Where did your wheels take you last week? We found ourselves in the moody Scottish highlands, sliding on ice, riding still-secret bikes and portaging road bikes in places you shouldn't be walking in road cleats. Here is the quick run-down.
Joe Norledge - videographer
Sunday saw me mountain biking with good friend Tom Wragg of 'Ruby The Trail Dog' fame.
We were both riding equally Gucci Spec Cannondale Scalpel si's, so there was plenty of half wheeling and trying to drop each other on the climbs. I just managed to hold on, but suffered from hunger knock with about five miles to go.
I eventually made it home in a semi-coherent state and went about consuming every sweet treat my fridge had to offer. We burnt well over 4,000 calories on the ride, so perhaps I'll have two cakes at the cafe stop on our next long one.....
Ruby the Trail Dog, doing her thing
Josh Patterson - US tech editor
I spent most of the week attending a Salsa Cycles media event in Virginia’s George Washington National Forest. The new model is under wraps for several weeks, so I can’t comment on the bike.
I will say that this was an ideal proving ground for the latest addition to Salsa’s fleet. If you’re looking for an excellent riding destination for road, gravel and especially mountain biking, this region will not disappoint.
Last but certainly not least, I want to give a big shout-out to Stokesville Lodge and Shenandoah Mountain Touring for their hospitality.
Aoife Glass - BikeRadar women's editor
I took myself on a mini Scottish adventure over the weekend, heading up to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands to find out about how groups like the Forestry Commission Scotland, local trail building groups and events organisers such as No Fuss work together to ensure safe access to great trails.
Since I can’t (yet) drive, I turned the experience into a car-free mini adventure, traveling on the Caledonian Sleeper train. There’s nothing quite like falling asleep in the bright lights of London town then walking up with a view of glens and mountains.
It seemed a shame to waste the opportunity to test ride a bike on actual mountains, so I brought up the Liv Hail. It also seemed a shame not to indulge my love of haggis – though I think the haggis nachos might have been a step too far for some.
Russell Eich - US tech writer
In spite of warmer temperatures and my unrelenting hope for dry ground, winter's snow and ice still dominate my neck of the woods. I've got a new bulbous tire bike though so I'm getting that dialed and seeing where it excels.
Matthew Allen - UK tech writer
In addition to shredding the light fantastic at the Forest of Dean aboard my Whyte 805 long-termer, I've been testing some affordable road bikes including the Giant Contend SL 2 Disc, which I can report is both laterally stiff and vertically compliant, honest. Shortly after taking this photo I got quite lost in the woods and, being too stubborn to turn back, ended up walking a mile or so on road cleats. Is that what they call #gnarmac?
Jack Luke - staff writer
This week I’ve been putting in more miles on my Fairlight Strael test bike. I’ve had the bike right through this winter and have clocked close to 900km of gritty, salty miles on the poor thing.
As a reward for its tireless efforts, I brightened up the Strael with a new, top secret handlebar bag from an unspecified brand. Keep your eyes peeled for news on this and some other cool new kit this week.
Ben Delaney - US editor in chief
On Sunday my masters/veterans/old-guy team headed north out of Boulder for some miles in the Colorado sunshine. We bypassed a climb around Carter Lake because giant construction signs told us the road was closed.
While stopped to regroup atop another climb, a passing rider told us that the Carter Lake road was actually perfectly rideable, so we headed back that direction, riding past the 'do not enter' signs. It was indeed perfectly rideable, until it wasn't. A little cyclocrossery on SPD-SLs, though, and we were back on tarmac.
