russie russ

If anyone thinks the Isle of Wight is flat...think again !!! First time I came here and toured the island, it was by car, just stopping when beauty spots came along. This time it was for the 'Mountain Biking Festival Weekend'. Once base was established at the Ninham Campsite on the South East side of the island, it was bed early that night for what was in-store the next day. We woke to brilliant sunshine, which charged us with energy. I shant bore you with all the many riding tasks that are available (there are many), but Marcia and myself decided on a 40km ride. Within 5 minutes of leaving the start line, yes you guessed it, we were lost lol. This is despite fleurescent orange markers. To our defence some had mysteriously gone missing !!! ... read more

Went to Aberystwyth for a long weekend with Paola and Lisa. Getting there isn't the easiest of journeys, roads in wales tend to be a little on the slow and twisty side. Friday was our first full day, and we were blessed with a cloudless sky and brilliant sunshine, temperatures reaching around 75 degrees which is good for September :) We all decided to head for the beach and take advantage of the sun. So armed with factor 12 sun-cream we all headed off. Since it was Friday and most people were at work, we actually had a complete bay to ourselves....heaven :)) We also braved the water for a swim and to our surprise it wasn't too cold, so we had about an hour on the water. We had some visitors, well actually several thousand ... read more

Tuesday evenings are assigned for mountain biking. The Chester Outdoors Club have organised rides most weeks and this Tuesday was the challenge of Vomit Hill i.e it's so steep you feel like being sick once you reach the top. This was my very first ride a few years ago and I have to admit, it just about killed me, these days it's a little more manageable. It was made extra special as it was John's birthday, the magical 50, and by looking at him you wouldn't think so, living an outdoor life has been good to him, he can easily outpace alot of youngsters (not his own though...Joel) Thanks to alot of dry weather the track was nice and dry, so no muddy bikes. The ascents were quite gruelling at times, but the downhills were ... read more

Had a great time, stayed at a camp site just outside Edinburgh called Peebles. Who said it always rains in Scotland !!! First day was a bit dodgy, but after that we enjoyed superb weather. Biking at the Seven Staines, I recommend to anyone, well worth a trip. As we all know very well with mountain-biking, you have to endure some pain to get the pleasure. Yes there are some tough hill climbs but the twisty decents are just fab, and if anyone likes 'taking air' then this place is for you. There are several rides and one of them has a sea-saw, it take some guts to do it as the plank is only about a foot wide (30mm). After several runs that I chickened out on, and bailed off to one-side, I eventually ... read more

Travelled by car from Chester, as usual Tanya doing the navigating, not that she had to do much on the M6, but she made up for it when we reached the outskirts of London. Our destination was the Crystal Palace campsite, a very pleasant site not what we were expecting in the centre of London, with the all important 'nice toilets' and showers. Arrived in the dead of night, flashing headlights over everyones tent in the search for our own spot. Eventually settled, had a good nights sleep, woke to brilliant sunshine, had our favourite porridge with raisins/banana and golden syrup then waddled off to the site office to discover how we were going to get around London without getting lost, as this really upsets Tanya, pretty much to the point of tears. Discovered a ... read more