Taking a look last weekend after a couple of months staying away (as I thought everyone was doing) it would appear that the ‘off limits’ trails are still being heavily ridden. There’s even been new digging on Area 51. So much for trying to get along with the landowner then…

Really like my C-RS. After the FoD uplift day it coped with the enduro tour in Madeira very well, taking the EWS stages in it’s stride. Finally got to ride it uphill at the weekend and it climbs well too. Can’t fault it as yet. Need to put my plus wheels on it next and see how it goes.

Got my C-RS last week and it did 15 FoD uplifts on Sunday. Very stable and capable. Smashed the root sections and took the drops very well. I’m used to 29ers so the speed didn’t really surprise but the stability was next level for sure.

One thing is the Large comes with a really high dropper which means with the lowest the post will go I am still perched up quite high when its up and rubbing my backside on the tyre when it’s down. I’m 6ft tall. Odd.

Madeira at the weekend is the next test.

my C RS is en route from the far east, currently on schedule for an arrival date of 5th October. And then it will be off to Madeira on the 19th :D

S allow Models have just landed. CRS carbon model is October but only in small quantities. Most will come later this year/ early next. I’ve got my name on one of the first batch :-)

was a range rover.

And guns aside, he did drive toward a group of us as we cycled down Ewhurst road a couple of years ago at a silly speed missing us by about 6 inches. A couple of the guys tried to catch up with him in Peaslake to have a word but he was too fast. I think one of them reported it to the police, it was madness.

I’ve posted before that everyone should respect his property.

Where are all the big features and piss taking digging that everyone thinks is causing the problem? Milestone came and went and was obviously never gonna work with him. Then One for All arrived with a small drop and Evian came back to life as it was. The cause of his most recent wrath is not the digging as much as the attitude of the people that ride there. I’ve seen him get abuse from riders when he’s asked why people are riding on his land. He is an angry man, best not to poke him with a stick when he pulls up for a chat.

My regular Levo ride is 25% Eco for 26 miles 3000ft of climbing. That gets me home with 10% battery remaining. I’m 14 stone and ride with a light pack and 18-20psi. All other settings are factory.

I’ve put carbon bars and rims on it now so looking forward to big improvement ;-)

I did it first time last year (43 years old) and did a fair bit of research. I qualified for the main race (33rd in quali).

The quali race was undoubtedly the most exciting riding experience I’ve ever had. Fun beyond words.

I would suggest taking it easy if you are going out so far in advance, I wouldn’t exhaust yourself on ‘practice’ as nothing much can prepare you for the races. The adrenalin and pace (especially in quali) is such that you won’t remember much about your practice runs and will just be balls out to take a good position.

For me the biggest challenge is fitness (presuming you are technically proficient on a bike in rough / steep stuff). I did lots of gym and bike work on core and anaerobic fitness but the main race was flat out and I was exhausted pretty much by the time we got off the snow (running fast through deep snow at high altitude pulling a bike ain’t easy). By the time I got to the woods I was done and really had to nurse it home, just hanging on really. The arm pump you get is savage.

Best advice I got looking back was have fun and just get down in one piece. I think if you keep that as your strategy for the week you’ll have the time of your life.

The new jumps on SS are total pony.

Designed for the type of bike the builder rides! 8)

Think it might be a good idea to stop broadcasting the location of the brand new trails and who it is building them or they’ll be flattened too. And the builders will take their spades elsewhere (again).

Its easy to find the trails out without hunting them down on a public discussion forum.

Love the way mine looks. Love the way it rides. Its beyond fun though, there’s more to it. It transforms the downhills as much as it does the ups. Overall the ride is a different experience.

The bombhole was fairly shallow even by 2011 as can be seen in this old vid of mine (24secs). In fact I appear to drop off it rather than roll in. Unless he rode the steeper line on the left that existed for a while and would be appear to include clumps of grass.

2.8 Nobby Nics on a 45mm internal/ 50mm external carbon rim.

Thanks. Good advice. I’d never done an uplift until I got to the Mega I must confess (not many available in the Surrey Hills) and don’t have the time to go to Wales due to work/family nonsense.

I did do lots of high intensity interval training, muscle endurance and core work with my PT at the gym and tried riding out of the saddle whenever I could on my regular rides. Alas I think it was just down to a lack of doing similar riding before and not having the experience to ride the course efficiently.

I struggled on the snow big time, running in the soft slush to keep up with the pace of the main race did me in and I had to stop a few times for a gel and some re-focusing on the way down.

I did 24 mins in the quali even with a big pile up at the start, the pace and length were just about right. The mega was just too long! Next year…..

I have a 2014 Troy Carbon RR. I can’t really fault it. A lot of fun, easy to chuck about and climbs better than any trail bike I’ve had before. I’ve done Wales trips, a 113 mile South Downs Way ride and days at PORC on it and it’s always happy.

Would these work? 470g it looks like.

http://www.light-bicycle.com/Carbon-beadless-50mm-wide-bicycle-650b-rims-for-27-5-plus-bikes-tubeless-compatible.html

p.s. if you still want to sell it, and it’s a 19″ give me a shout

Right, will play with the pressures. Think you may have it though as I’m not sure of the grip so am finding myself hauling it out of corners which is pretty knackering. But in the mud it tends to be very skittish and when the grip lets go it does so very quickly.

It is 19″. The black and red one. I’ve put a stealth and some carbon 780 bars on it. So if things don’t improve I’ll let you know!

I just bought a Cube Nutrail. Ridden it twice (including in the snow) and so far I’m very meh with it. Find it cumbersome and a bit boring. So if anyone wants to enlighten me or buy it then I’m all ears!

Out in force in the Surrey Hills yesterday.

Passat R36
Passat W8
Golf Country
Ford Cougar
Vauxhall Monaro
Suzuki Liana Estate

Plenty of Ssanyong Rodius around as taxis but even then, why?!

Where did all the Ford Sierras go?

“Why aren’t you out catching murderers and rapists?”

Because nobody has been murdered or raped today you fekin retard

Are cases closed at the end of each day then?

Agree, this is very old news but nonetheless part of ‘the troubles’ which are in themselves almost beyond comprehension. Having spent a good part of this year researching it, the atrocities carried out within our own country by all sides almost defy belief. Not sure ‘shocking’ is a strong enough word in a lot of cases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miami_Showband

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mon_restaurant_bombing

Jeees, that Lilly Allen song is appalling and the video is a total disaster. But will do well I’m sure.

My 2011 Yeti 575 doing what a Yeti does best

Thanks for all your experiences, really useful.

Turns out from the radiographer’s report that I’ve also torn my meniscus so Doc says operation now urgent for that at least (keyhole). So all told I’ve decided to get the whole thing sorted out surgically. Doc’s view is that the risk of it buckling and doing more damage will always be there otherwise and with the type of riding I do (drops/ jumps/ technical etc.)he strongly suggested getting it sorted now. Luckily I have private medical cover to get it done quickly.

Here’s to being back on the bike ASAP!

I get £540 per month and choose to take a company leased car which on our scheme can be absolutely any car you like so long as you can pay for it via your allowance and any top up you need to make. So for example a Porsche 911 on the list is about £1100 a month if you fancy spending that on a lease car. Tax on top of course which is where your choice perhaps can get more limited (not me though, I just swallow it and enjoy having a very fast car I could never afford to buy). Have yet to find anything in the insurance documents that prohibits track days either…

And don’t me started on Laurene Laverne. As Stewart Lee is putting it in his recent shows “she is the crumpet man’s thinker”.

He sounded like a slightly bewildered embarrassing uncle, who’s inadvertently wandered into a karaoke night

That! Perfectly put.

He was interviewed on Sky news last week and his answers were bordering on senility. His music hasn’t been relevant, creative or interesting since about 1970.

What’s taken you so long STW?

Genuinely surprised it’s taken this long.

Not taken long at all

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-want-to-be-the-most-tattooed-man-in-swindon

The guy in High Wycombe seemed to get a little confused under questioning about why he tattooed the stuff he did. I did love the moment it was revealed it would be Hitler holding a gas bill. The two of them together made quite a double act.

Woody

OP you have unwittingly wondered into the bear pit that is fake oakleys from China. Loads of posts on this. The response is virtually automatically generated.

I was also in the Daily Mail last year. The stuff they wrote wasn’t quite how I remember saying it. Funny that….

There are going to be more and more posts like this (I see across most forums there are many already).

I have come across walkers, joggers, dogs, prams, pull-alongs, old ladies on sit up and begs (with wicker baskets) on some of the fastest sections of the new trails (blue and red). I also hear that the rising rate of accidents and ambulance call outs is causing concern with those responsible for running the place.

The design and messaging do not work together. For example, shared trails built closest to the car park with large berms and tabletops is a bad idea. Are these for experienced mountain bikers going flat out or families looking for a fun cycle just outside the car park? It’s both apparently based on usage.

Not being able to hear in clubs is just a sign of age :D . It never used to be a problem but now I’m 40 it’s just impossible.

The other night in a club I had the most ridiculous conversation with a young lady (ahem) whereby I could only hear about half of what she was saying. I made her shout so loud that my ear went pop and I was beset by tinnitus! We then both agreed it wasn’t worth carrying on and she walked off.

Perhaps my wife has secretly implanted something in my ears that trips at the sound of a young female voice 8O

No, Surrey :-)

My S3 was nicked in Surbiton. Mate’s Car Jacking was in Old Windsor. As he parked they walked up asking directions then just opened the door and laid into him. I think he would have got less of a beating had he not resolutely held onto the keys. They found the car a few weeks later on false plates with shotgun cartridges under the seat.

Was about to hit the button on one when some kind souls broke into my house to nick my S3 off the drive (was recovered 2 months later re-sprayed, plated and badged. Then a mate with an RS4 got car jacked and beaten before they made off with it.

Hassle if you ask me 8O

So surely no problem? You don’t even need to tell them in advance what it is.

Group Bookings asked about luggage and I said only one hold bag which would be a bike. They were fine with this for a few months but then recently got in touch to say there is a limit set by BA in terms of size of the bag/ box which is 175x103x30. I agreed we would be under this but then they checked on the number and came back with the 6 maximum thing because the route is served by smaller aircraft (737s and A319s).

So being aware of this I guess I’m reluctant to risk a stand-off at the airport with the possibility of seeing my bike sitting on the tarmac as we take off!

Good thing I didn’t mention that 12 of the 14 are 29ers/ 650bs or we might be one bike per flight ;-)