I saw a guy recently on an old specialized fsr re-done in old school bmx colours (Raleigh burner blue frame with yellow tyres, grips etc.) and he looked totally cool to me.

Anyway its how their ridden that makes them cool. This is why middle aged men in Lamborghinis sitting in traffic jams in Chelsea are not cool.

I can speak from experience here too. In 2004 I just lost the will to ride and my bike must have sat in the garage for about 18 months gathering dust. My riding buddies had all moved away from the scene which didn't help as every ride was going to be alone. So I moved on to on scuba diving and filled all my spare time with that. I never sold the bike though just in case…

Then one day the sun was out and I took the old girl for a spin round the woods. Things just seemed to click and I realised what I had been missing. To add some further excitement to this discovery I paid a quick visit to ebay and I bought myself a more up to date bike. And on the first ride out I got talking to a group of riders who invited me to join them in their regular local rides and trips to wales etc. And hey presto my desire to get out and ride was fully restored. Now my scuba gear is covered in dust in the garage!

So don't worry, it will come back.

Perfect Thanks.

Thanks for clarifying. One last question then, how does the mech attach to the frame without the mount? Isn't the mount the way it attaches to the frame? With this removed what does the mech attach with/to?

Thanks!

So I remove the bb mount and attach it to the frame? How then does it attach to the mech itself?

Thanks.

Love Kirroughtree which has some nice black bits here and there (The 'Chute' on McMoab is a thrill) but its is hard work. The suggestion to start at McMoab and get some supplies on board half way round is a great idea. Doing that next time for sure..

7.30am Sunday ride in the Surrey Hills a couple of years back and came across a man walking on the trail decked out with nothing but stout walking boots, trekking poles, large rucksack and a silk g-string. I mustered all my courage and managed to say 'good morning' with a completely straight face.

Think once, Think Twice, Think don't let your Staffy crap on the pavement….

I ran over an old woman the other day… Just wanted to say that a la Derek & Clive… :lol:

It was a couple of years ago actually. She looked me straight in the eye and then stepped off the kerb. The impact was pretty full on (20+mph) and she went down like the proverbial sack of spuds.. as I flew over her I heard the thud as her head hit the tarmac. She was out cold for a few minutes and I thought I'd killed her. An awful feeling. All the car drivers around piled out and ran over to her. One lone driver shouted over that perhaps someone should see if the cyclist was OK (I was, just cuts and scrapes) but no one really bothered to check. The woman came to and started shouting that I was a "bloody cyclist" and should watch where I was going. An ambulance was called but she staggered off up the road (much to the annoyance of the person who had called it) still muttering about bloody cyclists and I was left to walk home given that my bike was in various pieces.

So a term for pedestrians who don't think bikes in the road are really there when they walk out in front of them would be welcome.

I have 2 or 3 sets per bike and 4 bikes. What have I become? The space they take up in the shed is no laughing matter either..

Some from my collection….

HRs 2.1s have no grip in the mud but are ace on hard summer trails. HRs 2.35 are too slow in the mud.

WTB Timberwolfs 2.3 grip in the mud like no tyre I have ever come across (even Trailrakers) and roll well too.

Bontrager Mud X 2.1 are great pretty much all year as are Maxxis Advantage 2.1. Panaracer Cinders also are a good all year choice.

Nevegal Tomac Stick-Es were the worse tyres I ever had – no grip in the bends and wore out in a few months (ooh…controversial)

I use the 661 Kyle Straits and like them a lot. Very comfy..

I have several pairs of winter gloves and all with the unattached liner have this problem. Funnily enough with the Sealskinz the more worn out they get the less of a problem it becomes. Now, so long as I take them off carefully, I can put my hand straight back in with just a bit of a wiggle.

a couple of inches of treestump sticking out upright at the top

Sounds like you need to use the stump as a kicker to get the bike pointing upwards. The rear wheel should then just barely touch it.

Hey, joolsburger..talking of air did nail that drop on Saturday? :D

Must admit to being addicted to air. I spend most of my trail time looking for things to get airborne off. It's a great feeling I guess! I'm only 36 though!

Once at gulley jumps at Swinley a bunch of guys turned up who were all easily in their 40's maybe one or two early 50's and they were taking HUGE air and styling it up with whips, one-handers etc. I watched them for 10 minutes aghast/ amazed then went home.. :?

It was a real pasting. I think they sensed he was quite nervous and inexperienced in front of a camera. I may have even felt sorry for him if BT weren't so sh*t.

Depends where you are going in Kerala really. If you go to Cochin (most people do, its pretty interesting) then I recommend the Arches Hotel. Its clean and very well kept and cheap. Nice rooftop restaurant where they serve brekky.
http://www.hotelarches.com/

In terms of acttivities the houseboat cruise is a must of course. Your hotel will be able to sort it all (the Arches sorted us). You can pick a variety of routes and times. We did 2 days from Allepey to Kollam. Truly amazing.

Not sure about MTB. You would have to head up into the hills but I bet someone will run them, perhaps not the most advanced though! The hill stations are a great place to visit too. There is trekking, wildlife sanctuaries, cooking courses etc.

And then in the south of course you have the beaches, primarily around Kovalam. There are a couple of high end luxury hotels (I stayed at the Taj Green Grove for a few nights £££) but for a budget clean and tidy option I have also stayed at a place called Molly's across the road
http://www.mollyskovalam.com/
Its away from the beach though but charming and with good food. There a dozens of options down by the public beach.

nor me..but nice shiny stuff I ordered yesterday has already arrived! :D

One of the most difficult aspects is that if people ask about my family and I say I am not in touch with them, the response is usually something like 'how terrible, you must do something about it, they are your parents after all'.

With you there.. I just say I am an only child now to avoid all the "oh what a shame" or "you really should try a bit harder, its family after all" comments.

I should have added that my sister and I had a truly awful upbringing, but then we shared it. What makes me angry is that I have chosen to seek help to deal with it and used it to make me stronger whilst it appears she has decided to punish my parents (and me!?) instead. No matter what they put us through they are my parents and (although I don't see them that often given we have barely two words to say to each other) I will stick with them as one day they will be gone and then I'll probably have regrets.

I haven't seen my sister in 20 years (I'm 36 now) as she decided for reasons unknown to my parents or myself that she wanted no contact whatsoever. No discussion or announcement just one day all contact was lost. And that was that. I went round to her last known address but no joy. My Dad used an organisation to track her down a few years back but they reported back that she didn't want any contact. We don't know what city/ country she is in now. Its a complete mystery why she is like this.

So that makes it quite upsetting but then again I often feel very angry with her given that she is bringing up children who will always wonder about the uncle and grandparents they don't know. Not a great example of a stable family environment to start them off in life. My parents are getting old and starting to sicken and one day I guess I'm going to be sitting at two funerals as the only child while she carries on with her life oblivious to the loss of her own parents. Stupid cow….!

It's her birthday today actually.

Nothing to do with BMWs either really. Some are driven by knobs but then so are all other makes of car. I don't drive one btw! I rarely see aggressive bad driving, what I see from most bad drivers is poor lane disclipline and complete lack of awareness of what is going on around them. A large number of drivers might as well do away wiht their mirrors as they have no use for them.

And if you are in a chilled out going slowly mood because you left 15 mins earlier than you needed to then move aside for those that are in a hurry or just aren't as good at relaxing and time management as you.

Why people claim they are calm, relaxed and above the bad drivers but at the same time boast about deliberately obstructing those wishing to go faster or even more bizarre start shouting or showing rude gestures to them as they try to get past is beyond me. Just move aside and the problem is gone. I flashed a guy last night doing 50mph in the fast lane on an empty dual carriageway (in a Zafira not a BMW) and his reaction was to slam on his brakes and giving me the middle finger. Why didn't he just pull over….

It's only bad when you opt for the forks that are the model down from the ones you wanted because of the colour…

Sorry about the night ride thing! Good that you're going to have a crack at it. Just get that front wheel over the roots (you can use them as a kicker) and you'll be fine. You can get actually away with a slight front wheel landing because of the angle (but hopefully it won't come to that!).

Agree 100% with all the stuff about riding with other people. Its the key for me. And will be fascinated to read about the psychological side given that I am a born worrier! I've been trying to key myself up to a big Swinley drop for 7 years!

I think we are talking about the same one, yes. It's great because the landing is quite soft and open so as long as you clear the roots as you go off you're OK. Then it's a very rapid approach to the lake because of the speed you pick up on landing (at this time of year the mud can make things a bit squirmy under the bike).

My specific advice for it would be to get set up nicely before the approach run (by starting as far back (off to the left) as possible upon climbing up) and to know exactly where you are going off; I've gone off in slightly the wrong place on night rides and ended up in a mess. Good Luck (you CAN do it!). Rob

Cool, I shall investigate forthwith! The one I do is not rollable as it has a overhanging lip with roots so you need to hit them and get the bike up in the air before dropping back onto the transition, or the flat if you go too fast at it :lol: A friend tried it too slowly and got caught up in the roots with disastrous consequences. I guess your one might be just up a bit from that.

I'm pretty sure I know where you are. When I approach the pond I go left up a little hill and then do a sharp slow right turn at the top and over a drop off down toward the lake again. There are some roots protruding off the lip. Is it this one?

I find the bigger the deal it becomes, the less chance you will ever do it…. on your own. I've dropped off stuff I would have never have gone near when following other riders as I felt I had no choice (if I wanted to keep up and not look a bit of a scaredycat etc.). I would suggest you get someone who will do it happily or has done it and follow them at full tilt from a distance back (somewhere you can't see the obstacle). They will have the effect of almost pulling you along behind them and over the drop. That works for me. So long as you feel that the obstacle is within your skill level before you start (because lack of confidence usually means disaster no matter what the method employed).

Then it will be done and you will feel top of the world!

I'm pretty interested in where it is as I ride those woods, any chance you can give a more pinpoint description?
cheers,rob

On my darkside rides I get that sort of thing a lot. Since taking up the road bike thing I have had more road rage type incidents than I can recall. People just don't like cyclists in their way. The horn is their way of saying: 'I am very impatient person full of my own sense of self-importance'.

The other day I had a guy come up behind me whilst I was smoothly riding along in a cycle lane and just blast his horn before continuing past.

Another driver stopped to give me abuse (his wife joined in too) because I had delayed him joining a queue of stationary traffic 50 yards ahead by approximately 5 seconds. He then tore ahead to prove whatever point he was trying to make before doing an emergency stop at the back of the queue. I cycled past him almost immediately and saw two petrified kids in child seats in the back.

Agree with all the posts about people believing they are invincible and above the law when they get behind the wheel….

I love my Moment. Had it for 4 years. Just nails everything you put in front of it. Never had any problems with the back (DHX coil) and its been over and down just about everything. I do now ride a lighter full suss for everyday trails though as my set up is more freeride. So the Moment just comes out on the 'big' days and for the trail centres.

Was pictured at a 1988 rave in the News of the world under the headline "spaced out" (I was).

Joolsburger, does this mean that the guy at 1.39 of the attached is you?! I've always loved that picture. I ride the same trails as you so must look out for that stare! 8O

Once I did a boom gnarly stunt trick on a bmx and a girl got pregnant just by watching my extremeness to the maxxxx.

Shouldn't that read "Plagiarised a famous Australian Ebay listing for a BMX"? Good line though..

There's even a Facebook Group for it now!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60794356499

I've done the AK47s/ Skydiving/ Swimming with Manta Rays/ Everest Base Camp etc. but nothing can beat saving someone's life. It makes yer feel rather good :D

Indeed it is. Bang to rights… An artificially enhanced version of his tiny 17m drop

Bender

I must admit to hiding one of them upon purchase behind the others in the shed and getting away with it for a few months until one day the g/f asked why my bike was now blue and not black (not spotting understandably the difference between a Santa Cruz Chameleon and an Ellsworth Moment). Cue a full week of silence: "it's not the bike it's the deceit". Lesson Learned!

:D I'm an innocent man! My g/f's family ran out of something I can't recall so I volunteered to take the walk (and get some much needed peace and quiet!).

That is shocking. I'm assuming it wasn't one of the the 'official' looking classes I see being taught in that area on Sundays..

The other bit that can really cause a rumpus now I come to think of it is the lane leading down into Peaslake past the church. So it's a perfect place to slow right down and throw some 'good mornings' around as the churchgoers sometimes look in fear for their lives when they first catch a bike out of the corner of their eye. Its amazing how quickly you'll get a smile straight back once they realise you are not an evil biker intent on their premature demise…

Girlfriends/boyfriends/Wives/Husbands/Pets should NEVER be taken into account when acquiring bikes. Come on!

Only possibly where they start to forget your name because you are always out riding the bikes in order to justify having them…

Great answers so far! :lol:

I was in N. Wales last Xmas and popping down to the local shop on Xmas Day I saw 3 (three!) people in the queue in their pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers. And not one person batted an eyelid at it. I thought it was great!