Trail Etiquette part 2

The lovely man at 1:24 has possibly read Trail Etiquette. The fast boys should have a bell....

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Flak Jacket Filter

Ah, what a day! So far the month of November has been a blast (no pun Guy Fawkes) and today was a cracker - oh dear.... A chance to enjoy a leisurely pedal through the local woods with Dr Dawson and a cheeky coffee at Charlie's sounded like a good plan.

I very rarely carry anything more than an iPhone4 to take pics when out on the bike, so a considerable number of pics on this blog are from that little piece of magic.  A photographer pal showed me a great trick a few years back, put your shades in front of the lens and snap away. This tends to have drawbacks if you use anything larger than a point and shoot. If you have tiny lenses on your eye protection of choice, scale up my friend. The other problem is mud, and there was plenty of it today. Thankfully all the pics where taken before the real gloop test commenced. 

minus flak jacket

Today, the trails had an air of mystery and when you share them with horses, things can become a tad spooky. A huge beast with steam coming out of it's nostrils silhouetted against the sun and Scotch Mist can make a grown man shiver. There was also a ghost rider in them, there woods.

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Camouflage

Stan Ridgway's Camouflage was on the radio the other night. I can't remember the last time that occurrence took place, maybe something to do with Haloween?

Cyclesguff enjoyed its own camouflage at the weekend, the autumn colours are spectacular.  Rare glimpses of sun light breaking through the trees mixed with the early morning mist and having a bike that fits in is such a treat. So much time of late has been spent off the bike. The sheer pleasure and relief of actually being out on rolling tarmac was bliss. In fact, sheer bliss.  It never fails to amaze me what a simple bike ride can do for state of mind, fitness and appreciation of what is around us.

One of Lemond's best circa 96 Alpe D'Huez

The ride was too short, just over one hour and twenty minutes. During that time, my mind raced through the list of things that must be done in prep for the winter, organised weekends (even weeks) away on the bike, considered the big three for 2012 - La Marmotte, a possible return to Paris - Roubaix and the long overdue North to South run of the West Highland Way. A number of other local/UK events will be in the schedule. These events will not require the same amount of planning and preparation as those above. One thing that they will have in common, is acting as a pulse to the level of fitness. There is also a hankering to ride a few cyclocross events before the seasons up, so my lack of fitness is a big concern at the moment.

This blog also featured heavily in the ride; a few ideas are brewing and guffbike has yet to ride with the aid of gravity. guffbike could go on the hill now but the brakes are yet to be fixed. The result of that first descent would be very scary.

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thewashinglinepost

cyclesguff riders have some tasty tops spanning years of cycling. A few tops are possibly a bit on the snug side, but that means you can only fit treats in one of the back pockets.

This post could well be the first in a series. As a starter for six, if anyone knows the team that rides in the colours of the jersey on the left, drop me a line and the first correct answer will recieve a wee treat from cyclesguff.

The mystery jersey has a lovely turtle logo on the right shoulder. My memory of that team's pace was anything but slow.

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so far we have one correct answer, well done Chris. Chris has an earlier version of the jersey in his collection, so has kindly turned down the mystery prize

Hong Kong Phono

The screen saver settings on the computer include a random selection of pics from iphoto. This kicks in when the computer hasn't been in use for a minute or two. I've found a simple pleasure in waiting to see what comes on the screen and it's always a good way to calm the kids. 'OK, what do you think it will be next?' This usually starts with themes, objects etc and then resorts to the bizarre processing that kids are so good at. To have a momentary lapse into that abstract world is a great release after a hectic day. It is quite possible that 'bike' would be shouted out, there are quite a few images of two-wheeled dreams on the hard drive . Would they have thought of a bike like this?

The pic was taken in Hong Kong a few years back. I didn't see the rider, although, in my head I have an image of what he looked like. Whoever owns that bike is looking for some attention and it's about time that cyclesguff paid tribute to yet another bike that stops you in your tracks.

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Marco Simoncelli

cyclesguff only found out about the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli today. He was a fantastic competitor and always exciting to watch. RIP

steel's real

Millar, Peiper, Ludvig, Ekimov, Vanderaerden, Fondriest and the formidable Director Sportif - Peter Post aka de Lange all played a major part in Team Panasonic. The exploits of that team and era that they competed in is legendary. 

We may all suffer from rose tinted Oakley Factory Pilots as time rolls on, some even go to the lengths of adding to the memory. My memory of Anderson and co was them riding Campag, but I wouldn't say no to a test ride Alan Tensey's brace of Merckx lovelies.

Even though cyclesguff attempt to keep this blog from being 'click on this link' type of place. It is quite possible that you can't locate a vhs player and your old tapes (not on a PDM tape though) and enjoy some class moments. Thankfully, youtube has come to the rescue for those of us that have added to landfill.

If you look closey, a youthful Phil Anderson is learning from the badger. If you don't have the time this pic will do.

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