First ride out on a bike in around 50 years...Dad your amazing

It's the weekend I'm off why can't my brain get this concept. I'm still tired yet have to get up. So I think to myself " I know I'll get my dad up too and treat him to a breakfast at McDonalds". Now that I'm working it's nice to be able to treat my dad as he has been awesome with me and god knows we have been through some tough times.

Me and The Ern

First ride out on my new NS Soda Air

       I awoke to a gorgeous morning, sun shining, birds tweeting I thought it must have been around 
10:30 am according to my internal clock. I leaned over and checked my phone, bloody hell 5:52 am. Aww what the hell I'm awake, may as well get up.

Plans were to ride my new bike, my NS Soda Air, which arrived from Damien Harris Cycles last Friday. I hadn't been out on the bike, not because of the crap weather. No it was because I was  waiting for some protective Heli Tape to arrive which I'd ordered off eBay. When it did arrive WoW what a nightmare I had fitting the stuff, but hey that's another story.

Back to this morning, a quick delve in my wardrobe and I got my new gear out. An awesome pair of Troy Lee Moto shorts in a really bright lumi green. These also came off of eBay and I'm well chuffed with them as I only paid £28.99 including postage, all the way from China. I was a bit dubious ordering them thinking they would be cheap copies, however when they arrived I can't find any difference to my other Troy Lee Moto's and I paid around £80 quid for those. Next I pulled out my new Fox Demo Jersey and  Sock Guy socks with WTF? logo's...Ooh I was really feeling the part.

Oooh I'm all colour co-ordinated

Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance

A little while ago I was contacted by a fellow blogger, Cameron Von St James. Cameron  had admired my Blog he saw how I had fought back to try and create some semblance of normality in my life and asked would I be willing to share his family's story, particularly about his wife Heather who was diagnosed with a form of cancer - mesothelioma

My story to me isn't all that interesting I mean yeah I have lost my leg and I have been diagnosed as having  low grade Non Hodgkin's lymphoma since, however I've never really thought "Hey I'm going to die from this". So I guess that's why I find Cameron's wife Heather so inspiring, as she has fought the odds and I'm pleased to say is doing well and continues to fight to create awareness of this terrible disease.

 I am only too willing to share Cameron and Heather's story if it in any way helps people understand this terrible disease. Creating awareness of disability or disease, as well as  understanding  is essential so that we can all hopefully go on to help one another, offer support and well just feel like we aren't alone in the darkest of days.

Heather's Blog

 http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/#.UZFVesp5bh4

Checkout Heather's video right here...

Ahh what the hell summers coming time for a new bike

So since getting my new job, been there just over a month, got my first pay packet I decided to treat myself to a new ride.

Don't get me wrong I love my Fat Bike I just fancied something else to play around on, something I could have a go at jumping about on and blasting round in local woodland. I didn't want a full on DH rig as to be fair I've tried that out and ended up selling the bike as it wasn't being used to it's full potential.

So I opted to go for a NS Soda Air. The Soda can handle everything I could potentially throw it's way and I should be able to pedal it to and from where ever I fancy visiting.

I ordered my bike from Damian Harris Cycles and have to say they were spot on over the phone. I'm hoping to get delivery of my bike around Thursday, so fingers crossed we will have a nice weekend and I can get some good pics and maybe even a video shot.

http://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/

Until I get some pics of my own here are some I sourced from the internet along with NS's promo video of the Soda in action.

Bike Specs :

 - Frame: Soda FR w/152-177mm (6-7") adjustable rear wheel travel, A6061-T6 custom formed and butted tubes, internal cable guide routing option
- Shock: Rock Shox Monarch Plus R, 216x63mm (8.5x2.5”)
- Fork: Rock Shox Liryk R Solo Air, 170 adjustable travel, 20mm axle, alloy tapered steer tube
- Headset: FSA Orbit 1.5E ZS, ACB cartridge bearings
- Cockpit: NS Quark Pro 31.8 stem, NS Evidence handlebar, Octane One bolt-on long grips
- Brakes: Avid Elixir 5 180mm rear & front
- Shifters: SRAM SX5 10spd
- Derailleur: SRAM X7 medium cage rear, 10spd
- Bottom Bracket: Truvativ GXP 73 mm
- Crank: Truvativ Descendant, alloy 36t chainring, 170mm
- Chainguide: E13 LS1+ (no bashguard)
- Chain: KMC DX-10SC, 1/2''x11/128'' for 10 spd
- Cassette: Sram PG-1030 10 speed 11-36
- Rims: NS Trailmaster 2 32h
- Hubs: NS Rotary 20 disk (sealed bearing), NS Rotary Cassette (sealed bearings, alu cassette)
- Spokes: Black spokes w/14mm nipples
- Tires: Maxxis Ardent 26x2.35 folding
- Seatpost: Kind Shock Dropzone 425mm, 125mm travel
- Saddle: Octane One Rocker Pro w/alloy titanium rail
- Pedals: NS Aerial (sealed bearings)
- Bike weight: ~14.9 kg (M size, including pedals)

A very enjoyable outing with my Cuz

Earlier in the week my cousin David sent me a txt asking if I was free on Saturday and up for a ride out. Sure I replied always up for a look out and it would be nice to have some company and a bit of a catch up as we rode.

Beamish through to Ousbrough Woods

 Yesterday, Ern, Mr Hinks and myself headed out for a mini adventure in Beamish Woods. We also took in part of Ousbrough Woods as it interlinks, depending on which trail you take.

My plans were to checkout different areas of the woods before actually riding them on my Sandman. There are some really steep banked sides in which the trees have taken root and in certain places it's un-rideable, no clear marked trails plus it's a bit on the dangerous side as there are some rather large drops.

It wasn't a bad day yesterday, in fact I had to take of my jacket and was happy just wandering around in my t-shirt and the norm for me shorts. We found some neat new trails and I even spotted a few places that looked as if they hadn't been ridden or walked on and thought to myself " Mmmm they may make for a nice blast down".

As we were checking out the woods we came to a rather steep incline, it was way to steep for us to walk down and I wasn't sure I could even make it on my bike. Would have to give it some thought when I returned, with my bike and camera.

After having a good look around we decided to head back up the bank side, in the general direction of where we had left the car. Now this bank side was as you can imagine quite slippy, what with pine needles,moss,old tree branches and twigs, you know the kind of stuff you see in a wood. Anyhoo I was making good progress, even though I was knackered "WoW what a climb". Then all of a sudden my prosthetic knee snagged and it bent/broke at the knee. I thought I was going to fall back down this geet big bank so grabbed for the nearest available tree. Now my dad says the tree was only around 3 inches in diameter, however I'm sure it was more like a huge oak, as when the bloody thing  snapped and then proceeded to twat me on the back of the head, well lets say I was a little stunned. I thought I'd done some serious damage to my shoulder too, as it felt like I had torn something. As I eventually got to the top of the bank I felt a bit better, just a bit sore where the tree had attacked me and took the skin off my arm.

After my fight with a tree, of course I was victorious

A small walk along the trail and we were soon back at our car. Got Mr Hinks and ourselves in and then we popped up to my Aunt and Uncles were I received some medical attention in the form of some Sudacrem from my Aunty Claire lol.

A nice cup of coffee and I was sorted felt much better and I had a better idea of where I could ride potentially on my next local adventure.

And so to today...

A very enjoyable outing, found some new trails which are quite fun and as usual had a blast on my Sandman. I feel so lucky to be able to get out on days like this, what with having my Bartlett Tendon. After years of being stuck in the house with a dodgy leg it sure does make you appreciate the great outdoors. Things are starting to blossom and bloom and these ancient woods sure are beautiful, even if the odd tree doesn't decide to help out and has a go at you instead lol.

 





































Today's footage was a mixed bag. I was gutted that most of the stuff that I took whilst my camera was on my helmet was pants, it's way to shaky. I do have one canny shot that you should all like so I have done a quick vid. What the hell possessed me to yank my front brake on and go arse over tit is beyond me I sometimes have these moments...when I say sometimes I do of course mean just about everyday.

27.04.13 ForthFat

I wasn't to sure whether or not I was going to attend the ForthFat. This is a friendly gathering of Fat Bike enthusiasts from all over the UK. The event was taking place at North Berwick which is only around 115 miles away from me. On the Friday evening I wasn't feeling to well, a bit of an upset tummy. Never mind I hoped it would pass by the time Saturday morning came. Luckyily for me I received my first wage from my new job slightly earlier, something to do with how the weekend falls as this was another concern, could I afford to go as I haven't had a great deal of spare cash for the last few months.

Anyhoo I found I had some spare money so decided to treat myself and head up to Berwick and hook up with a few of the lads I already knew and whilst there make some new friends.

I set my alarm for 5:20 in the am and had a relatively early night. I awoke to  pretty miserable day so accordingly packed my wet weather gear thinking I would be in for a right soaking.

Mr Hinks must have heard me get up so he decided he would pop down stairs and keep me company, well more like get in my way. No sooner had I opened the back door and he had pushed himself past me and ran out. I continued to pop the bike rack and then my bike onto the car and then place my bags on the rear seats. Hinks was still out at this point and it had begun to chuck it down. I realised I was running a bit late so had to go chasing after him in the garden. He then decided he would come back inside and it was at this point I saw he was covered in mud so tried grabbing him so that I could pop him in his cage, which we have under the stairs. (I know it sounds cruel, however he usually goes in his cage no bother and you can quite often find him there asleep) This morning however he took it upon himself to slip my grasp and then as I shouted at him to "come here" he ran along the hall and up stairs, heading to Ern's room (My dad). It was at this point I thought "aww crap" as he had left a huge trail of muddy paw prints across the laminate in the kitchen and then leading along the hall and up the stairs. So I decided to make a quick exit and face the consequences later lol.

I had a canny ride up to Berwick, wow there was all sorts of weather, wind,rain,sleet and by the time I got to North Berwick beautiful sunshine...dam it I knew I should have brought a short sleeve shirt.

A quick change of shoe's and of course limb, detach my bike and I was pretty much ready. I then found  a few of the lads I knew and we said our hello's, before all the group got together and we headed of to explore North Berwick. I'm sorry I can't really tell you our route I'm useless with directions I know we took in part of the John Muir way as I saw various signs.

One of the Mini Subs

The ride to the mini subs at Aberlady Bay was excellent a nice mixture of trails, gradually getting more sandy as we approached the coast. We only took in one fairly big climb and I was chuffed as I didn't have to get off and push. Once we reached the subs everyone spent a little more time getting to know one another and having a chat and a look around the subs. We then set off on the journey back, this followed the whole of the East coast and although it was tough in places I thoroughly enjoyed trying out the different terrain. At some points I had to get off and push over the particularly large and slippery rocks, saying which so did some of the able bodied guys so I didn't feel like I was holding anyone up. As per norm for me I fell off on a few occasions, however nothing serious, mainly soft landings in the softer sand. I did fall when my front tyre got stuck in some soft sand and landed in a rather nasty thorn bush, which was accompanied by nettles, again I was ok. Mike and Barry the two guys I was riding with helped me out as I was still clipped in and we all shared a good laugh...

A very friendly group of Fat bikers

A quick stop at the top of a canny climb

Helmet Hair :(

 

Large concrete blocks to stop enemy tanks

  The whole group had become spread out along the coastline, everyone just going at their own pace, or stopping in groups to ride and chat. As I approached the end point the tide was just about fully in.

We all got back together as a group and headed off for some well earned grub, in the shape of fish n chips. I was starving and thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

I stuck around for an hour or so to chat with friends both old and new, then decided to say my goodbyes and head off home. I had had an amazing fun filled day, couldn't have asked for better weather. 

I'm very sore today, as my socket doesn't appear to be fitting quite as well, but I'm so glad I chose to go along to the ForthFat. It was a cracking day and for anyone wanting to get out and ride and meet genuine friendly folk, who are down to earth I would highly recommend you getting a Fat Bike and coming to one of these get togethers...

A couple of Fat Bikes just chillin in the glorious sunshine

Ousbrough Woods - St Georges day

It's been sometime since I last posted on my blog. I guess it's been a quiet month. I've been continuing to get out and about on my bike, however I've found I have been getting bored of doing the same local trails so this has led to me not taking as many photo's or doing a video.

Never mind I decided the other week to head down towards Beamish, it's been a while since I had ridden in Ousborough Woods, as due to the weather we have had the trails where pretty much impossible to ride.

Ousborough Woods are actually in the borough of Gateshead rather than Co Durham where I live. I bet quite a few people who live locally don't realise they are quite so close to Gateshead's border.

Gateshead Council have quite an interesting website which you can find here if you would like to read a little more about the history of the woods.

 http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Leisure%20and%20Culture/countryside/sites/ousbroughmore.aspx

Rather than ride the plainly marked trails I decided to just take my own route through the trees and was quite pleasantly surprised that in fact I could possibly have a fun and adventurous ride out and take in some new sites and scenery.

My plans are now to wait for a nice day, set off early and check out more of the woods and plan a route where I can shoot a decent video. You have to be fairly careful when in Ousborough Woods as they are kind of situated in a huge valley and this means in certain places there are huge drops on either bank side. It's no good just going flying down some unmarked section of woodland without first scouting it out as before you know it you could potentially end up going off a 20 or 30 foot drop or out of control down a really steep bank side.

Anyhoo watch this space...

In the meantime I thought I'd post some images that my good friend Ade took of me whilst down in Ousborough Woods. I had mentioned to Ade about how I had really enjoyed exploring the woods and he suggested we pop down on Saint George's day so that I could have a play around and he could grab a few shots.

 

Just before we headed off at the picnic area at Beamish...

These are the results and I'm sure you will agree Ade has captured some terrific images that show off just how lucky we are to have such natural beauty and surroundings.

It's so cool to catch up with old friends

       A few weeks back whilst out for a ride I thought I'd pop in and see one of my old school chums. I used to ride regularly with Carl, however we kind of lost touch. You know how it happens, you're busy, they are busy, and before you know it you haven't seen them for months.

I was filthy, cold and wet when I turned up at Carl's so didn't spend too long with him, however I did say on leaving "hey if you're up for a ride out just get in touch". Well on Thursday I got a pleasant surprise when Carl sent me a txt asking if I was fancying a look-out on Friday. I replied back "Sure". So on Friday I headed over to Carl's on my Fatty, and we set off, agreeing to just ride some local trails.

Really enjoyed our venture out, it was great to catch up. I was telling Carl all about my new job, and he was letting me know about how his job wasn't going so well, and he had been only working 3 days or so per week. Not good and a sign of the times I guess. The good thing about getting out on the bikes is you can put all or most of the crap that's going on in your life behind you for a few hours and just have some fun.

WoW! The weather was kind of weird on Friday, there was a freezing cold wind, followed by a snow shower, then more wind, and then it broke out sunny, eventually turning real cold on our return back towards home.

I didn't get too many pics, Carl's a bit camera shy, lol...

As we were on our way back home, Carl asked if I was busy Sunday and if not was I up for another blast out. "Why not" after all, nothing planned. 

I hooked up with Carl opposite what we call the "Pines" a small group of trees near South Moor, and we set off, riding through South Moor Park and up towards the "Drift", from there along to Chapman's Well coming out on the road to Burnhope. We then headed past Burnhope and took a trail that Carl had seen on one of his maps and wanted to check out. Really enjoyed the ride down the pretty steep bank, got up quite a bit of speed and could feel the adrenaline kicking in as the trail was sketchy in places.

At the end of this trail, we crossed a main road and went up another trail until we came to a farmer's field, complete with gate and style. So it was into the field which was thick with clarts, it was then I spotted the Errrr!!!! "Is that a Bull" I asked Carl to which he replied "Nor it's got no bits"... Phew!!! The cow approached us but to be honest it was good as gold as all it wanted to do was get a drink from the trough and never bothered us as we went past. Of course me being polite thanked the old dear for being such a good cow. Small tough ride through the muddy field and found ourselves at another main road.

Again across the road and onto another trail which eventually came out at Diggerland and onto the Dearness Valley Cycle route which passes Lanchester and leads up towards Consett and then connects to the C2C.

Stopped near Lanchester to try some of Carl's baking, he had built some biscuits and flapjack...Mmmm very tasty.

The Bartlett Tendon isn't afraid of a bit muck

My legs all clarty

A nice leisurely ride up the Valley and as we went up I asked Carl if he had seen what they have done to the "Gill Bridge" (Hownsgill Viaduct) Now for a little bit of history lol. The Hownsgill Viaduct formerly carried the Stanhope & Tyne Railway, 175 feet above the Hownsgill gorge. The viaduct is 700 feet long and follows a 12 arch design constructed in brick. It was designed by Thomas Bouch, a British railway design engineer in the 19th Century.

Anyhoo they have put Anti-Bad Day fencing up  as I call it. The proper term being anti-suicide fencing. Now I know they are trying to stop people from jumping over the bridge, but to me, it ruins the appearance of the bridge it looks dreadful, a real eyesore. Not only that, if people are that set on killing themselves I'm sure they will find somewhere else to leap from, or stick their head in an oven, or 1 of a million other ways to do it.

Actually dropped my camera and caught this shot. Carl eyeing up fencing making sure it's straight I think

 After paying a visit to the Gill Bridge, we headed for home. It was getting a little chilly by this point and as we passed some kids they warned us it was slippy further up the route. It sure was too, I couldn't believe just how much snow was still left, in places the whole of the path being covered. Carl really struggled with his skinny tyres and stopped a couple of times as he was slip sliding all over. I didn't have that problem and was able to ride pretty much easily over the slushy snow and ice.

Eventually got to Oxhill traffic lights and this is where I said my goodbyes to Carl. I invited him over tonight to check out some bike porn and watch a couple of cool movies I have downloaded. One is called Life Cycles and the other  The End Of The Trail.