Where did 2013 go?

I've lived and ridden in Macclesfield for ten years now and 2013 has been the hardest of all.
Life has been incredibly hard, and whereas in the past my riding was a sanctuary, riding buddies have come and gone and Fearingout is no longer the vibrant and busy social group it was...

From Mountainbiking 2013

This year has been hard for more than just me as regulars have changed jobs and worse, suffered major injury...

Times change but passions don't die, they just fade a little... riding is in my blood (literally after pedals to shins and elbows to gravel). Going for a walk at lunch recently opened my eyes to the opportunities on my door step. It's going to be about finding the opportunities to get out on the bike, not letting the traditional 'after work' slot be the only time available. I have dreams of urban singletrack, steps, sneaky secret cut throughs and smiles for the first time for a long time.

So here's to the winter that follows - and the hardtail in my garage begging for a rebuild!

Mountainbiking 2013

Five + Five = Twice the smiles...

Then there were two...

Five's that is... Jon had been pondering an Orange to replace his Pitch for some time, so when I managed to wangle a good deal he couldn't afford not to snap my arm off - unfortunately for his credit card he doesn't do things by half so he's also got new wheels, forks and a 1x10 setup!

So only his second ride, and the first 'proper' one this evening on the new steed and like I did the first time out, he was taking a little to get used to it but by the last descent, he was a very happy man!

Ryan was out too, but since his Voodoo didn't really match these two bikes he's not in the photos. Good ride in the damp but grippy conditions. The bottom half of Charity Lane was like a river, but pretty solid and not loose at all... The old push up track is getting ripped up, and Jon and I both punctured there tonight, too much beans or over-cooking it?

Autumn's here...

A short but fun packed ride in the Autumn sunshine this evening - I love crisp evenings like tonight, lovely blue sky, plane trails in the dying sun, long shadows, damp grippy rough trails...

Just Jon and I - lots of talk of his Orange Five build - and a steady, relaxed pace, enjoying the pump and flow - and hitting the bits I love hard, whilst flowing through the rest. It's coming back, slowly, the mojo...

780mm wide...

The Renthal bars on Longterm from Wideopen have (finally) arrived from Jamie in Bristol and tonight was my first ride. They're lighter (500g vs 750g for bar and stem), shorter (50mm vs 60mm stem), lower rise and wider (780mm vs 700ish) than my old DMR combo... so first impressions were WIDE and LOW.

Climbing was pretty ordinary on them, slightly more grip on the front wheel, but a wierd feeling having your arms so wide apart... descending? hmmm hard to say - I think I like them... Charity Lane was quick, quick enough to need bottom gear, the bars didn't feel much different there, it's just rough and as flat out as you can hold it, although I expect the leverage ratios helped with stability at speed. Down Bottom of the Oven though and you could tell the difference, drop the bars on the inside and it actually forces the back end round, a strange new sensation but one that I grew in confidence with. By the time we got to the old push up track I was really enjoying playing with them and I've started to find my cornering mojo again.

Good ride tonight then - Paul joined us, not been out with us for a year or so, so good to see him socially outside of work, and great banter about him getting a new bike. Ryan out aswell, and feeling better with the front tyre again I think, but considering a brake upgrade soon...

Out again next week - and a riding weekend on the 13/14th (not decided if it'll be Saturday or Sunday yet)... Watch this space :)

From strength to strength...

Well out on the Orange tonight, and just Tony and I so we made good time and it feels like my fitness is coming back. It's been wet so the trails are grippy, but puddle ridden, but a combination that guarantees a smile.

Really interesting to chat to Tony about his trips to the Alps, and how he's finding his 1x10 setup - also really cool to see a Fox Vanilla R retrofitted to his Specialized Enduro... a blast from the past, and a solid shock that plenty of Fearingout riders past and present have relied upon...

So fitness was reasonable, and last week on the hardtail certainly helped me start to find the speed again and I felt confident and reasonably quick on the rough straight sections but I really need to find my cornering mojo... I'm sure it'll come back :)

Got home and finally bought a copy of 'From the Inside Out' on iTunes. What a mega film... an hour spent then creating a Wishlist on Chain Reaction - £600 and counting...

I'm back...

We've been out on the weeknight rides again for a few weeks, but you know, I've just not been feeling it. Those that are close to me will understand what a tough few years I've had, but I've turned a corner and things are genuninely getting better...

This week I was slow.
I've lost my mojo.

But the ride was good and thanks to Jon I had some good company.
I grinned all the time (or gritted my teeth on the climbs). The descents flowed much better. I felt really recharged and happy back at the car.

That's important. Speed and skills can be re-learnt. I've been searching for the happiness for sometime. It's good to have found it again.

Back in white?

The SantaCruz Chameleon is finally rebuilt, after some school boy errors in the crank reassembly and then lending my Shimano BB tools to Chris I finally borrowed a set of Jon and got it sorted. First ride tomorrow on the vintage frame, it will be interesting to see how she rides after a year with other bikes...

Wideopen longterm test rear tyre makes it's second appearance too, will it fair any better on the rear, it certainly was not great on the front of my BFe.

New T shirts...

My first pair of T shirts from the new shop, printed and delivered to my door in three days!

Check out all the designs in the shop above!

Post baby blast...

Well as I said earlier, Jon and I headed over to 'deggers today for a quick blast round - first time I've taken the Five and to be honest, it was just as much fun as my hardtail (did I just say that!) and certainly more forgiving on the rocky climbs. Jon was impressed with his new Superstar wheelset (SS hubs and Stan's Flow rims) and Conti tyres. We both had a good ride, although I really suffered with fatigue from about half way round. Just no gas in the tank - but off the bike for four weeks and a bit of sleep deprivation will do that to a man!

So where next? 

Jon mentioned Lee Quarry next weekend perhaps?

And July is supposed to be Moelfre for the National Champs too... anyone interested?

On the road again...

Just Jon Boy and I today, heading to Llandegla for a long overdue blast out on the bike... More later if the Ixus battery holds up!