All Terrain Cycles Blog Latest news, updates and offers written by the All Terrain Cycles team Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:30:21 GMT en-us sales@allterraincycles.co.uk bmx blog/195.html Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:30:21 BST blog/195.html SDA Series 2011 National Championships Llangollen. Jed Whitfield Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Jed Whitfield (masters Category) ~ I am currently lying 2nd in the Scottish Downhill Series, winning my first SDA race at round 3 Dunkeld, never having raced this course before it gave me a real buzz, because of the shear gnarlyness of the course. Next was the Scottish Champs at Killen, which was another new track for me - steep, boggy moorland. I loved the track and despite a crash at the top I still managed 3rd place. I was on a high going to the National champs at Llangollen. I loved the steep technical track and qualified 3rd with a few problems. Knowing I could go faster, I took 4 seconds off my first run time to take the silver medal! I was totally stoked with my run and more stoked with the result. The Giant Glory is riding mint! I am really enjoying the bike and racing this year. Thanks, All Terrain Cycles. blog/189.html Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:42:01 GMT blog/189.html Joe Flanagan's La Bresse World Cup Race Report (24/08/2011) Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} My 2011 season in the Expert Category is not over yet; however it has been going fairly well. I am currently placed 2nd in the Scottish Series overall and 4th in the British Series. Since I began racing it was always my ambition to one day ride a world cup event. Because my national season was going fairly well I applied to British Cycling to race the La Bresse World Cup in France in August. My application was successful. Off to La Bresse I went. Whooop, 'bring it on'! Practice went well. I was loving the track and buzzing off the atmosphere of racing against the world's best. Friday was the day of qualification. Strangely I had very little nerves and felt psyched as I left the start gate. My run was solid and focused until one switchback section. The section of track had been blown out during practice and was destroyed even more when I came to it in my qualifying run. My front wheel slid out and I lost control for a split second. On a track as short as La Bresse I knew it would be split seconds that made all the difference. I gave it my all on the lower section and turned round to look at the timing board as I crossed the line. 84th position! Oh damn!! Out of 270 riders at a world cup you must finish in the top 80 to qualify for the finals. By the time all the qualifying runs were complete I finished up in 90th position and was half a second off qualifying. I knew my small mistake had cost me and felt disappointed at the result. After some later reflection I realised it was my first world cup event and 90th in the world wasn't so bad after all. I now feel being so close to qualifying has made me even keener to train and prepare as much as I can for the next opportunity I will hopefully get to race on the world stage. Thanks to All Terrain Cycles, British Cycling and all the people who helped me to get where I am. Joe Flanagan blog/188.html Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:29:27 BST blog/188.html Bronte BigK Cyklesportive 2011 NEWS RELEASE CYCLISTS SOUGHT FOR CHARITY SPORTIVE The second Bronte BigK Cyklesportive hosted by Leeds City College, Keighley Campus is all set for on Sunday 17th July and organisers are inviting cyclists of all standards to take advantage of an early bird offer for the event which will raise vital funds for Sue Ryder - Manorlands Hospice. The event includes routes which suit all abilities from junior beginners up to professional riders. The two shortest routes of 4.8 miles and 1.8 miles are the traditional 'race the train' routes where cyclists try to outpace the Worth Valley railway train from Keighley Station (or Lees school) to Oxenhope. The longest route is 88 miles long and takes in a cumulative accent of over 8,100 ft with 21 climbs including, Goose Eye Brow, the Murder Mile at Silsden and the climb from Saltaire Village to the top of Baildon. Routes of 24 miles, 43 miles and 65 miles are also available in an effort to cater for all abilities. The early bird offer of entry for GBP20 lasts until Thursday 30th June. The event is being planned by the same team that organises the Keighley BigK 10K run, members of which this week presented a cheque for GBP28,000 raised at the run held in April which over 750 people participated. John Dennis of Sport Keighley said, "We were delighted with this year's BigK 10K and very grateful to the local community for turning out in such numbers. We hope that a large number of the cyclist community will turn out in the same way for the CyKlesportive and our third event, the Bronte BigK Mountain Bike Challenge which is held on 18th September. Sue Ryder Events Fundraiser Andrew Wood said, "A huge thank you is due to the BigK team who have built up some great local events in aid of the hospice. We also delighted to have two new partners on board this year in All Terrain Cycles of Saltaire who are our feed station sponsors and the National Trust team at East Riddlesden Hall who will host a camp over and Pasta-que on the night before the event. All routes aside from the traditional 'Race the train' start and finish at the new Leeds City College, Keighley Campus where participants receive a well earned BBQ cooked meal on their return. Anyone who wants to sign up to this event or who wants more information should visitwww.brontecyklesportive.org.uk.Those who want a paper entry form or who are interested in sponsoring the event should phone Andrew Wood at the Manorlands fundraising office on 01535 640430 or email andrew.wood@sueryder.org blog/187.html Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:05:40 BST blog/187.html All Terrain Cycles are Sponsoring The 2011 CyKlesportive – Race the Train! 17th July, Keighley, West Yorkshire An 88 mile cycle route with 8, 530ft of accent on 21 pennine hill climbs or 4 lesser routes to suit all standards see below. Route 1 - 4.8 miles 1 hill Route 2 - 24 miles 4 hills Route 3 - 43 miles 12 hills Route 4 - 65 miles 15 hills Route 5 - 88 miles 21 hills Race the train is a well established annual cycling event in Keighley which sees cyclists set off from adjacent to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway platform in Keighley at the same time as the 9:40am steam train to Oxenhope. Participants aim to get to the top end of the line (a 4.8 mile, 6427 ft climb) by road before the train travels up the Worth Valley line and arrives at Oxenhope Station. Cost of entry is GBP5 for the traditional Keighley to Oxenhope route. There is a bacon buttie awaiting the finishers of this event. As in 2010, the 2011 the event has been extended to include a Cyclosportive event of varying routes, up to 88 miles in length and 8,530ft hill climb. Route Maps Leg 1http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=191313 Leg 2 http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=191311 Leg 3 http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=191293 Leg 4 http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=194484 Leg 5 http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=194496 Register online here: >Register for the traditional Race the Train 4.8 mile route >Register for the Cyklesportive Junior - legs 2 to5 >Register forthe Cyklesportive Adult place - legs 2 to5 blog/186.html Thu, 26 May 2011 16:42:56 BST blog/186.html All Terrain Cycles wins with Santini All Terrain's Tony Booth wins a Giro 2011 Part of the Team Experience with Fisher Outdoor distributed premium clothing brand, Santini. If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to be part of a pro cycling team competing the world's biggest races, feel free to drop All Terrain supremo Tony Booth a line to ask him in a couple of weeks time. Thanks to a global Santini competition, Tony is leaving Yorkshire behind for a few days as he jets off to the Giro d'Italia next week to sample life as part of a pro team. Starting with a VIP visit to Santini's factory in Bergamo, Italy, Tony will join one of the Santini sponsored teams at this year's Giro d'Italia on 26th May. Joining them for dinner that evening, this will be his first chance to get to know the team and chat cycling with the riders and team managers. On 27th May, Tony will then meet up with his team at the Giro village and follow the riders in the team car at that day's stage of the race. So whilst he won't be out there in his own Santini kit locking horns with Cavendish and co, he will be closer to the action than most of us can only dream about. A truly exclusive money can't buy prize. "Shocked, delighted and excited" is how Tony describes himself when he took the congratulatory call from Fisher's Santini Brand Manager Jonathan Sangan. "Cycling has always been my passion and to be able to experience something like this is truly indescribable" "Since we started All Terrain Cycles fifteen years ago, we've grown unbelievably. In this time many things in the industry have changed but my love for cycling most certainly hasn't. That's why I can't wait to get out to Italy next week" Fisher's Jonathan Sangan, pictured with Tony at the All Terrain Cycles shop this week, comments, "Tony will be warmly welcomed in to the team as he enjoys a full VIP experience from start to finish" "Santini has long been associated with the very best riders and teams in cycling. They are keen to ensure that Tony experiences every aspect of our fascinating sport from the very heart of it, the team car, as well as enjoy Santini's home country and its legendary hospitality" "It's an amazing, once in a lifetime trip and Tony will enjoy every single second of it I am sure" he concludes. Tony's trip comes at a busy time for the Saltaire, Bradford based retailer. Work is currently underway in further extending and improving its already impressive base at Salts Mill and Tony is very hands on in the building and development work. "We are really busy with the store improvements but nothing will stop me getting on that plane. Even the wife threatening to accompany me and go shopping whilst I was with the team didn't put me off" he jokes Established fifteen years ago, All Terrain Cycles is home to some of the very best cycling brands, including Santini, both in-store and online. "The future is looking very exciting for All Terrain Cycles but for me my immediate thoughts are turning to Italy and the Giro d'Italia. A big thank you to everyone at Santini and Fisher Outdoor" he concludes. Santini is exclusively distributed in the UK by Fisher Outdoor Leisure. For more information on the entire Santini range, including the pink Giro d'Italia jersey as modeled by Tony in the picture, please visit www.fisherb2b.co.uk Santini - riding on the shoulders of giants since 1965 blog/185.html Tue, 24 May 2011 10:46:04 BST blog/185.html New Year, new Season. Team Terrain is back once again for another season of racing. Normal 0 This year we kicked things off at the 2nd winter round at Innerleithen, Scotland. Starting this year we have a new rider Gregor Notmen, representing us in a very strong junior category, things are looking promising for him this year. All our riders are on the new Giant Glory 00, thanks to Giant and all out other sponsors for a speedy delivery on bikes and components this year. We also start the year a rider down, Ali Parkin one of our expert riders has been out of action for the best part of a year after separating his shoulder at the first National in Wales last year. Ali had re-constructive surgery on his shoulder last week, so watch this space for a Parkin come back this Season. So… to racing. The track at Inners was super fast and fun, all the boys were having a great time in the damp conditions. Sunday brought the sun and with this a drier track. Gregor kicked things off for Team Terrain coming in at 11th in the Junior category which was full of World Cup riders, a very promising start from our new youngster, things are only going to get better with this kid. Next was the Masters, Jed came home 2nd looking like to repeat last years achievements. In the Senior's Ben Whitehead crashed out in practice managing to beat himself up pretty bad, as a true northerner he powered through one of his race runs ending up 11th! Ben decided to have a quick stop of at hospital on the way home, only to fine out he had snapped his collar bone clean in two!!!! How he rode with this is beyond me! Big props to him. Finally in Expert Ben Rodgers came 7th with a not so great run, Joe Flanagan on the other hand, in his first ever expert race came down to take the win! A new year and the teams success continues, we now have a week off then its down to Wales for the first national of 2011! The team is ready and fired up for a long season once again! Ben Rodgers blog/184.html Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:22:43 GMT blog/184.html Hope 'Hint of Green' Special Edition Brakes After many requests Hope have finally decided to release a brake with a teasing touch of sponsorship green. This Special Edition brake is available in either the Tech X2, M4 and V2. Tech X2: The Tech X2 replaces the award winning Mini brake - perfect for all XC and light freeride applications, this brake is a perfect blend of power, low weight and adjustability. Tech M4: With it's revised caliper and brilliant new Tech lever, the M4 offers a wide range of riders the power and adjustability they need. Tech V2: With unmatched power, superior cooling and now the adjustability of the Tech lever, the V2 is surely - King of brakes. blog/183.html Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:30:34 GMT blog/183.html ANDY NORTH: Sunshine Challenge Hi Valued Friends & Family, Attached is the official endorsement letter received this weekend from the ABF the soldiers charity, they now formally recognise the sunshine challenge and are mobilising to help This weekend i have been in London at the Adventure Travel Show with Richard Harpham of the Big 5 Kayak Challenge, representing the ABF and me so many great people wanting to help support the british troops http://www.k-international.com/blog/richard-harpham-and-his-big-5-kayak-chal lenge/ Mel and I are just putting together a list of fund raising events such as supermarket collections (for which we require a mobile running machine if anyone has any ideas?) and charity evenings, if anyone has any ideas to organise events please send through Also attached is the latest poster promoting the event Speak soon Regards Andy blog/182.html Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:52:12 GMT blog/182.html Yorkshire Div Champs Finishing The season On A High Well it was my last race of the season and was a big one to finish with the Yorkshire Div Champs on a tough circuit round sharlston in Wakefield over 80 miles ! I was not sure how things would pan out as the week before i cracked in the race at Bashall Eaves due to just not having the legs but these things happen !! So it was a steady weeks training and recovering for the weekend a head ? It seemed to work as i felt much better and got myself into the main break of the day of 14 riders ! Unfortunately this group was too big and alot of riders were not pulling their weight so Tom Murray from Sigma Sport Specialized and Liam Hollan from Team Raliegh attacked on one of the long climbs and split the group in half so i knew i had to follow them ! The lead group was down to 7 and stayed like this till one to go when 3 got away towards the end ! I ended up 6th just getting beaten to 5th in the sprint but was happy with the result ! it has been a good season and had a few good results but the main thing is i have been loving my racing again and can not wait till next year now ! Would just like to give Allterrain a big thanks for helping me out again this year ! blog/181.html Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:35:27 GMT blog/181.html 5 Podiums for Team Terrain @ Ae Forest! After a small break from racing during July we we're back on the road and heading to Ae forest for the 4th round of the Scottish SDA series. The track had changed from previous years with a lot of work having been done on the top section of the course, the changes seemed simple but made for a fun and fast track. The weather was amazing all weekend and the team's results were just as good. Racing started with Fraser taking 2nd in youth, just 0.01 second off the winning time. Mark Scott took the junior win in convincing style, and is looking promising for the Junior Worlds later in the month. Andy Kelly took 6th in junior but is hungry for more and a space on the Series podium. Joe Flanagan also took a win, in the Senior Category. The Whitfield bro's we're racing against each other this weekend, with Chris just ahead to take the win in the Masters and Jed in 2nd place. To round off a podium filled weekend for the team Andy Phillips took 3rd in Expert giving him his second podium of the year and some good Series points. So 5 podiums, three 1st's, two 2nd's and a 3rd, another successful racing for Team Terrain. Ben Rodgers blog/180.html Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:01:35 BST blog/180.html Orange Demo Day 2011. Ride it Like You Stole It! Orange have been at the fore-front of unique, British made mountain bikes since 1988 and on Thursday All Terrain staff got chance to see what was new for 2011.The Altura Trail just outside of Keswick played host to the dealer demo event, providing a rugged and challenging environment in which to put the new bikes through their paces. After 10 minutes talking to the chaps from Orange, it became apparent that Orange's age old ethos of simplicity and functionality was to carry through into the 2011 range. With only the ST4 seeing a full revamp for the new year, the Alpine 160 and award winning Five trail bikes have been tweaked slightly with the addition of an E2 tapered head tube and 30.9 seat tubes for "dropper" style seat post compatibility. As the traditional Lakeland drizzle set in and we headed out of the car park, the low maintenance single pivotOrangedesign made a lot of sense. Climbing towards the peak across wet roots, both the Alpine and Five displayed great traction and zero pedal bob even without using the pro-pedal fitted to both bikes. Having ridden the Five Pro, Five AM and Alpine 160 on Thursday, I was happily surprised at how even the featherweight of the three bikes (the Five Pro) tackled the technical final descent in a balanced, incredibly responsive fashion, inspiring confidence and a grin on every switchback, jump and drop. As we headed back home, we were all in agreement. Great bikes built with British pride, supported by a knowledgeable, helpful and friendly team of riders. If you find yourself in the market for a trail bike in the next 12 months, whether you are after off the peg value and simplicity (Five S GBP2,195) or a truly one-off, full custom build, consider the Orange range, available with up to 3 years interest free finance. blog/179.html Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:20:08 BST blog/179.html Mark Scott Congratulations to Mark Scott of Team Terrain who has just heard that he has been selected for the Junior GB DH Team for World Championships this year! blog/178.html Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:38:54 BST blog/178.html All Terrain Cycles Help Soap Star After Bike Theft The actors who play Carl King, David Metcalf and Nathan Wilde in Emmerdale were due to compete in the London Triathlon on Saturday in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. But the actions of thieves meant that they might have had to pull out after Matthew Wolfenden (David Metcalf's) 2010 Trek Road Bike was stolen whilst he was at swimming training. But thanks to All Terrain Cycles and Trek a replacement bike has been specially built overnight so that Matthew can still compete. If anyone would like to contribute to their fund raising efforts All Terrain Cycle's will be pleased to pass any monies on to the Emmerdale guys. So Good Luck to Tom Lister, Matthew Wolfenden and Lyndon Ogbourne on Saturday! blog/177.html Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:37:32 BST blog/177.html 2010 British National Championship | Ae Forest Mark and myself walked the track on Friday night and were impressed with the track. With some new bits it was going to be a fun to ride. It looked quite simple, but I soon realised on the first practice run when you hit the track at speed it was to get trickier than I had thought. Practice went well and everyone was enjoying the track. With only two members of the team missing this race it was a big outing for Team Terrain. Racing got off to a fantastic start with Fraser Clone becoming the Youth National Champion 2010. Then Mark Scott put in a good time to finish second in the Junior Catagory, but unfortunately Andy Kelly crashed in his run. However the days successes continued with Chris Whitfield coming second in the Masters Category, being only a second off the win. Jed Whitfield also finished strongly in the Masters Category coming 7th. Joe Flanagan came in 29th in the Junior Section. Ben Whitehead came 67th, with Andy Phillips right behind finishing 68th in the Senior Category, unfortunately both Ben and Andy had problems in their runs. Fraser McGlone I'd like to thank Tony and everyone at All Terrain Cycles who helped me sort out my frame, it is much appreciated and I am really grateful for how fast it was resolved. Fraser McGlone blog/175.html Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:25:34 BST blog/175.html RIDE 24, 2010 Well it's that time of the year where everyone's busy with work, riding and trying to enjoy the summer months. Team Terrain have been training hard with great rides in the Cheshire Cat early doors in March and also some of the team enjoying the hard lake climbs in the Fred Whitton in May. With the weather hitting us hard this winter most of the Team felt behind in training with some of the Team being ill pre-season with flu and the usual throwing-up stomach bug catching us out in April. So it was great to see the weather starting to turn in April and all the boys getting out and racking up the miles. We were lucky enough to get a place at this years RIDE24 event at the Top gear test track in Surrey, 19/20 June. The Event was in Aid of Action Medical Research and as a Team we managed to raise GBP565. After a busy week at All Terrain Cycles and every man and their dog wanting a bike with the hot spell of weather, we set off down to Nottingham to meet the rest of the team. With all the bikes serviced and ready to ride and car packed with tents, food and clothes we finally got some sleep at 1.30am. After 3 half hours sleep we hit the road to get down to surrey before 10.30 deadline for registration. The Top gear test track was buzzing with excitement with bikes tents and people whizzing around trying to organize their team and tents before the big start at 12.00pm. Before we knew it we're off! Nikky was first out of the team to set the pace and put in the fastest lap of the day at 7min 28 sec within our team. Team Sky were racing hard with their 4th cat riders showing the rest of the teams up with their super fast lap times around 6min 30. Our game plan was to set off steady with each rider doing 2hr each, leaving each rider with 6hrs rest. On the day there were 89 teams of 4 in a relay le-Mans style format. One man on your team always being on the course. The course was flat and just over 3.2miles. The first section of the course had tight corner's with a couple of little right hand bends and the final straight was down the mile long run way. The weather was very dry and overcast. There was a very strong head wind which seemed to be causing all the teams problems. As the laps starting to rack up Team Terrain seemed to be holding around the 48th-50th place mark. With Nikky, Tordoff and Will giving it everything. It was soon my turn and I was pumped ready to ride. I started off hard and fast trying to keep the cadence high into the wind, putting in times well under 8mins a lap for the first hour. The second hour was hard with the wind picking up! Finally finished my first session and I had managed to raise the team into 37th place! The great thing about the Ride24 event was the great atmosphere in the pits and the food was outstanding. Every time I went for a feed after each run there was something different to eat. It was soon time to prepare our bikes with Hope lights ready for the night session. Meanwhile the Team were happy to eat and get as much rest before our next race run. Finally got some sleep then got up at 1am ready to ride. It was so dark but the wind had dropped and you could tell teams were starting to struggle as 13hrs of racing had passed. Riding in the dark is a totally different ball game and not many people are used to riding in the depth's of darkness. Most of the team enjoyed the night session and as the sun came up it was soon Tordoff's time to take over. I went back to camp and found Tordoff struggling with severe stomach cramp. We decided to change the game plan. Me, Will and Nikky would do an extra 45mins each in the last 2hrs, with myself doing the final laps before the 12pm finish on the Sunday. We found Will sleeping in the tent and woke him 2hrs early which he wasn't best pleased about. The team soon started to get into the swing of riding and started to climb the leader board. Before we new it we were sitting around the 30th place mark. Up at the top Team Sky were still riding strong and quite a few laps in front of the other top teams. We soon realized that Tordoff had recovered and was ready to put in some hard efforts on our Giant Adv SL team bikes. The vibe in the pits was great as most teams had friends, girlfriends and family cheering. Nikky was really pushing it. Will 'Cannonball' Greenwood was back on course and before we knew it the team was holding 28th place. The last 40mins soon arrived and I've never felt so tired and excited at the same time. As Will rolled in tagging me in I sprinted full pelt. I could feel the lactic acid from the last 23hrs still in my legs. I could see many of the teams starting to fade and before I knew it I was working hard with a few of the Team Sky riders, as the wind was still very strong down the home straight. It was really difficult to draft as the wind was so strong. I came home hard with 5mins to spare not enough time to put in another lap. Job done! I've never felt so tired in all my life, but so excited and full of joy! We finished hard and held 27th place after 24hrs racing out of 89 teams. If we could have pulled 3 more laps we could have got into the top ten. Still overall a great showing by Team Terrain. We will all be looking forward to entering the event next year and hope to see even more teams racing in 2011. I would like to thank everyone who sponsored the team, All Terrain Cycles, Giant Bicycles, Action Medical Research and Ride24 for a top class weekend of racing. Ben Wood ATC Ride in Peace blog/174.html Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:53:58 BST blog/174.html A Good Months Racing for Matt Robinson Well its been a busy month of road racing and the form has finally come ! really been enjoying my racing again this year and the new bike is just awsome ! The season did not start so well with crashing at Stokesley so it took me a while to get going. Had a good 4th place in April in the Frank Morgan Memorial Race which was not my kind of circuit but was feeling strong! June and July is when things started to come good with another 4th place at Doncaster followed up with at not so bad 9th at the Otley Crit ! Had a great ride against a quality field in the elite 1/2/3 race over a tough 90 mile course in Pontefract after being in the main break all day so knew things were starting to come good ! The following week i got a good 5th in the Blackpool Crit unfortunately being marked out by the Wheelbase Team who were not going to let me go. Finally the following week I got my way and got a quality victory in Halifax on a tough little circuit attacking on the 2nd lap and riding for 5 laps on my own to the finish finally being able to get my hands in the air and dedicate my hard earned win to Tom ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjOpwRMIceQ Its off to the Tour de France this Friday to the Pyrenees to ride the climbs and watch the big boys so hopefully the altitude training will do me good and i can continue where I left off with some more good results for Team Terrain ! blog/171.html Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:26:16 GMT blog/171.html Team Terrain NPS Langollen 2010 It was the 3rd round of the British downhill series at Llangollen in North Wales. Only 3 members of the team were competing in this round, Mark Scott was out at an IXS race in Austria, and due to a race abroad being cancelled Ben Rodgers missed out on an entry. The track was really good, short steep and open turns, but there was a lot of waiting around to be done on Saturday because of the uplift. Fraser McGlone won the youth category with a fall in his run. Andrew Kelly came 12th in junior who also had a crash. And Joe Flanagan came 8th in senior. Fraser McGlone blog/170.html Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:48:05 BST blog/170.html Another Good Weekend of Racing for Team Terrain: Glencoe Race Report 2010 The second round of the SDA was held at Glencoe west Scotland. The course is renowned for its technical, steep rocky shoots. We walked the track on the Friday night in dry dusty conditions but woke on Saturday morning to a wet boggy track! Over the duration of the weekend the track got really blown out and totally changed, the team however where having lots of fun riding it. Sunday racing brought another very successful weekend for All Terrain Cycles. Fraser McGlone won youth category, also taking the fastest time of the day. Andy Kelly took 5th in junior and Joe Flanagan won again in the senior category. The Whitfield brothers (Chris and Jed) took 1st and 3rd in masters with Chris taking the win. In expert Andy Phillips had his first podium for All Terrain Cycles in 3rd and Ben Rodgers took 6th a few seconds behind. So again, another really successful weekend of racing for Team Terrain. Mark Scott was away this weekend at the first World Cup Race of 2010 in Slovenia, Mark qualified 2nd in junior and was the only British junior to qualify. In his race run he crashed putting him in 70th in the overall and 3rd in juniors. A promising start for Mark, in his first season of World Cups. Ben Rodgers blog/169.html Thu, 27 May 2010 07:27:40 BST blog/169.html WINNING WEEKEND FOR TEAM TERRAIN @ FORT WILLIAM (2nd Round BDS) The second round of the new British downhill series was held at Fort William under glorious weather conditions. Course workers had been busy over winter as the top of the course was 70% different, creating new and exciting lines. All the team were excited to ride these new sections and race some of the top boys on a World Cup track. Saturday practice went well for everyone, despite the good weather some of the new sections where rather wet and began to blow out causing the track to get rougher and rougher, in spite of this everyone was having so much fun. Sunday brought racing and another sun filled day. Fraser McGlone was on good form as always, winning the Youth Category with a 21 second gap to second place. Mark Scott did exactly the same to win the Junior Category, this puts him in good spirits for his first World Cup Race next weekend in Maribor Slovenia. Joe Flanagan is also having a good season and wrapped things up in the Senior category - another win under All Terrains belt. Ben Rodgers rode well and came 10th in the Expert category. Once again everyone had loads of fun which showed in the results. Next weekend is Glencoe for the second round of the SDA and Mark will be heading to Slovenia for the first round of the World cup. blog/168.html Wed, 19 May 2010 11:07:46 BST blog/168.html AVALANCHE ENDURO RACE REPORT MAY 2010 Saturday and Sunday, 8th and 9th May was the date of my very first Enduro Race, in the Forest of Ae just outside Dumfries. An Enduro Race is run like a car rally. There are a number of special stages (6 at Ae Forest) which you are timed on. They are mainly downhill but do include some flat sections and small climbs. You have a designated start time for each section, and must be there on time. If you are late you get a time penalty added on to your time. The total time for your special stages is added to your seeding run time to give you your overall time. I had read reports on the Enduro from the previous year at Kielder Forest and thought it sounded like a race that a could do well in. At registration on Saturday morning I was excited to see one of my idols Nicolas Vouillos (10 times world downhill champion) was taking part in the race. He is a rider I have great admiration for and it would begreat to be able to ride with him. On Saturday morning we had a quick ride round the course looking at the special stages. In total the course was about 30km, then on Saturday afternoon we had our seeding run on an extended stage 1. There was 305 riders so seeding took while, and I was rider 278. My seeding run went well, although I did catch the rider in front of me, which cost me a few seconds. I ended up 12th, which I was very happy with, although I knew race day would be the real test. On Sunday morning the weather was good, I rode well all day but found it strange having no indication of how well you were doing until the prize giving at the end. After the last rider finished we had a wait until all the times had been added up. We were then all called over to the podium. I was thinking if I had finished in the top 20 overall I would be happy, to my utter amazement I had finished 3rd overall and first in my class so I would be stood on the podium next to my idol Nico Vouillos who won. Awesome!! Ben Whitehead blog/167.html Tue, 18 May 2010 12:23:13 BST blog/167.html Fraser McGlone Maxxis Cup Round 2 Report After a 2-day journey to Fafe, in Portugal we finally got to the race venue. I took a walk up the track and it looked really good fun, it was a lot more technical than the first round track at Gouveia which was a good thing. We had practise on the Friday which went really well, then another day of practise on the Saturday so you could get the whole track sussed and also to let you do full runs when you've got all the lines dialled. Sunday came, the weather was amazing - sun was out and it was really hot all day. I qualified 1st in Cadet and 20th overall, I was really pleased and felt good about the final. I pushed a little too hard in the final and ended up going through the tapes, but I got back on and kept going until the finish. I managed to win the Cadet category and came 25th overall. So I was happy with that considering how my run went. It was an excellent trip and can't wait for rounds 3 and 4. Fraser McGlone blog/166.html Wed, 12 May 2010 08:25:08 BST blog/166.html Check out the new June issue of What Mountain Bike magazine for some great reviews on FOX product in the summer clothing mega test. Check out the new June issue of What Mountain Bike magazine for some great reviews on FOX product in the summer clothing mega test. The magazine has selected 2 key styles for this season and awarded them both as follows :- Fox ALTITUDE Short, 4.5 star rating. Strong and well featured shorts at a bargain price. What Mountain Bike winner - The best on test in terms of quality, performance and price. Altitude Short 2010 RRP: GBP65.00 Web Price: GBP59.98 Save: 8% Fox LIVE WIRE Jersey, 3 star rating. Quality value jersey packed with features. What Mountain Bike value - Excellent value for money - a genuine bargain. Live Wire Sleeve Jersey 2010 Web Price: GBP29.98 blog/165.html Tue, 04 May 2010 12:14:49 BST blog/165.html Topeak receives four prestigious Red dot awards Topeak cycling accessories has received a total of four prestigious red dot awards for 2010, including a "Best of the Best" distinction for the MegaMorph compact floor pump. Three red dot product design awards were awarded for the AirBackpack, RaceRocket mini pump and Mini 20 Pro tool. "It is truly an honour to receive four red dot awards and it is especially exciting to be presented with a "Best of the Best" award for our new MegaMorph pump," says Topeak President Louis Chuang. "Our in-house design team is very proud to have their ideas recognized by this international design award and confirms their commitment to the highest level of innovative design and quality." Red dot "Best of the Best"; MegaMorph The newest of the award-winning Morph family of pumps, the MegaMorph is an innovative, highly-portable, folding floor pump for cyclists who want the most compact floor pump. Every design detail of the new MegaMorph has been streamlined to produce a minimized profile when folded. Utilizing the same high-performance barrel as our JoeBlow line of floor pumps, the MegaMorph pumps to 160psi to fill road and mountain bike tires fast and features a padded handle, top-mounted fold-out analogue gauge, SmartHead all-valve hose head, 360-degree swivelling hose and a fold-out footpad. Red dot award; AirBackpack Unlike typical cycling packs which use heavy foam padding for comfort and rigid plastic for structural stability, the new Air BackPack features lightweight, multi-channel air chambers located in the hip belt and back contact area to provide tuneable comfort and rigid pack support. The internal air chambers are pressurized with an integrated micro pump and release valve which fold into the hip belt, allowing the wearer to make fine adjustments while on the go. These full-length, deeply channelled air chambers also aid in cooling the rider by drawing a continuous airflow across the back area. The Air Backpack weighs only 675 grams and folds to a compact size for storage or travel. With space for a hydration bladder, tools, pump, clothing and more this ingenious pack makes mountain biking more enjoyable. Red dot award; Race Rocket MasterBlaster Topeak went all out when developing this incredibly powerful mini pump - every feature is intelligently designed to provide maximum performance. Its efficient single-action design inflates up to 140psi to satisfy road and mountain bikers and its innovative SmartHead ThreadLock accepts Presta and Schrader valves and extends on a flexible hose - taking pressure off the valve stem when filling a tire. And to top it off the RaceRocket is tiny in size and easily slips into a jersey pocket or saddle bag. Red dot award; Mini 20 Pro Topeak has taken the common cyclist's multi tool and turned it into a mechanical work of art. This 20- function wonder contains all the tools a mountain biker could ever need wrapped in a high-strength alloy body. The professional quality, hardened steel tools resist wear and tear while the integrated cast CrMo chain tool makes quick work of any drive train repair. The Mini 20 fits in its own neoprene pouch. The red dot awards The red dot design award has been held by the Design Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia since 1955 and is one of the biggest and most renowned design competitions in the world. In 2010, the competition evaluated 4252 products from 1,636 companies from 57 nations in its three disciplines, "red dot award: product design"; "red dot award: communication design" and "red dot award: design concept". In the end, only the very best from the field of the top-class participants were selected for the red dot award. blog/163.html Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:14:24 BST blog/163.html Pitfichie Race Report 2010 The first round of the SDA was once again held at Pitfichie, Aberdeenshire. The weekend brought mixed weather with the track going from wet to dry, twice, over the two days. Saturday started off very wet making the technical track extremely hard to ride. The team were once again riding well; everyone was riding in little groups helping each other with lines and speed checks. By the end of Saturday we were all pretty shattered, but with some great hospitality and food from the Young's, the team were rested and ready to race. Sunday started off nice and dry but the rain returned before the first race runs. In the end we had some really good results from the weekend. Andrew Kelly finished 2nd in the Junior Category, Chris and Jed Whitfield were 2nd and 3rd in the Masters and Joe Flanagan won the Senior Category. Andy Phillips riding his first race for All Terrain came 6th in Expert, with Ben Rodgers 7th and Ben Whitehead 9th in the same expert category. After the race Andy said "I had an awesome weekends racing. Saturday I was really feeling good on my new Glory and everything was coming together coming into the race runs on Sunday. I had a good first run putting me into 4th but I knew I had spare left in the tank. 2nd runs came round and with a head wind at the top it made me more determined to nail it and get onto the podium. After a pinned top section, half way down I decided that trying something slightly different in practice might work for me. It didn't.! And fellow All Terrain Cycles rider Ali Parkin who was marshalling saw me hit a tree and head on out of the tape. Game over. In the end I settled for 6thwhich was a solid start to the season. Bring on Glencoe!" A very successful weekend for the team, Fellow team mate Fraser McGlone was over seas racing in Portugal at the Maxxis Cup winning the Youth Category, race report for that coming soon Ben Rodgers blog/157.html Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:40:59 BST blog/157.html 2010 Rheola Race Report The first round of the new British Downhill series was held at Rheola, South Wales. The weather was amazing with both Saturday and Sunday having clear skies with lots of sun. Somehow though, the track still managed to stay mainly wet the whole weekend but it didn't bring spirits down. Apart from some issues with the uplift busses, Saturday's practice went well for the team, everyone was feeling good on the track and ready to race! Sunday brought more sun and new busses for the uplift. Ali Parkin crashed out in his first practice run of the day and separated his shoulder ending the weekend early for him. Racing started early afternoon and brought some good results for the team. Fraser McGlone won the youth category with a time that would have put him first in the junior field. After the race he said "really enjoyed riding on Saturday, was having really good fun on the course and feeling pretty fast on the track. Qualifying went well but i knew i could take a bit more time off for the final. Race run was okay, couple of mistakes wasn't too happy with it but was happy with where i finished, 1st in youth and 21st overall." Mark Scott won the Junior Category in convincing style, Mark is now back to normal after injuring his wrist two weeks previously in Vigo, Spain. Fresh back from New Zealand Joe Flanagan came in second in the Senior Category, happy with the result and getting the itch to race again. Ben Rodgers qualified 4th in Expert but crashed in his race run putting him at the back of the field. Over all everyone had a really good weekend, the team were riding well, and having fun together during practice, this really showed in the end results of the weekend. Next on the cards, Mark and Fraser head overseas for various races and the rest of the crew are heading to Pitfichie for the first round of the Scottish series. Ben Rodgers. blog/153.html Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:51:46 BST blog/153.html MBR 2010 Trail Bike of The Year? - It’s the Five again! Out this week, the May 2010 issue of MBR magazine hit the news-stands containing its benchmark Trail Bike of the Year test for 2010. Having had the best bike in the test for the last couple of years has been great for us, to win it a third year in succession with yet another '10' score for the Five is truly fantastic. blog/152.html Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:08:52 BST blog/152.html Portugal Race Report 2010 Normal 0 After a 12-hour drive and a 25-hour boat ride we arrived in Gouviea in central Portugal. We walked the track on the Thursday night in warm overcast conditions ready for the first day of practice on Friday. There was light rain on the Thursday night damping down the dust and giving the track more traction. Me(Ben Rodgers), Fraser and Andy were doing runs with each other all day, and we were all feeling good on the high speed course, By the end of Friday we had most of our lines sorted so thought we could just chill on the track on Saturday. But, Friday night and Saturday brought none stop rain destroying the top of the course. We only had 3 runs down on Saturday as conditions were so bad. Sunday morning the sun was out but the damage had already been done, the first 200m of the track had turned into a huge bog, with foot deep ruts, holes and puddles everywhere, turning this first part of the track in to a sprint, making it hard just to keep your speed! After misplacing his license Andy Kelly had to race in the promotion category, which he won. Afterwards he said "the weather had played a big part in the race with it been so cut up at the top, most of my lines were pot luck if you hit them! I was happy to take the win, although my run was full of mistakes, and I wasn't so happy with my time. But it was good to see every category won by a Brit. I can now hopefully take this to Rheola and get a good result" Fraser kept up his winning streak in the youth category, winning by 5 seconds and finishing 22nd overall. Ben Rodgers qualified 25th in the elite category, but crashed out in his race run. His verdict on the race - "I was happy with the way I was riding after having had a long winter off the bike, I was happy with my 25th in qualifying but felt I could have done much better in the race minus the crash. Really looking forward and ready for the season to kick off back home now" Everyone had a really good time in Portugal and are now ready for the season to start back home. We have two weekends off before heading to the South Wales for the first round of the British National Series. Ben Rodgers blog/151.html Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:37:52 BST blog/151.html Endura Equipe Road Clothing in Store Soon. blog/150.html Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:56:47 GMT blog/150.html Team Terrain off to a Flying Start in 2010! With March came the third and final round of the Alpine Bikes winter series. After the first two rounds being called off due to the wintry weather the third was a completely different story. The sun was out, the ground wasn't frozen and temperatures finally back above zero. Only two team members we're racing, Mark Scott and Fraser McGlone and what an impact they had! After only receiving their new bikes the weekend before - Fraser won the Youth category by 11 seconds even after having a close call with a tree. And Mark came second in the Junior category half a second behind the winner, Mark also claimed the second fastest time of the day, beating the entire elite field, including former junior world champion Ruarudh Cunningham. The boys said they we're happy to be riding their new bikes and to be back racing again. They both had lots of fun in practice and felt good all weekend. Both Fraser and Mark are looking forward to the season kicking off properly now, and with the first two podiums of the year in the bag the team are moving on to Spain and Portugal next weekend to race in the first Maxxis Cup and to catch some more rays. blog/149.html Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:53:24 GMT blog/149.html