Enjoy, he says……

It is strange that I did enjoy it. I always had that idea that just riding my bikes, any bike, is training enough. However I would like to make a more focussed effort next time. The RPE scale looks handy, thanks for that.

I’m having to do it on a shoestring budget for now, so gears may be an option later on or even a proper bike, but for now this is it; it’s down to lungs and legs.

Cocomo, showing my ignorance here, but what is RPE?

Inhaling chlorine gas whilst doing a VO2Max test should see you acclimatise to the rigours of SSCX.

or breathing through a wet towel?

That’s probably uncomfortably close to the truth I’m afraid; I’ve always thought of myself as being competitively uncompetitive. I knew that I wouldn’t be troubling anyone’s podium spot, but I did find a tiny little voice inside my head telling me to get past people (for 35 minutes, anyway. It then said give up).

I know my bike isn’t optimal, but for now, that’s what I’ve got to use.

I thought an hours ride would be easy, as I’m quite comfortable with century audaxes. Totally different sort of fitness though……

First Cyclocross race.

Piss poor preparation.

I feel sick.

I had a CrossCheck a couple of years back set up 1×9 using a normal 38t sprocket and friction shifter. No problems at all. That had a claris meh, so medium cage and a 11-30 cassette. If you keep the chain as short as you’re comfortable with, you’ll be fine, unless there’s some funky chainline issue?

I’ve been here myself and got into a bad habit when I worked shifts. The habit creeps up on you and you only notice it when you can’t have a drink, like if you forgot to do the shopping on the way home. Could you comfortably go without for a night? A week? Or would it be a concerted effort with a lot of talk about “being good”?

That Koga looks quite nice too, I like how it’s described as being “particularly easy”. I have to admit, I’ve never been interested in the XC-racing scalpel type bikes, but the Orbea Alma and Olympia do look lovely.

Legometeorology I only mentioned the Beinn 29 as I remember one of the Hey-Wow magazines ( MBUK?) doing a £500 quid shootout a few years back and they rated it quite highly, 2″ tyre clearance, cromoly forks, decent-ish parts for the money. You could call it a gravel-mtb if you wanted?

It’s not a bad list though really, is it?

Could possibly add the Islabikes Beinn 29 to the last lot too?

Other ones I can think of are the Brother Cycles Big Bro and it looks like Jones will be offering a complete bike soon. It looks perfect for me but I reckon once over here, you’ll be looking at a £2000 price tag, which is more than I’d be comfortable, or even able, to pay for.

I signed up for the first round of the East Kent series, just to dip my toe. My fitness is pretty off compared to this time last year and I’ve pretty well handicapped myself as the most suitable bike I have is an old Trek 850 SS set up with some 26″ Schwalbe CX pros. Been trying to do a couple of weeks of faster, hillier routes into work by way of “training. I am seriously wondering if I’ve made a ridiculous mistake.

I’m probably going to regret wading into this, but I do find this an interesting thread.

It appears to me that the modern idea of sprituality or “being spiritual” seems to involve cherry-picking a number of the nicer ideas from some religions and ignoring the more nuanced, complicated or just plain inconvenient ones.

This could very easily become “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”.

Sprituality is your own journey, of course, but religion provides context and a moral compass.

Would it be possible to be religious without necessarily being spiritual?

Ah bums! I’ve just fitted a MK 29×2.4 on the rear (tubed). Felt quite nice and fitted well compared to the XCs I had. They were nice and light, but all the puncture protection of a hedge-found Jonny and ended up warping quite a lot.

Don’t forget to have a look at Coldrum Longbarrow if you go that way!

Yeah, a bit of emperors-new-clothes I think. I’ll try some tyre liners as they’re quite cheap and probably only make up the difference to the JB blues.

They are nice to ride with, no doubt about it. Its just that I seem to have picked up a lot of punctures, compared to the Paselas I was using before. Kinda wish Id gone for the Blues, which are hardly millstones in comparison.

I think you can still get a Cotic (BFe perhaps?) to fit 26″ wheels. I think otherwise, apart from the Surlys and jump bikes, that might be it. 26″ specific forks might be problematic too, considering the crossover period of straight/OS steerer and 26/27.5 wheels.

Rex Bottoms

Yamaha DT/BWS 50’s, cheap Honda Cubs, Ceefax, announcers on screen between tv programmes, The Young Doctors, Texas Homecare, red-framed pictures of Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis, Biker pubs with proper choppers outside, the way greengrocers used to twirl the paper bags up, 10p mixes, Frido Balls, Italian cafes in elevated walkways (Morellis in Canterbury), B-Boys on lino in town centres, the music you would hear playing in a department store furniture section, public safety adverts, Ritz Cheese Sandwich.

Was thinking of going there next week but may have to give it a miss until the kids are back at school.

Mind you, aren’t there “alternative” parking options available?

Just had a look and they are. Same price as the Marys too (as Whitestone said).

Bit late to the party here, but I have to say, I’ve always been satisfied with the products and service from OO/PX.

I’ve had a Pompino and a sliding dropout Inbred 26, plus various bars and other bits.

I do hope Brant can inject some magic to the On-One brand though as it does seem to have flagged of late.

On a related note, I know the Inbred was dropped, but did the Pompino get dropped too?

I’d love to see something halfway between a Pomp and TD-1 if we’re all putting requests in….

650b all-road v6 Il-Pompino!?

I think it would depend on the frame too. I’ve had Karate Monkey and currently have an ECR fork on my KM, though I think they’re corrected for 80mm. The ECR has a slightly longer offset too, but no appreciable flex, even with QR.

Which one has the nicer paint?

I’ve read the synopsis and it was definitely The Cowra Breakout. It mentioned to machine gunners ending up charging the Aussies and getting shot. One ends up wounded and in the prison camp, where they end up talking.

Found the DVD on ebay, though not cheap!

Wasn’t The Sullivans on at lunchtime, before Rainbow?

Gobuchul, I can recommend Private Schulz very highly, Ian Richardson is very good in that.

Dad Boot?

I remember Anzacs being on when I was a kid, not bad IIRC.

Anyway, I found it, here;

https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/london/1991-06-07

It was The Cowra Breakout.

Got a lot of stuff to watch now though. I

No to all of those. I scoured that list too. The last bullet looks close, but that was a film and this was definitely a mini-series.

The Heroes sounded close, but no cigar, alas. I’m sure I didn’t imagine it, maybe I did……

Noooo, it’s not that. Though it does look good- I hadn’t heard of that!

Now I think of it, I’m pretty sure this one would have been summer 1991.

There’s one scene I remember quite vividly where the Australian threw away half tins of bully beef, which the Japanese Soldier would collect and devour, despite them crawling with maggots.

It may have been a BBC/ABC collaboration too.

Yep, currently sat in Stepps Premier Inn as the Cumbernauld factory I’ve been servicing this week is shut. I’ve sent the French engineer back, but I doubt he’ll get an earlier flight from Glasgow and its not looking like I will either.

There’s not even a Corby trouser press to fiddle with!

Househusband, the OldTown stuff is lovely, been eyeing them up for a couple of years too.
Hawkwood Mercantile has a few nice trouser patterns, plus you get to choose the fabric.
Carrier Company are worth a look too. Bit Monty-Don, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

That whole wall of grumble!
Also, equal ops for the salesman too, I have to say on first impressions, I wasn’t convinced he had much of a twinkle in his eye, then they said he was paralyzed…….

I did an OU foundation degree a few years back. I had an HNC from 2003 and that was worth a module or two iirc. IEng sounds interesting though as I’ve been hankering to do something else myself.

We seemed to have a spate of odd things happening when we moved into our new house. Objects moving behind our backs, that sort of thing. The oddest one was, when building the new kitchen, I mopped the hallway, then saw a set of dog paw prints come out of the wet hallway, through the dusty kitchen and into a corner. No dog and no prints back out again. WooooOOOOOOooooo!

Nobody’s Pankhurst, not even Nasty Gash, which, incidentally, is the name of the colour of the Pack Rat. Look how that turned out!

Ahhhh, Fanboi Frottage…..I loved their first album “No, that’s toothpaste”, but they went downhill after Scott Chegs left.

I’ve been watching this with interest on mtbr, trying to block out the speculation and consequent disappointment that happens before its even been released! I’d be interested to see how much it actually sells for, though I’m sure it wont be cheap.
I gather there’s a Midnight Special on the way too.

I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it exceeded my expectations, but like Sparkyspice, I had to travel an hour and a half to get there, plus a tenner parking…..fun, but for me I wouldn’t drive past Barham or Kings wood unless it was really boggy.

On a bit of a tangent, the Scottish video did stir up some strange feeling of empathy. I know its a machine, but it did elicit a similar respond as some bullying videos you see.
I hope the guy with the hockey stick doesn’t live to regret his behaviour there, what with the singularity n that.

I would say, looking at the chainwheel, it’s most likely a Mongoose Villain, 94/95 ish. I had a black one, but they were available in chrome as well. It’s not a Hooligan, as I think they had AD’s on the back.
Having said that, the brace behind the seattube could be helpful.