If you’re someone who likes to combine the delights of a hot summer sun with Mountain Biking fun, this year has not been the best. Ok, so the weather has rarely been bad enough to stop us going out but barring a biblical shower of frogs we’ve had just about every climatic condition possible. Coming straight after the dire drought predictions of early Spring, this Summer has been a disappointment to say the least.

Having said that, the trails have stood up pretty well in our corner of Surrey excepting the usual bottomless puddles across Headley and some descents that have big loose flints washed down them. Our last couple of rides have been fast, almost mud free and a lot of fun with the merest suggestion of trail dust appearing. As a result, our boundless (and often misplaced) optimism has us hoping for an Indian Summer come Autumn.

And Autumn is not far away. Recently there’s been the brief 5 minute chill when starting early morning rides and the sweet, fecund smell of imminent decay (although that might be Dave). But the trees are showing signs of dropping their leaves, trail growth seems to have peaked and tomorrow is Spetember 1^st. With our bizarre dry Winter, parched Spring and deluged Summer, here’s hoping our strange weather serves up some warm days and great riding conditions over the coming weeks.

Weather aside, I’ll tell you something else that’s odd. After last night’s ride, buzzing from the high speed fun, I chucked the Orange in the garage to stand gently ticking away the heat from its brakes. Going inside, I found all was quiet downstairs but discovered my wife sitting in front of the computer watching YouTube for the first time (where she stayed for the next hour). Whatever the thought process that led to her searching for old Abba videos should probably be kept to herself, but the discovery of a bizarre rendition of Chiquita in Spanish and Abba interviews on some corny Amercian talk show ranks as one of the most bizarre homecomings I’ve had.

I truly live in a strange world.