Another +1 for Pedalcover, cheaper than my existing contents and buildings cover, no need to name bikes,no specific security requirements and cover worldwide for my bikes up to £15K (from memory)

Smudge @ MTBBatteries for batteries and lights ,superb customer service and products.

Darren @ Pedalcover, one of the best policies and superb customer service.

Bikes covered up to £15K both at home and away and no specific lock/security requirements that some other policies specify.

Buy your lights and batteries from Smudge @ MTB Batteries good price and superb products and customer service.
Also you’re supporting a professional UK business

Was a great event , surprising how much hand cut trails they had managed to make without going near any of the main trails.
I’d agree I was surprised how techie a couple of places were for an XC race but was great fun and the hardest I’ve ever ridden for 1hr 40mins

6ft 7in and 14st here and I have two Canyon 29ers, FS and HT and they fit me extremely well without having to have seat posts at full stretch etc.

Did you do it last year?
What bike are you riding?
How heavy is the bike?
What tyres are you using?
What age category are you in?
Normal riding style if not XC?
Any warm up tips?

No
canyon 29er
Not sure
Black round ones
Vets
XC
will probably do a quick sighting lap as it doesn’t start till 11:30 ish

As said above was well ‘moist’ up there last night and I’ve seen a fair bit of the wet stuff forecast before Sunday so the off piste will be cutting up quickly.

+1 for all the positive comments above.
Been running a combo from smudge for a couple of years now and when I had a fault with one of the battery cables, sent it back and it was repaired and returned all FOC and extremely quickly.Superb products and excellent customer service(which in my book is as important as good products) every time gets my vote.

+1 for http://www.ibikeride.com/

What a great event, full 75Km for me,struggled with cramp for the last few miles but really well organised will mark it down as a ‘must do’ for next year.

I’m in, not done the event before but rode most of the trails and it should be superb,but be warned there will be a little bit of climbing :wink:

What a great event and the weather was ideal.
First time for me and really enjoyed it even with a couple of wrong turns,but that all adds to the fun.

Darren @ Pedalcover

Went last week and three sections were closed
Tight squeeze which is the first downhill section on the monkey.
lower cliff which is the last downhill section on the monkey
Aunt flow which is the undulating section after kitbag hill and before the bomb hole.

Took me 1hr 30m to ride the full loop so not sure I’d want to drive 2 hrs for it.

That said there are loads of natural ‘off piste’ trails if you want to make up a decent ride.

Pedalcover.

Yep, I’m in with a 12 O’clock start.

Have you spoken to ‘pedalcover’

First time for me, looks a good route from the map,can’t wait.

Another vote for Darren @ Pedalcover

Speak to these guys below they sorted me out with a hire bike and had GPS routes etc and were cool people to deal with,they had a full range of Scott bikes FS and HT (I hired a HT).
Hydration is an issue,even at the height of troodos in the summer its HOT, I was taking two bottles in cages and a 3L hydration pack with me for 3 hours riding.
I spent 2 weeks exploring all over the troodos mountain area and found some great trails.

http://www.bikincyprusadventures.com/en/

First time I went I used ‘Wikiloc.com’ as a starter then just went exploring.

ride there most weeks and no sections closed at the moment,just one small diversion onto the start of the “b line”.

Just be aware that there are loads of diversions in place through the forest at the moment with big areas closed off due to the massive wind farm construction project.

For the last few years every summer I’ve hired a bike and just set off into the mountains to follow GPS routes and never had any issues at all.

Good people to hire a bike from and also get guiding advice as they organize a lot of the MTB races on Cyprus are ;

http://www.bikincyprusadventures.com/en/

+1 for “If it’s in the head then go ahead, if it’s in the chest then give it a rest” I did a little research on the web last year when suffering from Manflu and there is a load of articles written on this and virtually all of the medical authority backs the above basic rule.

Top place to stay in Dolgellau ,MTB friendly and it has a bar which always does it for me.

http://www.bikers-retreat.com/page15.html

ir_bandito – Member
Strava segment explorer throws up a bit of info. Here’s the Olympus loop:

https://www.strava.com/segments/1672495

I wan’t registered on strava when I rode it, but I can take a guess who’s got the KOM.

POSTED 18 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

hmmmmmm that would be me then 8)

Platres is the best place to possibly start looking to use as a base,but it can be a bit pricey because of its height up the mountain.

Been going to Cyprus for a good few years and riding every time I go.
In June you will find that al low altitudes the temp will be in the 30’s and was too hot for any serious riding so you have to head up to the Troodos mountains where the temp will still be in the 20’s.
My advice is speak to Mike at ‘bikincyprusadventures.com’ he helps organize a lot of the races on the island and has a wealth of knowledge regarding routes,and his company hire good bikes if you require them.
Last year I rode for 10 days out of 14 and found loads of trails etc ,but all in the high mountains,only tried the lower areas one day but gave up after 30 mins as it was just too hot.

Info from Penmachno F/B page posted this morning.

“A massive thank you to the chainsaw crew from Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru / Natural Resources Wales for clearing the trees from the trails!! It now means we only have 1 diversion in place for felling (on loop 1 around the 3-in-a-row fast downhills and the switchback climb), and that shouldn’t be there for too much longer… Then all of Penmachno will be open again – brrraaaappppp!!!”

I found dental floss and the hoover worked even better than cotton.

Started off with a great frosty XC ride round Cannock Chase on Saturday

Sunday spent a great hour or so ploughing through the snow at Llandegla

Full details here

http://www.upm-tilhill.com/upm-tilhill-news/news-article-970.php

Do a search on ‘youtube’ loads of side by side comparison videos to give you an idea of the differing quality .

That Samson picture is epic B A Where did you get it?

Massive Bruce fan here!

Those Samson photos were given out pre signed at the gig I have one somewhere.

+1 for Gpsies.com

Always use the ‘Met office’ and they have been as accurate as you can be when forecasting the weather.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/mountain-forecast/#?tab=mountainHome

One route I have is down the Biddulph valley way then up to the ‘cloud’ at congleton before the run back the way you’ve come.
Got a few routes that run from Stoke over to Congleton then up over the hills to Wincle and Gradbach and then run back to Stoke via rudyard but they are 40 mile plus rides with big hills so no good for evening rides.
Might be up for a few night rides, but 8pm start is a bit late for me as I have to be up early doors for work.

no-one done this?

Yep, its a regular run for me from Stoke.
At the end of the bridleway across the ridge instead of turning left down the boring tarmac road turn right and then after 150yrds turn right down another bridleway that drops you out on the national cycle route (55) and you can either go left all the way to Congleton or right to Stoke all off road.

Did the ‘Beast of llangollen’ route 4 weeks ago and it is a BEAST.
Big climbs followed by epic descents some pretty technical in my book, but all said and done a great ride.