.: A Wee Update

So 2014 hasn't quite been the same. Last year was full of two-wheeled adventures. Having returned to the unpredictability of studenthood and moving ever closer to the arctic circle has led to me ashamedly allowing my ride to sit gathering dust for the majority of the last 11 months. However, I have taken up a bit of running (as shown by Strava) yet this has been in fits and starts and is currently in a state of flux due to picking up an ITBS (runner's knee) injury - Should have stuck to bikes!

Yet, I have still managed a few short adventures recently on (loaned) bicycles at both ends of the country. Firstly, there was the cracking idea to climb Cheddar Gorge, Somerset on a tandem with my better half. Having never even driven up the Gorge it was a sight to behold and in parts pretty dam steep.

http://www.cheddargorge.co.uk/upload/homepage-slideshow/banner011.jpg

Cheddar Gorge Climb

It consisted of a 3.5Km hill climb from the village of Cheddar up through the impressive rock of Cheddar Gorge to the top of the Mendips. Climb Stats:

Climb from 50m to 210m – height gain of 160m. (from bottom of village is 20m) but the proper climb begins as you exit the village.
Average Gradient 4.5%
Max Gradient 16%

After a gentle climb through the village of Cheddar, the road rises sharply through several hairpins cut into the rock face. Here there road ramps up to several 16% sections. After 0.6mile, it levels off and becomes a gentle 3-4% for the remaining 2 miles to the summit (wherever that was.. we just kept on riding).

Route: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2997335

Tandem Touring

My second 'adventure' was a more recent trip up Scolty hill, Banchory approx. 30km West of Aberdeen. This was an off-road venture, with Cube Aim MBX bikes rented from the local BanchoryCycles.

However, this trip ended a little prematurely with an accident early on rendering a pal's knee a bloody mess! Despite his intimate encounter with the kerb less than a mile from the bike shop, at least he fell inward away from the closing traffic - a good tactic for any fall! We continued a further couple o' miles into the forests surrounding Scolty Hill on the gravel trails mixing it up with a few 'all gear no idea' cyclo-cross MAMIL's on the climbs - always a good laugh.

Scolty Trails

Other than that (and a brief 35-40km ride with Kareem and Han in Bristol) this pretty much summarises the extent or there lack of road-time I've had this year. Fortunately, (ANOTHER) relocation, this time to Reading for a new job should see that this passion is reignited fully. A motivating factor will be the new set of wheels I've finally managed to afford having shopped around and saved up a little. Something I could never do when it was all go go go since all those little repairs, maintenance and never-ending new bits of kit always plundered my bank account. So... fingers cross from Sept 2014 onwards, the activity will pick up.