For a little while I’ve been getting mildly irritated by a number of false user registrations coming through each day. In the past these accounts if left active have then resulted in unwanted SPAM comments. reCAPTCHA has been the logical choice for a long time to counter this, but it’s only been this weekend that a solution has come along that solves the issue. the solution I’m using at the moment is largely the work of Jorge Peña, you can read more about the plugin on his site, but there are one or two little bugs that have been highlighted so far.

Singletrack’s website carried a feature recently on Reddish Vale and the plans that a local group are publishing that propose turning part of the area into a dedicated Mountain Bike area. I know the Reddish Vale area quite well and although it certainly has a few ups and downs due to the fact it’s basically the sides of a river valley, it doesn’t have the kind of relief that will challenge Wales or Scotland. Still there’s probably a little bit of potential, but given the fact that even solid metal gates get destroyed and there’s a high frequency of burned out cars as well as youthful loonies revving the hell out of (probably stolen) motorbikes, while hooting around without helmets on you can’t help thinking there might be some trouble ahead.

So any North Shore type woodwork built there will either be seen as a great bonfire opportunity, a plentiful supply of free timber or something to sabotage. A visitors centre will be a great place to try and break into and loot. Oh and of course there’ll be a regular supply of riders with expensive bikes who can be mugged or may well find there bikes disappear when they’re not watching, or that there cars are less intact than when they left them if they’re still there at all. Reddish Vale. A great place to pass through.

Wayback in the mists of time in fact when I first came to Manchester, I bought a pair of Canary Yellow top of the range Carbon Soled Northwave road shoes. They clashed terribly with almost any outfit, but were so distinctive that a nickname was coined that stuck around. I’ve been looking for a new pair of riding shoes for a few weeks and with some mad trips planned for later in the year, I’ve snapped up a pair of these.

After two weeks use all seems to be going well and they’ve bedded in nicely. I probably need to do a couple of distance rides in them to check the soles aren’t going to resurrect the problems of some previous trails shoes, but first impressions seem pretty good. Not too convinced of the benefits of Goretex in anything but boots, but should be useful to a degree in snow and for stream splash crossings.

Back in August 2003 I headed off to the Channel Islands to do some holiday cover work for my friend and former boss Ian Brown in his Cycle Shop in Guernsey and for a week at Mark Pickford’s shop in Jersey. During my time on the Island I binned the Specialized BG Boots that had nearly crippled me on the ride from Dover to Luzern and bought a new pair of riding shoes.

They were these Cannondale efforts and they’ve proven to be a great pair of shoes for £50. After years of light trail work, trudging around and working in bikes shops and most recently commuting, they’ve been retired. Sporting some rather compromising holes in the uppers and a fairly worn out tread they’ve certainly been good value for money.

The weekend has been fantastic, but it wasn’t until at least 2pm today that I’d had a chance to contemplate going out for a proper ride. There were a couple of things that needed to be tweaked on the Planet X and after popping into Harry Halls to speak to Simon I had some highly recommended Specialized Roubaix bar tape to fit too. As I was fettling the sky darkened and you could hear the rumble and crackle of thunder, but the rain that was threatened never arrived and I headed out.

I’ve been wanting to explore the Transpennine Trail westwards for some time so I rode down to Chorlton and picked up the Mersey. After a few false turns I was on track and heading towards Altrincham. At Dunham Massey there had clearly been a lot of rain and the dusty trails turned to mud. After slogging though the mush I decided by the time I reached the edge of Lymm that I’d ridden far enough and wasn’t going to push on towards Warrington so took the road home.

A good bit of exploration that opens up more options for the next ride…