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26/08/10
MAMIL's Present, Gadge, Sinbad, Bolty & Stevio
MAMIL not present, Seamus
Lets get the elephant out first. If you suggest a ride down the Sloc its only good grace to bother to turn up. However Irish logic suggests you have to instead work and/or pack to go on a drinking race in Ireland to which you’ve forgot to invite your friends apparently. Slainte indeed!
Sinbad kindly carted Gadge and Stevio in his McLaren tuned van to South Barrule having passed oodles of cyclists of both the light and dark side on the way. On arrival it was apparent it would be a diminished group pedalling off into the unknown. Gadge’s quick call elicited that Bolty was in the midst of mechanical mayhem somewhere but would catch up.
Heading uphill from the car park up the main drag it was apparent that Stevio was still waiting for his new middle ring “ping ping ping....”. Having crossed the border into deepest Corlea it was soon apparent that Sinbad was being pursued by a dark figure. Relief that it was only Bolty was tempered by the realisation that he was garbed as a MMBC rider... After reviving Gadge who had swooned like your Granny when she first sees Russell Brand we continued.
At the traverse it was push bikes to the fore given its sloppy consistency. We assisted 2 fellow knights of the road at the Whisky Run who were looking for South Barrule. We also stared at Gadge’s front mech which had decided to not work after he had given it a good kicking for no apparent reason.
At the Round Table it was decided by single transferable vote to go across country (on mountain bikes too) rather than risk the road. We blinded a random member of the squad so he didn’t have to lie about where he’d been last night to his bosses...
After a brief respite at Point 199 it was onto the Sloc. i’m not sure about you but all the great work done resurfacing it by Shaun Gelling and Co has led to lots of people riding it (including, of course, us) and so it was quite cut up in places. Nonetheless it was still a blast, especially for Gadge who got so carried away by the fun he fell off the woodwork.
Coming back up the road to Point 199 again Bolty decided to make a break for home, and Gadge who was feeling under the weather opted to forgo the delights of Earystane and so it was big ring and back along the road. David Bailey fan Stevio stopped for a harmony hairspray photo session with Sinbad on the shoulder road trying to catch the gorgeous setting sun.
There you go Seamus, see what you missed. Punctures Nil too!
Steve “Patches/Stevio” Ormerod

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24/08/10
'4 Men & A Goat'

Present, Gadge, Sinbad, Bolty, Seamus & Stevio
A quick spin tonight as Sinbad was on taxi duty for 8.30 pm. Sinbad was so keen for a ride he forgot to bring anything apart from him and the bike to the NSC.... After “Patches” obligatory pre-ride puncture it was off through the Nunnery track and up the Head Road. The soundtrack for the evening was Stevio’s slipping middle ring (calm down) pinging when ever pushed hard. After a pleasant toodle around to Port Soderick it was time to let rip. So down Oak Hill lane it was and through the ford.
At Kewaigue it was left, past Fort North and over to the Cooil roundabout. There Bolty and Seamus split off for points west. Gadge and Sinbad led Stevio down through Saddlestone throught the paths and lanes past Albany Tennis back to the NSC. Short but still sweet...
oh and whats a MAMIL? “Middle Aged Men In Lycra”... What is the collective noun for a
group of MAMILs? Best suggestion to Stevio (Steve.ormerod@gov.im) wins a small prize :)

The above MAMIL'S were present and had a jolly good ride despite the head wind...Oh and Seamus and Bolty's tail wind on the odd occasion!

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22/08/10

Present, Gadge & Sinbad
Another early start for this mornings ride with me leaving our summer residence to meet up with Sinbad and any other riders that were able to make the early morning ride. So off I set feeling pretty good considering I hadn't been out for a week and hadn't done anything other than 20 minutes on the cross trainer. Off up the hill to the top of Barroose, then up Conrhenny Road through the farm and on up to the Creg ny Baa back road where it was left along to the top of Honey Hill which is where I was due to meet Sinbad and the others (should there be any). As I was early I decided to drop down Honey Hill which has ssen recent filling by way of what can only be described as builders rubble. At the gate junction with the Clypse track there was still no sign of the other riders so I dropped down the Clypse track to the car park which is where I met Sinbad, all on his lonesome. A quick hello and it was back up the Clypse track, back up Honey Hill, backalong the Creg back road and in to Conrhenny plantation for the drop down the outside to the bottom where it was again down to Glen Roy and the nice climb up Windy Corner track. The first section of the climb saw me struggle for traction, too much wind in the back tire me thinks. Sinbad on the other hand seemed to be on fire with his climbs and cleared the complete climb which was the first time for a long time.
At the top we were originally going to head right over the hills towards North Barrule but instead, and to make up some time from the climb, we headed out along the TT course in reverse to the Black Hut where we headed right up over the hills towards North Barrule. Once on our way climbing ever up Sinbad said that where ever we were by 11am we needed to turn back so as not to be too late home for our other halves. It was at the point in the climb when we were inline with Park Llewellyn that I said we should look to head back, Sinbad wanted the drop down to the TT course whilst I said it would be easier on the road via Glen Mona; so off down the rocky slope it was towards the ruin that is Park Llewellyn. It was bout half way down that I had an incident and found myself parted from the bike rather gracefully over the bars. Once at the old ruin it was a case of blast down the track and down to wards the Glen Mona road for the spin home.
Once on the road I took point in to a slight head wind with Sinbad taking the tow. Before we knew it we were rounding the corner at the Dhoon and it was a nice time to stretch the legs and push on a little harder. Now we would see if Sinbad could keep with me and sit in my slipstream getting a tow along. He did pretty darn well and it wasn't until just coming in to Laxey that he started to lose energy, think it was a combination of the steady pace and the heat in the mid morning sun. Once in Laxey I slowed up and let him catch up before pushing on again homeward bound. Coming through Baldrine I decided I would ride on up with Sinbad just to get a few more miles in the legs.
All in all it was a pleasant ride and a good leg stretch after a week off the bike.

Gadge

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15/08/10

Present, Gadge, Bolty, Seamus, Sinbad & Coops
This morning saw an early start to this mornings ride (8am) from Sinbad's although I had an even earlier start with a 3 mile walk from our summer residence out at Baldrine. Once changed and on the bike it was a quick ride up to Sinbad's the others were already assembled and ready to go. Off we set out towards the Clypse track and the climb up Honey Hill and on the road towards Conrhenny plantation where I decided to take lead and put in a few loops of the various fire roads before heading down to the bottom corner of the plantation and out on to the road and the fast descent to Axenfell plantation where a quick loop brought us back out on to the road again and another short blast down the road to the little footpath that leads down between the fields. The little track has become somewhat rutted with the weather but we all managed to navigate it safely. Once at thebottom it was back along the road to what used to be Brown's Cafe on Ham & Egg Terrace. When we rolled up we were a little disappointed to find it closed so a quick discussion about where to get a drink ensued and we were off again, this time heading towards the shore and the little cafe opposite the pub which is a lovely little place that serves all kinds of things. This morning though was just a drink of tea, well for most of us anyway...Bolty had other ideas and had himself what can only be descibed as a breakfast bap.Back on the bikes for a nice steady climb up out of old Laxey and on to the main road. From here it was just a case of head down and spin away as we headed back to Sinbad's via the roads and lanes of Onchan
A good little ride out and a welcome return to Coops!
Gadge

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22/07/10

Present, Gadge, Ray, Bolty and Bazzar
We all met at Gadge’s house for a bit of an extended local loop after a chat and a catch up with Ray’s fantastic effort on the Parish walk (finishing 10th overall) we set off. We gave the legs a good warm up hitting White bridge road heading for the Liverpool Arms; from here we went up the Baroose track. Once we had regrouped at the top we aimed for the steep little single track along side Conrhenny plantation. It was decide to give this a miss as there were shouts of “I don’t want to get my bike dirty as I have just cleaned it”, you big tarts. We went over the hedge and ascended the trail for a couple of loops of the fire tracks inside the plantation finishing with a spin along the nice single track at the bottom parallel to the road. From here we headed to the equestrian centre and dropped down Little Conrhenny road and followed the main road and turned in to the Garey road. After a nice blast down to White Bridge road we went via the LA to do my favourite climb on Bibaloe Beg road. After a quick regroup we had the usual slipstream play on the main road of White Bridge trying to out do each other on the climb Bazzar took point with Bolty and Gadge sitting in close on his tail getting a tow. On the sprint up the hill Gadge pipped Bolty to the top. A nice little spin on the local loop for 13.5 miles on the clock.
Bazzar

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20/07/10

Present, Bazzar & Sinbad

We met up at Sinbad's for a bit of a mystery urban loop tour around the streets of Douglas. We set off through Cronk-y-Berry estate to pick up the shortcut to the College. There is a nice steep roll in at the back by the car park which always puts the spooks up me. From here we dropped down through Willaston and picked up the nicely overgrown trail which took us through the centre of Tromode Park. Turning left we spun over to the traffic lights, along Woodbourne Road and turned left by the Islander chippy. From here we rolled down Well Road Hill, at the side of the multi-storey car park, through the street and headed out along the quayside for a nice climb up Douglas Head Road and a very picturesque ride along Marine Drive. We followed the road through to Port Soderick village and descended Oaklands trail to middle farm. This trail has had an explosion of growth, nettles, briars and long grass everywhere. From here we headed past B and Q and headed down Vicarage Road. Sinbad took point and lead me through the estate emerging on a bmx track near the tennis courts. We came back out on to the Quaterbridge Road and picked up the railway line to the park by Ballanawin. Once we climbed up through the park, we headed for home via the Scholag Road finishing with 18.5 miles on the clock, complete with nettle stings and briar scrapes.
Bazzar
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18/07/10

Present, Newshie, Bolty, Skippy, Tim & Paul Quirk
We met at Eary Cushlin and waited to make sure the rain was really heavy before we set off up Eary Cushlin, I soon realised a good tactic was to take advantage of Tim's tractor tyres and shelter behind them on the climb.The top came sooner than we thought one advantage of riding in zero visibility. At the top we turned into Cronk-ny-Arrey-laa sadly the poor visibility prevented us from seeing Tims off and Pauls incredible 7 (yes Seven) Out of the mist there was a squeal of Disc brakes then a eerie silence that was Paul off again.
Once at the bottom we powered up the Sloc on the road Skippy taking full advantage of the curry he had just before the ride (no rice though as he is in training) at the top of the sloc we went across the sheep trail Lanagore, Tim and Skippy could be heard still denying the route was their idea, we all managed to bog snorkel this trail with no offs, at the round table i shot off down on the road to the gated community that is Foxdale, I had already rode up Barrule, Corlea and Whiskey run, I put my ear phones in turned up the volume on the mp3 so i wouldn't be distracted by the squeal of brakes and silence as the others went down the pipeline and up the other side Creg n Crock back to Eary Cushlin.
Newshie

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01/07/10

Present, Sinbad & Bazzar

Unfortunately due to the number of injuries the boys have inflicted on themselves we were down to two hardy riders. We met at Sinbad’s house and braved the misty conditions for a spin over to The Clypse car park ready for the ascent of Honey Hill. After we went through the gate on to Honey Hill Sinbad said that he wanted to try to clear the hill without dabbing as it was the first time the new bike had been up there. No sooner had he said this he managed to throw the chain and nearly fell off planting both feet firmly on the ground. Once the chain was put back on he did manage to clear the challenge. We went over to Conrhenny Plantation for a few loops of the fire roads eventually taking us to the nice single track at the bottom of the plantation. From here we had a great bit of fun down the Baroose which is starting to grow over in places with nice bracken fronds leaning out over the track ready to catch loose handle bars. (Remembering when Gadge crossed up big time due to the foliage snatching the bars, and sending him hard in to the hedge bottom). At the bottom of the trail we turned right around and rode back up the slippy, sketchy trail to take us up to Little Conrhenny road for a blast down from the equestrian centre to the road. From here we headed back along the road and turned on to Enamona Road and up the lower section of honey hill to the gate. A nice spin down dog toffee alley to the Clypse car park and a spin along the road back to Cronk na Mona where we went our separate ways and headed home. A nice tour of the local loop in rather milder conditions than we expected finishing with 11.5 miles on the clock
Bazzar
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29/06/10

Present, Gadge, Bazzar, Johnny G, Steve S & Newshie

For tonight’s ride Loaghtan Loaded joined the Tuesday social ride out starting at South Barrule car park. There was an excellent turn out of riders 20 or so, for this sunny evening ride. We set of from the car park en-mass and headed down the Stoney Mountain track, the track was in good condition but with a few surprisingly large puddles to navigate. After a regroup we headed towards the Eary Dam, bearing right at the junction I paused for a moment or two to turn on the helmet camera. I set off up the glass house track to try to catch up with the rest of the group. From there we headed along the road past Archallagan plantation to the Eary Kelly track. After a nice blast down the track we followed the road down to Crosby and ascended Bluebell lane and up the Cronk Breck track. From the top of Cronk Breck we went via the Cairn (and a spot of Grouse Gate) heading for the Beary mountain track. We had a nice bit of fun on the decent down to the plantation alongside the End to End course with one of the riders finding a face full of heather after a nice spin over the bars. Once every one had regrouped we followed the end to end course across the top of the twelve shares to the edge of the plantation by the road up to the antenna. Unfortunately time was against us and we had to head back so we decided to leave the main group and head of to the Dowse track. We came down the dowse somewhat slower than usual due to new tyre syndrome. Half way down the track we came across a few sheep running down towards the road. Rather than pushing them further on to the road we decided to hop over the hedge into the plantation to find the track down to the road. A wise choice as there is no gate at the bottom of the Dowse we could have potentially chased the sheep out on to the road. As we got to the bottom of the plantation fire road we saw the sheep turn tail and head back up to their field. A quick hop over the hedge would have us on our way, unfortunately Gadge didn’t see the low piece of wire poking out of the ground and caught his foot on it and promptly fell like a sack of spuds injuring his elbow, wrist and nice bruises and grazes to his knee. Once he had dusted himself down and checked the bike was ok we headed back to the car park using the main road up through Foxdale. A nice ride out with plenty of variety of terrains on the trail loop for approx 17 miles
Bazzar
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27/06/10

Present, Gadge, Bazzar & Bolty
Depleted numbers for this evenings ride; The usuals all had good reasons though; Sinbad was recovering from doing his support stint for wife Jax in the Parish Walk (well done for reaching Peel despite having knee problems), Dave from riding support for Ray in the Parish Walk (well done on finishing despite having problems with his back again!), Seamus still recovering from a couple of tumbles, one a few days before the LDLR and one during the LDLR where he may have sustained cracked ribs
So tonights ride was planned to meet at Union Mills Industrial Estate and ride out along the railway ines to Ellerslie, head up Ballacotch, then out to Chibbanagh for a loop then out to Oak Hill and back home via Marine Drive...well all good plans ad all that!!!
As we were deleted on numbers and as Bolty had ridden in from Glen Maye we decided to do the lap of Chibbanagh and head on over to Archallagan, drop down St Ruinius then home via railway lines.
So in to Chibbanagh and a right through the gate to the small climb up through the trees, instead of turn back on ourselves as usual I decided to carry on out to the main fire road and head on up and round the single track that skirts the plantation, this is where Bazzar started the camera rolling. The track is running really nice at the moment due to it being dry, even the usual boggy puddle corner was dry for a change. It was a left at the corner and up the way we normally come down and right along the fire road to the little single track through the trees that brings you out at the old quarry. From here it was down along the edge of the plantation which is rather overgrown with gorse and up the steep grassy climb. Bazzar took off like a scolded cat and with me and Bolty following him at a more sedate pace; about half way up I could hear Baz grinding up the gears as he found the going getting tougher :-) meanwhile Bolty and I just kept on spinning. Needless to say it was three for three on the climb which was a good effort by all. Now a small restbite as we climbed back out to the main fire road and bak the usual in way for the run down the road to Archallagan. A quick run through the single track and out down St Ruinius and past Ellerslie Farm to the railway lines where Bolty left us for home.
Baz and I head back home along the railway lines setting a pretty good pace with me taking point and Baz sitting on my six, literally; that was until on the homeward stretch I spotted two little dogs off the lead and hit the brakes, nearly collecting a Baz in the back wheel! Back on the railway lines it was through to Quarterbridge again at a nice pace and up Quarterbridge Road where Baz was slowly dropping back; too many weeks out of the saddle have hampered his fitness. Unfortunately the lights were on red so I had to stop which gave Baz the time to catch me up again and then we were off up the hill and home. All in all a good little run out of just over 22 miles and a nice steady pace.

Gadge

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19-20/06/10

Longest Day, Longest Ride 24hr Charity MTB Ride
Details of the first Loaghtan Loaded - Longest Day, Longest Ride will follow; as you can imagine, with riding for 24 hours there is a lot to include. We also hope to get a few of the non Loaghtan riders who entered the event to give us their experiences, highs, lows etc.

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07/06/10

Present, Sinbad
Archallagan – Chibbanagh Loop
After an early start this morning due to the races, I decided to make the most of the nice weather and head out this afternoon. The second race of the day was just getting underway as I left home I rode down the Scollag road and decided to nip in and see Baz, a: to drop a DVD off b: to gloat a little. After a quick 10 min natter I was on my way again, down in to the park and on to the railway line. A nice little warm up ready for Ellerslie and St Ruinius, for some reason this is one of the few climbs that really seems to drag. Anyhow after reaching the top of St Ruinius I entered Archallagan Plantation as I was tight on time so I just stuck to the fire road straight round and out on to the Lhoobs Rd, a quick but very busy road section and down Ballamona which is totally dry for once, straight across at the end and into Kion Slieau with its great duckboards and skinny.
After a couple of minutes rest once back on the Foxdale Rd I then went to Glasshouses track another little climb which everyone rides for no other reason than sticking an extra ½ mile on the legs. Now I took my life in to my own hands again on the main rd and headed back in the direction of Douglas and the Chibbanagh Plantation, entering via the Santon gate I did a quick loop and hit the little downhill section that was until it hit me back when a broken branch took a load of skin of my shoulder (Much to Baz’s enjoyment on facebook). Needless to say I did curse slightly but then again I did have Ballacotch to look forward to so I quickly rode on, yesterdays descent of Ballacotch was held up by a gentleman walking his dogs, in fact when the two little yorkies saw 4 bikes bearing down on them they promptly turned tail and ran for home which fortunately is the cottage just at the end of the dirt track. I turned in of the road and knocked the gears up a couple of cogs, the Malt really enjoys the fast loose trails and I much prefer to ride these trails on the Malt than the Kona (which is now sold incidentally, watch this space). Any way that was me camera running, legs pumping, down through the “S bends when bugger me the same bloke and the same dogs, but the yorkies had got a little braver since yesterday and as I braked hard and pulled up on the bank they decided to brave going past. Off again building up a bit of speed for the jumps, which are always fun. Then all too quickly the fun was over and I was at the end of the track, a right turn saw me heading back towards Glen Vine and the railway line back through Union Mills and the access route, from here a push up the Tromode and Johnny Wattersons Lane saw me home again. Just over 20 mile and 2hrs of fun in the sun, as the garage closed and I looked at the damage to my shoulder the rain was starting so all in all a good day....
Sinbad
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06/06/10

Present, Sinbad, Gadge, Bolty and Skippy
Mad Sunday Loop & Beer Stop
Meeting up at 11 in the sea terminal car park, we spent a few minutes chatting and discussing routes.... before deciding on a loop out round Marine Dr, Oakhill and Ballacotch. Bolty had already ridden in from Glen Maye and Skippy had come in from Glen Vine so they were already warmed up. At a little after 11:10 we set off round the quay heading for the Douglas Head Rd and the first climb. Everyone spinning quite happily we reached Douglas head and were greeted with a clear view out over the bay and surrounding hills. Bolty set a fast pace along Marine Dr with the rest of us hanging back, chatting, catching up and dropping back again all the way, Skippy was suffering a little bit with cramp but soldiered on.
After the push along Marine Dr and up through Port Soderick we hit the top of the first trail, Oakhill, I led off with the others fast behind, those of you who know Oakhill know it is in 3 sections, a fairly smooth track at first then crossing on to a little rutted track and finally the farm lane. Section 1 went off without a hitch and I bombed straight in to the second section, as I approached the last corner before the trail widens for the river crossing we came upon a father and daughter out for a walk, I managed to lock up the brakes and shout back up the trail to slow down. The father turned out to be Guy Whaley, although we only realised this later when on Facebook in Bushys Beer Tent. We then continued on down the trail across the ford and up the farm lane and out on to the Kewaigue Rd. We had a brief stop here before turning left and heading out over the Cooil Roundabout and on up to Ballacotch, again Skippy started to suffer with cramp and pins and needles, he is going to look into adjusting his cleats to see if this helps. At the top of Ballacotch we regrouped and started on down the trail, less than 300 yards in we came across another walker, this time a Gent with a spaniel and a pair of yorkies the yorkies didn’t really like the look of us and started to run back down the trail, Bolty managed to sneak past but the little buggers held us up all the way down, it turned out they live at the cottage at the end, the gent didn’t seem to bothered as he said they are forever running off but always make it home. After the slow run down we turned down towards Glen Vine, here we lost Bolty who headed home via Ellerslie and Skippy who was going to head home as well, strange thing was Skippy said he had parked at Glen Vine School yet he headed off towards Crosby, think he was a bit disorientated. That left Gadge and I to blast back through to Douglas via the railway line and The Nunnery before having a well earned Mad Sunday pint in the Beer Tent, from there it was on home and time to chill for the afternoon....
Sinbad

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04/06/10

Present, Sinbad
Ride...Up...
Having missed out on joining Gary in the morning due to work getting in the way, bloody customers how inconsiderate. I decided to get out on my own in the afternoon, deciding against the usual route heading south I looked northward.
Starting off on a normal local loop I rode out through the Clypse and up Honey Hill, nicely swept by crossers. A short road section then up and over into Conrhenny, avoiding the crossers who were already in there, I rode through the centre and followed the fire road left and down to the bottom corner, the original plan was Axnfell then down to Laxey, but a glimpse of to the left led me to Windy Corner instead, although not the easiest of climbs or fastest the Malt plodded along quite happily, in fact a lot happier than the Kona used too. After the long dragging climb I finally reached the mountain road much to the surprise of a group of bikers who seemed to think I was mad. Instead of risking a left turn and heading back via the road I went straight over and down in to the Baldwin Valley, again the Malt showing how good it really is. Once I reached the Baldwin Road it was a case of spinning for home back out to St Georges then up the Scollag Rd home. Just under 13 mile and a good 1 ½ hours riding....
Sinbad
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04/06/10

Present, Gadge
Gadge Solo...
I originally took the day off work to spend time with the family but my brother-inlaw Andy came with some vomiting bug and wasn’t riding so I took the opportunity to head out for an early morning ride. The sun was shining as I set off from home and headed down to the TT access road. Once on the access road it was head down and spin away, iPod in listening to the whatever shuffle threw at me; I have everything from ambient meditation to hardcore trance and with 1206 songs available I was sure to be rewarded with some fantastic beats.
First up was El Nino, this helped me lift the spin rate up to around 18mph and before I knew it I was spinning along the railway lines heading towards the first climb of the morning, Ballacotch. Ballacotch saw Side of a Bullet come on, a nice little back beat to help spin up Ballacotch which has had quite a bit of scalping’s dropped down it which made for some rather slippery moments as I powered up, preferring to grind a bigger gear than spin it up, Baz will be cursing me for this, ‘remember your cadence’ I can almost hear him say!
At the top of Ballacotch I turned down the road towards the Braaid crossroads and turned in to Chibbanagh where I took the tree lined climb up and through the trees to the main fire road and continued to climb up before descending down the singletrack to the old quarry and back out on to the back road. From here I headed back down and out to Archallagan. From the lower gate I decided not to hit the new trail as the pace was feeling quite fast and I made a conscious decision to use this solo ride as a training run for the End2End in September so it was stick to the fire road; at this point I was listening to ‘Thrones’ by Midori which was really energising and kept the spin rate up. It was nice to ride round the plantation and it be reasonably dry after the last time we were round this way.
Out of the plantation and down the Ballamoda track and through Kion Slieu, which is looking rather muddy and very overgrown with gorse. Out of Kion Slieu and on to the road, from here it was left and down past Bettridge’s Motors for the little ‘no dab challenge’ better known as Glass House. By this time I was listening to a bit of Eminem and ‘When the music stops’. Back in to Archallagan and up the fire road before turning off along one of the many trails that wind their ways through the trees. Over the gate at the car park and down St Runny Arse and a blast down the road past Ellerslie Farm before the second climb of Ballacotch. As I turned off the main road up Ballacotch for the second time my mind began to wander and then all of a sudden as if the sun wasn’t hot enough ‘Plastic Jesus’ came on the iPod and my mind was back on track and I headed on up Ballacotch, this time round I picked a better line, one less so loose.
Finally at the top and it was a left and down the road towards B&Q and I’d decided to hit another nice little climb, Oakhill. Again it was nice to ride the trail dry, even the river crossing was low and more like a stream. The pace was still pretty fast and I was hoping the gates would be open so as not to interrupt my rhythm. Thankfully they weren’t and I was able to continue up to the Old Castletown Road and down to Port Soderick and Marine Drive. Marine Drive saw a change in the music tempo with a bit of Nickelback and ‘Rock Star’ as well as the wind direction...straight in to the face. So the ride along Marine Drive was a bit of a slog and grind but the music kept me going and I was on the homeward stretch.
Half way round Marine Drive, where the road is fenced off I saw a familiar TT spectacle, a tent pitched up on the cliff edge!!! It has to be seen to be believed!!! Once on Douglas Head I had the finish in sight so it was down the road and on to the promenade...the mind began to wander again...this time it raised a question...’To beer or not to beer?’ that was the question! As the pace was still pretty quick and I didn’t want to cool down I decided to leave the beer until Mad Sunday!
The promenade saw Kings of Leon and ‘Crawl’ come on the iPod and it was battle the traffic trying not to get knocked over by crazy motorbike riders trying to nip in and out of the traffic! Portjack was dealt with easily enough and the legs were still feeling pretty fresh despite the 28 miles already under the belt this morning; just one real climb left, Royal Avenue. Slowed the pace down as I approached the lights as they were on red as I didn’t really want to stop. Reached the lights, still on red so it was a case of track stand until they changed; thankfully only about 10 seconds before I was able to carry on and up School road and home.
All round it was a little over 29 miles and time for a shower before going to collect the girls from nursery. Next ride will be Mad Sunday....short ride followed by customary beer in Bushy’s tent.
Gadge
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02/06/10

Present, Gadge, Seamus, Bolty and Stevio
A sunny Wednesday night ride for the Fantastic 4…
Having arranged to meet @ the Villa tent @ 6.45, Gadge, Seamus “Big Ring” O’Shea and Stevio were disappointed when Bolty rang to day that he had only managed to get to Ballacotch and was hurrying in. To be sure it was not disappointment at Bolty, as he had come in all the way from Glen Maye; it was more that Stevio had just offered to buy a pint for all…
Moving on from a very quiet Villa Tent we managed to ignore the pleasures/lure of a far busier Bushys tent, and take the gentle climb around Marine Drive whilst we waited for “Hussein” Bolt to catch up. We had managed to get to Port Soderick station before Stevio’s phone rang. “Where are you?” was Boltys plaintive cry; “Where are you?” was Stevio’s response. We soon established that whilst pace was not lacking, aim was; Bolty had managed to get to the Traff. After a brief period of reflection @ Oakhill Bolty arrived and Crogga was soon dispatched with a flick of the ankles, followed by dodging 2 huge tractors with muck trailers on the Oatlands road; huge tyres fully inflated and bouncing the whole trailer around, just like oversized Farmer John’s Nephews from the 90’s.
Confusion reigned in Santon when it was realised that the new kid’s playground at the new estate did not have a gate from the lane. This was followed by the unedifying site of 4 middle aged men pulling themselves over the fence; luckily no children were permanently harmed by this as none were around…
We then made our way up to Chibbanagh where it all went dark for those wearing glasses through the moguls; comedy Zaphod Beeblebrox moments were averted, but at least we didn’t have to see Seamus as he mangled the track. A quick drop down to the car park was nicely dispatched, followed by a stealthy road section to get to the “new” trail in Archy. As time was passing we then split up with Bolty heading west via any hill and the others blasting St Runius and Ellerslie. Seamus fell off the train (track) at Union Mills and it was left to Gadge and Stevio to wend the way back to Douglas.
Score; 4.5/5 – a nice evenings wander. Friends of Stevio chatted to by Stevio whilst out; 3 (though one does work with Gadge’s better half and the other 2 could be prospective LL members in time), punctures; Nil, Chip shops visited on the way home; 1 (by Stevio)
Stevio
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02/06/10

Present, Sinbad
The ride that grew....
Plan was a local loop and back home, all went well until I hit the bottom of Conrhenny, then I thought, I could always add on Baroose and still get through Governors Bridge before the roads closed, a nice descent of Baroose even overtaking 2 UK enduros, hmmm I could always get through to Baldrine and still get back before the roads closed....
Climbing back up from Baldrine I then decided to loop out past Lonan Church deciding that I could then do the Prom and out to the access route via Nunnery, still be home before 8.
All was going well then I got to the end of the prom, it’s only a couple of miles out round Marine Drive and back via Oak Hill, from there I can still pick up the access route and get home for 8, a nice pace round Marine Drive and the final road section lead me to the Oak hill trail which was promptly blasted managing to avoid the overhanging gorse and exposed roots. As I cycled up to Cooil roundabout, hmmm I thought still time enough to go and do Ballacotch and still be home for 8, so off I headed out towards Ballacotch, head down climbing up the hill I hear “Hey, Hey “I look over and there is Mr Bolty on his way in to meet up with the boys at the bottom of Douglas head, the boys meanwhile are having a beer, hmmm beer!!!
Bye bye to Bolty and on I go, another good blast down Ballacotch and I now decide it is definitely time to head for home, so I hit the railway line through to the access route, nothing exciting on the line just a nice steady pace, join the traffic up the hill out of the access route and up to the roundabout, a quick look at the clock, hmm still plenty of time so head home via St Georges Bridge and the Scollag Road... Pull up on the drive 19:35... Hmmm there was time to stick Chibbanagh in after all, maybe next time...
!9:50 Lasagne and a Speckled Hen hmmmmmm
Sinbad

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30/05/10

Present, Gadge, Bolty (who rode in from Glen Maye), Baz and brother-inlaw Andy (over from Sheffield)
Tonight saw the sun shine and the wind drop...although more on the wind later. The route was to be a bit of a local loop extended as Andy hadn't been out with us on the mountain bike for a while , 2008 End2End I think it was. So off we set for the warm up and initial road climb up Whitebridge Road and down the LA straight before the little road climb up to Barrose. This is where we split up slightly with me and Bolty taking lead with Baz and Andy bringing up the rear; not that far behind it has to be said considering neither Baz or Andy had done much of late. We re-grouped at the top of Barrose, all cleared it with the exception of Andy who had a silly little dab early on and couldn't get his rythm again. Off up the road past Shonest Farm and up through Conrhenny Farm and up the gravel track to the Creg Ny Baa Back Road. From here it was over the hedge in to Conrhenny Plantation for a bit of a run around. The plantation has quite a few Fire Roads which lend themselves well for creating a nice extended loop around the plantation with some nice little descents and climbs, just to throw a few more miles in.
Bolty and his boys, along with volunteers from Manx Telecom have been hard at work creating a community trail within the upper sections of the plantation and decided to show us where the new picnic area was going to be. So off the main fire road we turned right and followed the newly cut trail which twisted nicely through the young trees to a nice quiet clearing with views of the fields down towards Onchan and Douglas Bay. It was here that the wind problem reared it's smelly head courtesy of Baz. Needless to say we didn't stay around too long and headed back the way we came for some more loops of the plantation, just to put a few more miles in before heading back out of the plantation the way we came and down Conrhenny track and on down Little Conrhenny track. Suprisingly Andy was only a minute, if that, behind us (more suited to a road bike on smooth tarmac than the rough lanes).
From here it was back down the road before the nice blast down the plough track and on to the LA straight again and down on to Groudle Road for Baz's favourite climb :-) A nice steep little hill to finish the ride with before the customary slipstream challenge down Whitebridge Road and home.
All in all a good little extended local loop with a nice pace and no mechanicals :-)
Gadge
While the rest of the boys were probably enjoying a nice cup of tea and some food I was back on the road heading for home. The extended extended loop was smooth and flowed! As far as DOT tarmac is smooth that is! I pulled in to the pits at the Grandstand for electronic (iPod installation) add-on. The latest LL member (Cascada) keeping me company, whilst mother nature kept me nourished all the way home with a variety of dishes. Chicken Pie in the oven will have to wait until tomorrow!
Bolty
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27/05/10

Present, Gadge, Sinbad, Seamus and Dave (Newshie)
We set off from Union Mills at 18:45 hoping that the few spots of rain would be just that, unfortunately within 5 mins of the railway line the heavens opened complete with hail. This evening’s ride was to be a fact finding mission to look at the new trails that had been laid in Archallagan. After the initial hail the rain settled in as we rode solemnly up Ellerslie past the farm. At the crossroads we continued straight over up St Ruinius, the rain driving directly into our faces. After a brief pit stop in the car park Seamus took the lead and headed off to show the trails he had ridden the other evening. After looping in and out of the trees, very enjoyable, and trying out the bombhole we met up with the Thursday night Old Goats ride who were heading for the cliff... We headed in the opposite direction, arriving at the top of a section of trail that Seamus couldn’t locate the start of. We then entered bandit country a particularly dark and winding section which seems to have unearthed an early 20th century Chav graveyard complete with grave covering of Carlsberg cans. Once on the fir road again we headed over towards Cornelly and another nice piece of trail that certainly flowed smoothly. Seamus and Newshie then tried again to locate the start of a particular piece but we couldn’t. As light was fading and the rain was getting more persistent we called it a night and headed back home, Newshie shooting up the road to Foxdale whilst the rest of retraced our route back down St Ruinius and Ellerslie and along the railway line back to Union Mills. A good little ride out.
Sinbad

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23/05/10
(Loaghtan Loaded find their feminine side (A Pink Outing))

Present, Gadge, Sinbad, Bolty, Steve, Dave, Tim, myself (Séamus) and newbie Paul
Forecast: Dry with sunny spells, cloudy at first with some hill fog but sunny intervals will soon develop.
We all met at St John’s car park for a quick PR photo with IoM Newspapers to advertise the forth coming 24hr epic, then after finally accepting the Farmers Arms was not going to re-open, not even for us, we headed off, en masse, west along the railway to the adjoining track for Kirk Michael and on. A steady early morning pace was set. We met random walkers and other keen early cyclists until Tim had a massive blow out, he held the spin and landed the bike safely without any loss of life to him or others! Quick pit stop with able group assistance and then off again, the simple riding along the railway is a great way to warm up, get some heat into the legs and generally give you time to prepare yourself for the thrills ahead!

Across the Peel coast road and carried on up the railway line, or ‘Raad ny Foillan’ as it suddenly became! Quick chain link upgrade for me then on on on we went. It was between Peel and Kirk Michael that the seasonal sharing of love and general gayness manifested, single handed riding was captured regularly with that now infamous raised arm salute. This can only be witnessed at this time of the year and you have to get up early and know where to find this very rarest of Mother Nature’s rarest mating season spring madness!!! So to calm such frivolity mother nature then intervenes again and to take our minds off being ever so slightly fay and jolly she sent us up the ‘Baltic’ road in the baking mid morning sun, all mind wanderings were temporally distracted as we piloted our way up the steep climb. At the top gate Gadge and Bolty sped on due to time restrictions and we waited for Tim who was dealing with IT problems in Dubai via his mobile telephonic devise! After a break and picnic at said gate (and a wee bit of gay waving) we carried on up the pitted track to the E2E intersection and on around the course. The wee bit of downhill to the Black Mountain track was especially sweet and rewarding, quite dry and dusty but very pleasing to all, lots of gay smiles exuded!!

So, on down to Brandywell, again the final descent was a blast and with no breaks allowed we arrived safely, narrowly managing to miss ‘Gary’s Gate’ at the bottom. However Paul did have a SPD moment where he unclipped his left foot but proceeded to step out with his right foot(which was still clipped in!!!) needless to say gravity took over and Paul was one with the roots of the hedge row, all very safe and comical, don’t think he’ll be doing that gain! On across Glion Gill at a steady pace, the talk and thought of coffee with cake giving us additional will power to proceed. Sinbad then pinched flatted his rear tyre after an exciting but almost gay leap into a gayer landing! New rubber inserted (ow er missus) and off we went. Well, the sniff of home and a beautifully controlled gate opening system we blatted on down the dusty track of GG. With me leading at this stage I had the un-welcomed encounter of eye-balling a border collie around a blind corner. The dog froze in terror, I dodged in terror and Mother Nature was on our side as narrow avoidance was completed, my spokes were spared and then the standard ‘evil’ stare from the dog’s owners followed! Had I not been more worried about not having a spare pair of clean cycling shorts with me I would have thrown some line to them about “for $%*~# sake why is your dog not on a lead”? So, on we travelled and had fun across the dusty open moorland, akin to a great escape out of Death Valley, to the top of the Douse and safely down to the main road. Before the final decent Dave was seen chatting up some motor cross lads, phone numbers were exchanged, let us know how the first date goes Dave!!

A great ride, lots of miles, lots of banter, good will and camaraderie and with time against us the mid morning coffee was suspended and jovial partings were offered, no great hugs or love ins’ as the gayness bug had passed, a bit like the lifespan of the mayfly! Thank God, says you....the only pinkness left was the sun burnt skin a few of us had developed along the way!

Séamus (Formerly known as ‘Mountain Goat’)

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18/05/10

Present, Johnny G, Bolty, John Barker, Cat, Cat's fella, Les, Rob, Rob's girl, Steve K and a few others
The Tuesday night fun social ride is maintaining high numbers with 17 riders setting off tonight from South Barrule car park. It was cold standing around in the car park so we warmed up nicely by heading anticlockwise straight up the red route !!. Unusually at the top we headed off to the right and towards the quarry through our first mud of the night.
Back out onto the road we had a nice spin over to Arrasey but even in this short distance Steve K managed to lose his rear light (it was found again) over one of the cattle grids. About 2 minutes into Arrasey a second rear light was picked up – it seems the fixings on them can’t quite be up to the fun pace we set. The first detour of the evening happened as we headed above the house in Arrasey looking for a path to take us over to the west side of the plantation. All I can say is that the last time I rode the track it was there – but a few years later there was some ‘treeage’ in the way.. Oh well – a nice little walk up the plantation followed…
We then followed the E2E course down through the trees with a few deviations where the group separated a bit. The stoney run to the path at the bottom produced the first mechanical problem of the evening with Steve K puncturing. One rapid repair (and some tequila) later we were on our way again – catching up with Cat at the bottom of pipeline who’d had the second mechanical. Her rear gear cable had come lose so she had no gears… Steve had no spares tubes, Cat had no gears so they headed off together leaving us with 15 riders. We turned into Cringle and headed down the nice technical tree run to the river and over onto the south west side of the Reservoir. Thanks to some excellent use of portable teleportation technology we didn’t need to ride back across the top of the reservoir so we headed back up to the Whiskey run and down to the lower Corlea entrance. A quick run through Corlea and the Red Route (in the right direction this time) stopping only to see where the new trail section is being developed brought us back to the car park where some fantastic lemon drizzle cake rewarded us for our efforts.
A very pleasant 12 mile loop which we’ll have to try again !!
Johnny G

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15/11/09

Present, Gadge, Bolty and Bazzar

With a very depleted number for this evening’s ride we decided to head out from Gadge’s house with an initial short section of road down to the end of Molly Quirks where Bazzar took point and after jumping the pavement down in to the glen fired up the Ay-Up’s and gave a young couple walking the fright of their lives.
A quick descent down under the bridge and back on to the Whitebridge Road where we headed up the singletrack, which was very slippery and interesting in the dark and wet, lots of spinning back tires on the hidden tree roots. Out of the top and back on the raid for the run down to plough track (Garey Road) which seemed to have had quite a bit of debris from the heavy rain the night before. At the top it was again on to the road up to Little Conrhenny and the climb up to the main Conrhenny track. Again this was in places more like a river with the amount of water running down.
We headed up Conrhenny track with Bolty taking point about half way up and me and Bazzar close on his tail; about two thirds the way up and Bazzar was dropping of my tail, still suffering somewhat from a combination of bad cold and the morning after the night before albeit the night after the night before.
At the top we nipped over the hedge in to Conrhenny Plantation where I took point and headed up the track and in to the plantation where we put in a couple of miles doing various loops on the plantation fireroads before heading down the hill, taking it slow as non of us fancied a soaking in the now massive puddles at the bottom. From here it was back along the road to Conrhenny Farm and down Little Conrhenny, back along the road to Enamona Road and up the track to Honey Hill. This is where the boys in Bolty and Bazzar came out as they each tried to splash each other in the puddles all the time I was simply trying to dodge the ever present dog muck.
The climb up Honey Hill to the Clypse track saw Bolty take point at a fair old lick with Bazzar close behind and me bringing up the rear. It was now time to run the gauntlet of ‘Dog Toffee Alley’ more commonly known as the Clypse track. Again the pace was fairly sedate, well it was for us. A short distance down the track Bazzar pulls over suffering from shite in the eye, quite possibly literally as well! A quick re-group at the car park before the road section back home. All in all a good nights ride with just under 13 miles and just under 2 hours, with stops and chats along the way.

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04/11/09

Present, Sinbad, Gadge, Coops, Seamus, Bazzar and Mr. Smith

Tonight’s guest rider was Mr Steve Smith from Peel. We all met up at ours for a 18:45 kick off, Coops turned up with his new DH rig onboard but for some reason he declined to ride it...
Baz arrived on his old faithful Trek as his forks and shock had only just returned from being serviced and they had fitted the wrong bushes to the shock. As we set off it was just starting to drizzle but everyone was well wrapped and prepared. We followed the usual route out through the Clypse and into Conrhenny a quick lap around and we decided to head on through to Axnfell for a play and also to get out of the wind and rain for awhile.
Access to Axnfell is as lot easier now due to the local youths burning down the fence, which Jason had to remove. In the plantation Gadge took the lead following the outer path, the problem in Axnfell is that there is a lot of leaf and needle (pine not drug) litter which tends to alter the trail and hides some of the trail features, as Baz found out... As Gadge was leading in to a particularly muddy section he stalled, which meant Steve and I had to take avoiding action and we got bogged as well, at this point Baz blasts through the middle, shouting “And the Hardtail takes the win” the word “win” hardly left his lips when down he went, straight into a mud trough about a foot deep and over he went as his bike sank deeper, needless to say we didn’t laugh and did feel very sorry for him...NOT
We continued on into the bomb holes for a play, here both Baz and Gadge provided the entertainment. We had ridden around a little and did a couple of the steep roll ins. As we headed back up towards the trailhead there was a loud crack and there in our lights was Baz picking himself up, apparently the root was a bit bigger than he thought, then Gary decided to give a go he managed to avoid the root but decided to commune with a tree instead and gave it a big hug. As we rode back up the trails, my gears started playing up, Coops hung back to make sure all was well when we got back into the clearing the others had shot on, so we cut out onto the road and met up at the car park.
Now we were on the homeward leg unfortunately, this meant a nice road climb back up to 5 mile corner. Riding along the road on the edge of Conrhenny we decided to take the Lower Conrhenny loop via the Farm then back up Enemona Rd, now it was Coops turn to give us a laugh as he had a spin out on the bricks and rubble and wrapped a certain tender part of his anatomy on the stem..oooh
It was pretty uneventful down the Clypse apart from the mud and dog toffee then along the road and back home, we parted our ways and made plans for the Sunday ride.

 

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04/11/09

Johnny G's Virtual blog

After flashing the hardware on the motorbrake unit I decided to go and do the 17.9 mile loop of Olympus.

As the crowds cheered me off I headed down a slight incline un-aware of what waited for me around the corner. Green leefed trees lined the route
outside the village and it was here I had my first virtual crash. The steering set up is a little slow to react so initially you end up over
steering which then catches you out as you steer to far. Straight into a tree!

A quick mental note to steer less was made.The route started to climb slowly, then a bit steeper, then a bit steeeper, then a lot steeeeeper. The gradient hit over 15% at one point which made me go for the inner chain ring. Unfortunately the chain wouldn't shift and I was really trying not to put too much pressure on my right ankle which meant the motorbrake was stopping and starting as I mainly used my left leg to get up the climb. The gradient eased as an alpine vista opened in front of me. Crash fences to my left seperating me from a 1,000 foot virtual drop.

After a couple more short steep climbs I crested the peak and headed down through a tunnel followed by a series of hairpins. The pixels flew past
as I 'thruppeny bitted' left and right dropping down 1 in 5 roads. The downhill was over too soon though and a small flat section was followed
by a 180 degree hairpin... The 'loop' doubled back on itself so I had to climb back up where I'd just come down..

Climbing the 1 in 5 was very steep but this time at least I was on the inner ring. There isn't much more frustrating than climbing back up
where you've just come down and even in the virtual world this is still the same.But, the route was ok, my ankle held up, I did just under an hour on the trainer and earnt my chocolate bar :)

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08/10/09

Present, Sinbad, Seamus, Baz, Bolty and Stevio

As Mr Bolt was running late due to forgetting his battery we finally got away about 6.30 we knew Stevio was waiting up at The Clypse so we pushed on. Autumn has definitely set in now as the weather was a lot chillier of late. We followed our usual local loop up the Clypse, Honey Hill then over to Conrhenny. A lot of work has been going on around the plantation, with a lot more in the pipeline according to Bolty. We took a long lap round Conrhenny and a blast down the hill, we then rang Gadge to see if he wanted to meet at the LA to wet the baby’s head unfortunately he wasn’t going to get to the pub for about 30mins so we gave him our order and headed back into the plantation. We took the Bolty detour along the bottom edge here Seamus found an anti gravity hole which stopped him dead then threw him over the bars even though there was nothing to hit. Sinbad also located the magical disappearing tree that’s there till you need to lean on it, and then it vanishes.
After this extended loop we took a second descent of the hill, I lead off with Seamus close behind stupidly I hadn’t cleaned my glasses which meant I was way off line and hit a gorse bush sticking out on the left, Seamus then hit the same bush.. Oops. At this point Jason discovered the little post stump that is on the bank, the one we have ridden past hundreds of times, he was that amazed he had to stop and get down low to have a look.
We then decided it was time to head for the pub and a blast down Barrose, still overgrown, a quick regroup at the bottom and we were off again another little detour round Gellings, very strong smell of chicken poo, and 2 mins later we were at the pub. Gary had arrived well in advance of the main party and the beers were waiting on the bar. 2 rounds later we left the warmth of the pub so everyone could go gaga over Gary’s new baby, No he didn’t leave Emily in the van whilst we had a beer, as he had brought his new Cube Ltd with him.
As it definitely was a lot colder out, we kitted up and got on our way. The plan was to ride up the LA straight then follow the little singletrack, up through Mollies and Birchill. As Baz led away on the singletrack I tucked in behind, with 2 pints onboard concentration was a must, unfortunately Mr Shea had other things on his mind as he completely forgot about the little bridge and missed it! All I heard was the thud, I quickly doubled back to find Seamus extricating himself and his bike from the ditch whilst Bolty and Stevio looked on... After a couple of minutes checking himself and the bike out plus a few curses to the god of Guinness we set off again. We followed the path up through Mollies without anymore incidents and here we parted company with Seamus, the remainder setting off on Mr Stevio magical mystery tour of Birchill Est., after about 15 minutess of various cut through and little passages Stevio and Bolty got sucked in to some sort of wormhole and vanished leaving Baz and I sat in the middle of the estate wondering where they would pop out, then the wormhole got hold of Baz as well, I put it down to me being so slow that I was too heavy. Not 5 mins after Baz disappeared, Bolty and Stevio re-appeared in a blaze of light, ok so Boltys light is pretty bright, we then waited another couple of minutes for Baz to appear, where he had gone nobody, not even Baz knows but now we were all back together. After finally getting out of the maze we then said bye to Baz quickly followed by Stevio who still had to ride back up to the Clypse to get his car. Bolty collected his van from ours and our nights adventure drew to a close.

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04/10/09

Present, Sinbad, Seamus, Skippy!, Tim and Newshie

The original plan had been to follow the Heritage trail out to St John’s and pick up the Ramsey line to White Strand, back along the Headlands to Peel, tea and cake then Heritage trail back through to Douglas but due to the decline in numbers, Gary and Simon busy, Bolty working and Charlie a no go, I decided to pick Seamus up and heads through to meet up with Tim and Skippy to do their route for the day, I sent a message out to the others in case anyone else fancied it and Dave Newsham decide he had had enough decorating and wanted to play instead.
Tim and Skippy had decided they were going to ride from Peel out to Glen Maye up Glen Rushen then back down the Pipeline and back to Peel.
We all met up at the Highwayman, I picked Seamus up and Newshie rode in from Foxdale. After a couple of minutes, waiting for Tim to arrive we all set off through Kerroo Coar here I encountered a strange noise on the rear end which turned out to be a loose cassette it looked like I had missed a spacer when I put it back together... doh!
Anyhow we carried on out to Glen Maye, here Tim made a school boy error and listened to Sinbad regarding the route. I suggested that we headed down in to Glen Maye and up the trail that is the start of the Leg Burner, everyone agreed so off we went. This trail was quite surprising today as the first bit of the trail was actually rideable but this soon changed once through the river, for some reason the slate beds seemed to be a lot longer climb than usual which amused Tim and Skippy no end. When we finally cleared the beds we met up with Nick and his wife? with a bit off a south westerly, who were on their way down the trail after a quick chat about what they could expect we parted company. We rode on following the trail out over Dalby Mountain and onto the coast road, here we turned left towards Round Table and the start of the pipeline. Skippy had ’t ridden the pipeline since its repair, Seamus headed on to open the gate whilst Tim set up his cam. 200 yards down the track Seamus pulled over, at first we thought he had a phone call but then when the bike was flipped over we realised he had a puncture. Skippy and Newshie rode on to open the gate with Tim and me bringing up the rear. At the first gate we waited for Seamus and then set off again, Tim in the lead, a bit quick as he found out at the second drainage ditch when he nearly took a big endo. At the next gate Tim and I waited, Seamus arrived saying it sounded like someone had come off, we rode back up to find Skippy repairing a puncture he too had hit a drainage ditch a bit hard. After his repair we got under way again , the rest of the descent proving uneventful apart from me hitting a load of mud which left a streak down the back off my leg that looked like I had had an accident. We then followed the Glen Rushen road back out to Glen Maye, Tim nearly killing a Yorkie on the way, we then picked up the road back to Peel, Tim was in a rush so he shot on whilst we detoured up the Raggart loop and then back to Peel the way we had came arriving back at the Highwayman just after 17:30.. A good Sunday afternoon with the usual spills, punctures and mud.

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30/09/09

Present, Sinbad, Gadge, Coops, Bolty, Stevio and Charlie

Setting off from the NSC at just after 18:30 we rode up towards Cooil Roundabout where we took a left towards Kewaigue and then a right for the Oakhill track, tonight’s ride was again at a more leisurely pace and everyone was chatting happily Seamus took the lead down through the river crossing with Coops and Charlie bringing up the rear, unfortunately Charlie was somewhat unsure on his cleats and came a bit of a cropper on the exit, luckily not in the middle.
After clearing Oakhill we followed the road out past Crogga mill taking a right past Oatlands Quarry and on to Santon. From Santon we rode along the never ending road to Chibbanagh Plantation, as the light was going now we all lit up the variety of lights carried, at one point a car stopped dead waiting till we all passed obviously not sure to make of it all. Everyone cleared the bank up in to Chibbanagh apart from Coops and Charlie who was still having problems with his cleats also his bike had now developed a squeak on the front brake. Once in Chibbanagh we followed the outer circuit before cutting back into the tress heading for Tims Hill of Terror, and the bottom circuit with the hillclimb cleared by Bolty and Steveio, the rest of us mere mortals basking in their opulence. Once again we headed back into the heart of the plantation and followed seasick alley and the downhill which took out me, Coops and Steveio all at the same point, thinking back my lying in the middle of the trail probably didn’t help.
After a regroup at the car park the team headed up the road back towards the Cooil for the final descent of the night the Ballacotch a blast as always, another regroup and we followed the road down to pick up the railway lines back to Douglas, just outside Union Mills the toll of a few offs and no food started to take its toll on Charlie but we soon had him up again with a few gels and bars. Seamus left us at Union Mills to ride up the hill home and the rest of us pushed on back to the NSC.
Approx 15.5 miles but a good laugh and a chance for a new rider to get a feel for the trails...

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27/09/09

Present, Sinbad, Gadge, Simon and Bolty .. (Also Skippy in spirit)
Rather a small turnout today for one reason or another, even Skippy made the effort although he did leave his bike at home, he was going to pick blackberries instead...
We all rendezvoused at Sulby Claddaghs for today’s little ride out. From the Claddaghs we set off up the valley to the start of our biggest climb of the day, up through Ballacuberagh Plantation and round the side of Mount Karrin, an interesting climb to say the least, when you see Bolty getting off to push you know its steep, with this climb it’s not just the incline but also the fact that it is very loose that makes it a challenge. At some point, possibly whilst unloading his bike, Simon must have suffered a blow to the head as he actually remarked he was enjoying it.
After the slog up to the Druidale Road the ride took on a more leisurely affair and we picked up some speed on the road and the first part of the foresters track heading towards the Reservoir, as we approached the first gate on the foresters track a group of walkers were stood chatting, bad move as one poor guy helped all the bikes over the gate even Gadge’s Kona, that’s right forgot to mention Gary was actually riding a real bike for a change.... More of that later...
The foresters track really blasts down to the Reservoir which now has “No Cycling” signs erected because you know how dangerous a mountain bike can be on top of that little dam that’s holding back 100’000’000 gallons of water, that extra 150lbs could tip the balance. Anyway given Bolty’s position we duly pushed our bikes across. Time was now pushing on, as the slog up Ballacuberagh had taken longer than anticipated so we got a move on up the road. The original plan was to follow the Millennium way and head back down the Ohio but now at Jason’s instigation we detoured through top of Tholt y Will Glen Plantation and this led us back down via Irish Cottages, this route is one of those tracks that I have seen and often wondered where it went and what it linked up with, now I know and it’s a good little trail. The other thing this trail turned up was a perfect old Tholtan campsite for the 1st LL Bivvy Bash.
Once back on the Tholty road we headed back towards the Claddaghs with one final detour over the little bridge and on to the farm track that brings you out at the top of the Claddaghs well actually this is the route Bolty and I took; back to the Kona, as Bolty and I waited and waited at the bridge I started to wonder if someone had a flat so I rang Gadge to see where they were, it transpired that the Kona was not very happy at being left in the garage for so long and that what Gadge had assumed was the back brake binding, was actually the disc milling away a large part of the adapter, I’m sure Gadge will put up a picture at some point, various ideas were put forward for this ranging from the hub being too big, the adapter being bashed, the disc warping due to the heat of the descents or the favourite, the Kona getting it’s own back for being deserted in favour of a racing snake Ti hardtail.... make up your own mind.

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23/09/09

Present, Sinbad, Gadge, Birchy, Baz, Simon, Tim and “The Late Stevio”
After waiting for Stevio who despite a great sense of direction, can’t read a text..... he ended up in Hilltop Rise Farm hill instead of Hillcroft Rise Governors Hill....
We set off and headed off towards the Clypse where Stevio met up with us. After a quick discussion on the route we took the Clypse track and climbed up Honey Hill. It was a relatively easy pace more off a fun ride. A quick blast down the road and we were up over the hedge and on the top track of the Conrhenny plantation. Another discussion led to a long loop round the plantation with the customary downhill dash and up & over the hedge exit which was unfortunately blocked by a Freelander. As we regrouped we could hear the hiss of life escaping from Simon’s tyre, after what seemed like an age Simon finally had his tyre re-inflated and we set off for Baroose. Even slightly overgrown Baroose is running smooth especially in the near dark, it is one of those tracks that everyone has a crash or near crash story about... tonight wasn’t about crashes though, it was about punctures and both Tim and Birchy had picked up slowies down Baroose we decided that more light would be needed and pushed on to the LA so tubes could be changed easier. Shame no-one had enough cash for a round. After the second round of repairs the route took us up the Begoade to the bottom of Honey Hill and after a small climb we again joined the Clypse trail and headed home...

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11/08/09

Present, Gadge and Bazzar

Write up to follow but it was a bit of an all day epic for us with one puncture (Bazzar), torn sidewall, broken spoke and buckled rear wheel.

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09/08/09
Present, Gadge, Bazzar, Seamus and Tim.

Again we met up at Union Mills industrial estate a few riders down tonight which we think might have been down to the antics of the night befores suprise 40th Birthday Party for Coops. The route was to be a re-run of a previous loop out to Chibbanagh and a loop of the plantation as previous. This is where Tim over came his fear of roll ins......after about 10 minutes of sitting at the top of this roll in with the rest of us giving him advice on how to ride it Tim told us to carry on with the loop of the lower singletrack and he would conqueror his fear by the time we got back. This is where Gadge beat Bazzar and Seamus in the non-stop climb up the steep grassy hill which on the previous ride had beaten everyone...even Bolty! By the time Seamus and Bazzar had another two attempts at the hill, both were unsuccessful this time round, when we arrived back at the old quarry Tim was down....but the question on our lips was 'Did he ride or walk down?' The answer would soon be known as he ran back up with his bike, disappeared in to the trees and came back out a few seconds later riding his bike...down the roll in! Well Done Tim...see it wasn't that bad was it?

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05/08/09

Present, Gadge, Coops, Birchy, Ray, Dave and Seamus

We met up at the industrial estate at Union Mills where a quick catch up and discussion as to which route we would take resulted in the general feeling was to head out and climb up through Kings Plantation and out over the tops to Cronk Breck for a blast down, which is unusual as we normally ride up this way.

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02/08/09

Present, Gadge, Bazzar, Coops, Bolty, Ray and Seamus

The route had already been decided a few days earlier and the RVP was to be Union Mills industrial estate where we head out towards Peel along the railway lines to Crosby where we would turn up the road to climb Ballacotch before heading down the road to Chibbanagh plantation where Bazzar had a nice little circuit in mind which he rode a few months ago with Johnny G. As with anything Johnny G rides it had it's fair share of ups and downs with the ups being a little on the severe side for some of us less fitter riders...we know who we are ;-)So it was on our first loop through the trees following the XC race route that Coops managed to snap his chain and bring a nice flow to an abruopt halt; not too worry though as Bolty came to the rescue with a new link and we were soon on the move again. Now on to the climb back up for our second loop; this is where Coops and I came to yet another abrupt halt as Coops' chain was not sounding too clever. So with the rest of the guys riding on ahead we stopped to check the chain noise out...turns out he had routed the chain the wrong way through the rear mech so after a few minutes fumbling with the split link Coops managed to re-break the chain and get it put back the right way....just in time for the rest of the boys to re-join us after their second loop of the tree section. So it was back on to the bikes and off on the trail again heading out towards Ballacotch, probably one of Coops' favourite tracks, because it's downhill :-) This is where the puncture fairie reared it's mischievous head......sorry Bazzar but you get your old title back 'Patch'.

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24/06/09
Stick with what and where you know – that was the underlying basis for tonight’s ride out.
Present, Gadge, Coops, Bazzar, Seamus, Bolty, Johnny and newbie Wally.
Apologies from Sinbad & Birchy.
Absent Skippy and Tim.
We head along the well known warm up track of the Railway Line out of Union Mills and up Ellerslie where Bazzar rediscovered his desire to defy gravity by ascending the rise with ease. Continuing passed St Ruanas chapel with a quick stop for Seamus who had a slow puncture, which was ably turned around in record time by his pit crew namely ‘Johnny G’ and then on up into Arcghhalagan. By now the legs and lungs were as warmed up as they were ever going to be. It was here that a game of follow the leader evolved, Barry took the lead through the tress who was then superseded by Seamus who led everyone into near oblivion but he was saved by Johnny G, who, with the heightened senses of a wild boar looking for hidden truffles, picked up the trail and dignity was saved, all be it for the present. We had fun bobbing in and out of slick tight and unpredictable tracks with a brief outline of direction. Senses were heightened and concentration was sharp as we powered through unfamiliar terrain. The precedent was set and all present were sniffing out short cuts and random tracks. After a good half hour we exited onto the road way where we were treated to a bit of side show erotica as Gadge ‘creamed’ himself from head to toe in ‘Skin so soft’. On we ventured after pulling ourselves away from that little treat and carried on down towards the back of Earie Dam where a select majority cleared the ‘logs’ however some fell short of the plank run so I am sure honours even all round. A quick play around the ‘Deads’ to top up our lead poisoning brought us to the entrance of the Stoney Mtn Track where a quick picnic was had. Onward and upward and into Stoney Mtn Plantation via a very lyrical and vocal local citizen shouting words of encouragement like “you wont get the rescue helicopter up here” to which Bazzar answered “don’t worry yessir we have a member of the Coastguards with us” well, the ensuing laughter from our new found commentator could be heard echoing across the valley! So, on into Stoney Mtn plantation and onto the ‘GOLD STAR’ moment of the week. Put a substantial and unfamiliar pile of rubble in front of Johnny G and well just sit back and watch! Sadly he did not complete the task, but the merit goes to Mr G for having the balls to take it on! The ‘2nd’ try rule was not invoked by the committee and the trail continued. Onto the road and around to the ‘Buddha Trail’ where Wally was introduced to the shrine. After praying for world peace and the correct lottery numbers we carried on up to the top of the Kipper Trail. Wally headed back to the SB car park where we met him some short time later. Everyone rode the single track(s) like men possessed and Bazzar encountered a few ‘tight turns’ but all got safely down and with adrenalin still pumping the final single track was licked through in record time. We all commented how we liked Bolty’s newly rounded and robust humps! He just shrugged his shoulders and commented nonchalantly that he had one of his men do it!!
Farewells were conveyed to Johnny who was heading South and the rest of us carried on home down Stoney Mtn track, where sadly, our new friend had retired from his deck chair and his ebullient abuse and laughter from an hour previous was still echoing across the tree lined valley! We eventually got to the ‘No dab challenge’ track where again a clear round was brought up from the depths of our clip in peddles ably guided by Gadge – The gentle rolling road was taken in the direction of the final decent of ‘Ballacotch’ once we re-grouped and went over the top Coops was heard to say defeatedly that he was ‘going to take it easy’ as he was complaining that his main ‘contact’ point was sore but as the words left his mouth he got the sniff of decent and downhill in his nostrils and off he went like the proverbial of the shovel! Time was getting on and Seamus had to get home as Barry had held up proceedings by selfishly developing a sever lack of air in his back wheel!
Much banter and great riding was had by all at a time of about 3 ½ hours out and the general consensus was a buzz from a great ride but also that we need the spin time and plans are afoot for extended rides and more of them. The weather was just perfect – clear views, a wee breeze (Coops) and just perfect under tyre conditions – Lets enjoy them while we have them….
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17/06/09
Blog by Coops to follow...
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03/06/09
Route: The Nab – Eyreton Cottages – Cronk Breck – Lhargee Ruy – The Creg – Colden then back via Injebreck and The Rhyne Distance – 9 miles (approx) Riders – Sinbad, Gadge, Coops, Seamus, Bolty and The Milky Bar Kid (Birchy) As it was an evening practice for the TT we decided to remain inside the circuit. We met up at The Nab X roads (except Coops who was meeting us at Eyreton Cottages). Tim had been invited but declined (sensibly) after collecting Coops at the bottom of Eyreton we all set off up the Millennium way towards Cronk Breck as anyone who has ridden this will know it is a leg sapper of a climb, especially the last steep road section before you hit the bridleway. The climb up was quite uneventful, as is the norm Bolty, Seamus and Milky had a good lead on the others and in return were eaten alive by midgies whilst waiting at the gate on Lhargee Ruy After a regroup and a “Skin so soft” anti midge session we plodded on toward the transition (read Sheep track) that skirts between Colden and The Creg and takes you to the Colden Valley. This is where things become a lot more fun as there isn’t exactly a defined route and it is more a case of head towards where you want to be and hope for the best, this though isn’t always the best idea especially through deep heather as it results in lots of falling off, falling over and other silliness, including Milkys attempt at a full forward roll whilst still clipped in. After much cursing and hilarity Sinbad was first to the gate that opens on to the newly hard cored road way... It must be pointed out at this point the gate way is rather boggy and as Seamus found out it does have a habit off sucking your bike in, which left Seamus doing the splits between his bike and the stile, much to everyone’s amusement. What was once a muddy, boggy path is now a freshly slated and fast road way leading into Colden plantation and down to the Injebreck Reservoir, we all set off at full tilt as is the norm on a bit of a downhill, I hung back to video our descent with Gadge just in front of me, on entering the last left hairpin Gadge's rear tyre gave way followed a split second later by mine, once again the midgies were upon us so it was a race to change tubes as fast as we could and get on our way. After about 5 mins we caught up with the others and joined the road for the trip back to the van, the last climb of the day would be up the Rhyne then down through the ford with a final off road climb and a blast down to the Nab. This didn’t go as smooth as hoped, within 2 mins of climbing the derailleur on Seamus’s bike managed to wrap itself a complete 360 (?) we managed to straighten it enough to keep him going but with a loss of a few gears. For the first time in a long while the climb and following descent of the Nab were both very very dusty something we aren’t that used too. This finally brought us back to the van where we made our separate ways, only to be informed later that Rachel had made Chocolate Cake so everyone missed out... except me as Coops brought my piece through to the office the following morning mmmm

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31/05/09

Blog by Gadge to follow...

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17/05/09

Route:  Foxdale-Stoney Mount-South Barrule-Transition-Pipeline-Slieau Whallian-Railway back to Foxdale – 15 miles
Riders:  Sinbad-Gadge-Coops-Seamus-Bolty-Tim   Not present:  Baz (on call), Johnny G (away skydiving), Skippy (sore neck)

After what looked like a washout due to the rain, the blue skies broke through and we all met up at Foxdale School Car Park.  A quick discussion to finalise the route and we were away.  We set off up past the Deads and onto the Stoney Mount track which is a bit wet but still very rideable, we then crossed the road and headed up into South Barrule,  Bolty and Seamus setting a quick pace but thankfully they soon eased off!  After riding up through the plantation we turned right and took the transition which started of pretty dry but soon reverted back to the usual mud.    After a brief regroup at the top of the Whiskey Run the first downhill section of the day, which was a blast the trail is pretty dry but there is already evidence of it washing out but it is still enjoyable none the less with some nice whoops over the drainage ditches. As usual though there is a penalty for a blast downhill and this came in the form of the climb back up out of Glen Rushen!  After another brief regroup and a quick discussion about the route we opted to ride down past Arrasey then back up the Garey to the Slieau Whallian track, in hindsight we should have gone by via South Barrule!
After the technical climb up the ”babies heads ” we reached the top of the Slieau Whallian track,  a track most of us have ridden up plenty of times but for some reason never down!  With the rain setting back in Seamus rode on ahead so as not to hold us up! After a couple of mins Gary and I set of with Bolty in tow, Coops and Tim bringing up the rear, I was waiting for a shout from Coops to move over  but he was happy tailending.  Gary took a better line after the first gate and took the lead with me close behind, where I should have stayed.  After pulling away from the second gate I went for the big overtake nipping past Gary before the ”S” bend, unfortunately at this point my front tyre give out, throwing me and the bike down the trail I came to  a very abrupt stop on my head and slamming my ankle.  Tim and Coops arrived at the scene, Tim was most annoyed he missed getting it on video,  I picked myself up, Gary  had already started changing my tube but the rear hanger had also took a beating rendering the bike unrideable but at least I could still freewheel. Tim set off ahead as he was chilling and the rest of us set off to meet up with Seamus at the bottom, not  100 metres down the trail and Tim got a flat, popping his cherry as it were.  At the bottom of Slieau Whallian Tim stared to change his tube, whilst Gary said he’d shoot on ahead along the railway line to get the van to recover me and the bike.  As time was ticking on both Seamus and Bolty decide to head for home, Bolty along the road and Seamus along the Heritage trail.  After Tim had fixed his flat we rolled down the hill towards St Johns, Tim and Coops then cut off long the railway to collect their vehicles and I rolled in to St Johns and waited for Gary to pick me up.  So 2 flats, a bent hanger and a swollen ankle but all in all a good ride out...

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02/10/08

Present – Gadge, Coops, Seamus, Bazzar and Bolty
Sinbad was lay up at home with a bad back.

Tonights ride was intened to be a bit of a trail finding exercise. We parked up at the Glen Mona Pub and set off North along the road before ropping of on to a small trails which ran along side the electric railway down towards Ballaglass Glen. After an initial wrong turn thanks to Coops we were back on the trail. We actually found a sweet section of rocky single track that emerges just up the raod from the Cornaa entrance. From here it was back up through Ballaglass on to the road and North again to the Hibernian where we turned left and head out towards Park Lewellyn.

Baz and Seamus took point followed by me, Coops and Bolty; the pace was fairly quick as the wind was on our backs. The weather forecast was not good, gale force winds and driving rain, so we were expecting to get a battering but were pleasantly suprised. As we climbed the rough track in the dark the new lights were coming in to their own, Bolty passing comment that it was like having a lighthouse on my head. The track is little more than a couple of sheep tracks at the best and there were quite a few deep water filled ruts ready to catch us out if we were not careful.

The boys decided that 'Lighthouse Head' should take point and lead the way...this was a big mistake as I managed to lead the rest of the boys through most of the axle deep puddles before getting stuck and having a rather comical SPD moment, much to the amusement of Baz and the others. It wouldn't be long though before the deep water claimed the rest of the group in some form or other; suprisingly the water was warm and not ice cold as you'd expect!

We reached Park Lewellyn, re-grouped and Coops checked the map to see how much further we had to go, not that it was much use as the only distinguishing feature we could see was the old ruin. As this was notthe first time I had ridden this way, previous trail finding ride withSinbad in very poor weather, meant I was again trail leader. So off we set again at a reasonable pace slowly heading up the valley towards the old mines. I knew that a short distance up the track we would reach a wall which we would have to cross and it was at this point we would make our turn and head down the side of the valley to join the track.

After a bit of trailbreaking we joined up with track and rode through the darkness, being careful not to scare the resident sheep. As we traversed the valley we came to a junction, left was up, right was down.....which way now? Non of us had ridden this way before so using my natural trailfinding skills I made the decision that we should head down. We would not be disappointed as what opened up before us was a sweet section of trail straight down the side of the valley. At the bottom of the descent were two hairpins and whilst sat at he bottom waiting for the others to arrive I had visions of Coops barrelling down the hill, not seeing the corners and launching himself and bike over the edge to land in a messy heap at the bottom! Unfortunately not...the only thing he experienced was a rather twitchy rear end and on occasion coming down the hill speedway style!

From here it was a blast along the track and out on to the road at Corrany and back up to the pub car park to load up the van before retiring to the pub for a pint...or two and a chat about the nights ride and discuss where we'd ride next Thursday night.

Gadge

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28/09/08

Present –Sinbad, Gadge, Seamus and Bazzar

Today we decided to head up over Cronk Breck, towards Lhargee Ruy then drop down to Glion Gill where we were planning on meeting up with Skippy and Tim who were heading out from Peel via Brandywell Cottage.

The climb from the cottage was a good warm up for the steady slog up the road before hitting the fields. Bazzar and Seamus were on form and climbing well whilst myself and Sinbad were a little way behind, I was suffering with a crakcing headache and wasn't really up for the ride and Sinbad had recently changed both sets of brake pads, I tell you that boy certainly likes to punish himself on these climbs! By the time I reached the gate that marked the end of the road climb Baz and Seamus were stood admiring the clear views across the hills and valley.

Sinbad arrived a couple of minutes later, clearly struggling, not only with the new pads but I think Friday nights dinner party/drinking session had caught up with him and was taking it's toll. Never the less we plodded on up through the fields passing a walker at one of the gates. Today there were quite a few inquisitive cows in the fields, one in particular was feeling rather brave and refused to move out of the track and made the rest of us ride round. As we climbed Seamus and Baz took the lead followed by me then Sinbad. The sun was out and on our backs which was really nice considering the awful weather we have been having of late; more like winter than late summer.

Baz and Seamus continued to climb and were starting to pull out a bit of distance between me and Sinbad. We reached the top of the climb at the fence where we re-grouped and Baz and I took the opportunity to fire up the camera's for the rest of the ride and Sinbad made a call to Tim to see where they were so we could meet up with them; they were at the top of the zig zags just before the gate at the top of the Beary Mountain climb. Sinbad took point as he is now famous for his 'mystery tours' although this wasn't one for the two of us as we had ridden this section of the trail on a previous trail finding ride. Seamus set off next followed by Baz then me; it wasn't long before the first action of the afternoon was caught on camera...Baz managed to find the smallest hole to get his front wheel stuck in and performed a rather undignified dismount over the bars (video will be added at a later date). Seamus gingerly rode passed and only a few yards further down the trail somehow managed to whack his wedding tackle on the back of his saddle which brought him to an abrupt halt right in front of Baz who narrowly avoided yet another unplanned dismount.

I checked they were both ok and made a move as by this time Sinbad was putting some distance between us, not that much though as when I turned to set off after Baz and Seamus' episode of off's I noticed Sinbad picking himself up of the ground, obviously he'd found a hole to drop in as well. I caught Sinbad up by the time he reached the bottom of the descent and the turn to follow the edge of the plantation down towards Glion Gill. This is where Sinbad's skills as 'tour guide' come in to play as we carve our way through virgin ground ever mindful of the last time we rode this way...Sinbad finding a rather large hole to fall in! We reached the fire road and waited for Seamus and Baz to arrive, expecting them to follow suit and cut across virgin territory, but no, they decided to carry on round the edge of the plantation and join the fire road further up and came blasting passed us down to the bridge. As we continued to climb the sun was now starting it's descent over the hills and the views out to the West of the island were amazing, crystal clear and you could see Ireland on the horizon.

We arrived at the gate at the top of the zig zags and no sign of Skippy or Tim so after firing up Sinbad's camera we set off across the quad trail towards the Beary transmitter mast, following this years End2End course. At the top of the Douse Seamus set of first as he wanted to get gong while we waited for Sinbad to call Tim again and see where they were......no answer so it was off down the douse. Sinbad took pont followed by me then Baz, all camera's running so we should be guaranteed some good footage. A short distance down the Douse we passed Seamus, Sinbad was pulling away from us here, obviously wanting to heat up his pads as quickly as possible to help bed them in. It wasn't long though before myself and Baz caught Sinbad up when he stopped at the side of the trail,not sure why, and we passed him givingit beans as we headed down towards the section known as 'The Babies Heads'.

I managed to find a sweet line down through this section and was able to maintain a decent pace which was good as I could sense Baz was hot on my tail.....no room of error here or it could turn out rather messy. I held my line and we ploughed on down, carving up the trail and gaining speed as we neared the hairpin right which marked the end of the fast run down. This is where on a previous ride Seamus tried to play Superman and test the durability of his helmet......end result was a dinged lid and a loss of confidence. Not to worry Seamus, you'll be back on form soon.

From here it was decided we would head out and climb up through Kennaa to Archallagan then down Eairy Kelly ancback to the van which was parked by Eyreton Cottages. The ride back was fairly uneventful with both Baz and I setting off at a fairly fast pace whilst Sinbad and Seamus took a more leisurely pace. We re-grouped at the car park in Archallagan then headed down Eairy Kelly where Sinbad and I split from Baz and Seamus to get the van and Baz and Seamus carried on down past Ellerslie Farm on to the railway line and back home. I think all in all it was a good afternoons ride, the weather couldn't have been better for us!

Gadge

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27/04/08

Present – Sinbad, Gadge and Seamus

Snowdon summit T-minus 6 days

Just a quick loop out today, just to test the camera set up on Gary’s new Archos.  So it was up through the Clypse and Honey Hill. Despite the weather report yesterday today’s weather was fantastic.  We turned cameras on at the top of Honey Hill and rode over to Conrhenny.

Gadge and Seamus took the lead up over the “follow the leader” and then a lap of the felled area and down the hill to the bottom gate, Gadge overtook me just before the mud puddles and gave me a soaking. Next came Baroose, half way down I felt the front end skip but everything looked ok, only when we got to the bottom did we realise yet again the puncture fairy had paid a visit. A quick repair then we turned off and took the green lane through to Baldrine.

A big push back along the main road and up the LA straight, at the top of the Whitebridge we nipped in and through the single track section and back up through Molly’s to Gary’s for a brew.  After a quick cuppa, Seamus and I left for home, Seamus shot off down the Scollag road and I headed home to start editing the video ready for posting on the website.  .

Sinbad

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23/04/08

Present – Sinbad, Gadge and Seamus

Tonight’s little jolly followed the route of Baz’s solo (see Billy Blog) ride out.

From Sinbad’s we took the usual route out through the Clypse and up Honey Hill.  Instead of heading down through the plantation we followed the firetrack along the edge and out on to the Glen Roy road.  Then came the fun section the climb up the Windy Corner track, as Baz said the first stage of this climb is like riding on marbles but after the rocks it does become a bit easier, here Sinbad seemed to get a third wind and the legs just kept going.

We then had a ride/push up to the Windy Corner cairn as Gadge said funny how it didn’t take 2 mins to come back down.  A push (into the headwind) back along the road and down the Creg led home... 11 miles including the climbs...

Sinbad

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20/04/08

Present - Bazzar 'Billy No Mates'

Went usual route up Honey Hill, skirted Conrhenny down the Glenroy road and turned down towards Ballamenagh gardens to meet up with the windy corner track.

Slogged up there, the trails up to the first two gates were very sketchy, felt as if you are riding on marbles, hard to keep momentum going. After the rest of the guys were saying they were going hill climbing up South Barrule I thought I would try to keep in the spirit of things and pushed the bike to the top of windy corner to the summit where there is a cairn. On a fine day I imagine the view is outstanding but it was blowing hard and the clouds were getting ever lower.

The descent was good fun but over far too quickly. I was starting to struggle for time, Mrs Bazzar would be there at the door waiting with the rolling pin in hand, so it was a quick blast along the mountain road back to chez Bazzar.

Bazzar

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20/04/08

Snowdon Day T-Minus 13 days

Present – Sinbad, Seamus, Gadge and James

Despite the slightly gloomy conditions today was deceptively warm.  We set off from the SB car park heading out on the normal trails, up through to Corlea then across the traverse to the top of The Whisky Run; by the top off here we were all feeling a little sweaty.

Then we turned right and started today’s Snowdon type challenge, riding to the top of SB despite the strong winds we achieved an overall average of 2.8mph (average considering the climb) and were at the summit in just over 40 minutes, not bad.  The terrain and gradient on SB are very similar to Snowdon so it gave a little insight in to what we might expect.  We took shelter with a family of walkers at the top and had a quick rest… whilst the walkers enjoyed their hot chocolate, which they didn’t share regardless of Seamus’s puppy dog eyes.

From the top we followed the path down until we deviated to head back to Corlea Plantation via the enduro section, very swoopy with some good bumps and very dry. We then took the big climb all the way back to the top of the plantation which again has dried out considerably and turned back on ourselves towards the new trail section, this section has seen a lot of action and started to bed in really well… must get some work days organised.

At the bottom of the new section we then headed for the demo loop which after Jason’s hard work has improved noticeably and now rides really well, so well in fact we went round for another blast.  To finish off we had a little play about through trees and then drove back to Seamus’s for Tea/Coffee, soda bread and jaffa cakes.

Sinbad

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13/04/08

Present – Sinbad, Gadge, Seamus and Baz

What a glorious day, considering the BBC said it was going to be wintry showers.  A perfect day for a ride out.

Leaving Sinbad’s we headed out on the start of our normal loop, up through the Clypse and Honey Hill then on to Conrhenny instead of turning in to the plantation we followed the firetrack down the edge of the road and then jumped the hedge to get back on the main rd to go to Axnfell.

Once in the plantation we followed the singletrack that skirts the edge of Axnfell, a nice smooth flowing section unfortunately over too soon. Exiting Axnfell we turned left and rode down the road towards Laxey, taking a left on to the path that brings you out half way down Rencell Hill.  We then let Sinbad lead us into Laxey taking a little detour to find the BMX track (kids) and the Waterfalls where we stopped for a quick picture.  Back on the bikes and up to Browns for coffee and a tea cake, here we took a 20 min breather and discussed the up coming Wales trip and the ascent of Snowdon.

Heading back out of Laxey we climbed Rencell Hill and then followed the road all the way up the steady climb back to Conrhenny, turning left down Conrhenny rd we then headed for the duckboards here Baz provided us with a little lesson in basic biking i.e. brakes don’t work when you are airborne; unfortunately for Baz he didn’t stay airborne for very long, the gorse bush saw to that!!

When we finally stopped laughing it was a quick climb up the start of Honey Hill and a blast back down through to the Clypse and the final road section back to Sinbad’s.

Sinbad

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10/04/08

Present – Sinbad, Seamus, Gadge, Baz and Simon

Setting off from the swing bridge, Gadge set a good pace heading out on the Old Castletown Rd then through the Nunnery towards the NSC.  The Goats were just gathering at the entrance in prep for their ride out.  We then followed the road up through Pulrose and headed for Oak Hill, the track has dried out quite a bit and the top section has been cleared back making it a lot more rideable.
Pout on the road again we re-grouped and pushed on towards Port Soderick, just as we hit the off road section…psst down went Sinbad’s rear tyre, another pinch flat.  A quick repair and breather and we were off again, taking a left into the glen and over the bridge, unfortunately Gadge’s sense of direction led him to take a right turn a bit too early and we ended up on a Gadge mystery tour and climb.  Once back on track we headed down to the beach, here we tried to get Seamus to ride the steps whilst Simon was busy applying a mudpack.
Then all that was left was the road push up out of the Port and along The Marine Drive, pretty uneventful apart from Gary scaring a BMW driver.  We loaded up and headed home, just in time to miss the torrential hailstorm.

A good ride out and made all the better by the lighter evening.

Sinbad

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06/04/08

Present –Sinbad, Gadge, Coops, Seamus and James
Baz was on call and Skippy didn’t want to dirty his car!

Today we decided to brave the wind, sleet and snow to get a good climb in… (Preparation for Snowdon)
We all met up at Union Mills Ind Est and set off on the main rd and up Trollaby lane, a left at the top and we had a little road section to Eyreton Cottages. As Yazz said in the 80’s “the only way is up” and from here that was the only way.  All the way up heading up Cronk Breck, towards Lhargee Ruy then turning back on ourselves to climb up to the top of Slieau Ruy.  Seamus and James took quite a lead on the first climb up Cronk Breck despite the snow flurries but they were soon reeled back in as the wind became more of an enemy than the climb.  James seemed to be enjoying his first outing on a full suss, riding Gary's K2.

The climb from the Green Lane gate is a steady slog and today the wind was constantly in your face, Seamus and I made a good distance on the others and pushed on to the turning, here we waited for the rest, next came Gadge closely followed by James and Coops brought up the rear, a quick breather and on we went.  The next climb up Slieau Ruy meant what was a head wind was now blowing in on our right and this made the first section a struggle as the bikes were being pushed to the left.  I think only Seamus and I managed to clear this section today but it took its toll on my legs!

Time for a bit of a mystery tour, we knew where we were and where we wanted to be we just had to link the two together, in the end this involved a slight detour through the heather to find the gate at the top entrance to Kings.  Now for some fun, everyone except James knew the way from here but he soon picked it up as we flew down the firetracks with the bikes getting very skittish through the hairpins, we were now on the home straight, from Kings another little road leg linked us up with Bluebell Lane climbing back up above Crosby then down to Chez Coopers for refreshments, bacon butties and a mug of tea.  Simon had now completed the loop as he rode from home to Union mills.  Seamus had to shoot off on family business so that left me, Gadge and James to ride the railway lines back to the van and home. A good leg stretch despite the wind and snow.

Sinbad

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02/04/08

Present – Sinbad, Gadge, Seamus and (Newbie) James

Setting off from Sinbad’s the route followed the normal evening loop, heading out to the Clypse then up Honey Hill.  Seamus was climbing as well as ever despite his recent holidays and James did remarkably well especially as he was riding a full rigid!

We then plodded over to Conrhenny for a loop round there finished off with the good blast down the hill, Gadge topping out at 40.7mph… Baroose followed on again a good flyer in the welcome evening light and all was going well till Sinbad’s rear wheel was attacked by the same python that had Baz’s on Saturday, from here we decided to head down through Gelling's and then Groudle to ride back up through Mollys.  A quick pit stop at Gadge's where Mrs Gadge and Mrs Sinbad provided a quick brew and then on the finial push back to the start.  Seamus peeled off down the back road home; the plan was arranged for a good ride out on Sunday heading up from Eyreton cottages and including a blast down through Kings.

Sinbad

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30/03/08

Present – Sinbad, Gadge, Skippy and Bazaar

This ride was mainly for Bazaar to take his prospective new toys for a blast.  Baz was testing the Spesh FSR and the Trek Fuel X9… both equally nice machines and with a similar spec.

The route was to leave Skippy’s house and head out to St Johns then climb up the side off Slieauwhallian so Baz could see how well the Trek would climb.  Unfortunately after a few weeks out of the saddle the climb was a bit of a struggle… the legs were feeling good but the rest of me was struggling. The other three were climbing really well especially Baz on the full suss.  From the top we took a good blast down towards the Barnell track.

Barnell has suffered some what due to water damage and motorcycles, so there are a lot of nasty ruts now and the last section is now down to the rock bed in places with some big drops.

After the first descent Baz decided to go back up and do it again on the Spesh but only from about 2/3 of the way up, getting a bit over confident on the full bounce he did over cook it slightly and nearly came a cropper but at the big drop he took it super smooth and just rode it straight off… nicely done.

After Barnell we headed out to Patrick and on up to Corrins Folly to take a last good descent down on to Fenella Beach.  After a quick lap across the Prom and up over the Headlands it was back to Skippy’s for toast…but NO biscuits (and he claimed he hadn’t had time to bake muffins… poor show!)

Sinbad

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26/03/08

Wednesday saw me, Gadge, Bazaar and Chris out for a loop up at South Barrule.  We had a look at the new section recently dug by DAFF. This will be a great addition to the plantation and trail network but still requires a lot of hard work to hand finish it.
We then headed out round to Corlea and through to the bottom of the Whisky run.  As this was the first time most of us had been out in a long time we took it easy and headed back along the road to Solomon’s Corner and re-entered the plantation here for a quick loop along the firetracks and on to the Demo Trail.  Not all that exciting but nice to get out and stretch the legs after holidays, shows and other commitments that have stopped us riding for a few weeks…. Roll on the weekend!!

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02/03/08

Still full of a cold and not wanting to push it, decided on a loop at Archallagan with Gadge.  Set off on the outer fire track from the bottom of the car park. Pushed hard all the way up the other side and followed the little single-track round the trees but soon ran out of steam.  Once we hit the topside of the plantation we exited via the middle gate and turned back on ourselves to head down to the green lane that brings you out by the footpath with all the duckboards. By this time Gary was pulling ahead but he waited at the gate and let me take the lead, still think he did this because he knew I was due an off.  And he wasn’t disappointed a classic front wheel over the bars splat, misjudged the bounce to get up on the boards!!
After a quick play on the deads I was going to suggest a coffee stop at the MSPCA but it was heaving (Mothers Day), so we carried on past and down towards Bettteridges to doubles back on the climb that brings you out by the Archallagan turn off here I suggested heading on to the next crossroads, down past Mananans chair and back up St Runius, this little detour just stuck a couple of miles on and gave us another climb to ride up.
Back in the car park we had a few laps round the trees and then called it a day..the cold is still here though!

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19/02/08

One word to describe tonight’s ride “bloody freezing”, ok that’s 2 words but it was bloody freezing.  The  usual 3 (myself, Seamus and Gadge) set off from the Union Mills Ind Est along the railway lines to Ellerslie, the first bit of this ride was really cold, and freezing fog was just starting to settle.  We carried on up through Ellerslie to St Ruinius and then to Archallagan, I was not feeling 100% so was lagging back quite a lot, which held Gary and Seamus up.  The ride through Archallagan was great in the full moon especially when I killed all the lights…. Very spooky!

After Archallagan we headed back along the road to the Braaid Crossroads, it was decided to miss out Chibbanagh as it would have meant a lot off hanging around for Gary and Seamus, so from Braaid we carried on along the road and hit Ballacotch a great downhill blast in the dark, even with the addition of a large slab that caught both Gary and I out.
From Ballacotch we headed back to the railway lines and back to the vans. 
Will be arranging a meeting soon to discuss Wales trip, will be after Easter as I am away 5th to the 20th March and Seamus is away over Easter.
Later

Sinbad

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13/02/08

As it was such a glorious day, I took the afternoon off work and contacted Gadge to see if he fancied a loop out.  Considering I hadn’t been out on my bike since before Annie it was good to get a ride in.  We decided on the local loop up round Honey Hill and Conrhenny, setting off from our house.
Considering neither off us has been out a lot recently (due to work and babies) I thought we didn’t do to bad and kept a reasonable pace.   By the top off honey Hill Gary had a tail, a racing snake on a Giant XTC comp but he was heading down Conrhenny track and we were hitting the plantation.
After an uneventful loop of the plantation we took the steep hill to the bottom gate and this is where I picked up a snakebite so we had a pitstop! From here it was back through the farm and Lower Conrhenny road.  We then came back up the Enemona and through the duckboards which now have had some work done on them taking away the jump? It looks like the boards are going to get placed all the way back to the Clypse.  Anyhow after a couple of pics and a quick road section home we had a beer then Gadge set off for home.
All in all a far better afternoon than being stuck in work!

Till next time, ride safe

Sinbad

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24/01/08

After a good ride out Tuesday night with Sinbad and Skippy the gear was just about dry for tonights little jaunt out Crosby way, especailly for Coops!

Present were Bazzar, Skippy, Coops and myself, Sinbad had girl sitting duties whilst Jax was on a course and Chris was working.

We set of from Coops' house and headed down to the railway lines where I set a steady pace towards Union Mills. The line had dried up considerably from the previous week despite the recent heavy rains earlier in the week although there were still a few large puddle which Coops took great pleasure in blasting through. We reached Union Mills and turned left in to the indutrial estate then on to the road and off up Trollaby Lane. Bazzar set a good pace up ahead with me a good ten yards behind and Skippy and Coops bringing up the rear a few yards further behind me.

At the top of Trollaby Lane we turned right towards The Strang where we turned left and headed out towards West Baldwin. After a short ride on the road we turned left and headed up Ballalough to the Ryhne where we dropped down the Green Lane which Coops loved, except for the temporary loss of lights due to his power lead coming out of his Lumi's. Through the river stream at the bottom then a sluggish climb up the other side. The lane was rather wased out and rutted in places due to the recent heavy rains.

Once at the top we turned right and headed back towards the Nab where we turned right and headed up the steep road hill towards the Nab farm. Again Bazzar took the lead setting quite a good pace with me close behind him and Coops and Skippy bringing up the rear (sounds familiar on climbs ;-)) Towards the top I got a second wind and pulled up along side Bazzar for a few yards then pulled away really pushing hard; it feels good to get the lungs and legs pumping (all good training for our ascent of Snowdon in May). A short restbite on the drop down Cronk ny Moghlane before turning left again at the bottom and heading back up the track to Eyreton Cottage then down Bluebell Lane.

We were on the homeward stretch now and I suggested to the boys that we drop down to the Highlander and hit the railway lines again back to Crosby; this is where Skippy had had enough and rode back down the road to Crosby and back to Coops' house. The rest of us dropped down on to the railway lines to Crosby and back up the hill to Coops' house for a nice hot cup of tea.

Gadge

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22/01/08

Despite a heavy drizzle Skippy (yes Skippy) Gadge and myself set off from the Car park by the swing bridge.  A warm up section on the road led to the Nunnery and through the mud to the NSC from there round the track and out the main gate, turning left to head up through Pulrose and the climb to the B&Q roundabout.  We then turned left and down to the Oak Hill, there was a lot off mud after the recent heavy rain and at the river crossing, Skippy gave us the benefit of his experience with water…”you can tell its deep when you can’t see the bottom” and to be fair the river crossing that is usually about 5ft was a good 10ft and flowing pretty fast.
Up the other side of Oak Hill and the path has become a bit of a quagmire, so much so I had to drop pressure just to get any traction.  At the top we decided to push on and hit Port Soderick, a fast downhill run down the road and straight down the path to the beach, a quick pic stop and a drop of scotch to ward off the chill and we were away again, Skippy taking a good lead on the climb out towards Marine Drive, as we reached Marine Drive, the mist closed in casting an eerie glow from the lights and giving a strange 3d silhouette ahead when you had someone behind you.  The wind had picked up a bit now as well; sometimes at your back other times head on, a final pic at Douglas Head then a quick descent back down to the vans.  A good ride out given the weather and Sinbad’s last for awhile at least until Annie has finished! Also I have been led to believe that Simon and Skippy are joining Gadge and Baz on the Thursday night ride as well!!!

Sinbad

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20/01/08

The weather conditions were damp and looking a little grey and misty up the Creg way; so of I set for Bazzar's, a steady warm up mile on the road up to his house before we set off for a loop of the local area.

In attendence was just myself and Bazzar; Sinbad and Chris were working, Seamus was still in plaster, Skippy was...well Skippy and Coops had to apparantly clear his van out and had no kids so I suspect it was more like Rachel time ;-)

We set off at a steady pace and chattered about how we're going to have to put in some serious training if we were to conquer Snowdon in May! From the Clypse car park Bazzar took the lead and set off at a good pace; I struggled to keep up with him despite him not being on the bike proper for a few weeks due to work commitments. We reached the gate at the end of the Clypse track and headed up the river, sorry, Honey Hill.

Again Bazzar took point but I was close on his rear wheel this time and stayed with him, both pushing hard on the wet slippery rocks. Bazzar got a clean climb for the first time in a long time and he was really chuffed with it and had a smile from ear to ear. From here it was on the road to Conrhenny Plantation where we started on our usual loop with me taking point. Half way round I decided to throw a little extra loop in just to stretch the legs and add two more climbs (Snowdon training :-)). At the top of the second climb we re-joined our usual loop and climbed again to the top of the plantation to the fast descent to the muddy puddles and the ride over the hedge to the road.

From here we had a choice...Barrose or Conrhenny Farm. Conrhenny Farm it was and another little climb to the top of Little Conrhenny Road; a quick blast down to the main road then on to Enemona Road where we turned up towards Honey Hill again. The DoT have graded this track and it s less than bike friendly, really sapping your speed. At the duckboards we decided to continue up Honey Hill to the Clypse track and follow our route back home. All in all it was a good ride.

Gadge

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06/01/08

The annual MMBC Coast to Coast

A really good turn out today, between 65-70 riders set out from the Sea Terminal in three groups, a  fast group  (who were doing a loop up round Archallagan) and a medium and slow groups who were going straight down the railway lines to Peel.  Representing Loaghtan Loaded today were Sinbad, Gadge, Coops and our youngest member Alex!
We set off at steady pace, down through The Nunnery, then over to the NSC and on to the railway line, Coops and Alex were a bit further back than us, (think Alex was taking it easy on Simon).  By the time we got to Union Mills the riders were pretty well strung out, Gadge was leading and I tucked in behind, approaching Glen Vine; Gadge started to tire so I took over in front for a while. It was only when we go to the Glen Vine road crossing I realised Gadge was not behind me but another rider!  I carried on slowly hoping Gadge might catch up but by Crosby there was still no sign, it turned out Gadge had suffered a flat and was busy changing it, Steve K had to help because Gadge’s tyres are pretty tight.  At Crosby I waited for a couple of minutes and chatted to Rachel and Collette, but I soon started to chill so carried on. The rest of the ride to Peel was pretty uneventful and I didn’t see another LL rider anywhere, although I did chat to Ronan and Angela and also Steve K.  Just as I finished the railway line at Peel the back of the bike felt very loose and I looked down to find I too had a slow puncture, but I just managed to make it to the Creek.
Meanwhile……
Simon was a little fed up with Alex? And had told Alex to stop at Crosby but Uncle Gary said he would ride with him instead but apparently after  the next 2 gates Alex said he was fed up and wanted to stop, Gary tried for 15 minutes to get him to carry on in the end he grabbed his bike and started to wheel it back towards Crosby at this Alex started running but towards Peel not home, so Gary went after him with both bikes in tow finally catching up with him, Alex took his bike and set off towards Peel.  Simon, Gary and Alex finally reached Peel about 11.20, the bikes were loaded in to the Custard Bus and we all set off back to Douglas.
Surprisingly after last years mud bath the ride was pretty clean today, although Simon did manage to find as much mud as possible and as ever the grit played havoc with brakes and bearings.

Ho Hum here’s till next time!

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03/01/08

Oakhill via Railway lines…

Only one word can describe tonight’s little ride out – FREEZING!

Gary and I set off from the swing bridge car park, along the quay and down through the Nunnery and NSC the first part of tonight’s ride was to collect the final cache in the Heritage Trail series, this was made more difficult by the pitch black and driving snow! But eventually we found what we were looking for.

We then doubled back along the railway to the QB and turned right to ride up through Pulrose and on to Oakhill, as we approached the top of Pulrose the snow came on again in earnest and combined with the bitter wind it was like riding whilst being pebble dashed. Once we hit Oakhill at least we were out off the wind, the snow on the trail combined with our lights came the trail quite an eerie feel, we rode down the first section, through the river crossing and up on to the Old Castletown Rd, here we erred on the side of caution and turned left to follow the road straight back to Douglas, with Gary setting a bloody good pace despite the head wind.

A fun ride but as I said at the start - Freezing

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26/12/07

Well no doubt you are all eager to here the tales of this years epic Boxing Day Ride, but firstly the apologies:

Chris - Working

Skippy - Eating

Bazzar - Entertaining Mother in law

Simon - Having his Xmas day

Seamus - apparently broke his arm whilst riding at 70 mph downhill fighting a rabid giraffe.

Or so this is the extent of the story by the time the Boxing Day ride left the Railway after a few too many pints

Gary and I, being the hardiest of the hardy, ventured out on Boxing Day, riding down through St Georges Bridge and on to the railway line, from here we met up with Seamus at the Railway for the LL Christmas drink. The pub was quite full but we had a good seat and the ale was flowing after 4 pints of St Nick time was ticking, especially as it was nearly 2.20 and we were due to be back by 2.30 to get ready for dinner! So I sent Jax a text and she promptly brought the van down to rescue us which did leave time for another pint. This meant the the Boxing Day ride was the epic mileage of just over 3 miles mostly downhill (bargain)

All in all a pleasant couple of hours sat mulling over previous rides and rides yet to come including the CYB trip in May.... talking about bits of kit we need or want and also the joys of hearing Seamus's replies everytime someone asked how he had broke his wrist!

As it is now the 31st Dec 2007 the last thing I will add to this blog is

HAPPY NEW YEAR hope to see everyone out on the rides a bit more next year, starting on Sunday 6th Jan with the MMBC Coast to Coast...

All the best

Sinbad

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16/12/07

Again only the usual suspects today, myself, Gadge and Seamus
Even though the weather was bitter up at the bungalow we decided to go anyway, the cold wind mocking our decision all the round the veranda.  Once sheltered by Clagh Ouyr it eased off.  We turned off at the East Mountain gate and headed down towards the duckboards, the puddles where still covered with a thin layer of ice and the semi frozen ground crunched under your tyres.  Even though the D.O.T have made this one way for the winter it has received a lot of recent damage caused by our old enemy.  Once we had negotiated the duck boards, we rode up to the gate and took the left fork, this leads down another (motorcycle) rutted trail, near the end of this trail Gary discovered a big rut, unfortunately he discovered it to late to avoid and went down hard, the bike ended up wrapped around his legs, about 100 yards back along the track Seamus went down as well but was quickly up and down to where we were. From here the trail follows farm tracks to the edge of the Ohio plantation.  The fireroad through the plantation is a blast and we re-grouped at the bottom, whilst having a little rest we investigated a few of the other trails in the plantation and made a mental note to come back (when its warmer) and have a proper look.  Then the peace and quiet was trashed by a bike racing up into the plantation, not on the fireroad, he soon scarpered when Gadge pointed the camera at him.  Onwards down in to Sulby Claddaghs then through to the Wildlife Park to pick up the railway line to Ballaugh. 
Instead of turning right coming out of Ballaugh and climbing up the Ballacob, we headed straight up the valley and in to Ballaugh Plantation, a muddy but steady climb, with Seamus doing his usual trick of cycling past you as if he is riding along the prom whilst you’re busy trying not to cough up a lung, anyhow this lead up on to the Druidale Rd. Now we were on the home stretch, in to the Tholt-y-Will and heading for the Reservoir, unfortunately the trail round the edge of Tholty has suffered from the large amounts of rain and is mostly unrideable, but the fireroad down to the reservoir made up for it.  Then came the worst bit of the entire day, most of the ride we had been sheltered in the valley and plantation not realising the wind had got a lot stronger so the road back to the bungalow was a relentless slog with the bitter wind constantly in your face, I lagged further and further behind here and the boys must have been freezing for at least 5 mins waiting for me…
We were glad to get back to the van and get some heat on, we dropped Gary off first as Seamus had left his car at mine, on the way round he commented on the fact that now he was warming up his wrist was aching from the crash at the start off the day and it felt like he had sprained it…….
Jump forward now to lunchtime today when a text from Ted who works with Seamus at the Gaiety gave me a bit off a shock! It turns out that Seamus had ridden about 12 miles, then drove home, cooked Sunday dinner for the girls, done all this with a broken wrist!!!

Apparently all was well last night but when he awoke this morning his wrist was the size of a balloon so he is now sporting a nice blue cast for at least the next 2-3 weeks so after riding for the past few months on a regular basis, Seamus has finally earned his wings and become a fully fledged biker.

On the bright side at least he won’t be working Boxing Day and can join us down the pub for the LL Boxing day ride and Beer

Sinbad

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13/12/07

Thursday night saw a change of venue for the night ride.  This time Gary, Simon and I set off from the swing bridge car park on the quay, tonight there was no Chris or Seamus due to work and Bazzar was babysitting (bet he hit the turbo trainer though).  Heading out on the old Castletown rd through Kewaigue then turning left just after the school.  This brings you on to the Oakhill track which leads past the original Fairy Bridge.  The track is a greenway but it does narrow considerably on the other side of the river crossing (where Simon wussed out and used the bridge) as far as the garage where the farmer keeps his quad.  The trail joins a concrete road which leads to another farm, but directly opposite there is another narrow track which takes you out towards Port Soderick rejoining the old Castletown road.  A nice down hill road section under the railway leads to Port Soderick bay, where we stopped for 5 mins, unfortunately on setting off again I had picked up a puncture…I lay the blame for this totally on  Bazzar as he  wasn’t there to ward off the puncture fairy.
A quick change and we were off, heading out of Port Soderick and along Marine drive, considering the wind was supposed to be a SSEeasterly it seemed to be in your face 90% of the time no matter which way you were facing.  Another quick stop at Douglas Head to admire the view and let Gary take a pic and we headed back in town, here we decided just to have a quick ride up the prom and back, on the road as the cycleway is closed….due to Douglas Corporation wisdom, I wish someone would explain how having to ride on the main road in 30mph traffic is safer than riding in 5mph traffic? But that’s another point.

Anyhow as I said we had a quick ride up and down the prom then back to the car park to collect the vans.

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09/12/07

Present: Sinbad, Gadge, Seamus.

Todays ride was centred around Port Erin and timed to fit in with the weather window between rain and high winds. Also Gary had to get back to make sure his joint was ok!

We left Port Erin just after one and headed out towards the Slough up Ballakillowey. A good little climb to get the legs going, the views were pretty clear today with a really good view of the squalls out to sea of the south coast. We turned off on to the green lane at the bottom of the Slough, doubling back on ourselves towards Port Erin. Seamus took the lead, climbing up over the Carnanes, with a brief detour to the top cairn for a picture. We then followed the original E2E course down to Surby, here we turned right and cut through Ballachrink then followed Bradda West and up across Bradda Head for anoher pic at the Tower, from here it was a quick blast down towards the cafe, shame it has closed down again!. A road section, overtaking Sunday drivers on the Prom lead us back to the car park arriving at the exact moment the heavens opened...timing!

Sinbad

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02/12/07

Due to the strong weather warning todays ride "Grand Day Out" was cancelled instead 4 brave souls tackled a rather damp local loop.

Sinbad, Seamus, Gadge and Bazzar.

As is quite typical with these rides in miserable weather it is the company that makes it more fun. Skippy had already text in the week to say he wouldn't make it and Simon was engaged elsewehere so unfortunately they both missed out again.

We set off at 1pm, the plan, to ride up Honey Hill then back along the Creg and down to the Lanjaghan but as we set off Gary decided that we should add a loop of Conrehenny in just to stretch the legs.

Seamus was sporting his new 3/4 length DHB bib tights, which judging by the speed he went up Honey Hill have been supplied with a leg upgrade; now there is definitely no stopping the mountain goat. The rest of us mere mortals tagging on behind. The loop around Conrhenny was pretty muddy and just as we were leaving to head back towards the Lanjaghan the heavens opened proper, but this didn't really dampen the spirits. As we turned on to the Lanjaghan, Seamus said he enjoyed new tracks as he didn't know what to expect, the huge puddle by the gate should have given him some warning. Anyone who has ever rode or walked the Lanjaghan knows it is wet at the best of times and today was no exception, the river crossing which is usually about 3-4 inches deep was about 18 inches. After the wading, the ride became across between biking and white water rafting, amazingly though we only had one faller and that award goes to Bazzar who couldn't unclip fast enough at the top of the rock garden. The trail was surprisingly rideable apart from a few deep ruts caused by "crossers" towards the end, this is where Gadge picked up a flat, we all huddled up in what little shelter there was and passed round the medicinal scotch, whilst Gadge changed his tube, turns out a previous patch had come adrift. The ride home was a fast road blast and a gentle climb up the Scollag albeit somewhat cold. At the top off the Scollag Rd Baz decided to head straight home to warm up, whilst Seamus and Gadge completed the loop back to ours..

As I said a wet ride made bearable by good company and good scotch, so as I sit here with another small tot, a quick toast, to todays riders and absent friends who missed out. " Heres to mud in your eye!"

Sinbad . . .

P.S Seamus 2 words - MUDFLAPS and MEDICINE!

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27/11/07

A better turn out for tonights ride:

Myself, Gadge, Seamus, Chris, Bazzar and (drum roll) Mr Cooper with his new KC Daylighters!

After meeting up at the Clypse Car park we headed out on the lane to Honey Hill, Bazaar setting a quick pace, turbo trainer is paying off. Then the climb up Honey Hill which left Simon feeling a little tired but he soon recovered on the way to Conrhenny. A quick regroup gave Gary time to set up the video and we were off, lights blazing for a quick blast through the plantation and down through the big puddles to the gate. Lots of comments were made regarding Sinbads choice of footwear but after the big puddles who was the only one with dry toasty feet? moi! A quick medicinal nip from the "paddybak" and we moved on, bearing left turn off Conrhenny rd and down the Barrose a slowish descent to give Gary some night time video footage, even at slow speed Simon managed to park himself in the hedge. We waited at the bottom for Seamus, his now distinctive 3 beam lights giving him the "Italian Job" look.

Down the road and up the LA Straight, passed by a couple of roadies! and in to the little singletrack, always fun in the dark, as Chris found out after misjudging a drop and nearly doing himself a serious mischief. Out the gate and up the Whitebridge back to Gary's, here Chris provided the "near miss" of the evening, hammering past me, he turned and shouted "the pistons are back" I shouted back " watch out" Chris didn't realise Gary had changed down and almost stopped, how Chris managed to avoid running into the back of him at speed I don't know but it did provide some good footage. A quick stop at Gary's then the rain came on in earnest, Simon started loading the van and the last 4 of us made out for home... another great evening adventure.

Sinbad

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25/11/07

A rather disappointing turn out for todays little jaunt, only myself, Bazzar and Seamus made the effort.

The following excuses were put forward:

Skippy - sore leg (still)

Chris - working (can't be helped)

Simon - Coastguards & family time

Gary - were do we start, shall I start with Mr Cooper telling Mrs Cooper that no matter what he was riding the day after the Manx Ops ball, or Gary getting the camera ready and bike cleaned... or shall I start with the first text at 10 am this morning from Mrs C "He got drunk and is still asleep"...

Needless to say Mr Cooper did not make it to the start line, his bike did but Mr Cooper was otherwise indisposed, his loss.

The intrepid 3 set off from the Chibbanagh carpark with the intention of riding Ballacotch, the railway to Kenna then Archallagan and home via the back gate to Chibbanagh plantation. Not 1/4 of a mile in to the Ballacotch descent and I came a cropper , would have been great on camera but alas no cameraman!, the bike got crossed up on the middle of the track and slammed me down into the hedge, Seamus who was close on my tail couldn't avoid me and hit the back of my bike full on which sent him through the air in a rather Superman fashion, after a quick dust off the situ was assessed, Seamus a banged up knee and cut wrist, bike ok, my bike unfortunately suffered a banana backwheel. It was decided that Baz and Seamus would carry on, I would walk back to the van and borrow the wheel of Gary's bike and catch them up, but only 5 mins back up the track I found a suitable gate pillar and manged to semi-straighten it, I then rode back down Ballacotch and caught up with Baz and Seamus a bit along the railway line. The railway proved pretty uneventful except for the mud. At Kenna we started the climb up towards the Cornelly mines, this is far better than the Cornelly track which has been ruined by knobheads on scramblers!. The Kenna track is quite a lengthy climb, wet in some places, here we suffered the second problem of the day when Baz felt a little tug on the chain then it snapped, his snaplink didn't want to lock fortunately I had a couple of spares.

At the top of the track the area around Cornelly mines seemed very muddy, this we found out was due to the fact the all the old vehicles and Landys seem to have been removed and the area seems to be getting a makeover. The ride through the Archallagan plantation was pretty muddy in places as there was a club race held there this morning, from there we headed back towards Chibbanagh via Braaid and up to the back gate after the usual loop we came back round the fire road to the singletrack where Bazzar found a deep and smelly mudbath to get stuck in, back down through the trees on the singletrack Seamus performed a superman save this time, grabbing Bazzar's bike by the backwheel to stop him faceplanting a big log...

From the carpark Seamus headed straight home whilst Baz and I loaded the bikes in the van.

All in all a eventful day out.

Sinbad

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11/11/07

The weather was looking promising for a clear ride as we set out from Union Mills Industrial Estate; the group was 5 strong this afternoon, me, Sinbad, Seamus, Bazzar and Skippy. Seamus led us out up the road towards Trollaby Lane where we began our first steady climb. The track was reasonably dry and we made good time pushing on towards Eyreton Cottages which would signify the start of our 5 mile climb up to Cronk Breck, Lhargee Ruy, Slieau Ruy and finally to Greeba Mountain. By the time we reached the summit of Slieau Ruy the sun was already setting and the wind was blowing icy cold from the West.

I took point as we headed down and across the ridge line towards the top of Greeba Mountain; from here it was all downhill and Andy assumed his rightful place at the front of the group for what we now call 'Sinbad's Mystery Tour'. The descent would prove to be one filled with incident; first off Sinbad had a rather slow and comical dismount in the the deep heather and shortly after I hit a hidden rock which stopped the bike dead and I smashed my left knee straight in to the crown of my forks.

The drop down the side of Greeba Mountain through the trees had comments being made like 'Remember that film Dog Soldiers'? It wasn't long before the group got split up in the fast fading light made all the harder to see by the low tick branches of the trees. I tried to keep an eye on Sinbad as he slowly disappeared deep in to the trees until I could no longer see him. Time to re-group with the rest of them I thought and within a few minutes the others were back with me as we forged our way through virgin territory. After a few minutes I spotted Sinbad again, waiting by the fence where we came in the week before and which signaled the start of the fast descent through Kings Plantation.

The descent through Kings also saw Skippy come a cropper when he got all crossed up on some deep ruts which spat him off like a bucking bronco. No damage done it was back on the bike and down the fire road to the main gate.

From here it was back along the road and down on to the old railway line and back to Union Mills. All in all a good afternoons ride.

Gadge

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31/10/07

As it was Sinbad’s last day of total freedom, Gary decided to take a holiday and Seamus was already off.  Gary arrived about 10; Sinbad had just repaired a slow puncture.  A quick blast down the road, through the park and on to the railway line, meeting up with Seamus at Union Mills, where Seamus had a tech problem (which we thought was just grit in the pads)  Setting off from Union Mills we headed up the Trollaby lane to pick up the Cronk Breac climb just above Crosby.  As we turned on to the track at Ballayemmy the grinding on Seamus’s bike required attention… a quick strip down revealed one pad was down to the metal, we put it back together and told him to take it easy!

Now the fun started with the road climb up towards the Cronk Breac bridleway, half way up the hill Gary pulled over with a flat, Seamus and I carried on to the gate where we waited for Gary.  After a quick “Williams” style pit stop we were moving on up in to the mist after a uneventful climb on to Lhargee Ruy and a very misty climb on to Slieau Ruy the decision was taken to investigate the ***** plantation… what a blast through the heather and the down through the plantation… after a quick regroup at the bottom we made our way along the road to Cornelly, what a waste of time that was, the entire track has been trashed by enduros and quads the whole bottom section is totally de grassed down to the slate bed and the top section is just a huge quagmire so not much use to mtb’s at all.

After the climb from Cornelly we then followed the road a quick right and left and down through Ballmona and a nip through Kion Slieu then at stop for lunch at Ard Jekyll.  After a decent lunch and coffee we headed down past the Eairy Res and round by Betteridge motors to climb back up the old shaft lane, then across into Archallagan plantation, we were now on the home stretch through the plantation and on to the St Ruinius, were Seamus picked up a slow puncture after a stop to reinflate we decided to shoot past Ellerslie farm and pick up the railway line back to Union Mills.  Gary and I left Seamus at Union Mills and headed back up through the park, we then decided to call in on Barry who was stuck in work (basically just to take the piss) then came the last road climb of the day up Johnny Wattersons lane and finally home.  A total distance of approx 25miles a good day out all in all.

Sinbad