Saturday soaking

I had planned to do some XC riding today, getting some time on the other bikes. However, Saturday morning brought rain & lots of it. The idea of loading the van driving out to the trails, riding around in the rain for a few hours, then driving home soggy & the following clean up, didn't seem too appealing...

Cue Fatbike...I decided it was a much better idea to ride out from the house, have some fun in the rain, then roll right back for hot shower, coffee & cake...much better plan.

I headed East today, following the river for a short while before taking a route across the marsh to eventually join the beach after a few miles, then returning through the woods & back to Lossie. The conditions today were really wet, The rain was really heavy at times, but perfect for fatbiking!

As I went East along the river, conditions got really soft on the tidal mud. Even with the new Nate tyre on the rear, the bike was spinning all the way along this section. I though I was going to bog down at one point, but  eventually the bike found some grip & dug it's way through!

I'm sure you can see yourself how wet the marsh was! It was all ridable & a lot easier to ride through than the mud was

Fat tyres work pretty well on marbles too! These are unbelievably difficult to ride on

This is the reason I fitted a sealing "boot" to the bottom bracket, this fine wet sand gets everywhere. So far it seems to be working. Only time will tell....

I have also been testing out my new winter riding gear. The Five Ten Canyoneer 2 boots are working really for beach riding & general wet weather when used with seal skin socks. I have a feeling I am going to be using these a lot during the next few months!

I have also got a pair of Fox antifreeze winter gloves. After reading lots of good reviews I ordered a these, but when they arrived I found out that these are an older version & do not have the waterproof liner glove. Nice glove & will be good for cold days, but not a perfect choice today, soaked by the time I got home, so the search for a good waterproof glove continues...

Heading off the beach into the forest at the point where the costal defence begin. This section runs East all the way to Kingston & the river Spey

This building is directly behind the 2 8"gun emplacements. I imagine this would have been quite an impressive post. There are several foundation pads all around, which I can only presume were used for nissin huts or similar

Pill box in great condition, trail leads to main gun emplacement

I think this was the ammunition store. I only found this a few months ago after riding past it for years! It is fully covered & not visible from the road, just looks like another dune!

Finally, here is another simple winter modification. I have used the same amalgamating tape on the seatpost clamp as I did on the bottom bracket, to prevent water getting into the tubing. The tyres throws a huge amount of crap onto the rear of the frame & the clamp area is alway covered in mud/sand