Its fine for a rider of even limited skill.
I would not recommend the black to a beginner; that would be irresponsible. The whites climb is probably the most tech part of the ride.
I like to ride W2 from glyncorrwg with penhydd in the middle. Dont be put off by people saying its only for beginners, it is really fun and varied. I enjoy this route a lot more than skyline.

Know what his interests are?
Magazine subscription?

What I'm really trying to say is try to lighten up and enjoy yourself.
Drink, have sex, ride your bike, watch pron, smoke some wacky baccy, whatever. Just try not to dwell on the sh1t because it happens and it will happen again. Life is also amazing when you let it be.

You need to go out, let your hair down. Wear your sluttiest outfit.
Get p1ssed up and grab a bloke or a chick or both, take them home and f***. Try anything you've not tried before, the full monty.

Ian, not that type of courage.

I find these people to be very driven beyond that of an average joe and although clearly barking, somewhat inspirational.
They demonstrate courage and conviction and have a calling which is impossible for them to ignore. As Wims' wife said; he would not be him if he stopped his antics.

Z11, I did not understand a word of that mate. Are you in politics (seriously)?.

Those in glass houses….
http://blogs.wsj.com/iainmartin/2009/09/18/will-the-tories-axe-the-royal-air-force/
EEK, seems a bit harsh.
What about closing the loopholes which allow the rich to avoid income tax?
Afghanistan, right or wrong is not economically sustainable at the moment.
Can we afford the level of welfare/disability benefit that's being dished out?
Having been involved with surveying some schools recently, I must disagree with cutting funding there. In all honesty, some of the schools were at a dangerous level of neglect (no fire alarms etc).

I don't believe you.
Not about the pubs, I don't believe that you can count.

jon, i may be wrong but I seem to remember seeing some figures that show that smokers more than pay for their cost (by quite a lot, too).

Simon, a lot of pubs did close directly as a result of the smoking ban. Drive around and have a look. Mostly pubs which didn't sell hot food. So the smokers now go to pubs which do sell hot food and annoy the diners.

where did he get the crutch FFS?

The drunken vader is the funniest. It's really tickled me for some reason.
That vid is quality and I love that even the judge started taking the p1ss.

I think that smoking is already regarded as uncool.
Perceptions have changed a lot and I think it's far less socially acceptable. I now find that a smoker will normally be the odd one out in any group that I'm in. Makes me worry where the govt are going to look to fill the tax void though…..

isn't that why they joined up so as to be told what to do all the time ?

Now you're just being a ****.

TJ, well done you've broken the back of it now I think.
8 months down, no problems. It only gets easier.

TJ, did you manage to give up in the end mate?

spineless? SFB, I know far braver men than you who smoke.

I don't disagree SFB not being a smoker myself (anymore).

Sonic, I agree. The same with "actually" and "actual".
"I actually went to the actual place where XX actually fellated XX on the actual nob".
rrrrrrrr

That's easy then, don't serve food outside.

ndobbsieATmsnDOTcom

Hhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooofffffff

I've recently bought this tent and we think it's ace.
Took it to North wales and it took me and the mrs and the dog no problems. It takes me under 5 minutes to erect and the vestibule is an ideal area for cooking/getting out of the rain. Fully recommended.
I would also recommend finding the best price on tinterwebnet and taking the details to your local go outdoors as they will beat it by 10% IIRC. Make sure it's in stock first.
Good luck.

Well I think youre a right brave bastard for what its worth.

niiiice

What happened to the hot landlady?
did we get any gash shots of her in the end?

Si, the VF2 looks very much a similar price as the other two.
spider2 can be had for ~£1500.
Anything I dont know about?

Kit should be able to withstand this IMO.
Perhaps buying UK kit as much as possible is the way to go?
I don't destroy much kit because I only buy decent stuff and I'm pretty good with a tool kit. But my bike has been in a similar condition to the one shown on a few occasions. Buy crap, buy twice I suppose.

If you tried to warranty any part on this bike and showed the manufacturer the picture of how you rode it he'd be perfectly entitled to tell you to go p1ss up a lamp-post.

How exactly is he riding his bike?

No Ernie, I don't think that counts. :D

Sorry to enter at such a late stage, but are people suggesting that component warranties should be void because their mountain bike got muddy?

I've killed allsorts, some with my hands. Never for fun (or sport) mind and I certainly didn't enjoy it. Always in the quickest way possible.
I wish I could go veggie.

I'm thinking a spider2 and an alpine 160 would be a nice pair of bike to own.

Thanks STATO, you're a star.
I may have to look more closely at 575's. Pretty, aren't they?

STATO,
Having re read you comments above, would you consider this bike as sufficiently capable to rag around Afan and Cwmcarn (XC) etc?

Oooh, that does sound interesting.
Is it OK to run TALAS forks at reduced travel for most of the time, it wont be bad for the forks?

Thanks STATO, that's the kind of advice I was after.
TBH I probably dont need 140mm front but have got some lovely black QR15 TALAS forks!
Any other recommendations for a 4-5" bike that will accept 140mm forks?
I looked at the ST4 but its the same weight as the 5 IIRC.

Its nice but not any lighter than my 5.5EVP. Although I love it, I think I could get away with a bit less travel out back in order to save some weight. If I were to go far a bike like that, I'd but a tracer TBH but as it is, I'm looking at the spider2.
Also I've seen one for sale at a decent price (2nd hand).
Yes druidh, it is very nice too expensive for me though.

I ride alone. Not by choice really, my friends aren't really active types.
If anyone wants a riding buddy in Bristol give me a shout!

Stoner, I am in work tomorrow and will try to get some help for you from there.