Its funny I became a member of this forum the year the markets crashed the banks went belly up and the world recession started to take hold .Two years or so later I lost my job to cutbacks and then decided to venture out on my own .
What has remained constant though in all that time has been my family and love of cycling .It recent years road racing has tickled my fancy due in small part to the return of a certain Lance Armstrong who made his comeback in 2009 in the Tour De France .It was for me so inspiring to see the old master back at his best but of course this has been tarnished by his own subsequent admission that he did indeed taking performance enhancing drugs .
The future of our sport looks uncertain I`m sure there are more relevations to come ,who can we trust ?
Lets hope the governing body can get its act together although I feel they are part of the problem someone upstairs must have known what was going on .
Any way I am looking forward to a good years biking abroad and at home ,it would be nice to eclipse those wonderful pics of the Pyrenees with another lung busting venture into the unknown here s to 2013 .

Off to the wonderful Pyrenees that biking mecca it would be our first time abroad on holiday as a family other occasions came before children .I will not be carrying my bike as we are flying out so will have to hire out something .I have yet to research any decent bike hire joints with mountain biking in mind as most that come up on the web are targeted at roadies.
who knows I might just be tempted to get out on a road bike .Pics will definitely follow our excursion ,its always been a dream to explore that part of France and now I get the chance .

Spring is drawing near and I am praying that this bug is the last of many that have come my way .My immune system has taken a knock ,I need more vitamins and less runny noses around me .Having started my business last year January,, my riding has inevitably taken a step back as making money to pay bills takes priority and now I will be adding a new baby to that priority list as Katie is pregnant .I am of course over the moon
and think of nothing else, quietly hoping that this time its a boy who knows I might get lucky fourth time around.
Anyway bike serviced and ready for another seasons riding plus perhaps an away ride ...................South Wales being the destination ,here`s hoping all goes well this year I am juggling a lot as it is .

Last week I decided along with Katie that we needed to get back into some sort of routine .Some how weekends have been a little disjointed and that has had an adverse effect on our riding .So for the first time in awhile(which seems like ages) I managed to do a medium to hard off road ride across the Kent Downs .It hurt but its was so worth it and Katie also did an hour loop close to home .
So we are back in the groove for 2012 and long may it remain.

Well back home now and on with the daily grind but as I look back at my time in Snowdonia I feel that after two years since my last Wales excursion it was certainly worth the wait .
The first ride out through the fork arch is a nice technical warm up that sets the tempo for what is to come .This ride is not one to do if your feeling half hearted or not on form because if the climb up does n `t do you the rocky singletrack descents will .Having read a number of rider reviews by Joe Public and Biker Journalist alike.I decided that a good set of fast rolling ,fat 2.25 Schwalbe would do the job in this case it was a set of Racing Ralph.There a descent all rounder with tall side knobs which grip but low centre knobs spaced reasonably so as to provide good all round grip in wet muddy and dry conditions as well as changing terrain.
They have certainly impressed me ,so far so good.
Back to Coed Y Brenin ,what sets this apart from anything that I have done so far is the feel of the singletrack which in some sections blows you away with the speed gain (without the pedal effort) but the contrast of big slabs of rock laid down as small drops ,steps and track as you curve your
way through the forest floor.
A cousin of mine had said that this trail could only be done on a fullsusser and that on a hardtail your teeth would rattle but I beg to differ .............everything else as well .It is brutal to ride in places but if you put all the pieces together Coed Y Brenin (red route Dragons Back)provides the right amount of thrills and spills to test the seasoned rider and those who are after big climbs and stunning views to go with it.This is not a ride for the first timer so I am glad that Afan The Wall,Penhydd ,Skyline,and Whites Level are under my belt already .
Will I venture North of Wales again maybe after all there is Penmancho still to do.
Next year Yorkshire .