Video - The Sea of Rock

I love riding on sand,  and also the rocks on our coast. both those above the tide line and those exposed at low tide that are often very greasy and slippy under foot.
Riding rocks on the coast on Fat bikes is my own personal test of  technical riding these days.
With a Fat Bike and it`s low pressure and larger foot print and increased grip you can ride stuff which is near impossible on a regular bike. No need for suspension for this slow speed type of riding.

Most UK riders would say riding Trail Centres or Down Hill tracks is their own personal test of technical riding. Bikes with suspension that allow faster speeds of controlled riding.
Many of the bikes most folk ride for this are termed `All Mountain Bikes` and i included have owned bikes which fall into this collective type of bike.

Most of us will never ride our bikes anywhere near to their full capability.
Their are loads of `Huck fest` MTB film out their today, all along the same theme of life style young `dudes` riding off huge drops and jumping big gaps etc, and i never watch any of them anymore as the theme has been done to death.  Films by the likes of UK rider Danny Macaskill are always fresh and entertaining.

Here is a film of what can be done on a well set up full suspension bicycle when ridden by a very skilled rider.

This film is a whole different ball game to most riding due to its unique location in Austria, and really is `All Mountain Riding`.
A story of how an old Military bicycle has been lying up on a mountain in Austria since 1972...

This film is quite long but stick with it, as from 7mins 40 secs you will see some really great bike riding skills...

`Not your usual day at the Beach`...

SEA OF ROCK from infinite trails on Vimeo.

Mud...

Some friends do not get why i am not that fussed about going (regular) mountain biking these days.
So here is an explanation; Mud, i hate mud...

Bear with me and i will try and explain in a bit...

I do the odd muddy ride on my fat bikes but they are not really the best tool in the shed for thick ankle deep gloop like the conditions in most woodland and along trails this now inland and away from the sandy soils of the coast.
After all the heavy rain on already saturated ground luckily we here in S.E Scotland have not had the destructive flooding of England and Wales that has been on the daily TV News.

Last Sunday i donned the paclites and cycled along to the local woods on the Moonlander through the monsoon, taking the Go Pro i thought i will get some filming done as not done much lately but it was so wet and slow to cycle along the slog fest of trails it was not worth filming!
I then came down a forest road and turning onto a trail the front end washed out at a good speed.
Down like a sack of spuds i went!. This snapped a brake lever, first ever MTB lever i have broke in 25 years!, the Go Pro popped out of the chest mount but was ok, the fall broke a front rack i recently fitted for beach combing, and i took a chunk of flesh out my shin, now i am nursing a few bruises too!, i knew i should have went to the beach!

Luckily for you lot i got it on film -:)

But that's not the reason for disliking cycling through gloop and getting covered from head to toe,

Its work, or rather working on a Clay base hill, the mud at work in winter during wet weather, the last few weeks have seen flooding and the return of mud on all the transport roads around the Golf Course...

It gets on all the machinery, like the mud guards on the Gators which we drive about on...

This then goes all over your clothes, gloves and ruins leather boots...

The greens are US Spec and built on free draining sand so doing jobs like rolling is no probs...

But towing stuff about behind Gators like the Greens Iron on tracks like this covers it in gloop and you have to wipe the machine seat and controls down at each green...

So come the weekend, or indeed a mid week night ride the last thing i wanna do is go out in more mud!.
Maybe if i worked in an office all week i would be happy to go jump in the stuff come the weekend.
At this time of year i envy friends working on the sand based Links Courses!. Sand is so clean!

After 2 weeks of grey overcast skies, loads of rain, commuting on mud covered country roads from farm machinery we have a window of cold clear weather forecast right through to this weekend!
So i rode to work today on the Surly Pugsley for some grin factor -:) ...

It was definitely cold today at around 5C but great to get some sunshine and a sunset again.
Looking forward to riding on the coast this Saturday for the Global fat bike day - Sand and rocks!
and mud free! ...

Global Fatbike Day - 1st December 2012

December 1st has been decided to be a world celebration day for fat bikes all around the world...

Fat Bike websites, Facebook pages, and blogs of Fat Bike owners will ride there fat bikes and post live pics on various rides on there local patch and over a 24 hour period of the globes time zones we can all watch pics or film of friends around the earth,

I will be riding here in East Lothian on the coast with friends and will post our days ride on here and on various websites and Facebook.
It is a great idea and will be fun...

On the 1st check out the big sites which will post peoples rides and links to riders own sites and blogs...

MTBR FatBike Forum

FAT-BIKE.COM

 UK FatBike Forum

In fact just a Google Search for Glabal Fat Bike day 2012 shows a whole load of rides happening!

NB - Gullane - NB beach ride in pics...

Saturdays plan to dig out a WW2 machine gun pill box was shelved as it was such a lovely clear day.
After a visit to Law Cycles to see Eddie`s new Surly frame, we rode west from North Berwick to Gullane and back for a big feed at a cafe.
Clear skies and a baltic wind, it was a perfect day on the coast.
We ride this coastline so often but there is so many different routes to take and today we were along many grassy trails i seldom ride and were new to Eddie, a top day out then home to sit in front of a roaring fire with a cider, a perfect Saturday -:)