Winter Solstice Cycle 22nd December

Today the 22nd December is the shortest day, Sunrise 08.42am,  Sunset 15.37pm
I always look forward to the winter solstice.
Winter turns a corner and by New Year it will be noticeable the evening light starting to draw out...
With stuff to do today (Tuesday)  i did my Solstice ride yesterday and commuted into work on the old Pugsley.  It was still dark as i took the off road detour route (i have 4 off road route options!) as the sky started to turn red...

Home time and it was down to  Ravensheugh and Peffersands in a gale with fore casted 40mph gusts that blew sand down the beach and across the dunes...

Be no sunset this evening with a cloud base inland to the west...

As a 3/4 moon rose i rolled off the dunes and cycled some of the sandy single track though the dunes before heading along the beach towards St Baldreds Cradle...

St Baldreds Cradle...

Along the Secret trail and a loop around Sandy Hirst Point as it started to get dark, best get back to the woods as i saw some Wildfowlers heading out across the Bay...

Back in the woods it was dark so on with the lights...

A road ride home to avoid the slop of Binning Woods away from the sandy coast, saved a lot of time washing the bike....

Waiting on the frame proofing spray to arrive through the post and i can get the new Pugsley frame prepped and swapped over.  I`m scrapping the idea of waiting until buying expensive 1 x gears and bling parts etc for what is just my beachbike. I will explain why in future posts...

More soon...

Sunday beachride with Kevin...

I have met so many folk in the last 7 years riding Fatbikes and although being friends on Facebook for a few years it was not until today when i met Kevin - who was up from Cumbria for a few days cycling that he, and his familiar face reminded myself that i took him out along the coast from Law Cycles to try out a Fatbike a good few years ago.  Kevin was an early adopter to  Fatbikes and bought a Yellow Surly Pugsley, then later a Gold Salsa Mukluk,  His Yellow Pugsley lives here in Gullane today-now owned by Duncan...
Kevin had brought his Gold Salsa Mukluk, a nice colour and well specced Fatbike that was sporting a pair of Lauf Forks, these are the lightest Fatbike suspension forks on the market and are maintenance free using Carbon springs that are all moulded to make a strong, light maintenance free fork-they do look a bit weird when you first see them, but after riding the bike down off Gullane Hill i was impressed with the ride...

Kevin loves them...

With a mid tide we headed east to North Berwick. I did not take many pics, mostly as we just kept riding and talking. We chat a bit  online but it was nice to chat in person, and we soon rolled into North Berwick and got some coffee and cake at the seabird Centre...

Nice spec Mukluk, with Lauf fork, sporting a Beer Babe bag...

I spied this neat looking ring multi tool...

I love stuff like this...

Back to Gullane and via the John Muir Way, Nice to see Pugsley owner Tommy and Dorothy out walking at Yellowcraig, then we met Francis and Tessa out on the Endurance horses, sadly Mowgli was not along for a run!.  We avoided the worst of the strong SSW gales to the Bake Bean Trail and through some of the many sandy trails below Gullane and via Maggies Loup and Gullane Point, we rode across the Nature Reserve to the footbridge, and shared a coffee out of the wind at the Nigal Trantor memorial (Top Picture)...

The winter solcisce is tomorrow, the 21st, So need to get out on the Pugsley to celebrate it with a detour home from work via the coast...

More soon...

GoPro: Karma is Coming

:)

Back to the Future; New Pugsley build! Pt1

A few months ago i sold my Surly Moonlander and the spare Alfine hub Pugsley, and while sad to see them go, esp the Moonlander which is still in my view to date the best Beach bike out there with its bombproof 135mm multi hub rear option and narrow chain stays-that make it great for tight technical riding between rocks, i did it to help fund the purchase of the recently released Surly Wednesday. I was wanting to get in on some new fangled thru axle trail geometry action!, been 3 1/2 years since my last new complete fatbike!.

Kaboom!...;
Sadly my car required loads of money spent on it for it`s yearly MOT, and there went that new bike idea overnight...
Sadly so did my plan of a 5" tyre Fatbike  like the Moonie but on 80mm rims which would nearly be as good as 100mm rims, but with a regular fatbike 100mm BB, rather than the John Wayne 120mm BB of the Moonie, oh and it takes 29+ wheels.

All is not lost...
`I have a cunning plan`...:
So i hatched a plan, encouraged by urgency after the forks showed cracks on my old Original Pugsley on a Sunday evening :(

`Panic on the streets of Birmin-err East Lothian...`
With the day trip to Tentsmuir organised the following weekend i thought i would never find a new Pugsley Offset fork nowadays here in the UK (All Pugsley`s have Symmetrical forks these days) so was surprised that Westbrook cycles had them in black in stock!, a pair was ordered and my face dropped when i pulled them out the box and they were in line symmetrical!!!, but hold on they look slightly err squint, then i realised they were a pair of the Ltd run of new Offset Pug forks!, never knew these had been imported into the UK!

You can read about these forks on the Surly Blog, and look there`s a pic of my Pug on there!, check it out Here...

Mounted up they look great..

I like to have two Fatbike, so...;
I decided after Tentsmuir that while out on group rides you only ride as fast as the slowest rider, and lets face it riding the East Coast is not the Iditabike! We rarely ride further than 40-50 miles and no big climbing is involved so weight is not top priority, reliability and quality of ride is more important.
If i was racing that then i too would maybe be after a Carbon all singing all dancing Fatbike... Or probably more likely i would get a Surly ICT and have another bike that would last for years!

A Pug`s for life, not just for Xmas...
The Pugsley is still a great fatbike and for trails and coastal riding here in East Lothian,  so i decided while i cannot afford to pay up a complete bike until my wages get a rise, or i find a suitcase washed up on the coast full of used notes, i can for now afford to pay up a frame without breaking the bank. For £32 a month for a year on 0% finance again from Westbrook Cycles i will soon have two fatbikes rolling again, a good one and an old spare one, I don`t need to rebuild any more wheels, and everything is still interchangeable...


Super Pug!;
So i will swap this frame over onto my old Pugsley in a couple of months. I`m waiting on the statuary Orange Frame Graphics and head badge to arrive from the USA, some frame saver to rustproof the frame,  and lastly as most of the parts will be swapped over except i want a 1x11 drive chain and that will take a couple of Months salary`s pocket money to purchase.  And i plan to build in my eyes the best Pugsley i have had yet-A super Pug!, with two sets of wheels the orange beach wheels and the 29+ wheels,  with 1x11 the rear wheel can be slammed right forward and along with the offset headset and wide bars should ride real nice with all my favourite parts on a new frame and fork. That should keep me going on a Pugsley for say another 8 years... :)
I will return to this frame build up in a month or two for Pt2 once i get all the needed goodies...

The old original Pug;
The old Pugsley needs to be rolling for Forth Fat in April as i have promised to loan it to Rob, who we met riding the Capital Trail event back in June, then again out walking at Aberlady Reserve, so i need to get a friend to repair the fork, source Some secondhand BB7 brakes, cranks, stem, seat post, and a few wee parts but should do it, after of course it gets powder coated in it`s original colour of Thunderbird Grey...

Surly Pugsley; Still fit for purpose :)

Off The Beaten Path Trailer film on Vimeo...

Forgot to post this up when it first popped up but nicely reminded over on our UK Fatbike Forum of this film...

And as i commented over there we can all ride on our own doorsteps here in the UK too where other bicycles before could never easily be ridden...


"Off the Beaten Path" Extended Trailer from First Tracks Productions on Vimeo.

KEELA Road Runner cycling trousers; Commuting kit now dialled

It`s nearly mid winter here and for most folks it`s dark commuting into, and returning from work...
It`s not so bad if it`s high pressure weather with clear skies and red skies and long shadows. or snow like 5 years ago when we had the last White Christmas. But this December here has mostly been mild, damp and overcast with grey laden skies...
I am lucky to be outdoors in daylight weather permitting but still love cycling to work even in the depths of winter, You arrive at work buzzing from exercising and your head is clear and your ready for the day ahead as already decided what to do having been out in the weather, and after a days work and riding home you unwind and switch off...

I pass loads of cars and many of the drivers look miserable...  If you see a guy on a bike in a orange top grinning like a daftie near Whitekirk then it`s me!, and i am happy to be out in touch with the weather, the conditions, wildlife, and getting some exercise :)


Gearing up to commute by bike...
Waterproof cycling clothing has only been needed for a few commutes here in East Lothian despite the UK News reports of heavy rain and widespread flooding etc,
And commuting in even the most breathable waterproof clothing results in damp and sweaty  base layers even after a modest 4 mile commute if the temperature is at all mild.

DWR Softshell to the rescue!;
This is where soft shell clothing with a DWR coating for light rain showers comes in. The material is breathable and quick drying and as long as your not wearing a cotton base layer that will get damp and take a while to dry (i find a thin Merino wool layer can be kept on once at work and as well as warm dries quickly with body heat) then you can regulate heat better with softshell clothing...

KEELA Clothing;
KEELA Clothing is a Scottish clothing company  which manufacturers outdoor clothing used by the British Military forces, Mountain rescue and Emergency services and has a proven track record of excellent quality, and your not paying for a designer brand name like most Outdoor clothing companies...
Over the 7 years of blogging you will have seen my references to the excellent KEELA soft shell  multi purpose outdoor KEELA Scuffer trouser that lends itself to being a great cycling and general use outdoors trouser...
And it is!, i wear these daily at work and only when wet do these trousers sag a bit and the crotch and legs around the calf sag a bit and can catch on the saddle and drive train...

So imagine if KEELA were to make a trouser the same but in a cycling cut? well they have now for a year now!, and i recently bought a pair and think i have indeed found the perfect soft shell cycling trouser having been wearing these commuting and cycling off road for the last month,

Named the Roadrunner these are the perfect cut for cycling with all the same features of the famous Scuffer trouser with an added reflective strip on the rear of each calf. And these are a bargin at £63!...

Really impressed with these trousers which have completed a perfect commuting clothing set up...

The orange top is An Altura `Night Vision Soft shell top, And that top along with the KEELA Roadrunner trousers...

SealSkinz  gloves and Ron Hill Running skull cap is a comfortable quick drying ideal set up...

The top layer Altura top with a Merino long sleeve top and T shirt if needed is perfect...

And Shimano MT91 Gore Tex Boots makes the perfect clothing set up for dry to damp conditions...

On the bike...
Two front lights already reviewed Here...

And two rear lights, one steady, one flashing...

And a waterproof old Karrimor pannier with Altura Night Vision Trousers and a Craft 100% waterproof Jacket take care of the heaviest rain in cold conditions...

If you cannot see me with this lot on then you should not be on the road!...

KEELA Roadrunners Off road...
And these new trousers are also my off road cycling trousers and they have proved  perfect in the last months off road cycling on the coast. No reason they will also last as long as the Scuffer trousers i have used for over 5 years now...
I also have been wearing the Altura Night Vision soft shell top but it`s a bit loud! and i think i will buy another in a more muted colour!...

More soon...