PDF here.
Our own demo 5 Spot fully tricked out by Rick will be ready to test in January - contact Tim to arrange a ride!
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Thursday, 24 December 2009
CRAZIEST RIDE EVER EVER
"So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all Yellow." *
Went out today . Just a quickish local kinda thing in the snow . Riding in snow is ace . It is surprising just how much grip you can find as your tyres crunch through.
However , ahem . On Sunday just gone , a few of us went up Rivington for the usual Sunday thing . It was myself and Jeff , Tony , and Gareth. Overnight it had snowed then rained , and then frozen . It was like a skating rink , pretty much everywhere . I'd decided to bring along my super vintage , 1987 MuddyFox Courier , and ,as is required under old school biker law , I dressed vintage too. Right down to the vintage yellow tint Bolle ski glasses which gave a pin sharp view , despite being up in the loft for about 20 yrs. Oh , and hiking boots , flat pedals and toe-clips knock spots off SPDs any day of the week.
Modern Camelbak backpacks tend to freeze up in the drinking tube , so I brought along a bottle of Schmirnoff instead. And I dont drink . In for a penny ....
Have look at Greth's pictures , here ....
No big write up , because I'm off out , but suffice to say we all decked it . The trails that I thought would have at least a little grip , had none , but apart from that the weather was superb. It was'nt too cold at all , and we had a bit of snow , but not so much that it was a bad thing . All in all , possibly the best ride of the year . Certainly one of the maddest rides I've ever done .
Merry Christmas everyone . Tim
* Cold-play . Yellow
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
NOSTALGIA TRIP
"Bite my lip and close my eyes,
Take me away to paradise.
I'm so damn bored I'm going blind
And loneliness has to suffice.
Bite my lip and close my eyes
I was slipping away to paradise.
Some say quit or I'll go blind,
But it's just a myth " *
WALKING CONTRADICTION
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
REST
LONGVIEW , FROM HAIGH HALL
EAST JESUS NOWHERE
SASSAFRAS ROOTS
WELCOME TO PARADISE.
I had a bit of a lie-in this week , but , when I finally peeled myself off my velcro seat , and got me moving , I headed up the canal towards Haigh Hall and had a bit of a play around in the very very muddy woods . I could tell you where I went , but what's the point ?
First solo ride in a fairly long time , and dont take this the wrong way , but I really enjoyed it .
ONE FOR THE RAZORBACKS
* Longview . Greenday . Here we go again infatuation touches me , just when I thought that it would end .
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
ONCE AROUND THE BLOCK
"Into the valley we roam, where we fumble around
Till we find our way home.
Yet all we have is an old ball of string
Will it reach to the end of this dark labyrinth
No ". *
Till we find our way home.
Yet all we have is an old ball of string
Will it reach to the end of this dark labyrinth
No ". *
DULL AND GREY FIRST THING
VIEW FROM CASTLE WAS SUPERB
Only a bit of a spin today . Myself and Jeff met Andy at the barn.Raining hard . Little warm-up spin around to the castle ,right back on ourselves to the bottom of the Ice Cream Run , up through the gardens to the Pidgeon Tower , then up to the Pike . Pretty damp and shitty.
Andy still was'nt 100% and I was tired as a tired thing , so we scooched off the back , slippy slidy,v-brakealicious and then dropped through the gardens , slidy slippy.
Andy headed for home , but as usual jeff and I couldnt resist the tearooms.
* Badly drawn boy . Stone on the water .
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
I DONT WANT TO HEAR IT ANYMORE
" The road , just was'nt there for us ,
There never was a prayer for us ..." *
WHERE AM I GOING?
I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF
EV'RYTHING'S COMING UP DUSTY
DUSTY....DEFINITELY
I THINK IT'S GONNA RAIN TODAY
I CLOSE MY EYES AND COUNT TO TEN
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
SON OF A PREACHER MAN.
THE WINTERHILLS OF MY MIND
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS ?
Anhydrous, arid, , baked, barren, dehydrated, depleted, desert, desiccated, drained, dried-up, drought, ....
Dusty
*Dont forget about me . 'In Memphis ' album. Get it
There never was a prayer for us ..." *
WHERE AM I GOING?
I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF
EV'RYTHING'S COMING UP DUSTY
DUSTY....DEFINITELY
I THINK IT'S GONNA RAIN TODAY
I CLOSE MY EYES AND COUNT TO TEN
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
SON OF A PREACHER MAN.
THE WINTERHILLS OF MY MIND
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS ?
Anhydrous, arid, , baked, barren, dehydrated, depleted, desert, desiccated, drained, dried-up, drought, ....
Dusty
*Dont forget about me . 'In Memphis ' album. Get it
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
WHERE HAVE ALL THE BOOT BOYS GONE ?
" Wearing Boots And Short Hair Cuts
We Will Kick You In The Guts
But Now Look They’ve All Grown Up
They Drink Tea In A Cup "
Old school rules .
Back to basics this week . No car . Rode from ours . Up the canal , over to Borsdane , then through the Wuchie , and then over to Haigh Hall for toast . Oh , and lots of back wheel slippy slidy .
Bike of choice . Old ( ish ) , ( OK , mid -old ), Gary Fisher Big Sur . Silly skinny 1.5 tyres . Ace .
Jeff turned up at ours with two mates from some city way out west . Sevvo and Oz . No curly wigs , calm down , but trackies and trainees. We all met up With Tony . Definitely fully old school . We headed up towards Wigan on the canal , 'til we got to the Ince type of area , whereupon we turned on the the course of the old railway line towards the Hindley type of area .
I've been down here before , sometime , long ago , lost in the ether . After a short while Tony and I had put a little distance into the other 3 lads , so at a bridge we stopped to wait for them .
It took a few moments for the scene to kick in .
I dont know if the Hindley punks are still alive and kicking , but they've certainly left their mark .
Relevance of graffiti will be lost on people under a certain age . Bit before my time even . In '77 I was dressed like little lord fauntleroy.
Morrissey was in Slaughter and the Dogs , as was The Cult's Billy Duffy . They were/ are from Wythenshawe . A city back east.
Anyway . I thought it was cool . I like old graffiti . I saw some the other week that I remembered from when I was a kid .
Toast relevant to all ages .Haigh Hall has a toast policy . At precisely 11AM an impenetrable roller shutter comes down over the toaster , preventing further toastery . So we press on .
We should've made a left off the old railway ,that I missed , so we end up on the road into Hindley , just briefly , but it's for me , and Tony also, a bit of a nostalgia trip . In the 80s we made a weekly pilgrimage to a crummy old bike shop , in a garage down a back street in Hindley . It was a BMX only bike shop . It was a million miles away , and the centre of the universe . Dont know whatever happened to that guy , but I'd hope he's on a sunny beach somewhere sipping daquiris.
Borsdane was a classic . Is a classic . It's a tough ride , starting right off with a river crossing . Ok , there's a bridge , but that'd be easy . I hesitated and scoped the drop/splash in , but after deeming it only slightly more eroded than last time , I had a go , followed by Sevvo . Nice one . it's a baptismal , of sorts . Alan and I used to drop in farther up , but in the intervening 2+ decades that spot is just too eroded . O' level geography in action.
The other side of the water is a slippy singletrack through the trees . Up and down , rolling . There was , unfortunately , a few too many fallen trees hampering our progress . Jeff commented later it was a bit ' stop - start ' . It was, a little . But I still was on a nostalgia trip , instantly recalling lines and roots of old . What can I say ? it's a bit tricky , that's all .
We head out on the road towards The Wuchie . Another classic for me . I realise the nostalgia that I have for this place is only relevant to me . We rode there a lot in the 80s and early 90s before , sadly , someone was killed on an MX bike and the council in their infinite wisdom went to very great lengths to prevent us , anyone in fact, riding in there . It was a classic case of a sledgehammer / walnut scenario .It had great potential as a dedicated riding venue . Tough climbs up , a tricky ' spine ' through the ferns along the top , and a number of precipitous drops , culminating in the big one at the end . Sheer , with a rut to cross , and no run off to speak off . It was brill. Gaz fell off that time . His face looked like pizza.In the ether .
Anyway . We didnt do any of that. We rode along the bottom path , through the mud , and headed on over to Haigh . Oh , good downhill on the way in though.
Haigh Hall . We headed in and straight up . Toast beckoning . Off the main trails it was very slippy . Tough going . Character building , one might say. Before the caff I headed up to the top of the woods . I wanted to see just how slippy it was . It was slippy , and the wet exposed roots dropping down the other side were a welcome eye opener ,too.Tricky climb .
After toast ,( we beat the deadline ) and a chat with Gordon , we head down . Well , up , then down . Down ish . A politician would say the trend is definitely the reverse of rising. Overall .
I didnt bring my new super spangly phone , and my partially dead old phone was acting up , so no pics from me . Suffice to say it was very wet , very hard going , very muddy, very slippy , very dangerous , very steep , very silly .
And then we went home . Bit of a classic ride . Back up the canal. Sevvo and Oz seemed to enjoy it well enough , but after we split off from tony for the last hoof back home they really seemed to be feeling it . In total , extrapolating Tony's bike computer data ,we did a mid 20+ mile ride . I dunno , 24 , or something. Not too shabby then .
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE.
Spoke to Jeff in the week . He said Sevvo and Os were both complaining of sore arses on Monday morning . Well . It could've been worse . They could've gone out with the roadie gang .
Slaughter and the Dogs . If you're interested .
We Will Kick You In The Guts
But Now Look They’ve All Grown Up
They Drink Tea In A Cup "
Old school rules .
Back to basics this week . No car . Rode from ours . Up the canal , over to Borsdane , then through the Wuchie , and then over to Haigh Hall for toast . Oh , and lots of back wheel slippy slidy .
Bike of choice . Old ( ish ) , ( OK , mid -old ), Gary Fisher Big Sur . Silly skinny 1.5 tyres . Ace .
Jeff turned up at ours with two mates from some city way out west . Sevvo and Oz . No curly wigs , calm down , but trackies and trainees. We all met up With Tony . Definitely fully old school . We headed up towards Wigan on the canal , 'til we got to the Ince type of area , whereupon we turned on the the course of the old railway line towards the Hindley type of area .
I've been down here before , sometime , long ago , lost in the ether . After a short while Tony and I had put a little distance into the other 3 lads , so at a bridge we stopped to wait for them .
It took a few moments for the scene to kick in .
I dont know if the Hindley punks are still alive and kicking , but they've certainly left their mark .
Relevance of graffiti will be lost on people under a certain age . Bit before my time even . In '77 I was dressed like little lord fauntleroy.
Morrissey was in Slaughter and the Dogs , as was The Cult's Billy Duffy . They were/ are from Wythenshawe . A city back east.
Anyway . I thought it was cool . I like old graffiti . I saw some the other week that I remembered from when I was a kid .
Toast relevant to all ages .Haigh Hall has a toast policy . At precisely 11AM an impenetrable roller shutter comes down over the toaster , preventing further toastery . So we press on .
We should've made a left off the old railway ,that I missed , so we end up on the road into Hindley , just briefly , but it's for me , and Tony also, a bit of a nostalgia trip . In the 80s we made a weekly pilgrimage to a crummy old bike shop , in a garage down a back street in Hindley . It was a BMX only bike shop . It was a million miles away , and the centre of the universe . Dont know whatever happened to that guy , but I'd hope he's on a sunny beach somewhere sipping daquiris.
Borsdane was a classic . Is a classic . It's a tough ride , starting right off with a river crossing . Ok , there's a bridge , but that'd be easy . I hesitated and scoped the drop/splash in , but after deeming it only slightly more eroded than last time , I had a go , followed by Sevvo . Nice one . it's a baptismal , of sorts . Alan and I used to drop in farther up , but in the intervening 2+ decades that spot is just too eroded . O' level geography in action.
The other side of the water is a slippy singletrack through the trees . Up and down , rolling . There was , unfortunately , a few too many fallen trees hampering our progress . Jeff commented later it was a bit ' stop - start ' . It was, a little . But I still was on a nostalgia trip , instantly recalling lines and roots of old . What can I say ? it's a bit tricky , that's all .
We head out on the road towards The Wuchie . Another classic for me . I realise the nostalgia that I have for this place is only relevant to me . We rode there a lot in the 80s and early 90s before , sadly , someone was killed on an MX bike and the council in their infinite wisdom went to very great lengths to prevent us , anyone in fact, riding in there . It was a classic case of a sledgehammer / walnut scenario .It had great potential as a dedicated riding venue . Tough climbs up , a tricky ' spine ' through the ferns along the top , and a number of precipitous drops , culminating in the big one at the end . Sheer , with a rut to cross , and no run off to speak off . It was brill. Gaz fell off that time . His face looked like pizza.In the ether .
Anyway . We didnt do any of that. We rode along the bottom path , through the mud , and headed on over to Haigh . Oh , good downhill on the way in though.
Haigh Hall . We headed in and straight up . Toast beckoning . Off the main trails it was very slippy . Tough going . Character building , one might say. Before the caff I headed up to the top of the woods . I wanted to see just how slippy it was . It was slippy , and the wet exposed roots dropping down the other side were a welcome eye opener ,too.Tricky climb .
After toast ,( we beat the deadline ) and a chat with Gordon , we head down . Well , up , then down . Down ish . A politician would say the trend is definitely the reverse of rising. Overall .
I didnt bring my new super spangly phone , and my partially dead old phone was acting up , so no pics from me . Suffice to say it was very wet , very hard going , very muddy, very slippy , very dangerous , very steep , very silly .
And then we went home . Bit of a classic ride . Back up the canal. Sevvo and Oz seemed to enjoy it well enough , but after we split off from tony for the last hoof back home they really seemed to be feeling it . In total , extrapolating Tony's bike computer data ,we did a mid 20+ mile ride . I dunno , 24 , or something. Not too shabby then .
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE.
Spoke to Jeff in the week . He said Sevvo and Os were both complaining of sore arses on Monday morning . Well . It could've been worse . They could've gone out with the roadie gang .
Slaughter and the Dogs . If you're interested .
Monday, 16 November 2009
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Another Commercial Break...
Here's a heads-up folks... our 2009 Demo Bikes are now up for grabs:
Cannondale Rize 3 Carbon SOLD
Cannondale Rush 5 Lefty
Commencal Super 4
We have the last of our 09 models at killer deals too:
Cannondale Rush 5 2009 Black Medium
Cannondale Rush 6 2009 Team Replica Medium
Cannondale Rize 5
Cannondale Moto 4
Commencal Meta 5.5 UK
Cannondale Rize 3 Carbon SOLD
Cannondale Rush 5 Lefty
Commencal Super 4
We have the last of our 09 models at killer deals too:
Cannondale Rush 5 2009 Black Medium
Cannondale Rush 6 2009 Team Replica Medium
Cannondale Rize 5
Cannondale Moto 4
Commencal Meta 5.5 UK
Monday, 9 November 2009
REMEMBERANCE SUNDAY RIDE
"These mist covered mountains,
Are a home now for me.
But my home is the lowlands,
And always will be.
Some day you'll return to,
Your valleys and your farms,
And you'll no longer burn to be brothers in arms " *
ANDY AND STU AT THE WATERFALL , LEADMINES.
Not like we need an excuse to go out riding on the hills on a damp November morn or anything ,but today is rememberance Sunday.
For the last few years now I've been trying to make the visit up here for the Bolton Mountain Rescue/ Horwich Rotary service at the war memorial at Leadmines Clough .
I've been to a few over the last couple of years ,and whilst not overtly religious,thank God ,it is , for me at least , a fairly moving thing . Maybe the location adds a certain spiritual element to the proceedings , I dont know , but it does tend to aid my reflections on the day .
So today ,on the way to the main event ,as it were , we meandered up to the Pike , chatting with Matt on his magic singlespeed on the way , and then dropped down the ice Cream Run ,(me on my semi-vintage Fisher with 1.5 tyres . Tasty ) before heading down to Alance Bridge into Leadmines Clough . We were just a little bit early ,so we rode up out of leadmines,a tough climb/push, and then across the field to the head of Leadmines to the waterfall. Much nicer conditions than last week , I'd say.
Me , top of Leadmines . Holding onto 4X2 for dear life . That bridge is slippy as.
THE SERVICE AT LEADMINES CLOUGH.
Bolton Mountain Rescue do their own write up on the day and it's specifics,and obviously there is a lot more to read about what they do HERE .
If I was young and hip , about now I'd say 'big shout out ' or something . Well done guys . Thanks .
Dont take this the wrong way , but I really hope I never have to call you.
A short video that I took at the service is here :
* Dire Straits . You knew that , I suppose.
Are a home now for me.
But my home is the lowlands,
And always will be.
Some day you'll return to,
Your valleys and your farms,
And you'll no longer burn to be brothers in arms " *
ANDY AND STU AT THE WATERFALL , LEADMINES.
Not like we need an excuse to go out riding on the hills on a damp November morn or anything ,but today is rememberance Sunday.
For the last few years now I've been trying to make the visit up here for the Bolton Mountain Rescue/ Horwich Rotary service at the war memorial at Leadmines Clough .
I've been to a few over the last couple of years ,and whilst not overtly religious,thank God ,it is , for me at least , a fairly moving thing . Maybe the location adds a certain spiritual element to the proceedings , I dont know , but it does tend to aid my reflections on the day .
So today ,on the way to the main event ,as it were , we meandered up to the Pike , chatting with Matt on his magic singlespeed on the way , and then dropped down the ice Cream Run ,(me on my semi-vintage Fisher with 1.5 tyres . Tasty ) before heading down to Alance Bridge into Leadmines Clough . We were just a little bit early ,so we rode up out of leadmines,a tough climb/push, and then across the field to the head of Leadmines to the waterfall. Much nicer conditions than last week , I'd say.
Me , top of Leadmines . Holding onto 4X2 for dear life . That bridge is slippy as.
THE SERVICE AT LEADMINES CLOUGH.
Bolton Mountain Rescue do their own write up on the day and it's specifics,and obviously there is a lot more to read about what they do HERE .
If I was young and hip , about now I'd say 'big shout out ' or something . Well done guys . Thanks .
Dont take this the wrong way , but I really hope I never have to call you.
A short video that I took at the service is here :
* Dire Straits . You knew that , I suppose.
WHITE . WATER
"See the steeple pine
The hills as old as time
Soon to be put to the test
To be whipped by the winds of the west " *
Not a great lot to say about todays ride . Myself and Jeff braved the horrendous conditions to bring you fantastically blurred photographs of Rivington Pike and Leadmines Clough .
It was pretty bad .
We didnt die.
But we could have .
I'd thought of going up and over the mast at Winter hill , but used the Pike as a gauge , of sorts . It was deemed a little on the silly side to go over the mast . It goes without saying . Whilst we grow familiar with the hill , we should still understand just who's boss .
The hills as old as time
Soon to be put to the test
To be whipped by the winds of the west " *
Not a great lot to say about todays ride . Myself and Jeff braved the horrendous conditions to bring you fantastically blurred photographs of Rivington Pike and Leadmines Clough .
It was pretty bad .
We didnt die.
But we could have .
I'd thought of going up and over the mast at Winter hill , but used the Pike as a gauge , of sorts . It was deemed a little on the silly side to go over the mast . It goes without saying . Whilst we grow familiar with the hill , we should still understand just who's boss .
The above photo's were taken climbing up the back of the Pike ,and some from the top , showing the , er , view.
Below we have the Limestone Brook at Leadmines , with the last few at the head of Leadmines near the waterfall.
We called it a draw and shot to the caff .
Still , a bonkers unforgettable ride . Really . Where were you ?
JEFF AT THE WATERFALL. TOP OF LEADMINES CLOUGH.
JEFF AT THE WATERFALL. TOP OF LEADMINES CLOUGH.
"Chimes sing sunday morn
Today's the day she's sworn
To steal what she never could own
And race from this hole she calls home "
* The Stone Roses , waterfall .
Stay tuned for a sneaky bit of video .
Friday, 6 November 2009
Shimano Winter Shoe Deal
We have the new range of Shimano Winter winter shoes that we can do at very competitive prices. These prices quoted are lower than we actually have in store, so please tell us you've seen them on blog to get these prices. Offer ends 31st December 2009!
MT42
RRP 69.99
BLOG SPECIAL=54.99
AM31
RRP 79.99
BLOG SPECIAL=59.99
MW80
RRP 139.99
BLOG SPECIAL=109.99
MT42
RRP 69.99
BLOG SPECIAL=54.99
AM31
RRP 79.99
BLOG SPECIAL=59.99
MW80
RRP 139.99
BLOG SPECIAL=109.99
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
DEVIL IS SIX
"There was a guy,
(an under water guy who controlled the sea )
got killed by ten million pounds of sludge " *
RICK MONKEYING AROUND ON HIS SINGLESPEED
Turned into a fairly usual type of thing this week . I was kinda needing to be back early anyway , so .
So , anyway.
I'd intended to get over to Turton Heights . That's up over Winter Hill , then on and up and over the next hill , looping back around to come over Winter Hill again . A bigger than average loop .
UN CHIEN ANDALUSIA
NEW STU . NEW JERSEY.SLUDGE . KILLER
In the end it did'nt happen . Stu was grumbling from a sore ankle sustained in Spain , ( where it mainly rains on the plain ) , so we cut it short and headed back . We still got in the san marino DH , though , so it was still a decent enough spin .
The other thing . Where we were heading would'nt have been too good . Apart from it being quite very windy , we'd had some rain the day before and the moorland off-piste was very wet . Not that it'd normally stop us ,but under the circumstances .
* MONKEY'S GONE TO HEAVEN
We didnt take the easy option back over , either . Opting instead for the debasing bog yomp that runs parallel ( ish ) with the road ( sheephouse / Belmont Rd ).
It was wet . Very . I am a debaser.
Not many Pix's this week.
Here comes your map
(an under water guy who controlled the sea )
got killed by ten million pounds of sludge " *
RICK MONKEYING AROUND ON HIS SINGLESPEED
Turned into a fairly usual type of thing this week . I was kinda needing to be back early anyway , so .
So , anyway.
I'd intended to get over to Turton Heights . That's up over Winter Hill , then on and up and over the next hill , looping back around to come over Winter Hill again . A bigger than average loop .
UN CHIEN ANDALUSIA
NEW STU . NEW JERSEY.SLUDGE . KILLER
In the end it did'nt happen . Stu was grumbling from a sore ankle sustained in Spain , ( where it mainly rains on the plain ) , so we cut it short and headed back . We still got in the san marino DH , though , so it was still a decent enough spin .
The other thing . Where we were heading would'nt have been too good . Apart from it being quite very windy , we'd had some rain the day before and the moorland off-piste was very wet . Not that it'd normally stop us ,but under the circumstances .
* MONKEY'S GONE TO HEAVEN
We didnt take the easy option back over , either . Opting instead for the debasing bog yomp that runs parallel ( ish ) with the road ( sheephouse / Belmont Rd ).
It was wet . Very . I am a debaser.
Not many Pix's this week.
Here comes your map
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