The Pitter Patter of Tiny Wheels

New Bike on the Way!


On Saturday I test rode this:

And in best Victor Kiam fashion I bought one!


It's a Singular Swift. Now I just need to wait for the frame to arrive and Shimano to launch the Alfine 'Spinal Tap' hub. It goes all the way to 11.

Riding the California Hills - Pt 2 Laguna Beach

My final few days were spend riding in the hills above Laguna Beach. My landlord kindly lent me an old Cannondale, technically his daughter's and formerly his wife's. A little too small but it got me out. 

I must have been doing something right because on the second day I was stopped in town by someone from "a couple of cities away" asking my advise on what trails to ride. All I could do was tell him where I'd bought my map.

The terrain round there is steep; long climbs sometimes too steep or dusty to ride up but once up there some great rides along the ridge. My favourite area was Moro Canyon and Moro Ridge. Riding along the ridges when the visibility cleared really gave a "top of the world" feeling with the Park to one side and the Pacific to the other.  

Just a walk in the park then!

Yeah right! (truth be told I was going the other way had no suspension and minimal brakes and as it was too steep to ride up. But on another day...)

The ridge once I'd climbed it

Riding the California Hills - Pt 1 Ojai Valley

"He says you can't ride that bike, give him a ring and he can sort you out"


That bike being my brother in law's early 90's Carrera Gryphon, an old school rigid mountain bike. I'd already experienced the joys of its old brakes and lack of suspension on a quick ride that morning. Going downhill was fine, it was the stopping that was more of an issue!


"...you'll need suspension and some decent brakes on the trails. Meet me at the shop and I'll show you round"



So the next morning I met Kelly, father of a friend of my nephew and owner of Project Ride for a quick tour round the local trails. Kelly took this off the back of his car:

Kona 'Hei Hei' 29er

A quick fettle to swap the brakes round and change the pedals - the last thing I wanted to do was to grab a handful of the 'wrong' brake - and we were off. Despite his comment about suspension Kelly was riding a rigid '69er' and ripped my legs off uphill and downhill all morning.


The first short drop to the river bed looked easy enough and I followed Kelly down only to encounter a hazard not normally faced by British riders: dust! The trail was so dry that the tyres left a 'smokescreen' behind them making route finding almost impossible. Fortunately the big wheels and full suspension lived up to their reputation and I drifted easily over the rocks. The next 90 minutes contained more of great trails: rocky riverbeds, singletrack through the woods and fireroads. I finally admitted defeat when it was obvious that my legs would carry me no further.


The next couple of days were spent on local trails. I gave up on one described as "the first quarter of mile is a bit technical, but you'll be alright" I gave up when I had to put the bike on my back and climb but found another easier route.


My final ride was an hours hard climbing (almost 1500' in 3 1/2 miles) followed by 15 minutes rapid descending.

Ride Profile

A Shadowy Figure