I headed north on Saturday morning, and to be honest on Friday night I was more excited about seeing the Cove out and ready to pack than the prospect of presents. Still, I'm no scrooge, especially with most of my CRC wishlist having been bought, cheers santa! I did have a "do i take the stinky instead" moment.....alas I kept the HT faith.
So, less than 24 hours back and I headed to Carron Valley this morning. Short loops and fun in the "Runway" (new name for fun park apparently). Was good chortle, and after some technical issues with my unique chain device set up (copyright awaiting!), I enjoyed the Eas Dubh section, though the rocky drop off was a lot easier with rear inches of travel on the stinky! Still, a good laugh and the HT was feeling very light (for a steel frame!) and very responsive. The difference from the beast to the devil (new name for the Sanchez) is somewhat marked!
Got to the funpark, and hey presto a puncture half way into it. The feeling of Rim on rock isn't good, so I pushed down, sorted it out and then did 3 loops of just fun park. It's great, you can do this loop in 10 minutes, with 8 of those climbing!
That also sums up Carron Valley....a bit wet really. Eas Dubh is good and Cannon ball run suffices, but lets be honest, uphill singletrack suits the halfords mob, but lets get serious about biking in central Scotland..........please!
So, after my runs on the jumps, doubles and berms of the fun park, I was loving the agility and rawness of the HT. A few mods are still awaiting. My dinged rear rim and deore hub are on their last legs, so new 24-7 wheels in january, along with new rubber, the Tioga XC tyres are shocking! Maybe new forks, but we'll see!
All in all, HT's rock. But FS's and HT's can teach you something about the other. Either way, I was buzzing off the doubles, landings felt planted, and some overcooking on some tabletops had the heart in mouth adrenalin running again, gotta love it. And fitness felt good, though middle chain ring and no 1st or 2nd gear makes climbing hard! Still, the devil is a street/4X/jump bike, and she's ace at those! Laters.
Post ride, "The Devil" looking artistic in the fog....
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