• Araf! 10th Feb 2011

  Surely not. It’s 6.30am on a Saturday and I am already up, showered and dressed to fight the elements.

  I have to keep reminding myself this is not a week day, it’s the weekend. And not just any weekend. It’s one I have had planned for a while, one that sees me off to the Welsh valleys, riding the Marin Trail with some friends. It’s been ages since I’ve had the chance to get out of the city, so I have been really looking forward to this one.

  As my friends already know, I can’t profess to be a die-hard mountain biker, crashing downhill at break-neck speeds. I do love my cycling though and the chance to get out in the great outdoors with my friends simply doesn’t happen enough.

  As we got closer and closer to Wales last Saturday, the weather was approaching levels of biblical nature. I’ve never seen anything like it!

  Having taken several wrong turns (thanks Biff), we finally arrived at Gwydyr Forest in North Wales, albeit later than planned. Not being deterred by the heavy wind and rain, we embarked on the 25k Marin Trail. Most definitely not for the faint-hearted …

  We got off to a cracking start with Will managing to snap his chain within 15 meters. Luckily this was not a sign of things to come and five hours later we arrived back at the Swallow Falls hostel. All 12 of us absolutely shattered, soaked to the bone and ready for some well-deserved beers in Bewtys.

  For those of you who are regular mountain bikers, you may feel I am being a little dramatic. However, for a guy who is used to riding a single speed on the streets of London, The Marin Trail felt like completing the L’Alpe d’Huez mountain stage in the Tour de France!
  All this cycling will surely put me in good stead for Millican’s Epping Ride.

  The Epping Ride will start on Sunday 13 March, when Jorrit will take his 1947 Millican bike off the promotional display in Selfridges (Oxford Street, London) and ride it to Epping Forest, where Millican Dalton used to spend his winter months.

  Several of the Millican Friends will join Jorrit to ride the bike home to Millican’s cave in Borrowdale valley, just outside of Keswick in the Lake District. A 400 mile ride.

  I might need to come up with an injury.

  We’ll post further info on the Epping Ride over the coming weeks, but if anyone likes to know more just drop me a line on rob@homeofmillican.com.

  Stay healthy. Get out there.

  PS – we are starting to use our Facebook page for more regular updates on all things Millican if you fancy joining.

  By Rob
  
  

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