With the British weather being so busy since Christmas, my #12×100 mileage had been a bit pants through January.  So, with a steely determination and wearing almost every item of technical fabric I possess, I headed out to try a new loop on Saturday.

The Pennine Bridleway cuts all over the foothills of the Pennines near where I live, and I’ve ridden little bits of it up near Hollingworth Lake a few times.  I figured that I couldn’t really call myself a Rochdalian mountain biker until I’d explored a bit more of it, though.

I chose to do half of the route which Evans Cycles had used for an organised ride the week before, heading along the canalside before heading up to Watergrove Reservoir and taking the PBW across the hills to Summit, between Littleborough and Todmorden.

Out by the PBW, back by the canal.

The snow began as I left home and continued for the whole ride.  I was loving it.  I’ve found that snow itself isn’t slippy.  It’s compacted snow and hidden ice that’s slippy.  I only had a single arse/floor interface, when I failed to spot a large frozen puddle beneath my wheels until the bike suddenly flipped rubber-side-up and dumped me unceremoniously on my side.  The only saving grace was that the ice was thick enough to support my weight, so I crawled back to my feet, checked that nobody had seen anything (they hadn’t, it was pretty deserted thanks to the weather) and cracked on with my ride.

I’ve stuck a few photos here for your enjoyment, and to remind me what a great time I had.  If you like them, please say so below If you hate them, then shut up, you’re wrong

After a few miles on the PBW and arriving at Summit, I decided that getting back home along the canal towpath was the most sensible idea because, quite frankly, I’d run out of bovril.  So, tucked my head down and cracked on home.

If you want to, you can see the map at my DailyMile site.  Tell ‘em Phill sent you

Datatag is a simple idea, combined with a few technically effective ways of reducing theft and improving the chances of recovering your valuable item.  In my case, the item was my new bike.  The kit supplied by the Bike Leasing Company which came from Datatag included some simple, easy-to-use gubbins:

1. A highly visible big sticker which is adhered using strong resin-based glue, making the bike less attractive to thieves;
2. A few stickers with a clearly identifiable registration number, which are designed to fall apart if any attempt to alter them is made;
3. A bunch of microdots in a clear glue solution, which can be painted onto inconspicuous bit of your frame or parts and which the police can read using magnifiers;
4. A rice-grain sized transponder to place inside your bike somewhere, which the police can scan to identify you on the database which Datatag shares with them.

On top of this lot, a registration form is needed which the Datatag people use to get your details – and your bike’s – onto their database.  They give the police 24-hour access to this database so that they can trace you in the event of picking your bike up from some thieving scumbag, or purchaser of your lovely bike after it’s been fenced.  If the stickers are vandalised, the transponder will still work and it can be triggered using a hand-held reader, very much like the things used for cats & dogs, if you’ve ever seen one of those.

How Did I Do The Datatag Thing?

All in all, I reckon the process took me about half an hour.  I simply wiped down the areas where I was going to attach the stickers & microdot solution to make sure they’d adhere properly, then got to work.  You can see from the photos how they look.

The microdot solution looks grey here because it’s wet – it dries to a clear coating so you can put it anywhere, but it doesn’t dry to a gloss finish so it’s best to put it somewhere inconspicuous.

The photos don’t show every sticker or each location of the microdot stuff, but I needed to make sure all the expensive bits were identified.

Also, the transponder can be glued somewhere it can’t be seen, but can’t easily be removed either.  Any good quality resin glue can be used for this.

And Finally, Don’t Forget!

The job isn’t done until you fill in your registration form and send it back to the Datatag people.  Otherwise, if your bike is stolen and the police recover it, the database wont’ have your name on it!

In my case, the kit came from the people I got the bike from, but if you’re concerned about your bike and if you’d like to be able to get the best insurance prices possible, this idea might put your mind at rest, and save you some money!

Tell ‘em Phill sent you

I didn’t know that leasing a high end bike was an option until seeing BLC’s stand at the Cycle Show in Birmingham: I’d always assumed that the only way to afford one without a major windfall was to seek 2 or 3 years’ interest-free credit.  So I picked up a leaflet and read it at home later.

First of all I checked the BLC website and noticed a few bike brands which weren’t commonly advertised, which impressed me.  Up to that point I’d only looked at 0% credit options, so my shortlist had been limited to the high volume brands sold through major retailers.  BLC opened up a wider range of boutique options.

So, How Does It Work?

Paul at BLC talked with me about where and how I ride, to help narrow the search to a couple of strong choices.  A little thinking and advice later and I’d made my decision to lease a 120mm full suspension bike to progress from my previous hardtail.  A Merida One Twenty fitted the bill perfectly.

Phill's Merida One Twenty

The choice of leasing options was helpful: I chose to pay a heavier initial payment followed by 24 months at a very affordable rate.  I’m only paying for around 2/3 of the bike’s overall value, so in two years I can decide whether to purchase my bike, or hand it back and begin a new lease.  The biggest reason to lease instead of buy was the way that BLC’s lease option makes higher-end bikes available with affordable payments.

The bike was delivered to my work at my convenience, even though Christmas got in the way of deliveries for a short time!  BLC put a mechanic in touch with me, who came to my home – at a time that suited me – to set the bike up.  He (Ben) was pleasant, professional and remarkably skilful, setting the bike up quickly and perfectly with no fuss.  After a quick test ride around the street to confirm that everything was right for me, he made sure I had his number in case anything went wrong and left me to it.

Cut To The Chase: Is It A Good Idea?

There’s no feeling quite like riding a new bike for the first time. Snowy conditions didn’t keep us indoors on the first day we had the daylight and the time to get out.  Making fresh trails in the white powder was even more of a pleasure than when I’d done it in the past, and the bike performed beautifully.  I’m looking forward to spending more and more time enjoying the great outdoors, climbing and descending the pennine foothills on my shiny Merida.

Thanks very much to the Bike Leasing Company for making a potentially complex process very simple, and for delivering and setting up a fantastic top-end bike for me to play out on!

You can look at BLC’s website here, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter too.

Tell ‘em Phill sent you!