Scotlands Golf Coast...

You cannot help but notice the golf courses of East Lothian,
The east coast of Scotland is where the game was invented, whether you believe it was at Edinburgh`s Lieth links by Dutch sailors playing a similar game, or in St Andrews by Shepherds playing with crooks...
Here in East lothians little county is home to the oldest golf course in the world-at Musselburgh, and the oldest members golf club- Muirfield,
It is the counties biggest tourist industry and provides many jobs for local people on the 21 courses, along with the many local business's who supply the courses and offer accommodation and  hospitality to visitors...
Here is a great aerial film by friend Gary of some of our golf courses and some of our coastline...



East Lothian is also home to the growth of Fatbike beach riding in the UK too :)

More soon...

ZAJO ReyKjavik eVent Paclite jacket...

Mum, big bro, sis, nephews and niece`s thanks for the Xmas money gift :)
You will be pleased to know i did not spend it on bikes, booze, a beard growth fertiliser,  or a tattoo...

Instead i added some money  to it and as a Xmas pressie from  me to me also, i bought a new Paclite from SportPursuit.com
It arrived yesterday after a few weeks wait (part of the way they price so well) in the post,
This eVent jacket will replace my old black North Face Gore Tex paclite that has seen after 10 years trusty service...

eVent material seems to often be more favourable to Gore Tex reading independent reviews by owners of eVent material clothing...

The hood has two draw cords and does not catch the wind when down, and it fits over a helmet for winter sports, which will also be handy for real foul weather commuting and cycing on the coast here...

And side pockets, hardly any paclites have side pockets!...

Multipurpose clothing;
I don`t go for single purpose outdoor gear, stuff needs to be ideal for commuting, off road coastal cycling, walking, and general outdoor raking about...
This should give years of comfort and dryness outdoors multi tasking,

The video of the film shows the jacket for winter sports but mine will see a lot more use than just that :)



Don`t expect it to stay this clean for long...  :)

More soon...

Saturday winter sun cycle on the coast...

Friends Craig, Brian and Gary came out to play along with Ian who rode back to  Gullane on his new Surly Ice Cream Truck, and Mowgli was along for a run too!,
I never took many pics as filming with the Go Pro, loads of sand has been moving on the coast with this winters stormy seas and high winds,  some east ends of coves are filled with sand blown over the headlands and dunes have been  topped up a few inches in places, the coast is always changing on top of the rocks...
Never made it out to the subs as the incoming tide broke over the sand bar- rather quickly as we stopped for a pic!, and the headwind we winched into all the way there dropped as we rode back to North Berwick, but it was a lovely winter day of amazing light and long shadows...

Again this film has not loaded in 720p HD on youtube, dunno why!,
3 songs by LESTER;
`Rhubarb Bagel`
`DANCE WIF ME`
`DOOFIS ROCK`



Snow forecast later this week, keeping fingers crossed to get some here finally!
More soon,

Green Pugsley No 3 rolling!, 3 Pugsleys, all Pugsleys, but all quite differant...

This is replacing my ridged Karate Monkey 29er which i bought as a used but unbuilt frameset but only rode it twice since building it up, I like it and it rides lovely,

But i feel this now i don`t really need it having had a taste of riding 29+ with my Surly  #KramPug#  and the roll and comfort of those 3" tyres on the 50mm Surly Rabbit Hole 50mm wide rims, i class that as Fat-Lite, running around 12-15 psi... this has been the ride that has re sparked my cycling away from the coast...

Thing is i really wanted to build a Krampus to compliment this bike which is more set up like Surlys ECR for Xc riding as the Krampus is a hoot to ride, esp fast nailing it anywhere,  and i faked myself building the Karate Monkey with Rabbit Hole rims as a cheaper option to the Krampus, instead of just waiting and saving and buying a new Krampus frame when i had saved enough as could not afford it a few months back and have  little patience as cash is tight these days with still no pay rise etc..
So i had decided to sell the KM frame set (now sold) to pay for another used Pugsley frame set  when i was offered to buy one as it would be better off as another KramPug 29+ built with parts from the KM spec with a few changes to spec, and the bonus being it can be run as a regular Fatbike when needed ;) .

No Krampus?
Well not for now, but i reckon if i can ride my old (heavy these days) `Large Marge` undrilled twin wall rim Pugsleys 30-40 miles in a day that friends do on their lighter Fatbikes, then i can ride the same stuff on a Pugsley framed 29+ `KramPug`  that some would ride in a day on a pukka Krampus- yeah i know it will not have the same geometry and handling for out the saddle nailing it on trails etc... but i`m not kidding myself anymore, i am 43 years old now... not 23...  leave it to the kids made of rubber bone to honk on and take the spills, most of my cycling is sat down these days...

Building it up;
As previously mentioned  this is a used Mk 4 Snow blind Pugsley- from friend Gary Buckham that he had re coated in Landrover Olive Green,

You can read the blog post here of the offset Krampus wheels i had a go at re lacing myself having bought a Surly 135 SS hub to use on the front wheel...

The rest of the build is cheap n cheerful 9 spd Deore 2x9 gears with bash guard on old Middleburn  Rs7s that i bought 7 years ago for the first Pugsley. The square taper 100mm bottom bracket needed is an On One item i bought used on  Facebook after putting up an add for one.
Sporting 2.5" Minions on the Surly Rabbit Hole 50mm  wide 29er wheels until the 3" wide 29+ Dirt Wizards arrive, it is not a true 29+  i know, and in no real hurry for them as got these skins to wear out first :)

On Saturday the On One 100mm square taper bottom bracket arrived so i got the green pugsley rolling...

The bottom bracket has 2 bearings on either side (Phil Wood square taper BBs have 1 bearing each side), so it is a neat design and if the bearings get replaced with quality SKF bearings then it should last a long time..

Grease on the axle and on with the cranks, chain, then just a case of dialling in the mechs and it was rolling!...

Under a minute to swap wheels!- Two bikes in one...
The Offset Krampus wheels have the same Shimano rear/Surly hubs so is real quick to swap wheel sets,  no need to re set gears or re aline brake disc calliper's.
5 minutes and its now a KramPug-abet with regular 2.5" 29er tyres for now...

This bike is replacing my ridged Karate Monkey as i was just not using it, and the 2.5"  rear tyre was too neat for mud clearance,

So from this...

To this...

100mm wide Fatbike bottom bracket i think i actually prefer these days to a regular 73mm bb width, and it has reversible wheels so i can single speed it too...

And with 2.5" tyres, or 3" later in the year when the Dirt Wizard tyres arrive there is not a problem  with mud clearance...

And it rides just like my other KramPug!...

Cost?
This bike has not cost a fortune to build using the running gear from the Karate Monkey, selling some of it to change a few parts, being patient on many eBay bids until i won stuff, and keeping an eye on Fatbike classifieds for stuff going cheap...

Snowdrops are out!

With Shimano rear hubs i will be keeping the wheels out of the real wet sand on the coast, i have the old original 36 spoke Surly Marge/Hope hub wheels for doing that...

So what about my other Surly KramPug 29+?
It is still as it is, kinda my answer to a Surly ECR, and for long XC days out, maybe even some bike packing weekends this year!...
The Pumpkin Pugsley is my good Pugsley, all the best parts,  it will not see too much salt water exposure, but can if needed share the wheels of the Green Pugsley, so all 3 Pugsleys can go 4" fat on the coast.

Set up with the Jones 710mm Loop Bars i do like them for long days but prefer regular wide MTB bars for whizzing about on trails...

Offset fork with Salsa anything cage mounts anyone?  :)

Under cage bottle mount for if i use a full frame bag, TIME Spd pedals on this bike too...

The old original Pugsley;
Original Grey Pugsley (black for now)  is the run around Pug,  rear rack and Alfine 8 speed internal gear hub, Francis rides this bike when were out and i used it too scoot about, odd commute, shops etc...

All old Fatbikes, still all great bikes with years of fun to be had yet with...

Fatbikes as Mountainbikes;
Seems to be the way a lot of the marketing is heading in Fatbikes with forks and geometry for riding regular trails. I agree in places they are ace with the massive grip and climbing ability. I like many would love to ride/own the new full suspension Fatbikes like the Salsa Bucksaw, for now i can dream on... :)
Far as i`m concerned they will not replace a regular MTB for regular trail riding for most people and they will not replace frame sets like the old faith full Karate Monkeys etc..
Fatbikes will still for myself be for riding where regular MTBs cannot go or struggle to go to be of any enjoyment. Places we all have somewhere on our doorstep...
Apart from a pair of new tyres for the big Moonlander to buy later this year my cycling will be focusing a lot on my 29+ bikes  when above the high tide line and riding regular trails...
Lots more fun miles per smiles to come...

More soon...

Saturday short ride with a longer walk home!...

I cannot remember the last time i pushed a bike home, or back to the car, probably 10 years a go when i snapped a Bottom Bracket at Glentress trail centre, even then it was a one foot on the pedal freewheel most of the way down to the car park. But i got caught out this morning with a lack of preparation checking spares on the bike and shoved a Pugsley about 2 miles home!, lesson learned!

Some jets outside now at the Museum of Flight...

They will start to rot like the old Avro Vulcan is now sadly...

Through the woods, icy ruts keeping me on my toes...

And up the Ridge Road of the Garletons,  frozen solid...

All the mud at the top on Barney Hill was solid so nice and clean...

Sun on Fife across the Forth estuary...

 With no real plan i was going to explore a few field boundaries around here...

Then 5 minutes later along by West Toll Mains i picked up a big thorn, usually not a problem, pull it out and spin the wheel and it seals... but it would not seal!, the Stans juice must have used up all the particles and just would not seal!...

So not having a wee bottle to re juice and re seal, or patches i swapped the tube (re moving the thorn!) and continued, deciding to call it a day and head for home as the spare tube was not juiced and there was hedges recently cut everywhere. nice we down hill then heading east the front flatted again!...

Francis was away working, i phoned friends but just got answering phones, so walked the 2-3 miles home... at least i was nice and warmed up now!...

So Lesson learned!
Owning multiple bikes means it near impossible to have a pump and tolls on all of them, I use the old pumps and heavier tools on my 2 work bikes, and now will carry one tool kit for all other bikes,
Carry a  bottle or two of tubeless juice to top up, or add to your spare tube if you fit it- it rolls up smaller with out juice, some alcohol wipes so you can repair a tube- and some good patches and glue!,
If Schrader tubes fit a valve core remover to your spare tubes so you can juice the tube,
Carry it all in one tool bag that goes with you whatever bike, then you constantly know you have everything.
leave a tube on every bike, and a 26" MTB tube as a spare as will inflate to any 4", 5", 29er, 29+ wheel if needed as a second spare.


On a good note when i got home the postie had been and left a parcel- a 100mm square taper On One bottom bracket i bought used via Facebook, so i got the green Pug rolling!...

More soon...