A Ray of sunshine
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:38 pm
I was pleasantly minding my bolognase on my stove last night when a serious looking mountain biker pulled up at the bothy. I was hiking but, at heart I'm a cyclist. I've always loved the bike. Initially road bikes, when I was younger I used to race but latterly I discovered the joys of off road biking. I used to look down on MTN bikeers but now I have discovered the joy of off road biking. I'd heard a cyclist was heading my way by a walker who had arrived at the bothy 15 minutes earlier. He had overtaken the cyclist! I knew well the ground they had covered and knew from bitter experience the the East bank of Loch Lomond is not mountain bike country. It would be a foolhardy, thankless journey for any biker to attempt. It is one best left for the walkers.
Our hero pulled up tired and dis-shevelled looking and stumbled into the bothy, leaving his bike at the doorway. It was his bike that intruiged me. I'd never seen one packed like that before. I like to think of myself as someone who travels light on my bike but, I do nevertheless use panniers. This guy immediatly let me see a whole new way of packing my bike. I gazed at his bike for a bit until he came outside and took it into the bothy. I followed him in and began my interogation. During which he mentioned the Bear-bones website. I saw how I could scrap the panniers and adopt a more contained approach to packing the bike. I thought I was the only MTN bike tourer type in the world and I gladly heard that there are others like me.
After the interogation swas over with we had a wee glass of wine and rum respecively and he introduced himself as Ray. I'd like to say it was a pleasure to meet him and loved his ethos for traveling. And also to thank him for introducing me to a like-minded bunch of people here at bear-bones. I've got plans for a MTN bike ride in the Lake District in the summer and hope perhaps to enjoy a few trips with some of you guys too.
It's my long, summer MTN bike trips that I live for. Being out in the wilderness with nothing but what I'm packing. My recent trips have saw me on the Camino de Santiago 4 times as well as a few routes through Alps. I'm hoping to use the ol' road bike later in the summer to visit some WW1 battlefileds. But, that is another story. Viva le bike!
Our hero pulled up tired and dis-shevelled looking and stumbled into the bothy, leaving his bike at the doorway. It was his bike that intruiged me. I'd never seen one packed like that before. I like to think of myself as someone who travels light on my bike but, I do nevertheless use panniers. This guy immediatly let me see a whole new way of packing my bike. I gazed at his bike for a bit until he came outside and took it into the bothy. I followed him in and began my interogation. During which he mentioned the Bear-bones website. I saw how I could scrap the panniers and adopt a more contained approach to packing the bike. I thought I was the only MTN bike tourer type in the world and I gladly heard that there are others like me.
After the interogation swas over with we had a wee glass of wine and rum respecively and he introduced himself as Ray. I'd like to say it was a pleasure to meet him and loved his ethos for traveling. And also to thank him for introducing me to a like-minded bunch of people here at bear-bones. I've got plans for a MTN bike ride in the Lake District in the summer and hope perhaps to enjoy a few trips with some of you guys too.
It's my long, summer MTN bike trips that I live for. Being out in the wilderness with nothing but what I'm packing. My recent trips have saw me on the Camino de Santiago 4 times as well as a few routes through Alps. I'm hoping to use the ol' road bike later in the summer to visit some WW1 battlefileds. But, that is another story. Viva le bike!
