Skedaddle Twaddle

Chilterns Mountain Biking Weekend July 2008

Skedaddle — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:09:51 +0000

Following a wet and soggy Friday, we awoke on Saturday to find the sun returned and barring a few minor showers we managed to keep our waterproofs in the trusty Skedaddle Landy, for the weekend!!

As usual Alasdair and Andy were at the helm, with new Skedaddle guide Annie enjoying her baptism of dreadful puns, sacrasm and white lies about the ‘cheeky climbs’ and how long there was to go. Straws, following his ‘tea-cup washing disaster’, was one handed driver / picnic maestro for the weekend - bless !!!

As you can see from the photos, it was a busy ole weekend and here’s hoping that everyones bums aren’t too sore from the riding and the red-hot Thai curries on the Saturday night!!

Check out more photos of this particular Mountain Bike Weekend on flickr

Saddle Skedaddle @ Mountain Mayhem 2008

Skedaddle — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:23:41 +0000

The Skedaddle team were busy last weekend for the Giant Mountain Mayhem 2008 (for those who don’t know Mayhem is an immensely popular 24 hour mountain bike race), with a number of our guides entering the event and with Rod , Nick , Tony , Adam and Steve providing invaluable encouragement , food and bike repair.

Congratualtions to Wendy Smit , Iwona Schmidt , Denise Lee and Annie Marson who between them completed 18 laps of the 8.5 mile course and brought home a win in the open women’s category!

” I’d like to say a huge thank you to Steve and his team for doing such a fantastic job of looking after us for the weekend. I can honestly say that we didn’t want for anything and they were happy to help whatever the request so please pass on our thanks to everyone from Skedaddle .”

Mike Spence

“It was fabulous - your guys were totally awesome. Rod, Tony, Nick, Adam and of course Steve were amazing. 100% support. All spot on - food, lights, smiles, mechanical support….fabulous. Thanks you for sorting it and them of course for realising our dreams!Andy - thanks again - the team ethos and positive attitude of Skedaddle is something that no money can buy - you and Paul have to take credit for fostering that - you have superb staff.“Annie Marson

“it was all down to the support crew - what a fantastic job they did ( and you paid for ! ) everybody involved was sooooooooooooooo grateful to them - they kept us going all night“

Denz

More photos are on flickr

See you there next year!

Saddle Skedaddle Mountain Biking in Slovenia

Skedaddle — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:18:05 +0000

Our recent trip to Slovenia:

Check out these gorgeous riding shots!

For more photos from the trip: go on flickr

Cevenne, Ardeche Mountain Bike Holiday 2008

Skedaddle — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:10:55 +0000

Take a look at these photos from our June Cevenne / Ardeche trip

More photos can be found on flickr
There is availability on our next trip to this fantastic region will depart in July

Skedaddle Mountain Biking Weekend , Quantocks

Skedaddle — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:50:09 +0000

A very sunny backdrop created the mood for some great riding in the Quantocks last weekend , as you can see below:

Hopefully the weather will be just as glorious in September for the next Quantocks weekend
More photos of the weekend are:

On Flickr

Going big in Queenstown NZ!

jim — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:25:49 +0000

thought i’d drop all the skedaddle people a little post to let you know what me and Laura are up to.

We’ve been in Queenstown for about 3 months now, and we’re loving it!

I’ve got a job fixing bikes in Queenstown and laura is selling clothes! (so she’s happy!)

I’ve been biking in a few places in my time with Skedaddle, and i’ve seen some great trails and some great riders, but i think Queenstown has to be the craziest!

This place seems to have a really high concentration of great riders who think nothing of throwing themselves.. and bikes off huge gaps and jumps and to top it all off, there actually (annoyingly) really nice people who are more than happy to give you a few pointers to help improve your riding, (tips for me mostly have been along the ’stop being such a p**** and go for it’ variety) but it seems to be working as my wheels seem to actually be leaving the ground when i go for a jump these days!

And don’t even get me started on the scenery, lord of the rings didn’t even do it justice!

infact it’s sooo good over here i’m going to have to try and set up a trip for Skedaddle, but maybe with a few less death defying drops!

so watch this space and maybe in a while you’ll find yourself over here and loving it too!

cheers,

jim

p.s, i only took these pictures it’s not me on the bike. (my sense of self preservation is still annoyingly to high!)

Skedaddle @ Clic24

Paul D — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:31:07 +0000

The weather was fantastic in the Mendips earlier this month, which was just as well as I spent the hours between midnight and 3am on Sunday morning waving a torch at mountain bikers in various stages of fatigue at CLIC24 2008.

Running from midday Saturday to midday Sunday, CLIC24 is held over a fast, 10 mile course over the Mendip Hills. At least, it’s fast when it’s dry, which it was this year and wasn’t in 2007, when it rained heavily for more or less the entire 24 hours. That didn’t seem to have deterred entrants, with 420 of them starting the race, either in teams of four or, for the insane, solo.

In the team stakes, it became clear that it was a local derby, with Wells-based Bike City and Cheddar Cycle Store running neck and neck: early laps were running at 38 minutes or so. In the event, Bike City completed 35 laps, and Cheddar 33. Bike City timed their finish to perfection, sending their last rider out at 11:20, returning precisely as the clock stood at 12:00.

This guy and his passenger got in a bit earlier !

Similarly, two of the soloists stood out: David Powell and Aidan Harding. Seemingly not needing to eat much or sleep much, these two piled on the laps, eventually completing 22 and 21 respectively. Yup, 220 miles of mostly off-road biking in 24 hours. How they can do this is beyond me: I rode one lap on Sunday to check the course out, and it knackered me.

A great event, admirably organized by Neil Wilkins and his team as usual, from the party on the Friday night to the speeches on the Sunday, by way of the bar, the food, the on-site massage therapists and the all-night tea and coffee, all of which were excellent. CLIC24 raised £56,000 for CLIC Sargent last year, with high hopes for this year, and they’d like to make it more. So, if you fancy a nice, laid-back 24 hours of cycling pain for a really good cause, bear it in mind for next year ! Go to www.clic24.org.uk for the details.

Shropshire Mountain Biking Weekend

Skedaddle — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:47:31 +0000

Skedaddle guides have been busy again, this time it’s an absolutely wicked weekend in Shropshire!

If this looks like fun, remember there is still one Shropshire weekend left this September,

Have a look!

More great Skedaddle weekends!

Skedaddle — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:50:00 +0000

Skedaddle weekends are getting into full swing this spring and proving to be popular with Mountain bikers and roadies alike!

There has been a muddy and action packed weekend for Derbyshire White peak, and a special bespoke road trip running for Microsoft®.

Check out the photos below:

If you’d like to get a group of co-workers together (or even just a bunch of mates) and have a special tailor made trip just for you, then have a look at our bespoke trips page or give us a call on 0191 265 1110 to have a chat about what you’d like to do!

Mountain Bike Skills Weekend

Skedaddle — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:15:23 +0000

Check out these shots from our latest Mountain Bike Skills Weekend
These weekends are a great excuse to get fit , improve your mountain biking skills and enjoy the stunning scenery of the lake district. All our weekends are run by guides who are expert mountain bikers and can help you improve whatever your level!

You can see more on Flickr

Here’s a Skedaddle Guide top tip for getting home if you have the misfortune to ride over something razor sharp!