No bikes allowed on the Manoa Falls Trail, shame it would make a fab downhill run! A couple of bus rides from Waikiki and a little walking takes you around an hour to reach the Manoa Falls Trail. You’ll never get bored of the volcanic ridge backdrops on Oahu, so the journey passes all too quickly. The bus drops you off in a small village, hike a little further and you’ll come to an ex-bird sanctuary on your right. It is now a snack shop. The place has been run by the same family for decades and they hope to reopen as a bird sanctuary one day. A short way past this is the entrance to the Manoa Falls Trail. The trail to the falls is all up-hill. The surfaces vary, but are mainly earth and rock. They’re mostly naturally formed, being quite uneven, with small boulders to step on at times. There are a few sets of earth-shoring beams creating steps here and there. Flipflops wouldn’t really be suitable for the hike but trainers are fine, in the dry. I haven’t been when it’s wet but can imagine it’s a completely different story then. I think it would be incredibly slippery. There’s some rain forest foliage: bamboo, palms and trees on the hike, along with some burbling from a few streams along the way. Plenty of photo opportunities. It’s neither a long nor difficult climb, although a lady I met had had knee replacements and I think she found it a little on the heavy-going side, but managed it nonetheless. Once at the falls, which are 150 feet high, there isn’t anything to do except take a look and a photo. Unfortunately because some visitors decide to enter the fenced off area around the pool at the bottom, to get a decent photo, you also have to. This involves clambering over some large boulders. It’s recommended that you don’t swim in the pool due to the possibility of contracting Leptospirosis, a flu like bug. I wonder if this is a real threat or more a ploy to keep the water clean? I wouldn’t blame them if it was, as it would become party central if it was thought OK to swim there. The pool is quite small, if there’s twenty people around it, it is busy. I went mid-winter, mid-February, around 2pm, it wasn’t too busy. You will be walking past others quite often but not to a point where the hike is spoilt. There’s no real need to stay long, there’s a bench to have a sit down, that’s about it. Again, if it had been rainy I can imagine the face of the falls changing as there are warning signs of flash flooding and rock falls. With the size of the boulders you wouldn’t want to be caught in that. Some had made their way too the top of the falls, this involves taking off into the rain forest on your left just before the falls. It is then a scramble up large boulders to reach the top and also crossing a fence, therefore becoming a trespasser. I didn’t make that hike so I can’t tell you what sort of view you get, but the guys up there did look quite precariously balanced! The return to the trail entrance is the way you came. In all it took around an hour from start to return. It’s not very far, perhaps half a mile each way. The buses run up to the village every hour from Waikiki, so there’s no need to rush. The bus numbers are offered on Google maps and are fully integrated, with GM telling you not only which bus to take but times, transfer stops and if they’re running on time etc. The drivers, thus far, have been very friendly and helpful. You can buy an all day bus pass for $5.50, which is fab. A nice afternoon's little hike with a pretty waterfall at the end of it, does what it says on the tin as it were! There is an arboretum directly next to the entrance, but it closes at 4pm weekdays and 3pm weekends. It’s a shame it was too late for me to take a look around. Info Website No charge to walk the trail Parking is available, not sure if there is a charge Water is not available on the trail No toilets The shop/cafe does have toilets

If like me you find hotel prices, and even Airbnb prices limiting the length of your travels or negating them altogether, why not have a look at hostels. As soon as you mention hostels to friends, particularly if you’re an old bird like me, people pull a face as though you’d told them you like to eat your own faeces. And they’d tell you it’s not for you and you’d hate it. I would never have afforded a month in Waikiki if I hadn’t secured one of the last slots available in the Polynesian Beach Hostel. I’d looked at hotels and Airbnb, the cheapest was half as much again as the hostel and not as well equipped or positioned. I’d looked at camping, but really I’d have had to hire a car, that costs as much as a month in a hostel, plus buying all the equipment that I’d have to leave there, plus site fees and the inconvenience, it just wasn’t worth it. I’d also looked at Helpx, I’d done it before in New Zealand, if you don’t mind working to pay for food and accommodation it’s a good option. You can find the website at helpx.net. It’s free to view and only around twenty quid to join for two years. I wanted total chill time, so booked the hostel and to be honest I also wondered if it was for me, but I can tell you yes, thus far it really really is. Hostels, well first off, if you’re picturing a wooden shack, cold water, twenty to a dorm, shittin in a hole, like I did, you’d be wrong. I won’t pretend to know all about hostel life, I’ve only been to one, but I can tell you what I have found, being a newbie to the hostel in Waikiki. Lemon Road in Waikiki holds several hostels and they all operate similar to one another. Yes, it’s full of ‘kids’, yes you have to share a room with people not of your choice, and yes sleep can be disturbed by comings and goings but it is so worth it. It’s worth it on many levels; constantly meeting new people, learning peoples stories, plans and dreams, understanding the varied youth outlook on life, helping and being helped to find the best places to visit being just some of the best experiences. And just to say, I'm not the only old here, there are several! It can get a little noisy in the evenings, but quiet time is 10pm til 7am, so not a problem really. Also no visitors are allowed in the dorms. I’m a loner, so only make acquaintances, get involved in common room chats but go out on my own. You can easily make friends or travel partners though, as many do. Everyone is happy, enjoying life, no dramas or misery to bring you down. I’ve been in the same six bed dorm for six days and have had around twenty different roomies. There are lockers in the dorm, you need to buy a padlock if you are not trusting of others, which I’m not. The sheets and towels are provided, you can swap them when you want. Tea and coffee is free. There’s fridges and a kitchen. The Polynesian Beach Hostel make pancakes for breakfast each morning, so you can get a free breakfast too. The large alfresco dining area, has a big telly with all the channels, adjacent is a smoking area, where lots of chats and planning happens. The dorm is swept and mopped everyday, along with the en suite bathroom being cleaned. The staff are chilled and helpful, they work hard. Don't mistake this facility for a designer boutique hotel, because it's not. But it is comfortably basic. There are all female and all male dorms, but I was in a mixed one. To be honest, the random roomies aren’t always great. I had one creepy guy coming on to me when we were the only two in the dorm one night. Which was a bit of a worry, but luckily, after refusing his offer of a massage, he got the message and left me alone. Another thing I didn’t like was the custom in some cultures to hawk and spit, I find it utterly revolting, and so do most westerners. It seems east Asians tend to do this. Someone should tell them it’s not acceptable in western culture I reckon! Apart from those two points, I absolutely love it. I’d recommend it to anyone, of any age. Give it a go next time you are travelling. See website for info on Polynesian Beach Hostel here

See my YouTube video here Today I finally got around to booking a surfing lesson. I was recommended a native Hawaiian ex-pro surfer by a life guard. He was quite strict, and didn't want any questions, just for you to do as he tells you! Me keeping my gob shut for an hour was a challenge! First he takes you through some basics on the beach, you feel a bit of a dick doing the stances on a crowded beach, but it wasn't too painful. More than I can say for my bum. On my second run I jumped off the board in a bombing position right onto the reef, so I've a really sore left bum bone tonight. I hope it doesn't last too long as I was planning on some mountain bike riding soon. So the coach takes you out into the ocean, I asked that it be where I can still touch the ground with my feet, as I'm not a confident swimmer, which he did. He pushes you into each wave, and immediately you need to get up, which I managed on all seven of my runs. Watching the footage back, I can see I need to relax, and to get more central on the board, and balance better using my knees. But for a first try I was happy. It's much more tiring than it looks, as the further you surf away, the more paddling you need to do to get back to the coach. By seven runs my arms were dead, so I called it day. I'm so stoked to have finally done it, it really is worth a try if you've ever fancied doing it. Do it. Now. There is no second season!

Link to my YouTube of this hike can be found here When on O’ahu, Waikiki particularly, the short hike to the Diamond Head Crater is a must-do. Not because it’s epic but because I think you’d regret it if you didn’t. The crater is a tuff cone, formed from lava flows less than half a million years ago. The crater itself is a state monument. Known to Hawaiians as Le'ahi, thought to be due to the outer ridge resembling the dorsal fin of a tuna, ahi meaning tuna. The Diamond head name originating from British sailors mistaking an abundant mineral for diamonds on the adjacent beach! There are so many tourists in Waikiki, I knew it would be busy at the crater so decided to get there for sunrise as the facility opens at 6am. Alas it wasn’t such a great strategy as there were many bus loads of tourists there already! From the town centre it’s around a forty minute walk to the park entrance. You could drive or get a bus there. It’s cheap to get in and to park. Being uphill most of the way, with the addition of the hike itself, if you’re unfit, it’s probably best to get a ride there. My hike, in early February that is mid-winter in Hawaii, from the hostel to the crater, was in the dark. The streets are lit as it’s mostly on the street sidewalks, so not a problem. I left at around half five. There was a fantastic electrical storm a short way out in the Pacific ocean all my way there, which kept me entertained. You have to pass through a tunnel cut through the crater ridge wall to access the entry point to the park. The actual walk up is on the crater ridge, so you are looking down on the crater, the entry and visitor center is in the crater itself. Once on the walk up the crater ridge, you cannot go off piste, the way to the top is on formed walkways. We had a lot of rain in the days before my hike, so the rocky surfaces were a little slippery. Footwear-wise, flip-flops wouldn’t be suitable but trainers are fine. There are various surfaces, many of which are uneven, some natural rock but not loose rock. Nearly all the way up the sunrise is visible, so little of it is missed. There are some good views of the inside of the crater, which is covered in greenery. The views onto the Pacific, surrounding towns and the bay are beautiful and it looks so tranquil, I’d recommend going at this time of day, if you can tolerate the crowds. The latest you can enter the park is half four in the afternoon, so no sunset walks are not possible as it closes at six. With the storm continuing whilst I made my way up, it gave added interest to the hike. Strangely the storm was restricted to one large cloud, adjacent to that was an un-clouded view of the sun rising, such a contrast, mother nature at her finest. I didn’t find the hike taxing at all physically, the stairs aren’t dangerous as such, the biggest difficulty, if you’re like me and want to go flat chat everywhere, are your snail-like meandering fellow tourists and the unfit, spluttering ones that you need to pass, as well as dodging people on their way down. Overtaking is possible. There are also quite a few sets of steep stairs to climb. The last few stairways and viewing areas were jam-packed with stationery tourists, so it was a bit of a squeeze to the ex-military lookout at the top. It wasn’t a good view from up there and a decent photo was impossible due to the amount of people, I only did it to satisfy my ego! Even if you don’t get to the very top you can see the whole crater. The walk down is easy, to be expected as it’s all downhill, as is the walk back to town, except for a short uphill part. Just be careful of slipping or tripping on the uneven surfaces. The walk back into town is also quite interesting, with parks on the way, that have some unusual trees and colourful birds. And some nice views of the other volcano ridge lines in the distance. I was back at my hostel by 9am, so it’s only a short outing, but thoroughly worth the effort. I’m sure you could make a day of it if you took your time and explored the crater interest points, had a picnic etc. All in all, if you have a family it would be a cheap day out. Info Weather There’s only two seasons in Hawaii, the weather being pretty similar all year round. Summer from May to October and Winter from November to April My hike was in February, it was around 27°C with some cloud and rain at times. Costs Entry fees $1 per person Parking on-site $5 for a car Website Facilities Gift shop Toilets Picnic tables and pavillion Look-out viewing platforms along the trail Food there’s limited food available Cold drinks only No cafe Water There's a water fountain at the start of the trail only, so take water with you

See my YouTube of this ride here If you're a mountain biker, you know what it’s like, see a hill and just have to know if there’s trails on it. Tower Hill, named such as the Lavington water storage tower lives there, is around two kilometres, as the crow flies, from my daughter’s house. It’s the highest point in the town, our digital hunger fed by the masts and satellite dishes erected upon it. Getting to the masts was on my mind every time I looked at the hill, for nearly two months, but it was not possible to attempt for various reasons. Also not the weather for it, the temperature had been in the 40°C region for the last three weeks. I only had four days left in Australia before I attempted the ride. That morning, as most mornings I was messing around with social media and generally dicking, my planned early start didn’t happen, I left at 1pm, the start of the hottest part of the day. Luckily it was a coolish day, around 27°C, so doable. As I rode down the street I realised I’d forgotten to put on any protective gear including gloves. I had my trail hat on, that was it. Rather stupid not to go back and get kitted up, but as it turns out I didn’t have a fall, so all turned out well. I love Google maps but it’s an arse sometimes, eventually I found the fire road, which is well graded, and not too steep. I rarely pedal uphill, but this time I did. The surrounding bush and farm land was interesting enough to distract me from the pain of pedalling, especially an Alpaca (or Lama?) farm. Eventually the fire road ended, with three locked gates, one was leading to a mine, one to a farm and the other had signs saying it was Crown land and no motor bikes or cars allowed, and that if you steal mud or sticks you will go to prison! There was a gap, it’s amazing how small a gap you can wheel your bike through on the back wheel. So on that basis I assumed it was OK and meant for cyclists and walkers. I passed a small lake which is fed by the Humbug Gully creek, that the fire road follows. There was some fab views but the fire road came to an end again, so I had to go off piste, through the eucalyptus forest, that was pretty steep. I tried to follow the remnants of a gnarly old trail that hadn’t been used in years, in the general direction of the masts. It’s slightly worrying going through forest and bush, looking where you want to go plus for spiders and snakes. I didn’t see any, only a kangaroo that scared the shit out of me, by bounding flat chat across ten metres in front of me. Eventually hitting the fire road again. Whilst having a cool down before taking the fire road, a Ute came by, I was expecting to get wrong, so acted all like ‘I’m meant to be here', the guy just waved. I met him again at the top, he was working on the masts. From there it was only around 500 metres to the top, but very steep, so I walked it. There were some fab views across Lake Hume, the Murray basin and surrounding hills. I had a picnic, took some photos, had a quick chat with the bloke, who told me the fire road didn’t come out in Lavington, then headed off. I was quite worried about getting back through the bush, as I have no sense of direction, I can’t even follow a marked trail. I rode far too long on the steep fire road, so had to walk back up it, to try and find where I needed to go back through the bush. I never really found the way I’d come, and tried not to panic when I was totally lost! It was hard to enjoy the steeper downhill parts whilst lost, as my mind was on finding a way out. Once I could see the fire road in the distance and recognising it was my one, I started to enjoy the downhill, even the smooth fire road was exciting once gravity took over. In all I was out around five hours. I reckon if you knew where you was going, the round trip could be done in three hours, allowing for photo and tucker time! Definitely I’d recommend this ride, but take a map or compass if you’re a dip stick like me! Info The entry fire road (Tower Lane) is an easy road to pedal, well maintained, hard packed loose surface. I'm not sure if riding there is permitted, I did have to squeeze through a gate post! Through-forest old 4WD trail, steep, slightly sketchy, no marked or formed single track. Good fun coming down. To find In Lavington, take Shaw Street onto Tower Lane, Tower lane becomes the fire road. Facilities Don’t quote me on this but I reckon you could drive up Tower Lane to where the gates are locked and park there. The surface is fine for 2WD cars. Free to park Free to ride No water No toilet There is a park not far away with picnic areas and toilets, National Forresters Grove

See my YouTube of this ride here I’d been in the vicinity of NCH since December, but with either it being too hot, being busy working in the garden, being too jet lagged to get up early, and a multitude of other excuses, I’ve only ridden NCH twice this spell in Australia. The first time was in the heat of a summer’s day, I’d forgotten just how hard the push-up is in the summer heat, so didn't stay long. The second time, this time, was a complete omni-shambles. I looked at my weather app and it read 27°C and similar for the rest of the day, a break from the 40°C heat of the last few weeks, so I decide this is my opportunity to do NCH. I set off from Lavington, around a 30 minute cycle ride away, at 08:30. The intention was to session No More Secrets, which is a one diamond black. I entered the reserve via the Gap Road entrance, and started up the fire road, it was bloody hot! After many rests on the way up, by the time I got to the top I was struggling with the heat. I’d taken four litres of water, my rucksack with tools, pump, first aid kit etc, and both my trail and full face helmets. All this weight, along with pushing my bike up and wearing/carrying full protection, made it heavy going. But I couldn’t quite tally why I was so hot, and exhausted. I always ride the blues or blacks of NCH with a full-face helmet, spongebobs, back, elbow and knee protection. It is gnarly AF. Once at the trail head I stopped and had a slice of melon, a drink and a rest, then go on my first run. I wanted to do a slow run, and stop to session all the drops I’d chickened out of last time. On getting to the triple drop, two teenagers were for some reason on the hill, on foot. And watching me as I rode, which I didn’t like at all as I’m embarrassed as to how shit my riding is. They wasn’t rude at all, in fact were complimentary, but it made me feel self-conscious. So I decided to push back to the top and start again, hoping they'd be gone by the time I ran down again. And it would give me the chance to make some improvements to the obstacles that I’d hesitated at on the first run. Alas, I hadn’t counted in the difficulty of getting back up. It’s a steep trail, the sun was blazing by now as it was midday, with very little shade, I struggled to get back up. I thought I must be coming down with something. By the time I did arrive back at the trail-head I had to strip off and rest in the shade of a mast generator for an hour. In fact I had a sleep! I was still overheating and feeling a little dizzy after my rest, so I reluctantly but sensibly decided to abort the No More Secrets mission. I couldn’t bare to put my full-face back on, or my protective gear. I rode down on the blue, Terminated, then Home Run to the bottom. Terminated, I’d say would be an Antur Stiniog red at least, so I was worried about falling without protection but had quite a fast ride down, which made the trip worthwhile. I couldn’t face the ride home, so I rode the fifteen minutes to the river in Noreuil park. I was quite worried at how bad I was feeling, which wasn’t helped by having an I cream, I think it was a shock to my system, I nearly passed out. Anyway I rested up, pity being taken on me by members of the Mitta Mitta Canoe Club, who gave me a cold drink and let me sit in the shade of their boat shed. Sitting messing around on my phone, it was then that I realised that my weather app was on Honolulu, not Albury! Albury was showing 41°C, which explained my overheating. What a twonk!! When my daughter arrived we had a nice swim in the cool river and me and Stumpy got a ride home in the car! So a bit of a disastrous day, but not the end of the world, there’s always another day! Info No More Secrets MTB trail – one diamond black trail Steep, rocky gnarly downhill trail with many natural and man-made drops. Directions to trail: From the Gap fire road turn right at the Ridge junction. Look out for the Glock trail sign on your right, guessing I’d say around 350 metres from the junction, turn towards the Glock trail only for a couple of metres then you hit the Castle and No More Secrets signpost, turn left there. Terminated MTB trail – blue trail Less steep, rocky and slightly rowdy Directions to trail: From the Gap fire road turn left at the Ridge junction. Look out for the signpost on your left, around 100 metres from the junction See my Nailcan Hill blog for info on Nailcan Hill

Albury, NSW sits in a bowl, surrounded by hills. To the north west Nailcan Hill is the backdrop to the town, sprawling approximately eight kilometers, with the highest point being roughly 400 metres above sea level. I believe there was once a mine on the hill, with the miners leaving many rusty nailcans scattered here and there on the rugged bush terrain, hence the name! There are single track and fire road hikes, but better still there are many formed single track mountain bike trails, along with the fire roads making a good ride also. These trails range from cross country rides to scary downhill runs, including the fire roads! Following the reserve south you can take a ride to the rather impressive war memorial monument that sits high above the town. Which is worth a visit. My interest in Nailcan Hill is the rugged and rocky downhill trails. All being quite gnarly, you can take blue or black trails down, linking one to another, to the bottom. Unfortunately there is no uplift at all, whichever entry point you choose there will be some pushing up. To ride on the DH trails from the top you can use the Range Road entrance and ride uphill to the trail heads. The Gap Road entrance leads to a fire road to the top, it's steep. The fire road itself has recently been graded and is in fab condition, as at January 2018. But the Gap fire road is an absolute killer in the summer heat, as there is little shade, hard for an old bird! It’s very hot in the summer months, December to February, I’ve ridden during January but wouldn’t recommend it, as getting you, your bike and your gear to the top, in often 40°C heat, with little shade, is a killer. You’ll need all your energy for the trails, they are gnarly! I’d say ride at dawn or dusk during the summer, or on a rainy day, better still a night ride. The trails really are worth a ride, but the blacks aren’t for the faint-hearted, even the blue from the top, Terminated, is tekky. The photo's below are of the blue, they are old photos and the terrain is rockier now! The trails are maintained by the Albury Wodonga MTB club and what a fab job they do. Go take a look, and also go join a dig to help out. I haven’t joined a dig yet, but will when my being there and a dig coincide. Info Website Free parking Free to ride Information and trail boards Marked and maintained single track No drinking water No toilet A few benches are scattered here and there Rugged bush terrain

On the 26th of January many Australians celebrate a nationwide public holiday, Australia Day. This public holiday commemorates the anniversary of the first fleet of British ships to land on the east coast of Australia in 1788. As a tourist, Australia Day looks widely celebrated, with family and friends coming together to celebrate their wonderful land. A land full of opportunity, vistas and sunshine. Local to where I am staying in NSW, it is customary to float along the Murray River on this day, often towing along an Esky (cool box) full of beer and getting pissed on the way! Following the Murray River a few miles from Mungabeena Reserve to Noreuil Park in Albury, the mode of transport can be anything from a pink inflatable swan to a simple body-board. The flotation devices are often tied together so a family or group of friends travel together. Celebrations continue on arrival at the park foreshore. It’s a fab activity for mid-summer, where temperatures have been 40°C+ on and off for the past month. Alas, there is a dark side to this day, resulting in a growing movement to remove this public holiday, on this date, from the calendar. With demonstrations being held across Australia. And for good reason. The indigenous people suffered horrific atrocities at the hands of the white man when they invaded their beloved land. They consider this day a day of mourning. Over 200 years have gone by since the first landing. The government has apologised to the Aboriginal people. Reparations are being made. I wonder if making one last conciliatory gesture, to change the date of Australia Day is too much to ask? The government insist that no change will be made, I will watch with interest!

See my YouTube on this walk here Staying in the foothills of the Australian Alpine region, there’s no shortage of hills to climb. For a quick Sunday tour, sans bike, we took a short drive across the NSW Victoria border to Mount Granya State Park. The drive from the west is mostly on the well-surfaced twisty, hilly roads around Lake Hume, with some nice views. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the park, it doesn’t look anything too grand on the map or on Google but I was pleasantly surprised. This bijou state park had something special when we visited. And that was the lack of any other human beings! Being a day with temperatures over 40°C, we didn’t opt to hike to the top of Mount Granya, instead just having a mooch around and taking the short trail to the seasonal waterfall. Being mid-summer I wasn’t expecting much from the waterfall at all. The trail is on the slightly rowdy side but not too much for flipflops. On the hike to the waterfall you’ll come across an old scout hut, sort of interesting if you like that sort of thing! A trickle was flowing down the waterfall into the Cotton Mill creek below. It’s a nice local and distant view from the waterfall, not epic but nice We didn’t hang around very long, but it was my kind of non-cycling day out, quick. Yep nice, seen it move on, type of thing! I really enjoyed it, especially knowing we could get lost, although there are markers, and there would be no one around to help! All in all it was a nice little bush walk. Interesting views, rustic, very quiet and has the feeling of being far from civilisation, even though it’s not. I’d love to return during a wetter and cooler season, going to the summit. It’s close enough to Lake Hume to park-up and take a dip in the way home. Info Park website Free parking Free Camping Toilet - non-flushing but very clean and not smelly Picnic area Information board No drinking water available Marked trails Mountain biking isn’t permitted on the single track, only hiking

Bondi beach was our third and last stop on a two week tour over Christmas and New Year 2017/2018, with NYE planned for Bondi. It was only a 90 minute drive from Bundeena, with some scenic views exiting the Royal National Park, until the highway and urban expanse of Sydney. Wanting to make this holiday special for my daughter Sam, who gets little time off work, I spent many many hours online trying to get the best accommodation I could afford. I was unsuccessful at finding self-catering on Stayz and Airbnb in Bondi. Anything near the beach was way out of my price range, and those I contacted within my price range didn’t reply, possible because I only wanted it for five days. After weeks of searching, and places filling up fast, this is Australia mid-summer holiday period as well as Christmas and New Year, I settled on finding a hotel. A deal on Expedia for Hotel Bondi looked pretty good, after days of deliberation I booked it as there was very few rooms left in Bondi on all websites and I didn’t want to miss out getting something near beach-side. As a note, to give you an idea of time-scales, I was looking and booking this around September time. Plan well ahead, it wasn’t a sales pitch, the rooms really were booked up that soon for the Christmas period. We’d driven from Bundeena, around 60kms South of Bondi, in my daughter’s car, still loaded with mountain bikes and all the kit required for mountain riding after a previous visit to Thredbo. On arriving at Campbell Parade in Bondi I was pleasantly surprised to find Hotel Bondi right opposite the famous beach, and amidst the action of Bondi life itself. It has secure underground parking for $10 a night, which was a really good facility, and I felt happy our bikes would be safe down there. I’d booked a twin room, and that’s what we got! The room was big enough, quite non-descript really but perfectly adequate for us, but bumping up the fab factor was a patio door leading out to a large communal balcony running the whole length of the hotel. I spent quite a bit of time out there, and rarely saw anyone else use it. I remember seeing a warning online that this hotel could get noisy due to the bar on the premises. I’m a light sleeper but didn’t find it particularly noisy at all. And the hotel was generally quite quiet. I’d definitely book there again. Apart from a grumpy young man on our first arrival, the staff were really pleasant and helpful. Weather-wise, over the five day period, it ranged from blue skies, hot and sunny, to overcast and rainy. At a guess I’d say around 70% sun/20% cloud/10% rain, still it was always warm. There was tea and coffee making facilities in the room, and a restaurant on the ground floor, which we didn’t use, as it wasn’t really our type of food, but looked quite tasty if you like that sort of thing. Mostly we ate at small cafes that served fresh, vegetarian and vegan food. It can get quite expensive, with a coffee each you’re looking at $50 for a meal for two, which may not sound a lot but times by three meals a day and by five days, it soon eats your budget up! We tended to just have one small meal and one main meal a day to keep the costs down. I find food in Australia rather expensive compared to UK prices, considering most is grown on this vast island, although I guess not transported from other countries, Australia is so big that there are considerable transportation costs anyway. There’s a large indoor market/shop selling all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables plus many health foods, this is no cheaper than most shops there but had a wide range of healthy provisions. If I was to go to Bondi again I would consider paying more for self-catering accommodation, as I think buying and cooking your own meals would save a few hundred dollars a week. One of my favourite cafes was the Earth Store on Gould Street, it was a health food shop and cafe, having a good choice of vege and vegan fayre. We also ate in another small cafe, mostly for breakfast, whose name escapes me, shown in the photo above. They did a wide range of avacado based vege breakfasts, and exceptional coffee! We didn’t do anything epic in Bondi which is slightly blasé, as visiting Bondi Beach was on my bucket list, so that should be considered epic in itself! Mostly we just chilled in cafes or on the beach. The sea can be unpredictable on Bondi Beach, with strong currents and sudden changes of current direction, I guess that’s why the Bondi lifeguards are so busy! It get quite busy by mid morning, we went quite early one time, around 7am, there was hardly anyone around, so would be a good time to go if you want your space! Sam’s a fan of the Bondi Rescue documentary TV program, so when they came and parked up and filmed where we were sitting she was quite excited! I’d only ever seen snippets of it so didn’t know any of the people, so couldn’t really join in the excitement! I had some fab bodyboard runs, always saying just one more, then twenty runs later realise I’ve been ages. I wish I’d made an effort to get surfing lessons there, but we left it too late. Sam wanted to watch the Holly Holmes/Cris Cyborg UFC fight, so we took a trip to the Sydney UFC Gym to train and to watch the fight, which was pretty cool. The gym is in a large modern building in a Sydney CBD area, with fancy car showrooms and the like adjacent. The cafe at the gym was closed, as it was NYE, and there wasn’t any local cafes around, so was a little difficult to find food. I hadn’t trained in a gym for weeks, so having worked-out for a few hours, found myself stiffening up the next day. That’ll teach me! Sam joined in a Muay Thai class, I just did stretching, weights and a little bag work, without gloves it’s a little difficult! On the night of New years eve, we had something to eat then walked to Caffyn Park, around forty minutes uphill from our hotel. Where we could see across the bay with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We had a really good view of the fireworks, without all the kerfuffle of going into Sydney city itself, and they were spectacular! Sam’s not a fan of mountain biking, but will do it occasionally to please me, even though for a beginner she’s really good, you’d think she’d been doing it for some years. So we didn’t get the bikes out in Bondi at all except when I went for a quick whizz up the strip on Stumpy for a photo opportunity! We stayed in the hotel from the 30th of December, checking out on the 3rd of January. And that was the end of our just-over two weeks away, we’d gradually moved North on the NSW coast and were now around 600km from Sam’s house, so had a seven hour drive home to look forward to! Luckily there are some fabulous views along the way to keep you awake! I have some regrets, inasmuch I wish I’d had more energy to do more, ride more, get surfing lessons etc. Alas with being over-tired from the two weeks doing the garden the energy just wasn’t there. Lesson learnt; conserve energy for action not work! I may visit Bondi again, but really I want to venture up higher on the Eastern coast, so would probably fly/drive to do that. For the future, definitely!

Bundeena was our second stop on a two week tour over Christmas and New Year 2017/2018, with five days booked in a beach-house in Bundeena. It was a long drive from Thredbo, around six hours and 600 kms through the Kosiuszko National Park and into the Royal National Park to reach Bundeena. A most scenic journey albeit long. I’d spent many weeks looking online for beach-side accommodation on the coast, North East of Thredbo, where we’d spent Christmas in the mountains, for the second leg of our Christmas holiday. Eventually I’d settled on booking five days at the Waves B&B in Bundeena, that I'd found on the Stayz website. We left Thredbo on Boxing Day, and made our way up to Bundeena. I’d no idea what to expect of Bundeena or the accommodation. Bundeena itself is in the Royal National Park, just a small seaside village with a couple of shops and a restaurant. I was apprehensive as to what the accommodation would be like, as you can read all the reviews you like online, but it’s a personal thing, so I was slightly worried! And the B&B in the description made it sound a little 1980's! As it turns out there was no need to be worried at all. As we were being shown around the beach-house, I can remember looking back at Sam, opening my mouth wide, basically saying this is unreal and how lucky are we! The name Waves Beachside Accommodation B&B belies just what this accommodation is! It’s a large studio, in fact huge, with kitchen and bathroom. It’s exquisitely decorated and furnished, you would call it designer boutique, with works of art adorning the walls and floors, furnished with high quality designer pieces. Peter and Lynda, the hosts, live in the upper floor, and the B&B is the lower floor. You drive from the road into the rear paved garden/rain forest! and park under-cover. The studio doesn’t open onto the beach, you need to walk up the side of it to reach the front garden, which is basically on the beach. Also in the front garden is a covered terrace facing the ocean, in which you can sit and relax. Totally fab, totally chilled. Lynda hadn’t missed a thing, everything that could be provided was! Down to big fluffy bath robes, sun-cream, beach towels, you name it, Lynda had thought of it! Lynda provides a fridge full of veges, soya milk, eggs plus tea, cereal etc, so you only have a little shopping to do and can make all your meals there, which saves on restaurant costs. Of which we only sampled the local Driftwood restaurant once, it was OK but I think they slightly missed the health-food target, with what I had anyway. Both Lynda and Peter are great characters, and very kind and interesting people. We had something in common with Peter, I learned he had worked in motorsport up until around five years ago when he sold his motorsport spares business, and is now an artist. His art can be found around the studio, and also you can buy prints and pieces if you so wish…….not my bag I’m afraid! But his work was very good. We spent five days in the beach-house, we swam in the sea a lot and messed around on the bodyboard. A ten minute beach walk takes you to the ferry, which crosses the bay from Bundeena to Cronulla, which is a larger busy and bustling seaside town, if you want some action. We took a look over there for a day, there’s some nice restaurants, shops and beaches. We got the bikes out once, driving out and parking up at the Audley Dance Hall tourist spot, within the Royal National Park, and taking the bikes out for a leisurely ride down Lady Carrington drive through the rain forest. It’s an undulating family trail, with some fantastic rain forest views. Riding back the way you came, takes around two hours in total after photo stops! There are some decent downhill sections to get a bit of speed up, but you have to be careful of bikers and hikers coming the other way! The Audley park has a cafe, visitors centre, shop and toilets. We didn’t look around, but it was very busy with tourists, and the grounds looked very nice indeed.....I'm not sure what the Dance Hall thing is? I’m sure if we hadn’t spent so much time just chilling, we could have taken some really scenic hikes, done some waterfall hunting, or some water-sports but really we couldn’t be arsed! It was just so nice to relax at the beach and swim in the sea. I think Lynda and Peter must have wondered why we’d bothered coming as we didn’t do much at all! Which was what we both needed. If you ever want a total getaway, this is the place for you! Our next stop was to be a bit more lively, Bondi Beach. We were sorry to leave Bundeena and the beach-house, wishing we could have stayed longer, it really was a fantastic little piece of heaven! And if the chance arises, I will be back! Info You can find a link to Waves B&B here You can find info on the Lady Carrington trail here

See my YouTube of our Christmas day ride here I’d been planning my and my daughter Sam’s Christmas holiday for months, with accommodation booked way back in September, we set off for the first leg on the 19th of December for a week in the Thredbo ski resort, over Christmas. Christmas is mid-summer in Australia, and is when a lot of Aussies take their annual holidays. As there's no snow the resort is open for mountain biking and hiking. For our holiday I had wanted to ride some mountain trails on our summer break, Sam had wanted some relaxing beach-side time. As a compromise, we agreed a week in the mountains and just over a week at the beach! Lavington, where Sam lives, is in the foothills of the Australian Alpine region, our drive to Thredbo was South East, the further we went, the more mountainous it became. A fab four hour drive on scenic twisty mountain roads. On entry to the Kosciuzko State Park, you need to stop and buy a permit, around $12 for each day you’re there, and display the pass in your car window. The regulations are pretty tight in Aussie parks, with no dogs allowed in most of them. I was hoping that the accommodation I’d booked, through the Australian Stayz website, was going to prove to be a good choice. I had been extra cautious when booking, it took me weeks! Anyway on arrival we wasn’t disappointed, the ski lodge was spacious……we had eight beds for the two of us! It was tastefully and recently decorated, with equally tasteful fixtures, fittings and furniture. And very well positioned, a five minute bike ride from the Ski-lift, that takes you to the top of the trails. Thredbo was rather quiet over Christmas, apparently most people start their summer holiday after the big birthday. A lot of the shops and restaurants weren’t open, not that we needed them, we bought our food at the supermarket which was open and cooked at the lodge. We arrived Tuesday evening, and just took a stroll around Thredbo in the evening sun. Wednesday we took a drive out to the Crackenback resort, where we stopped for a mid-morning coffee, then went on to Jindabyn where we stopped at a fab cafe called Birchwood, for some fine Vege lunch. There didn't appear to be much in Jindabyn, apart from a lake, perhaps we didn’t look hard enough! I think that perhaps it’s a winter resort also. We had a visitor due on Thursday, Sam’s mate Ashley was coming for a couple of nights. We decided rather than ride the trails while she was with us, that we should hike to the top of Mount Kosciuzko. It’s kind of one of the things you have to do if you’re there, it is the highest peak in Australia after all, and is in fact one of the 'Seven Peaks', which is quest to climb the highest peak on all continents on this marvellous planet! We took the easy way up, which is by the Ski-lift, to around three quarters of the way up, after that there’s a 14km round trip hike to the summit and back to the Ski-lift. I didn’t enjoy it all that much as the walk up is mostly on a man-made walkway, which doesn’t make it very interesting or challenging. I think there is a ‘proper’ hike up, but I didn’t really fancy that either, as I just wanted it over and done with as I wanted to be on my bike! But I’m sure the long way up is more interesting. Bikes aren’t allowed on the walk-way btw, I think you can take a different route to somewhere near the top on a bike though. Be a fab ride down, but a punishing uphill ride! Don't get me wrong it's definitely worth doing, just not my bag. The hike up the walk-way takes you by some beautiful scenery, and some rocky out-crops to climb on. There was still some snow here and there, melting into mountain streams and lakes. Be careful though, the sun and strong winds up there really can catch you out, as it’s cool but very sunny, with no shade, you need sun protection. We had a picnic at the top, took photos and sat for a while then made our way down, it would have been so much better on a bike! Facility-wise there’s toilets around half an hour down from the summit, and at the ski-lift there’s a restaurant and toilets. With cafes and shops at the bottom. Ashley left on the Friday, and we got the bikes out and rode some short trails around the bottom of the mountain. On Saturday we we bought a day Ski-lift pass and took it to the top and rode the Flow Trail down. Stopping for lunch, then rode it again afterwards. The All Mountain Trail and the Flow Trail start at the same point and don’t split for around 2 kilometers. And it is by no means what I would consider a flow trail during that time! I just had it in my head it would be an smooth mountain trail, but it’s quite rocky and rowdy for quite some way. Once you are around half way down it becomes what I would call a flow trail. Perhaps it seemed worse because I hadn’t ridden for so long, but I found it quite intimidating. The second run was easier, although I did have a fall on one of the big berms at the bottom. But it is a pretty good trail, definitely one to try. Sunday, Christmas eve, we did some food shopping and short hikes in the day, then in the evening we went to, what we thought, was a Carol Service. Which actually turned out to be an evening of Carols and Christmas songs sung by a group of ladies dressed as Santa, who were rather good, in one of the hotel gardens. It was all quite festive in a daylight and sunny sort of way, with around 50 little kids getting very excited, especially when Santa turned up! On Monday, Christmas day, we got the bikes out again and rode the All Mountain Trail. It's a pretty rad way to spend Christmas Day, the best ever I'd say! The trail really is pretty awesome, with varying terrain as the name suggests and is 10km long. We got on the wrong trail at the bottom and missed some of the flow line, there’s two different exits, one of which need some pedalling (swearing). I really want to ride the All Mountain Trail again, what you really need to do to enjoy the ride is to carry your downhill speed through to make the uphill parts easier, which is something I wasn’t doing. Hopefully I’ll get back there one of these days, and ride it better. After the riding, we cooked ourselves a ‘Christmas Dinner’, and took an evening stroll on one of the short hikes. Leaving around 10am on the Tuesday, I was really sorry to go, and regretting that I’d only ridden the trails twice. An opportunity missed, alas I just didn’t have the energy! And so on to our second stop of our trip, the coast. Info You can find a link to the Three Bears No. 1 chalet here You can check-out Thredbo facilities here

A forced work shut-down means you have to take holiday when it’s not always convenient, last August was just that for me. I was saving for a trip to Australia so couldn’t afford a proper holiday and my mates were off to Morzine two weeks after the shut-down and I couldn’t get the time off work for that, or afford it. I had toyed with the idea of a tour of bike parks in the UK but the weather forecast was for rain so I had decided against it……until the first Monday morning of the break, I still couldn’t decide what to do so in a mad fit, mid-morning I bundled Stumpy, Desmond and my camping gear in my Peugeot 207 and set off for Scotland Monday - Loch Lomond National Park I didn’t stop until I got to Loch Lomond National Park, where I camped by the shore of a Loch for the night. It was a Caravan Club site, so a bit expensive at £21, but a nice enough place with decent facilities. One thing I wasn’t expecting was the mozzies! Which is something that I experienced all my time in Scotland, midges and mozzies, I was bitten, a lot! It was a fine dry night with a beautiful clear morning. I set off for Fort William first thing. The scenic views just kept coming, and were superb. I’d not visited this area before, and was totally blown away by just how beautiful it was, especially around the Glen Coe area. So we can excuse the midges and mozzies! I decided to find a campsite before I rode at Fort William, to make sure I got a spot as it was very busy with tourists. The first site I viewed was small, very cluttered and in a town, so I continued looking, settling on a fab site, Glen Nevis Self-Catering Park with the backdrop of Ben Nevis one way and forest and hills in the opposite direction. It was reasonably priced, around £12 and very good facilities and an onsite shop, plus intermittent wifi. I set up camp, then set off for finding Fort William downhill. Tuesday - Fort William was very busy, mainly with tourists and some mountain bikers. The weather was sunny and dry. I had a chat with a local guy in the car park, funnily enough he was from a town not far from my home town of Banbury, he’d lived in Scotland for about 7 years and had a full on Scottish accent. We chatted about local rides. You can buy a single ride in the gondola to the top of the mountain, it costs around fifteen quid with the bike, so I opted for that. I don’t like how the bikes hook up to the gondola, you have to have your bike up on end with the rear wheel in the air and it hangs off the gondola by the pointy part of the seat, a bit tricky but anyway it was fine. I stopped at the World Cup start gate, took a photo of Desmond, whilst I was doing that it started to rain. The restaurant and viewing platform at the top of the mountain overlook the first section of the downhill run, so you really don’t want to fall in front of all those people! I managed to stay on the bike for the first section, but by then the rain was heavy, with big big droplets. I rode the easier sections, and scooted down the rest of it on my arse, there’s not really anywhere to push down as the grassy banks are very rough, steep and boggy, and with the heavy rain it was tricky. The track is very steep and very rocky, not sure why I thought I could ride it tbh! I’d walk down, check out a section, think oh yeah I can do that, only for it to be too steep to push back up, which was annoying. But still, I had experienced a World Cup run, and after seeing it had even more respect for the DH riders. You’ve gotta be fully committed to ride this. The rain was still heavy by the time I got back to the bottom, with no signs of the clouds moving, I packed up and went back to my campsite. Good job I did, it rained for hours. It was a wet and windy evening with the rain clearing by nightfall. The view was so beautiful looking out of my tent on to Ben Nevis. I decided to not return to Fort William the next day, but move on in my tour, I wasn’t sure where but thought it would be cool to ride down from the top of Mount Cairngorm. So set off directly East, for the Cairngorms. As I was driving East, I recognised a trail centre sign the young man at Fort William had told me about, I didn’t really understand what he was saying because of his accent, but this is what he had mentioned. It was a nice sunny day by now, so I pulled in to the Laggan Wolftrax trail centre. Wednesday - Laggan Wolftrax You can see the signpost from the road, very understated for just how fab this riding was. The car parking cost around three quid with the riding free. The cafe is pretty cool, serving home made fayre and selling insect repellent! There are toilets in the cafe. The center is run by volunteers via the Laggan Forest Trust, and it’s not only for bikers but walkers too. And what a credit to them, it really is a fabulous little place. I decided to take the Lower Red Run, of which the first part is uphill to the top. I rode and pushed, it took around half an hour, perhaps a little longer, but was totally worth it for the ride down. The trails pass through rocky heathland and rocky outcrops, and it’s nearly all single track with some man made features so subtle you’d think they were natural. There’s some jumps and sweeping berms lower down on the run too. It was nearly all downhill, only a tiny section to pedal uphill, but nothing much. I enjoyed this run so much I just had to do it again. Put it on your ride list. I continued my drive to the East of Scotland, there was some good scenic views but the further East I got the less pretty, I’m not a fan of the tree-less heathlands. I stopped off in Aviemore, again it was very busy with tourists. I went into the tourist information centre to see if I could find out if there was a local downhill bike park. Alas the assistants said there was none. So I continued my journey to Mount Cairngorm. Wednesday - Mount Cairngorm on reaching the mountain, which was a little misty, I made my way with Stumpy, to the train station ticket booth, where they informed me that they didn’t take bikes. I had read they did, but anyways, I couldn’t persaude them to let me take him. The scenery wasn’t pretty enough for me to hike, so I packed up and left. I so regret not going to Glen Coe instead of the Caringorms. A definite for my next trip. By now it was getting to early evening time, so I really needed to find a campsite. I eventually found one on a farm by a river, Inver Mill Farm Caravan Park. Again it was nice, not much for views except the pretty river. But it did have a train line running beyond the woodland the other side of the river, hence a little noisy. But the facilities were good, and it was cheap, around £10. The next morning I set off for the Inverliethen Downhill trails, on recommendation from a friend. Taking the long road south, I passed many familiar signposts from my motorsport past, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Knockhill, which brought back a lot of mischievous memories. Thursday - Inverliethen Downhill I spent quite a bit of time locating the trails, only to learn the uplift no longer runs, and that it was a bastard push-up, so headed for Glentress Forest. Thursday - Glentress Forest There is a fab visitor center at Glentress, with restaurant, bike shop, toilets. Plus an on-site camping and glamping facility. I set up camp, then went to explore the trails on Stumpy. I took the blue trail, it wasn’t a difficult ride up from what I remember, and at the top I found the free-ride area, so spent quite a few hours messing around there. From the free-ride park, you can chose which trail you take down, I took the blue, and it was a really good single track flowy downhill run. Once at the bottom I walked the fire road up to the free-ride area again, and had a play, taking the blue trail down to get back to the bottom. I also discovered you can drive the fire road up and park at the free-ride area. The parking cost was £7 for the day at the visitor centre or at the free-ride area, and riding was free. The free ride area is quite big so you can while away some hours there to practice your riding skills. The lines run from beginner to advanced, so there’s something for everyone. I spent the night at Glentress. And having to juggle my tour in line with the weather forecast, to stay where it was sunny, I rode Glentress again on the Friday. Friday, late afternoon, I set off down south towards Danny Harts Descend Bike Park. The campsite the bike park had recommended was a field, on a small holding, with a one chemical toilet. I did fancy that so made my excuses and went to find somewhere with more facilities. Eventually finding Hetherick Caravan Park. The people were nice, the park had good facilities, washrooms, laundry etc. No views though, but it didn’t matter, I just needed a place for the night. It rained most of the night, but by morning it had cleared up and I headed to the bike park. Saturday - Descend Bike Park was only around fifteen minutes from the caravan park. I had booked a slot online, with up-lift, which includes the Hamsterley forest parking fee. I was intending to do the one dot black runs, but accidentally got on the three dotters, which were beyond my skills level. So had to watch where I was going on the next run. There was a mobile mechanic on site, so I got a new rear mech cable put on Stumpy, whilst riding Desmond. Danny’s dad was driving the uplift, he was a laugh, and I got to sit in the front with Danny too, so a special treat for a downhill fan! I walked the push-up a couple of times, as I was getting lost, as usual and not finding the uplift spot, the push-up isn’t too bad, nothing like Aston Hill! I stayed on the one dot run, I think called the Main Line, it’s quite good for a novice, and runs in to a two dot, which I mostly managed to do at speed. I had a bit of an off, coming from a drop into a berm, I clipped my pedal on the side, which stopped the bike dead and me going OTB. I pulled my bad shoulder a bit, but worse it dinged my lower and upper fork. Not the end of the world, just looks a bit shit. After that run, and a sunny day until then, the heavens suddenly opened with torrential rain, so I called it a day. It was around 16:30 so the uplift had stopped anyway. Definitely somewhere to return to soon. Due to the weather patterns, I decided to head directly West again, to the lake district, Whinlatter Forest, which had been recommended to me by some lads at Descend. It’s rather scenic around there, and I found a camping spot at a rather nice pub named the Wheatsheaf in a small village near the Whinlatter Pass. Again the people were nice. I had my first proper meal, instead of Pot Noodle, at the Wheatsheaf, which was excellent. The facilities were good, the views were nice too. Sunday - Whinlatter Forest After a good nights sleep I headed for the Whinlatter Forest visitors center, only around fifteen minutes from where I’d camped, on twisty mountain roads. This is the best equipped facility I been to, in all my days riding. The visitors center is pristine, the car park is pristine, the trails were pristine, the fire road was pristine! There’s obviously a really good manager handling this Forestry Commission site. The car park had the latest technology, number plate recognition, so you drove in, and paid when you left, no ticket buying. The restaurant served good food, the toilets were clean, I can’t express enough how impressed I was with how the whole facility was run. It was busy with day trippers, taking hikes and walks. For the biking, there is a blue North route up the mountain, then a blue on the South side of the valley. One was better than the other, but I can’t remember which, both were good though. And both, you have to climb, then there’s a really good flowing descent. It can get quite slippery at the top on the damp mossy rocks. Again all single track, and really worth a visit. It is apparently Englands only mountain forest. It’s scenic, reasonably quiet and fun riding down. Highly recommended, and definitely on the return list. I set off the next morning, via Kirkby Stephen to visit one of my old muckers from Renault F1, into Wales. I found a campsite on a working farm not far from LLandegla Forest. Probably a bit of a mistake camping on a working farm, as the 300 sheep had had their lambs taken away that day, and bleeted all night long, luckily the farmer provided ear plugs. It was a sad sorry sound, and I felt very bad for the sheep. The facilities were good again at this site, it cost around £10 for the night. Monday - Llandegla Forest has a restaurant, bike shop and wifi. I think there was a parking fee of £7, but no cost to ride. I took the blue trail, which I got rather cheesed off on as it went up and up for ages, then you find the descent and think yes this is gonna be good, only for it to go up and down, up and down. I got really lost, seriously lost at one point, I was on the red then the black, then lost on the fire road, then it started raining heavily, still lost I was starting to get worried, eventually seeing a rider in the distance, so I was able to return to the red run down to the trail center. There is a skills areas, not very big but big enough to spend an hour or so. I didn’t check-out the free ride centre, but I hear it’s quite good. I was totally pissed off with all the uphill riding, I’d been there around four hours, so gave it up as a bad job and moved on. If you’re into cross country it’s probably really good, the downs were all good runs, but too short to enjoy, before the next up! But I was lost, so probably I didn’t have a good experience because of that. I made my way south, by the time I got near to my next riding venue, it was raining heavily. I found a campsite on a farm, again it was aroud £10 for the night. It had shower and wash facilities, which were fine. But the site was really small, and I had to camp on an incline, if you’ve ever done that you’ll know how uncomfortable it is! Tuesday - Black Mountain Bike Park was not far from my campsite perhaps ten minutes. There was no uplift on this day, and only two other bikers were there. In the now hot sunshine, the push-up was quite long, but worth it. It was around £10 to ride, you put your money in an envelope in an honesty box, with the waiver form. The blue run down was excellent, I did it twice and was then so knackered after poor sleep for a week, that I decided to return home. Another for the ‘must return’ list So that was my week away, it was pretty tiring with all the driving, setting up camp, lack of sleep and riding. I returned home to my comfy bed super stoked but totally worn out! I’d been to eight campsites and ridden seven new-to-me trail centers. It really was a staycation to remember. It’s a shame the weather was so unsettled, I’d have been able to plan better if it had been a settled sunshine period. I will definitely do it again, returning to some of the above sites, and including some new ones, especially Glen Coe and perhaps Innerliethen, as I hear the uplift has resumed now. In all, with diesel, camp fees, food and bike park costs I only spent around £350, so it really was a cheap holiday. I wouldn’t want to do it with someone else, for two reasons, 1) If I felt like a lie-in, instead of riding I did and 2) I’m so slow at getting up the hills on my bike! Summer 2018 here I come.