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Friday, May 09, 2008
Summer evening rides - Worsthorne
As the long summer nights get longer and longer, the LOST team northern division has been making evening excursions to local ride hotspots. John and Chris had a leisurely pedal around the usual Worthorne Loop near Burnley. For once dry conditions provided lovely riding conditions and despite a strong head wind on the 3 mile climb up Gorple Road out of Worsthorne. Having just fitted new Marzocchi 55 TST2 forks to his Cove Stiffee, John was aiming to ensure they were run in nicely during the ride. The final descent from the top of Gorple down to Hurstwood seemed to provide a nice proving ground for the new forks. As Chris commented, nothing in MTBing quite beats the loud noise of the tyres on loose rocky ground being broken by silence as you and your bike fly off the draingage channels on the descent! Some swift refreshment in the Crooked Billet finished the ride off nicely!
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Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Embsay ride
After a few months of no updates, it is about time we added to our list of escapades. Glenn, DBB and others have been riding regularly but JRI has been slacking. This weekend all this was put straight with a ride in the Yorkshire Dales. Riders were John, Glenn, Dave B, and a guest appearance from Mick Bailey. Despite a delayed start due to John leaving his shoes in his car and getting a lift with Glenn, the ride got off to a good start. A good new route composed by Glenn and DBB was to be tested. The ride featured technical climbs and descents, a couple of gruling long climbs and some fast descents too. After 3.5hrs in the rain we eventually arrived back at the cars. Post ride refreshments were provided by the Bull near Gargrave on the A59. The route will soon be on our UK Mountain bike GPS routes site aka www.mtb-rides.com.
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Friday, November 09, 2007
7 Stanes Pilgrimage
Well it has been several months since the blog was updated, but fear not! An update is here. After several months of general slacking, weddings, projects, honeymoons and other poor excuses, the bikes will finally be back out. The LOST Team yearly "lads" (more like "Gents") trip to Scotland is upon us. Our annual 3 day weekend in Dumfries and the chintz palace is due next week 16th -18th November. This year's contingent has grown yet again with almost a full team turning out... the usual LOST Teamers GBM, Nick D, Chris, John & DBB are all in attendance as well as 3 special guest riders of Andy G, Pete T and Mick B. Even DRC is rumoured to be paying us a visit one evening, but I'm sure that is just for the curry night and not any riding. Usual kit of bike, waterproofs and stout drinking boots are required! Probably rides: Friday - Ae Forest, Saturday - Kirroughtree & Sunday - Dalbeattie or A.n.other See you all up North.
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Monday, July 30, 2007
Morzine MTB trip July 2007
Having just returned from a successful trip to Morzine, the Lostteam now have a number of bike components to replace! We rode all over the Portes du Soleil region taking in Morzine, Morgins, Les Gets, Chatel, etc. The bike parks and downhill courses held some of our attention too. Glenn was general route planner and had life made difficult by Andy refusing to entertain any climbs :o) We almost managed the entire holiday with no serious injuries but Kate managed a ungraceful dismount and dislocated her left thumb. A swift visit to the doctors and it was back in. Further X-rays showed no other damage and Kate was given the "thumbs up" - so to speak. We stayed with Chilly Powder - Morzine MTB chalet. The chalet was superb. The rooms were all very nice, the bar, pool tables and hot tub were well used and the food from John the chef was excellent. A big thanks to Simon, Vicky, John, Louise, Paul and Francesca for looking after us. Photos to follow shortly.
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Dave Hinde & Number1bikebits review
I had the misfortune of ordering a product from Dave Hinde via their ebay store (ID Number1 bikebits). The product I ordered was a SRAM PC971 chain RRP £19.99. I was impressed by their speed of shipping as I received a parcel 2 days later. Unfortunately the item was incorect and they had shipped a KMC X9.93 chain RRP £13.99 I tried to contact Dave Hinde twice via ebay to ask how this could be resloved. Both times I received no response. Neither did I receive any feedback to my purchase even though I paid immediately via Paypal. I decided to speak to them and telephoned their shop. I was told I had been 'upgraded' as they do not stock SRAM chains anymore. I have never been upgraded to a cheaper, inferior product before.......I asked why they were selling the SRAM ones on ebay and why they were still for sale on their website. The Dave Hinde member of staff hung up on me. I called back explaining that we must have been accidently disconnected and was told I had to speak to James the next day as he is not in. I decided to do a bit of Googling for Dave Hinde to see what other reviews they have. The news was not good.... Dave Hinde trouble on Road Cycling UK forumDave Hinde and the Advertising StandardsDave Hinde and number1bikebits review on Cycling forumsI asked on Singletrackworld about experiences too: Dave Hinde mail order review thread on STW.comMy advice is to try every other cycle retailer in the country before resorting to the Dave Hinde Specialist Racing Equipment bunch. I particularly like the way they do not provide feedback on ebay until their customer does. If you give bad feedback they hammer you by retaliating with the worst feedback possible even if undeserved. They have threatened several "customers" with this too. Unfortunately one bad feedback for them makes little impact on them whereas it make a difference to all their customers. I don't hold out much hope for getting this resolved but hope prospective buyers will have the information to prevent a similar thing happening to them. Labels: Dave hinde terrible customer service mail order number1bikebits ebay
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Friday, June 01, 2007
Delamere Forest ride Memory map files
We have done a number of rides in Delamere Forest. There are lots of different things to attempt: - Steep chutes
- Jumps, doubles and berms
- downhill tracks
- Dirt jumps
- Bomb holes and valleys
- North shore
- General rooty technical sections
- Oodles of tasty singletrack
- Nice family pedalling for those who want it too!
Two routes we have tried can be downloaded here Delemare Forest 11mile mountain bike ride memory map fileDelemare Forest 10mile mountain bike ride memory map filePlease note: You follow these routes at your own risk. Take a map with you if you are unfamiliar with the Forest. The Forest is very easy to find your way around however. The 11mile route we now ride in reverse as we prefer it that way.
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Delamere Forest mountain bike trails blast
John, DBB, Glenn and Nick headed off to Delamere for another tour of the sweet tree lined trails. Once again the weather was perfect and the trees, roots, rocks, steep slopes and singletrack provided maximum fun.
Down the chutes....
 and back up out of the bomb hole.  ND finds a easy way to clean his bike. 
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Mam Tor Ride Peak District
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Saturday, March 31, 2007
Delamere Loop in dry conditions
Having ridden at Delamere Forest a few times, John decided to enlist some local knowledge. Jason from " The Woolly Backs" local mountain biking group offered to show us around.  The trails were in perfect condition, dry and dusty. Just the odd muddy puddle but they add to the fun. Jason promised to show us the MTB sights of Delamere Forest. We weren't disappointed. First on the menu was the north shore. Glenn made short work of it, riding it first time and showing us how the see-saw (Canadians/Yanks read as teeter-totter = Jey!) should be done. John on the other hand made it look very hard work.  Following flowing singletrack with a few nice short climbs, we ended up by the dirt jumps. We passed on those..... obviously only as they were being repaired! ;o) Further up was a short but fun downhill course which were took at a sedate pace but fun all the same. Spotting a couple of steep "chutes" in the trail we made the most of those, choosing different routes to try and out do eachother.  John found his usual few spots to get his wheels off the ground. An inviting kicker before a fallen tree proved too interesting to miss so with Jason, Glenn and DBB taking bets as to how he would die, John pedalled up the hill for an attempt. Much to everyone's amazement (including John's) He managed a perfectly executed jump as well as a convincing impersonation of a hamster....  Ride completed, we headed off to the pub. During which, John started with a nasty headache. On returning home, the post ride curry night had to be cut short due to John developing a full blown migraine. He convinced DBB and Glenn by going the same colour as his white sofa and then vomitting every time he had to move. Glenn & DBB decided it best not to take John out for a night on the town, even though no-one in Widnes were likely to spot anything abnormal about this behaviour! More Delamere Forest Mountain Bike Trail photos
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Saturday, March 17, 2007
Worsthorne mountain bike ride from hell
Having had a great ride in February, Glenn, DBB, Rachel and John decided to return to Worsthorne for another MTB ride "up Gorple". Having persuaded Rachel that the starting 3 mile climb is just a grind and not too bad, and that the forecast was not great but ok, we set off up the hill with a tail wind. 1.5miles into the climb the weather took a turn for the worst. Donning our waterproofs, we continued following the trail to the rocks at the top of the climb. Once there we discovered that the Artic circle had infact shifted to just south of Burnley! We quickly descended to try and escape some of the weather. Things were going fine right up until the point where Rachel's bike had enough of the cold and decided to cease changing gear with the rear mech. Nothing was frozen, but the wizzy dual control shifter mechanism had given up the ghost. :o( This meant completing the ride with on 3 gears. Pedalling up the concrete path was hard going into an icy cold head wind and driving rain. Two groups of trees offered some shelter and John and Rachel made an emergency cereal bar stop at the 2nd in order to boost moral. What is usually a short push uphill/hike-a-bike became a total nightmare. Mother nature decided to throw horizonal sleet and hail at us too. It was impossible to look up witout being stung by the elements. A frantic pedal back down to Worsthorne into the wind meant even the descnet was not that enjoyable.  We returned frozen and soaked. Glenn and DBB headed for the usual warming pint at the Crooked Billet, whilst John and Rachel decided that the faster they could get into a hot bath, the quicker they might be able to feel their hands again!! A great enjoyableride? NO! (not this time)
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Saturday, February 24, 2007
Delamere forest MTB with unusual coffee stop
 Glenn, DBB and John went to explore Delamere Forest. On arrival we were delighted to find a mobile coffee shop aka a Smart car fully kitted out with an industrial coffee making machine etc. Having sampled the products from "Smart Coffee" ably cunjured from the back of the car by Tristan, we headed off to find lots of nice jumps, drops and technical downhills. Perfect start to a great ride!
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Worsthorne MTB loop in dry conditions
 As Glenn's bike misery continued with Wheelbase unable to tell him where his replacement Turner 5 Spot frame was (despite it being 3 months since they agreed a replacement), John I and DBB set out for an afternoon's riding. John was distracted loading his car by his neighbour who had just been burgled and thus left without his cycling shoes! Realising this as he hit the M62 meant only a slight delay to proceedings. Originally we were going to head for Gisburn Forest but decided a quick loop at Worsthorne would get us back before dark.  Before setting off we agreed that we should try not to enjoy the ride so that Glenn would not be jealous. All was going well as we pedalled up the 3 miles climb to the top of Gorple but then no matter how hard we tried we started enjoying ourselves! The weather was perfect, no waterproof required but not too hot either. The descent down the other side was great as usual, loose on a few corners, the odd drainage channel and a few folks riding up the other way gave us something to focus on.  The steps just past the reservoir added their own bit of amusement to the ride as we headed back to the road. DBB foolishly followed my route up to the carpark and managed to up end himself by smashing his chainring into a rock. A swift blast along the road and a brief interlude of technicalish riding down to the carpark (where the combination of high saddle and tricky corner nearly resulted in a nasty injury to John!) and we were set for the long drag up the concrete double track back to the Gorple reservoirs.  After much debating we decided to avoid attempting to ride the step up onto the permissive path back to the top of Gorple (How does Glenn do that?) We pedalled and pushed back up the hill, stopping at some of the rock slabs on the way for photographs and some generally messing around on bikes. Once back at the top, we found a nice step to practice drop-offs on and proceeded to have about 5 attempts each. All that remained was the final grin inducing descent (we don't count the little climb). We descended whooping our way back to the car with one stop for more photos. Right up until I got a pinch flat. :o( A swift repair later we were zooming back to the car again. If this year brings more rides like that we'll all be happy!
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Friday, February 02, 2007
New business named after MTB area
John Ingham left his old job to start his own company. Seeking inspiration from his excursions into the countryside at Dunsop Bridge (Trough of Bowland) he named the company Bowland Products. Bowland Products Ltd is a furniture supplier selling products on behalf of a number of Polish furniture manufacturers. Wonder if self employment means more time for riding? Doubtful! :o(
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Friday, January 12, 2007
Broken Bike Blues
Hmmm. Logically I was right. Break a lightweight full suspension bike twice and it's time to upgrade. Spend all the money you have, plus a bit more, and buy the best, toughest, long-ish travel bike you can find and look forward to high smiles-per-mile ratios. But then you go on a ride with Chris and the honeymoon is over. It's definitely his fault. I'm quite sure of it. Look at the facts: two and a half years of blissfully happy and carefree riding before Chris Calamity Sherry puts in an appearance and ‘snap', the tears start flowing. He has form: the last time we saw him on the trails poor old DBB broke something in his wrist and numerous other appendages whilst I suffered fall after fall after the Sherry lured us to the Dark Side (many have tried, Chris, but you succeeded big boy!). Anyhow. My bike is broken, once again I'm having to push the bike downhill rather than the more normal pastime of pushing it up. Thanks so much for all the sympathy, tea and biscuits to John, Andy, DBB and Chris. And a special thanks to Jackie, DBB's much better half, for her intervention just when DBB's sympathising was getting almost too much to bear. Of course my black mood didn't last long as I now had a very good excuse to spend more money on another new bike. Magazines were perused, credit cards dusted off and that familiar tingle of anticipation returned thinking of all the bike shops I could visit to look at the exotics. Would it be a Nicolai, Intense or Ellsworth? Would reality kick in sufficiently to take a look at Trek or Specialized? Obviously new forks would have to be researched; 125mm is just so last year. Brilliant. Out of the ashes of despair I would rise triumphant on a shiny new steed. Woohoo! But Turner, without even putting up so much as token resistance, crush the dream. “No problem, sir, new frame on its way. Please accept our apologies for such shoddy workmanship.” Oh great, cheers. Bastards. So how to drag myself from black despair once again? Retail therapy, obviously. The long-suffering Nick at Wheelbase receives another batch of instructions – suspension bits to be serviced, new cables all over, new chain, new grips? Why not, oh and throw in a new seat maybe, plus – brainwave – contact Bob Jackson Cycles to get the rear triangle treated so it looks like new. In fact newer than new – my 2004 example will soon be looking like a 2007 model, but still with the pivot on the chainstay as well as the seatstay in the classic style. Much relief all round, I'll wager. All the various bits are due back at Wheelbase soon from the various workshops / countries / sheds and I'm looking forward to getting my leg over again. It's been around 3 months since I last rode and I've missed it. Strange how sometimes you only realise what you had when it's gone. Bit like hair, I suppose. So the Turner is back soon. Expect to see a report of the first ride somewhere on here. But which one to do first? Dare I take it on the Ae ride, the ride of doom? Chris probably won't be there so I should be safe. Or should I take it to the traditional testing ground, the Worsthorne loop? I hope I don't break it again. I hope it doesn't look silly with its new two-tone colour scheme. I hope it rides as well as I recall. The new forks should help… 125mm is, after all, so last year.
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Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Dunsop Bridge deep mud conditions
Dave and Glenn made a trip to Dunsop Bridge to ride stage 3. The photos took a while to be sent due to Dave being stuck in mud! Dave was merrily riding along when all of a sudden he effected an involuntary "technical dismount". Mainly due to his bike sinking up to its hubs! Glenn arrived in order to laugh, photograph and offer assistance in the way of "Stand up for the photo". Dave replied saying he was already stood up it was just the someone had put a large patch of deep mud in the middle of the mountain bike trail! 
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Friday, November 24, 2006
Turner Bikes Warranty is great
 After snapping his frame below the shock mount Glenn returned his bike to the Wheelbase in Staveley. Wheelbase sent pictures off the Turner Bikes and they immediately agreed to replace the frame without any quibbling. Glenn should have a new front triangle by the end of Dec 2006. Now all he needs to do is get the remaining bits of the frame repainted! Due to bike downtime, the shock and forks are now sent off for servicing too. It'll be like having a new bike all over again!
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Le grand trip a Les Gets/Morzine
 Summer 2007 - We are organising a big trip from the UK to the French Alps next summer. The plan is to be finalised but probably one week of lift assisted mountain biking staying in a biker friendly chalet in either Morzine or Les Gets.
The plan is to get a big group of mixed abilities so that everyone has someone to ride with and those not wishing to ride have others around too.
We are also taking into account the fact that a number of people have nippers and crazily might want to bring them along! ;o)
Potential riders and general vacationers:
- John and Rach
- Dave B and Jackie?
- The Sherries
- Glenn
- Dave C
- Pete
- The Gales?
- Anyone else who'd like to come along
Check back for more details....
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Friday, November 10, 2006
Scottish Mountain biking weekend
 Following in past tradition, the annual pilgrimage to several 7 Stanes centres in Scotland went ahead again.Glenn kindly booked us into the "Chintz Palace" B&B aka Hazel Dean House in Dumfries for the purpose of exploring the local 7 stanes trail centre routes including Ae Forest, Dalbeatie and Mabie Forest.Glenn, Dave B, John and Andy travelled north on Friday 10th November. The weather forecast stated "light showers" but reality proved heavy rain for most of the day!Our first stop was Mabie forest. We decided to opt for the red route and despite the miserable conditions had a good ride. Post ride we headed for the B&B and met up with Chris. After unloading our gear and warming up with a supply of tea and biscuits we headed out for a sumptuous meal in Dumfries.Considering it was a Friday night, we found Dumfries to be deserted. We risked some food at the Wetherspoons pub and then wished we hadn't. Still we were hungry so anything was acceptable at that point. With a round of drinks for 5 of us coming to £7.75 there were some attractions to that pub!The next day the weather was still awful and despite suggestions of doing something indoors, we cancelled the plan to ride Kirroughtree and bravely headed for the Ae Line trail at Ae Forest. Chris made a special guest appearance for his 3rd ride of the year. Donning waterproofs we set off around the trail. After a couple of minor falls we were really beginning to enjoy the trail and looking forward to the long descent back to the car park. Riding the small drops, tabletops and doubles proved great fun right up to the point when Glenn's frame snapped! His Turner 5 Spot finally gave up and the seattube snapped just under the shock mount. :o( This meant poor old Glenn had to walk the remaining part of the trail back to the car. Saturday night was curry night. We ventured out of the B&B as the rain had finally stopped (well almost!). We reached the first pub and settled in for some pre-dinner beers. In his excitement to reach the crisps Glenn decided to empty most of his pint over John's legs prompting a swift return to the B&B for dry clothes by John.We made our 2nd visit to the Jewel in the Crown, 48-50 St Michael Street, Dumfries for another top curry. Really good food and drink. We ate our own body weight in Indian fayre, drank a few Cobras and left with a bill of about £20 each.Sunday morning came all too soon but fortunately so did better weather. It was dry and we had some blue sky too. After a quick trip to the bike centre at Mabie Forest, Glenn rented a Kona "The King", unfortunatley not in his size but better than nothing. We headed for Dalbeattie.Leaving the carpark just before 1pm and with an advised time for the ride of 3.5-4hrs we were a little worried about it getting dark before our return. We rode the red route again taking in the Slab and the Terrible Twins on route. Despite stopping to assist a few other people with pu nctures and the odd stop for maintenance, refueling and photos, we were back at the cars by 4pm. The trail was fun. No long grinding climbs but lots of short ones and then some good fun descents too. A good mix of grippy rock, gravel trails with the odd root or two thrown in made it an entertaining ride.At the end of the ride we all headed home with muddy bikes & aching limbs but with some good riding under our belts too.Attendees: GBM, DBB, JRI, CJS & guest rider Andy Gale
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Saturday, August 05, 2006
South West weekender
Rumour had it that Messers Mallinson and Bird were visiting the English riviera. John's bike storage area aka bedroom 2 needed a frantic clean so that Glenn and Dave didn't need to "share the love". Following a horrific journey down due to heavy traffic and not apparently to Glenn driving like Miss Daisy, we eventually got out in the Mendips for some lovely singletrack and a look at a couple of trails through Rowberrow Warren. "Christmas Trees" left us with a few big grins and in John's case a sore finger from catching a tree on the way past! (A feet he managed to repeat on a return visit 3 days later!) Clearly Saturday night involved a few sociable scoops in the more select drinking spots of Weston-super-Mare. The Mallinson charm had it's usual effect on the local ladies. Glenn had a great chat with a slightly tipsy "beauty" on a hen night who had lost her friends. Things looked promising................. right up to the point when she said "My boyfriend has grey hair too" :o) We should have guessed something was wrong when she'd spent 5 minutes staring at GBM's head before speaking. In anywhere other than Weston-super-Mare this would be seen as odd. Sunday turned out to be a hot and humid day. Selling our souls to the devil we set off to Cwmcarn and paid the extortionate fee to cross the bridge. Deciding that it was too hot for the off road climb we decided on the lazy road route up and then used our remaining energy to descend as fast as our bikes and bodies would allow. Some fantastic singletrack descending on dry trails left us all satisfied with our weekend's riding. DBB's bike was showing the strain ...well DBB actually as the poor chap was shaken to bits whilst maintaining a rapid speed on the descents. Apparently the bike needs an almost complete rebuild due to its poor components having suffered months of abuse!
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Thursday, August 03, 2006
Cwmcarn mountain bike trail centre in Wales
By way of an early finish at work, I managed to get in a loop and a half of the Cwmcarn trails. Opting for the lazy road route up in order to maximise descending time we pedalled to the start of the new section to inspect what had been built. I was riding with some chaps from the South West. Chris on his Hustler, John on his Marin and Mike on a One-one Inbred with a nice singlespeed option! There are some lovely doubles, table tops, berms and a set of 3 wooden drops of varying height (approx 1ft, 2.5ft and 4 ft at a guess) with a lovely steep transition away from it. After a quick descent down there (not on the trail of course as it isn't open! ;o) ) we pedalled back up to the top to ride the proper course. The very dry conditions were confidence inspiring and the trails were in great condition. Having rocketted down the first few descents, things were going very well. Chris then decided to attempt an over the bars dismount landing heavily after hitting a pedal whilst pushing it on "Vertigo". He ended up with some good cuts and bruises! (Thanks also the the muppet who told the rest of us he was fixing a puncture as opposed to bleeding lots - you plonker!) The final descent to the car park was fantastic on the Slayer, I was just glad the corners had berms as I felt like I was flying down and needed every inch of them! A great evening was rounded off by a chippy visit (one at far end of the town does better chips) and sitting on a bench watching the real "Little Britain". Lots of mod'ed cars went past but my personal favourite was the Matiz with a stereo that had more power than the engine. Recognize.
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Monday, July 31, 2006
Mendips Quick Ride
Nursing hangovers after John's work BBQ on Saturday, John and Rach E attempted a quick loop of the Mendips. At the top of the first climb the alcohol started to sweat out nicely. The Mendips were delightfully dry which made a nice change for Rachel as the last time she had ridden there was before her final exams and the mud was inches deep. Blasting round dry trails was great even with the bull whipping of the over grown vegetation and nettle stings!
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Monday, July 24, 2006
Delamere forest taster
Having heard rumours of good pedalling in Delamere forest, John, DBB and Glenn decided to put it's trails to the test. Arriving fashionably late on a hot Sunday afternoon we headed out into the forest following the worryingly large stream of families on bikes and walking. Just how challenging were these trails going to be?! We didn't need to panic, however, as 5 minutes later we cut off the main track onto beautiful singletrack. The trail wound it's way through the trees, descending gradually as we went. Carrying enough speed was simple and the small climbs we encountered required nothing more than a quick spin of the pedals to gain height. Having no idea what to expect in the area, we were glad to find some interesting trails. A few small drops provided us with some entertainment and the landings for most offered a nice confidence boosting open space. :o) The singletrack we found on one excursion kept us happy for 2hrs or so. Being only 25mins from Rachel's house, I suspect we will be back to find more trails. In the dry the rooty sections of the trail were fine, but we suspect they will be a little more challenging in the wet. All in all a good afternoon's riding.
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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Worsthorne (Burnley) ride
Glenn, DBB and John decided to christen John's new 2006 Rocky Mountain Slayer taking it for a quick blast above Worsthorne. Dave B thought he'd make things more interesting and test his dehydrating abilities by leaving his drink bottles on the kitchen table at home. Fortunately we managed to salvage a empty drinks bottle from the car and I decided that with 3 litres, I probably had lots to spare so donated a bottle full to Dave. We then set off up the climb at the start of the ride. Having climbed it with a bad cold the last time, I was delighted to find it wasn't as long or hard as I remembered and that the new bike was doing very nicely too. After being surprised by the Slayer's ability to climb, I couldn't believe how well it descended. Gone was the light skippiness I'd had with the Enduro. The Slayer just needed to be pointed downhill. It then just steamrolls over bumps and rocks in it's path making light work of the fast descents all afternoon. The loop provides some varied terrain and gave us chance to try various things on the Slayer. The final descent back to the cars provides a series of cobbled drainage ditches to launch off which makes a great finish to the ride. The loud gravel crunching followed by seconds of silence as you sail through the air is great! Glenn somehow managed to acquire a puncture 400yds from the car though. A swift regroup in the pub for much deserved drink and the end of a World Cup match and we all headed off home.
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Saturday, June 24, 2006
Spain trip with Switchbacks
 John and Glenn went for their annual pilgrimage to Bubion and jamon serrano heaven on 17th June. Returning for another duel with the technical trails out in the Sierra Nevada. Along for the trip was Andy Gale (returning from the previous year's trip), Pete ( What Mountain Bike Mag) and Cass Gilbert (What MTB photographer for the week and owner of Out There Biking who run biking trips in the Himalayas) Despite Mike @ Switch-backs being out of action due to a nasty bout of pneumonia! We managed a fantastic week of biking in the roasting hot sunshine in the Sierra Nevada. Trails ridden: Cresta Run, Silk Panties, 48 stitches, Abject terror, new Trevelez ride, punctured lung, and a bit of the hysterectimiser to name but a few. A big thanks to Switch-backs as usual, particularly Tony and Robin the guides forgiving us an excellent week. Switchbacks websiteUpdate: We made it into two articles. One in What MTB and another in MBUK (Click here to see the latter)
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Friday, June 02, 2006
Garburn Pass loop
John and Glenn spent a couple of hours on Sunday pedalling around near Staveley in the Lakes. Heading out along the road from Staveley to Windemere and we broke right up hill climbing to above Troutbeck before attempting to pedal all the way up Garburn Pass without stopping. On the technical section Glenn employed the brute force method of climbing to get to the top sending a mixture of gravel, flailing feet and swear words flying in all directions. A grin inducing descent down towards Kentmere Hall followed. Then a short climb again before blasting down the 3 fords back into Staveley. The lack of mud and pleasant weather meant that this was a great ride with not much cleaning required afterwards.
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Saturday, May 27, 2006
Lakes District LOST Team outing
Over the bank holiday weekend we managed a rare sizeable team outing. John, Glenn, Nick, Dave C and Chris all managed a ride around Staveley near Windemere. Using Dave's parent's house as a base and starting the day with lunch at Wilf's just next to Wheelbase we did a short loop taking in the boggiest possible bits of the area and returning covered in mud but having bagged a few good descents and survived some testing climbs. A BBQ with much beers/wine at the Collinge residence ended a good day. Another chicken leg anyone?! :o)
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Thursday, April 13, 2006
Yorkshire Dales Trip - Buckden Ride
Riders: Kate, Glenn, Chris, DRC, Nick and John Ride: From Buckden carpark. Notes: Kate and Chris persuaded grandparents to look after Daniel so we managed almost a full team outing. With the promis of hot sunny weather even Dave C turned up. :)Not to disappoint DRC, we started the ride in spitting rain which got progressively harder towards a lunch stop cheering up Dave no end.The riding was tough but in splendid scenery. The climbs were like trying to ride on wet sponges and the descents proved challenging with some good technical rocky sections and slippery mud thrown in.JI managed a perfectly executed over the bars dismount when his front wheel disappeared into mud up to the hubs. Landing with an expert bum slide to ensure a thorough soaking was fun too!The weather improved and despite some fitness issues from 90% of the team, we had a great ride.Photos to follow from GBM and ND.
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Easter weekend 2006 plans?
Kate and Chris both have a ticket to ride on Saturday so we need to plan an excursion. Yorkshire Dales has been banded around but apparently GBM's skills at route selection are required. DRC is awaiting the weather forecast's go ahead, but I can hear his rain dance chanting from here. :o)
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Sunday, May 15, 2005
Lake District MTB Trip
Riders: John, Glenn, and DBB Rides: Coniston loop and John's assessment for Trail leader Notes: John and DBB did a loop of Coniston on the Saturday. Glenn and DBB made for excellent group members whilst John did his SMBLA assessment on the Sunday. Somehow he passed too. Thanks DB and GBM for stepping in.
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Sunday, May 01, 2005
Peaks outing
Riders: Kate, Glenn and DBB Rides: Peak District outing Notes: Kate's first proper trip out on the bike post-Daniel. Chris on baby sitting duties whilst recovering from jetlag. :) John in South West for BH's 30th so not available for falling off in the Peaks.
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Sunday, April 03, 2005
Weekend in South West - Quantocks & Mendips
Riders: John, DBB and Glenn Rides: Quantocks (Sat) - jump video on the video page and Mendips (Sun) great downhill section discovered by accident. Notes: Beer at The Castle Tavern on Saturday night.
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Monday, March 28, 2005
Dunsop Bridge "Death Ride", Lancashire
Riders: John, Nick and Glenn Ride: Stages one and two of Dunsop Bridge ride Notes: GBM owes John and Nick a pint in Parker's Arms for being late! DBB pulls out due to not being sober enough to drive. (GBM blamed for DBB's condition but suspect other forces may have come into play on previous evening!) Memory map GPS route for Dunsop Bridge
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Saturday, March 26, 2005
Castleton Ride, Peak District
Riders: Glenn, Chris, DRC, DBB, Nick and John Ride: Up the gorge and around Mam Tor down into Hope and back to Castleton. Notes: Gorge rocks slippy as ice, really muddy ride, banned from sitting in front of Hope cafe and then told off for sitting round back - good ride as usual though. Kate and two Rachel's banned from all cafe's in Castleton for having a baby (Daniel) with them. Memory Map GPS File
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Friday, March 25, 2005
Rivington Pike, Lancashire
 Riders: DBB, John and Rachel E
Ride: Up Rivington Pike via track and rocky descent
Notes: Pike covered in chavs. Amazed by candy floss & hotdog stands at the top. Bouncy castle and slide were a surprise too! GPS File
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