Rapha Super Cross 2012

Ian dislocated his shoulder, but at least completed a lap this year. Kevin used his special mountain biking powers to fly ahead. I was focussed on not missing the tequila short cuts this year. Piccie below - three tequila stops in!

First Ride on the Ragley!

Rain, thunder and lightning. Perfect weather for a first ride on the Piglet. Still picking sand out of my teeth now. Piccie of the way back on Devil's Highway.

Late Summer Ride

A planned 60 miles ended up over 90 by judicious use of shortcuts.

Motivational Bathyscaphe

How low can it go? Fortythousand work-fathoms deep, I'll wager.

Manly Olympic Road-Race

Cycled down to Box Hill Saturday, snapped a piccie of the GB squad, then cycled back up to LMNH for burgers, beer and to catch the finish. Here's my patriotic picture of team Sky GB on their second lap, before it all came undone.

Unfortunately I've no pictures from LMNH. We got burgered & boozed up, then Kevin & Dave got interviewed by ZDF (German BBC2?) and some French outfit. Not me though. I guess I didn't look edgy enough. Not that I'm bothered. Not much. Really, I can hack it. Probably.

L2P 2012

Nasty weather this year. Heavy showers, strong headwind = extra thick crust of road muck &  wankered headset bearings. Still, great fun, group 3 rode well & tight. Highlight - Nice hotel in Amiens again. And Pierre Herme macaroons in Paris. Lowlight - crappy Holiday Inn in Calais with throbbing music till 4am. I wish I had a picture of the macaroons, but we ate them too quickly.

Lotta bikes

Calais War-Faces

Cold. Wet. Windy.

Insouciant. For sure.

The Piglet

Last weekend I became the proud builder of a mountain bike. Six months it took. I owned one before, a long time ago, during my second year at university. It was only mine for two weeks before it got stolen. I'd parked it carelessly, in a rush to get my end away with the girlfriend of the time. A Kona Lava Dome, with odd sized wheels. Probably just as well. Probably a fair exchange.

Now, I'm really a road cyclist, with excursions into cyclocross. Last year's Marin Roughride made me think though. Is a modified road bike the best way to go cross country? Why is everyone else on an MTB? Why do I put up with skinny tyres and an inability to brake? Why do they point and throw stones at me? That last Roughride, in the freezing rain of a Welsh June morning, sliding backwards down the muddy campsite, I had an epiphany. I was decided. I would build my own MTB. 

I'd have nowhere to put it, but I had been scoping my recently retired father-in-law's garage, engineering-expertise, and comprehensive collection of tools. Job done. In minutes months, the job was done, and the bike was complete.