Not sure how taking Strava off phone will help? But lots of the other ideas are good

(Blue are food safe only and split easily on contact with oil/grease)

Don’t know how you work that one out we use blue nitrile gloves at work including our fitters using oils and grease and have no issues.

Regardless of colour (it doesn’t matter*) I’ve never been convinced that thin nitrile/latex gloves under other gloves makes any difference. It goes against my experience and knowledge of how insulation works.

I know people say it does but I’d love some one to explain how they think it works.

*There’s an EN standard that details resistance of gloves. With nitrile gloves it largely a function of thickness that gives protection and resistance to organic liquids.

Were the Guardian 100 things as shit as that? I don’t want to check for fear of doubling up the time I won’t get back 😀

Well, it was going well until I started reading this list of 100 things.  I should have given up at about 30 but I felt sort of invested by then and it all went downhill from there 🙁

10.5 Never take sugar free haribo on a ride 😱💩😱

Pop a face cloth in your pocket, especially on warmer rides, when you’re sweating cobs at the top of a climb and its stinging your eyes give your face a good wipe with it (and the top of your head if you’ve got no hair there – like me!) far more absorbent than a snot-wipe or the hem of a nylon jersey!
Handy for wiping down wounds too, preferably before you’ve grimed it up on your mucky face and head though😀

Just some thoughts…

Volunteer in some capacity, ideally in a way that helps youngsters enjoy the hobby.
Learn a ride well so you can lead it and make it safe for others.
Take youngsters out on a good ride that you know is low risk, but they think is amazing
Whinge if your kids don’t clean their bikes, but do it anyway for them. It’ll save you money in the long run.
Long term loan out old bikes if your in a position to.
Accept that if it moves and contacts another surface it’ll wear out. Especially in the UK in winter. Budget for this and don’t skip services.
Don’t skimp on spending on helmets
Contact points are vital, buy the best you can
Learn enough about nature to enjoy pointing things out to others when you stop.
Understand you don’t need to be the best rider to lead a really enjoyable ride. So give it a go.
Seek out people trying new things with mountain biking (YouTube route guides, accommodation, podcasts etc) and support as you can. Don’t critisise them.
Engage with and support racing at all levels.

A hanky won’t cut it Jambo, a proper towelling flannel face cloth, save the hanky for snot and such like😉

Good list!
Always forget to put the plastic gloves on when servicing the bike, black greasy fingers are the usual prompt that I have forgotten them. Don’t feel I have serviced the bike properly if my hands are clean afterwards 🙂
I would also add to the list:
> Visit a proper pub during or post ride, not bloody Spoons!
> If there is a coffee & cake stop on route use an independent shop, not bloody CostaBucks!
> Check your tools and spares before you go out, recently rode with a mate who had a puncture and found 5 (count ’em!) empty CO2 cartridges in his backpack 🙂

> Visit a proper pub during or post ride, not bloody Spoons!
> If there is a coffee & cake stop on route use an independent shop, not bloody CostaBucks!

These two are just weird as I can’t imagine :
How anyone would not take them as given.
What sort of crappy mtb ride goes past either a spoons or a Costa.

@thegeneralist – Pretty presumptuous on your part about where people get out to ride, sometimes the only source of refreshment is the local town, the natural habitat of Spoons and Costa.

If you have a 2 hour riding window, use it all for riding and get the best out of the day. Coffee and cake can be done at another time.

Find better climbs. So many rides just go up fire roads, make the climbs interesting and you’ll enjoy them more.

Ride your favourite route backwards occasionally.

Always take a waterproof? there are many rides/times of year where putting a waterproof coat on is going to leave me wetter from sweat than from the rain. Not to mention carrying a waterproof will almost certainly neccessitate a backpack, which is going to sweat even more.

The random Drive once a week one is a bit out of character with the rest of the list. I should proably set off now to have a chance of making wednesday’s meeting by bike. I kind of need my job to have money to live.

Anybody else read this with Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen going round their head?

Anybody else read this with Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen going round their head?

I was dissapointed “wear sunscreen” wasnt No. 100 when i saw the Guardian version

Anybody else read this with Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen going round their head?

Yes, I read it in his voice, but was trying to remember the name of the track so I could make the same comment!

Always bring Haribo on a ride.

Offer them to your vegetarian friends and then pull them back, saying “Oh, sorry, you can’t eat these, they’ve got pigs feet in them”. Always raises a laugh.

Wow. Lovely list. Should one of the rules be:

“Don’t feel the need to comment on everything on STW”?

Oh hang on.

Dam.

whatever happened to that guy who pretty much replied first on every single thread. Mike something?