Wargrave Loop

Today I went out on my lonesome; missus at work, Ben at a friends house and Chris barely out of bed!

After dropping off the diva and the dummy I came back home and got the bike ready. I changed the mounting position (yes again!) of the Active 10 back to the top stem but this time reduced the angle of the stem from 25 degrees to 15 degrees so I could read the screen. A point of note here - remember to do it up, then give the handlebars a wiggle and if they're sloppy do it up properly as the teeth haven't engaged, rather than doing this half way down the road!

I had to get some stuff in town so I decided to cycle there, then carry onto Wargrave along the Thames towpath so I made sure I packed my padlock in my rucksack. I also made a packed lunch.

The pills are my Metformin for my diabetes, and the chockie biscuits are for just in case I need sugar - which I actually did and scoffed them down early in the ride.

The ride to town was as usual down the Kennet & Avon. I got 3 books to read and looked in a new cycle shop. From the outside it looked expensive, but when I went it I was amazed at the prices - sooo cheap! They have bikes in there, full Shimano quick shift, suspension, damned good looking from £180.00. Chinese imports, but damn! I wish they'd been open before I got my e-bay bike. I paid £30.00 for this new helmet:

Seriously apart from Aldi having a decent one on sale once in a blue moon, & Wilkinsons selling utterly crap ones I haven't seen anything as good and nice as this. They even had a tricked up modern penny farthing upstairs which actually looked like it would be cool to have a mess around on.

Unfortunately when I got to town I forgot to switch off the GPS and the batteries ran right down so I had to buy some more - not a problem, except I had to split my route stats in two.

I then carried on down the towpath to Sonning lock:

Then just past Sonning bridge is Uri Geller's house. You can hardly see it because of the tall fence and hedges so this is as good as I could capture:

After this point I began to suspect Id made a wrong turn at Sonning bridge and that I perhaps ought to be on the other river bank because the path got really crap. One side was barbed wire fence, the other was stingy nettles, thistles & brambles. A single track ran between with a raised right edge which if you went too far that way would catch your pedal. It was awful.

After 3 or 4 miles I came to a beautiful little bridge over a stream - ideal for Pooh Sticks - where I sat and had a late lunch.

I eventually made it to Wargrave and drooled over some highly expensive houses I passed. Rather than going back the way I came because the bumps nearly meant I needed a gynecologist to remove the seat from my ass, I went back via the A4 Bath Road, then to Morrisons for some food for dinner, and met my wife walking home from work.

Active 10 GPS Stats - Home to Town
Mileage: 3.32 miles
Total Time: 35 minsTotal Ascents: 226 ft

Total Descents: 160 ft

Max Altitude: 229 ft

Min Altitude: 104 ft

Route HERE

Active 10 GPS Stats - Town to Wargrave & Home

Mileage: 16.3 miles

Total Time: 2hrs 54 mins

Total Ascents: 971 ft

Total Descents: 958 ft

Max Altitude: 301 ft

Min Altitude: 85 ft

Route HERE

A round trip of roughly 20 miles, a good third of which was cross country type cycling, so not too shabby.

Sonning Lock Loop

Popped into town this morning with Ben. Came home, had a sandwich for lunch then repaired the puncture in Karen's rear tyre & relocated my GPS bike bracket to the handlebars.

The three of us then headed out for another ride. We did ask Chris if he wanted to go but he wasn't keen and I didn't have the heart to push it. It really would have been better for him to go, to get used to it, but ahh well.

We headed down the tow path along the Kennet & Avon canal but this time into the town centre and out the other side onto the River Thames and along to Sonning Lock where we sat in the garden of a little cafe and had a pot of tea. The only problem was the amount of wasps buzzing around; the little bastards wouldn't leave us alone. After quickly downing the tea we headed back roughly the way we came. A very nice ride, although a bit knobbly on the buttocks what with all of the uneven paths and fields we went through.

I'm not too chuffed at the location of the GPS now. Sure its great for looking at, its just that its so exposed if I take a tumble and it worries me. Gonna try the crossbar next and see if that's okay as its a bit more protected there.

A few photos were taken.

New mounting position for the GPS

One of Reading's old Gasometers

As we came back through the town they had this great thing set up. Looked like a laugh to me. At least the kids get to know what a hamster feels like lol

The other view along the canal as it goes through town

Sweaty haired Ben and Karen enjoying a break

Bike Computer Stats
Mileage: 14.32 miles
Time: 2 hrs 27 mins 40 secs
Average Speed: 5.8 mph
Maximum Speed: 16.6 mph

Active 10 GPS Stats
Mileage: 13.4 miles
Total Time: 2 hrs 24 mins
Average Speed: 4.7 mph
Average Moving: 5.7 mph
Maximum Speed: 15.7 mph

Total Ascents: 1,916 ft

Total Descents: 1,919 ft

Max Altitude: 469 ft

Min Altitude: 88 ft

Route HERE

The Cunning Man Loop

We were due to go down to the New Forest for a few days this week but after (a) having a great deal of trouble finding any campsites with pitches available, and then (b) discovering that you can only cycle on certain designated paths with a penalty of £500 if you are caught on any other path, I decided not too. I had a look online at cycle paths in the forest and it just seemed that they were either short 4 or 5 mile ones or long 20 odd mile ones which I didn't think Karen or Ben would want to do.

So yesterday we decided to cycle along the Kennet and Avon canal towpath. My original intent was to go further than Ben and I normally go, hopefully as far as Aldermaston Wharf, but a couple of hitches occurred. I asked my eldest son Chris if he would like to come along too and after an initial "no thanks", he later on said that he would come, so I had to prep the MTB for him. Having only got 3 helmets I decided I was the least likely to get injured so gave each of them one and we set off.

It was immediately apparent that Chris had forgotten how to ride a bike. As strange as it may seem, riding a bike isn't like...umm...riding a bike! I couldn't believe he had forgotten how to do it but sure enough he kept flopping to the side. I guess its been 10 years since we have managed to convince him to ride one - I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but hes always refused & as hes an adult its his choice. So we walked the bikes down to the park at the end of the road and spent 20 minutes or so getting him familiar with the bike again. It didn't take him too long although he was a bit uncertain of himself and after leaving the park I stayed with him as we rode.

I made sure to stay off the main roads as much as possible and many of the paths initially were cycle designated, even so he became very agitated & a bit scared at even the slightest downward slope or bend after discovering the brakes didn't react as fast as he wanted them to. He even began to start putting his feet down first instead of using the brakes - a sure fire way to get your legs caught up in the pedals & lose balance. I think once we were away from any sign of cars or roads and onto the canal he was a bit better, but there were 2 occasions where he threw the bike down in frustration. It was becoming a nightmare, both for him and me!

I tried to advise him and offer support and confidence but he was set in his mind that something bad was going to happen and eventually told me to shut up because he couldn't listen to me and concentrate on keeping straight. I dropped back from the rest of the group then as I had had it and just wanted to ride by myself and enjoy it a little bit. By being way behind I could also keep my eye on him in case he needed me.

A few other things: I had to double back to home again at Speedy Gonzalez style after realising I had left the camera on the boot lid of the car! Thankfully it was still there. We stopped at the pub for a great drink (as usual). We did tag a bit of extra mileage onto the back of the pub which was really pleasant through fields. Chris came off and scraped his knee, I came off after being a show off on a grass bank, I scraped all the sides of my leg again on the metal pedals while walking beside it, and Karen got a puncture but it was slow enough we made it home okay.

That's pretty much all I want to say about the ride. It would have been great. Having Chris along didn't spoil it - hes my son and I love him - but having his totally negative & aggressive attitude with us as well was too much to bear.

Onto the Active 10 GPS - well I need to relocate the bike mount from the current location. Its mounted on the stem right now but because that's on the slope, the angle makes the screen hard to read.

I'll either move stuff about on the handlebars or mount it on the cross tube. Its a dilemma really as the cross tube affords the GPS more protection in case of falls, but the handlebars give better access and viewing. Unfortunately you cant adjust the angle of the mount at all. However, the GPS worked a treat on this ride pumping stats out and recording the route in exceptional detail, even the messing around in the park and my riding around the car park of The Cunning Man pub!

Here's some additional photos of the trip.

Bike Computer Stats
Mileage: 16.23 miles
Time: 2 hrs 34 mins 06 secs
Average Speed: 6.3 mph
Maximum Speed: 22.3 mph

Active 10 GPS Stats
Mileage: 14.6 miles
Total Time: 3 hrs 28 mins
Time Moving: 2 hrs 21 mins
Average Speed: 4.2 mph
Average Moving: 6.2 mph
Maximum Speed: 21.2 mph

Route HERE

I'm inclined to believe the GPS stats more than the bike computer as that takes a reading from satellites every second of travel.

Buying Bits

In a quandry right now. I want to buy a couple of maps for my Satmap GPS. I went down to the bookshop yesterday to compare the details available on 1:50K and 1:25K resolution maps. Obviously the 1:25K gives twice the detail and would be the best option to go for.

However its twice the price to buy a 1:25K (about £50.00) map on SD than it is to buy a 1:50K (about £24.00) map. I guess what I'm asking is: Have any of you used maps (either paper or digital) for cycling tracks or across country, and is a 1:25K map really necessary?

Looks to me like the cheapest place to buy the map SD's is from Satmap direct. I ordered a bike mount for it this morning - Amazon were cheaper for this than Satmap - so it really does pay to shop around.

What I want to do is get a map of Berkshire (my local area) and one of Hampshire which is where we plan to do a little cycling the following week in The New Forest. Following that I'll get one of Oxfordshire and possibly Buckinghamshire so I will have all the surrounding counties we border on. My problem is that we live so close to the county border that one map won't do.

Cycling Courtesy

The past few times I've been out cycling its struck me that as a general rule other people are less 'friendly' than I am.

For instance, when I'm on a track or path and pass someone going the other way, whether they're on foot or on a bicycle I will always either say "good morning / afternoon" to them or nod at them. I'd say that less than 10% return the greeting, despite clearly having heard or seen me.

If someone moves out of the way for me I will always say "thank you" and yet if I move out of the way for them I rarely get a reply.

Is it something to do with the part of the country I live in? Perhaps its to do with age, although I get the same from equal ages it seems. Do I look like the Grim Reaper? Personally I think I have the face (& attitude) to make most feel at ease, even at a glance.

When I used to ride a motorbike in my youth, and later on when I drove my VW Beetle it was more uncommon for someone not to signal "hello" with a wave or a raised hand when passing another motorcyclist or Beetle owner. Its part of what made the driving/riding of those vehicles a real pleasure. So what is it about bicycles - surely the most eco friendly and open form of transport that seems to alienate passers by?

Don't get me wrong though; there are some cyclists such as those we were briefly passed by yesterday who will call over a few cheery words as they zoom past on their carbon fibre lunicycles. Not for them is there any 'class' barrier between us slow MTB'ers and their sleek racing bikes. To those guys & gals I salute you. We have never really met and yet I know you are people who I would willingly share a pint with.

Unfortunately Ben, who used to follow my lead and say "hello" to other cyclists & hikers has decided he doesn't want to bother any longer as they are 'too grumpy & not worth the effort'. Can't really say as I blame him.

June - An Epic Month?

Completely forgot to weigh myself on Sunday night. However this is not a bad thing as I would not have liked to see the +++ weight gain on the scales caused my my week of debauchery & gluttony...well maybe not the debauchery bit...sadly.

Last month, (ignoring weight loss or gain) I cycled 36.8 'real' miles on the mountain bike & 54 'phantom' miles on the exercise bike. For a lot of people reading those figures, they may seem piddly and lets face it a fraction of what many of you do in a day, but for me its a major step from zero to at least something. Also a good 50 percent of those real miles were fairly heavy going off road terrain.

This month though is going to be E.P.I.C. I may not come close to or exceed the real miles, but I'm going to make those exercise bike miles crumble. Right now I feel that I can achieve my lowest weight yet by the end of the month & as long as I can maintain this state of mind I will feel better & stronger for it in 30 days time.

Muvi Camera Review

Amazon UK came good today and I took delivery of all of the ordered items at once, even though they came from 3 different companies Amazon uses. I only chose normal delivery so wasn't expecting the camera to arrive until Friday at best, and Monday at worst.

Packages received:

1 x Muvi Mini DV camera

1 x Extreme Sports Kit

1 x 8Gb Micro SD card

Video Camera

The Muvi camera I purchased is a really quality piece of kit, well packaged & neatly presented. The camera itself has an aluminium case and feels good - not cheap tack, and measures about 2" tall x 3/4" wide x 1/2" deep. The Micro SD card slots in the side (you get a 2Gb card in the box but I ordered separately an 8Gb card which is the max it will take) & there is a mini USB port on the bottom for plugging into your PC for downloading the video and/or charging the camera. On the left side is an on/off slide switch and to the opposite side is the voice activation on/off switch.

To the top of the camera resides the pause/record push button, all of the switches have a very positive feel to them and don't give the impression of any slackness of ability to miss-press which could have lead to them breaking over time. Also on the top is a small recessed indicator LED which changes colour or state depending on what it needs to tell you about recording/pausing/battery life/etc. Next to this are 3 small holes which are probably for the voice activation and I suspect also house the microphone - at least I could see no other place for the mic input.

The top front of the camera simply holds the fixed focus lens and at the back is a small eyelet hole for attaching the supplied lanyard is you desire. The case itself is in the form of a "bathtub" rear with a plastic collar/seal around the rim and then the front cover. I can see 2 small screws through the plastic seal so I assume it is all held together via these and internal clips, so again a good impression of quality is given.

Inside the box you also get:

A clip-on attachment which holds the camera very tightly and allows you to clip it all to your pocket, belt, etc

A USB to mini USB cable of about 1.5m length

A USB to mini USB adaptor

A software utilities CD

Lanyard

Soft carry case

2Gb Micro SD card

Instruction booklet

Option accessories sheet

The camera arrived out of the box fully charged so I could play with it straight away which was nice. I took this short film of the floor at my office (I'm the one holding the camera so you can't see me really. I'll have to practice my film making skills!

Extreme Sports Pack

Amazon UK seem to sell exactly the same pack from 2 or 3 different sellers at different prices. Naturally I went with the cheapest vendor, however having seen what you get inside the box I'm not so sure it was really worth the trouble getting it. I'll evaluate it when I get to fixing the camera to the bike or helmet. I may have been better spending more and going for the "Pro Handlebar Mount" & be done with it.

Inside the box you get:

Weatherproof rubber case*

Cloth/velcro arm carry strap

Yet another soft carry case

Yet another clip-on attachment for your pocket, belt, etc

A wall mounting bracket on a ball joint

A hinged bracket mount - obviously for the helmet or handlebar mounting

Velcro fixing straps

Firstly there is no way the rubber case is weatherproof. It has an opening in it for every port, switch and the lens as well as the open ended top for the camera to slip inside it. The fit is well, but all it probably does is offer a degree of protection to the camera case. Veho do sell as an extra a 10m depth waterproof case if this is required. Oh and you cant use the brackets and clips if the camera is in the case!

If you are buying this to fit to your car dashboard, the hinged bracket mount looks like the one to use however what you don't get is any way to fix it to a flat surface, such as adhesive tabs or screws.

I'm not quite sure as to the practicality of the arm strap as unless you have terminal rigor-mortise you're either going to point it the wrong way or move your arm so much that the viewer will get sea sick before he catches a glimpse of the object of the film.

Micro SD Card

I chose the cheapest 8Mb card I could find on Amazon. Probably part of the saving they pass on is due to it coming loose without a case. On opening the envelope I got a receipt slip folded in 4 and inside that was the loose SD card. As these things are small enough to get lost when you sneeze without even considering accidental damage, I wasn't greatly impressed at the ethnic packaging, but it seems to work okay. Not a lot else to say about it.

Summary
I think this is going to be a brilliant addition to the blogging and to our enjoyment of cycling. Audio could be better but really what can you expect from a camera as small as this? I think the safest bet will be to strap it to my handlebars as I can then get at it to pause/play rather than attaching it to the crash helmet. It may get a bit more vibration, but that I can live with I think.


Oh and I did another 10 miles on the exercise bike tonight before dinner. Thats a total so far this month of 41.6 miles. I'm trying my hardest to get that goal of losing 2lb's in a week for this Sunday after just missing it last week.

Exercise Bike Miles II

Mini update & more goals complete.

Once again I got home from work tonight and did 10 miles on the exercise bike before dinner

It was tougher tonight. By the five mile mark I was more tired than yesterday and was going to stop at 6 miles, then I carried on up to 8 miles somehow and finally stopped at 10 miles but more bushed & sweating harder. This is a good thing I guess as the more sweat, the more weight I'm losing.

I get through about a bottle of water while I'm cycling. Takes me roughly 30 minutes to do 10 exercise bike miles.

Just realised I cracked another one of my goals, which is to do 30 cumulative miles on the bike. If I can do another session on it tomorrow then I crack another goal - to do 3 nights on the trot on the bike.

Exercise Bike Miles

Mini update

Got home from work tonight around 7.30pm and did 10 miles on the exercise bike before having dinner (chilli con carne...yummy)

I counted 23 revolutions per 0.1 mile & the digital display read a fairly constant 18.1 mph.

Ben sat next to me as I was cycling and told me about his day and various other things which really made the miles go a lot quicker. Thanks Ben :)

Aldi Haul

Just got back from Aldi...well I had dinner too, but I was lucky as I didn't realise they shut at 7pm so I just made it in time. Got a decent collection of kit:

1 x cycle computer
2 x pairs of gloves - one red pair and one blue pair
1 x aluminium water bottle & cage for Ben
2 x pairs of cycling glasses with interchangeable lenses; dark, yellow and clear
1 x stirrup pump
1 x under saddle bag & tool kit

Its all really decent gear and Id have said worth every penny if not more. The cycle computer is fantastic with 30 functions - I probably need a degree in Science to use it. I think it does stuff others do for 20 times the cost.

Some of the features:
time, temperature, background light, stopwatch, speed, speed comparison, average speed, max speed, odometer, odometer memory, trip distance, riding time, calorie consumption, fatburn indicator.

The glasses are very cool. With the black lenses, Ben and I together look like the Blues Brothers lol. I wasn't going to get the tool bag but figured the tools were worth the cost and the bag can go under Ben's saddle for his bits and bobs. The only thing I wanted they didn't have were waterproof jackets for Ben and myself, but I'm happy with what I got.

Weekend Cycling Fun

Today Karen was off work so she, Ben & I decided to go for a cycle in Swinley Forest again, although this was the first real time Karen's been on a bike since...dunno! Anyway as Ben has the new "pocket rocket" that frees up his old adult size bike for her to ride. Despite my protestations, she insisted that the saddle was going to be okay as it was - it was set for Ben's height and was a kids size one. This later turned out to be an error on her part.

So we loaded Ben's bike into the boot and put the others on the bike rack and set off.

We decided that this time we wouldn't bother taking the map as there were barely any signposts at the forest. Karen was soon moaning about the unforgiving saddle and I gave her my gel cover to use which seemed to ease the pressure a bit, but I think the fact that the saddle was too low for her meant that more weight was on her butt than being taken by her legs, however she said she wasn't sure enough cycling yet to have it higher. I do need to change it over for a bigger one sometime though.

Over the weekend we've had a lot of rain and there were a substantial amount of puddles. Ben decided that he was going to go through every single one of them, and for the first hundred or so he did just that - at full speed, however as he approached a particularly large one I said to Karen that it looked quite deep, and sure enough it was what I would call a "Vicar of Dibley" sized one! The water in the middle must have been nearly to the bottom of his seat post. His front and rear mudguards couldn't handle the volume of water coursing up the wheels and about a gallon of water ended up all over his back and legs...classic!

After that he was a little more careful in choosing which ones to go through. We tried the side tracks but Karen wasn't so sure of herself on them so we stayed mostly to the wider man-made paths, but this didn't stop them being quite muddy in places. I tried to pick the best routes but sometimes they wouldn't follow me, and on one occasion Karen got stuck in a deep quagmire and Ben had to go back and help her pull the bike out.

It rained off and on during the morning, but nothing too hard & we stopped for lunch around 12.30 when we saw some nice sized logs begging for tired asses to sit on them.

Having a rest wasn't part of Ben's plans for the day and after eating his lunch decided to race up and down the path to get his miles up higher than mine.

Shortly after we reached an old hill fort called Caesar's Camp and realised we'd made a slight error in our route, however I found a dirt track we managed to negotiate which was quite fun & heading in roughly the right direction; lots of humps and twists and even Karen was managing to cope until we got to a long downhill bit with a path-spanning puddle at the bottom.

I tried to ride through but the wood buggered me up and by pure fluke I managed to put my foot down on a bit saving me from getting wet feet. A little way further on we hit a long steep uphill bit that none of us could cycle up and remain sane. Heck it was knackering just walking up and I stupidly offered to push Karen's bike up as well as mine! When we got to the top and turned around we saw this sign.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it was unsuitable for cycles, though riding down the hill would have been preferable to going up the ba***rd. I also have to apologise for the photo Ben took of me at the top. I hadn't realised how ugly I really am!

After another mile and a half of uneventful cycling we reached the start again. Oh I suppose I ought to mention Ben getting chased by a big dog as he was riding and he didn't even know about it. The thing was a baby werewolf or something and was right up to his rear wheel, but Ben hadn't a clue it was there before the owner called it back.

We stopped off at the cafe for tea, Lucozade and a rest as well as photos and funny faces.

(I'm sure I must look better than this - must be a dodgy camera).

Total miles cycled = 6.66 miles.

So we got home and I really didn't feel like I'd been out cycling at all. There was no tension or tiredness in my legs so I decided to do 5 miles on the exercise bike. What can I say but holy crap that did me in! I did 5.5 miles at a constant 20.5 mph. The bikes in the sun lounge and it gets really hot in there too and I was sweating buckets at the end.

Sadly, my weight has increased by 0.59lb this week to 220.2lbs (15.73st). I can't understand how, and it's disappointing as I've not eaten anything over and above normal. Still its giving me determination to get it down for next weekend.

At least I managed to scratch off a couple of my goals this week. Shame about the weight though...damn!

e-mail from mybikelaw.com

I checked my e-mails this morning, mainly to clear out the chuff that people send on the chance I want a time share or to win ten thousand pounds, and was surprised to find one from mybikelaw.com

The e-mail was really nice - I mean in that it was really nice of them to take the time to send it when they could have just ignored me. When I went to their site for the first time (see my post of a few days ago) I applied for some freebies they were giving away. Of course I pretty much knew that I hadn't got a hope in hell of receiving the items because (a) I don't live in the U.S.A so there isn't any reason to send the things to me, and (b) because of the shipping. However stranger things have happened so you never know!

Here's the main part of the mail. I've not put the nice ladies name in case she didn't want it given out.

Adrian,

Thanks so much for your interest in mybikelaw.com.  Unfortunately,
sending our complimentary water bottles to England costs a great deal
more than the water bottle is actually worth.  We apologize that we
will not be able to send you a water bottle.

If you ever have any cycling questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Happy cycling,

Isn't that great? Yeah okay I'm a big softy and I bet some would say "whats so nice about getting an e-mail turning you down?", but it's the thought she went to which makes it nice - at least to me anyway.


Of course the idea of a water bottle with their contact details on it is a very good one. If you're in an accident on your bike and need to contact them chances of having their details with you are slim, but you always have fluid in a bike bottle with you, and did I mention its free?

(Of course if the altercation is with an eighteen wheeler and the bottles smashed to a pulp then you're probably knackered. Actually you're probably also beyond their ability to assist too).

So if you live in the U.S.A then I reckon its a great idea to head over to their website and get one while they still have them. Then let me know how good they are because this poor Englander and his boy have to make do with cheap ones from the Pound Shop!

Swinley Forest Ride Part 1

On Sunday Ben & I went for a ride in Swinley Forest in Bracknell. The weather, although not as hot as Saturday, was great. As we needed to drive to get to the forest it also gave me a chance to try my car bike rack for the first time since getting it for Christmas and I was quite nervous about its stability. No matter how tight I pulled the straps holding it onto the boot of the car, I still had one eye on the bikes and one eye on the road ahead as I drove, especially on roundabouts which gave me visions of it all twisting and throwing off to the side.

Nevertheless we made it all the way there without any issues, arriving just 15 minutes after the area opened to find the car park full to bursting and only one space left in the overflow car park! I was amazed at how busy it was.

We quickly unhitched the bikes, deciding that there were so many people around that it would be okay to leave the rack on the car, paid the pittance of £2.00 for a days cycle pass and hit the trails at 10.30am.

Swinley Forest is a huge area owned by The Crown Estates (hence the reason for the fee to ride there) and one corner is dedicated to mountain bikes with lots of narrow technical tracks winding through the trees, linked to moderately easy trails, and then the rest of the forest is covered by narrow cleared paths which are again linked with wide paths that are probably a car and a half wide.

The majority of it is reasonably flat with long gradual hills, except when you get to the "offroad" mountain bike trails which are very uppy-downy.

Ben managed most of the trails with ease once he had come to grips with the perils of tree roots causing the wheels to slip sideways and spongy and muddy ground which grips the tyres unless you have the power to get through. The randomness of the ground was a challenge and he initially found that he wasn't putting in enough power to get the bike up the hills.

We did attempt the more technical area but it was just too tough for Ben to manage all the very tight turns and we gave up when on a bend he lost it and fell. His forehead hit a 1 inch diameter branch laying on the ground and snapped it in two! Talk about thick skulled - it didn't even leave a mark! What upset him was another large branch that managed to get wedged in his shoe and grazed his ankle, so we Indiana Jonesed our way on foot out of the area by carrying the bikes through the woods. Not an easy thing.

Ben following the "I destroy trees with my forehead" incident

The scene of the crime - Exhibit A; broken branch

Looking back at the technical route

After that we stuck to mainly narrow paths which were a lot easier and we covered a lot of ground. Around midday we found a nice spot to sit and eat our lunch - and boy were we ready for it. I'd bought some mini baguette's the previous day and we had half each, which I'd stuffed with chicken, cucumber & lettuce, then a pinch of crushed pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, followed up with a packet of crisps and a chocolate biscuit.

One of the more open "easy" paths as we head towards lunchtime

Ben just as we stop for lunch - looks a bit knackered eh?

Im..nom..nom..nom..starving!

Swinley Forest Ride Part 2

The reason for splitting this post into two parts was because for some reason Blogger doesn't seem to like me adding extra photo's. As soon as I tried to add another one, it not only removed it, but it also removed the previous one! After several attempts I gave up and decided to split the post. The Blogger software has other kinks in it too which can make it really annoying, such as mis-formatting fonts and sizes, removing all paragraphs. It's maddening! However, onward with the "finale"....

Our bikes taking a breather while we have lunch

Suitably rested and refreshed we continued on our ride and it was only at this time that we found a marker which we could relate to a point on our map - oh and if you ever go there, print off the map from their website rather than pay money for exactly the same one in their shop. Whichever you decide its not very practical anyway as there are so few markers to know where you are at any particular time. However now knowing where we were we headed back to the main entrance where ice lollies awaited these two brave adventurers.

Ben enjoying a 'Twister' despite my insistance that it looked like bogeys and cream

Me eating a much more 'manly' chocolate ice lolly as I consider downing it in one go.
Badly need a haircut too!

Following a bit of R&R we hitched the bikes back onto the car (phew! the rack was untouched) and headed home for around mid afternoon. To say that our asses felt like they'd been whipped by an ugly pagan war god, and that our legs felt like strawberry jelly would be putting it mildly. We had only cycled about 5 miles but it was a very hard 5 miles on heavy bikes - at least for us anyway.

Would we do it again? Too freaking right we would. The entrance fee is so cheap to not even be a consideration, and we both really enjoyed ourselves. We are talking about doing it again next weekend if the weathers nice.

mybikelaw.com

I chanced upon this website today http://www.mybikelaw.com/

We need more people like this.

Go have a look at some of the cases they have dealt with and if you didn't already, you can get a handle on how thick some drivers actually are behind a wheel. Scares the heck out of me to think they are "in control" of a vehicle capable of going 100mph and killing you at 25% of that speed, which they only do on their driveways.

It's a damned shame they are only based in Carolina, although they can practice in other U.S states and its a no win, no fee basis. Not that I have a need of them seeing as I'm a complete ocean away, but it makes me feel good to know that there are people out there that will stand up for the cyclists rights with a passion because they are cyclists too.

The website also has some basic tips of things to do in an accident. Pretty obvious but its the simple things we tend to forget.

(Bet I dont get my free swag they were offering on their website though lol)