FionaOutdoors

Aaron Gray seems rather stunned to find himself at the helm of an inaugural mountain bike event, the Muckmedden, which set to be held in Pitmedden Forest, on the Perthshire/Fife border between Abernethy, Newburgh and Auchtermuchty, next month. Just 12 months ago, Aaron – who describes himself as a “humble floorlayer” – had a vague notion to encourage [...]

I like it when outdoorsy people have an idea to start something – and then actually find the time and energy to do so. Stuart Black has been a keen mountain biker for many years but his previous job meant he was off-shore for large chunks of time. When he then took an office-based position, [...]

Guest blogger and rider Damien knows his mountain bike kit. He knows what he loves and he reckons he knows what will be big in the mountain biking world in the coming year. Here he reveals a few of his mountain Bike loves and predictions. Try a 29er Mountain Bike I predict that 2012 will officially be [...]

STV weatherman Sean Batty got in the saddle this week to launch a new campaign calling for volunteers for Bikeability Scotland. If you don’t already know, Bikeability Scotland is the new evolution of the former cycling proficiency test (many of us will remember cycling proficiency from school days when it was seen as the best skive!). The new [...]

I have skinny arms. And I hate things to jiggle when I run. So what? Well, I am going to write about a carrier for an iPod music player that actually stays in place and doesn’t annoy me. On many occasions I have tried running with various MP3 players and iPods strapped into a range [...]

My tri club friend Animal Magic says she struggles to find the motivation to run or cycle unless she’s planned to go out with other people. Other people I know only like to run or cycle on their own. I am somewhere in the middle. I love running and chatting with a friend. I like [...]

The “return” sports session, especially after months away, is always so tough. I was reminded of this fact on Tuesday when I returned to the Glasgow Triathlon Club swimming session after a gap of almost eight weeks. While I tried to keep up with the middle laners, and I did complete the full session, I [...]

They might have caused a dozen or more raised eyebrows, and certainly a few fellow tri club cyclists thought they were hilarious, but my new skiing mitts have become the genius solution to cold hands while cycling. One of the reasons that I don’t like cycling in winter is that my hands get very, very [...]

It’s great to hear about other people’s outdoor sporting achievements and goals. I “met” Andy Fallon on Twitter. His tweets about an epic cycling challenge sounded interesting. Here’s his story. Andy is 45 and married with a six-year-old daughter. He lives in Huddersfield West Yorks and spends his days working for Morrisons as a senior [...]

I just wanted to add my vote to the campaign, being supported by fab cyclist Chris Boardman, over threats to cut funding for cycling and walking promotion in Scotland. The campaigners and environmental groups argue that a funding cut of about a third by the Scottish government will be hugely detrimental to health and carbon emission [...]