Life's been like a jug of Pimms (Δεν αγγούρι of course) recently - a mixture of nice things floating or suspended in something delicious. When you take a sip, you never know what you're gonna get.
Miles tick by and I get the chance for a visit to the Altura trail at Whinlatter. I haven't ridden here since it first opened and didn't think much of it to be honest. I rode both loops back-to-back and had a blast. They've made a good job of this and there's a little of something for everyone.
I had planned to meet Rich from Cyclewise after the ride but he was finishing off with a customer, so I had the chance to test-ride some of his toys while I waited :-) First round the block was the Yeti SB 66 carbon, then the Stanton Slackline (a steel hard-core hard-tail that catapults you out of corners like you're carving on skis) and finally a 650b Alloy Cube - why is there so much nice stuff about ?
Another good ride the next day in the Trough of Bowland started with a brutal ribbon of tarmac straight up from the B+B, but finished with some big skies, peace, quiet and nesting Curlews when I got to the top of Claughton Moor.
Then we are at Tribemeet 2013 and Andy, Sandy, Silverfish and Plush Hill Cycles have all conspired to serve up a delicious weekend of Yeti-related fun. However, as I re check and lube the bike prior to the big ride I find a crack in the rear triangle !!!! So, good old Silverfish lend me one of their spares ..
Twenty miles on the Yeti SB95 later and I have another bike on my list. Climbs great, descends great, carries speed well and the rear Icon slides early and predictably to add to the mayhem. I loved it. Spend most of the day riding ahead and then catching up as I tried to polish the photography skills but those big wheels work very well and I did quite a bit of overtaking !
Thanks to Dan Edwards for the picture. A few actually came off coming down this !
The day finished with a great climb back up from Church Stretton and through the golf course back to the top of the Long Mynd before we ripped off down to the Bridges for another beer (or two).
The front runners are on that trail across the valley. I then had to ride down the hill I was on and up the valley to get back on track for the real climb.
What a great weekend and as our American friends prepare for their get-together in Telluride, CO this weekend let's hope you have a great weekend too.
Only back for a week. Re-pack and off again ...
