Saturday 5 December 2009

mud plugging


well it was to the beach and back,just a loop around john muir park today on the pugsley, so heres some pics on the trails there and back,it was pouring rain so i had the paclite waterproofs on,i usually boil in the bag when i wear anything waterproof no matter how breathable but i just cruised today to not overheat,
the pugsley is a double edge sword with its wide smoothish tyres... in 4x4 ruts and mud on top of hard pack is all over the place esp when off camber like in theses ruts..

but it dosnt spit you off it kind of slides expectedly but nearly always stays upright, but when onto soft wet stuff like this where theres grip being grass here the float is brillant as you can see by the lack of rut left,riding this on a normal bike is hard work...

the rain was pretty heavy by tyningame bridge,i was dry and warm with rain kit on;
buff under helmet..
northface paclite over a lightwieght endura merino longsleeve top..
endura singletrack trousers under montaine paclite waterproofs..
viking dryboots and wool bridgedale socks for toasty dry feet..

today i cut through the woods of john muir park,note the small tree in the middle of the pic,someones already in the xmas spirit...

an old WW2 building amongst the pine trees...

adjacent to the park is east links farm & family park aswell as many british farm animals are these lamas...

i rode round to the bridge at west barnes and back round on an empty beach,just a few surfers out in the water...

out near the point at the tyne estuary lots of sand has shifted,uncovering this old scooter!, looks an old vespa or lambretta,i havent seen this before...

heading back round towards home i went a diffrent way riding along the embankment west of the park,built to drain land for agriculture and built by prisoners of the napolionic war,i rode round here a few years ago but it was summer and overgrowen and wondered if i could find a way through now with lack of undergrowth...

it turns west alongside the river tyne through tyninghame estate...

theres an old victorian footbridge over the tyne here thats seen better days...

it has a gate halfway across thats got a cheap looking rusty chain and padlock...

then the embankment became a bit overgrowen as it ran alongside the river and i ended up walking through trees about 1/4 mile to the bridge i passed by earlier...


the bike was alot better with the new chain and jockey wheels that arrived friday,and the chain was still lubed by the time i got home despite all the water,of course the rain went off and the sun came out once home...!

5 comments:

  1. I find Endomorphs are a nightmare on wet clay. I'll be ordering Surly's new front tyre some time next year.

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  2. It's about time you had some mud instead of all this sun and sand. ;)

    I've always found the skinny tyres of a cyclo-x bike are grippier and quicker than a MTB tyre when it comes to mud. A Pug must be a nightmare in muddy conditions

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  3. antoine,will get the new larry tyre too next year..

    red bike- yep can be hard going if sticky mud like clay,if theres hoof prints from horses or even human footprints they grip and "float" better...

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  4. I'm considering a Larry for the front of my Pugsley next year as well. I get some washout in really greasy snow conditions. Hoping the Larry will help a bit with that.

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  5. doug,wonder why its took surly so long though eh?,i mean they must of seen how many folk ride there pugs cross country and in snow conditions like you say...,still at least its coming...hopefully soon!

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