Yep, absolutely as grim as I remember!

Energizer do a range, mine is normal usb but has green and red as well as white. A charge lasts ages, think it was about 20 quid. Small and light, probably even better these days.

Writing’s been on the wall for a while. Last year was garbage compared to how it used to be, the person in charge of DH has zero interest in fans of the sport. I honestly hope the arse falls out of it over the next few years and ESO, Warner Bros and the rest disappear.

The guy on the right is Andre the Giant.

Link between Andre the Giant and Barack Obama?

Andre the Giant has a posse was a street art campaign by Shepard Fairey – https://www.deodato.art/en/blog/post/a-closer-look-andre-the-giant-by-shepard-fairey-1989 – who years later repurposed the style into the HOPE campaign propelling Obama into the White House.

My late FIL was a wonderful, unwittingly funny guy. His Volvo car was always referred to as the Vulva and he could never understand why so many people pissed themselves laughing when he said it.

When Graeme Obree came out (FIL was a runner not a cyclist but Obree being from Ayrshire brought him into his orbit) he turned and asked me if I’d seen that Graeme Obree had been declared gay.

Will it help him manuva over the roots better?

Totally jealous of anyone who went to Rally in London or Massive Attack’s thing in Bristol.

Getting itchy for the handful of shows Floating Points have on the calendar later this year. Hopefully there’ll be a proper tour in the spring.

Got UNKLE, billy woods and Ezra Collective all coming up but not for a wee while.

I think Tom Waits is about the only artist who I’ve never seen live who I’d happily pay a fair bit, like £100+ to see – last time he played over here I think was at least ten years ago, and tickets were £75 back then

Only gig I’ve paid stupid money for (Edinburgh, not London) – pretty sure it was over 100. Edinburgh Playhouse, think it was 2008?

Yes, it’s basically a winter league. Think it’s starting October this year, usually finishes just after Easter. Not enough reliable numbers every week the rest of the year to make the sums add up.

There are crashes from time to time like there are at any track meet but I’m not sure the ambulance service has the resources to park one outside on the off chance a rider bins it.

If you’re coming to watch you probably just need to head for the infield, not sure they open the doors into the stands. You can just wander in, it’s all pretty relaxed.

Tubeless on all MTBs but find inserts too much of a PITA, carry a tube in my hip pack just in case.

Punctured on the final descent on tonight’s ride, a proper rear wheel wallop with sealant pissing out onto my leg rather than a have-I-punctured. Needed a thick anchovy in the sidewall and a thin one down near the bead. Reckon I was stopped for way less time than fitting a tube would have taken. Tyre was totally flat, decent pump makes a difference and the tyre had plenty sealant, but still much better than the tube option.

Tube’s the last resort. Pretty much useless when the tyre’s older though, a load of thorns in it by then. Probably still better than walking all the way home though.

Yellow Jersey here, never had to claim (touch wood). Slightly annoying to have to cover the whole trip even though the Morzine bit is only the first half.

Two massively tedious things, together at last! Great thread.

Another one for Beth Gibbons tonight – a bonus having Bill Ryder-Jones as support after missing out on seeing him in Glasgow a couple of months ago!

I seldom look at anyone’s bike and think wow, but wow! Some bikes just look completely right. That’s beautiful, my dream Alps bike right there. I’d rip Morgins a new one on that thing. Nice job!

Oh no! A genuine innovator, not afraid of what people thought of his work, did it the way he wanted to do it.

Rid of Me is Polly Harvey’s best album and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

We go for the weekend every year but I’m not sure I’ll go back. It’s a fun weekend with mates still but it isn’t what it was (even fairly recently).

i thought it was quite a bit quieter than the last two years, feel like they’ve shrunk the main arena to compensate for that. The gaps between the big hitters are too big – it might work for tv but sucks the life out of the climax for fans there in person. Bruni’s run was amazing (and maybe the fact that was so obviously going to win contributed) but the noise that greeted it was nowhere near it was for Pierron a couple of years ago.

The format is pish IMO – zero chance of a surprise random privateer impressing the Sunday crowd with the run of their life, tiny female elite field, just way too much dead time.

Unless they’re injured I’m not sure it’s ever a good look to not have the current Elite world champ in the final (Hatton may have been injured but I had the impression it was mechanical on the Saturday?)

Start and finish changes – not using the hut so effectively closing the balcony at the cafe to the public, moving the finish line up the hill so riders were done by the time they entered the arena, new grandstand and screen position obscuring the view for those standing – didn’t help either. Course taping was overly cautious, keeping fans well back in lots of places (although I suspect plenty of riders don’t mind that), constant sponsor namechecking by the (quite poor) arena commentators, none of it added up to a feeling of improving the experience for punters who are now paying quite a lot more for what feels like less.

i know it’s hard times in the industry (absence of freebies for kids at stalls, pits etc tells that story) but it feels like it’s moving in the wrong direction and people have started to vote with their feet.

Didn’t rain though!

Mount Kimbie at the QM last night – just made it in time after the drive home from Fort Bill.

My new favourite band, they were tremendous. Been aware of them for a while without really getting on board but their new album is brilliant. So glad I made the effort despite a couple of late drunk nights catching up on me!

Got Arab Strap on Friday, decent week.

I’ve got a 66 plate LWB manual (1.5 diesel engine), had it for 3 and a bit years, it’s just ticked over 90k miles with no issues.

It’s getting the timing belt changed in a couple of weeks – I think it’s a regular cam belt, not a wet belt. The 1.0 EcoBoost (petrol) version (2016 onwards) is the only Tourneo with the wet belt AFAIK. Transit Custom’s different I think.

It’s ULEZ compliant, VED is only £30, don’t think it’s overly thirsty. Mine’s very much a weekend-only, I don’t really drive anywhere during the week. Once I knew I wanted one (S/H) it was a bit of a wait as they don’t seem to come up that often unless they’re wheelchair conversions. I paid less than 10k for it with something like 35k miles on the clock.

Rear two seats came out immediately, the middle row of three folds almost flat to the floor. Easy to get 3 29ers in, wheels on, droppers up, plus riders, plus kit. I was away racing at the weekend and slept in it, do that quite a lot. I’ve got a good setup with IKEA telescopic bed rails, slats and a self-inflating mattress. Plenty of room to have bike and kit in the back with me if it’s just me. You get 2m clear length between the back of the front seats and the closed tailgate.

Only thing I don’t like is the panoramic glass roof, I mean who actually wants that if it doesn’t open?? Air conditioning can be a bit underwhelming when it’s really hot outside but maybe I’m expecting too much.

Done 3 Alps trips with it, 4 people, 7 or 8 bikes plus a whole load of kit each time, everyone’s comfortable.

King Creosote at Troon town hall on Friday night there, first night of his Any Port In A Storm tour, round small coastal towns in Scotland. First I’ve seen him play in a few years, was good.

These days I increasingly welcome seated gigs, the downside being you can’t just shift away from people who have forgotten how to behave in public, talking all the time, that sort of thing.

Then! Talking to a friend over the weekend and mentioned it, and she suddenly started on about him being some kind of wrong ‘un for having a bit of a libertarian/pro-Brexit streak. I wasn’t aware of this, turns out she has some kind of list of Scottish indie folk holding political views with which she disagrees. Definitely at the Matthew Hopkins end of the separate-art-from-the-artist spectrum.

I would spend a day between the woods above Boat of Garten and the woods above Carrbridge – natural, twisty and flowy trails without a killer of a climb back up the hill each time. Nice and quiet, loads of wildlife, just a great place to be.

The old curling rink at the bottom of Boat of Garten woods has a new, floodlit pump track, while over at Carrbridge there’s a dirt jump park at the village park, next to the football pitch.

You can ride to both locations, traffic-free, from Aviemore. If you’re not there for long, I wouldn’t bother driving anywhere – enjoy the area itself. Way better than trail centres IMO. The trails above Carrbridge in particular are mint, a good stepping-stone to High Burnside when your lad’s a bit older.

Brilliant though they undoubtedly are, Basic Channel records surely cannot be described as downtempo!

The Guvnor put his name to a load of things that probably fit this thread title better, but I never tire of this:

trickydiscoFree Member

@eskay. Loving that om unit album. Didn’t know he’d done a downtempo. Do love that dub techno acid sound

Agreed, that’s flippin great. Had it on a loop all afternoon at work yesterday.

Celtic Connections is 18 days long and over 300 events, well over a 1000 performers. It’s not the sort of festival you turn up to with a tent.

Doesn’t stop most of the audiences turning up wearing hill walking gear though!

6 music have a festival?? They kept that quiet!

My youngest works in a bike shop where loads of these guys bring their wheels in to get fixed.

He hates working on their wheels, they’re total junk and really awkward to build.

But he does like talking to guys themselves, says they’re all dead nice, from all sorts of countries with all sorts of backgrounds, but some real hard lives behind them.

Field trip down to Manchester to see Fever Ray at the Albert hall tonight, not disappointed!

That was immense. As soon as I saw their Glastonbury set last year I was so keen to see them. No show in Scotland so a wee hotel weekend down in the north of England. A total edge to their music, I love it.

Great venue too, keen to come back. Got to love a sloping parquet floor and vaulted roof.

Late July for us, same Airbnb we always rent (ace off-piste return home from the Pleney).

Usually go earlier in July, but avoiding the WC (both Tyreds jr agree that would eat too much into their riding time) this year.

Could be the last time with both kids – eldest is at uni now, but not organised enough to join a uni bike club trip this year – time will tell.

Looking forward to Morgins being open this year, that’s my favourite spot on the PdS (often just drive there as it’s a schlep riding there and back and I hate having to watch the clock).

Tyred Jr the younger would happily lap Pleney black and all the off-piste in the woods there all day every day for a week. Who wouldn’t? :-)

Mrs Tyred won’t ride a MTB in Morzine, so I find myself split between doing walking/running etc with her and riding with the kids.

Always find it hard to pick what to do after the lifts shut – piscine or skatepark or road ride or paddle along at Montriond or tennis, or just sitting about drinking beer. The good life :-)

We drive from Scotland via Eurotunnel, usually do an overnight in Kent so we can get an early train, then another overnight around Dijon/Chalon-sur-Saone, so we can get to Morzine about lunchtime the next day and fit in half a day’s riding without any of the driving legs being brutal.

Airbnb for overnight stops, so you can pick somewhere with off-street parking, cook a dinner etc. Usually works out cheaper than hotel/motel type places if not everyone wants to sleep in the same room. Plus, you can turn up some weird gems, had a few of those.

We head south (Provence/Drome/Ardeche) for a week or two after Morzine for a sunshine/swimming pool/chilling stay, Airbnb again. Going to exactly the same place in the Drome that we went last year, as it was unexpectedly amazing.

It gets more expensive every year, but last year was nuts. Looking at the breakdown of what we spent, it was the supermarket shopping that had really gone up in cost. I get carried away in a Carrefour with the wine, cheese and general ace French stuff, plus I like cooking, so I’ve been warned to tone it down a bit this year!

Usually go for a single overnight on the way home, Champagne or Ardennes, then just do the grim bit back up through England in one go.

Too much ticket-buying, not enough ticket-using lately! :-(

Beth Gibbons at the Usher hall in Edinburgh in June, first album in 20-odd years imminent (unless you count the Polish classical one she’s on).

I wonder who first observed a chicken having its period and thought “mmmm, tasty”?

Rare experience this morning, buying tickets for a gig that isn’t tiny but doesn’t feel like a rip-off: Mogwai are hosting an all-dayer at Queens Park in Glasgow at the end of June, they’re headlining but the bill also contains Slowdive,  Michael Rother, Kathryn Joseph, Free Love, Sacred Paws, Nadine Shah, Beak>, Goat Girl and Bdrmm plus some others. If I’d gone to Glastonbury and seen all of them, I’d be coming away feeling like I’d got value for money, let alone an all-dayer I can ride there and back from!

Sixty-five quid! Amazing!

Cannot wait.

Robert Mondavi, from California. Might not fit the budget but it’s real good.

Everyone says oh Christmas it’s the most wonderful time of the year NO IT ISN’T, there’s no way it beats high summer, coming down off dry dusty trails on the hill tired and dirty with a cold pint waiting and no need to clean your bike. It’s coming, it’ll just be a while, but it’ll be worth the wait.

In the meantime just get on with it, the lights the mucky clothes and bike and the destroyed brake pads. Won’t be long, honest.

Last cabin on the Pleney, descent down through the woods then over the road down the grass hill to the house and the contents of the fridge.

Like food bank donation points in supermarkets.

I take items through the self checkout without paying for them and put them straight in. Who’s kidding who?

Our household’s been vegetarian for decades – for Christmas dinner Mrs Tyred and I like to have something generally involving filo or puff pastry, goat’s cheese, roast sweet potato and slow-cooked red onion in whatever format I can be bothered assembling. Hard to go wrong really.

The kids demand super-luxe macaroni cheese, they’re simple creatures.

Michelle Mone Class Warrior, who saw that coming? She’s been operating deep undercover, bent on taking them all down.

If they all open with similar weather and levels of cover I’d rank them:

1 Glencoe (most interesting terrain, best feel)

2 Nevis (but only if the back corrie is open)

3 Glenshee (large area but not thrilling)

4 Cairngorm (run by dicks)

5 Lecht (nice but tiny)

This is for lift-served only, not counting hiking

As others have suggested though, God laughs at Scottish snowboarders who make plans in advance, so be prepared to go wherever looks best if you have to go on a particular day.

Belle and Sebastian in Paisley last night – was a bit meh about going, as it meant missing my work Christmas do (a fairly lavish affair with people I like and a free bar) and I’m not sure about B+S’ last couple of albums, but they were tremendous, just a joyful entertaining noise in a really nice venue.

Seem them loads of times before but this was one of the best.

Arab Strap tonight!

Sleep D Live at the Fairfield Amphitheatre

Many many times yes! Completely obsessed with that EP! Not one you expect many people to have come across!

Pretty much anything in the Weatherall/Johnson ALFOS oeuvre fits this description.

Like:

Unusual one last night, string quintet from Scottish Opera (normal quartet plus double bass) playing baroque/early classical pieces in the local Episcopalian church. Freezing cold but really lovely and with free wine at the interval!

Jacob Yates & the Pearly Gate Lockpickers at the Rum Shack in Glasgow last Thursday, so brilliant even with hipsters loudly talking pish near the bar. Dark ain’t the word.
Belle & Sebastian on a Friday in a few weeks followed by Arab Strap on the Saturday – like stepping back in time 25 years, bit odd.

Fever Ray are touring in March, but only playing Manchester, London and Bristol. Weighing up which will make for the best trip. Manchester on a Friday night feels like the front-runner!

other reason?

They’ve basically been the baseline when online shopping for bike stuff.

Sure, you might get a cheaper price elsewhere, and they may not have the size/colour/spec you want in stock, but their website(s) are nearly always my starting point when setting out to buy something. Comprehensive range (in theory), easy-to-navigate site (in the past), agreeable pricing (in the main) have been the keys to that.

When they introduced next day delivery for £10 a year – basically free for people who ride a lot and have lots of bikes to keep on top of – that was a done deal.