Last night it rained. Hard, like in torrents that normally involve cats, dogs and other domesticated animals falling out of the sky.

So my thinking is that tonight’s ride across the Surrey Hills is likely to be wet and muddy even though the weather is otherwise perfect for riding – warm but not hot, not too much wind etc. (unless Dave intervenes).

I always find that wet conditions in the summer involve lots of unnecessary mincing round puddles that otherwise you would just steam through, but at least tonight the Muddymoles will be living up to our name and we can always use our hydrophobia to practice my rear brake tip.

On a separate note, my trawling of the internet has thrown up a few decent cycling related website that you might be interested in taking a look at:

• Minx Girl Cycling Compendium – don’t be put off by the fact this is written by girls (I’m not!), these ladies can write and ride very well!
• Great Cycling debates settled – NYC Bike Snob is both very amusing and perceptive, even if he tends to focus on the Dark Side of fixed gear road riding
• Dream Bike Shootout – Another from the Bike Snob and again, it might be about road bikes but I think we can all relate to the phrase ‘laterally stiff yet vertically compliant’?

Let me know if you find any other gems.

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.