast down Charity Lane and Chris' trail. Still waiting on Scott to get his balls together and have a go at clearing those steps. :P
And the added bonus - a ride without me breaking anything!

Time for a transition?

Wow - I'm 26 today. How old is that? Not that old to be honest you cheeky f***kers!! And another thing, I want a new bike...

Spotted Transition Bikes via a link over at Homegrown. They look pretty awesome - and one in particular caught my eye - the Bottlerocket.
Sort of a slacker version of my Coiler Dee-lux... Perfect for our sort of riding? Well it would be with a double ring up front :)
Only problem is - no UK distribution - yet. I've volunteered Fearingout's services so watch this space!

Fucking rain...

...that's all I'm saying. Ruined last night (street doesn't really work in the wet!) and looking out my window it looks like summer is over and we've moved (in a typically British fashion) straight into winter!

Pure pish.