Another for IXS flows

That’s now, not after 18 months of propaganda and scaremongering from the right wing press. That’s the risk.

There’s a few places in Corralejo but I think easy riders had the better bikes, Specialized hardtails.

There’s an easy to follow loop along the north coast to El Cotillo, then back via Lajares and over the Calderon Hondo volcano. It’s on Komoot. Roughly this..

https://www.komoot.com/smarttour/1266396?ref=itd

1.5kg down. Really pleased with that. My wife and daughter went veggie at the end of October but myself and other daughter didn’t. However I’ve made a conscious effort to try to join them more often so had quite a few veggie meals. Also doing dry January which is also a significant factor as well as starting a Zwift training programme.

We got Splendor over the holidays based off this thread and agree it is excellent! Not played too many times yet but really enjoyed it. Still haven’t worked out the best tactics whether to try and build coins early and save for higher value cards or keep picking up the low value cards to discount the higher ones. Have tried both and haven’t won either way yet!

Traigh Iar on North Uist best beach I’ve ever seen.

Vatersay.

Lunan bay on the east coast not been mentioned

Looks brilliant. Hope it comes to fruition. Like the idea of the ferry ride and then straight on to the trails! Definitely something interesting and different.

You only have to look at the Tory 2019 manifesto to see that what is said in election campaigning and the reality of what happens when in government are rarely, if ever, the same thing. In this case they haven’t come close to achieving a single one of their main pledges but what are the consequences? Little if any.

https://www.conservatives.com/our-plan

It’s obviously not right, but that’s the game and Labour have to play it whether they like it or not. They need to win power and then they can attempt to gradually shift the dial towards closer ties to the EU. Or not. But I’d take my chances versus anything the Tories would do.

I’m in. Will weigh in on Friday.

I dunno, there’s a lot to be said for solitude on this crowded little island. And I mentioned the big skies earlier. I have family around there, or did, so I’ve spent some time in the area, you see these little isolated farms in the middle of fields. I imagine the’d be quite a romantic situation for a blistering sunset. A bit like the family home in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape’ if you’ve seen that? Mind you, the main character hated it and ended up burning the family home to the ground so…

We moved to Scotland for that… May struggle for a blistering sunset, but otherwise…

My wife is from the fens. Left for uni and never looked back but we do go back for family visits. I genuinely struggle to think why anyone would live there. You can make a case for most places in the UK but I really struggle when it comes to the fens. It would be very much towards the bottom of any list of places I’d live.

We did Fife to Morzine this year with kids aged 9 and 11. We drove to Whitstable on the first day and stayed overnight with friends. Early eurotunnel (6:30am ish?) the next morning and drove 5 hours ish to Fontainebleau (from recommendations here). Spent 2 nights in Fontainebleau including a full day in Paris after getting the train in (40 mins and 5 euro pp). The drive to Morzine from there was about another 6 hours I think.

On the way back we left Morzine at about 7am and just blasted up to Calais in one hit with short lunch stop. Arrived at 5pm ish. Then tunnnel to Folkestone and another 2.5 hours to Peterborough to stay at my brother-in-laws. Next day we finished the journey home.

Overall it worked well. The worst bit was the first day driving down to Kent as we had some traffic issues and got diverted through country lanes etc off the A1.

In future I wouldn’t stop in Fontainebleau, I’d just do Calais to Morzine in one hit as we did on the return. We specifically did it this time as we wanted to take the kids to Paris. However it was a really nice place to visit so would recommend it as a stop option.

For us it makes sense really to drive through the UK as we have friends and family that live en route that it’s both convenient to stay with and good to see them, so killing two birds. Also, when you can use Tesco clubcard points to cover the Eurotunnel then the Hull ferry becomes even harder to justify. Just make sure the kids have got DVD players / iPads etc!

Vittoria Aggaro is a good step down from a minion IMO. Bit more versatile than a dissector. Decent grip but quick rolling.

On-one bootzipper?

Some nice 7mesh ones on sport pursuit just now

I’ve got all my bikes mounted on velo hinge mounts. Works well for me as the ability to move the bikes apart using the hinge is useful in the space I have and then to fold them away when done.

I got mine from one of the German retailers, maybe bike24? A lot cheaper then Uk suppliers and had stock.

Worked in the Pharmacy at Ninewells Hospital today. Only a few hours late morning to early afternoon providing an emergency supply service so not as heavy as some. At least we got to do pressies etc this morning with the kids and back in time to help with the dinner. Back again tomorrow but then off until Jan 9th.

I’ve been riding an Escarpe CRX 29 for coming up 2 years now and it’s been pretty much faultless. I’ve only had to replace the BB.

Fox 36, Float shock, full XT, great geometry, looks superb (IMO) and great value.

The remainder of my split order also turned up today. But these were just different colours of a couple of the MTB jerseys I’d already received. I really like the Compound jersey in particular. Great cut and material.

I love this thread each year! I enjoy lots about the winter but the dark is by far the worst aspect. Roll on the light evenings!

Great pics again @scotroutes. Still going although missed another day last week. Think that’s 5 or 6 missed overall but c’est la vie.

Did get a nice snow ride in with Mrs Blitz on Saturday

Well done all

On a different tip…

Unlucky there Morocco. Played really well except for their finishing.

Ref was great as well

Been running cross climate 2s since last November. Great tyres all round and especially in the current conditions.

Never fails to impress and inspire

Email this morning saying 4/5 shipped for me. Pleased as a couple are presents for Mrs Blitz but the one item not shipped is a corsa top which was the one I most wanted.

Corsa top order cancelled today and refunded 🙄

We’re not on mains gas but have a Butane cyclinder that sits outside behind our kitchen wall with a feed through to the hob. I learned the hard way today that the boiling point of Butane is around -0.5C and below that it remains in liquid state. First time it’s stopped working since we’ve been here. Cyclinder now sitting in the house warming up.

Amazing photos

Gravel bike ride to test new superstar PSA wheels and Maxxis Ramblers. Very impressed! Had a lot of fun in the snow

Design your own print from a gpx of the route?

https://trailmaps.com/pages/design-your-own

I did this for a mate’s bday and used a route we did together in the alps – just pulled the gpx off Strava and uploaded

Good quality golf balls are always a safe bet. Like Titleist Pro Vs.

Maybe a rangefinder or GPS watch/device?

I baulked when I saw the price but sure he said on the clip you got two?! Ok then that’s mental 😂

£84.99 for a new Shorty according to yesterdays Megasack.

That was for two

No Vittoria’s either? I really rate them. Mazza is a better DHF, Aggaro is a bit like a dissector. Mezcal is an awesome summer tyre – rekon like maybe (never used a rekon)?

Email this morning saying 4/5 shipped for me. Pleased as a couple are presents for Mrs Blitz but the one item not shipped is a corsa top which was the one I most wanted.

Still going here. Bit of Zwift mixed up with other bits and pieces. Had a day off on Monday so went to Comrie Croft which was great. Bit of snow on the tops.

Tonight had a night ride in amazing conditions. Trails dry and frosty with crisp still air and flooded with moonlight. Amazing.

500L by 20th Dec @ 81p/L in Fife. That pretty much should fill the tank. Talk of another spike in prices with this oil cap on Russian oil made me think now might be a good time to top up.

Moved from East Kent to Fife and the difference is pretty dramatic. Kent was clay so in the summer it was baked hard and in the winter was horrible claggy permaslop. See Colournoise’s pics above.

My main riding now is on the ochils and it’s well draining soil and rock. The winter riding here is much better. We had rain for most of November including local flooding recently and after a bit of dry spell since, the trails are drying out quite nicely.

It does make me think differently about ‘what tyre’ threads for sure.

Still going ok here. Overall I’ve missed 3 days since the start. Just squeezed a Zwift in before heading to Dundee for our works Xmas do. Have a fairly clear day tomorrow so will get outside at some point on the bike.

Great bikes. I built one up when they first launched and they were doing them frame only for £150. Had almost two years with it now and still enjoy it. Sure you’ll have fun with it.

What’s it about?

It’s the sequel to Brave but Michael Gove turns into the bear instead of Merida’s mum.