MFK and More Catching Up with Friends.

I’ve been down to Milton Keynes to meet up with some of my long term University friends. I met up with Phil (who lives in MFK), Dave, Greg and Steve. We generally get together at least one a year every year, normally during the Superbowl weekend to watch the game and have a good time together. They didn't get together this year during the Superbowl so I felt we had to gather soon to catch up.

I took my bike down to Milton Keynes to get some biking in over the weekend because I really wanted to get some exercise. Normally I would just visit the gym, but because of my part time membership I wouldn’t be able to go until the afternoon which wouldn’t do.

I got down to MFK on Friday night and met up with the lads. We were fed very well by Phil and settled down with a few beers and played four player Halo 2 for the evening. Always a good laugh for some hectic gaming action.

On Saturday morning Dave and I both went down to the local Aspley Woods for some off road biking. The local village next to the woods is called Woburn Sands, we quickly found out the reason for this was because of the amount of sand on the trails in the woods. Believe you and me that cycling on sand is very difficult. If you’re not trying to avoid going sideways then you’re franticly trying to get some traction on the sand.

When looking for the woods I had some directions to look for St Mary’s church in Woburn Sands. We asked two separate people for directions to the church in the town and both replied whether we were looking for a Catholic church. It gave us the impression that they were wary of the Catholic church and wondered why we were looking for it. Quite strange and also very funny.

We hadn’t a clue of where to go around the woods so we just randomly made our way around the trails having lots of fun. There was one section where there was a steep single track downhill section. I went first and at the bottom of the steep hill there is a right turn. As you come around the turn there was a large horse turd on the left hand side. I had to take some evasive action to narrowly avoid the manure and as I did so I shouted “big poo!” which would hopefully warn Dave. The problem was that he waited a few seconds before following me and unfortunately didn’t take evasive action to avoid it, so went right though it. We came down the same slope a second time later on in the morning and I could see a definite V shape where Dave had previously ridden!

In the middle of the woods in a big bowl there was a BMX course that had been set up for some stunt tricks and big air jumps. There were a few kids playing around on the jumps. They were very good at getting some good height off the ramps and we were very impressed. Of course our bikes weren’t really designed to tackle the jumps otherwise we would have shown them how to get some serious air!

Also on another narrow single track section which involved riding though trees and bushes either side of the track, I was going quite fast when there was a sharp right turn. I applied my rear brakes and managed to slide my bike sideways on a full skid. It put a really big smile on my face and I really enjoyed it. When I came out of the trail I had such a big grin on my face and couldn’t stop laughing. For me it was one of those really scary and fun moments that I really live for.

We both had a really good ride though the woods and I can’t wait to go again with Dave somewhere else for some more off road biking.

The rest of the weekend involved more beer, talking about crap and playing more games. We always have a good time when we get together and it’s a shame that we can’t meet more often. However, we all live in almost opposite ends of the country and have other commitments so can’t get together too often. Hopefuly we won't have to wait until the Superbowl next year before we get a chance to gather.

More extreme weekends.

I went to visit my sister and her family a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t seen them for almost nine months so it would be good to catch up with them and also my two nieces.

I had a really good weekend playing with my both my nieces, Elise (on the left) and Aimee. As you can see they are both real terrors and spending time with them is much more extreme than sky diving or anything else that I do for fun.

We went out for a cycle ride in a local park. Elise can ride her bike quite well, while Aimee is still learning. She can ride her bike once she gets going but starting off can sometimes be a problem. We also went for a walk in the local woods and threw a frisbee around as well. The really confusing thing was when we played topsy turvey, where everything is backwards and you have to say everything the wrong way around. I was Nam Mailliw, or rather wasn't Nam Mailliw! They were very well behaved all weekend and it was lovely to catch up with my sister and her family.

Something that surprised me the other day was when my new cat Lola came up to me and let me stroke her! She isn’t the friendliest cat in the world and generally isn’t a people person. She’s getting better now and will also come into my house and sleep in the spare room overnight, if not there then she will sleep on top of my car in the garage.

On the whole though if you try to approach her she will run away. When I try to get out a new cat collar that I've bought for her then she will run a mile. I guess some cats just aren't meant to belong to anyone.

Mud mud and more mud! Whehey!

On Easter Day I decided to get up of my lardy arse and go out for a full off road ride in the woods near the Mendips.

I cleaned my car and packed my bike on the back of it. I decided to do a Cleeve Hill route which in the cycle route book that I had described it as a moderate grade.

I found the start of the route quite easily in my car, as it was only just SW of Bristol and just off the main road.

The start of the route had quite a big steep climb up a wide path and single-track road and it was quite difficult for me. I had to stop a few times because I just ran out of puff. I did carry on walking, determined to make it up to the top without stopping.

Once I had made it to the top of the climb there was an off route path which where the fun really started. You can see the condition of the track in this first photo. It was really deep in mud in some points and it was quite obvious that a tractor had driven trough it. I had to cycle though the tractor tyre trails. The problem was that they were very deep in some points and I couldn't peddle as well as concentrate on staying in the very narrow tracks. Consequently I had to stop a few times and put my feet down. This meant stepping into the very soft and deep mud!

After a few more miles the muddy paths turned into full forest trails, which were fantastic to ride along. They were mainly downhill sections though forest trees and over rocky and mud trails. There were a few muddy puddles which were really good fun to ride though.

Later on the forest trail turned into a long downhill section. The trail was about a car width wide and quite steep in parts. I took the really steep sections a little more slowly but by the time I got to the bottom I had a massive smile on my face. I was covered in mud splashes all over and my bike the same but I had a really good time.

At the bottom I was back on the main road and got quite lost around the area. The trail that I was following in the book wasn't that helpful and there weren't any road signs. I did manage eventually to get back onto the path and follow another forest trail. Again I did have to stop a few times, I guess I really need to get much fitter as at times I was quite out of breath and my legs were really aching.

I covered ten miles in total today and it took just under a couple of hours. Considering the number of stops that I made to look at the scenery and also the forest trails I'm not surprised at the slow time.

This is where I parked my car to do this ride and here it is with my muddy bike perched on the back. I didn't think that I would get that muddy so forgot to bring something to clean myself off before getting back into my car. I had to ask at a local house for a plastic bag to put my shoes into! :-)

My first bike ride in Bristol.

I went out last Sunday to break in my new bike on the Bristol bike paths and roads.

The weather couldn't have been better really. It was a little chilly (for me) but probably quite warm for everyone else.

Here's a shot from a hill near the M32, Bristol town centre is just behind me. I've often seen the yellow building from the M32 but never bothered to try to get up there to see it up close.

On my bike I managed to cycle from my house to the yellow castle and further. It was quite nice to be able to cycle up here and see a view of Bristol and the motorway that I wouldn't normally see.

Here's a landmark on the top of the hill where the previous photo was taken.

There were two ways down from the top of this hill. The way that I came up which was a little steep but nothing that I couldn't do easily on the way down. There was also a much steeper drop down, I would have loved to have a go at it, but thought I shouldn't because I was on my own.

From this point I cycled under the M32 and then onwards to Frenchay and the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. This path is basically a cycle path that follows the railway between Bristol and Bath. I'd heard about the path but had never bothered to investigate it.

I only went on a small section of the path for a few miles as I wanted to try to explore some more adventurous routes on my bike. I'll have to do the path all the way to Bath sometime in the future.

While on the path I saw a parallel off road route so decided to climb over a small fence and get on it. It turned out to be quite a good route, which had some small technical parts to take my bike over.

There were also some mud trails, which were fun to ride though. After the trails I followed a path that ran parallel to the Bristol ring road (A4174). As I approached under a bridge I could see three teenagers throwing stones from the path to the dual carriageway! The council had put some pebbles on the side of the path to help with drainage. Unfortunately these pebbles were being used by the kids. As I got near the kids I shouted at them and then when I got really close they stopped throwing stones. I asked them what they were doing and they just replied "Dunno". Then a jogger came along and told the kids off and they then rode off on their bikes.

I did some more exploring after this incident. I saw a small path off the main off road routes and decided to follow it. The path started to get a little wild after a few hundred yards, so bad in fact I was eventually cycling though brambles and got quite cut up on my legs. I was determined to follow the path to the end figuring that it must go somewhere. Unfortunately it didn't! Eventually the trail petered out and ended up at a dead end. I had to follow the path backwards but really didn't want to go though the brambles again. I saw a small path off to a side but had to climb over a barbwire fence to get to it.

After managing to get my bike and myself over the fence I followed the path. It turned out to be a footpath so I really shouldn't have been on it with my bike. However no one was around at all so I carried on cycling. I passed some cows and eventually saw a farmhouse. I cycled towards the house and was really hoping that no one would spot me and tell me off.

Fortunately I wasn't spotted and managed to get back on a road. I followed signs towards Bristol and after 17 odd miles in total finally made it home.