Bikes and Geocaches

Last week saw Amy and Ali join us in Cornwall for a weeks holiday.  As I hadn't attempted too many rides in the run up to their visit, my knees were feeling a tad stronger. The first ride with them was an easy 12 mile pootle over to Penzance to meet Mikey at work whilst taking in a few geocaches. My knees felt a little shakey but there was nothing too strenuous and no bad after effects.

However, I was glad that the next day didn't involve any riding. Instead it involved lots of walking -

Good friends and Geocaches.

We had our friends, Amy (Trio25) and Ali visiting over the bank holiday weekend which was ace! It involved lots of cake (obviously) lots of riding and lots of fun!

They arrived Saturday lunchtime and after a large slice of my home-made chocolate cake, we went for a walk down to our local beach for a paddle, some kite-flying, some lunch, some more cake and a tickle off a 'ickle foal. 

The last bit of my home-made choc cake.

We then went for a quick bike ride down the coast path to meet Mikey for his commute home.  On this ride they introduced us to the exciting world of Geocaching.

"Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices."

www.geocaching.com/

Day Two involved more Geocaching. My goodness, its addictive! (Now I want a GPS!) This time it was on foot along the rocky coastal footpath. Four or five more caches found; we all found at least one each, which made it exciting. On our return more cake was consumed followed by a BBQ and Champagne. Another great day!

Team VeloCake on the hunt.

Day Three (Bank holiday Monday) and it was time to ride. The plan was to ride to Hayle for ice-cream and find a few caches.  The first Cache was only a few minutes from our village but despite finding the spot quickly it took quite some time to find the cache itself. Ali found it! It was in a film canister tucked into a crevice of an old stone wall. We thought that one was tricky, but the next one was even smaller.  The only way I can describe it is like a very old style dog tag, where you open it up to reveal a paper phone number. It was tiny wee! So small that Mikey eventually found it in a place that all three of us had checked already.

It wasn't until Cache three that I wished I'd given more consideration to what bike to ride. I'd opted for the road bike, as usually the ride into Hayle is on the road.  Unfortunately I hadn't taken into account the location of the Geocaches along the way. We were now off-road on little dirt tracks, full of rocks, roots and lotsa deep muddy puddles. On a mountain bike it would have been great, on a cross bike it would have been good, but being on Paddy's slick tyres and with his mudguards clogging constantly, I was finding it really tricky. I spent lotsa time walking - my shiney white shoes are now neither shiney or white. Anyway a great deal of fun was had finding the next few caches; finding little tracks that we would never have thought of going down before.

I was shocked to discover that the local Alpacas were also guarding a cache, so whilst everyone else found that, I stood chatting to them. Amazingly, Ali found that she had a special talent and could talk Alpaca'ese and they came trotting over. It took a while to gain their trust but then we had lotsa tickles. I've never stroked one before and their fur was gorgeous.

Ali's new friends

When we finally got to Hayle scrummy ice creams were consumed before heading homewards. We found a few more caches on our way and also introduced Ali and Amy to our friends Donkey and Cow. They were both out of stroking distance but we did find out Donkeys real name, he's called Whimpy, which made the trip well worthwhile. We were also shocked to discover he is well into his 20's. He's a wise old donkey!

A little further along and it was time to introduce them to the pair of young and little highland cows. "Och aye da moOOo!" Then it was time to take the long way home to squeeze in another Cache. Obsessed, us? Never! ;-)

Despite very tired legs, no sooner as we arrived home, we jumped back on our bikes (after finding some warmer clothes and more layers) and then set back down to the beach for tea at the cafe. Mmmmm... freshly made pizza's.  Then it was back up the hill and one more cache to get before heading home again. A splendid day!

It was back to work for me on Tuesday. I missed out on the ride to Lands End (not that I minded, my legs were shattered after the long walk on Sunday and even longer ride on Monday.) I also missed out on the early Wednesday frolics when Mikey, Ali and Amy went down to the beach for a swim in the sea. Sounds like a great time was had. When I finally re-joined them we had time for a quick bike ride down to Marazion for a pasty and their final cream tea of their holiday and one final cache (which incidentally we couldn't get to without drawing attention to it, as there were hoardes of people) before they set off on their long journey back up North.

Their visit went far too quickly! Normally when people stay I get a bit tetchy as I like my space, etc and in such a small cottage that is quite difficult, but their visit was different, I wanted them to stay! We'd had so much fun, I didn't want it to end. I really hope they'll come back soon.

It was my ideal holiday. Good food, good friends, lots of laughter, lots of cake and to top it off plenty of riding and plenty of nice animals to talk to along the way. PERFECT!

New Years Cycle-Shenanigans

For the first time since moving to Cornwall we actually had the chance to spend NYE with friends (instead of just the two of us) as we were visited by Simon and Nicky. It was good fun and obviously as they are both cyclists it involved some bike rides too.

The first ride was just a short pootle (approx 5miles) to the pub at tea-time on New Years Eve. I was reluctant to ride there as it would mess up my perfectly rounded off 2010 total and my legs were tired after pushing myself to meet said "perfect total", but I was outnumbered! It was a really cold evening and the wind was bitter but it was fun. Suprisingly, after taking the long way to the local pub we found it was shut. Hmm... Plan B! The next pub we tried was down a big hill, thankfully it was open so we stopped for a couple of drinks before heading up the hill and home for a celebratory meal and more drinks.


New Years Eve
Photo by simondbarnes


After a very late night we all woke up tired on New Years Day so we had a lazy morning before heading out on our bikes. The original plan had been to ride down to the beach, but when we checked the tide times we realised the tide would be in at our local beach so it would be a wasted effort as the beach is down a long draggy hill. So we opted to head into Marazion and take the coast path to Penzance - just so Simon and Nicky could get to feel like they were at the sea-side.  ;-)

Annoyingly, the coast path was busy. Grrrr... I don't know if it was because everyone walking down it was hungover but the majority were all very ignorant, making little - or no - effort to let us past or to keep their dogs under control. It was hideous! At one point I had to make an emergency stop as two dogs ran straight towards me. One actually bounded straight into my front wheel - if I hadn't been stationary there was no way I would have remained upright as it hit my wheel so hard my handlebars turned sharply. Unhurt and without even slowing down, the dog then continued straight into Simon's (who was still pedalling) path. Again, it hit his front wheel. God knows how he stayed on his bike. I was angered - the dogs owners didn't even manage to utter an apology,  they just looked at us as if we were inconveniencing them.

New Years Day
photo by simondbarnes

By the time we arrived in Penzance I had an awful headache - which before you ask, wasn't caused by alcohol (I don't drink) - but probably due to a lack of sleep and the frayed nerves of riding along a coast path full of imbeciles. Thankfully we managed to find a shop that was open and after a couple of paracetamol my headache started easing. That is until we got back on the coast path on our return journey.

We stopped off at the beach cafe on our way home for a cuppa and some chips, which was nice and then continued on our merry adventure.  We got back home with around 12.5miles under our belts. (Apart from Nicky who carried on for a couple of more miles.) I know its not the greatest mileage and I would have liked to have done some more, but I was pretty happy with it, after all, my legs were pretty empty anyway due to the hard effort to reach my total before NYE.

I have to say that despite my headache and "cycle-path rage" it was great riding with company, especially with such experienced cyclists. It has often worried me that stronger riders would get frustrated at riding at my slower pace, but it wasn't the case, everyone seemed content with my speed and most were happy with the short mileage. ;-)

On January the 2nd there was even more cycling. Thankfully it didn't involve any pedalling for me, I was just spectating.  It was the series finale of the South West Cyclo Cross league. Read my race report at velocake.co.uk.

"Team VeloCake"
Post Race

The Darker side of CycloCross

Last night saw the first of of the South West's flood lit cyclocross races. I was excited about it. It sounded ace!  Elvis was gonna be there handing out goodies. There was even gonna be a live band. A super cross race!

It was quite exciting, as it was all in the same place as some MTB racing, there were food tents and loadsa sponsors stalls. The crowds were much bigger than usual - lotsa MTBers joining in the fun after their events earlier on in the day. 

After the long drive to Plymouth, I was ecstatic to find a row of immaculately  clean portaloo's. ooOoo This really was gonna be super!

Oops. Or not! We bumped into a friend of Michael's who I met in Newcastleton. Back then, on the number of occasions we saw her, despite me being stood/sat with Michael she didn't acknowledge me or my attempts to say hello. (Can you believe she even ignored me after she plonked herself down at our table one evening when we were eating a meal in a pub.) Back then, I thought it was rude but let it go.  But was far from amused when last night she hugged Mikey and despite me saying Hello, she didn't even look in my direction. Grrr...

Anyway, it was now time for Mikeys warm up lap. Wish I'd had a bike with me I coulda done with some warming up, the sun was starting to set and the air was bitterly cold. Brr... despite a merino base layer, micro fleece and windproof jacket I was cold. By the time Mikey had finished his practice/warm up laps I couldn't feel my toes or nose.

Come on race. I needed some excitement to take my mind off the cold. Lets get this thing started!

Unfortunately, by the time the race started the sun had gone in completely and it was impossible to see who was who in the large bunch of riders. All I could see was silhouettes behind dazzling bright white front lights. Trying to take photo's was tricky because the riders were so fast and the camera was taking too long trying to do light readings, etc, so by the time the shutter had clicked the rider had been and gone.

Race organisers had suggested spectators bring along cow bells, on the first lap as the bunch started I dingled the bell only to be glared at by some people stood near to me, who grumbled that it was upsetting their baby. Who brings a baby to a night race anyway?  I shuffled away. Ah well never mind, there was still "Hup Hup Hupping" and "Allez Allez Allezing" to be done. Or maybe not; every time I uttered any words of encouragement to the riders, nearby spectators would mutter to one another whilst giving me odd looks. I moved through the crowds. *Sigh* This was gonna be a long night. I was cold, lonely, unable to get any decent shots and unable to ring my bell. The only few seconds of excitement were when Mikey momentarily came into view.  Bless, he looked super pumped and like he was having a blast.  I tried to utter words of encouragement through chattering teeth and give him a beaming smile as he passed and thankfully he was oblivious to my suffering.

Such a shame I didn't enjoy the event, it had great potential. Maybe next time I will take more clothing and a friend for company.

Still riding.

There has been a lack of posts on here recently; mainly due to just getting on and riding at every opportunity.  Most of the rides have been uneventful and a hard slog though heavy rain and gale force winds. I guess there goes the summer! :-( Gonna have to think about investing in some waterproof cycling shoes earlier than expected.

Thankfully, despite a busier than usual schedule, I have still been doing a fair mileage and apart from Teds tyres starting to wear down, he still rides like a dream.  Gary (my CinderCone) has also taken me on a number of adventures down the local singletrack. I was horrified to discover though (after a friend pointed it out) he lacked a VeloCake sticker.

In other news, after hinting at Mikey for weeks, I finally own a pair of polka dot socks, so now Super Ted and Spotty are together again. ;-)

Exposure Exposé

For those of you who live under a rock, last weekend saw the 1st ever Solo 24hr MTB National Championships over the border in Scotland. Representing team VeloCake were cakers Steve , Grant and and honorary member (she'll be fully fledged when the new team kit finally arrives) Amy

- doing it for the girls.

In a moment of madness me and Mikey decided to drive the 500mile trip up North to offer Team Support.  So, 10 hours after we set off, we finally reached our destination - an already full campsite.  On arrival we found Steve, who had set up next to a couple who I didn't know; despite a lack of introductions I soon discovered them to be Chris and Jac.

No sooner as we started to unpack the tent Grant and his bud James rolled up. A game of musical cars and musical tents ensued before their huge tent - "MoonBase Doig" was unleashed!

An hour or so later and a small Mini headed onto the field. We recognised this as being Trio's and despite only knowing her via the Internet, we waved her over.  Again we seemed to forget any kind of formal introductions, but this time it wasn't quite as bad, as after reading her blog regularly I already felt like I knew both her and Ali. The team was complete and we sat and chatted as the sun went down.

As all the racers were riding "solo", the usual pre-race camp shenanigans were subdued and tents were zipped and lights were turned out by dark. Team VeloCake soon realised we were the only ones making any noise within the camp so we decided we should also retire for the night - after all half of us had a big day tomorrow.

By morning everyone was up bright and early and nerves were starting to show.  The start of the race was dragged out by a long-winded rider briefing, followed by a ride into the village for a formal "signing on" in front of the good folks of Newcastleton.  The riders were then gallantly led back out of the village and back up to the course by some suited up village chieftains.

After getting some quick shots of the riders heading out we made our way back up to the camp. Which was quite tricky on a cross bike. The boys on MTB's made it look easy but skinny tyres and a twitchy CX bike made the ridiculously steep climb on very loose gravel quite tricky.

Back at camp we set up an awning and decorated it and with a lovely VeloCake flag flying proudly from one corner.  We then awaited the arrival of the riders as they completed their first lap, prepped with the trusty VC cow-bell. G-dunk, G-dunk! Damn! Chris walked over with a bigger and shiny cow bell. I was beyond envious, not only did it look better but it sounded better!

Trio, Grant and Steve have all blogged their race reports already, so if you haven't already, you really should check them out!

All that's left for me to say was that great fun was had and a lot of new friendships were made. It would have been a perfect trip if it hadn't been for those revolting portaloo's that were even grimmer by Saturday morning.

April stats

April was a good month. Loads of good rides. Lots of new sights along the way - a donkey, three little pigs, some baby geese and a new born foal. It was definitely a good month for saying "Aawwww"!

It was also an extraordinary month for mileage. Somehow I managed to do 224.5 miles. Quite impressive considering my original target at the start of the month was to do 100. I was a happy bunny!

I'm feeling really proud of my achievements at the moment as I am continuing to average about 50miles a week. Also I am finally starting to feel stronger and more confident in my abilities.  All is good!

Unfortunately, I don't know if I will manage to keep this mileage up, throughout May, what with the impending arrival of the in-laws and a 1000+ mile drive (round trip) to the land of the Scots. Guess, we'll just have to wait and see.

By the way, the end of April, also bought about the highly anticipated VeloCake Bun Run! Which was good fun! :-D I'd intended to do a separate post about it, but so far it just hasn't happened.

Christmas - a time for giving, a time for sharing.

As some of you are aware I have set myself a challenge to compete in next season’s cyclo-cross league. Obviously, as it's likely I am going to be rubbish, I feel I at least need to do it in style so I have hatched a plan. I need a Yeti! Trouble is, I can't find any second-hand ones in my size.

So you just may be able to help me. I can afford a spangly new frame, but don't think my minimum wage wages will be able to stretch to afford the components too. Do any of you lovely people have any unwanted bits that need a loving new home. As this will be a community project, part ownership of completed bike may be granted, obviously in accordance to size of donation. Look at this as a community project, charity** or even sponsorship, I don't mind... just please give a girl a break...

Oh and remember Sir Cliff's immortal words whilst you rummage in your garage/shed/workshop, "Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, a time for giving, a time for sharing..."


** My Mum taught me never to beg for anything so this isn't a begging letter... I am just looking for a little assistance. :-)

Mud, mud, glorious VeloCake!

Recently, I have been predominantly riding my hybrid, in the hope that the mudguards keep me slightly cleaner and drier, but at the beginning of the month I ventured out on my MTB with Mikey. We had decided sloshing through puddles would be marginally easier than facing the strong winds blowing off the ocean, as we could tuck in behind trees and shrubs on the local singletrack. It was great! I don’t think I have ever seen such deep mud – it was quite something (knee deep in places). I wouldn’t have been surprised if we had stumbled across a hippo wallowing in it. We returned home filthy and it took quite some time to clean and dry out my beloved white Adidas shelltoes!

(I really need to invest in some cycling shoes, but I am in quandary, as I don't know if I should finally throw caution to the wind and get some clipless ones. I know all the benefits of clipless pedals, but I keep pondering if a leisure rider like myself really needs them? I have only just regained my cycling ability… and I’m guessing these would set my confidence back again. Saying that it would be great not to have my shins covered in bruises from evil heavy pedals. Hmm… yet another decision that I need to make.)

Talking of mud, there was plenty of it, during the last Team VeloCake race outing (see http://www.velocake.co.uk/ for a full race review). Thankfully Mikey insisted I took my wellies. I may have looked and felt like an inbred yokel but I remained mud-free and had dry feet – unlike fellow VC supporter, Alan, who killed a perfectly nice pair of white adidas (it really isn’t a good month to be a white pair of Adidas).

The VeloCakeFest proved to be a great weekend of frivolity despite the irratic weather. It was really ace showing Simon some of the local sights. He even got to see the choas that is Mikey's work and take part in our Saturday tradition of "pizza night". More importantly, we took him to our local beach and VeloCaker's fave beach café and sample their cakey delights. He seemed to enjoy the beach/café trip despite the picnic-table parasol violently collapsing on top of our heads, under the weight of the wind & rain! I just hope that the awful weather doesn't put him off another visit!

A week of seconds

The last few days have yet again been pretty good in the world of “Katie being on a bicycle” and it has also been a week of “seconds” (which will make sense if you aren’t already too bored to carry on reading)!

Firstly I have already cycled my target of 100miles this month. OK, for some of you reading this, it may not be that impressive to you, but for me it is quite a milestone and only the 2nd time I have achieved this target since starting out on my bike again. Yay me!

I’m also really chuffed as my lovely new yellow high visibility jacket arrived – so now I don’t have any excuses to not ride during the winter months. I wore it out for the first time yesterday and surprisingly I didn’t feel like a complete clown wearing it.

Talking of yesterday, it was my 2nd time venturing out alone. I decided to ride my equipped Globe and meet Mikey at work and then ride back with him (this way I can get some miles in before it gets too dark). I made short work of the draggy hill out of the village and then enjoyed the speed of the downhill through the next town, despite a howling crosswind. It wasn’t until I got out of there that I actually realised just how windy it was. The waves were lapping over the coast path and there was a treacherous wind coming off the ocean. Ah well, this was all part of the excitement and even though the thought did cross my mind to stop, I continued to pedal. After riding a very slow and difficult mile I suddenly realised that I actually had very little control of my bike – which I discovered when I stopped pedalling for a millisecond and was aggressively blown off the track. I was suddenly scared!

The normally full coast path was deserted – obviously anyone with any sense was at home, as unlike me they had heard the coastal weather warnings. I felt isolated and very vulnerable to the elements. Argh! What could I do? I was not even halfway but could see that the ocean was getting considerably rougher further along the path. Sadly I realised the only sensible option (for a novice like myself) was to go back the way I’d come, as I knew that even if I did manage to get to my destination I would be too exhausted to make it back again. Thing was, I wasn’t actually sure I would even make it back the way I came, as the sudden realisation of the wind’s power had stripped me of any confidence. Amazingly, I made it back to a where I could wait for Mikey - which itself was actually pretty hair-raising when a strong gust of wind threw me in the path of an oncoming car. Minutes later Mikey rolled up looking a little bedraggled and windswept. Despite my failure to make it across the coast path he seemed quite impressed I had got as far as I did as even he had struggled to maintain control over the wind. Anyway we then took the long way home through the tree’s which provided us with some shelter.

So, on to my next “2nd”… my 2nd ever puncture (this time on my MTB) and yep amusingly, you guessed it, yet again we had gone out without any spare tubes or a repair kit! Thankfully though, we were riding with my Mam, who must have been a good Girl Guide as she had everything we needed for a quick fix. Phewph! I guess, I really must invest in the bare essentials as it really is hopeless relying on Mikey! I have my eye on an Innovations Survival Canister, which I’ve seen on the internet, but being that we live in Cornwall, there appears to be no local stockists and I always like to see things to check the quality before I spend my hard earned cash!

Finally, this weekend I was able to attend the 2nd “Team VeloCake” CycloCross race where the boys excelled in their full team colours! (If you haven’t seen it already please visit http://www.velocake.co.uk/ for my full race review!) Kind of wished I had thought about racing myself, as it looked fun and with my new cycling skills and increased athletic ability (Oh ok, I’m not actually very fit but I am much fitter than I was 3 months ago)! I just know could have finished on the podium. Oh ok… It’s not my skill or ability that would get me a prize, it’s the fact that there was only one female entrant, so I could have been 2nd if I had made it to the end. The way I look at it, that would have been the best way to start my racing career…. And also a great way to end my racing career - as obviously I’d need to retire after getting such a great result!

In other VeloCake related news, I want to say a BIG thank you to a certain someone (I wont name them for fear of repercussions and poaching accusations!) who has cyc-logged (http://www.cyclogs.org/) their miles for Team VeloCake and taken us way up the leader board and into a much more respectable position. If you’re reading this, you know who you are, so a BIG thanks you from me.

Striking out alone

Last weeks “Toilet Weekly" made me grin as the letters page included a piece about dressing like a girl to make yourself more visible on a bike. Mikey often comments on how much more we are acknowledged when I am out riding with him – particularly as car drivers allow us more time and space. But never has this been more evident as last Sunday when I ventured out by myself. Just me and my trusty bike, Basil!

As “VeloCakers” are aware, last Sunday saw “Team VeloCake” doing numerous CycloCross races nationwide. Much to my dismay I was unable to be a groupie at such an event (Don’t ask why – it’s complicated!) so I decided I would participate in my own race. OK, yes I was the only entrant but at least that would mean I could win! So off I went – not too far from home – just in case of a bike emergency, as Mikey still hasn’t prepared me a cycling survival kit.

This was my first lone ride since my early 20’s and I was slightly apprehensive before I started. I hadn’t even pedalled 200yards when an elderly farmer in flat cap and wellies stopped me. Eek! Was he about to stop me for cycling down a public footpath that clearly displayed signs reading “NO BICYCLES, NO SKATEBOARDS!” at either end. I was worried - but had to laugh when I realised he had stopped me for a chat about the weather. Still laughing, I continued on my way only to be face to face with yet another walker. OMG! Had my luck run out? Would they grumble about my wheels? Nope, again they cheerily smiled and said “Hello, Nice afternoon isn’t it?” Puzzled (by this nonchalance) I quickly came to the conclusion that it was because I was still in close proximity to a public house on a Sunday afternoon. But this joviality didn’t stop there.

Halfway up my 1st hill (which happens to be a single track lane) a man in an oncoming Land Rover pulled into a lay-by to let me pass and then gave me a broad grin and cheery wave.

I suddenly felt self conscious. Did I have my helmet on backwards? Oh my God, had I forgotten to put my trousers on? Did I have odd shoes? What was with all these jolly salutations? Phewph! I was fully and sensibly dressed and contrary to the advice from cycling weekly I wasn’t even wearing a pink and frilly Laura Ashley dress!

The greetings and chatter continued. The polite driving carried on. Everyone I met seemed really happy to see me and even the local horses and woolly cows came over to say hello. I had a great time! I felt like a true local – I had been accepted into the community and beyond.

Sadly, during the next ride with Michael things returned to normal. Cars whizzed by too close for comfort, grumpy farmers and miserable dog walkers uttered no more than a grunt which loosely interpreted could mean hello.

...By 'eck, being a lassy really does have it’s perks!

A new month.... A new hope... but what to ride?

Last month I only managed 64miles... which was a long way off my goal but with 2 weeks off for injury/recovery time I am quite happy with my overall mileage. Anyway, now we have entered a new month so my monthly totalizer has reset and I am ready to roll.

The burning question now is what to ride?

When I was in my teens and early twenties my mountain bike was my best friend. I'd ride everywhere. It went on numerous trips to Wales & the Peak District with me. Basically back then, 100+miles a month was nothing... it was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy! Unfortunatly, since then, much has changed and my fitness level has dramatically changed to that of a 65+ old and the bout of Pneumonia last year left my already unfit/asthmatic lungs in a sad old state!

Another big change is our location. Sadly, there’s not much in the way of Mountain terrain around Cornwall. Don’t get me wrong there’s tonnes of off-road trails, but it’s very much lacking compared to what I was used to, such as N.Wales and Delamere Forest.

(Wales)

Which makes me wonder do I really need to have a Mountain-Bike? Would I be better with something else? Something lighter perhaps? Since my re-discovery of bicycle riding I have predominantly ridden my trusty hybrid, as I have found ridin' on the road, the best option to regain my fitness and stamina. The simplicity of riding smooth roads has drawn me in though and now I keep ponderin' if I still need a bicycle with suspension and big knobbly tyres?

Hmm? My misspent youth and the exhilaration that comes with mountain-bikin' remains embedded in my heart - I most definitely can’t ever see myself without my MTB. They're great, and have so many benefits… you get more burn on the legs, you have to be able to use your gears correctly and do more technical riding. And what about the excitement? Nothing beats that adrenaline rush of being so scared that you can’t even open your mouth to scream!

But as I said, I am currently predominantly riding on the road as I really do see it’s benefits for overall cardio and fitness. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I think I have actually caught the road riding bug. I love that all I need to do is get on the bike from home and ride. I really enjoy the speed that road ridin' offers; even as a novice rider I can see the advantage over mountain bikes on the road.

The only downside to road-riding that I see, is that sadly, it tends to get boring. Pfft… and how could I forget the other major drawback; the other roadusers - those blinkin’ loonatic car drivers!!

That said, and despite all the near-miss-accidents due to careless car-drivers, I am really enjoyin’ road ridin', but I keep asking myself would I be better off with something lighter? I love my hybrid with all its utilities (mudguards, dynamo lights, rack and - that all important - kickstand) but, oh, how the thought of something lighter and nippier keeps nagging away at my thoughts. Hmm? Again, I surely can’t get rid of my hybrid… it is far to useful with all its bit n’ bobs! Epecially for carrying stuff!

However, with Velocakes current cyclo-cross phase I now see that a cross-bike offers the best of both worlds. As quick and as efficient as road bikes, but with slightly bigger tires for those exhilarating short-cuts through granite and gravel trails that are so abundant around here.

So, I think a cyclocross bike would be my answer and as Mikey has a bike for almost every occasion… why shouldn’t I?

Maybe if I stick with this riding lark, Father Christmas will put a shiney Cross bike in my stocking!!

(Anyway, on that note I best go dig out my gel shorts its time for a whizz round the block before it gets dark.)

Hey there.

Hi.

Thanks for dropping by... please visit http://www.velocake.co.uk/.

Cheers.
Kitty xx