Group ride today, wet, cold, muddy so a shorter one today

 

As I'm off its bike time... 

A few issues with the front tubeless, hopefully sorted now. 

 

 

Finally decided to do part of the Dog, only seems right as I ride over there weekly, 3 short sections and nothing too difficult... 

A touch muddy at the start.... 

 

 

Another chilly one... 

 

I must be getting ready for retirement 😀 🚴

i was out doing a few jobs earlier around town, pick up etc. and i thought to myself. . **** id love to be up those hills on the bike now...

Day 3 and still cold... 

 

 

Lunch... 

a few short TubeofYou videos from B'day present from eldest....GoPro 8 Black handlebar mounted

 

A trail that has survived the latest FC lumber works..

 

i did wuss out on the couple of jumps...only 2nd time on it and not enough speed in the right places - well thats my 60yr old body's excuse !

 

 

 

a couple of ermmmmm...not Summer Fire roads 

 

 

 

 

 

Last ride before Xmas... unless I get up early 😏

 

 

a bit of trail clearing after the FC have trashed the area included on this ride

 

A soak to the bone day.... Sloppy ground again, wheel spin galore and a good workout for the arms trying to keep the front heading something like forward 😀

 

 

Analogue ride..... Boy its tough after riding Digital for the last 2 - 3 weeks 😳.  Nice and wet, sloppy again and now highlights how useless the HT brakes are 🤔. I can feel a spending spree coming on 😏

 

 

Final one of the year.... 

 

 

Plenty of slop still even if I bring a load home each time.... 

 

As good as a rear mudguard. 😀

And 1st one of the year... A wander around trying to miss the hordes. 

 

Boy its cold out there today, as cold as I've been in a while, proper wind chill. 

 

 

Still wet and muddy.. 😀

 

 

 

First group ride of the year, still wet and muddy 😀. 

For some reason it turned out to be a tyre destroying day... 

First one was youngest lad, ripped a sidewall on a broken off metal railing post, tube just about stayed in place for the ride. 

Second was one of the ride leaders who noticed a bulge in his rear tyre at coffee stop. Bead and sidewall separated so scrap, luckily cycle shop at Birches Valley so new tyre fitted. 

Third was my rear which went near to flat on the Blue trail, bit squishy on the fast flow section. No sign of a puncture, pumped up and no sealant to be seen so probably burped it on the rock sections. 

Probably 4 miles on top of total shown. 

 

Another incident filled group ride 😀

20 mins in and Ben's upper jockey wheel decides to part company with the derailleur. Amazingly we found the wheel, the loose bearing cover and the screw but threads on plate lol to be stripped. Walk back to start, luckily mostly downhill or flat. 

My front tyre then decided to deflate.... Small pinhole in sidewall, just enough sealant in there to get me home so a job for tomorrow to top up. 

 

brought Sr for a short blast in the woods...

 

his bike is really not whats needed for where we ended up - in the slop - and i had to do a lot of : get off, dump bike, push him up the hill and let him go when he could, run back down the hill grab my bike and pedal up to usually catch him just he ran out out of steam again

but he loved it, and it was good to get out.

also a nice test fit of the boot carrier. need to look at instructions again though, see if i can get the higher mounting point as the front wheel was very very low.. didnt cop it when leaving the house due to the slope of the driveway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

wrecked!

 

Group ride Saturday. 

Absolutely dead legs again after Coffee break, I don't know what it is about this particular stop 🤷🏻‍♀️

Maybe it's the 20-25 mins stop, cold legs and the looooong uphill drag 🙄

I'm definitely going backwards fitness wise, 193 HR peak on a mentally steep hill - Strava name, Stupidly Steep Bit, .14 mile, 80 ft climb 10 % - doesn't help and average HR today was 150+, a good 20 over what it was 18 months ago. 

Proper diet on the way me'thinks, no treats. 

Out on the Orbea to get the legs moving again, so much easier today 😁

 

managed to steal another cheeky bash with Senior today.

we reversed the route we did the last day, and i brought a secret weapon.. it meant we got a farther than last day too.

the downhill version of the dirt track..

 

but when you go downhill you have to go back up! and when your not quite 7 that can be hard. thus the secret weapon...

a 3Tonne tow rope to get up the hill 🤣

daddy got a better work out than the distance would suggest 

Group ride again, ebike to make sure I got home 😁

17 miles on the group part then a twilight, / dark lights ride a longer way home

 

 

On 24/01/2022 at 05:04, mac11irl said:

managed to steal another cheeky bash with Senior today.

we reversed the route we did the last day, and i brought a secret weapon.. it meant we got a farther than last day too.

the downhill version of the dirt track..

 

but when you go downhill you have to go back up! and when your not quite 7 that can be hard. thus the secret weapon...

a 3Tonne tow rope to get up the hill 🤣

daddy got a better work out than the distance would suggest 

 

Brings back fond memories of family rides, my son similar at a similar age to yours, and we were mostly on tarmac bike tracks. 

When he needed a bit of assistance on the steeper bits or we needed to go a bit faster/further than his normal speed then it started when I'd find a suitable length tree fall (stick) and push his bike from behind. I formalised it a bit with a lightweight, extendable tent pole.

Not quite as awkward as it sounds and he loved being out in front and going twice as fast as he would under his own power. 

Not really practical when off a good surface but I never liked the idea or consequences of him overrunning a tow rope. 

Didn't seem long before he was pretty capable of managing on his own. They really grow up quick 

he was briefed before we started each up hill tow that once he was moving himself again it was really important that the rope didnt touch the ground and he absolutely could not try to pass me out with the rope on and why...

hes a clever little sod so he understands that "if dad is saying this is possibly dangerous and important to listen, then it really must be"

 

 

I only time myself as I’m in competition with my former self.

 

today I felt sluggish. Shaved five mins of a up and down loop, yay;  no idea how. 2.35km, up and down 278m.

 

but dagnamit five seconds more…

 

I had that in the tank, and now I know, I’ll be back to 40min segments

Nice easy group ride today.... 

 

 

Levitation practice for part of the ride.. 

Wet, muddy, slippy eMTB ride... 

 

 

thats not muddy @olduns thats a canal!