HARO BIKES

With fresh snow on the Cairngorms and 100mph+ winds I think its fairly safe to assume that our Scottish summer has well and truly arrived. This morning was made a little brighter by a visit from the Lyons VTT cycling club - half a dozen French guys who competed with Mike and me to see who could do the best job of assassinating each others' language. The organiser of the trip had told his companions that they would be going to Morocco so when they eventually arrived north of there, they were a little ill equipped for our tropical climate. Way to move on the end of our winter stock! I would say that the leg warmers, Sealskin waterproof socks and winter gloves, Altura waterproof trousers, overshoes and souvenir Scotland socks flew out the door but actually they sort of ambled out in a laid back atmosphere of Gallic badinage and Scottish amusement. So... limited stock of winter gear left here at Mikes Bikes, with probably the best buys being the Ladies Altura Sirius Jacket in React waterproof and breathable fabric cut in price from £99.99 to £69 and the Madison Telegraphe waterproof/breathable jacket in achoice of colours and sizes, slashed from £100 to £45

No sooner had our soleil seekers set off in the direction of Tomintoul than David from Dawes arrived. Just a quick visit to ask after the two lucky customers who had taken delivery of their Dawes Super Galaxies but it was nice to catch up with familiar faces and talk bikes for a while.

A quick reminder for all riders who want their names displayed in Mikes Bikes window for the next year - our annual challenge, the Mikes Bikes Shop to the Top time trial is scheduled for Thursday 2nd June starting at 6.30 from the shop (obviously!). Unfortunately, this doesn't coincide with one of my visits to Aviemore so Hamish will have to find someone else to push him up the hill on the back of the tandem! 31 riders completed the challenge last year in times ranging from 39 minutes to 63 minutes, with Calum Irvine recording the fastest time and Helen Ridley narrowly beating Calum's mum for the fastest female!

Mystery road biker alert! Does anyone know the mystery road biker who has appeared on the Aviemore scene? Merida Juliet Road 94 bike, matching Merida road team cycle top and (exclusive) Merida World Cup shades (as worn by Cairngorm Cycling's very own Celeste fan). I don't know who she is but if she'd like a Merida Matts Limited Edition World Cup Replica mountain bike to complete her collection, I know of an Aviemore bike shop who have four of these rare opportunities to own a bike whose £849.99 price tag belies the high spec on offer. Check out our facebook site for pictures (and for a link to Cal's awesome video )