MTB Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/category/sports/mtb/ Tales from a down-shifted family - Making the most of modest means in West Wales Mon, 25 May 2026 07:04:49 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-favicon-160x160.jpg MTB Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/category/sports/mtb/ 32 32 2696646 Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Reaching the Caribbean https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-reaching-the-caribbean/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-reaching-the-caribbean/#comments Tue, 26 May 2026 06:37:55 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48510 Today was the day we would finally reach the Caribbean coast and complete our coast-to-coast journey across Costa Rica. The Pacific now felt a very long way away as we prepared for the final push. Early Start We had another early start, which suited me perfectly. Everyone else had been going to bed incredibly early...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-reaching-the-caribbean/feed/ 1 48510 Costa Rica Coast to Coast – From Sugarcane Fields to Rafting in the Rainforest https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-from-sugarcane-fields-to-rafting-in-the-rainforest/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-from-sugarcane-fields-to-rafting-in-the-rainforest/#respond Sat, 23 May 2026 05:32:33 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48448 The Road to Rio Pacuare I slept a bit, but not much, so I was thankful for a fairly early start today and a quick breakfast in the hall before climbing back onto our bikes once again. We started with a pleasant ride along easy roads beside the Rio Pejivalle and then through endless sugar...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-from-sugarcane-fields-to-rafting-in-the-rainforest/feed/ 0 48448 Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Into the Interior https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-into-the-interior/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-into-the-interior/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 07:42:33 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48425 Early Morning Stroll After a fairly relaxing night at the Rio Perlas Resort, I was up early for a wander through the grounds. Oropendola birds could be heard and seen in the trees, and the vegetation was amazing. I checked out the pools, hot tubs, and little natural lake, simply strolling around marvelling at the...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-into-the-interior/feed/ 0 48425 Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Over the Continental Divide https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-over-the-continental-divide/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-over-the-continental-divide/#comments Thu, 21 May 2026 06:06:00 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48384 Today was the day we tackled the Continental Divide, billed as the big day of our Costa Rica Coast to Coast adventure. All of the reviews and anecdotal stories suggested that the climb on the bike would be really tough. From what I’d heard, everyone had to get off and push at some stage as...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-coast-to-coast-over-the-continental-divide/feed/ 1 48384 Costa Rica – The Coast to Coast Adventure Begins https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-the-coast-to-coast-adventure-begins/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-the-coast-to-coast-adventure-begins/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 07:43:14 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48328 I managed to sleep a little in the hotel in Quepos, but not much. Fortunately, I’m quite used to this and function pretty well on next to no sleep, so I felt fine. We started the day with a nice breakfast, and then I pfaffed about with my bike for a while as I’d brought...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/costa-rica-the-coast-to-coast-adventure-begins/feed/ 0 48328 Ralltgoed MTB Ride https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/03/ralltgoed-mtb-ride/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/03/ralltgoed-mtb-ride/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2026 05:42:48 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48051 A Stop-Start Winter for Thursday Night Rides Our Thursday night MTB rides have been a bit hit and miss so far this year. The dark nights, cold temperatures, and particularly the wet, windy conditions have kept enthusiasm low. One week it was just Lorraine and me; the following week I turned up and no one...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/03/ralltgoed-mtb-ride/feed/ 1 48051 Finding My Way in the Dark (Again) https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/12/finding-my-way-in-the-dark-again/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/12/finding-my-way-in-the-dark-again/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:54:01 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=47489 I’ve been heading out on MTB night rides again lately. It’s something I used to do religiously every week, but it fell by the wayside while I was triathlon training and then dropped off the radar completely after my heart attack. Recently, though, I’ve decided it’s a good way to ease myself back into some...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/12/finding-my-way-in-the-dark-again/feed/ 1 47489 New Bike Day – Is it Better? https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/11/new-bike-day-is-it-better/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/11/new-bike-day-is-it-better/#respond Sun, 09 Nov 2025 11:02:52 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=47296 It’s been years since I had a new bike, but having started doing some night rides lately, I thought it was time to rectify that situation. I’d been joining the night riders on my Whyte 901, which was fine. As a trail-oriented hardtail it was probably the perfect machine for the sort of rides we...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/11/new-bike-day-is-it-better/feed/ 0 47296 N + 1 Logic: The Case for a New Bike (AI Made Me Do It!!) https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/10/n-1-logic-the-case-for-a-new-bike-ai-made-me-do-it/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/10/n-1-logic-the-case-for-a-new-bike-ai-made-me-do-it/#comments Sat, 18 Oct 2025 13:22:09 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=47180 When logic, lust, and a little AI wisdom all point towards a new bike. Following a mechanical that stopped me joining a ride on Thursday, and the fact that my mountain bikes are now over ten years old, that old adage about the ideal number of bikes being n + 1 (where n is the...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/10/n-1-logic-the-case-for-a-new-bike-ai-made-me-do-it/feed/ 2 47180 Back on the MTB – Night Rides, Gear Tweaks & Maintenance https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/09/back-on-the-mtb-night-rides-gear-tweaks-maintenance/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/09/back-on-the-mtb-night-rides-gear-tweaks-maintenance/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:53:27 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=47099 It’s been a while since I’ve properly taken the mountain bike out, but over the past couple of weeks I’ve been sneaking back onto the trails. I even joined a local group for a very chilled night ride. It’s getting to that time of year were the dark nights are longer than the days so...

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