Alpkit's Big Shakeout 2013 - Shaker (ya money) Maker!

                                                    The Alpkit Big Shakeout Festival 2013

In case you haven't already heard there's a fantastic festival coming up, created just for guys like you and I... that's mountain bikers, bikepackers and generally lovers of all things outdoors. I'm sure you're all familiar with Alpkit, especially you bikepackers. Voted Online Retailer of the Year 2013 by readers of The Great Outdoors, Alpkit are responsible for making some of the most expensive outdoor pursuits accessible to everyone with their high-quality gear available for affordable prices. Whenever my boyfriend and I go camping you can be sure that most of our kit is from Alpkit, and my recent debut into bikepacking couldn't have happened without Dave's fast growing cache of Alpkit accouterments; dry bags, the mega light and versatile MytiPot and MytiMug and I'm sure Dave will vouch for how well I sleep on their mats, both the Airo 120 and the Numo, (there's a really fat one available for lighter sleepers that Dave wants; the Dozer, ideal if you're travelling by car and weight/size doesn't matter so much). No, Alpkit haven't paid me to say any of this, they're just a really great brand...if you don't believe me check out their new range of bikepacking kit; framebags, dual ended airlock drybags, fuel pods etc. You have to be on your toes, though, because the world is apparently full of Alpkit eager-beavers and they snap stock up as fast as it's released. We missed the boat on a few items recently, but hopefully we'll be able to get our hands on some bits and pieces at the Shakeout.

Why all the Alpkit Shakeout blurb I hear you ask? Well, I'm dead chuffed to say that Dave and I have gotten places as Shaker Makers. Yup... we will be on hand all weekend to all Shakeout revellers, so if you get yourself along there I hope you keep your eyes peeled for Dave or myself and we will be more than happy to help - it would be especially nice to put a face to some of my G+ buds. For this we get a weekend pass and a pass to the half-day course of our choice, I've put myself down for MTB Core Skills for Girls, MTB Intro to Jumps & Drops or the MTB Ride Sunday Soother...I'd be perfectly happy on any. To be honest, I can't wait - a whole weekend spent among like-minded folk doing the stuff I love, from right in the thick of it...my fave spot!

Other courses and events;

MTB Core Skills Session
Navigation Skills
Navigation Skills - Girls Only
Bouldering with Gareth Parry
Intro to Outdoor Climbing
Building Blocks of Lead Climbing
Climbing Escapology
Resin to Rock-Ropes
Resin to Rock-Bouldering
Wild and Wet Underground
Venture Canoes Derwent River Safari
Pyranha Kayaks Intro to White Water Rafting
Venture Kayaks Intro to River Touring
School of Adventure Photography
Spokes and Shutters
Plus loads more.... Mr Microadventure himself; Alastair Humphreys will be there to give a talk, there will be food, music with the whole general festival vibe going down all weekend. And if you don't fancy camping they have some great teepees available (I wouldn't mind a chance at staying in one - live in luxury for a weekend!)
Hope to see some of you there. In the meantime, happy riding!

My little boy, Harry, tries out a fat bike for size at the Alpkit stand at the Thornbridge Bike Fest, all the gear on the bike is Alpkits own.

(Clockwise L-R:Koala Seat Pack, Stringray Framebag, Sml Fuel Pod, Dual Airlock XTra held in place with Y-Front Harness)

Zen and the Art of Mountain Biking #1

Okay, so there is this real rooty tree at Hanchurch, where I go mtbing with my boyfriend, it was always one of those obstacles that bumped my heart up into my mouth, but just lately it really seems to be making a nuisance of itself to me. So what is a girl to do when a little ole tree gets bigger, greener and meaner than the hulk on steroids?
Hanchurch Woods is a really popular spot for mtbikers from all around the region, even coming from further afield for some great, technical single track trails. It's been a long-term, firm fave of my boyfriend so it was only natural that he would want to us bike it together. We're lucky in that it's only a 20min/10km road-ride and we're there. In the 3months I've been mtbiking we've been there a couple of dozen times and every time I love it. I can easily see the attraction that draws local mtbike clubs over on a weekly basis, among the many more riders we pass by each and every time. There's a challenge for everyone in the varied forest terrain.

A quick snap of Dave at one of his fave spots

The single-track trail is a mtbikers delight left by the trail fairies in the middle of the night, it's packed with steep climbs, windy descents and plenty of technical obstacles to keep you on your toes. Admittedly, I baled on many a climb in the beginning, but as soon as I knew I my lungs were not going to implode halfway up I started to attack each ascent with gusto - including The Damn Rooty Tree (The DRT for ease of reference in future). I'm sure you all know the kind (and probably fly past without a thought), it sticks it's roots out most inconsiderately - creating a 2ft high doorstep to get over, followed immediately by a u-turn to avoid another large root, if you navigate correctly and maintain the torque you continue up a steep, sandy climb ('The rooty climb' on Strava), it's a great challenge to get the adrenaline pumping. I've ridden this particular patch god knows how many times, which made it all the more frustrating when my problems all kicked in about 3weeks ago.
I had my 1st fall a couple of weeks before my issues with The DRT began. I'd been riding clipless for a couple of weeks and had been waiting for my 1st fall while clipped in, to be honest after it happened I felt relieved and a little bit invincible! I'd built it up as something short of horrendous, life-threatening, so when it finally happened - I hit a ditch and bounced across the road on my behind and straight up onto my feet, then back on my bike. 'Is that it?' I thought. After that I suppose I got a bit cocky and more than a bit careless (my boyfriend will agree - I even got a bit cocky with him). Slowly but surely, the accidents began to happen, silly little slips and I almost came a cropper once or twice, but when I hit The DRT and fell something happened...I remembered the bloody thing didn't I?  The more I tried to forget, the more I seemed to remember and make a bee-line for it. 'Stop thinking about it!' Dave would say, as my blood and tensions rose; 'Duh! You don't say?' Poor Dave got the unfair ear-bashing and The DRT got the wheel-bashing, again and again. I just couldn't get it out of my head, until it became an issue larger than life and everything else was just filling time inbetween hitting The DRT.  I could do this part, I had done this part, what the hell was wrong with me?
To say I'd hit a psychological brick-wall (The DRT - my nemesis!) was an understatement. My confidence took a nose-dive (and I'm not the kind of person that oozes loads of the stuff to begin with) and I began to suffer anxiety on approach to The DRT, tensing up to the point where I could barely see straight. Granted, I've only been mtbiking a short time, I realise I can expect to come up against these challenges frequently, but when I say this root bummed me out, I mean, it really bummed me out! Then last week a funny thing happened; instead of stomach-churning anxiety, I started to feel angry, I was not gonna let a poxy root get the better of me - I know I can push my bike whenever I want, but I don't want! Just a tiny touch of the red-mist put things back into perspective and all the issues that had been swimming, murkily around my head cleared, and I could think straight again - I was able to focus on the things that I needed to be focusing on, and not just the giant mental image of The DRT, waiting to be hit! It was awesome, I rode it perfectly, almost in slow motion, in perfect control of my bike. I felt on top of the world, we had a great night in Hanchurch that night, I tackled a couple of steep, rooty descents that to be honest with you scared the pants offa me, while I was still riding on the adrenaline buzz...and then I came back down to earth and lost my bottle again! But, before that I had rode down two really technical descents that I wouldn't have attempted otherwise, and now I know I that I can do them, for future rides and I had one of the best rides yet...but better still, I had faced my nemesis and won!

Hanchurch Woods

It's true...ignorance really is bliss. When I 1st started mtbiking I simply followed my boyfriend (an experienced rider of 20 yrs-ish) along blindly, tackling everything that he tackled. No, I'm not expreienced. Yes, I've only been mtbiking a few months. But, I know that in some cases too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing, sometimes you need a little blind faith and a drop of courage to go on. I know I certainly spent too much time in thought over The DRT, until I had demonized it out of all proportion and I was left feeling demoralized under a cloud of defeat. It was only when the red-mist of frustration and anger descended that my mind finally cleared itself of the monster, reducing it back down to size; to a root!

I suppose the point I want to make in this post is for any fellow novices that happen to be reading, I want to say don't give up. This has been a big learning curve for me and I've learnt that if you want the skill for the art of mountain biking then you need the zen; you have to be philosophical when you fall on your ass (my boyfriend will love to see me saying that - it has to be one his most-used phrases to me during this period), you are going to fall, but if you love mtbiking you will get back on your bike and if you come up against your own Damn Rooty Tree, you'll beat it...eventually. Happy riding.