Once again Skedaddle mountain biking holidays are sponsoring the Gorrick Spring Series and giving away some fab prizes for the lucky category winners and random spot prizes too. The series kicked of on 14th February and here’s the news of all that occured…

“Well dear I thought for this Valentines Day we could pop over to the woods for a few hours and get a bit dirty….” and so the first Gorrick Skedaddle Spring Series finally got underway at last and now with Tunnel Hill temporarily renamed The Tunnel of Love, riders were again in for a singletrack love fest as a perfectly crafted 5 mile circuit complete with a romantic interlude, plus plenty of the famous ‘Gorrick’ swoops and descents, balanced with a couple of killer stings in the tail lay in wait. Another perfect day out for well over 550 riders was in store that not even a quick smattering of snow could deter!

On the dot of 9am it was soon time to get the XC racing under way and pride of place to cutting up the trails went to the Youth riders followed by the juveniles, while the uber keen under 12’s & under 10’s waited patiently to get stuck into a shortened version of the big course. Matthew Lewis made short work of his two laps in the snow taking the first win of the day in the Youth class, whilst Gretel Warner romped away with the win in the Juvenile girls race.

Then it was a steady conveyor belt of perfectly timed races, as one category after another were unleashed. As one batch finished another was already underway painting the trails with brightly coloured garb that fleetingly looked as if spring had arrived early and certainly cheered up the drab winter colours! Just in case proceedings weren’t colourful enough and the sprinkling of unforecast snow not delivering the right amount of romance, the thoughtful Gorrick crew had kindly set out a plethora of red balloons and heart festooned ribbons and a canoe…. All as a homage to Valentines Day, and so ‘Canoe – darling Corner’ was born!

As each race unfolded it was soon clear that along with plenty of old faces there was a considerable showing of new faces along with a new tempo. After a winter of enduro races these riders were keen to quicken the pace and shorten the distance ready for the new season of XC racing. Many of the categories were taken to the line with everything to play for as competitors dug deep looking for their racing legs that for some had been well buried over the winter!

It wasn’t just the winners of each category that went home delighted with a days work, plenty of riders were buzzing with enthusiasm over the fantastically fun course as they laid siege to the catering van drinking them out of hot beverages and eating them out of bacon butties. A few other riders had more reasons than most to be happy with their day in the woods, especially Sport rider Adam Westhead who took home the Saddle Skedaddle Mountain Biking Holiday break and Howard Dale in the Fun race who won a 1:1 Skills session courtesy of Gorrick, Purple Bike Shed and InsideOut Fitness.

Round three will be with us on 7th March at Crowthorne and with Mothers Day just round the corner will we find homage to daffodils and bunnies? I know for certain we’ll find some amazing trails and a whole lot of XC fun!

Chief Skedaddle mountain biking guide Steve Woods will be at this event, ready to have a chat and share his thoughts on the merits of brown sauce as opposed to red on his sausage butties, so look out for the Skedaddle landy and he’ll be knocking around.

For more details of the Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series please visit: www.gorrick.com

Full results can be found at: www.timelaps.co.uk while you can relive the whole race through pictures at www.joolzedymond.com

 Ethical online site Daisy Green chat to Skedaddle ‘big cheese’ Andrew about buying a bike

 Wondering what to do with the spare cash you’ve got stuffed into the mattress post Christmas?

Wanting to shift a few of those mince pie pounds? Then there is nothing better than doing a spot of cycling, and there are some great bike deals to be had out there.

There’s a massive amount of choice out there from web based companies to the trusty ol’ bike shop, but it really is best to try before you buy.  Make sure you do a test ride before buying. Every person is different, so the fact that you are 5ft 5 doesn’t necessarily mean you need a small bike and to confuse matters, bike manufacturers have their own sizing system.

The golden rule is to keep an inch clearance between the bike’s top tube and your nether regions! And do remember the saddle position can be adjusted both forwards and back as well as up and down, and the height of the handlebars have some small possible adjustments too.

Nothing much has really altered over the last few years, so last year’s colour will probably have the same components as this year’s. If you aren’t too fussed with a exact colour match with your eyes (red included) then prices do alter vastly …in your favour!

There’s a million and one books out there stating that men are different to women (or should that be women are different to men?) and in the bike sense, its true. Bikes now tend to be gender-specific.

Traditionally, women’s bikes possessed a slanted top tube for those times when they wore ‘mustn’t show the ankle’ skirts, but nowadays the main difference is that the top tube is shorter in length because women tend to have a shorter reach. Also, with more expensive bikes, the suspension may be specially adjusted too.

Ensure you choose a saddle that matches your shape too as men and women have different shaped pelvises, even if this means changing the one that came with the bike. Women’s saddles are slightly wider and shorter and whilst you may think the biggest, most comfy saddle is the best, this is not always the case!

Decide what you’ll be doing mostly on your bike and buy accordingly and let the bike shop know as its no good getting a flash road bike if you simply fancy a tootle along the canalside on a Sunday. Similarly, if you fancy doing some off road riding then don’t get duped by a heavy full suspension bike, which will be great downhill, but a bugger to get up the hill in the first place.

With many employers utilising the cycle to work scheme for their employees, you can also get a bike at a reduced costs and pay your employer in installments too. So check if you company runs the scheme and if not, get them on board!

Getting a bike from an auction website is rarely a smart move! They are unseen/untried/on the cheap (they are never bargains) and may well have been stolen.

But if you are determined to buy one second-hand, check the bike’s frame number first to ensure it’s not stolen, which can done via www.immobilise.com

One great place to look however are local community projects such as Recyke Y’Bike – www.recyke-y-bike.org who reclaim, reduce, refurbish, re-create, re-use and re-cycle local bikes as well as offering maintenance classes and training course too.

Finally, once you have your trusty steed, make sure you get a damn fine lock before your new pride and joy becomes someone else’s. Don’t forget lights and something bright to wear in these winter months…fluorescent is back from the 80s with a bang, so you’ll not be out of fashion either.

Helmet wise (always!) whilst not a fashion item, is better than a hole in your bonce, so buy and check out that is still in date. Like that tin of pineapple chunks in the cupboard there’ll be a date stand inside the helmet so take a peek.

Don’t forget that there’s a bargain to be had and as they say in Newcastle ‘Shy bairns get nowt’, so even if you can’t strike a deal on the bike itself, most bike shops will thrown in some spares if you ask – don’t be shy now.

Here’s to a fun-filled cycling 2010!!

When we got an email from Robert Ellis about a cycling luggage system for touring bikes, so you get the most from your holidays, we were happy to assist. Lot’s of sleepless nights and notepads of scribblings later (from Robert!!) the project was complete and it’s a cracker!! So, if anyone out there is looking for a budding designer, then he’s you man.

Contact him on : rob-ellis@hotmail.co.uk

Check out the pictures below and also a few words of wisdom as to how it all began.

In the true spirit of the ‘Skedaddler’ I love cycling and I love exploring, but sometimes this combination can be problematic to say the least. My past cycling holiday explorations have largely been limited to a thread of weekend camping trips in the Peak district with my trusty tent and panniers strapped to my MTB.  However I recently took the plunge and decided to stray away from home to that there France and Spain.  Herein the problems began. 

Have you ever tried dismantling a bike and cramming it into a tatty cardboard bike box, in the short stay car park outside terminal five, in the pouring rain, only to be rewarded with a £40 carriage fee and a snapped derailleur thanks to your trusty baggage handler?  This is all before you’ve laid down a single pedal stroke.  On the bike, things only seem to get worse.  The humble bicycle and 25 kg of luggage and tent are not a healthy mix, as I soon found out on the twisty mountain roads of the Pyrenees.  Carrying everything you need for independent touring, including the kitchen sink, makes for a top heavy and unpredictable bike at the best of times and leaves you tottering about like a chimp on a unicycle. 

My other big moan of the trip was detachable luggage, which usually I would view as a good thing.  However it seemed that, in an attempt to save money I had accidentally bought the spontaneously detachable variety, which is impossible to remove when its dark and raining and you need to set up camp, yet pops off no problem (without any assistance in fact) when you’re on a French dual carriageway doing 30mph.
I know, moan moan moan, but it’s not just me.  I’ve spoken to over a hundred touring cyclists over the past year, all of which had shared the same or similar issues.  

After my ordeal, sorry, ‘adventure’, I couldn’t help thinking that there must be an easier and more enjoyable way to tour and explore by bike, and this is where Saddle Skedaddle came in.  The problem conveniently (too conveniently…) provided an ideal design opportunity to work on for my final year Product Design degree project, and who better to associate with the ultimate touring and adventure cycle than Saddle Skedaddle!
I’ve spent the past year working on an improved bicycle luggage carrying solution for adventure touring and came up with the following solution. 

The characteristic wobble and unpredictable handling of a loaded touring bicycle is challenged through the use of an innovative hubless wheel luggage storage system.  The luggage and two man tent is held securely in the centre of the wheel (without rotating) and low down to lower the bikes centre of gravity and provide safer and more predictable riding.  I’ve used a simple quick release strap system to hold the luggage in place, making it really easy to fit and remove.

The bike provides 60 litres of luggage space divided between two main waterproof bags which double as a ruck sack and hold all for ease of carrying, and within compartments inside the frame area itself (holding tools, first aid and personal items).  The bike is designed for minimum maintenance with a sealed belt drive and hub gearing, leaving the rider to focus on the fun and adventure of touring cycling.   
 
The business model would be for Saddle Skedaddle to offer the bike (loaded with tent, equipment, maps and routes) as a rental system to be collected at the destination airport for group or solo touring. The best bit is that the bike luggage bags will be posted to the Skedaddler’s home address before departure to fill with their belongings and to act as both airport luggage and to be fitted straight onto the bike upon arrival.  No need for double handling!

Sadly the model is made out of foam, so it won’t be taking me on any Alpine expeditions just yet.  Maybe next year…….  For now I’ll be sticking to my trusty (but a little rusty) bike.

Road cycling legend and multi Olympic gold medal winner Bradley Wiggins took first place in the Northern Rock Cyclone Beaumont Trophy in Northumberland on June 14th. He was also the proud winner of the Saddle Skedaddle sponsored King of the Mountains contest and was noticeably overjoyed when Skedaddle’s own road legend / guru / charlatan, David “Little Dave” Hall presented him with his award.

Bradley commented ”I was honoured to receive the King of the Mountains from David. They say you should never meet your heroes, but David was everything I ever hoped for and more besides. Even after 5 Olympic medals this must surely be the highlight of my cycling life” 

David in return commented “My legs are much nicer than Bradley’s and i’ve recommended  to him a new razor. I hadn’t realised that he was so short. Do you know that one of his team mates carries a milk crate with him everywhere they go? They bring it out for every photo shoot - it’s a stroke of pure genius”

 (David’s the one on the left…. in case you wondered).

This superb desert biking adventure focuses on the deep south of Morocco, a land of big skies and stark mountain ranges where mud-brick kasbahs appear to rise up out of the desert, sitting in tranquil palm oases and framed by dramatic backdrops of snowcapped mountains. We ride along Morocco’s dirt roads, taking us from Marrakech to the Tichka Pass, the highest in the High Atlas, and then southward, descending along the Draa Valley to the fringes of the Sahara Desert.