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

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