Tuesday 8 March 2016

Back to the future


Almost like Back to the Future, where Marty has to fight off Biff from pain and suffering, Sofia; Cafe at Kirroughtree manager became a bike maniac trying to fight off her back pain. 


Sof was out riding her Haibike hardtail at warp rocket speed (faster than warp), bombing down trails in the Lakes on her Santa Cruz Bronson, or collecting all the local QOM's (fastest times on Strava) on her road bike. Until the evil pain she experienced in 2011 when chasing a baddie while working in the MET threatened a return.    
In the middle of July 2015, the sciatica became so painful she hung up her biking shoes. Sof tried acupuncture, stretching and massage, but in October 2015 she had to stop working and booked herself in for a MRI Scan.


The MRI was conducted in Glasgow, and even sitting for an hour in a car was so painful. So many people have experienced back pain, and I think it is the single most debilitating thing to have to deal with for an active person. The scan revealed that she had two prolapsed discs in her lower spine, one of which was trapping the sciatic nerve and causing all the pain (sciatica).



Fast forward five months, after surgery to shave the two prolapsed discs, immediate pain relief, intensive core strength sessions three times a day, gentle dog walks, not sitting or standing for too long, and gentle spinning on the turbo trainer ……Sof is back.

Local Physiotherapist, Laura has been a great help to her recovery.


To celebrate her return to biking, Sofia has treated herself to a road bike that will look after her back, be comfortable to ride for long days in the saddle, and light enough to fly. The Trek Domane is the weapon of choice. 


With the built in isospeed damping, it takes out the vibration from the road and allows you to ride in comfort. We carefully selected a build kit for her that would be light but reliable, and Shimano Ultegra was the perfect choice. After using the saddle fitting system we have in the shop, we selected the Bontrager Anya Elite. The wheels were chosen because deep down, the quality build of HOPE is hard to beat, and we are all mountain bikers at heart. HOPE carbon clinchers were the natural choice.


Below is a picture diary of Sofia. Good luck, continue to recover, get stronger and stay strong. 

First female solo 10@Kirroughtree 2015



 Team Breakpad at 10 Under the Ben 2015



 

Trek Domane 6 Series, with IsoSpeed decoupler adds comfort without compromising pedal efficiency.






 
 

















Lightweight components were weighed gram by gram with our new shiny Park Tool scales. 










Nearly finished, with Hope Carbon 45 Clincher Wheel set to add some stealth bling with 25c Continental GrandPrix tyres.


Out on the roads, on her bike, Sof is happy.

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Inspirations for your day

Here at the bike shop (the best bike shop in the World), we see so many people from different walks of life, but with a collective reason for visiting; Kirroughtree is beautiful. The air is fresh, the birds sing loudly, sometimes you are treated to fabulous views of Cairnsmore of Fleet, and the amazing mass of stars and planets at night.

Yes, the biking and walking trails here are fabulous, and we all have different motivations for being out here. Some come in all weather, and squelch their way through the shop, others go out with their kids, their friends, some go faster, some go slower. It really does not matter, what matters is being out there in the first place, and don't we feel better for it.

What we don't celebrate too often are the miles and miles of car-less road roads we have in Dumfries and Galloway. When I say car-less, I mean cars can still drive on these roads, but you just simply see so few of them! Being based on location at Kirroughtree, the forest and the world class trails start from our back door, and so the car-less roads are often over looked.

Well, to celebrate this, and to offer a little motivation to get the skinny tyres out and get out there, here's a blog to inspire you: http://www.aquickbrownfox.com

 Ayesha McGowan wants to be first. 

Sometimes we all need a wake up call, a motivation, something to impress us, and inspire us to walk, run, swim and ride that little further:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/features/magazine-35663889/35663890

Good luck to Ayesha in her quest to be the first African American professional female cyclist.


 Power to your pedals 🚴🏾

Friday 26 February 2016

Bike set up

Bike babble this morning, we learned about setting up the bike so the seat is the right height, setting up the position of the brake levers, and gears. We also looked at how to fit a helmet correctly, and what to take with you out on the trails.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thursday 25 February 2016


Kirroughtree was a buzzing mass of young runners competing in the Dumfries and Galloway inter-schools regional Cross Country Competition. Lots of budding Mo Farah's. Well done to all who took part.
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We aim to keep you informed of trail conditions, new shiny stuff to ogle at, and anything we think you would like to know about such as events and things going on.