normal mountainbiking.........

today (Saturday) dawned grey skys...forcast was clear and with a midday lowtide i was going to head down the beach for some fun on the pugsley...
rain came on around 10am..oh well...now lacking a bit motivation to go now after the amazing weather last satuarday i decided to take the motorbike a quick spin to charge up the battery as the rain will now be washing alot of the (2 weeks late) salt off the roads,it was heavy rain but what the heck...around the coastroad 15miles from home the bike started to misfire when throttled,it died at a junction and didnt have enough battery power to turn over..either it has a charging problem or more likely the cheap make battery my mate bought when he bought it is goosed...its £50 for a new one,when i bought the bike back from him it had nearly went flat on me a few times when the bike had sat a few weeks,ok so now i have to start it -no kickstart fitted and unlike the honda XR trailbikes the later electric start only XT and TTR yamahas have no decompression lever which lifts a valve enabling them to be kickstart easier...try pushing 160KG + 4 gallons (full tank!) and jumping in 3rd gear...anyway i had to do this at least a dozon times to get home at junctions,luckily i usually had a slight slope but was sweating loads!,once home i ordered a battery,i know it will be this as this model wont run without a certain voltage in the battery and it was fine before when used about 6 weeks ago...
buying cheap parts costs more in the long run...
good news though is i recently got a pair of sidi courier boots...

these are often regaurded as the best boots for the money for dualsport motorcycle riding,they are the hieght of trials boots and have a treaded sole like them too..
there pretty waterproof and comfy to walk in too...my friends and i used to rate good motorbike boots if you can walk to the clachaig inn at glencoe from the red squirrel campsite!,
im lucky in being a half size at size 10 1/2 as i can ware a size 11 allowing a pair of bridgedale socks and army goretex boot liners,warm,cosy and dry...
so i wasnt home untill after 1pm and felt a bit hacked off..the rain and grey skys didnt help too but thats the way the cookie crumbles..

i geared up and for a change grabbed the full suspension cannondale,
despite being a 10 year old frame with a 5 year old shock and forks and build etc i still love the look of this bike,from the drainpipe downtube to the side frametubes around the shock,the super v is a classic in full suspension mtb`s..because it was one that actually worked really well..



i havent ridden this since last down glentress in october,in fact i havent ridden any bike with suspension since then...not just rear suspension but front too!
it felt real wierd,it dosnt bob with the fox RP3 shock when peddeling but the rear movement was just wierd!,i went a ride along the john muir way to north berwick law,

it was throwing it down but i was warming to the old super v again..so i pushed up to the top of north berwick law,it was really wet underfoot and the compacted grass was slick in places,
the jurys out too for me on SPDs..pushing up north berwick law i was slipping on the cleats..and thats wearing shimano MT90 boots,proberly the best SPD shoes to walk in,i used to ride flats for downhill and have them on the pugsley,
i think i will switch to flats on this bike when i start to go back down glentress in the spring- yes GT friends ive enjoyed the break from the routine of going down but will be making the visit monthly as want to do alot of filming this year there and at innerliethen..
up the top the views were a bit grim but i took a couple of pics from inside the WW2 lookout post...


i stuck the tachyon camera on the helmet to film riding down,it was real slick and i proberly dragged the rear brake all the way down!,i just stuck to the main walking path,i took nearly twice as long as in summer to go down!...i plan on reaching 40 with my front teeth...
riding home i was soaked through,wet under the paclite jacket now with sweat...

even in the woods it was too wet for taking pics so it was the usual "pic from inside the garage once home shot"

nice to get out on the full suss bike again..it may be a bit old now (in mtb circles) but it will still run circles around alot of newer stuff..and it keeps on going..single pivot suspension reliability and i think the best brakes hope made-the original (alloy-non anodised) mono`s with cookie cutter discs...
it felt ok riding home and quite comfy!,more fun to have on this old steed...
heres a quick film riding down north berwick law..nothing special and i tried to wipe the lense on the way down!,

click on the thumbnail to watch...