Sunday 12 August 2012

After a slightly elusive sunrise

I'm determined to catch a nice, or should I say beautiful sunrise. So far I've failed in my last couple of attempts. I used to be up at the crack of dawn when I worked as a postman, but that was years ago, before I became ill with my leg. Since then well I can find myself in bed till all hours of the morning and don't get to catch too many sunrises. Just lately however I've been getting up at silly o'clock like this morning for instance 4:00 AM and heading out on my bike.

 Last night I checked the weather on-line for our local area and from what I read I thought it was going to be a canny morning.......how wrong was I ? I had intended riding up to Consett to catch the sun coming up over the Hownsgill Viaduct and shoot a small movie with my GoPro.  Well to cut a long story short the weather was pants, very dull, lots of clouds, mostly of the miserable variety. I decided I wasn't going to let this ruin my day. So Kyle my son who had joined me on this early morning adventure thought about where we could go and capture a few photo's and a bit of movie footage. We decided to head towards Waskerley and the reservoir as we hadn't actually visited it before.

Once you start to get up into the moors and the area opens up, it's so beautiful over there. It's so peaceful down by the reservoir. I rode right down to the edge of the reservoir and got a little bit of footage and even had a bit plodge in the water at one point to capture some pics of my bike at the waters edge. I reckon we did around 35 miles or so today and had a really enjoyable time, even if the weather was caca doo doo.

 Oh one thing I'm not happy with is my new cycling shorts, the lycra padded variety. I bought a pair of Funkier 8 panel gel filled shorts thinking they would help me out in those long rides in the saddle. Boy how wrong was I, these particular brand or design of shorts are so uncomfortable for me and have actually chaffed me pretty bad on both my good side and socket side, so I think I'm going to have to invest in another pair from a different manufacturer. I've been sore in the saddle before but not like this Ouch lol !!!!




Here's a few photo's from today

I saw that some kind of work was being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct as there was a few barriers up. I then spotted this notice when heading over towards Waskerley Way near the farm.

Apparently some sort of fencing is being put in place in the hope it will stop people committing suicide off the viaduct, as it is a pretty well known area for people to actually jump off.

A Notice of work being carried out on the Hownsgill Viaduct

Me playing on my Sandman coming down a trail near the Viaduct

Kyle and me on our way up to Waskerley. Rowley Station was actually dismantled brick by brick and is now at Beamish Open Air Museum

Yeah I know it's just a gate, but the sky and trail leading off into the distance caught my imagination so I thought why not take a snap

Here are a few shots which I experimented with using different camera settings and a filter I got of my good friend Adrian. I took quite a flot of shots,  didn't want to bore you so only put up a few....

Sandman Hoggar Ti at the shore line of Waskerley Reservoir

In at the deep end lol

The sky was quite heavy with clouds, added to the shot though

Friday 10 August 2012

Spent a morning with some fantastic guys from the BBC

Had a really enjoyable morning today. Three really nice guys from the BBC arrived where I live to do a short report on my use of the Bartlett  Tendon which I am sponsored on and to find out where things started in my mountain biking adventures.  Damian who is a Broadcaster and Journalist,was there to do the interview with me, Adam who is a video/camera man to take some footage and shots and David who is also a Broadcaster and Journalist tagged along for the experience.

Upon meeting the guys they were all very warm and friendly and we went over just what was going to happen during the course of the morning. They were fantastic guiding me through what needed to be done and offering lots of encouragement and reassuring me, making the tasks at hand easy to get on with.

I was very proud that I got great positive feedback on stuff I had shot, both photo and image wise. In fact Damian and Adam actually asked if they could copy some of my work over on to Adam's laptop as they may use it in doing the final news report.





Though very nervous about doing the interview (I'm not good in front of the camera) I felt it went well and was very pleased when Damian said it was spot on. I'm so thrilled to be actually able to get to thank those people and companies who have actually helped and supported me along the way and hope this kind of media stuff gives them a bit more recognition for the amazing work they do for others.

So in ending I would just like to say a huge thank you to Damian, Adam and David of the BBC. I really enjoyed meeting you all, your an excellent team and good to share a bit of banter with you.

And to those people and companies who have helped me so much over the past 5 years.

Pace Rehabilitation for your commitment and support when ever I have needed it.
  www.pacerehab.com

Brian Bartlett @ Leftsideinc for sponsoring me on your knee unit and taking care of me.
 www.leftsideinc.com

And to

Sandman Bikes for your excellent customer service, your always there to answer a query and your bike design is just awesome. I'm proud to be an ambassador for your company.
 www.sandmanbikes.com

A Sunset at Waskerley

Decided to head straight off up towards Waskerley on our return from Middlesbrough yesterday. I really wanted to try and catch a nice sunset on the reservoir up there but unfortunately we were a little late.

Never mind I did get  some shots, mind you I had to wade through the heather and almost fell a few times to get in position. It's real difficult walking at the best of time with this stoopid leg, but add confounded weeds,undergrowth and heather and well it's just not funny at all.....well maybe to others when I'm either goose stepping to get through the stuff or falling over as I've snagged my foot and my leg gives way unexpectedly lol.

Anyhoo hope you think the shots were worth it, all of the shots have the same basic composition I was messing around with different light settings,apertures etc.  I'm a total noob to this lol.

Near Waskerley on the moors






Whilst I was in Middlesbrough

I was invited along to BBC Radio Tees today to do an interview regarding my limb loss and to chat about my mountain biking and the unique sports knee, the Bartlett Tendon I am using.
After I had finished up at the Radio station I decided to go checkout the Tees Transporter Bridge and also have a look at the Newport Bridge which we had seen on the journey in.

Tees Transporter Bridge



A pretty interesting day

Like my post title says I've had "a pretty interesting day"..... It all stems from an interview I did for one of my local newspapers, (The Northern Echo) a week or so ago. A couple of very nice guys from the newspaper came out to see me to find out a bit more about me and my story in regards to loosing my limb and also to hear about the fantastic people, clinic and companies  who are supporting me in my mountain biking endeavours.

Earlier today Scott Richardson who is Pace Rehabilitation's Business Development Manager got in touch with me informing me BBC Radio Tees would like to do a short interview with me and was I available. Scott gave me Neil Green's number over at BBC Tees and I got in touch. Neil was busy but I was told he would contact me a little later in the day. I had no sooner put the phone down than a very nice gentleman John Williams from the BBC  rang me asking if I would be interested in doing a short interview and story for Look North......WoW it's all happening I thought. You see I wasn't aware at the time that the article had ran in today's Northern Echo so it seemed a bit weird all of these people calling me and taking an interest in little old me.

Neil as promised rang me back and we arranged for me to pay a visit down to BBC Radio Tees in Middlesbrough where I took part in a small interview, basically explaining what had happened to me, About my mountain biking and how I got to be so fortunate in finding people/companies to help and support me in my journey.

So overall it's been a busy kind of day, though I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The real bonus for me is being able to thank all those people who have supported me. It's also great to be able to spread a little more disability awareness as who knows it could inspire and motivate others.

Checkout the below link for the Northern Echo Article

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/stanley/9861551.Amputee_biker_from_County_Durham_tests_prosphetic_limbs_for_US_firm/

And the BBC Radio Tees interview can be found here (skip to 1 hour 39 approx to hear my interview)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00w7jdb?t=5936.635

Just like to go on and thank everyone at the Northern Echo, Gavin Havery (reporter) and Dave the camera/video man.

Everyone at BBC Radio Tees, thanks for the warm welcome and coffee.

Oh and a huge thank you to my dad, your my biggest supporter, always there when I need you and my best friend, cheers dad.....


Saturday 4 August 2012

Would like to add one of these to my bike collection, maybe if I win the lottery

I love all things bike, it doesn't have to be just mountain or Fat bikes. I also like to go for a blast on my single speed NS Analog. With it being a single speed it's tough work, what with only having the one leg to power me along. Banks and hills can be a nightmare, thing is with the single I find you can have a great ride out if you plan your route and kind of zig zag your way up any inclines. Riding my Single speed kind of takes me back to the days I rode my old Raleigh Grifter or Peugeot Bmx,back in the 80's. It's just a back to basics steel frame with bog standard calliper brakes, it's no frills fun biking.

 Anyhoo as I was saying......I got my eye on this English Bikes awesomely cool frame design. The attention to detail of this bike is fantastic. It's called Project Right and I dare say if I came into some money I would like to invest in one. I always like to own things that are just that little bit different and this bike certainly fits the bill.

Project Right
To read more about Project Right and see more images as well as English Bikes other designs checkout  http://www.englishcycles.com/custombikes/project-right/

Friday 3 August 2012

Ventured out to Barnard Castle

Today's adventure was to Barnard Castle.I'm getting a bit bored of the usual local 20 odd mile loops so thought I'd venture a bit further afield. Barnard Castle is around 40 miles away from where I live. I didn't think I could manage it there and back so arranged for Ern to pick Kyle and myself  up when we had arrived at our destination.

Heading down towards Barnard Castle isn't to bad, we picked up the cycle route at Lanchester on the Lanchester Way Railway Path and headed towards Durham. We then continued on until we saw a sign for the Walney to Wear cycle route,( route 20). Overall getting to Barnard Castle wasn't too bad, though in certain area's the route is marked as Regional Route 20 but has now been resigned as National Route 70 which can be confusing, plus I don't think there are enough signs dotted around. You really have to keep your eyes peeled as it's quite easy to miss a sign and head off in the wrong direction,especially if your like me and get lost after leaving the corner of your street. Never mind a couple of helpful people around the Bishop Auckland area soon pointed us in the right direction and we were off again.

We climbed up the hill of the A688 and at about 9 miles away from Barnard Castle broke out the rations. This was one sausage roll, large which we shared and a couple of sandwiches which I had prepared before we set off. Consisting of 2 strawberry jam and 2 chocolate spread all on delicious fruit loaf. Boy they went down a treat and gave us a bit of a boost for the climb into Barnard Castle.

Met Ern and my friend Essi who's been visiting us this week at Barnard Castle and took a few quick snaps before popping the bikes onto the bike rack and heading home. A really nice ride out even though I'm a bit knackered and sore lol......

Me with my slightly retarded son

A Network Sculpture sign post type thing

@ Barnard Castle

@ the park Barnard Castle

The gates to Barnard castle

Coming down the footpath @ Barnard castle

Thursday 2 August 2012

A lookout to the Scotish Borders

On my return from Edinburgh the other week I got my eye on a fantastic looking  viaduct and made a mental note to have a look back up to check it out. So along with my dad,Kyle and Mr Hinks, as well as a few friends including Essi and the Hair family we all ventured up to the Scottish borders to take in this amazing piece of construction.

The viaduct in question is called the Leaderfoot Viaduct, it was constructed in 1865 to carry the Berwickshire Railway, connecting Reston on the East Coast Main Line with St Boswells on the Waverley.

  A little more history of the Viaduct can be found here
http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/leaderfoot.html


Leaderfoot Viaduct

Wednesday 25 July 2012

What to do when you just can't sleep

Just couldn't get to sleep last night, so at around 3:30 am I got up popped my bike gear on, filled my Camelbak and set off for a morning ride. I took my camera and GoPro, thought I might get some interesting morning shots, boy how wrong was I. The weather was a bit naff, a drizzly,damp and foggy sort of morning and the GoPro couldn't really cope with the low light conditions, so the footage looked terrible and as for my camera I didn't really see anything of interest. I only rode to the "Gill bridge" or Howsgill Viaduct to give it it's proper name. On my way back I popped into McDonald's for a Coffee and a sausage & egg McMuffin. I was soaked through by the time I got home. Gave my bike a quick hose down and blew the majority of the excess water off with the compressor. Ahh well it filled a bit of the morning in and to be fair even though my video and photo's didn't turn out I still enjoyed my ride out.......

Monday 23 July 2012

An outing to Penshaw Monument



Penshaw Monument isn't too far from where I live, it's around a 22 to 24 mile trip by bike.  It's somewhere I've passed quite a few times but I hadn't actually ventured up the hill to the top where the Monument actually sits. So today I looked out my bedroom window and even though I thought to myself "boy it looks quite windy" I decided to head off to Penshaw and visit the Monument.


Sunday 22 July 2012

Fat Biking at Sunrise

Well reviewed yesterdays footage and put a small movie together. It was a beautiful morning and I think the GoPro has captured the scenes pretty well.                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hooked up with Brian and Laurie in Edinburgh

I thought I may have missed my opportunity to hook up with Brian and Laurie on their latest trip over here from the States. Brian is just so busy working flat out on his  knee design the Bartlett Tendon. For those of you who aren't aware of what a Bartlett Tendon is, it's a universal sporting prosthetic and it can enable an above knee amputee to get back into doing a whole range of sporting activities.

Checkout the below link for more info......
www.leftsideinc.com

I had been out to the coast for a spot of beach riding this morning and when I got home my bike was covered in sand, so I gave it a quick wash down before deciding to go for another blast out locally. When I returned home my dad informed me Brian had been on the phone saying he had some free time if I was able to make it up to Edinburgh, where he had been attending the Human Race Exhibition. The exhibition was a look at the history of sports medicine and Brian's sporting prosthetic design the Bartlett Tendon was featured. This is a huge achievement considering how long the knee has been in production...

City Art Centre and the venue for the Human Race Exhibition
 No probs I thought, Edinburgh is roughly about 112 miles away from us. Obviously my dad has heard so much about Brian from myself and  he was real excited about getting the chance to meet him, so he decided he would come along for the ride. Both Brian and his partner Laurie are huge animal lovers so when I write an email to them I will always keep them up to date on how my dog Mr Hinks is doing and ask about their dog Bear so I thought I may as well take Mr Hinks along so as he could say "Hello" too.

It was really great seeing Brian and Laurie again as it's been quite sometime. We all decided we would go for some pub grub and even took Mr Hinks, he was allowed inside the pub. The pub was named Lebowski's after the famous cult movie  "The Big Lebowski" starring Geoff Bridges.



 Mr Hinks was very well behaved and got lots of attention, not only from Brian and Laurie but also the staff and customers. One lady and gentleman even gave him some crisps they had left over and one of the bar staff brought him a nice cool bowl of water. He then proceeded to help Laurie clear her mixed platter which she had ordered.

Mr Hinks @ the pub
























Ern @ the Pub




























 It was fantastic listening to Brian talk about   his work as he is so passionate , he even drew a little sketch of his future plans for  some new prosthetic designs, this was very interesting, but we won't talk about that as I have been sworn to secrecy  lol.

After our meal we decided to take Mr Hinks for a quick walk and then head to another pub for a drink. We sat outside as it wasn't too bad an evening. Again the bar staff were brilliant offering a dish of water for Hinks and again he got more attention from passer by, one old fellow coming over to pet him and saying "hey isn't that like the dog from Oliver" in a lovely Scottish accent of course.

Sitting Outside the pub, thanks to the nice lad who used Brian's iPhone to capture this shot

 So all in all it's been a brilliant day I've now been up almost 23 hours straight and drove there and back from Edinburgh so now going to hit the sack.

Just like to say a huge thank you to both Brian and Laurie, it's what you do that makes you special...

Images courtesy of Brian  and his iPhone

Up @ 3:45 in the am to catch a Sunrise at South Shields

After taking a few shots of the Groyne Lighthouse at South Shields the other week and them not turning out too bad I thought it may be a good subject matter when there was a nice Sunrise. So I Googled what time the Sunrise was due and also checked to see what sort of day it was going to be. It said Sunrise was 4:59 am and weather wise it was supposed to be going to be a pretty nice day.



Friday 20 July 2012

A part ride, part hike starting at Fox and Parrot Wood

Set off for a little bit of a ride with my son Kyle today, me on my Sandman and Kyle on my Ibis. Decided to set off along to Craghead then cut through Fox Parrot Wood and up towards West Pelton.





Kyle and Me @ Fox Parrot Wood

Fox Parrot Wood

• Ancient and new woodland • Excellent for dog walking • Wide open spaces
Fox and Parrot Wood, named in memory of a local doctor and his beloved bird, forms part of County Durham's Great North Forest. The gently undulating grass rides make this site ideal for strolling in the fresh air and admiring the beautiful broadleaved woodland that has been taking shape here since 1998.
As well as being popular with dog walkers, this site offers a sense of boundless space where walkers can roam freely and even explore the ancient semi-natural woodland in adjoining Twizell Wood. The establishment of Fox and Parrot Wood has been important to the area's biodiversity, having been planted on improved grassland after the decline of opencast coal mining in the 1980s. This 21-acre wood was planted in two phases in 1998 and 2004 under the Trust's Woods on Your Doorstep Project and the Forestry Commission's New Native Woodland Scheme. The site will continue to be maintained as native broadleaf high forest woodland until it begins to regenerate naturally over the next hundred years and beyond.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

A couple more acquisitions in tools & Accessories

 Quite often I find my backpack is a bit disorganized so when I saw the Lezyne Smart Wallet I thought "Oh that would be handy to keep all my essential stuff in one place" you know bike multi-tool, a puncture repair kit, a place for a little bit of emergency cash and a nice sealed cover for my phone. Thing was when I looked for the Smart Wallet Elite I discovered it had been discontinued. I even contacted the distributors to see if they knew of any shops that may have had the odd one lying around, alas to no avail. Anyhoo I struck lucky on eBay and managed to pick up a brand new one for less than the original retail price so was well pleased.

I've since bought myself a new set of Lezyne alloy tyre levers and an alloy puncture repair case with glueless patches, all I need now is a nice Lezyne multi-tool. Quite fancy one of the blingtastic carbon affairs but wow are they expensive.

       
Lezyne Smart Wallet Elite


I also got myself a handy little Topeak  Samrt Gauge D2. Here's how Topeak describe there nifty little gauge....

"The second-generation digital gauge features a rotating SmartHead™ and works seamlessly with Presta and Schrader valves without changing parts. Precision digital gauge reads up to 250 psi / 17 bar and is designed for use with tires, suspension forks and rear shock units. LCD display can be programmed to show pressure in psi, Bar, or kg/cm2. 

Topeak Smart Gauge D2
 Visit below link for more details

http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/smartgauge_d2


Camelbak Rain Cover

What with the current weather we have been having of late I'm finding my Camelbak back pack is getting covered in mud and it's a real pain keep cleaning it. So I have decided to treat myself to a Rain Cover for my pack. It's a simple case of just popping it over your bag and it keeps your bag both dry and clean, it's also handy as it's quite bright so helps you get seen on those murky days. There are a few different brands of covers on the market, some even come with built in lights, one of  the Respo covers I think.

Camelbak Rain Cover

Monday 16 July 2012

Had a look down the Dene

I had to go see about getting a new leg made today at the Disability Services Centre in Newcastle. The DSC is situated  just on the left hand side of the entry way into the Freeman Hospital.

Across from the Freeman Hospital is Jesmond Dene Park. This is a beautiful park and makes for a lovely stroll,  there are some quite steep ups and downs, but the scenery makes up for the effort of venturing into the dene.

 I had my camera with me so decided to take a few snaps......

The waterfall at the bottom of the Dene


Friday 13 July 2012

Had a ride to the coast met a grumpy old man....

There was a bit of a break in the weather today,so I decided to ask Kyle (my son) if he would like to go out for a ride. We decided to head off down to the coast. We are quite lucky in where we live as the C2C route isn't to far from us, so it's just a case of picking it up and then a pretty straight route down to Roker in Sunderland.

We were having a rather nice day out until we got to around Birtley, there is a bit there known as "the worm". It's like a man made embankment that's about 10 feet or so high and winds it way down to the side of the C2C route for a few hundred yards. Anyhoo I decided we would cut to the side of the cycle route on this beaten trail in between the worm and the C2C track. We had just got on it when this grumpy old guy walked across our path with his two dogs, which were off the lead and running all over the place. The man went to put one of his dogs on the lead and allowed me passed to which I said "thank you". Just after I got passed he said "are you allowed to ride on here" to which I said "yes we are". I mean there are no signs as it's just a beat up rough track, that has been worn away by walkers and bikers alike. This guy then said in a very grumpy fashion "you should be riding up there". I just continued on. It wasn't until I reached the end of the beat up track that I noticed Kyle wasn't following me. Kyle had had to turn around and come down the C2C part of the route as this old guy had actually blocked him and wouldn't allow him past. Kyle says the old dude was really miffed off and had gotten his camera out and took a photo off him, don't know what purpose that serves as we hadn't actually done anything wrong, maybe he just liked the look of his bike lol. It's so annoying when you get people like this I mean they have their dogs off the leash running all over and the majority of them just allow their dogs to do their business where ever without picking it up. I always try to be polite when I'm out I know the rules of the tracks I ride,things such as giving way to horses and pedestrians. It's really hard being polite to a numpty like that though. I guess there just has to be some miserable sods who don't like bikers and think they own the place.

 It didn't spoil the day, Kyle and myself actually had a bit of a laugh about it, hopefully the next time I'm down that way I'll see mister grumpy I'm going to ask if he has any doggie bags then make a point of telling him "hey do you know you can get fined for not picking up after your dog" Maybe I can get a photo or two of him lol.

 Didn't get too many photo's today......


Souter Lighthouse




Groyne Lighthouse South Shields


Riding under Groyne Lighthouse


My Sandman Hoggar Ti










Saturday 7 July 2012

Techy Trail on my Sandman

Here's a small video I shot riding my Sandman through a rather technical part of some woods at Beamish. The ground was pretty muddy,because of the weather we have had lately with some very slippy roots and rocks. The foilage is getting very dense in areas so at times it's quite difficult to see just where your going on the trails. When I fell off at the end of the clip it was because I wasn't expecting the dip in the trail, it was covered by dense undergrowth lol.


Don't let the rain get in the way

Decided I wasn't going to let the weather get in the way of me having a blast out and some fun riding my Sandman. So got kitted up, popped on my GoPro and headed off to do a spot of puddle jumping lol. It was really tough riding the trails down at Beamish so much thick deep mud and in parts the trail had been washed away completely. I think I managed to fall off around 5 times today, nothing high speed, it was more a case of getting bogged down and not being able to get my leg down on my amputated side. Also had a nightmare trying to pump my tyre up with my very small pump,after I had deflated it to get through a particularly muddy area. I was knackered lol. Then had a steep climb from the forges at Beamish back up to the Shepard and Shepherdess pub and made my way home via No Place. All in all a fun filled few hours, a couple of bruises,a sore elbow (hit it on a rock) a nettled leg and a few scuffs on my Sandman, ahh well can't keep it new for ever.

Checkout the weird angle of the GoPro. I had it attached to my prosthetics pylon. It came out totally different to what I expected lol

Thursday 5 July 2012

Edmondsley Woods

I like to go out for a nice walk,along with my dad and Mr Hinks and on occasion with friends. It's always nice to see a bit of our beautiful countryside, especially at this time of year what with all the different flowers,trees and other plants and there array of wonderful colours, sure beats sitting around in the house.

A beautiful old moss covered tree


Wednesday 4 July 2012

Playing on my Sandman on some local trails

Decided to have a look out and play with my bike and GoPro see if I could get a little bit of riding footage. This making movies is a lot harder than it looks, but it is fun riding, taking in the beautiful countryside and nature we have around where I live, then getting home and looking to see what I've managed to capture before deciding what to pop in a short video.Hopefully my movie making skills will improve and I'll try and capture some different angles and places to hook my camera onto try and make more interesting video's to watch. Anyhoo hope you enjoy my early attempts.
In the Woods

Wor Kyle, he's handy for helping me up when I fall off
Shot with my GoPro

A Spot of Fish Eye with the GoPro

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Wasabi GoPro Charger and battery kit

So I got my new GoPro Hero2 back after sending it away for a replacement as the charging circuit wouldn't work in the camera. It looks like the replacement camera is exactly the same. It won't charge the battery through the camera when plugged in to a PC via the USB cable. After checking out various forums it seems this is a common problem with the newer GoPro Hero 2's. Well I don't want to be keep sending my camera back and forth as it means I can't get out there and shoot some videos, so my dad bought me this neat little kit. It's a stand alone battery charger with  2 spare batteries and a car charger all to fit the GoPro Hero 2......Cool..... Now I can have spare batteries ready to go and rather than charge them up in the GoPro just pop them in the Wasabi charger.....Sorted.

Wasabi charger and battery kit (got it from Amazon.co.uk)

A few more snaps of me riding local trails

My son and I had a ride out around some local trails yesterday I loaned Kyle my Ibis and I ventured out on my Sandman. Since getting my Sandman it's the only bike I've really used, it's just so much fun. We had a ride over to Iveston as I haven't actually rode up Iveston bank since I did the Durham Big Ride back in 2009 and I have never attempted it using my Bartlett Tendon so wanted to see how I would get on. It's not the fact the bank is all that long,but boy has it  got a pretty steep gradient. Anyhoo after much huffing and puffing I'm pleased to say I got up it without having to get off and push.

Decided to venture home via Chapman's Wells Nature Reserve, found a new trail through some woodland which was quite fun, a bit boggy in places after last weeks downpour. All in all a canny ride out and I only fell off once lol.

Local Woods @ Chapman's Well

Riding trails @ Chapman's Well

Playing in the Mud