coastrider: Midweek cycle and Shenanigans...

Friday, 3 June 2016

Midweek cycle and Shenanigans...

It`s the UCI World Downhill World cup at Fort William this weekend and it will be UK Downhill rider Steve Peat`s last downhill race at the worlds longest hardest downhill track on the world circuit...
I balls up and should have booked a long weekend off and headed up esp when Mike texted to say he was heading up and stopped over for an evening for a bike ride and a few ciders...

I like it when Mike visits as apart from being a good friend who i have had many memorable bike rides and Cider drinking laughs with, always turns up with a new bike he has been building and been telling me about on Facebook, and today along with his massive downhill rig he pulled this out the van...
This is a steel full suspension frame Cotic Rocket designed here in the UK, Mike has built it up with Surly Instigator 26" Rabbit Hole 50mm wide rims and Surly 26 x 2.75 Dirt Wizard tyres, and this bike looks great and when i rode it down our local `Plantains Trail` it rides as good as it looks....

I took the Surly Krampus and we did a 23mile loop with only a mile max of tarmac and via Athelstaneford village headed up the Ridge Road to Barney Hill, then descended the Plantains trail after a bike swap and from Haddington followed the river tyne trail to East Linton, then home and fired up the Chimenea in the garden and we sat out to 1am enjoying the heat, a few ciders and some good banter with Craig who popped round after he finished work..

New swing gates on a lot of the route are a welcome after the old styles...

Dust man!!! east coast dust!...

What is he up too...

Aye ok!...

Two cracking trail bikes...

Barney Hill, Mike laying out i should have bolted with the Rocket!!!...

Down to the Plantains trail...

We swapped bikes before the trail started and i enjoyed riding the Cotic while behind Mike yelled about how crap my brakes are compared to his Hydraulic brakes!. I yelled back `Brakes just slow you down`!...

Onto the Tyne trail after a stop at the weir to watch a Heron fishing..

Then it was non stop at a fair rate of knots along the trail which is bone dry and super fast rolling, bumpy still in places but the Fox forks on the Krampus smoothed things at the front end while Mike would reply `What bumps?` as he cruised over them...
I should have been filming it, as we did not stop for pics!, though i got a few from the saddle...