I ride my bike because I love riding my bike and training seems to be the wrong reason to ride, so I don’t stick at it all that long, unless I trick myself into ‘training’.

Now I can’t trick myself into long training rides . . . → Read More: Cross ‘training’]]> I’m the first to admit that me and ‘training’ don’t get on too great.

I ride my bike because I love riding my bike and training seems to be the wrong reason to ride, so I don’t stick at it all that long, unless I trick myself into ‘training’.

Now I can’t trick myself into long training rides or sessions down the gym, but I can trick myself into some other ‘training’.

My kind of training is a few hours on the 24″ trials bike, a session down the BMX track, or a cheeky off road spin to work.

You see this kind of ‘training’ isn’t training at all, it’s just damn good fun, but it also makes me faster on my MTB.

So can it be training if it improves my riding? Sure it can, but I prefer to see it as good times out on my bike, and that way there’s no drive to ride other than the drive to ride.

Today is real youth development work

Today we are in the woods, cooking lunch under canvas and using nature as . . . → Read More: Working in the woods]]> Today is a good day

Today is real youth development work

Today we are in the woods, cooking lunch under canvas and using nature as our classroom

This winter I’ve been exploring the local trails around the west midlands and found some real gems.

There’s an Olympic standard BMX track at perry Barr (that I’ll be coaching at as of Monday, speak to @birminghamBMX for info).

There’s a stunning outdoor skatepark right next door . . . → Read More: Back yard adventures]]> It’s amazing what you discover on your doorstep when you go looking.

This winter I’ve been exploring the local trails around the west midlands and found some real gems.

There’s an Olympic standard BMX track at perry Barr (that I’ll be coaching at as of Monday, speak to @birminghamBMX for info).

There’s a stunning outdoor skatepark right next door to the excellent Redditch BMX track.

There’s the ever improving but always great indoor skatepark at Creation in mossley.

There’s miles and miles of cycle paths, towpaths and sweet single track literally covering the entire west midlands (guiding available from @thecarbonmonkey to groups and individuals)

There’s gentle winding rivers teeming with wildlife (4 kingfishers, a buzzard, a kestrel, a cormorant and hundreds of other water birds big and small spotted on our last trip on the river)

And there’s all those lovely trails that are great by day but even more fun after dark ( guiding and light hire and sales available from @thecarbonmonkey)

But most of all there’s lots and lots of fun to be had, no need to drive to your fun time, just get out an OS map and start hunting out your own backyard adventures

This winter is going to be spent spinning round endless trails in our backyard, what a treat!

What’s in . . . → Read More: an evening of off road around birmingham – easily doable]]> @James_Gillies and I have spent the last few evening rides linking together all the cheeky trails, singletrack, towpaths and parks we know north of the city and we now have a huge network of great off road loops.

This winter is going to be spent spinning round endless trails in our backyard, what a treat!

What’s in your backyard?

We’re so convinced that the good riding is all in trail centres or on someone elses patch that we often forget to look on our doorsteps.

Well grab an OS map, put . . . → Read More: make the most of local trails]]> Most of us are guilty of it, flicking through magazines and websites, packing up the car (or van) and driving to get to some ‘awesome’ trails.

We’re so convinced that the good riding is all in trail centres or on someone elses patch that we often forget to look on our doorsteps.

Well grab an OS map, put on an extra layer and go for an explore around your local parks, woods and wastelands because you might just find some sweet trails – we did!

At first glimpse you never expect any decent trail riding around Walsall and Birmingham, but with a bit of exploring we’ve found miles and miles of tarmac free trails.

And there’s nothing sweeter than riding trails straight outside your front door!

I wondered ‘what treasure is he looking for’ as he wandered past peering into the grasses and sticks that make up the tide line.

As he carried on down the beach . . . → Read More: the beach cleaner]]> Whilst sat in the van having breakfast with a view this morning a man walked past following the tide line with a bag in one hand.

I wondered ‘what treasure is he looking for’ as he wandered past peering into the grasses and sticks that make up the tide line.

As he carried on down the beach I watched him stop and pick things up from time to time.

This man doesn’t stop to collect treasure, he collects the small bits of rubbish that are mixed in with natural debris.

It got me thinking, my first assumption was that he was looking for something special. Now I realise he’s found something special and what he’s looking for is the rubbish that doesn’t belong there.

There are thousands of beaches on this small island, and hundreds of thousands more around the world.

Most of us think we can’t make a difference because there’s just too much rubbish out there, but this man makes a difference every morning.

Nature provides the real treasure, we just need to keep it tidy.

If you’re a fan of night riding our time has now come, the lights are on charge and new 2012 models on order. If you’re after lights to buy or hire . . . → Read More: beautiful sunrise]]> This is yesterday’s sunrise, the last one of british summer. As if on queue this mornings sunrise was hidden behind a blanket of grey.

If you’re a fan of night riding our time has now come, the lights are on charge and new 2012 models on order. If you’re after lights to buy or hire get in touch and we’ll sort you out just as soon as we get home from exploring our local singletrack under a blanket of darkness

What a great day for a . . . → Read More: 2 minutes from home]]> On the last day of summer I got up early and headed out on the bike for sunrise. I got a real treat this morning with a spectacular sunrise and I stumbled across a load of cheeky singletrack just minutes from my front door.

What a great day for a bike ride

We started off . . . → Read More: Learning to fly]]> On Saturday I met back up with John and Steve who’d come on a to day skills course with me last autumn for a ‘learn to fly course’. This time John brought his brother along with him and the four of us set off for a great day of riding in awesome weather.

We started off with a warm up and easy start on some small jumps and drops before heading off on the trail to find some ‘real’ jumps and drops and uncover where the guys areas of development needs where.

After a great ride with a few stops for coaching we stopped for lunch and then headed back out for some more intense skills coaching and getting some real air.

Although learning to fly isn’t easy, and many of the essential fundamentals don’t feel like much progression, when it all comes together you can hit big jumps and air with confidence, as proved by Steve ripping up a big set of four jumps on his big full sus orange, in buttery smooth quietness at the end of the day.

Here’s the video of Steve’s progression:

Steve Alcock – Learning to Fly

Do you suffer from burnout?

It’s time to re-charge the batteries and give burn out the boot, dust off the bike and get out for . . . → Read More: avoid burnout – get out and ride]]> A fairly concise piece that might hit home quite hard and unexpectedly.

Do you suffer from burnout?

It’s time to re-charge the batteries and give burn out the boot, dust off the bike and get out for a ride
http://m.bnet.com/blog/small-biz-advice/7-signs-youre-burned-out-8212-and-what-to-do-about-it/4681?tag=sec-river2

Amongst our finds are some really inspirational parts and innovations, including these new helmets that will launch next year, and yes, that is cardboard!

I think I’ll be getting my hands on one of these next year and will . . . → Read More: interesting kit at the cycle show]]> We’ve spent the day at the cycle show wandering round, getting tired feet and eyeing up some lovely kit.

Amongst our finds are some really inspirational parts and innovations, including these new helmets that will launch next year, and yes, that is cardboard!

I think I’ll be getting my hands on one of these next year and will report back after a thorough testing

Nature and wilderness are great levellers and have inspired me to take carbon-monkey forward to new heights.

The time . . . → Read More: vital spark]]> The little red and black boat moored up in Inveraray is called ‘vital spark’, which is what I feel like I’ve found this week whilst here.

Nature and wilderness are great levellers and have inspired me to take carbon-monkey forward to new heights.

The time is now

So many options and so much to think about…

First decision is that I need more time on the bike

One step at a . . . → Read More: from here the future looks bright]]> Ok so it might be overcast and a bit bleak looking but after four days in the wilderness on a youth leader development programme the future’s looking bright to me.

So many options and so much to think about…

First decision is that I need more time on the bike

One step at a time now…