Now Wales has gone back into lockdown and the valleys are being patrolled by terrifying close harmony male voice choirs looking for anyone with an English accent, my usual goto off road trails of choice are off limits to me. I’ve got an expensively assembled new bike and nowhere to ride it ...... Well actually …
Author: carthorse73
New bike, new fears ……
The basis for riding heaven? So, for those that read my last missive, here is the result of much internet auction site searching in my quest to replicate the unobtainable Santa Cruz dream machine that realigned my Mountain biking expectations last time out. It’s a 2019 Cotic Rocket frameset and this will be the basis …
The Pearl Beyond Price. A Mountain biking Parable For Our Times.
One of the perhaps lesser known Biblical parables is the story of the Merchant and the Pearl often known as The Parable of the pearl beyond price. To heavily paraphrase the verses basically a rich Merchant see’s a beautiful gigantic pearl and is so consumed with the need to possess it he sells everything else …
Continue reading The Pearl Beyond Price. A Mountain biking Parable For Our Times.
Lockdown KOM Hunting – Suddenly after all these years I’m feeling competitive again …..
A surprise appearance on a Strava leaderboard leads to a worrying obsession
Zwift Tips For All The Isolating Newbies!
Wowsers, Zwift is a crowded place these days. Since the world went into lockdown and with cycling actively banned in some countries, thousands of frustrated cyclists are flocking to the virtual world of Zwift to get their two wheel based fix of mild nausea and lactic acid. Now there’s literally hundreds if not thousands of …
Time to admit my Failings !
One of the things I really like about Zwift is the little coloured power graph that shows your effort at the bottom of the screen. The only trouble is it works off your last recorded FTP and if like me you haven’t done nearly enough riding lately to maintain your previously fantastic levels of fitness, …
Winter is Coming….
Cometh the winter, cometh the season to plot how to spend whatever disposable income and free time you can seek past your significant other in the pursuit of next summers cycling goals. For most cyclists this is a pretty clear nivarna - we all want to be faster, look cooler (and slimmer!) and perhaps most …
In Praise of Natural Trails.
I rode au-natural the other day. Casting off the shackles of my normal riding conventions I set off unburdened and free into the unknown. It was a challenge, it was painful and exhilarating in equal measure and it felt good. Don't worry I did have lycra on. It wasn't that sort of ‘au-natruale’. I’m talking …
A Tale of two rides (Part 2) Zwift Racing!
I had a nice easy indoor Zwift ride planned for the day after my mountain biking escapades, you know the sort of thing - an easy hour or so just to shake the previous days efforts out of the legs. No record-setting planned, or PB chasing on the climbs, just a nice easy bimble round …
A Tale of Two Rides. (Part 1)
It's been a busy couple of days in Declining Cyclist land. One might almost think I was thinking of taking my riding seriously again! Two days running I've put a significant ride in both in and out of doors. I'll give you a quick run down, I know you're all waiting with bated breath and …
The Declining Cyclist 