I feel for you. I couldn't ride for 18 months a couple of years ago after a broken collarbone refused to mend…
Any chance you could build something up cheap from classifieds?

Skills day. A good trainer will give you the mental stuff so you can do the physical stuff. If yr in the North I can recommend Cycleactive

After 2 falls and 2 broken shoulders my head was not in a great place. I told them I needed to work on my confidence and by teaching me loads of techniques on how to handle the bike properly, confidence duly came :-)

I run flats on mine. Good for keeping my head up – essential for commuting! Also means I can run disc brakes. Position is long though and it's great for getting the power down.
My rides tend to be <5-10 miles so lack of variety in position is not an issue but if yr doing longer distances and not in busy traffic I guess drops may be better. The frame differs depending on whether you want drops or flats so I'd get a test ride if you can…

it's very easy in a large business to stop being able to see the wood for the trees, to become too focussed on internal operations, politics etc.
so an outsider comes in, uses their external experience and perspective to state what they think is the bleeding obvious. but if senior management couldn't see it and were missing opportunities without their help then that was ££ well spent, no? profits made, business carries on, no-one made redundant etc.
although i did walk out of my last job because they insisted on changing my job title to consultant and my boss was the biggest liar you've ever met…!

Watching reasonable questions and points of view being made on STW then degenerate into personal insults and unholy rows totally out of proportion to the seriousness of the subject!

I have a mental picture of Chipps and Mark sitting in their office with their heads in their hands, like Dr Frankenstein, wondering what this monster is they've created…

Oh and I like buying, fiddling with and riding bikes :-)

This country really is in the sh*t if we start judging each other according to who our employer is. That's got nowt to do with the politicians either – only ourselves to blame for that one.
Chillout people and be glad we live in one of the richest countries in the world – we've got more than most you know!

I think you've got the solution already: a positive attitude and constructive action…

I went from Pace RC40s (superstiff but still QR) to 140mm Pikes with 20mm and was very happy with the result
a) no worries about front wheel popping out
b) much easier to get through roots and gnarly rocks. Less squirrelly and bike goes where you point it
c) overall I feel more in control and relaxed

Looking at house prices and crime stats I was coming to the conclusion Sale would be good.
Chorlton crime stats were worse than Dulwich which is SE London and right next door to Peckham!
And houses in Sale are £20k cheaper than Chorlton and it's still on the tram – into work in less than 30 mins.
Don't care about posh caffs next door tbh, just somewhere quiet and non-dodgy and easy to get to work.

Freefall does get boring after a while yes. But that's when you start to get involved in formation flying, freeflying and general messing about. Horny Gorilla, Clusterf*ck anyone? And spiralling under canopy/sunset jumps :-)

135 jumps here, from 2000-2002.
Better than great sex! Best sport in the world but too addictive if you've anything else in your life :-)
Try and do an AFF jump if you can, rather than tandem. Tandem you're only a passenger so the buzz ain't quite the same. Not knocking it tho'
I was hooked after my first static line jump and have always said to anyone who's curious, go and do it.
Still miss it…

Sounds like you have overhigh expectations of yourself. No-one is as confident or self-assured on the outside as they are on the inside IME.

Re bike confidence – invest in a day or 2 skills training and then go off and practice what you've learnt. It'll give you a more positive way to look at your riding as well as lead to material improvements in yr riding.

Re your personal confidence – you sound rather depressed to me. You might want to think about a self help book or go and ask yr GP to refer you for some CBT.

And riding a bike is a recommended cure for depression :-)

BikeMonkey – tell me it's not Finex, please? or TMW?
I've just spent 10 years in London ad agencies, first as a suit, then a planner and it was the same everywhere. Excessive unpaid hours are the norm. Lots of people are happy to do this and so it carries on. I've always had to sign out of the Working Time Directive – ad agency margins are too tight to afford otherwise.
Martin Sorrell (runs WPP – produce 25% of all advertising globally) says 2010 will be another rough year and my old Creative Director said clients are getting tougher and tougher on budgets… so it's not going to get better.
If you want and believe you have the ability to get right to the top then you can make a pile. If not but you're happy to make the sacrifices to your personal life then stick with the business cos it can be a lot of fun. However there's a reason why there aren't many people in agencies over 35… we've gone clientside to earn a better package, for less stress and fewer hours :-)

Xmas Pud = Orange Clawhammer. Tree looks like a clawhammer dun't it?

Xmas Pud = Orange Clawhammer. Tree looks like a clawhammer dun't it?

Very nice vid, looking forward to enjoying those dusty trails myself tomorrow… But…
Surrey Hills on hardtails? Not the done thing my good man, you NEED 150mm full suss for sure ;-)
And wot no BKB?

Dusty Surrey Hills trails tomorrow
Moving to Manchester at the end of summer and all the superb riding opportunities it's going to bring :-)

I'd like to say, as a Northerner, that I'm about to move back home so I'm closer to the Lakes and Peaks for riding. But I'm gonna miss dusty sunny days in the Surrey Hills like we have right now :-(

I ride and drive (SE London for me too) and would highly recommend it. Driving in London requires more focus than many people have – too many people doing too many random things, too many signs, traffic lights and junctions. IMO fluro gives you that extra chance of being seen which might just keep you in one piece.
To a degree I think it suggests 'sensible rider' rather than 'lycra lout' which may help drivers see you as someone to pass at a sensible distance…
I have a Montane lightweight thing, doesn't look too bad

Count me in!

I love it. That's one of the best trails in the area when it comes to technical ability. As above, sorts out the men from the boys. I've only ridden it without dabs twice since I started riding it a couple of years ago.
I named it 'Keep The Faith' cos if you ride the roots high and have faith in yr tyres, you can generally get thru it…

Superb effort.
I did the 2-dayer Weds and Thurs this week which hurt enough! Good luck to anyone planning it in one go. My advice, go for lightweight full suss and fast rolling tyres. I did it on a hardtail and my @rse was the sorest part by the end!

Surrey Hills singletrack is ace. It's a great playground. But it's not a wide area and I can't find anything else of that quality close enough to London for a day ride. Swinley's ok but it's still a big playground rather than 'outdoors' riding.
I've ridden Surrey Hills most weekends for 5 years and tbh I've got bored. I seem to have found all the good stuff and it gets boring riding the same stuff every weekend. I find the Lakes and Peaks so much more technically challenging and what I would call a 'proper outdoor' experience which is something I like about mountain biking.
I've actually just got a new job – in Manchester – specifically because it's easy to get to N Wales, Peaks and Lakes at the weekends….

Self-control is a sign of a mature and psychologically sound person.
So not everyone can override their natural urge to get angry when confronted or scared.

Personally I make my feelings known remotely – by waving my arms around, or just putting it down to them being an idiot and staying away. Too easy to come to harm when it's car vs bike

It's definitely tribal IMO.
And if there was a real war on I reckon half the football 'hard nuts' would be hiding in the corner, too scared to fight.
I put this theory to a girl I knew who had a degree in anthropology – re the sheer competitiveness and will to win of the Aussies in sport. Having no great political power, was sport their proxy for winning and a sense of victory. She reckoned it was a sound theory. And she was a Yank so had better perspective than yr average Brit re Oz…

2004 Five here. Had 18 months hard labour in the Lakes and then mainly down South. Been ridden a lot and ridden hard and altho it has a few dings from rocks and such it's solid as a rock.

V jealous :-)
Did the 3 big Torridon ridges Feb this year (Beinn Eighe, Beinn Alligin, Liathach) one of the best trips ever. Stunning landscape and I did think about getting some riding up there sometime…

I have a radio transmitter from Amazon which works pretty well

Going to be very traffic heavy and not particularly pleasant. But do-able

Ask Cy. He advised me on my setup and all was ok. 5'11'' and riding a medium

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/29707/Look-Keo-recall-applies-to-UK

Depending how old they are the axle might have broken? follow the links to Fisher's site and you should find the serial numbers affected

As above, you'll not go back. Climbing is easier and they keep you attached to the bike on technical stuff.
Best advice is practice clipping out somewhere you can fall off without hurting yourself until you're happy. A field is good. I did it in the lounge (I was a student at the time, in someone else's house!)
Also worth practising short trackstands, ie keeping your balance momentarily, it'll give you the second or 2 you need to unclip if you ever have to stop suddenly. It'll give you a lot more confidence.
tbh it won't take long before you feel fine on them an unclipping becomes 2nd nature

nice to know there are some employers who 'get it' when it comes to dealing with its employees

Specialized Taho are good for hike a bike. Done Snowdon in them and all ok, no sore feet

my tuppence worth:
When I go for a walk I do it to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. When bikers are considerate and come past me slowly and shout a friendly warning then all is ok. When they rag past in a huge group with no greeting or thanks then I resent it.
This is something we, as mountain bikers, need to think about. As mentioned above, empathy with other users of the countryside. Who, surely, are on our side more than the hordes who prefer to drive from house to work, to shopping centre?
I'm often surprised when I ride slowly along behind walkers and shout a friendly 'excuse me' how often they jump aside, looking rather surprised. I know as a walker you often can't hear bikes coming and when they do, it can be a bit of a surprise.
So, while access laws might be a bit of an @rse, until we as mountain bikers can show we can all ride responsibly and with thought for the impact of our behaviour, then I don't think anyone will have sympathy for a 'we want to ride everywhere' campaign and cheeky riding gives them ammunition rather than bringing them onside.
On that basis I wish the CTC would stop campaigning for access to coastal paths – surely walkers can go somewhere for a bimble in peace and quiet? Equally the state Surrey Hills gets in from over use and use after heavy rain does us no favours IMO.
CTC and all the campaigners IMO need to be focussing on persuading riders to think more about our responsibilities, not our rights…

I can highly recommend Smiths of Smithfield if it's open. I think they do top quality – and I mean top quality meat for under £10 for full breakfast + lots of options to keep the price low

Snowdon is 1083m which by international mountain standards barely counts.
As above you'll not be affected at all until you reach 1800-2000m above sea level and even then you'll acclimatise pretty quickly.
Above 2500 and you'll be getting short of breath for something as hard as cycling. Walking wouldn't be so bad.

Lithium could be the new oil. Li-ion batteries in cars anyone? As mentioned above it's essential to most of the electronic gadgets we take for granted and the developing world are hankering after. I believe we were facing a lithium shortage…
If we thought it was messy already it's going to get 1000 times worse with that kind of wealth to the winner.
Tribal area, history of western interference in resource wealth, huge spoils to the winner. Ring any bells ???

SMBLA is part of British Cycling. CTC isn't. It's the most recognised by the outdoor world.

easily done. No harder than standard hoses ime