Weather looks wet – and warm – and sunny ie a nightmare to dress for. Hmmm Gabba?

So HT or FS. I seem to remember Gee used his spearfish last year but also that it wasn’t very rooty or bumpy?

Down for the 12hr solo though may change to the 6hr if very wet/muddy. Loved it last year.

I’m hoping to do trans portugal next May. Planning on a carbon 29er with hideously expensive Syntace flex post or a Spearfish. FWIW if it’s not technical I find HT more comfortable as you can get out of the saddle more to rest your butt without heaps of rear suspension wallowing.

Someone posted a test here the other day that showed an FSA K force set back carbon post as having more flex than a thudbuster short travel!

Anyhow there is no substitute for extensive testing – the time for which is fast running out? Generally no major equipment changes close to the event

Flapjack has too much fat for eating before during or after a ride. The fat prevents efficient absorbtion of carbohydrate. Sure lots of people eat it and will say it’s great but theoreticaly it’s not the best.

Malt loaf, bannanas, pressed sandwiches are what I use plus haribos or jelly babies.

My suggestion is that you make sure you are not fobbed off by some generic comment about bicycle riding.

The golden rule with blood in urine is to get a scan (camera up the urethra) of the bladder.

Probably nothing to worry about but it is a golden rule and as such it needs to happen to rule anything non bike related out.

^hush. It’s now cheaper for me to run XTR than XT. 8O

Ride for as long as you can concentrate. A lot of crashes happen because of lack of concentration.

Got a flat in mine last weekend, and on refitting the tyre (TLR Rocket Ron) it was rather baggy, went up eventually, but was a right faff. Which is intriguing, and not ideal.

Am I reading too much into this or are you intimating the wheel’s deformed or the tyre’s stretched.

Thanks my edge800 seems to be pissed when it comes to elevation – only 1300m.

^ yeah moving weight forward over the front wheel has no effect on stopping lifting when you’re climbing.

Long loop in 7.45. Great event but hard this year. Some very slippy descents. Anyone got the total climbing figure?

Hmmm I think I’m going to be wearing my winter boots.

aimed at the MTb Bonty 24/12 and ridelondon100 both of which I have placing/time targets respectively

Wow first 24 and a placing target! I’d targeted finishing without resting too much for my first 24 but pulled out in favour of the Manx 100.

The time to experiment is not at a race unless it’s part of your training. Blowing up is not only agony it’s also slow.

If your zones keep you mainly aerobic then going harder and exhausting your anaerobic store of carbohydrate greatly compromises your ability to burn fat again.

At the moment in longer races I try to avoid racing individuals and concentrate on being as efficient as possible. Passing a shattered fast starter isn’t that rare.

They’re designed by Burls!

Yup 4th year. Long route – will be character building…..

Mine is 18months old and it too requires some force with the clutch on especialy in higher gears. I can’t remember if it was always like that or if it’s got worse.

To the nightmare of building from customer supplied parts include:-

Ceasing build due to incompatible parts and communicating to mechanically challenged punter what is required (research).

Supplying consumables not considered by punter (stem spacer, cable, olives/unions,cables,

Potentialy some sort of quasi fitting.

Having to speak to a customer who has knows what he wants (closet weigh weenie/obsessive) but hasn’t the skills to build – potentialy the worst sort of customer who will recognise a steerer cut 5mm short and not accept a 7degree rise stem in place of a 0degree one because it’s 25g heavier/wrong make/looks bad etc.

I’m not telling you how I know this

Well it might shift of the 40T when back pedalling but I found the shifting onto and off it going the normal way to be flawless on Sunday. I made a few horrible max stress changes going up some steep bits and it worked very well indeed.

No – they spray and pray!

Are those bottom gear figures for 32/42 and 32/40 correct. Seems like a very small difference for the XX1 and Hope T rex – rounding masking a near gear inch difference?

FWIW the gap caused by the missing 17t on a T Rex is pretty irritating. It’s both noticable on the legs and also needs a slightly firmer shift.

Biggest advantage of 1x for me is the removal of another thing I can get wrong when tired and stressed. Too easy to start shifting wrong side or wrong direction.

I quit last year after 3 laps. I was unprepared went out too fast and got so tired I couldn’t control the bike.

This year was unfinished business so I had trained better, was properly fuelled and paced myself better. I had a low point but just ground on through.

The course may not have been overly technical but I think it’s the toughest of the Gorricks and was very glad to be on a light FS even if it’s 26″. I was on the black and green Merida.

Did the 7 laps in just under 7hrs for 24th. Great course.

Saw TiRed, might have seen njee20 (black and yellow kit with puncture on the fire road?)

Is it possible to get a lap in on the course tomorrow?

Would have gone to 28t but instead did 30t and 40-11 with Hope T rex.

Best place to get Revolutions and prolocks?

What’s Windmill Hill like as a course?

Mine will go down 3 rings if I backpedal. It doesn’t do it on the 36. I don’t think I’ll ever use it except when climbing and only backpedal on descents.

The anniversary of my first XC race. Down for the 7 lap, aim to finish but may change category if it’s a mudfest.

Thinks about category change for next Sunday’s Kawasaki 100……

I have a ‘classic’ 26″ soul as my XC trainer and one of the aforementioned A La Carte Ti that remains a 26″ bike. They are set up pretty similar but the Salsa has a Ti seatpost.

The Soul is great – I absolutely love it. It’s pretty commfortable but not quite so smooth as the A La Carte. Mud tyres shake me more on the Soul than the Salsa.

How much of that is down to the Ti seatpost in the A La Carte I don’t know but the Salsa is more comfortable just not full Ti frame RRP more comfortable. I got mine from Triton at a knockdown price. Having compared the 2 now I’d take a Ritche 650b and splash for a Syntace flex seat post.

If you are going anywhere wilderness or high then:-

1. Get a good forecast for the specific area and check.

2. Repeat – forecasts change a lot in wild or high areas. Any doubt then change plans to something safer.

3. Leave proposed route and check in time with reliable individual and agree action if not checked in and or if you will update any deviation from the route.

4. Thorough check of the map to be aware of any hazards (cliffs etc) on the route and points where you could unintentialy take a wrong turn towards other hazards.

5. Descending either on bike or foot especially in poorer light can greatly reduce your ability to see even massive drops (see 4.)

Might sound a bit dramatic and not for Surrey but N.Wales, Lakes etc can be very wild if your are not careful.

6. Spend some time thinking through bad scenarios and what you might do if they happened – bad mechanical, bad weather, illness, accident etc.

I really like the XC loop but would hate to ride it on a HT. The roots and steps are pretty jarring even on a short travel FS (admittedly after multiple laps). I’ve not yet ridden it in the wet but think it could be very scary. Humungous root sections and some very slippy and very steep chalk switchbacks plus high speeds very close to trees.

Judging by the dearth of Strava times the XC loop is either not very popular, ridden by non strava types or I’m better than I think I am. I suspect the first of these.

Looks fantastic but with a nagging injury I am very glad I didn’t go!

My A La Carte brings a smile to my face every time I look at it.

I reach a half century in 2 months (fingers crossed) and have some savings that would let me spring for a Seven Cycles Soda SLX but the money is sooo much more it would have to be pretty special…

I find my 100mm SIDs pretty good all round. Not as good as Fox 120s as you say but they’re a somewhat different beast and cost.

I’ve got an arthritic wrist and can do 8hr of rutted Ridgeway on my SID dual air fine – they don’t go up and down much on hard hoof prints etc but they are OK. My Rebas are slightly worse if anything.

Scary similarities here. Prices seem very weak so much so I can’t face getting a Spearfish in place of my Flux esp as I can’t test one first. Looks like we’ll be the 2 26ers in 24:12. Are you 24 or 12?

Also once I go 29er once the rest will have to change…..

Might have to get my very obedient lab a bit fitter. The beagle just pisses off into the distance – pity as it’s perfect in every other respect.