Photos have been added, click here to look at photos.

Sunday morning and the sun was shining. Five eager mountain bikers ready for the Overgate Hospice Challenge. We set off from Copley at 8.45am and headed for Elland, a steady 4 miles of road which would take us to the start. The huffing and puffing had started within 10 minutes of the ride Rob, (my best friend) was already lagging behind so it was going to be an “interesting day”.

We finally reached the start point and registered for the event along with 119 other riders. This was a far cry from the 250 that had turned up in the summer. Anyway, at this point Rob looked like his legs had gone and I could see the fear in his face as he went pale after having heard the sound of the starting horn.

9.30am prompt start and the professional riders were off waiting for no man. The five of us sat at the back and let the mass of riders ride ahead. We all met up within 5 mins as the mud had caused a bike jam. After 20 minutes and the gaps had opened up, we dropped down to Copley at about 9.50am which was a pleasant bit of downhill.

After that the course took us along the canal where myself, Pete and Hartie were wondering where Rob and Matt were. We headed along the canal and out of Copley which would take us up the bridleway towards Norland Moor. This is a killer climb for those who haven’t done it before as the last 100 meters are almost vertical cobbles but I managed to nail it this time.

I got to the top and waited for Pete and Hartie (father and son ha ha) who weren’t far behind and we all decided to have five minutes and wait for Rob and Matt (father and son). Matt appeared and one would have thought that Rob would be behind him, but he was further down the hill getting ready to push his bike.

As we waited for 15 minutes I knew today wouldn’t be the day for any personal best times, so I decided in my head that I would ride with dbriders. Rob finally turned up and there was another 10 minute break before we reached Norland Moor which was a complete mud bath. On the other side there was a food stop (Kit Kat and juice) another 10 minute wait..

We had reached the halfway point and we were now ready to get some speed up so we set off without Matt and Rob as I could feel my body temperature dropping. The terrain was now up and down and all the off road bits were completely covered in mud almost knee deep in places and the gears had finally stopped working (great)! The worst bit was 3/4 into the ride and the water and mud were flowing down the hill and they only way up was to push. There was a biker in front of me who looked completely gutted as cramp had got the better of him.

So I reached the top of the hill and sat waiting for my friends eating my flapjack, 15 minutes later Pete and Hartie were struggling up the hill and ready for home. Funnily enough we were on the home straight and knew that the finish line wasn’t that far, but first we had to cycle through the swamp. So it was a sprint finish back to the hospice and Rob and Matt were nowhere to be seen.

We finished in a time of 3hrs 15min which included over an hour of stoppages and Rob/Matt finished in 3hrs 30mins.

Looking back it was fun for this very worthwhile cause, a great laugh with a good bunch of lads but I would much rather do it in June.

Keep on riding….

Pictures From the Event

You can see pictures from the mountain bike challege click here!

Most of us believe we’re acting safely on our bikes, even if we break a little rule every now & then. But it only takes one mistake to cause a terrible accident one that you may never recover from. PSA Shot there advert using LEGO bricks as a way to appeal to a wide audience of children, teens, parents, and retro-loving 20- and 30-somethings, and to teach a serious lesson in a lighthearted (yet hopefully memorable) way.

The Cyberbike is a new cycling game for the Nintendo Wii. The Cyberbike comes from European publisher Bigben Interactive, who generally deal more in video game accessories than they do full-fledged titles, and when you get right down to it, the Cyberbike contains a lot more accessory than it does game.

The game that comes packed-in places you in the role of an eco-citizen, using your head and legs to clean up the planet. You clear pollution by riding over land, sea, and air, powering your strange vehicles with your feet.

The game is due for release in January 2010, and in case you are worried about only having one game to use it with, the Cyberbike is also compatible with Mario Kart Wii, so there is that at least. I’m not seeing any word on pricing, but I’d estimate the European release will run somewhere around more than you are willing to pay.[Kotaku].

Scroll down for a look at some screenshot’s of the game and what you would be using to play the game.

What do you think? would you buy this game?

Red route at Gisburn Forest on Saturday 17th Oct.
I arrived at the Cocklett Hill Car Park at 9am and could not believe the amount of cars that had beaten me too it. Anyway good old Pistol Pete was already there all geared up and ready to ride, soon after we were joined by Hartie, Andy, Garry and Matt (Matt our latest recruit for dbriders).

We set off about 9.15am all wrapped as there was a slight chill in the air but soon warmed up as we climbed the first fire road which leads on to the new red route.
I was riding my full susser and it felt easier as the red route at Gisburn certainly gives your body a good pounding. Hartie was feeling a bit hungover after his night on the beer (2 pints i think) but other than that we all completed the route in 2 hours with a couple of stops.
The red route is a very popular ride as it has black bits within it so it is attracting a lot of riders which makes the parking very difficult and also there are no toilet facilities etc but I am sure this will change by next Spring/Summer 2010.
Recommended for a Sat/Sun morning ride.

You can see the rest of the images from Gisburn Forest Red Route Here.

Now then, the red route at Dalby Forest 38km of pure cross country….You can start this with the blue from the visitor center at Dalby which starts with a climb (so make sure you have warmed up a bit first) once you have done this challenging climb and your lungs,heart, leg and head is working in tandem then it’s time for the the red routes technical descent (a bit dodgy when wet as i found out last week).

The red route is full of ups and downs and techy bits but when it flows it really does rock beteween sections 35-38 is fast flowing single track which is a great finish. I would recommend this route to anyone who likes a 3-4 hour bike ride and loves the great outdoors without the interruption of ramblers, dogs and horses. Great fun.

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The DbRiders.com team are proud to support a fellow cyclist, Lance Armstrong and his LIVESTRONG Foundation. We took the opportunity of this at a bike ride at Glentress forest to raise funds for LIVESTRONG DAY which is on 2nd October. October 2nd 1996 was the day that Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer and began the fight of his life.

With the generosity of the dbriders.com team we raised a total of £70.

If you would like to join in the fundraising for LIVESTRONG DAY or want any more information about the LIVESTRONG Foundation, please visit the website www.livestrong.org

Glentress for the day a 400 mile round trip was it worth it. You bet it was.
We loaded the van at Accrington at 7.30 am and off we went looking forward to a sober ride round Glentress. I mention sober only because the last we did this we weren’t in any fit state to ride. Anyway I digress, San Gee and Breakers in one car Hartie and I in the van.

We reached Southwaite services at about 9.30 to fuel our bellys with breakfast our advice would be to take your own. San was asked if he wanted bacon on his veggie breakfast, Harties full English didn’t include the beans and the coffee was lacking in coffee. As D ream say things can only get better!

We all arrived at Buzzard Nest car park at 11.30 and met up with Rob and Matt (the lucky ones who have this on their doorstep). Off we set to the joy of going up-hill and heading along the red route which was fireroad and single track. The big guys prefer to push and take in the scenery (heavy bikes honest) the fit guys pedaled. We met loads of people on the way up, eventually got to the top of spooky woods the fit guys waited for us. Then it was down hill all the way, with fast flowing descents and singletrack with jumps and berms for good measure. Breakers was sure the tree’s and roots were getting closer just like evil dead, great fun , Gee took a tumble thought he was going to the bottom of the hill on his back. The new little blue gem run was great just flowing and good enough to do again and again. Hartie decided to go in front and hide in the woods behind a tree or was it a twig to get some shots of the lads in action.

Unfortunately Hartie’s photography isn’t quite to the standard of David Bailey (not yet anyway).
We spent 3-4 hours riding round this fabulous forest park taking in the scenery and having fun enjoying each others company. Having completed the Blue route we decided to make our way back to the car park where Rob appeared with his blue peter style charity cup, we all put in towards the livestrong foundation a great cause as you all know. We said our goodbyes to Rob and Matt and went on our merry way. Found a chippy just across the border at Carlisle (fantastic). We arrived back about 8pm.

So if anyone is thinking was Glentress worth it for the day the answer is an outstanding yes from us, so good that the next trip is booked for the 17th of October, you will be talking about it for days.

Photos of the trip to Glentress have been added to the DbRiders Gallery click here to view them.

This week the DbRiders team went to Gisburn Forest to tackle the red route. Photos of the team at Gisburn are now on the photo gallery. you can click here to see the pictures.

It was Nov 2008 and four of us set off to Gisburn Forest to ride the red route. We had our map and found Gisburn with no problem, but then spent another hour or was it 2 hours looking for the forest. We eventually found a local jumping out of the bushes with his dog (strange) who told us to head for Tosside so our mini convoy was now heading in the right direction. Once reaching Tosside we somehow picked up the signs for Gisburn Forest and eventually found Cocklett Hill car park. This is where the red route begins.

By this time the heavens had truly opened and it was going to be a very wet ride. We set the bikes up and followed the red route which was basically fire roads and a little single track. I would like to say it was a great route but unfortunately having spent 2-3 hours in the car looking for it and then 1-2 hours riding in torrential rain it was a let down.

However having heard about some of the developments at Gisburn Forest and the funding they had received to develop the course we decided to give it another go. So in Aug 2009 we made our way to Gisburn and this time it was much easier to find so we reached our destination without any problems. Hartie, Pete and I were ready to ride. We followed the red arrows and eventually came across the new part of the route which wasn’t disappointing. This led to a rocky bit of singletrack through the woods (we alway let Pete go first as he has the most experience and is technically gifted). As Pete was heading along the singletrack all i heard was an aargh..and saw Pete flying over the handlebars. (Now you see why we always let him go first). No damage done apart from a hole in his knee.

Anyway the red route just got better and better more techy bits and more and more singletrack. We reached the halfway point of the course and came across a black route sign so we decided to have a go, now I’m not the greatest downhiller in fact a bit naff really but decided to give it a go. The thrills on this section are simply awesome you don’t need to go to Alton Towers and ride Nemesis, Rita, Air and Oblivion it’s all here for FREE at Gisburn.

Dbriders have done several courses around the UK but found Gisburn to be the best for all round enjoyment it has it’s climbs, fireroads,wooden slats, streams, bogs, roller coaster downhills and high berms.

The route can be easily completed in 2 hours but you might want to do the roller coaster again.

I would recommend the red route (12 miles) to all who love mountain biking………..