Thanks Trevor.
Strange how despite just how rubbish that the weather is again at the moment, it always feels great to out.
I have swapped my working week around, and grabbed the chance to pop and explore more of the woodland that I have been granted permission to ride in. There certainly some great potential, but also plenty of work to be done.
For me though that is all part of the fun, as I am not really into groomed trails that are ridden by others to an inch of their useful life.
I prefer not really knowing what is around the next corner, or going down the next drop without being really too sure what is on the other side. That one caught me out today though, as it was near vertical and had a fallen tree across it. All good fun though.
Thoughts about tyres were also at front of my mind today. I am contemplating a plus size hardtail and have been making comparisons. I enjoy the benefits that narrow section tyres give in respect of cutting through mud and the grip that they offer, but came to the conclusion today that as much of my riding involves going over fallen trees and off camber roots, where the low ground pressure spread and grip that a plus bike will give, could come in very useful indeed. The first photo below highlights such terrain, and the photo was taken at the point where the bike had spun up, and slide out from underneath and stopped.
Obviously if it had been a dry sunny day, then the slippery branches wouldn’t have presented a problem, but we don't get many of those days at this time of year.
All in all, an afternoon well spent.