Real World Riding

Real World Riding Real World Riding is for people who ride mountain bikes for fun. We support and encourage riders, an

Real World Riding is a Scottish Mountain biking site giving advice, guidance, entertainment and inspiration to mountain bikers everywhere. The site has articles on a range of aspects of biking, a reviews section looking at practical biking kit, a racing section for those thinking of amateur racing for fun, and resources such as an inspirational video section as well as self made edits for 'normal' bikers, and a link to the guiding and coaching services.

What a day!Managed to grab a quality day at a very sunny and frequently dry Dunkeld yesterday. Ita always good to visit...
11/04/2026

What a day!

Managed to grab a quality day at a very sunny and frequently dry Dunkeld yesterday. Ita always good to visit some old favourites and to check and see how they are faring.

Fair to say the track up to the too of Burnham hill has taken a beating being ridden in the wet, and there's a lot of erosion up on top, but the rest of the trails ran really well, often dry and dusty with the odd boggy hole to keep you concentrating.

The wildlife was out as well, which was great, and I even managed a sneaky flow down the Braan path at the end before the crowds start building - its such a lovely flowy train.

Did I mention you can contact me through the website for coaching and guiding enquiries now?

See you on thr trails!

Only one pic from todays quick trail recce....but it's a good one.Love a bit of quality Urban Art from the banks of the ...
09/04/2026

Only one pic from todays quick trail recce....but it's a good one.

Love a bit of quality Urban Art from the banks of the Clyde.

Have a bit of trail leading to do next week at a venue I haven't been to for quite a while, so I decided to head over today to check it out, making full use of the mobile working set-up.

A little bit of imagination and I managed to get a quality ride in and get todays task list ticked off, AND grabbed some quality cake at the cafe for good measure.

Squeezing training rides into work days number 2 - back on the Forth-Clyde canal.This week I thought it would be 'fun' t...
03/04/2026

Squeezing training rides into work days number 2 - back on the Forth-Clyde canal.

This week I thought it would be 'fun' to get off the train one stop earlier than last week. That would be Larbert then.

Bonusses were the locks, all the birdlife (Cormorants, herons etc) and the Falkirk wheel on the way, but that headwind was still there waiting for me - dropping down into the city on cobbles after 40km is also a new form of torture.

Despite this we finished the day discussing how much Alloa to the Falkirk wheel would add if we removed Larbert to the Falkirk Wheel...we'll see.

The best bit though is getting back to travelling real distances - I've ridden further right enough, but not before (most of) a day in the office.

Have a happy easter when it comes, be nice, say hi

Working (and not the bike job) this weekend so how to get some bike into the day? Jump off the Glasgow train early and f...
27/03/2026

Working (and not the bike job) this weekend so how to get some bike into the day? Jump off the Glasgow train early and fire down the Forth-Clyde canal straight into the city centre from Croy.

Canal towpaths get a rum deal, but they are Pretty quiet, allowing you to get into a rythm, and the scenery changes continually - the last pic was literally taken 4 minutes out of Sauchiehall Street.

Saw lots of nature (cormorant out the back of the Partick Thistle ground) and got to say "good morning" to lots of happy humans - a lovely antidote to a lot of the humans on the news atm.

Great way to start the day, a great way to finish the week (sort of) and a good ride to measure fitness by repeating, although if the headwind could be turned off for next time that would be great.

Unexpected family duties rendered the ride today impossible, but the bike (with it's slightly wonky rear wheel) was stil...
22/03/2026

Unexpected family duties rendered the ride today impossible, but the bike (with it's slightly wonky rear wheel) was still in the van.

Cue - a bit of urban mechanicking in downtown Coatbridge - one straightened rear wheel and a wee sesh improving my switchback turns on a nearby bank (still LOTS of room for improvement)

Made me smile as I enjoyed the warmth of the sun, cutting about on the bike, with the satisfaction of having fixed it myself - not what I was expecting, but a lovely time.

Hope you made the most of the day today.

See you on the trails!

Spring commuting with a twist - have just rebuilt this bad boy and we're off to Glasgow (with lights 'cos its foggy!) to...
20/03/2026

Spring commuting with a twist - have just rebuilt this bad boy and we're off to Glasgow (with lights 'cos its foggy!) to reap some havoc.

It's a weird ride, with canti brakes (pull and wait - worse thank SRAM 🤣) twist gears and REALLY narrow bars, but boy is it easy to manual!

One pre-loved new entry into the stable, so is it time for the old commute bike to retire?.....
....Well it was best budget hardtail (singletrack magazine) 2 years in a row back in the day....maybe just a wee rummage about in the garage?

Every day is a fun day when you can add a bit of bike to it.

Back to the 'proper stuff' tomorrow with a bit of ON bike CPD with MIAS, getting ready for the new season.

See you on the trails soon folks!!

14/03/2026

Thought I'd see what the phone was seeing - still very pleased witb how secure rhe quadlock mount is.

What a great way to kick off the coaching season - a few hours in the sun with Tom at Carron Valley.Tom's a great client...
14/03/2026

What a great way to kick off the coaching season - a few hours in the sun with Tom at Carron Valley.

Tom's a great client, as he has an agenda and a focus for his development and it really feels like a partnership as we work through his skills and aproaches tweaking and developing.

If, like Tom, you have something specific to prepare for, or a trail you want to ride, or are coming back from a nasty off - drop me a line and let's chat; I may well be able to help you, and a chat will cost you nothing.

If you wamt someone to take you on your epic plan, guiding will start late April this year, so drop me a message via insta or an email through the website, and lets talk adventure.

Reviewing project performance this week (in the 'other job') and it suddeny occurred to me that there were some common i...
10/03/2026

Reviewing project performance this week (in the 'other job') and it suddeny occurred to me that there were some common issues that sparked memories of racing enduro back in the day.

Thought I'd share as we all wamt to be happy don't we?

Lovely relaxed day out on the bikes after a couple of hectic weeks. Alloa to Culross.A lot of the local trails are still...
07/03/2026

Lovely relaxed day out on the bikes after a couple of hectic weeks. Alloa to Culross.

A lot of the local trails are still really muddy so Mrs M and I opted for the cycle path route through Kimcardine, which has the massive advantage of having a cafe in historic Culross as a destination with cobbles and everything, and the chance to strap on a couple of pizzas for tea as we passed the co-op in Kincardine on the way back (we may have done a dry run on a previous trip)

The Fife coastal cycle path is always a winner, and with the amazing network of tracks in Clackmannanshire, its easy to link up and stay on quiet roads and cyclepaths all the way.

A lovely relaxing spring day - more to come we hope!

23/02/2026

Another quick POV edit from the Golfie

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