First things first! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was kind to you! Hopefully he brought you some great additions to your cycling wardrobe and kit bag. The festive period at OCG HQ has been a really relaxing one with some much needed family time and lots and lots of laughs. *cue happy face*. Needless to say, I’ve consumed my body weight in good food and all things chocolatey and I’m feeling the need to get back to some regular exercise!

I can hardly believe it’s about to happen, but as 2015 draws to a close (was this the quickest twelve months ever for you too!?), I’m thinking about what kind of cycling challenges I’d like to undertake during 2016. Traditionally I’m a roadie. I love cycling on the open road, but my head is being turned by off-road cycling and getting closer to nature. Getting to grips with a different kind of cycling and the challenge of learning a whole new set of skills is really appealing. And of course the big pulling factor, is that we have our summer holiday booked! We are planning a couple of weeks in the French Alps with some down hill mountain biking! *cue very excited face!*

Ordinary Cycling Guy (Mr OCG) participated in the Pass’Portes du Soleil this last summer so he has some first hand experience, but me? Nope, Nada! Not a bit of proper mountain biking experience! *cue research* (more…)