Tag: mountain biking

Winter miles for summer smiles

Sunday April 19th 2026

When I got my Giant Trance back in September 2025, I wasn’t expecting the mountain biking bug to bite quite as hard as it did. With each ride, my fitness gradually crept up and with it the fun factor that comes with being up in the hills on a mountain bike. I quickly became obsessed with the sport again, watching countless videos on YouTube and buying Mountain Biking UK for the first time in over a decade.

Reading the magazine again was like catching up with an old friend and it brought back so many memories of my escapades on the bike back in the 90s.

cycling, mountain biking, winter

Covering New Ground

Saturday July 25th 2009

I finally made it out to Carron Valley Mountainbike Trails yesterday, taking my brother along for the ride. Setting off a bit later than I’d wanted and dealing with very slow traffic on the Loch Lomond road, it took us about an hour to get over there. A little longer than I’d like it to be, but still not too big a haul for access to some custom built trails.

When we arrived the weather was perfect – dry and sunny with some broken cloud that would prevent it from getting too hot. Once I’d pulled the bikes out of the car – five years after buying it I’m still delighted that my Honda Jazz can swallow up a couple of bikes – and loading up pockets with bananas, cereal bars, and spare inner tubes, we set off up the forest roads.

Carron Valley, cycling, mountain biking

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Pain in the Rain

Monday March 2nd 2009

Yesterday saw my first cycle of the year, after deciding that I’d sat out long enough through the cold weather of the past four months. Can’t say I picked the perfect time to make a comeback, as the day was littered with heavy showers and occasionally strong head winds.

I even got soaked by a particularly heavy shower as I made my way from the station to Paul’s house before we started. He at least made it worth my while by feeding me a toasted bagel when I got there – what a guy!

When Ade and Geo arrived and we hit the road, the clouds burst again and it was torrential rain for the first ten minutes or so. It was good to be out on the bike again despite the weather, though. It’s been a long time since I’ve rode in proper Scottish winter conditions and it really blew the cobwebs away. I make no secret of the fact I’m a fair-weather cyclist – unless there’s someone encouraging me to make the effort I just tend to wait until it’s dry at the very least.

cycling, mountain biking