Dry dusty and killing it...

Kev, Ryan and I met a nice lad called James this evening. Always good to chat to a fellow rider and even better, he was f£&@in quick too to chasing him down Charity and Bottom of the Oven really pushed me to try new lines and hold it Wideopen in places where I'd be covering the brakes normally...

Awesome!

Ryan seemed to enjoy his first proper ride on his new to him Santa Cruz Heckler - I'm sure he'll find the sweet spot quickly as he settle in to it. Out same time same place next week. 

James

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Sunshine, dust and buzz...

When the sun shines there's no better place to be then on the bike riding dry trails...

Wonderful blast around the forest with Jon and Kev. We made good progress on the climbs and BIG smiles (as usual) on the descents - met the girls walking up Charity Lane again, think we need to either wait at the top or get down to the bottom earlier as we keep meeting them on the steep rough section which leads to a heart in mouth moment and hanging on hoping that you can hold your line and your nerve...

The buzz of riding is pretty much the best feeling in the world - and the buzz and zip of tyres through dusty trails add a physical and auditory sensation to the whole experience.

What better than some real ales for post-ride too!

Bike building with Ryan...

Well Jon Boy would turn in his grave at some of the mastery of bodging completed today! Ryan's Heckler is 95% complete! Just needing a front mech, chain rings, gear cables, grips oh and probably pedals to finish! The next time Ryan tells you he's got everything we need check!

James

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Back in the saddle...

This week Ryan was out and it was good to see him and catch up, share a few war stories and we both noticed what a difference having a proper chat on the hills seemed to make them a lot shorter!

I was on fire though - awesome fitness and really beginning to feel like I've found my skills again. The combination of strength, cardio and core balance that I've been working on over the winter has started to pay dividends and combined with the sublime handling of the Five is giving me real confidence. The next step will be to learn to jump again, as at the moment I'm bloody quick (for me at least) on both the rough stuff and starting to find my cornering skills... But jumping is something else again so perhaps a trip to Glentress beckons?

James

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In search of the perfect ride...

The passion we have for riding is not only infectious to those around us, it's actually an addiction for us as riders. The dopamine and adrenaline releases we get from riding bikes fast down hills is a feeling that is hard for others to comprehend and one that we would fight to sustain...

Riding the same trails, on the same bike, with the same faces week in week out, what keeps it fresh? Why do we come back for more? What drives us to ride familiarity? I've spoken in the past on this blog about the natural evolution of your local trails, and the physiological benefits of regular riding with your friends too - but I've noticed this year I'm being driven by other forces as well and in search of something quite specific... the perfect ride...

This week nearly nailed it - dry trails, great fitness, re-finding personal skill and confidence limits, amazing views, beautiful sunsets, wonderful wildlife - the whole package. I found myself slipping into the habit of pushing a little harder on the climbs. Not stopping for a breath like last year... Relaxing more on the descent, finding the bike's sweet spot and holding that. Establishing more confidence with the tyres and cornering... Reading the trail ahead... and hitting that line just a little better than last week...

And that's it, the perfect ride, the aspiration, is never achievable and the search for it brings us back week after week. Enjoy it, the passion and drive to swing your leg over your bike is keeping you both physically and psychologically fit. Enjoy every minute.

First weeknight blast of the year...

Great ride this evening - it feels such a long time since I'd been out on the bike, and the Orange was awesome tonight...

The Larsen tyres I found sketchy last summer were predictable fast and fun and my fitness post winter was more than respectable. Absolutely buzzing, few heart in mouth moments, tons of adrenaline and a great start to the year!

James

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First ride 2016...

It seems an age since Jon and I were last out on the bikes at the end of 2015... My bike thought so too! A stiff bottom bracket that wasn't diagnosed until mid week meant I had some extra 'training' effort due to the resistance - a replacement is ready to be fitted...

A good ride around the forest, it really is a great 'short' ride, hilly enough to get you fit, and technical enough to put a smile on your face. The winter has not made too much of a dent on the trails, and everything was pretty much still intact.

Ryan has a minor mechanical in that his rear mech seized up due to a rusty cable that then snapped! We managed to bodge it to run with a few of the middle gears (well Jon did) - excellent trail side repair skills!

Talk turned to the next outing in a fortnight - where we're hoping to head up to Ladybower.

Summer rubber...

I love mountainbiking - first ride tonight on 'summer' rubber and I'm sold, it's transformed the feel of the Five, it feels lighter and more nimble and so much more grip on the unsurfaced singletrack!!! Great ride with great friends tonight Ian, Kev and Ryan. Cheers lads!!!

More exploring...

Another good night exploring new trails with Ryan, Ian and Kev tonight! Some cool bits and good to re ride last weeks discoveries!

Bitten, stung, lost and still smiling...

Awesome ride last week with Chris, Ian and Kev, the forest was baking but like the old days we did some exploring. Chris mentioned he'd been walking at the weekend down the section we used to call 'Chris's trail' and had spotted some fresh stuff we'd not seen before. Just like old days that excitement of exploring and finding new challenges, with natural trails, no artificial surfacing or manicured berms - great fun and a lot of smiles, getting lost, bitten, stung and still coming out wishing it went on for longer!

What a week!

Absolutely amazing ride tonight, Fearingout back to it's best! Thanks for the banter and the laughs James, Ian, Chris, Ryan and Kev. Some great photos too! Fitness is getting better thanks to James setting the pace and circuits with Carla Gilder again at the weekend, making riding so much more fun! See you all next week!

James

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Getting in to it...

Well we're well into the swing of 2015 - and there has not been a week night ride missed so far this year. How things have changed from 2014...

The last few weeks numbers have swelled - new faces and some old ones coming back to the bikes. We've welcomed XC nuts, DHers and everything in between. To me it shows the flexibility of Macclesfield forest and the trails. It's good to see such different riders trying to push themselves in different ways, and it's also good for the banter, the diversity of bike choice, and the learning.

The XC guys are quick up hill for sure and are dragging up my fitness no end - the DHers are insanely confident on the descents which is pulling me along (literally) as I try to hand on to their tails on the descents.

This week we stopped to take some photos and it's good to remember the roots of Fearingout as a community of riders united by a blog and photo diary... This year is kicking off, and it feels like old times, not in a sad melancholy way but one that inspires, energises and enthuses me - and I hope that rubs off on everyone else. We seem to be doing osmething right... so if you're reading this as an old riding friend, or a first time in Macclesfield, you're always welcome out with us lot.

See you on the trails!

Back in the saddle for 2015...

The year of the comeback? Well 2014 was a but of a damp squid when it came to riding. Apart from an awesome trip to Scotland we didn't really achieve much. 2015 feels different. A new energy and passion. Taking it back to the simplicity and roots of a weeknight ride, every week... So Macclesfield Forest, Tuesday nights about 6pm. See you there...

James

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Scotland Weekender 2014...

So the season begins...
It is always with an air of anticipation that I pull out of the drive when heading for Scotland - the memories of the trails at Glentress and Innerleithen only improve with age, and so despite the 4+ hour journey we keep on going back (or should that be coming home).

Fearingout Scotland Weekender 2014

This year promised fine weather, good company and bikes in good nick for once (as Ross was hiring one!), and it delivered all of that in buckets. The accomodation this year was 'The Bike House' in Innerleithen - let by Chris and Kate Ball - a great venue for a riding weekend with a downstairs bike workshop and outdoor area to clean/wash a bike, then a lovely spacious airy open plan living space, with two bathrooms and three bedrooms completing the picture. Innerleithen may be small but Jon and Ryan still found ways to get into mischief - coming in at something like 3 in the morning on Saturday night - long after Ross, Ian and I had gone to sleep watching Life Cycles and having 'one last beer' in the house! Good news is a curry house has opened on the high street and it's excellent...

The trails were divine as always and early season was evident in the good condition of a lot of the corners with not too much evidence of braking bumps on any of the trails we rode. Friday was Glentress red, Saturday was Glentress black, Sunday was the Traiquair loop at Inners and Monday was the Glentress freeride park... Over 90km covered and I daren't imagine the vertical height gain/descent.

As usual - pictures (and moving pictures) paint a thousand words so sit back and enjoy.
More next year!!


Fearingout Scotland Weekender from James Hilton on Vimeo.

Cannock Chase delivers...

It's been over ten years since I ride at Cannock but today I was very pleasantly surprised! The trails flowed well and made good use of the gradient available and apart from some heavy wear and braking bumps in places we're generally in good condition.

Most peculiar were the pebbles rather than gravel!

The hard tail was the perfect bike for the tight twisty singletrack. The cafe was great too and all round a lovely spring ride to open the Fearingout 2014 calendar!

James

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November sunshine...

It seems to have been an age but we had a great ride this weekend. The weather, the company, the trails, the riding - all came together for that perfect crisp morning.

James Cubbin was back from his travels overseas, his first Fearingout ride for probably two years, Chris joined us, again his first ride with Fearingout this year he reckoned! Wow! We really have got old. Ryan was out with a smile and the promise of getting out on the weekly rides again in 2014...

So with creaking bikes and unfit bodies we pootled around the forest, enjoying the chance for a chat and catch up as well as the lovely views. Getting to the serious stuff Charity Lane was immense on the Five, Ryan said he couldn't keep up, and then he punctured at the bottom, Chris and James appeared a few moments later with big smiles but we were all soaked! After a quick puncture repair Bottom of the Oven was loose and wild... the slog around the forest loop allowed a bit more chat before a quick breather at the view point. 

The final section down the old push up track was mega, the off camber left hander fast and lairy, then into the dark woods and that was a lot rockier than usual! By the bottom the fact I hadn't used the Five for 6 months, plus the 'tired' brake pads meant things were a little hairy but wow what a smile. Great great fun!

Let's not leave it so long next time!

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 :)