10 Under: 2015

What a great weekend!  Firstly a big thank you to Wojtek from Dales for his support at the weekend – mechanical tweaks and support for our solo riders.  Top effort!

After a bit of a grey start the days started to heat up and the laps started to tick by. We had solo teams (Robin, Simon Haslam, Eilidh & Tom), Pairs (Al & Stuart and Barry & Rich and Angus & Gary) and trios (Ryz, Mario & Me and Al Derrick, Graeme & David and John Bennie, Fran & Magda).  Pete, Ross & Del were also up with us as their own team.

Sadly, Robin’s puncture-fest on lap 2 saw him pull out of 10 Under.  There were a few crashes and a few more punctures but for the most part the day flew past.  Well done to Eilidh for coming 4th in the solo female category and to TomW for getting in 9 laps.  Gary and Angus for blasting out 10 laps, Pete/Ross & Del for getting 4th in their category and Barry & Simon for singlespeed madness!

enter the GMBC 10 Under caption competition

enter the GMBC 10 Under caption competition

Here’s a link to some more photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/glasgowmountainbikeclub/sets/72157654481743838

‘Ard Work In Ardgarten

Epic isn’t a word that I’d have previously applied to Ardgarten, but add 6 inches of snow and it’s the only description.  A mixture of riding, slithering, and trudging through the snow, it was hard work and slow going much of the time, but blue skies, sunshine, and the views made it more than worthwhile.  However hard the going, spirits were constantly high, mostly about what a ridiculous endeavour we were embarked upon.  Even the comedy crashes were a laugh (although my bruised ribs are starting to disagree).  With the section from the frozen-over lochan to Lochgoilhead heavily snowbound, we were running seriously late and decided to take the road over the Rest And Be Thankful to have a fighting chance of finishing in daylight – after a leisurely stop for hot drinks and food :~)  The military road was something else, it was more like sledging than cycling: hold on, try to find some grip, and try to stay upright.  We eventually got back after about 6hrs, just as the light was fading.  Everybody demonstrated their handbrake turn on leaving the ice rink that doubled as a carpark.  That’s definitely a ride that I’ll be talking about for years to come.  Pencil in a return visit later in the year when the conditions are less extreme.

I learned something today – rim brakes and 6″ of snow do not mix well ;~p

 

BasqueMTB Ride Report: Autumn Sunshine

Earlier this year I finally got myself organised enough to sign up with an ex-GMBC’r, Doug MacDonald at BasqueMTB and opted to do his Back Country Pyrenees trip which included a week of skills coaching with Ed Oxley from Great Rock.

It’s one heck of a road trip and, as Doug said, it crams a month’s worth of riding into a 6 days.  My Garmin reckons it was 8,300ft of climbing and over 26,000ft of descent over only 96 miles.  The trails were a mix of dusty, dry desert, bedrock, alpine switchbacks and pine forests.  They were frequently steep and sometimes off camber and some had a fair degree of exposure with big drops off to the side if you screwed it up.

It was great to be coached and pushed beyond how I normally ride and the guides and other guests were a great crowd to hang out with.  If you get a chance then I’d recommend the Back Country Pyrenees trip.  It’s got me wondering what other trails Doug has to offer.  In the meantime, here’s a wee blast of Autumn sunshine, Basque-style.  Sadly, now a distant memory.

 

More photos.

Arran Photos – Part 1

So, it was another amazing weekend away with GMBC and Arran delivered lots of great, challenging riding.  Great craic all weekend and a big thank you to Tom for organising it all.

The “easy” Sunday ride was fortunate enough to bump into a professional photographer (Andrew Surridge) who took these photos.

Arran Sunday Laggan ride photos by Andrew Surridge

My shonky, pocket camera photos will follow later in the week. 🙂