Retrospect 2011

Another fun year  doing the usual stuff though a few changes to how i do them,
I have been mostly cycling locally, instead of driving miles and miles to cycle, just ride from the back door or drive 10 -15 miles to then ride,  I now really appreciate where i have to cycle all year round here in East Lothian. My bikes are now all set up perfect for riding around here,
Petrol money saved from cycling to work and cycling off road locally, has slowly been saved up and is contributing to a new bike next year, which i am really excited about, first complete new bike in 4 years -:)

January;
The mother of all winters, the second year in a row we got snow, proper snow, everybody was moaning about it as the roads became snow ploughed hard pack as grit supplies ran out, i loved it and had many days riding through Xmas into the New Year on the pugsley in conditions it was originally designed for...magic...

Starting another blog, to post non cycling stuff around East lothian and related to my interests has been fun,
i need to get my finger out and get it rolling again...i have loads to post up on there...

Febuary;
I had a grand day out  riding west to Edinburgh on a fantastic clear winters day, it was perfect in every way a day on the coast can be...

March;

A day of sore legs riding my regular 29er bike on the beach to introduce another friend to the fun of riding fat bikes, Dave is pugsley owner No 5 here in East Lothian now...resistance is Futile



The lowest tide of the year allowed a ride to North berwick Harbour entrance!...

It also showed up a seldom seen wreck on our coast and my favourite post on the NTR blog , this post is exactly what i wanted to blog about over there,

April;

The first 3 pug beachride!, Jason and Davie joined me for a ride at John Muir Bay,
I took a grinder to my BOB Trailer added a 29er yolk, a kite buggy wheel and created the Fat Bob trailer
just the job for hauling junk and firewood off the beach...



May;

I splashed out some saved pennies on a Go Pro HD sports camera which would take about 2 months to manage to edit and publish properly on my coal fired PC, but a visit to Glentress Trail Centre with some of the Winton Massif cycle gang i did one of the first Youtube films of a new Blue Route Section that opened that day,  Berm Baby Berm...



June:
I was 40!, yeah!, and still kicking... and had a great booze up garden party with friends,
but before that the best 2 weeks of the year - Summer Holidays and another roadtrip up North around the coast of Scotland, from an amazing weekend at  the UCI Down Hill World Cup with friends, to camping out using the pugsley and FatBOB trailer on the NW coast and that magical ride at Faraid head at Durness on the biggest sand dunes in the UK....

Why go anywhere else?... -:)







The most amazing beachride ever to date- Faraid Head at Durness in the far NW corner of Scotland, seeing as i published the film in the wrong format i will just have to return next summer for a re film...



July;
A rare thing turned up on ebay, an unused Mk1 purple Pugsley frame...just what i wanted...
A quick frame swap and it was not long until it was rolling on the coast, in HD film too!...



August;
We rode the last bit of Unridden coast on the pugsleys on a very hot day, hard riding and have to return on a very low tide again in 2012 and film here...

A great Bivvy beachride to Holy Island too, pre run for a cool weekend coming up...
The following weekend would see another bivvy solo ride further south exploring the coastline...
was an amazing evenings ride to sunset...

The weather turned pretty unsettled through the month,  Harvest time was like 2 years ago when everything just seemed to be cut in a few days between terrible windy wet weather, but when it was good you had to get out, trails became unridable away from the coast, the coast was as always ok to ride...





September;

Not all bad weather is bad, during a crazy windy day we had an amazing day tailwind assisted flying across Aberlady Bay after a half hour winching out across at low tide in very low gears...



When i got my Surly Pugsley i never imagined anyone else would be interested in them or beachriding,
For friends to  get one i could grasp, but  i never imagined a UK fat bike owners meet...

Glad i caught it on film, a real special weekend, really special,
 i imagine there will be a few more  folk next year....





October;

We had a mini Indian Summer , did not last long but it was nice when we got it...



I did some more work on a wee coastal trail i ride at my local beach and did a wee film using a Gorrilla pod with the Go Pro...



Did a cool sunrise timelapse down there too, need to do more timelapse of the coast...



Lots of evenings nightriding with friends and solo rides with cheap powerfull lights which have unreal power for the money, end of the month and a Halloween Post with links to films and some nightriding film...



November;

Started off good with fireworks on the 5th and then mid month i was grounded by a virus or something which rendered me with blurred double vision and bad balance, it was nearly 3 weeks before i could read, watch TV or use the PC, scarey stuff, despite eye tests, blood tests, and an MRI scan nothing has turned up in tests to say what it was, after 4 weeks it went away as fast as it happened over about 48 hours,
A big scare and wake up call to get out and enjoy life as you do not know what is around the corner,

December;
A week after i returned to work i enjoyed a Saturday on the coast with friend Dave cycling again and the
Sunday afternoon spending a while making a point and shoot film at Gosford Bay at low tide... life is good again...



I built up a Klunker replica as a wee progect, still to get out and do a film with it it, should be fun...

Thanks everyone who stops by for a read, and a real big thanks to support and best wishes during that health scare, see you all on the coast in the New Year, enjoy your Hogmany -;)