Subzero Kirroughtree

When the Irvings descended over the festive period, we did our best to entertain. This included the near-obligatory trip to Crannog, which was undertaken despite almost a foot of snow lying outside our front door. Luckily there was less snow on the west coast but it was exceedingly cold: -8'c when we arrived at Gatehouse in late afternoon.

The level of comfort, however, was several degrees higher than the last time we were up there. We had both heating AND water (albeit each was only working in one room). After a couple of days of rest, despite the fact that even the car window de-icer was frozen, there was no option but to get out amongst it - I had brought a bike up after all.

The new red stumpy and I headed off to Kirroughtree. It was probably double-digits below zero when we arrived at the carpark... and I didn't see another car there during my stay. There wasn't much snow but what there was, was crispy and dry providing excellent traction, through the thoroughly iced trees.

As it was a solo mission on a relatively new bike, I didn't stray too far. I hit the skills loop a couple of times, before heading up the fire road to do the really flowing final section where the red joins the blue route for the blast back down to the visitors centre. It was so good I did it thrice!


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Hurrah for Insurance!

I know: "What?!!" But I've got to hand it to Halifax / Sainsbury's: they've come up with the goods.

After the obligatory visit from the assessor and his lie-detector voice-analysing machine (it may just have been a dictaphone, as he said), the claim was settled and we were awarded an obscene amount of notional cash to spend in their bike shop.

To be fair, Wheelies were quite good: phoning me every 6th day to encourage me to buy a "superbike". I eventually relented - I know, the hardship - and bought a carbon road bike from them. The Felt Z6 should arrive mid January.

We cashed out the remainder of the settlement and have done pretty well. We bought 2 stumpy replacements: mine: a metallic red ex-demo, Claire's: a woman-specific Safire that fits her better than the last one. With the cash left we managed to replace the x-cal 29er.

So much to Claire's horror, we appear to have gained a bike out of this "tragedy." The bike room (no, they're not going back in the shed) will never have looked so "healthy."

Castration would be too good

...And capital punishment was certainly on the agenda for bike thieves. That was what I thought to myself when I heard that we'd been robbed.

Mrs Doubleu had taken Jeff out for his constitutional, and in the 30 minutes she was gone, they struck the shed, taking 2 stumpjumpers and the x-cal. The bastards even had the audacity to come back for the road bike but thankfully Claire and Jeff dawg were back by then, their prescence in the kitchen being enough to put them off.

The police treated it as an exercise in getting the paperwork ready for the insurance claim. The fact that our "joint" seemed to have been "cased" didn't concern them the way it unnerved us. They didn't hold out much hope of us seeing any of the bikes again, despite them being distinctive as they were. The forensics team had a look but it wasn't exactly Dexter or CSI. Once 48hrs had gone by, we were effectively told to forget about ever seeing them again.

All that remains to be seen is whether the insurance company will play ball, or whether they will, along with bike thieves, join the punishment queue.

Summer of Love

I'm getting back into the biking and I'm loving it. After a month or so of riding the road bike on the turbo trainer, I'd had enough and was riding to physio. By the time Donna had given me the all clear, I'd already been out on the mountain bike but only really on the waggonways.

Mrs Doubleu and I took Jeff out on his first mountain bike ride at Glentrool and he did most of the blue route. Jeff walked perfectly to heel (for the first time ever) following Claire's rear wheel as she climbed the fire road. He could not believe how fast his "Dad" could go on the bike but did his best to keep up. Unfortunately he was so thirsty by the time we got to the stream at the halfway point, that he couldn't resist jumping straight in. After 40mins, whilst I did another lap, Jeff had rested with Mrs Doubleu and had quite a share of a cheese toastie, but he'd stiffened up and had developed a limp. It lasted a few days but thankfully wasn't anything that a short course of beef flavoured anti-inflammatories couldn't settle.

By this time it was looking increasingly unlikely that Mrs Doubleu and I would end up in Toronto, so I had to give up dreams of dusty trail riding in Ontario, and the long distance trail from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, but at least I wouldn't have to buy a bear bell.

Getting back on the bike...

Mike's off the bikes with his troublesome ankle at the moment, so he's goal-setting: 

I'd love to ride the 334 mile GAP / ATA trails from Pittsburgh PA to Washington DC self supported (probably with a bike trailer) before Claire leaves Pennsylvania in June.  I'm not sure that's going to happen: there's just so many variables: my recovery from ankle surgery, getting back to fitness, and Claire's work and visa issues.  And let's not forget that I don't even have a trailer yet!

I have my eyes on Cranking The Shield, a 3 day 235km mountain bike stage race in Ontario that doesn't kick off until September.  So that may be a more realsitic proposition.

I'm hoping to get back on the road bike in less than a fortnight (within the comfort of my front room and with the security of the turbotrainer for stability). Just gotta hope that Donna the physio sees it that way.