Snow and marshmalllows..

The snow is great in the Dales, myself and Paul embarked upon a 4 hour mtb ride and absolutely loved it for the first 3 hours until the lights started to go out due to lack of fuelling! One 500ml bottle of vimto cordial was strangely insufficient for the route we had selected..

Tired and desperate, we stopped in the middle of nowhere to find out if there was:

1. Room
2. Hot chocolate
3. Chocolate muffins

available at the inn..

Luckily the latter 2 were available and after we'd taken off the muddy shoes the 3 wise ( aka 2 stupid ) men hobbled in and refuelled..

There's only 1 thing worse than desperately needing a food stop.. it's getting going again, when wet, cold and especially when the start is downhill.. brrrr.....

We got back safe and neither of us had died which is always a plus.

Keep the badger at bay..

Industrial strength

Winter tends to be dark nights, cold weather and a lot of rain.. at least that's my experience. The team have started their regular winter training ride completing laps of an industrial estate under the dim glow of street lights..

This is something which we now associate with winter and in a strange way we actually enjoy it..

On the cards for the winter season are cross country, a bit of cyclo cross, a dash of mountain biking and a fair chunk of fell running..

If last year was anything to go by, the winter can be even better than the summer months. There's nothing like a crisp, clear day with frost on the ground and a clear sky..

Unfortunately the wednesday industrial strength ride is usually nothing like a crisp, clear day with frost and clear sky..

Put your jacket on and keep the badger at bay..

That's another fine triathlon..

The Endurance Store were at Ulverston triathlon on September 12th, as Ulverton is the home of Laurel and Hardy, Paul and Marc wanted to pay homage to the comedy duo and decided to dress for the occasion. Manning the mount line dressed as the famous pair was supposed to be entertaining for the competitors but most just stared at us like we'd insulted them. Shop visits plummeted the following week but we are planning our next marketing campaign!!

Keep the badger at bay..

Out and about..

The Endurance Store visited the Lakeland Triathlon, Clitheroe Triathlon and Stockton Tri within 2 separate weekends.. I know the maths don't add up, Clitheroe and Stockton were actually on the same day..

Paul made the interesting observation that whilst competitors were racing, they were not likely to buy anything from the shop.. fair point.. and decided to race both Lakeland and Stockton events to make the trip a more memorable experience. He faired pretty well considering his lack of racing in 2010 and showed he is more than an energy gel salesman..

We have recently become stockists of compressport clothing and as all good retailers should do, we decided to test our own products and have been walking around for 1 week compressed to within an inch of our lives.. my lactic acid levels have never been so low but my blood flow has deteriorated to the extent that my legs are blue..

The store moves on to Helvellyn Tri, September 5th.. Paul will be watching Muse live on Saturday, driving direct to the lakes to set up the stall and then racing the event.. Marc will be going to bed early, preparing fully and then racing the event.. if Paul finishes ahead of Marc, Marc will be holding his head under the surface of Ullswater until he can no longer breathe.. race on..

For now, keep the badger at bay..

You could have been a champ..

So the usual fun and games today with a run along the Pennine Way to the summit of Shunner fell and back..

Paul realised that the training just wasn't tough enough and decided to make it a bit harder, carrying some rocks along the way in true Rocky 4 manner..

This is the true way to make yourself stronger and who needs high tech, that was for Ivan Drago.. 'I must break you' (said in best Russian accent), Rocky was too busy lifting logs in the snow to bother with electronic gadgets.. no SRM or GPS.. just basics, and he was being followed by the KGB!

Perhaps we have all lost touch with our inner selves, lost the ability to feel and gauge our intensity and become too reliant upon our monitors which tell us how hard we are working.. we are all too busy listening to bleeping bling and being compressed to within an inch of our lives to take the time to think about how we actually feel..

Some things I have to take exception to when viewing this particular scene are the white socks which scream 'school girl' and the bum bag being at the front, rather than the back which screams 'japanese tourist'.. Paul, that cap makes your ears stick out..

One final thing, a great game to play on the fells.. if it's misty get 100m ahead and out of sight, dive into a ditch and let your running partner pass you. Jump out of the ditch and catch them, if it's windy they can't hear,they're focused on the track ahead), get right behind them and scream as loud as you can.. it is so funny.. don't do this with anyone who has a heart problem.. The Endurance Store does not accept liability for any death caused as a consequence of this action.

For now, keep the badger at bay..

The first post.. we're up and running!!

Post number 1.. not a great deal to report on this wet day in Sedbergh. Myself and Paul had our first directors meeting during a 3 hour ride in the dales and we didn't really get through much business planning at all..

Having put a little weight around the middle, Paul decided that the 3 hours of endless hills demanded his best bike to keep up. The deep section wheels struggled in the cross winds on steep descents and the fact that his race bike got 'wet' and 'dirty' nearly tipped him over the edge..

I was equally struggling but maintained the poker face not to give anything away, note to self.. buy a 27 tooth sprocket for the back wheel.. Only the Mule Bars kept me going.. Mango Tango, it is the future..

When we got back after our 3 hour jaunt, a bottle of Frij was waiting in the fridge.. I have to confess.. that stuff is liquid gold.. is there anything better than a hard ride follow by a Frij? Send your answers on a post card..

For now, keep the Badger at bay..