MAJs gay bikes [she’s in her fitness era]

absolutely. I would say Hope BB too and CK headset (blasphemy)

i was going to add the WI freewheel to this but then i remembered a friends clickster was louder which is all that matters for a free wheel

I don't normally venture into current projects but glad I read through this, beik will be sick.

Enjoy things back down south too, will wave on the very occasional times I'm nearby visiting family.

A nice wall shot of the new brake now it’s not freezing cold

when you can tour 3 subburb estates in a lap around town and not touch a single road 😌

was quite fun visiting places i used to cycle round as a kid, the big dirt hill which used to be terrifying, the stairs i would not dare cycle down for fear of falling, the hills i'd hate pushing my bike up. coming along now and just doing all of it

i guess i'm bragging about how i could easily out cycle a literal child

@snottyotter thank you! please do if you’re ever swinley way.

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this weeks swinley report:

waking up around 9 and then rolling around in bed to 10:30, only to finally leave the pit at 11 i thought this might mean that i'd escaped "going for a ride" this week and could sit there refreshing the same 3-4 sites until Monday rolled around. excellent.

however around 11:30 my parents decided to get to work "doing the garden" and i stood there with a stark choice, help carry bags of wood chip, being directed to place each one individually while they created their perfect vision (yes it runs in the family), or elope, to the woods. it wasn't much of a choice, much like a Vietnam draftee. i reluctantly topped up my water bottle, loaded two beverages, some skittles and set off.

same old same old ride over, except it now clicks on the downhills, which is merely a lateral move in enjoyment imo. the whole way there i thought "right i'll just pull up to pips seat have some drinks and set home, i rode yesterday anyway so i'm off the hook". much to my annoyance when i arrived at pips seat it was occupied by some santa cruz types, luckily i was acting as a voyeur through the brush and they didn't get to see my rather obvious annoyance.

what now i thought? am i actually supposed to enjoy this wonderful few square miles of forest on this bike i spent all winter fetishizing? annoyingly the answer was yes.

I set off down the gravel trails on the usual rout, out past the south sign thing, on the wide gravel road to the flow section of the blue trail, a route suited for my lack of gears and tyre volume. Half way to the flow trail a bunch of voodoo and vitus types saw me descend a hill rather shakily and asked "is that even comfortable???", all the users here will know it's not but i could not let on such secrets to the enemy so shouted back "not particularly but very fun", was it convincing? no, i really want a trek pro calibre.

arriving at the blue trail it was rather empty which was nice, last time I attempted this it was rather packed and i was on a fixed gear hoping a some 45 year old on a e bike would collide into me like a articulated lorry hitting a toyota yaris. swift, quick, the opposite of me on the trail. today was a marked improvement however, i'm noticeably more comfortable on a single speed, it feels like my home territory, saying that however i still had cages on which made putting ones leg out rather annoying, alas i got through it. I shall return next weekend with some japan made mks collab pedals fitted and hopefully look a little less dyspraxic.

it's at this point I thought i'd try pips seat again, so finishing my loop up to the lookout and back to ceasers camp i checked the bench to see if it was clear; delightfully it was. It's a good bench for those who know it, good view, premium dog watching spot, not too hard to get too, low traffic and away from most the mtbr's. a good spot to reflect, opens one phone and do what they would be doing at home, but in nature.

a couple of messages in groupchats, some browsing of the web and a can or so later ballmers peak was setting in and i thought it a good idea to cycle home with the explicit idea of replicating the route i took yesterday but with my inhibitions and sense of fear that comes with age nicely lowered thanks to performance enhancing drugs.

I set off, albeit wobbly, it was good fun, down the ceasers camp fence trail up the 9 mile ride trail, confident / dumb enough to not cover the brakes, felt like i was in a crust video, which is always the vibe i seek replicate while cycling. I revisited the stairs and dirt hill and absolutely sent it hoping i wouldn't feel it if i fell, absolute joy to hear the clicks and the slight slip of the mud tbqh. inspired a lot of confidence of what the bike can do for the next time i'm on it. i would recommend this unconventional training method.

Arriving home my parents were just packing up for lunch, it seemed i had successfully avoided holding trellis up so they could see if it "created the right vibe before they committed", a successful ride on all levels it was

and finally, the gravel outfit?

supreme beanie
decathalon buff
supreme snake skin flannel
tnf gilet

a bit warm but not unpleasant due to the winds

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would like to see the garden pls

it's under a press embargo until it is done i'm afraid

Mother too busy in the garden to do any baking? Shame. Beer n Skittles a decent alternative though.

Father too busy in the garden to do any baking? Shame.

Check your traditional gender roles at the door please.

Just read the whole thread on this grey Sunday: I'm into it.

You live the bike life I aspire to. Does this make you a rad influencer? Better add a #danglemug to be sure.

Mum made the flapjack from the last page, guessed she was the baker in the family. Nowt wrong with asking if mum was too busy to do any baking.

mks collab pedals

Ooh, Bubbly?
Want!

I set off down the gravel trails...

There is no gravel in the UK, as any fule kno.

Another top ride report

she actually baked some form of pound cake while in gardening, which was impressive to see, sadly not gluten free so i cant report on quality of it

@baguette very kind, glad you got something out of it! although i would warn against endorsing cholera traps known as dangle mugs

@psg1ben sadly not, all black beartraps, momentarily at least until the mv bike arrives, after that it will be back to cages, but with the long weekend ahead makes sense to make use of them

hoping a some 45 year old on a e bike would collide into me

@amey isn't that old

🚨🚨🚨🚨 the paint is on 🚨🚨🚨🚨

well the first layer, but damn, it be looking B), visual updates to come soonTM

i'm vibrating

10/10 read.

Would love to live that close to forestry/grave riding.

I have clent and lickey hills near me but as the names suggest, its full of hills. And you know what? sometimes I dont wanna climb for my grav and thats okay.

how long till they make gravel parks with ski lifts, it's just 2000 meter descents at -1 to -3% grades which you can get taken to the top again and again, the lodge serves hot chocolate with flannel check dusted on top and instead of bedding you're provided with a 1 person tent and a sleeping bag in the hotel

Oh gods yes.

change the hot chocolate to a bourbon and youve sold me.

gravel routes downhill sound like some routes at bike park wales tbf...some of the tamer ones atleast

big weekend and you know what that means...

a moderately larger ride than usual, but not too much, just enough, ok maybe one more loop

i type this, having just scraped myself off the floor of the kitchen to summon enough strength to make some nachos, beans and bbq sauce, paired with the largest glass of water i could find. please forgive if it sounds like it has been written on tranquilisers.

setting off today my only real plan was to go and do the mtb trail i gave up on last weekend. it's a tame trail, switchbacks, roll overs, some safe routes around jumps for those on full suspension bikes i cant see why they bother, but for me?? on a custom single speed GRAVEL BIKE tm? it's quite the feat.

pulling up to the trail head, there was a loving couple on mountain bikes desperately needing the vaccine if you catch my drift, but spring is in the air, we'll let them have it, the only others were 2 gentleman on e bikes who asked me where the red trails were I directed them to the top of the forest and they could find their way from there and they set of happily, a queue for me to put my skittles away and get this over with.

jumping on the first berm i nearly spilled out the top and that was my reminder that i actually have to turn the bars, some thing you don't do a lot pounding straight gravel roads for the gram. none the less the next one came, we sailed round, another, another, a chuckle, for once the change of equipment really did help. over the bumps, into the ditches i learned my bottom bracket was fine to clear the peaks even with my clumsy pedal placement which filled me with that extra confidence.

before too long i'd passed where i'd given up, feeling rather proud i pressed on, and on....and on, how long was this damn section? my knees grew weak, my arms were hurting. it was setting in how much laying down for a year inside and not commuting anymore had really taken its toll on my body. what was great fun hitting one turn and another at the start was now a horror film in the woods, every turn i was hoping i'd see the clearing. not daring to sit on the saddle for fear of hearing the CLUNK or the TSSSHHHHHHHHH from my tubed 35's i was rolling on.

a turn, a bump, a turn, it was a blur

but luckily, like the closing scenes of a horror film, the trees cleared, light filled in and once the glare wore off i saw the rather flustered couple quickly organising themselves as they were reminded they were in public.

was a great sense of pride doing this, i guess i can finally stop feeling like a poser now? no small feat riding your little single speed covered with bags, beanie and flannel on, trainers and flats, actually doing something other than the fishtank like super highway fire roads. my transformation into full tosser now complete.

after a handful of skittles i set off down the wider paths to find a nice spot for the drink i had stashed in my bag. although it's not a very large forest, there are plenty of opportunities to find a nice quiet spot and a view, as seen in the pictures below, i was looking over a freshly planted section with a nice breeze.

it's at this point i thought i'd check my phone, see where i was and work out how i could do a loop back only to discover that i was actually a lot closer to an area i was familiar with than i thought, and that i had sent the aforementioned gentleman asking for the red trail in the completely wrong direction. at least they were on e bikes?

the rest was a blur in all honesty, i'd left my water hat home, i didn't put a shammy on and the skittles were wearing off, i was feeling pretty beat. I do remember seeing my first gravel biker in all my trips to the forest, he was gurning up one of the lumps and shouted "FINALLY A PROPPER BIKE!" towards me i smiled and i think said "YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" in a dehydrated state. although we were from conflicting tribes, me being on a yuppie wagon, him on a otp topstone wearing lycra, we found some common ground.

a few more lumps back, the long route home and it all tallied up to be my longest, hardest ride in a good while, but i did it, i felt better for it if i'm honest.

the clobber?

usual beanie and buff combo (i should get a summer hat soon)
6876 flannel as old as me
old work branded tshirt (it's on a good blank and has a cute robot on it, gotta give it to them)

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Still no update on garden?

And a distinct lack of baked goods!
But still, as usual, a lovely ride report.