Morzine day two: Arghm pump

Well, it wasn't too bad but it was definitely there. Woke up around 8ish but didn't make it onto the trails till half 11. It was nice and sunny when we woke up but Mark needed to build his bike up and had to sort his gears out. 

In fact we all had some mechanicals today. Matt woke up to find his front tyre had mysteriously punctured. Alex's cassette rattled loose on Pleney, which also claimed a spoke from Pete's rear wheel. 

Oh, and I smashed my rear mech and mech hanger landing a jump on Chavannes. I had to ride the rest of the track and all the way back to Morzine chain-less. It took ages. 

The main track on Pleney wasn't too bad although 10% was pretty dodgy. Last year it was fairly smooth but this year it's littered with giant braking bumps. A few of the guys from the Chalet had warned us that Chavannes was pretty ruined and they were right. I loved the top section but doubt I'll ride the whole track again.

There was a bit of rain when we were on Pleney but coasting it back to Morzine it pissed it down and I got soaked. A few hours later the others returned even wetter.

Gonna go sort my bike out. Mark's got a spare mech out here so will fit that for now and wait for CRC to deliver a new one. Works out cheaper to order one over than buy one out here. Then it's jacuzzi time! 

Weather for tomorrow is more showers but less water. Hopefully.

Morzine day one: Nous sommes arrivé

Well, we've arrived but Mark's bike hasn't. I'd been here a few hours when things went a bit 'Jim'll fix it' when Alex turned up completely out of the blue. Apparently everyone knew but me. 

I was a bit nervous about everything when the day started. I'd never flown to Geneva with British Airways and they do things a bit differently to Easy Jet.  

With Easy Jet you're allowed 32 kilos including you're bike and that's it. With BA you're allowed 46 kilos but your bike and bag can't weigh more than 23 kilos each. I had to take a fair bit off my bike to get it down to 23 kilos but it went on fine. 

The flight out was great. Turns out you get a free sandwich  and drink with BA. I'd never tried coronation chicken before. It's kind of like a mini curry in some bread, gonna have that again. 

Once the plane had landed mine and Pete's bikes arrived pretty much straight away but after an hour there was still no sign of Mark's. No-one from the airport or BA said anything. In the end another rider found out what was going on and spread the word. 

Out of the eight people in the minibus to Morzine only myself and Pete had our bikes. One guy didn't even have the bag he'd checked in. 

When we got to The Barn Dave who I'd stayed with before let us in and we dropped everything off before running to the shops before they closed. Was getting some lunch for the next day when some homeless guy started chatting to me about cheese. Turned out to be Factory Joe from Bournemouth Uni. 

He hung around with us whilst we built our bikes and grabbed a pizza before heading off to find somewhere to sleep before heading off to the mega-avalanche. 

Couple of hours later Alex arrived. I could not believe it. This holiday is gonna be sweet. It's just gone midnight out here and Mark's bike has just arrived. Gonna get some sleep in a bit then build it in the morning. 

A quick mention about the weather. The last two weeks out here have been pretty sunny but there were a load of puddles everywhere. Turns out it pissed it down earlier. Showers all day tomorrow so we'll see how that turns out. 

Packing list

Kind of like a shopping list, only more important, and without any baked beans

New space, new video

I've just cleared some space on my mac's hard drive so I can make videos again.  Here's me and Pete riding at Woburn Sands and learning some French.

E.Thirteen SS chain guide

The SS is a new model this year from chain guide giants E.thirteen. It's very similar in design to the old SRS although it comes with a new look supercharger bashplate matched with a steel backplate, making it a bargain price at only £89.99.

You might think this would make for a weighty chain device, but the backplate is made from a thin sheet with curved lips making it torsionally very stiff and keeps the weight at just over 450g.

It also has a very shiny chrome finish, with the guides and bashplate available in a black or white colourway. The SS is available in both ISCG (old) or ISCG '05, the latter coming with an adapter to allow bb mounting.

After some initial fitting confusion (I was trying to fit the chainring on the wrong way round) the setup was very simple and the device fits my frame so much better than the MRP I had been using previously because the small top guide fits under the swingarm allowing me to mount the bottom roller higher, which gives ample ground clearance.

In riding the guide works faultlessly. The chain is held on very securely and runs smoothly on the jockey wheel. It's been pedalled hard through rough rooty sections and has given me that all important ground clearance.

There is no sign of any rubbing from shoes on the bashplate, which I have experienced with other examples, usually with embossed logos, and my bike is now even lighter too. You couldn't ask for more from a chain device.

Reviewed by Mark Smedley

Woburn Sands

After a busy week pretending to be a gardener I had a lie-in then met up with Mark and Marcus. The trails weren't as dusty as they have been but they were still nice and dry. 

We rode all the usual trails, jumps and gaps before realising it was nearly six in the evening and we were all shattered. 

I had a little crash  coming into a corner but the great thing about Woburn Sands is that most of the time you can just dust yourself off and keep riding. Unless you're Alex. Then you have to spend six weeks with your arm in a sling while your collar bone heals up.

Whilst Mark was taking some photos I took the opportunity to jump on his bike and give it a ride. Mark's rear shock felt so different to mine, but I preferred the geometry of my bike. I've slowed down the rebound on my shock to make it similar to Mark's so I'll see how that goes. 

There's a new line into the trail gap. Can't say I love it but once the dirt's compressed a bit it could work. 

Pump it up in Morzine

There's now just a month till myself, Pete and Mark join hundreds of other British riders making the pilgrimage to the usually quiet French towns of Morzine and Les Gets to ride some of the best downhill tracks in the world.

This rider's haven has one major draw back. Arm pump. For most riders it only affects their hands, but for others it affects their whole forearm. At the top of a trail they may be fine, but by the end every bump, rock or root that they ride over leaves them in agony.

Long downhill trails are great and nothing beats the feeling you get when you reach the end of one. Your eyes are still shaking in their sockets, your legs are twitching from the adrenaline, and you can't help but smile. So why let arm pump ruin things?

Arm pump is caused by a reaction from a build up of lactic acids in the muscles in your forearms, wrists, hands and fingers. Heavy and frequent braking makes your muscles swell up which constricts and hinders blood flow making it even harder for your body to get rid of the acid.

Arm pump isn't just something that affects the weekend riders as Chain Reaction Cycles, Intense Bikes team manager Nigel Page recalls: "I got the worst arm pump at Champery in Switzerland. 

"The track was very steep and my brakes were not working very well so I had to be on the brakes more than I should have. I was also not racing much so my fitness and conditioning was not very good.

"The steeper and rougher the tracks with the most braking are the worst for arm pump. I find that the better your brakes work, the less arm pump you get. Plus the faster and more confident you are the less braking you have to do".

As anyone who has ever ridden in the Alps will tell you, the tracks out there are far steeper and rougher than your typical British track. The lack of beginner trails forces riders who are new to the sport onto tracks designed for much more experienced riders.

This means there's a huge volume of riders braking and skidding down entire runs which creates the worst feature a track can have; braking bumps. These are the last thing that anyone wants to ride, especially if your hands are already starting to seize up.

One of the best ways to beat arm pump is to get your bike set up for how you ride. Make it match your geometry. Different size bars and stems can make a huge difference, as can where you position your controls on the bar.

Wider bars give you more control but if you go too wide for your body size then it'll feel like you're doing a press up every time you go over a bump. A shorter stem will stop you from overstretching your arms. Alternatively a longer stem will give you a bit more space.


Don't be afraid to try new things. Experimenting with the position of your brake levers is one of the easiest ways to make a change. Having your lever's stop closer to the bars is meant to make the biggest change but this style isn't for everybody. Many people run their levers so that their hands follow the natural line of their arms.

The better your brakes work the easier you stop. It's that simple. But not all of us can afford the best brakes so just make sure they're working as well as they can. Clean the pads and discs with either disc break cleaner or some warm soapy water.


Mountain biking is a fitness sport so another way to beat arm pump is to get fitter, specifically improve hand strength. After all it's your hands that grip the bars and your fingers that pull the brake lever. The stronger your hands are the easier to hold on and the easier it is to pull on the brakes.

Handgrips are the easiest accessory to get hold of as they've been around for years. Even supermarkets sell them. Handgrips are easy to use and available in different strengths. Some of the best out there are made by the company Captains Of Crush. See www.londonkettlebells.com

Motogrips are much more than just brightly coloured doughnuts. They work in a similar motion to handgrips but are comfier to grip. The great thing is you can use them anywhere. Like handgrips they're available in different strengths. Check out www.motogriptrainer.com

Powerballs are the undisputed daddy of training tools. Powerballs exercise more than just your hands and wrists. They're great fun to use and the best part is that they're available with a rev counter so you can compete with your friends. If you've never tried one before then you're missing on. Visit www.nsdpowerballs.com

Unfortunately the final way to beat arm pump is also the hardest. As riders get more confident they brake less and loosen their grip on the bars. A looser grip and less braking mean that your muscles have less work to do and are less likely to pump up. 

Different people have different ways of boosting their confidence levels. Find yours and you'll be smiling.

So there you have it. Now get outside and don't let some little chemical reaction in your body ruin your ride, day or Summer.

Aston Hill - hotter than the sun

Today all of us except Pete braved the blistering heat to ride at Aston Hill. We rode the usual tracks and messed around on the 4x jumps before chatting to Rich and finding that Gee Atherton rode and enjoyed the red run. 

If the current downhill world champion enjoyed the track then we had no excuse for not riding it. The top section does involve a lot of pedaling so it's easy to see why some people may not enjoy it but the bottom half is great fun to ride.

A mix of big berms, tight switch backs, chutes and the odd little jump make it a top track to play about on. If you're a bit cheeky, or lazy, then you can always miss out the top half of the track by cutting in next to the push up. 

Woburn Sands

Apparently yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far and it definitely felt like it in the small patch of woodland that makes up Woburn Sands.  

Myself, Peter, Mark and Colver made it to Woburn bright and early and after a warm up on the hip line we headed over to a kicker near the dirt jump area. 

The good weather meant the trails were as dusty as ever which made it great for filming. It made it less good for riding without goggles. All the photo's from the day can be found here.

Rich Abbott

At the end of April the CTC, Britain's national cyclist organisation held their annual awards and Aston Hill Chairman Rich Abbott received an award for his contributions to Aston Hill Mountain Bike Club.

I went for a ride at Aston and hoped to have a chat with Rich but was told he was busy with a new shovel building a new corner on DH4.

Luckily I was able to catch up with him at the end of the day and found out a bit about what he does for the club and what the future holds for Aston Hill.

"I was always mad about riding as a kid and never really stopped. I used to race endurance XC and started riding Aston Hill during the foot and mouth outbreak as it was the only XC venue still open."

In 2007 it looked like Aston Hill would be shut down but Rich decided to put up a fight: " I approached the FC about forming a club to run Aston and Ian Warby who ran Aston Hill for years put my name forward.

"Now I spend about nine hours a week working to keep the place open. There's loads planned for the future of Aston Hill.

"I want to rebuild the 4x track and give it a start ramp. Some dirt jumps would be nice and I want to re surface the XC track.

"There's plans for a new DH track and extensions on the XC loop. We may even hold a race series in 2010."

It's pretty cool to get an award from the CTC. It's nice to get a pat on the back every now and then."