strathpuffer!

some familiar faces appearing on the adventure show this week. jo cardwell looking unexpectedly burst - i say the as the couple of times i've been cycling with jo it's me who has laid sole claim to the cycling face as she's gaily out-fitted and out-skilled me. but it just goes to show that when it's not your day on strathpuffer day then it's just not your day. typically this year featured soloists and i, for sure, would have been the very one to have exemplified the unlucky ethos.

whether it's been flu, dodgy knees, the ignominy of the disintegrating bum year, or last years freak fall and bruised liver the strathpuffer just isn't a lucky race for me. watching it today i could only wonder had i got in what would've happened this year. then again last year, in fact the last fifteen months have been poor for injuries, so much so my attachment to mountain biking is as low as it's ever been in direct contrast to the road which, esp this week as i'm actually managing to get some miles in, i'm loving more than ever.

but that's the way it is in this cycling lark - you can never account for how the mood takes you and at the end of the day it's (should be) all about the cycling. i may be all jaded with respect to the mtb but watching tonight's article on off road touring and i couldn't help but thinking how soon iy might be before i can give the cairngorms loop a serious go.

however just like i'm an unlucky mountain biker i'm also a dirty mountain biker which is not the case for all of us. tonight's adventure show showed kate of teacake fame, initially foregoing the hospitality of strathpeffer's hotels for a tent (a good choice i think!), then having a moment with a wheel (eerily familiar after the freewheel incident). all of which was not to be unexpected. what was to be expected was the appearance of the riders in a muddy rather than an icy puffer. and the muddiness was evident in all. all except that is our kate, who appeared fresh faced in every camera take. t suggested she may have had a wee hot towel moment prior to passing thru the transition area. perhaps it was a special mudguard. kate, i think we should be told....