Trips Away

Holidays, I mean work trips, for the magazine are awesome. Packing isn't. This is how things were looking before my visit to the Cube headquarters in Germany. When going away the three most important things to pack are your camera charger, laptop charger and phone charger. Forget one and things get a bit tricky. Forget two and you're screwed...

And if you forget all three and your house key so you can't get in when you get home then you may as well just give up. Lesson learnt I suppose. Also if you're going to be testing bikes take your own pedals. No matter how good your shoes are you won't get any grip on plastic pedals.

Note Book

I know we're living in a world of netbooks, dictaphones and apps but having a simple notepad is seriously useful. Scribbling down a few words at the end of the day really helps when you come to doing a write up on what you've just been riding.

It doesn't matter if you're in the passenger seat of a van on the motorway or sat on a balcony overlooked by mountains. Notepads are awesome.

Winterberg Bikepark

Me and Pete got back from a five day trip to WinterBerg Bikepark yesterday afternoon. I'm about to start the write up for IMB so look out for it in the next issue. If you can't wait till August here's a quick round up:

It's amazing. So many fun tracks and all in the same place. Plus it's in Germany which is always good. Go now. And stay here.

IMB Issue 6 Out Now

Issue 6 of IMBikemag is out now so check it out here for free! This was such a nuts issue to work on. Myself and Rou went on a road trip to the Bristol BIke Fest to meet the Torq XC team then headed North to the Fort Bill World Cup. As the world cup circus packed up on the Sunday we headed even further North to ride at Laggan Wolftrax.

On the way home we stopped off for a few rides of the Fort Bill Red Run track, joining onto the Black run at the bottom. We got two runs in with the gondola then PUSHED to the top for another go! It took just over two hours to get from the bottom to the top and back. So worth it.

As well as all that I got to interview Max Commencal for our feature on Commencal Bikes, and British downhill riders Jack Reading and Thomas Braithwaite. So, click here to view the whole issue or follow the links below to see my articles:

"To the Max"

"Laggan Wolftrax"

"Torq Fitness" (warning: contains lycra)

"Jack vs Tom"

Resolutions - 6 Months In

Ok, so at the start of the year I set myself some challenges to try and improve my riding. Six months later here's a recap of how I've been getting on with them.

Learn to tabletop properly. Well, I'm about halfway there. I turn the bars the right way now which is a start. Now I've just got to work on getting the bike 'flatter'. I'll keep working on it.

Get faster. Yep. Don't want to sound bigheaded but I've managed this one. Taken a few crashes and had a few hairy moments but I've got my speed up.

Get fitter. It wouldn't have taken much to be fitter than I was on New Years Day. Gym sessions at uni, a few road rides at home and a few trips to the swimming pool have helped loads with my stamina.

Better bike maintenance. Well, my Kona is running better now than it has been for ages. In contrast my GT Moto is pretty ruined. As soon as I've got some money I'll start replacing the broken bits...

Find somewhere new to visit. Holiday to Winterberg is in a few weeks now. Had a great time riding in the peaks with IMB and have got a few more trips planned. Pretty sweet.

So there you go. Six months left to improve my tabletops and fix my Moto!

IMB Issue 5 Out Now

Issue five of IMBikemag has just gone live. It was a really fun issue to be involved with. I got to put my time in Morzine last year to use, spend a weekend riding in the Peak District and interview the owner of Solid Bikes. Check out the latest issue here, or follow the links below to my work:

"Peak District Punishment"

"Morzine Madness"

"Solid Bikes"

Foxy

A big thanks goes to Fox for sending over some kit for the trail guide at Laggan Wolftrax. I got soaked and covered in mud but it's somehow come out the washing machine looking clean and fresh.

Also check out the 'V3R' carbon helmet and 'The Main' goggles below. Look out for the reviews in a future issue of IMB.

IMB Issue 4 Out Now

Here's why I haven't updated the blog for ages. IMBikemag issue 4 is out now. Check it out and enjoy. Click here to view the whole issue or follow the links below to see my work:

"End of an era"

"Oli Beckingsale"

"Pedals"

"Go your own way"

Snow Joke

For the first time I can remember it properly snowed in the UK. I couldn't even get out the village let alone get anywhere to ride so just sat around doing nothing for two weeks.

Eventually it cleared up and I was able to get to Woburn and Aston Hill to do a bit of 'work' for IMBike mag. Check out issue four when it comes out for the article, pics and a vid. Big thanks to James for coming along and helping out.

New Tyres, Bearings and Spring!

I'd been wanting some new tyres for months so with the massive sale on at Chain Reaction Cycles it would've been pretty dumb not to get some. Everyone raves about High Rollers and after trying some over the summer it was easy to see why.

For Christmas Pete got me some Pedros tyre levers and they make getting tyres on and off rims ridiculously easy. I'd seriously recommend them to anyone who's fed up off snapping flimsy plastic levers.

After buying the tyres I had enough Christmas money left to get the bearings in my rear wheel replaced. Broadribbs in Bicester had the old ones out and new ones in before lunchtime.

And finally the spring is the one that originally came on my bike. As one of my neighbors pointed out I've "filled out a bit" and the lighter spring I fitted a few years ago just doesn't feel right anymore so I've gone back to the 600lbs spring.

Chicksands is hardly the best place to test new kit but my bike rode so much better. I really wish I sorted everything out earlier.