...And Then This Happened

The final words in my previous post were "I'll try not to leave it so long next time!" - OK, so 5 years was way longer than I expected. Unfortunately, as often happens, life got in the way, and boy, have we got a lot of ground to cover!

Let's get through the important points:

• Separated and divorced in 2015
• Broke my other foot in 3 places - Also on the DH rig in Hamsterley
• Married my soul mate in 2019
• We now have 5 kids between us
• Had a hiatus from mountain biking

At the Hamsterley Forest Bell Ride Free 2017 event, I was dropping in for my 2nd run of the day, still on the easier warmup DH tracks. Cranking the speed and commitment up, I pushed into the first corner and railed the muddy berm beautifully. I knew there was a tree stump on the exit and spotted it, but I was much faster than normal coming out of the corner and my foot attempted to scoop up the deeply buried stump. My foot and pedal halted instantly whilst the inertia carried the rest of me and my bike hurtling forwards with no chance of recovery.

The worst thing you can feel when you finally stand up is that woozy, numb feeling. Yes, there's no pain, per see...but you know. You know that something's happened that's too painful for your conscious mind to deal with in that instance. I dropped back to the floor and repeated the cycle (pardon the pun) several times before deciding the only way to get to the top of the hill without walking was to ride down and get the uplift.

So, I finished the run on what I now know to have been a broken metatarsal, a broken toe (big 'un again) and a chip off the metatarsal.

It was time to reflect on my life decisions and in August 2018, I sold my beloved Devinci Wilson and took some time off from cycling. My riding buddies had moved away from mountain biking anyway so it felt like a good time to focus on other priorities for a while.

In late 2020, another friend rekindled my love for cycling and started heading out to the trails on a 20 year old Giant hardtail. This, from a time when handlebar mounted gear levers were cutting edge! He quickly outgrew the hardtail and we came to a deal for him to buy my Santa Cruz Nomad. I had wanted to move to 29" wheels for some time to match my hefty 6'2" frame, and after lots of research and drooling, I've ended up with this!

It's a 2021 Orbea Rallon M Team 29er. It's got 160mm travel at the rear and 170mm at the front, delivered by the outstanding 2021 Fox 38 Factory. It is truly a thing of beauty!

Of course, I didn't just leave it there...As soon as it arrived at the Start Fitness in Newcastle, they fitted it with Hope F20 pedals, Hope e4 brakes and some matchmakers for the controls. All in orange of course. Finally, I swapped out the grips for my preferred ODI Lock-On Rogues to suit my large hands.

I upgraded the F20 axles with Superstar Titanium F20 axles which save 23g per side, but just sound cool! They're very easy to swap and didn't cost too much either.

Lockdown has prevents going too far, so I've not put it though it's paces yet, but rest assured, I'll not leave it so long next time...

Coming back down to Earth...fast!

So, it's been a LONG time since my last post!!! I guess there is a lot to update you on and an introduction to make. So the big news is I settled on a DH bike, and it's now my go-to bike as a weekend warrior.

Please welcome my Devinci Wilson to the party!

Bought in December 2014, it didn't take long to have it in bits. I rode it stock once, and the arm pump was unbearable. I changed the stem, bars and grips for a Thomson Direct Mount, ENVE DH 800mm and ODI Rouge respectively. The familiar feel and forgiving grip was immediately evident.

Next was the fork - it came with a low end Boxxer RC fork, which I upgraded with a Charger damper. Whilst I don't have much of a reference, I can say that it suits me down to the ground.

Of course, Hope take centre stage on all my bikes, providing ample brake power and modulation in the form of Tech 3 EVO levers and V4 callipers.

And it stayed like that for 9 months...

At the beginning of the year, I was riding loads - maybe twice a week and doing a bootcamp 3x a week for fitness. And then it happened :( A normal ride at Descend Hamsterley; this time on the 4X track. I was trying to clear the big tabletops and (let's face it) show off to my mates. I had a dodgy landing and my toes curled under the pedal. Whilst I didn't fall off, I knew something was wrong. To cut a long story short, I had crushed my large, right toe. Not broken, but the bone was quite literally turned to dust. I assumed it would be the normal 6 weeks before I was back, but the reality was much worse.

5 months after the accident

I keep telling myself it's just a toe, but it has impacted my life so much more than I expected. I now have Arthritis and have lost ALL movement in the toe. It's effectively seized in one position and any pressure on it causes a pain threshold that ranges between acute agony to a wearying throb. I can't run for any distance and whilst cycling is now possible, it will hurt several times during a run. Surgically speaking, there are things they can do - you can get 20-25% of movement back, but I'd wear through the joint within 5 years. The normal solution is to pin it with titanium pins which would take around 4-6 months to heal. The final option is some experimental surgery - that's what I've opted for. It'll mean reshaping the bone and inserting a new "off the shelf" cartilage. Just waiting for BUPA to sign it off.

I started riding again in April, about three months after the accident. I was preparing for an Enduro race at Whinlatter trail centre. I decided to take part in the race, which was eventful to say the least! On Stage 3, my riding buddy, Colin, took a fall. I found him laying there on the trail, and now know he was sporting a broken spine. It happened on a flat bit of trail, with no obstacles to trip him up. It has been a sombre reminder of how this sport can reward, and also punish you without warning.

Due to that incident, Colin missed our Annual Wales Pilgrimage. We did a day in Bike Park Wales and two days at Antur. The bike has been awesome and I absolutely love it!

I've now performed two more upgrades - the shock has been changed for a brand new Fox Float X2 267x90mm - Wow!!! It's fantastic! Supple but with a nice ramp up for the bigger drops. The other upgrade was the replacement of the crap SRAM Hussefelt cranks with shiny carbon SRAM X01DH cranks. All in all, it's dropped the weight of the sled over 1kg to a respectable 16.8kg.

The last upgrade, which will happen at some point, is a change of wheelset. I'm torn between carbon/alu but my current thinking is some E13 LG1+ wheels.

It's the Bell Ride Free event at Hamsterley on Sunday, which I'm looking forward to. I had a cheeky ride last night as I hadn't ridden Hamsterley since the accident - and they've massively changed the main DH-1 track :( I used to be able to ride the entire thing, but they've move a number of the kickers back 6ft, so you need to be REALLY committed to clear them all now.

So there we are - you're all up to date. I'll try not to leave it so long next time!

Highway to the Downhill Zone

I couldn't have guessed. There's no way that I, or my riding buddies could have foreseen it. We'd only ever dreamed, but not once had we assumed it would become reality...

Things started slowly. An enduro race here, a trip down a "one spot DH track" there. Then we started pushing up hills, chatting about the runs we'd just done, favouring that over the slog of the uphill struggle.

Last summer, we booked the first of what has and will always be our annual Wales Pilgrimage, including Bike Park Wales on the opening weekend. Another day was spent at Antur Stiniog and the trip represented our first true uplift days. After the first run at Antur, we gathered at the bottom of the run, wide eyed and nursing a combination of emotions, ranging from fear to elation. We often talk about the effect when your speed reaches the point where your vision narrows to a single spot 30m down the trail. In reality, I've only ever experienced it in one location; Antur.

We were hooked on DH and once home, we started to build our experience at our local DH venue, Descend Hamsterley. I'd be lying if I said it had been smooth sailing. Some of the guys have suffered more than others, but we've been tackling the same features at roughly the same time, goaded on by the progression of our peers. At the time of writing, there are two features left for me to complete - horrible drops that I can't quite see myself landing - but I will, and I'll survive them. Fear is not something I've felt on the mountain bike for a while, but with DH, it's always there. The fear of hurting myself and the fear of being left behind.

Still, the fact that I'm on DH trails shows a huge boost in confidence and I attribute so much of that confidence to the Nomad. The Nomad, and my understanding of how to change suspension settings for different tracks / conditions.

So what happens now? Invest in a DH rig? Sell the Nomad?

I won't be getting rid of the Nomad in a hurry. I have a kind of loyalty to the bike that brought on my riding so much and it seems counter productive to get rid of it just because I'm starting a new discipline. After all, there will always be trail centres, and time trail / enduro races and kids rides. It's still such a capable bike, that for anything other than Redbull Rampage, it's going to cope...but still...still the security of being on a full DH rig must be the same in confidence again, right? I say "must" because I've not ridden one in anger, and that ladies and gentlemen, is the problem.

I want a DH bike. A good one. 27.5" carbon goodness with BOS forks maybe? It must look amazing too. Maybe I should just get a cheap one whilst I'm learning the turns? Nah, I always get the best I can manage. You see, I believe a bike should never be the excuse for a crap performance - only the rider. Anyone who really knows me, knows I'm obsessive by nature and this new discipline will consume my every thought and spare moment, until the next thing comes along. I will get a new bike within the next year or so, I'm convinced it will progress my DH riding further and I will approach this new chapter of mountain biking with the same emotions as Antur; fear and elation.

Happy riding!

Introducing Nomad...Finally!

There's not much more I can add - this is a fantastic bike to ride, and I'm having a blast on it. I'm riding quicker and more confidently every time I go out and hit bigger drops at every opportunity. All in all, well worth it!

Mowa, Mowa on the floor

Its another small part update today. I felt it was criminal to build this amazing bike and then simply zip tie the cables on. Mowa a create some really nice aluminium cable guides that are anodised in any number of colours. Whilst I agonised over the gold or black decision for a few seconds, I surmised that the last thing you want to do is bring too much attention to the cables so black it was.

As usual with Chain Reaction Cycles, the order arrived the next day with two boxes of clips. Obviously is straight out to the bike to fit them but was sorely disappointed to find they were loose and didn't clamp the cables tightly. The solution took a few moments to surface but turned out to be super simple. I raided the children's playroom for black play foam and found a couple of pieces that had fallen under their toy boxes. Then I grabbed some double sided tape from the "man drawer" where all useless items reside. By cutting off small rectangles and putting tape on them, I was able to stick them to the frame with the cables on top. The cable guides now grab the cables tightly.

Time will tell how reliable this fix is, but for now they look mint! I'll post photos when I'm home next!

It's the small things...

So, the breaking news is the bike was finished about a month ago and rides brilliantly...but more to come later!

What I wanted to talk about is something I'm very proud of, but no one would ever notice unless prompted! The KS Lev dropper seat post has been fantastic after an initial hiccup where I snapped the internal actuating cable - oops. The Lev comes with a nice outer cable which I assume is about 4mm in diameter. Now, being a perfectionist, I couldn't very well have different colour outers for gears, brakes and seat post, so the whole bike uses Jagwire Carbon Silver outers which (annoyingly) are 4.5mm in diameter. Admittedly, 0.5mm difference doesn't sound like a lot, but the outer has a special plastic cable end on it which, in addition to it's normal job, also holds the KS Lev aluminium cap in, so you don't lose it whilst chattering down the trail. The problem, which should be evident by now, is that the Jagwire outer doesn't fit in the cable end.

My first solution was to simple drill out cable end, which would have worked nicely had I not been hamfisted and drilled right through it - so I decided to make a new one...out of metal! Below is the process:

The Jagwire Carbon Silver kits come with a number of aluminium cable ends which complement the outers perfectly. I took one of those and flattened off a thin strip along its length so I had a good gluing surface.

Next, I took some old SPD cleats and used the countersunk bolt plate (the small one on the outside, not the metal plate under your foot) and used a Dremel style rotary tool to grind and sand a suitable lug.

Araldite Precision was the glue of choice (actually, the only suitable glue I had) and after a fiddle few minutes positioning the pieces, I left it to dry over night.

I checked it out this morning and gave the whole thing a once over with a sander to remove any glue, and it was done...

Trying the new cable end out in the Lev confirms a perfect fit and I'd be surprised if anyone could spot the difference, but I know...

Good things come to those who wait!

I'm still waiting for the frame to arrive at the not-so-local bike shop and the suspense is killing me! I must have built this bike a hundred times over every time I close my eyes so waiting for shipments from the U.S. is inconvenient at best!

All other parts arrived at the bike shop a couple of weeks ago, but it's about a 2-3hr round trip so it's not worth making unneccesarily and the frame is due the first week in February. To support the build, I have had to invest in certain tools. I thought it might be interesting to publish what is required:

• Lezyne Cassette & Bottom Bracket Tool
• Huge 38mm adjustable wrench
• 1/4" Torque wrench
• Magnetic hex bit to 1/4" socket adapter
• Teflon Grease
• Copper Grease
• Chain whip
• Shimano Hollowtech II Pretension Tool
• Spoke Tool
• IceToolz Headset Press
• Park Tool Crown Race Setting Tool (1.5")
• Birzmann Tube Cutter
• Superstar 3rd Hand Tool
• Superstar P-handled Allen Key Set

As you can see, there are alot of tools that I've had to add to my arsenal to actually be able to build this bike. I've been using these new tools to strip and deep clean my Cube Hardtail.

February can't come soon enough!