23rd \july

A big thank you to Ben at Orange for agreeing to warranty my Prestige frame. Now what to do, do I go for the R8 or upgrade and get a 5 Frame....?  

17th July

I always try to 'live for the moment', enjoy the moment for what it is. The trouble as humans is, we find that difficult to do, as we're always thinking of what's coming next, where is 'the moment' leading to? By not appreciating the moment we often miss out on so much. This can lead to regrets, if only.......... The flip side of this of course is when you do enjoy it, really enjoy it, sometimes you look back in sadness when you think of it, because it's no longer there.  

20th June

A big Thank you to Darryl, Paul, Andy, Steven & Matt for a great day out in the hills today and thanks for the beer in the great Afan Lodge.

15th June

A weekend off last weekend and I was lucky enough to be Guided around the Purbecks. There's some great riding there with a great mixture of trails. We were lucky as the weather was fantastic and the ground was bone dry. This made for some very fast riding and also helped on the climbs. We finished in a great pub (the name of which escapes me), which left only a short ride back to the ferry. If you are in the area I recommend it. Thanks Jackie for showing me Old Harry.

Have a look in the Gallery and there's an interesting photo of me there with something on my head!! Gulliver's travels were mentioned.

8th June

I do try my best but it's hard sometimes.  I've just come back from a ride in the woods with the best intentions of a healthy meal.  A quick cup of tea first, so I went in the fridge to get some milk and there it was staring at me begging to be eaten - cheese! So cheese on toast it is! Pasta and tuna tomorrow. Oh no, is that a bottle of Golden Glory I see on top of the cupboard?

My spelling is awful - thank you Jackie, it's now corrected!  

7th June

There's a great track we use on one of our rides, it's a great technical descent, not too steep and not too long. On first glance it looks like an unrideable rock garden, but it goes and is certainly a challenge to ride without dabbing. In the interests of Health and Safety it's been covered in Hard Core!!!!??  Disappointed, gutted - I hate that word but it comes close to how I felt when I discovered this to my horror when Guiding. I understand the reasons for it but please........... 

27th May

Isn't this weather great?! We were out in the woods by the house last night, the trails are sooo fast. Unfortunately the evenings ride ended on a sour note - The Buck had run out of Tribute! Spitfire is okay but a poor substitute was the general view.

A big thank you to Richard, Rob and Simon for 2 great days riding last weekend.  

18th May

When to Pee.......?

There's a great rocky climb in the hills above Afan. Norrnally, if things are going well I tend to clean it, but the other day it took me 3 attempts. Now I'd been busting for a pee for some time, but I thought I'd leave it until I got to the top, wrongly assuming I'd make the climb. The front wheel washed out and down I went. Back to the bottom to try again. At this point I really should have had a pee, but no, I'm bound to make it this time.....down I went again. So back to the bottom for a third attempt. This time though the floodgates were opened. I got back on the bike, feeling a lot more comfortable and balanced and I cleaned the climb! Probably just a coincidence........

Whilst we're on the subject. Later that day I stopped again alongside a field of Wales' finest. Whilst I was in the flow, 6 or 7 sheep also crouched to Pee at the same time, bizarre!

I've rediscovered the joys of Peanut Butter - crunchy with butter! 

11th May

Here follows a Public safety Announcement for all Mountain Bikers:

Never shout "Coming through!" to a group of road cyclists as you overtake them going uphill. They don't like it and seem to take offence!!!!  

10th May

........where do they all go in the winter?  

9th May

What is it about Road Cyclists.........?  

2nd April

What are your thoughts on Body Armour? One of the group I was Guiding recently wore some knee and shin protectors. Unfortunately she had had a bad crash previously and was suffering with an injured knee. Now to me that makes perfect sense. I wore an elbow guard for some weeks after I managed to dislocate my elbow a year or 2 ago. However what about the guy in Afan a few weeks ago who bore more than a passing resemblance to Robocop?

To digress a little, I used to do a lot of White Water paddling - or Kayaking as it is now called. We were always looking for something steeper and faster to run. After a few little nasties I started wearing an old motorbike helmet. Wow, what a difference! Not only did it dull the sound of the river but suddenly I felt invincible. The problem was of course, the person under the helmet was the same and my skills didn't get any better just because I had a full-face helmet on. But my confidence went through the roof.........

Back to biking. If you're at the top of a particularly nasty section dressed in a tee shirt and shorts are you going to ride it any better than if you were covered in body armour? Possibly yes, if only because you know that if you fall you are far less likely to injure yourself. However, is it not better to develop the skills with out the armour and THEN put the armour on to protect yourself rather than assuming just because you're tooled up you're going to be okay?

29th March

A BIG THANK YOU to Caroline, Gill, Michelle, Rachel, Tessa, Chris, Matt, Marcus, Dave and Andy for a great weekend. The weather was kind to us and we had 2 good days riding although the ground was a little wet on the Saturday. We've discovered a local firm who produce the most amazing pasties - The Gower Pasty Company. All the ingredients are sourced locally on the Gower and they taste great!

24th March

Hello! It's been a while, again...........sorry!

I've managed to snap my Prestige frame, so I'm back on the Mule - P7. The drive side chain stay snapped just behind the chain set. I haven't sent it back to Orange yet so I'll keep you updated there - promise! It's such a shame as they only made 200 of them and it's a joy to ride, so animated and climbs really well.  Having spoken with some people, it seems it can be repaired, but I'm not sure if I would be able to trust it. I'm very much a wheels on the ground man as those of you who have ridden with me will know. But, the bike does get ridden a lot and quite hard I suppose. Anyway,  we'll see. I'm off for a night ride now with a group of friends, I think it might be a little damp!!

8th February

Had an interesting chat with a lady when we were out in the hills on Sunday. We were standing by the cairn taking in the views when this lady strode purposefully up to us clutching a map. She assured us she could read a map but asked us if we could tell her where she was! It transpired that she was supposed to have been out with a group but they'd gone off without her. More worryingly though she claimed that on occasions she even leads group walks in the hills. We pointed her in the right direction and wished her luck. All rather worrying really. 

24th January

Now I know there are arguments both for and against wine boxes and to be honest I'm not sure either way. But I slept well last night!

Here's a great quote from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - ' On the day you were born, you begin to die. Do not waste a single moment!'  

20th January

Following on from what I last wrote. If you do get lost, make sure you have your lights with you and that they are fully charged! Also, try and avoid woods in the dark without lights. Note to self..................Now I know ther are arguments both for and against wine boxes and to be honest I'm not sure either way. But I slept well last night!

Here's a great quote from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - ' On the day you were born, you bein to die. Do not waste a single moment!'

16th January

I got soaked today, absolutely soaked – ‘proper wet!’ as they say in South Wales. I was out putting a route together and it rained, oh did it rain. I was following a bridleway that looked promising, then abruptly stopped, no sign of it anywhere. The cloud was low so I scouted around a bit but no, it wasn’t there. So for the next half hour, I pushed and rode across the hill.

In this world of satellite navigation, Gps units and screens that sit on your handlebars telling you exactly where you are, how far you’ve come, how much climbing you’ve done and how much methane, if any was in that fart you just did; there is no substitute for just riding your bike and getting lost!

Next time, instead of going to the local Trail Centre, go out in the hills and ride. With the exception of parts of Scotland, you’re not going to get lost for long and if you do, all it means is you might have a long ride home. The beer always tastes better after an ‘epic’!

13th January 2010

HAPPPY NEW YEAR !!!

It's been a while! Where have I been? Ah, the fairer sex..........and say no more!

I think it's fair to say we've had enough snow now. We went up the Bothy over Christmas and stayed for 3 nights in the end. A bit of an epic trip in though. After abandoning the car in the snow, it took us 5 hours to reach the Bothy. We pushed, carried and even did a bit of riding before arriving in deep snow sometime after 9 Christmas Eve. We had the place to ourselves for the 3 nights although a family turned up and cooked some food Christmas Day. They also very kindly left us the remains of their bag of wood. For Christmas dinner we had a leg of venison, wrapped in bacon and butter, marinated in red wine and cooked over the stove - Fantastic! I recommend it.

Welcome to Mountainbike Tours Online Blog

Mountainbike Tours are ideally located for some of the best Mountain Biking in Wales, from the trails in  Afan Park to the open hills of the Brecon Beacons. A short ride from the house and we are up in the hills with views from the Presceli's over to the Beacons. Travel west on the M4 and we are just 5 minutes from junction 47.

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