Grizedale Forest

Well, I have always had my gripes with Grizedale forest, the trail centre, average fun but not very rewarding for how much effort you put in. However, Richard and Anthony went a wandering a few weeks back and found some great descents. So for Uncle Tony's birthday we went out to find them again. 13 ish miles and some great descents later...my legs were done and my opinion changed!

Before I go I will just say that having a 38t and a 26t on the front made life a lot easier. Shimano XT cranks... worth the purchase. (also a cheapskate sidenote: I did not want to convert to 10speed on the back, but the crankset set 10sp only....it still works with a 9sp chain so don't worry :)  )

Whinlatter after work? Don't mind if I do!

Finish at 5, pack up and head to Whinlatter with a van full of bikes and bikers. The clouds looked as though we were gonna get a right old hammering of rain...but alas it stayed dry! I have always been about the rush of the ride, get down as quick as possible (and get up if you can be bothered!) but more recently I have stopped trying to go all out on the descents, only going 80% normal pace just to try and get some more flow and maybe even some style into my riding. I did just that here at Whinlatter, and I must say, I enjoyed the trail a lot more than I usually do! I even thought the climbs were ok! (and I didn't use granny gear at all). Good group of guys to go biking with, and then ended with a cumberland sausage and chips in Keswick. Job done!

Top of the north side fire road

I used to pride myself on being one of the quicker folk down the fun bits, but even though it hurts me a little bit to say it, that is definitely not the case anymore, I am noticing more and more people gaining distance from me while I am in chase on the wonderful downs. I put it down to, me not getting slower, just not getting faster, while everyone else is out every weekend honing their skills I ain't as frequent, thus not improving quite as much. So instead of trying to keep up and failing (and falling) I think it is time to work on my flow, because it is one thing to get down a technical descent, but it is another thing to get down it and make it look good and smooth. So that is what I am working on for now.

Took a handful of photos during the ride, none of them were perticularly good, so I loaded up the old faithful picasa which has recently updated to include some lovely instagram type effects, at the click of a button, your crap photos can turn into nice little arty pictures. My favourite effects were Lomo-ish, Holga-ish, Orton-ish and Cross Process. See if you can figure out which one is which :)

Big old Blue, he took the milky way.

After using the medium format camera, I now have a love for square photos

Smile for the camera :)

Ian with Richard in hot pursuit

Top of the North Side

This one isn't actually editied...this is what it looked like!

Big Blue with his new wheels and vinyl wrapped bonnet (cheap mans bonnet bra)

Creepy massive cloud hangs over Keswick

OnOne 456 Summer Season to replace the NS Surge

Today I took delivery of my new frame which cost me a grand total of £99 from the OnOne sale! With a frame size of 18 inches and a slightly longer wheel base than my current ride, my ketchup red On One 456 Summer Season will be built up in time for the weekend...Hopefully!

I decided that it was time to upgrade (but by no means forget about) my trusty NS Surge frame that is now 5 years old and starting to show it's age. With my heart wanting to venture further out into the (personal) unknowns and focus less on the thrills and spills of the trail centre rides, I thought it best to go for a bigger frame than I currently use. Only jumping up 3 inches from 15" to 18" I am hoping I can still retain the fun chuckable bike that the Surge has provided me with over our time together, but together with my newly bought Thomson Elite seatpost off www.flatoutcycles.co.uk for £32.50 delivered (a bargain because it is pretty much brand new!), I am hoping that I can turn my "Do it all" bike, into a "Do not quite as much, but be able to pedal up more of the Lake District hills" bike. For £99 I figured why not!?

Also new to the scene (and a sign I am getting old and unfit) is my new XT chainset with dual ring upfront, and front mech and shifter...After running a 36 tooth single front ring for 8 years I have finally accepted that I will be able to go further afield (with less struggling) if I stick some extra gears on the front! I am yet to ride them on the Surge, but I will report back tomorrow!