riding with new riding buddies.

and my blue pig.

ragley blue pig

29ers and SS, more often than not, together.

oh, and bib longs which don't give me a wedgie. soo much more comfortable!

another pair of Time Atacs, three bikes + two pairs = pain in the arse

After this Christmas, proper clothing – Gore windstopper bib longs (my present to me) and an Alp – X jacket (from my partner – to be fair I bought her one as well!) in a fetching shade of green.
Combined with Sealskins socks I am now considering changing my user name to Toasty McToast.

No idea why I suffered with the cold and wet for so long – blind stupidity and a belief that suffering on the bike during winter was normal and that everyone else felt the same and just put up with it.

Sfb I don't think we need to worry too much about numbers of components specified. Knock yourself out, tell us more of yours.

women

simonfbarnes – Member
women

I think we have a winner.

Moving from the Chilterns to the Malverns 🙂

10 is the new 1

10 is the new 1

there are at least 1,000,000,000 women

edit: on this planet

Summer

there are at least 1,000,000,000 women

edit: on this planet

thats 50 000 a day until i'm 80! 😯

taking feb 29ths off (rest day)

even i can't manage that!! 😉

Winter boots (and with apologies to Simon), Lycra tights

warm feet and knees are a revelation

An Easterly wind
Pretty much every good long route, offroad or on, that I like is a fair distance East of where I live, so the thought of blowing up and not battling into a headwind for 30 miles to get home makes a big difference to my enthusiasm.

Enduro races.

They've given me something to aim for, got me into training and the theory behind it, interested in nutrition, doing a couple of training camps abroad, buying a road bike and now doing road events too.

I'm still rubbish though, compared to many people out there!

Going from Flats to SPD's for me. However i do sometimes miss the ability just to be able to get off the bike quick! 😆

losing 3 stone in weight last year, riding is so much easier and more enjoyable, and as a Yorkshireman the best bit is that it cost nowt.

Disc brakes, no question.

thats 50 000 a day until i'm 80!

not actually, as there are another 2,000,000,000 girls who'll have grown up by then…

edit: and at 1.6 seconds each they might not get much out of the encounter 🙁

Camelback.
Bought one after bonking big time on a 3 hour ride with one bottle. Bottles are fine for a quick blast or racing around in circles, otherwise it's a 3L camelbak for me.

Am I allowed three ?

Disk Brakes. As PP said, the revelation of true one fingered braking as opposed the the pure pain for hand cramps from canti's was astonishing.

Ergon Grips. As a tendinitis sufferer, these things made all day epics possible for me.

Riding Mates.

Disc brakes or moving from Central London to the Chilterns.

Ergon grips with mini integrated bar ends – a revelation!

(Also the people I've met on the Northern Chapter STW rides even though my presence is intermitant.)

It is amazing how virtually no-one has been able to tame their own mind and choose just one! What a funny thread!

I'll vote for riding buddies also, but in terms of a purchase it has to be DX lights. Holy-moley, for 80 quid i've got an amazing bar light and helmet light that make night rides and absolute hoot, and gives me the chance to go out for 6 months of the year when it really was pretty impossible before!

Stunning value and impact.

Kev

I've had a rethink.

Can I just expand a bit on the 'friends and riding buddies' theme, and say, simply,

"THIS FORUM. STW."

Yes, it's a butt-clenchingly-cheesy thing to say but it's true, isn't it?

I've met virtually all my riding mates through here in one way or another, some of the advice and help I 've had here is unparralled, both bike-wise and generally. I can buy and sell ANYTHING at a reasonable price, and quickly too. And there's 1001 other things – PSAs saving me money, humour, great arguments….. 😉

Just my 2ps worth. 😀

coffeeking – Member
It is amazing how virtually no-one has been able to tame their own mind and choose just one!

I was thinking the same and actually none of my several choices were right 🙂

Looking through this thread, I've changed my mind.

It has got to be LED lights.

I used to make up fantastic creations with motorbike batteries and headlights that weighed several kilos to get 1 hours light. I used to have to carry spare bulbs because the lights didn't like the vibration – they were prone to instant darkness 🙁

I can now get this level of light for several hours from a lightweight LED. Brilliant.

Chair lifts/Bike parks

Tubeless, waterproof shorts, my Epic.

"THIS FORUM. STW."

I've had a lot of non-biking fun from the forum, and also a few joint rides, but the vast bulk of my riding is with the club, most of whom seem not to have any time for STW

Pair of DX LED torches. Made it possible for me to get some exercise in after work during winter months. Best value bike investment I have made so far (and that's saying something as my bike came from the local motorfactors…).

5:10's

I've had a rethink.

Can I just expand a bit on the 'friends and riding buddies' theme, and say, simply,

"THIS FORUM. STW."

Agree. Hugely!

Sealskinz socks.

recently. heavy frost

Overshoes.

New bike

Well, more specifically, upgrading from my 4" XC Kona (starter bike) to the Marin Attack 18 months ago

…I know it's not the bike, it's the rider that matters blah blah blah…

Complete tosh. As soon as I got out on it it opened up a whole new world of descending.

It's the bike that matters….FACT!

Switching back to flats.

No longer am I wondering when I'll next fall off.