Thought I'd have an "urban commute from the front door" style Sunday ride. The sub5 had a poorly middle ring and I honestly couldn't be bothered to swap the tyres over on the on-one..

Sometimes it's nice just to set off from your house and return 3 hours later ;-)

Managed to get in some urban wheely up n wheely off stuff plus a few jumpy bits. The kind of riding that you really have to do on your own so as not to pee off your buddies who can't be ar$ed hanging around while you attempt to perfect a move which you really should have learnt how to do 20 years ago .. but are trying it now ... because you want to ;-)


Later on popped over to "the bay" which has plenty of fun bits to practice ones wheely hucks and drops on ......

The on-one with it's street tyres was great fun (even when the rear tyre went pop while sessioning toys r us's car park!!)

I did miss the "off road" type fun, but managed 3 hours of fun riding from my doorstep and back ;-)

Not a huge amount of commutes lately as I needed to drive places, but the initial reaction to the "street" tyres is good .... in a very good kind of way.
The rides have been a bit windy (always into the face!) but the tyres roll a hell of a lot better than the big nobblies even though they are 2.4's. I also managed half an hour on the local skate park until some kids arrived and I felt it best to leave the area to them ;-)
The freehub on the on-one was playing up and after much deliberation .............. I bought some wheels ...........


The on-one in it's work bike park with new wheels and street tyres ;-)

Sunday 21st ....... 3 of us decided on Glyncorrwg and as I'd put a new cassette and chain on the sub5, it looked like a good un. I hadn't realised how much the worn chain had bu**ered the middle chainring so i had a bit of slippage under power ......... i thought it may have been the freehub, but after a stripdown, clean n lube I reached the conclusion that it is the middle ring that's at fault....
Anyway ... the ride ... I've realised that as my age increases, so does the time for a pre-ride warm up. I'll usually spend a few minutes spinning aroung the car park while everyone else fettle around, but I arrived with a flat rear! so we started riding as soon as I'd fixed it.
The place was full of mtbers and the pace of my 2 buddies was slightly faster than supersonic ...... I tried my best but after about 15 minutes decided on my own pace as I wanted to keep hold of the 3 weetabix I'd downed earlier ;-)
Twas a bit windy but we headed for the boardwalks and the dh run. The boardwalks were fun if a little wobbly in the wind and I only lost my rear off the edge on one of the corners ...
A big tree had been downed in the earlier gales which put paid to a fast end to the penultimate section.
The final descent was great fun .. I finally warmed up and had a little chuckle passing one of my buddies who'd hit a rock and flown off down the side of the hill ;-0 .... he was ok though and took the brunt of the fall on his head (I think he was trying to keep his new gloves clean)
The ride took us 1.5 hours including chat n pee stops, which is probably why I found the initial pace a bit speedy!!!

I've decided that however much I love the WTB Timberwolf tyres, they are not much fun when used as commuter tyres.
I can't put 26 x 1.5 inch tyres on the on-one as it would be just wrong!!! So ..... I've decided on some DMR RT 2.4's.
The idea is that they are fast rolling and are good for street (which is what I ride on, on the way to work ;-) ... sorted!)
They can also take a bit of grief so I can still have a play AND won't look too daft as they're 2.4 wide.
So i'll pump them up hard and see how it goes........

Just 2 of us for Sundays ride due to work/illness/bike faults etc but it was an enjoyable one.
The weather was good but has rained loads over the past few days. Still on the hardtail and we decided to go locally instead of Afan or Cwmcarn. The trails were far gloopier than the man made centres and we decided it felt like being on an excercise bike with the resistance on full.
We still had a good time and even managed some air over a little wooden jump!

After 2.1/2 hours plus of riding we were ready for a little food ;-)
The bikes were dirty but mine only took a couple of minutes to clean & re-lube ...

only a couple of commutes last week 10th & 12th and it was windy and rainy on both ;-(

First proper ride of the year and it was a bit wet n windy!!!!!!
Decided on Cwmcarn as the local trails would be 6feet under water.
Only 2 of us today but I'm glad I got out.
Very hard on the climbs .... I also managed to get the chain stuck between a ring and the chainstay .... took a while to sort out but my lungs were glad of the rest.
Missed out the freeride area as the wind was a bit harsh. The xc route is a goodun anyway so no probs.
The last descent was a bit tricky as the shimano mechanical discs decided they had had enough and wouldn't work ... made for an exiting couple of switchbacks anyway.
Back in the carpark (which was packed with other mad mtbers!!) and it felt good ;0)
Need to order some pads now!

Went away for the New Year but managed to take the on-one and get an hours ride in on a new council made bmx track.
It definately looked the part but was made too small for even bmx wheels ..... a case of the council not consulting people who make these tracks methinks! The surface was very gravelly and after a decent downpour was almost unrideable.
I still managed to have some fun though and get a bit of a sweat on ;-)
A couple of commutes to get the body working again after the festive season plus a little play on the local skate park which just happens to be on my route home, (at least when the kids arn't there ;-) to practice my little jumpy skills!