We're not alone!!

All this week, attempts to get out on the bike have been scuppered. Until last night - my mate D and I got out onto Penhydd. As I wasn't on my own in the dark, for a change, I nailed it and impressed myself with my pace. (Considering it was dark and I ate a small farm at a friends wedding at the weekend and I think our office is averaging 1 tin of Chocolates every two days!!)

We got to the junction part way up "To the Top 3" and heard the faint sound of brake squeal. And then, lights in the trees on the valley side just a few hundred metres away, some (other) nutters winding their way down Hidden Valley.

D's Kona Dawg started life as mild mannered trail bike, but has started to take on the look of a full-on downhill machine. With larger tyres, a front mud guard and big disc brakes it's purpose is changing. As too is the ease with which he climbs!! Horses and courses I guess.

I've used my Ay Up lights quite a bit now and I'm absolutely chuffed with them - a real discovery. If it hadn't have been for the MBR magazine review giving them 10/10 I'd never have gone for a brand I'd never heard of, I'd have spent that large a chunk of cash on a well known one.

It's freezing out there - literally!

Christmas is approaching and the gorging has begun. I've polished off two pots of cream this week, pretty much single handedly! The sweets have started to appear. The office gannets (off which I'm one) can destroy a tin of Quality Street in less than a day. When Christmas does arrive the excess will go into overdrive. It's my old pal, Spot's wedding at the weekend, so with that and Christmas shopping not even touched, I see the mountain biking is going to be difficult to squeeze in. Work's hectic, but despite this I'd hoped for a half day off to grab a spin around Afan or Glyncorrwg. Yesterday it became obvious the morning was scuppered. I took the bike into work with me, but at lunchtime the afternoon evaporated in front of my eyes. Fortunately I'd foreseen this and bought my AyUps with me!!

So, as soon as the clock struck 5, the meeting I was in wrapped up and I shot out like the proverbial off a hot shovel. A quick change and repack of my Camelbak and I was off. I was going to be solo, in the dark, on a cold frosty night, in a deserted forest/hilltop. I figured it prudent to go for my safest route - Penhydd. I know this trail like the back of my hand - it was only last Sunday when I was up there last.

It was magical. No one around, just animals moving in the undergrowth and owls hooting in the trees. The fire-roads were beautiful in my lights with the frost, like someone had sprinkled my route with glitter. The puddles were rapidly freezing over and the muddy bits were starting to harden. I had a moment when a muddy patch couldn't decide whether it was soft or hard and finished up deciding that either way I was better off in the adjacent ditch - Oiks! Apart from that it was comfortably uneventful. I even did one climb with the lights out. Once upon a time I suprised a small herd of deer there and I wanted the element of surprise on my side again, but saw nothing. It was surreal climbing up the fire-road, by moonlight, alone!

I didn't really have enough clothing to be safe: shorts with a liner, a lightweight long sleeve and a short sleeve. I had my lightweight waterproof jacket in the pack, just in case, but never used it. However, I was warm enough moving, and stationary pauses were kept to a minimum. By the time I'd got back to the car my shoe laces and the neoprene headset cover were frozen!! Cool ride - in more ways than one.

Revelation of the, er, month!

Revelation of the year? That was Mountain Biking - so can't use that one!!

I've been having gear shifting problems. No amount of fettling seemed to fix it. I'd bent my derailleur drop-out twice, most recently on my Sarn Helen trip. So a new drop-out went in (Pilo - nice kit). It helped, but the real fix was new cables and (crucially) new sheaths. What a difference!! That will always be my starting point from now on. Bought a Lifu (Ice Toolz) cable cutter to help complete the task. Cheap - but works fine.

Fatty goes flatty!!

Couldn't resist that as a title!! Converted to flat pedals recently. I was wondering if it might give me a little more confidence in corners and reduce the chance of painful offs. Usually I get my feet unclipped with SPDs but not always! Maybe a dab can come a bit easier with flatties?? I started with a set of DMR V8's - what a pile of poo they were, felt like they had sand for bearings and the axles weren't even straight! They just felt cheap. Settled on Wellgo MG-1's. They feel much better engineered and I think they're lighter and for nearly the same money.

First impressions - I thought I'd gouge the flesh off my legs with flatties, but so-far I've not had a problem. They're grippier than I expected - I thought I might slip off them in extremes, but not so far. They don't get the power in the up stroke like SPD's but you drive more of the stroke than I thought. My only concerns are the size (which I should eventually get used to). I keep striking them on tree stumps and rocks, etc. If I forget to put my seat down on techy downhills or neglect to put it down far enough, the seat presses the backs of my legs and tries to lever me off the pedals. That's not good and gets very unnerving. But that's down to technique. The other issue is really rough rocky downhills, The jarring feels like it's lifting you off the pedals. However, the normal pedal of choice on a hardtail is probably not a flatty. The grippy nature of the pedals means that if you place your feet awkwardly on the pedals, repositioning is difficult, especially if you're trying to keep the power down or you're mid-way through a descent. Don't know if bike specific shoes would alter this issue, but I seem to have difficulty getting my feet at a comfortable angle, the alignment of the pins and the shoe tread seems to put my feet either side of my preferred angle.

I bought some 661 MXE knee/shin pads to go with the pedals - nice bit of kit for not much money. More comfy than I expected for climbing in and confidence building for downhills.

I've extolled the virues of cheap hydration packs earlier this year. However, feeling that I could do with more capacity (both cargo and liquid), I took the plunge and bought a Camelbak. I'm afraid I'm a convert. If you can afford Camelbak's prices then you should buy. I got a Mayhem and the quality of the product certainly shows. It's well thought out and fits much more comfortably than the old one. However, the old one did it's job, and will still get used when I want to go light.

The Hirfynydd Watch Tower

From memory the left-most ramparts are roughly in the background beyond the stile. My bike is leaning against the trail marker stone.

The Hirfynydd Watch Tower

You can just make out the faint line of the right-most rampart to the right of the photo. It's marginally easier to see in the flesh!!

The site of the Hirfynydd fort

The trail marker stone for the Hirfynydd Fort with the fort in the background

Sarn Helen

The derelict farmhouse

Neath valley from the derelict farmhouse

Sarn Helen MTB Route, Nidum/Hirfynydd section

Now that was an epic!!!! It took 5 and a half hours including stops for lunch, mechanicals, navigation and history sessions. The cycle computer says it was 44km, but I've got my doubts. I got just about all forms of weather. Rain was a feature of the ride, as was wind. A little sunshine and even some sleet finished off the weather's repertoire!! The picture is of the old bridges across the River Nedd at Aberdulais.

For the most part Sarn Helen has a rocky base, but is often muddy over the top making the going difficult at times. Doing the route this way round means you're climbing forever before you get any decent downhill. It goes against my theme, which is south to north, but it might be better run in reverse. That way you climb up the Dulais valley on tarmac. I was a little late getting started and consequently finished the last but one bridleway in the dark and skipped the last one. This now seems irrelevent, because I don't think the bridleways along the Dulais valley are any good.

Next section will probably be the CICVCIVM section near Brecon.

More bike fettling

I spent Friday evening and Saturday afternoon in the garage prodding the bike. Following my bizarre off in Afan Argoed earlier in the week, my gear change has been awful. However, whilst I couldn't get it behaving properly, I couldn't see any signs of damage. I reckon I must have hooked the log in my chain rather than hitting the derailleur, but I dunno? I've come to the conclusion it's either mucky or corroded cable sheaths or it's wear in the jockey wheels causing the shifting problems. So - more bits to buy and more work to do!! I'll try regreasing the cables first. I know that's not ideal but, I've got nothing to loose.

I've had an on-going issue with my down tube bottle cage bosses having worked loose in the frame. I came across this cool way of fixing this problem yesterday, so I gave it a whirl. You use a wheel skewer and an axle as a riveter to pull the bosses tight again in the frame. You make the skewer fit the axle so it can pull the flange of the boss against the axle.



It worked!! I cranked the skewer tight and you could see the bosses flange press down against the tube.



Neat!

My efforts to come to a decision and buy a set of flat pedals and the associated parafinalia (shin gaurds and flat pedal shoes) nearly came to fruition this week. I bought a set of DMR V8's from the LBS but wasn't happy with the colour or the feel of the axle - gritty and uneven. I took them back and they refunded me. They're ordering new ones, but I may get too fed up of waiting (pure impatience on my part). Based on the reviews in MBR magazine and on the Chain Reaction Cycles website, I think I'll buy some Wellgo pedals. Like the rave reviews the cheapo 661 MXE leg pads are getting, so those will be my try-out pads. Picked up some cheap 20 quid Karrimor hiking style trainers from TKMax.

Catch-up

Had a ride out a few days back around Gower. I've got a short loop which I will include in my longer British Heart Foundation Alternative Gower bike ride. It was a good one from one point of view as I took the Ay Up lights and made it night ride. The lights performed faultlessly, lasting the 2 and a half hours of darkness effortlessly. I used the two 3 hour batteries and there were signs that the edge had been taken off the brightness of the handlebar lights which were on constantly. If I'd been out for significantly longer, whilst it would have been useable, I might have wished I'd had the 6 hour battery. The helmet light was off for some of the time so it was still really bright at the finish.

It was really horrible weather and really mucky. Some of the tracks were dead unpleasant. I've come to the conclusion that to make this route work I've got to accept that it's a summer route. I got bad chain suck on several occasions and at first thought it was down to the conditions. After some fettling when I got back and some well placed advice from J next door, I decided it was time for a new chain and a new middle chain ring. (Handy hint: you can double up the wear on the granny ring by reversing it. Unlike the other rings it's symmetrical). Following the work I've still got occasional chain suck, but that will probably be due to a slightly stiff chain and will ease.

The Specialized Eskars were misbehaving again. At the first sign of mud they went all funny and tried steering off in the wrong direction. As for climbing in mud - forget it. A few days later a chat with one of the lads in the LBS persuaded me to try lowering the pressure. Results in the "Afan in the dark" post.

Afan in the dark!

Plucked up the courage to ride Afan Argoed in the dark tonight. D joined me and we had a blast! The evening wasn't without mis-adventure. Before we got to the end of Penhydd, D's Hope 4 lights started flashing, which indicates a low battery. That resulted in a short-cut after Dead Sheep Gully and an early return to the cars. He'd had them on full power most of the time and had remembered his burn times incorrectly, I think.

I had a really close moment with a tree. I clipped a log on the inside of a corner, hard, with my rear mech and was sent off the trail for a tree hugging session!! Fortunately, somehow, I stopped prior to impact. D labelled it a good save. I think it may have been divine intervention!!

Following a chat with one of the lads from the LBS, I was running my new Eskar tyres on much lower pressures. It's made a considerable difference, but some more adjustment is needed.

An early 19th century mountain bike helmet?

No it's SWMBO's latest antique purchase - posted so me Mum can see it!!

Of tyres and Cotswold mud!!

Went to the Cotswolds last weekend, primarily for an old college pal's stag-do. Had a really fun time behaving like lads half our age. I started the theme early with a bike ride on Friday before I met the others!! I've decided that whenever I go somewhere different, (and if at all possible) I shall take a bike and ride a hill or two I haven't done before. So rather than mess around with a route of my own devising I followed one of MBR magazine's - Cleeve Common. A medium graded 22 miler to the east of Cheltenham.

I bought a new pair of tyres the other day (after much of my usual procrastination!) I finally opted for a set of Specialized Eskar 2Bliss tyres. I was following one of a number of recommedations I got of an internet forum. It was either these or Nevegals. I frequently switch between off-road tyres and an old set of worn tyres for commuting, but I don't want to go to the additional expense of a set of seperate rims. So that means tubeless tyres aren't really practical for me. Specialized say use their tyre with or without a tube. So, I figured that wouldn't be a problem. However, one of the advantages of tubeless is they are designed to be optimal at lower pressures (you don't need to worry about pinch punctures with tubeless). With a tube in and with them pumped up hard as I normally do, these tyres don't feel as compliant as the Maxxis Ignitors.

Back to the Cotswolds and its mud. This stuff is sticky, like treacle!! It jammed my bike up like a third set of brakes as you can see. Oh and it turned a gentle hill into a slick track that was unrideable. I found the Eskars very twitchy on muddy side slopes, to the point of ruining a couple of nice singletrack sections. I need to try these tyres somewhere where I know the lay of the land, but I'm concerned they're a mistake (as far as the way in which I'm using them goes.)

As for MBR's route - I found it annoyingly seemed to ignore perfectly good off-road sections in favour of tarmac. One other problem is MBR described a route through the nature reserve in a way which looks like they're confusing the start and the finish. They also failed to suggest any hints as to how to get the best from Cleeve Hill, which looks like it could have some good singletrack on it. If I was doing it again, here's the route I'd take:

Cleeve Common medium difficulty Pilau's way

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

In the hills again, at last!!

Landmark

My last scab from my arm!!

Still quite tender.

My finger's still somewhat painfull. No way can I go off-road, one badly placed fall and I reckon I'd be back to square one.

Managed to do a basic test of the Ay Up's in the park. They're dead impressive, how can such little things pack so much punch?! The mount isn't fab, but then you can't get much lighter than a zip tie eh?



Couldn't wait to try them out so I did my work commute in the dark. I had to be a bit imaginative with splinting my weak finger. I finished up using a piece of plastic cut from a washing machine waste pipe holder and strapping it to the outside of my glove. I felt a bit clumsy riding with it, but at least it was protected.



The ride went well. The first thing I noticed was that cars treat you like another car. With the helmet light you have to be careful about where you look, especially as you pass pedestrians!! Comments like "they're bright!!" abounded as I passed people. So, a word of warning if you're thinking of getting off-road lights - they can be embarrassingly bright in public places!!

New Ay Up lights

Impressive considering the photo is take with my rubbishy mobile phone camera. When I first turned them on there was a cat on the top of the wall you can see in the background. The cat was sitting there in the dark minding it's own business (which happened to be the merciless slaughter of innocent rodents)!! Then all of a sudden it's wide eyed dark adjusted world is torn asunder by searing shafts of blue-white light tearing into his retina!!!

I hope he's not blind!! Sorry Cat!

New Ay Up lights

I wouldn't like to look into the lens - reckon it could near blind you!!

New Ay Up lights

They're really neat. And come in much funkier colours. I had to go silver for the bike mounted light because I've no idea what colour bike/components I'll end up with. I went blue for the helmet and future helmets will coordinate with this.

New Ay Up lights

This is the way of things - I procrastinate about buying something, in this case off-road mountain bike lights, then after much deliberation I come to a conclusion and make the leap. This serves to build up the sense of anticipation to delirious levels. Then a couple of days after ordering it I go and break a finger. When they arrive, after all the anticipation I'm going to have to wait probably at least another 2 weeks before I try them. Gutted!

I went for Ay Up lights and picked the MTB kit which includes 4 lights in 2 pairs totalling 640 lumens combined. A narrow beam and wide beam pair. 3 batteries - two 3hr helmet mounted and one 6hr stem mounted one. The kit is well stocked with spares and optional bits. And the charger is a dual charger with circuitry to cut the charging once it reaches full charge. I'm really impressed with it all. My only niggle is the way the roll up carry case it comes with works, It feels as though it's a bit of a squash to get it all in. and when you do you have to go over-stretching the elastic straps that keep it together.

But that's not what I bought it for!! I wanted light! I've charged up the batteries and fired up the lamps - They are awesome. Compared with what else is out there on the market, you'll struggle to beat it for £250. Can't wait for winter!!!

Perhaps it's time for some armour!!

Ouch!!

Whites Level Black Run, Sunday, out with J and his mate. It all went bad down the steep bit!! Broke my index finger and cut my arm up.

Don't tell SWMBO!!

Thought I'd give Rock 'n' Roll Chain Lube a whirl. It says on the instructions to apply it in warm conditions.... :) It's wierd stuff, kind of alien to the idea that the chain should have a coating of oil over it. The thing is, it's not an oil, it's a grease suspended in some sort of liquid. You apply it in copious quantities then wipe it off completely. It'll be interesting to see how it copes with British mud.

Decisions, decisions.

Weather's rotten, should I go for a ride or not? If so, where? Sarn Helen, Whites, Skyline? If I hadn't have done it today it'd be next weekend before I got another chance. Plumped for Skyline in the end.

Not ridden Skyline before, so wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew there was a chance I'd find it too long so I took a map and figured out 3 potential shortcuts. When I got to the "July" shortcut, a decision - left or right? The wind and rain had been DRIVING at times!! Out of the trees, at times, it stung my face!! I could go to the next shortcut, but I knew there'd be a lot of open fireroad. I'm familiar with some of the fireroads from rallies. So I went right, down the July shortcut. Pretty soon I was starting to feel pretty knackered and glad I was inbound!! Then within shouting distance of the car park (but just a little too far to walk) - a pinch puncture!! By the time I'd fixed it, and got back to the car, dark was almost on me.

So, July WAS the right choice!!

Tried out the new bike carrier today. In a driving side wind on the motorway it shakes about rather alarmingly, but that's just perception, as long as it's good and tight at the wheels it's fine. There was no sign that it had slackened when I reached Glyncorrwg.

Ordered a bike carrier for the car. That was another battle over indecision and procrastination!! I've got a Honda CR-V and I didn't want to be lifting bikes on and off the roof because of its height. I don't like the strap-on carriers and especially not the spare wheel type (scratched paintwork, strain on vertical door hinges, distinctly dodgy looking methods of attachment, etc.). But, I have got a towbar so that left towbar mounted carriers and internal ones. The point of this was to get the muddy bike out of the car. So, a towbar mounted carrier it was. However, I'm not keen on the hang-on variety because of risk of damaging hoses and cables under the top-tube. So that just leaves the stand-on variety. Who said I'm fussy!!? After much deliberation, measuring and shopping around I settled on Thule's cheapest towball mounted Ride-On variety. I thought I might lose the first slot because of the spare wheel so opted for the 3 bike version (9503). SkiDrive were cheapest at £90 including carriage www.skidrive.co.uk. Bizarrely second hand one's on ebay were bidding up to £70 excluding carriage!! Work that one out!?

The carrier arrived, SkiDrive were efficient, helpful and swift. I'm a little disappointed in Thule's packing; the tubes were a little scratched in places, but that's minor. Worse - one light lens was broken and a reflector had come off. So, it's not 100%. However, built, it's sturdy and fits positively and firmly to the towball. I can confirm the 9503 fits a Honda CR-V and may allow the use of all 3 slots with care. I would imagine the 2 bike 9502 would be similarly dimensioned. It's worth mentioning my towbar is long at 140mm from bumper to towball centre, so that helps it clear the spare wheel. As for the damaged bits, true to SkiDrive's prior swiftness a lens and a some fresh double sided tape for the reflector is apparently on it's way to me. Can't fault it!

TF Tuned the wotsits off my forks!!

Work and this damned cold got the better of me today and in a fit of pique, in the middle of a sunny spell, I sloped off work at 3:00, squirted off home, grabbed my cycling gear, slung the bike in the back of the car and headed for Afan Argoed. Easy choice, it had to be one of the southern trails because I didn't have time to get up to Glyncorrwg. Chunks of Penhydd were closed a couple of weeks ago. So, The Wall won it. Considering I was complaining that I was putting on weight and I still have a horrible cold. I think 1 hour 45 minutes ain't bad!!

As for the newly serviced forks, they feel absolutely superb. Plush on big hits, rebound feels as if it's right. Good one TF Tuned. Very happy!!

"High fever, a nose problem… Phlegm! Phlegm! Phlegm-phlegm-phlegm!" - Joey in Friends!! :-D

Damn this cold! Fed up with it! It's on my chest now too! Nnnnggh!! Perhaps I'll get something else useful done this weekend - like wash the car or fit my Psylos. I'll have to resist that all-consuming lure of internet shopping for bike bits. Boredom is the marketeers' ally!!

What's new?

Not posted for a few days - so what's happenning. Saturday I was arm twisted into a trip to Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair. Not good - cost several hundred full suspension bike vouchers!! ;-) But, that meant a free pass for Sunday - good - I set my mind for the first section of my Sarn Helen route. But... events conspired against me and I ran out of time - not good. Concillation prize - I decided to do Whites Level in Afan Argoed instead in the time left. Blasted that in 2 hours 10 minutes - a superb personal benchmark - excellent!! Thought I had a sore throat on the way round - not great. Monday - sore throat, proper - bad. Sent my Rock Shox Psylos to TF Tuned for a service - good. Tuesday - really ill, in bed til lunchtime - very bad. Today - not so ill, back in work, but no cycling, no tinkering with the bike (and sod's law the weather's good) - bad. But the Psylos came back - talk about a slick service (pardon the pun) - very good.

So .... plans? Weather for the weekend looks good. If I'm OK Friday, may scrounge an early finish and blast The Wall in Afan (Wonder what the chances are of getting the Verbal Athlete to jon me!?). The Verbal Athlete is that guy in everyone's office who says "I can ride faster than you, or I could if I was training." or "I can run faster than you, but I can't join you tomorrow (or the next day...) because I'm busy!". Saturday, I'll use the good weather and daylight to put the Rock Shox back on the bike. Sunday - maybe my Sarn Helen route.

I'll share my experiences of using TF Tuned Shox. I arranged with them to courier collect the forks. So they booked me in over the phone for a Tuesday service. And told me they'd collect Monday. Sure enough - en queue. Tuesday the service engineer rang me (unfortunatley I was ill and all he got was my voice mail). Not that it mattered it was just to tell me what they'd done. Later that day - got an email with the tracking number for the parcel. Today the tracking website said it was on the van. This afternoon, forks arrived as promised. In the box was the old seals and wipers and a note (well a page of A4 just about!!) explaining the findings from the service. So far for customer service TF Tuned are spot on. In todays world I reckon it's rare I say that. I'll let you know how they stand up on the trails.

A Mint Sauce moment

(See Jo Burt's full strip on http://homepage.mac.com/pfellows1/thisiswhy/Images/eternalreek/eternalpage13-mud-unpub.jpg or the article this appeared in "The Eternal Reek of Damp Wool" at http://homepage.mac.com/pfellows1/thisiswhy/articles.html)

Another weather record broken this summer: Saturday's weather forecast was the most welcome forecast since 1976!! How did you spend your summer? For me the plan was bike ride up Sarn Helen Saturday and mow the lawn on Sunday (for the 2nd time this year!!) However, I had a Mint Sauce moment. The crank felt stiff so I started dismantling it. Inside was a scene from Halloween 3!! So I mowed the lawn instead, then a bit later with some help from J, I got new bearings pressed in. Sorted!

J and I then decided to ride one of the trail centres. We picked Brechfa's Gorlech trail. Though it's graded difficult like the Afan Argoed and Glyncorrwg trails, the jumps and berms seemed on average to be more severe in Brechfa. I got very tired towards the end and came off twice. Combination of no exercise for 2 weeks and eating enough chicken and sticky toffee pudding to feed an American family last night!! That and the fact that it was a fight from the word go to keep up with J (which I didn't!!). Sarn Helen will wait for another day.

More fantasy MTBing??

I had this idea 15 years ago! It's ambitious and may never be completed by me. However, the idea is an XC mountain bike route from Neath in South Wales to just outside Conwy in the north. Not that I would ever imagine riding that distance in one go, I've split it into bite sized chunks to do over a period of time. This is the first section from the Roman auxiliary fort in Neath via the fortlet and watch tower on Hirfynydd ridge to Banwen and back to Neath.

Sarn Helen - NIDUM/Hirfynydd section

http://www.bikely.com/

It's all going bloody wrong!! :-(

I don't know? Nothing's going right! I hurt my ribs again on that last ride in Mid Wales. I had a week after that booked off work which went out the window and it rained the entire week! My dog hadn't been 100% so we took him to the vets. He was x-rayed and they discovered a lump in his bladder. It turned out to be a benign cancer. So £700 later he had that removed cleanly (bang goes that full sus bike I had half an eye on!) The one thing that is going right is that he's bouncing back at a rate of knots. My wife started a new job this week and it transpires she needs a lift in in the mornings because of the time she has to be there. So it looks like it's bang goes my cycling to work. I'm 2 weeks without a bike ride and that was going to be the gentle way back to full off-road mode for my injured ribs. Scuppered! Daylight's disappearing at a rate of knots! That Indian Summer never materialised! And I think the clutch is going on my main car!! :-(

I've plotted out my routes from the Mid-Wales trip on bikely.com. Below is route 1 from a week last Monday. It's an OK route, but not outstanding.

Pont-Rhyd-y-Groes route 1 - The Arch

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Route 2 below from last Friday has been tweaked heavily from the route I took, and is a much better route. Well worth doing if I'm ever up that way again.

Pont-Rhyd-y-Groes route 2 - Rhiwlas

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Drought Alert!!

With no rain for an entire day Wales is plunged into a catastrophic water shortage. Meanwhile I had a great day out trying to push myself into harder to reach places without getting a soaking. Wasn't a legendary route but has the makings of one if I ever come this way again.

Nant yr Arian's Syfydrin Trail

Feeling good about this one: mainly because it's a 22 miler which I managed in 3 and a half hours. Considering Monday's ride was the same distance to within 100m but took 2 hours longer, I think that's a result!! What made the difference? Well, mainly not needing to stop every 200m to get a map out helped!! It turned into a bit of a social ride as I bumped into another lone rider and we tagged along together. Normally that would slow me down, but he was fitter than me and like me wanted to push on. I hammered on at a distinctly faster pace than normal. Sometimes it helps to push the boundaries!!

So what was Nant yr Arian's Syfydrin Trail like? Good, but definitely biased to the XCer. That made me a little too tired to really enjoy the excellent singletracks at the end. Anyone thinking of doing one day in Nant yr Arian should only do the Syfydrin Trail if they are really fit. The outer sections are typical well used bridleways and byways which you can do almost anywhere (oh, and these ones are awful in the wet!). To get the full effect of the singletrack do the much shorter Summit and Pendam trails or shortcut Syfydrin at the lake, Llyn Syfydrin.

OK, it barely rained, but I still finished up as wet as a Welsh hilltop in summer!!

There'll be a reason for that!?

Mum's on holiday in Italy. A funny text exchange:
MUM: Just sitting with half a pint in the very hot sun in Malcesine.
ME: Sitting on a windy drizzly Welsh hilltop with a plastic bag of water, but strangly enjoying myself!!

And I was!!

Another shot from on top of Whites. I think I can see my house from here!! How lucky am I?

Keeping my fingers crossed for a UK holiday interspersed with regular MTB excursions has worked!! Off up to Mid Wales on Sunday. The world's my oyster, mile after mile of bridleway and byway XC, Nant yr Arian trail centre, the Strata Florida loop, even a section of my Sarn Helen run could be in the mix.

If Whites Level WAS level it'd be easy!!

Evilgoose and I did Whites Level today. It was mostly my idea to do Whites. I fancy my speed on the off-road sections is reasonably respectable and fancy competing in the Kona Mash-up. And as that is set out on Whites thought it might be an idea to see what I was letting myself in for!! My verdict - it's small but chewy!! I think we were both lying on the floor when we realised we'd only done 5 miles. The names of Whites sections are a bit confused, for example the Energy and Darkside sections are to my mind both blacker than the Black Run. And Energy is darker than Darkside. And as for Two Tombstones - uh????

I liked Whites but not sure I'm ready to compete in the Mash-Up there. We'll see.

Will it ever stop raining?!!

I can't believe it, I took Friday off work to go for a ride. I imtended to take a couple of hours to do some work on the bike, but discovered one of the front wheel bearing races was shot. Sod's law, I lent my cone spanners to D on Thursday!! So, not suprisingly it took all day to fix. The only sunny day in weeks I get chance for a ride and I spend it in the garage!!!! Of course, this morning the bike's ready and it's raining!! Nnngghh!!

Back to The Wall

Finally made it up The Wall today!! Wey hey!! This ride's been just over 6 months in the making plus I held off for a couple of weeks to pick the right moment to make my comeback! It was a little touch and go, I discovered my Rock Shox had bust a seal yesterday. After several hours of swearing I switched back to my original Suntour XCRs. The ride itself wasn't without incident. I stopped to replace my rear brake pads and the wheel skewer fell apart in my hands!! Fortunately it was possible to wedge it back together and continue. Had me worried though!!

So how was The Wall? It's actually easier than Penhydd, in terms of climbing - ironic, as I picked Penhydd as the training ride to get me fit for The Wall! I think with the advantage of some familiarity it will become a better technical ride than Penhydd. Penhydd is easier technically to pick up and run with. The Wall is a little more difficult technically. I was suprised by how much it's changed up there. Bits of the ride I should have recognised, but didn't. Some parts I did recognise, but usually only vaguely. Our old climb up to the wall is really overgrown and is a walking trail now. I was disappointed that some of my old favourite single track is not part of the wall (and once again are walking trails - damned ramblers - I'll run a couple of them over for that!!) .

Now I've done The Wall I'll need to set myself a new long term challenge. Whites will be next and if my plans go OK I'll do the 2 longer Nant yr Arian trails....

Brothers in arms!!

Not the only one in our team to cycle to work today. Evilgoose joined the fray.

I've had 3 consecutive days commuting this week and I'm starting to feel the strain!!

I feel quite good despite this and reckon it's time to return to The Wall. Just need a dry day!!!!

I'm fed up with this weather!!

Everything I own is wet!! I've been gambling with the weather this week in cycling to and from work. Got away with it for 3 trips but tonight I got caught big time. It rained hard for the entire 40 minutes. I was truely soaked to the skin. Standing in the kitchen in my underwear I was still dripping!! With my cycling gear wet, my bike wet, the kitchen and bathroom both wet and big load of washing waiting to be dried it feels like everything I own is wet!!

I managed to get up Penhydd last weekend. Tested out my new rim, that's OK. Discovered I'm feeling very nervous on the trails, that's not OK!! I guess the fact that my ribcage is still just very slightly tender doesn't help. I got one jump a little wrong and landed on the edge of ditch. I recovered it but at the end of the track I was physically shaking. Hope I haven't lost my bottle!! I was happy with my pace on my extended Penhydd run, taking 2 hours 10 minutes. I feel ready to do justice to The Wall - it's about time I revisited my old test of the metal.

Waiting...

Turns out I irretrievably bent my rear rim on the Penhydd incident too!! Not as crisped as this photo, but now I'm waiting for Tredz to get their arses in gear and build me a new one ....

Point of interest: My hydration pack is the very functional budget example the Mountain Life Aqua 6 bought from Mountain Warehouse. A bargain at £21, it has all the major features of much more expensive versions. However, Mountain Warehouse don't sell the correct replacement bladder!!! However (again), the bladder appears to be near identical to the Gelert versions (£9 from eBay).

The Newport Bay section of my Pembrokeshire Coast MTB Route

Pembrokeshire Coast MTB Route Newport Bay Section

http://www.bikely.com/

With only 30% Off-road this route doesn't look that attractive to the dirt rider. However, it's got some really good runs if it's run East to West.

Penhydd will eventually get everyone!

From conversations with a number of people, they all have their tales of woe about Penhydd. Some worse than others. My mate D reckons he's still not right after Penhydd bit him.

My tale of woe came today. Running fast (real fast!) down Dead Sheep Gully, I vaguely remember letting my concentration wander just before a big jump over some built up tree roots. Big air, no prep, a tree stump, some small logs and blur of time all mixed together to form the biggest stack-up I can remember having. "Remember" may be a bad choice of word because I don't remember much of it at all! I untangled myself from the resulting mess and sat and watched the stars twinkle!! After a while I started a mental list of the damage:-

• cut my little finger
• bruised my shoulder
• grazed my back
• grazed my knee
• bruised my thigh
• bruised my ribs (don't think I've cracked anything??)
• bruised my stomach
• cut my shin
• wrenched my wrist
• bruised my forehead
• Broke my helmet
• broke my watch strap
• punctured my hydration bladder
• bent a bar end
• ripped my waterproof mobile phone bag

All things told, believe it or not, I reckon I was lucky!!! Things that could have happened - Broken bones, broken head, broken mobile, not spotted my watch on the floor and left it, broken bike. I wonder if it's Karma - I stopped earlier and changed the inner tube for a guy who was obviously new to this.

Penhydd will get a little more respect from me next time!! My message to you all - do Penhydd, it'll get you one day, may as well get it over and done with!!

Pembrokshire Coast MTB Route Cardigan Section

This is a rehash of the Cardigan Section of my Pembrokshire Coast MTB Route.

Pembrokeshire Coast MTB route Cardigan section

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The Gwbert loop from Wednesday.

Pembrokeshire Coast MTB route Gwbert section

http://www.bikely.com/

This is a derivation of the route from Wednesday. I tried two tracks that went wrong on me and my mileage was 27 miles as opposed to the 22 miles on this route.

And a virtual representation

Are people from Mwnt called Mwnters?!! :-)

Mwnt bay from the Gwbert section of my route. (Pronounced Moownt) .

There was a cracking downhill here with plenty of ramblers to mow down. I'll be back.

The mill at Cenarth.

Cenarth

I went up the right flank of the main peak (not right to the top - 347m) maxxing out at about 285m. Nothing too outstanding in that figure alone except that it was at the back end of a 27 miler. And it was me doing the cranking!!

What a week!

I'm alive and telling the tale, so it's a happy ending (for me, at least!)

Had our week in West Wales again and I did some more of my personal Pembrokeshire coastal bike route. I had 2 brilliant days of cycling (Monday & Wednesday) covered over 50 miles of part sealed and part off-road and thought I was going to squeeze a 3rd. Found a handful of particularly noteworthy tracks. Then Wednesday evening went down with the most awful bout of food poisoning or something. Had all the symptoms plus some. Even fever and surreal hallucinatory dreams. I wasn't even sure I'd be up to driving back, but did manage it this morning. Even now I'm nowhere near 100%. Plus side: I've probably lost even more weight!!!

The picture above is from the Newport Bay section of my route. As these hills started to stack up in front of me I thought, "I've not planned to go up those have I!? Hmm, looks like I have? I'll take some photos just in case" True enough that's where I was headed.

Help! I'm turning into a roadie.

After nearly 5 weeks of cycling back and fore to work on tarmac I'm actually enjoying it!!!! Something wrong there, I've known myself plan a route with a 5 mile detour to avoid 1 mile of road!! The Marigold Acne tyres are all but bald now and I've clocked up nearly 580 miles, which for me is a stunning figure! There's an unexpected pressure building, I'm all but committing myself in work to continue the commute. I've bagged one of just 6 big lockers in the changing room, to keep it I need to keep cycling. I've had my photo taken with a gang of in work promoting bike commuting as part of Bike Week. My colleagues will think I've given up if return to off-road only (and I've become quite a talking point!!) Lastly, I love the moral high ground, next time someone comments about my gas guzzling 4x4's, or my rallies or off-roading, I'll jab them in the eye and twist their nipple 180 degrees and point out that I cycle 60 miles a week to and from work, and ask what their contribution is!

I'm becoming resigned to the idea of frequent tyre swapping. There's no way I'm giving up off-road MTBing. And there's no way I'm going to spend another wedge on another half decent road or hybrid bike.

Will it rain or will it shine?

Time to get back off-road. Got next week off work, supposed to be going down West Wales. I've got my routes more or less sorted: a 19 miler just north of Cardigan which is nice and close to the cottage, and either a 22 miler South-West of Cardigan which takes in some of the tracks I missed last time I was down there (but it requires a lift to the start and from the finish) or a tougher 20 miler East of Fishguard for which I can take the car.

But which part of the week do I go? I think I've turned into a fair weather biker! I find myself pouring over the weather reports and ditching the bike at the first sign of rain. Now I'm agonising over the weather and when to go; I need 2 days of good weather preferably with a rest day between. As far as I can see Sunday's good (but the Weather Channel disagrees), Monday's good, Tuesday's bad (but MetCheck say good), Wednesday's could be showery, Thursday (now we've got to be getting innaccurate) dry, Friday & Saturday could be showery. Grrr! It's looking like I aim to ride Monday and Wednesday leaving an option on Thursday.

Bruce in Cardiff

Here are the ropey vids I promised!!

Bruce on stage.

It's a sell-out!!

She's the One

9. Refit is almost the reverse of removal. But before you do, good idea to test the stereo works OK. Don't forget to test the memory backup power supply and the power supply when the ignition is in the accessory position. You may need to swap some wires around.

Bolt the cradle back into the dash. If unplugged, reconnect the hazards switch. Refit the fascia from the BOTTOM first (I found it easier that way). It should just push gently back into place and clip in. Replace the screws underneath the vents and away to go!!! Easy!!

5. I had already previously removed the old unit. But for you to remove the old one, remove the 4 bolts facing you, 2 either side the stereo and 2 either side of the stowage tray underneath. The stereo is bolted into the same metal cradle as the tray and the 2 just pull out together. Unplug the stereo leads.

6. There are 2 bolts to remove each side of the stereo holding it into the cradle. You may need to gently spread the cradle to release the stereo.

7. To fit the new stereo you should have bolt or screw holes on the side to line up with those in the cradle. I had to find 4 short wide self tappers to go in mine. Take care not to use anything too long that might interfere with the unit's internals.

8. To connect the stereo you'll probably need some new cables. My stereo has an ISO plug. £3.50 off xaero_elite on ebay bought me an ISO to Honda plug converter. For me it was plug and go!