Real World Riding Articles
Thoughts on mountain biking throughout the year,
Follow the links to the articles listed below
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Articles are below in the following Sections:
- Getting Started
- The Home Mechanic
- Complementary Skills
- Riding in events
- The West Highland Way
- The Tour Du Mont Blanc
- General (Biking) interest
- Trying an Ebike
- Intro to Bike-packing
- Psychology for Riders, Coaches and Leaders
Getting Started
Helping newcomers make the decision about what they want to ride and how to get hold of it.
Having decided what kind of rider you want to be - what bike do you want? - advice on what to get and what to look out for
Got your new bike, then this will guide you through making sure it's safe and the basics of getting going. Still relevant if you're a returning biker as much as if this is your first mountainbike.
The Home Mechanic
Some encouragement to get out into the garage/shed/spare bedroom/hall and try a bit of tinkering
Going 1x - looking at the ins and outs initially of moving from 9speed to 10speed, and then going the whole hog and converting to a single chainring at the front and committing to 1x10.
Complementary Skills
About Navigation and the psychology of knowing where you are, as well as encouraging folks to get ready for adventure
An introduction to riding at night with thoughts on lights and planning
Reflections and thoughts on biking in the snow
Riding in Events
Information for anyone considering Enduro riding
An account of the 2015 Bluegrass Glen Coe Enduro, a Gravity orientated blind Enduro for those interested in trying something a bit more bonkers
An account of the 2015 Dunkeld Enduro by Team RWR for those interested in finding out a bit more about this type of riding
The West Highland Way
The account of a journey along the West Highland Way over 3 days in May. Insight into the myths brought up in the first Article and learning for those planning to do a similar trip in the future
Some inspiration for those travelling a long way to ride the West Highland Way to have a look at the maps and perhaps plan a leisurely ride stopping off to sample some fantastic riding in the areas passed through, and perhaps a day in Fort William at the end?
An introduction to the West Highland Way as a worthwhile route in itself, but also part 1 of a series of articles looking at using it as the basis for an epic trip to the Western Highlands. Part 1 answers some questions and busts some myths
The Tour Du Mont Blanc
An article about a 5-day circumnavigation of Europe's largest mountain on bike (and foot) - an account, a photo gallery, links to the video of the trip, and some food for thought for anyone contemplating this classic mountainbike epic
General Interest
Urging bikers to look outside the trail centres to find adventures and experiences on our hills and mountains, and to bike with minimum impact to all
While urging riders to look outside the trail centres, offering some food for thought (including swiss cheese) on staying safe in bigger and wilder places
Top 10 reasons why you should put Scotland on your list of places to go biking, wherever you are in the world
Delving into what may be the biggest bag on the trail - The Guide bag. Ever wondered what's in there? Take a peek
Introduction to Bike-Packing
From the basics of what to carry for the first time, so exploring different ways of packing your bike, some of the different ways of packing, shelters and stoves, as well as some of the psychological tricks useful on big trips
Ebiking for beginners
Trying out an Ebike for 5 days in the winter was a great chance to find out some of the ins-and-outs of ebikes, their limitations and their uses, and of course have some fun in the meantime
Psychology For Riders, Leaders and Coaches
The Power of "YET" and leaving the door open for possible future performance and not giving up
The following Articles form a linked series which you can follow from one to the next
Riding Psychology 101 - Introduction
Some educational theory and the key to the whole series of articles.
Mindset - Getting in the right frame of mind
The second article in the series looking at the key theory of mindset and how it affects our ability to develop and learn
An introduction to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
The third article, a short explanation of a model explaining our motivators in a changing environment as human animals
Peak Experiences - Being in the Zone and feeling the Flow
An explanation of the two peak experience states and how they can affect performance
Understanding Attentional Focus
How we concentrate in different areas, and how this helps and hinders our performance
Attentional State and Performance
The final article, looking at how we can use an understanding of Attentional Focus and the associated models to boost performance
and the series conclusion: a 13 point plan for developing performance