I rode up to Rammy this morning to watch the hillclimb. On the way, I rode through a massive puddle of cow shit and spent the rest of the morning stinking like a farmyard. 😦

The Rake is a brutal hill and some of these lads were cleaning it in about 2 and a half minutes. I’ve no idea how long it takes me on a mountain bike but it’s nowhere near that. There’s a direct correlation between the strength of the facial gurn and the speed of one’s bicycle. The faster ones were pulling the daftest faces. Here are the top three extreme gurners:

Bradley Wiggins didn’t show up.

I collected the trailer this morning from Sideways Cycles. I’d never been over to Sideways before. It’s got to be the smallest bike shop ever, it might even be the smallest in the world. I also noticed that all the bikes appeared to be muddy, like they were in someone’s shed. The bikes in my cellar, in contrast, look like they’re in a shop. Anyroad up, we got back home with the trailer, put it together and hitched it onto the Surly. I went for a quick ride on my own first and flew down a few bumpy/rocky/rooty bits to check that all is well – to be honest it’s quite easy to forget it’s there apart from the odd “tug” from behind on flat trails. It’s really stable even though it’s light and so well made too. Not bad for a second hand bit of kit. Tim and his family have obviously looked after it.

Rachael was soon strapped in and off we went (Michael’s on his bike at the side, shouting “yay’s” and “woohooo’s” the whole time). Even though her helmet kept slipping down over her eyes, she loved it. RESULT.  I was a bit worried that she’d hate it or be really scared. We rode some good stuff too and I wasn’t hanging about 😉

 We’ll go over to Llandegla soon and go round the red. Trailers are ACE. 

Had a “three hour ride” that to Deb’s dismay took 4 hours this morning. I knew it was a big one, seems I was right. The weather at the moment is fantastic. No wind, loads of sun. What’s going on? Its the end of the world, I’m tellin yer.

The last part came down Rooley Moor road, which I normally climb. WOOP! I’m doing that again, in the dark preferably. Miles of bonkers fast gravelly riding. Shame it ended in the scabby Rochdale council estate.

Saw Dave and his mate coming down Gin Croft Lane. Hi Dave!

Had a chat with Shaun at Cooksons yesterday. He’s building a wheel for me this week so I was congratulating him on his second place at Sleepless in the solo cat. One 10 minute chat and I’m already thinking about a solo or two next year….

Michael and I thought that this lorry, parked at the back of our house earlier, was hilarious. Immaturity rules.

I went for a ride earlier and got some photos for the Hit the North race graphics (ads, posters, t shirts). Warren’s got some pretty “out there” ideas for the designs so we’ll see what pops out. The viaduct in the picture above is one of the major landmarks on the course, so I guess it makes sense that it features in the logo somewhere. Warren’s probably going to transplant it onto a martian landscape with teddybears cycling across it though.

I’ve got enough spare bits and pieces in the cellar to build a WHOLE BIKE. So that’s what I’m going to do. Build a winter mud-plugger. I’ve only got the parts available to run it singlespeed with a 36:16 ratio so it’s either going to make me superhuman or kill me. Anyway, watch this space (but don’t get too excited).

Watch this space for more news on the race too – it’s all gathering pace now. Soon, the world will know of this race. 😉