The best thing for recovery is free – sleep, aim for 8 hours (sleep as well not time in bed). Recovery drinks will help ease some muscle soreness but from the sounds of it’s your period of inactivity thats the main issue. Just keep riding to a regular schedule keep your intensity low. Overtime time your fitness will return & recovery periods will be shorter.
Check your diet/food intake as well.Good luck 👍

Had AZ just about 4 weeks ago same as a lot people who woke up in the night with headache from hell. Had flu symptoms for about a week then just felt like dogshit for about another week or so. High temp elevated sympathetic NS when taking my HVR. Have a friend who had covid really bad & side effects to vaccine as well – he assured me covid is much much worse.

I had the AZ jab felt like I’d been hit by a train then put in a washing machine day after. I copped it pretty bad & unfortunately it lasted for about a week then started easing off just really tired & lethargic but still managed to train but just easy rides.

Depends on lots of variables but the main three are condition, rarity & demand. Discogs is good for checking what he mean price of a record is. It will also list all the variations of the record you might be investigating – was it a 1st/2nd/3rd pressing, country of origin, different track listings on the same release (an different b side and extra track).
Check the run out groove – it will have a catalogue number and then reference this to the version on Discogs.
If you go to vinyl collector you will see the condition grading of records ie mint condition in record buying world for a second hand release is ‘never been played’.
Sellers on Discogs will generally overprice the release also just because a record might be for sale at ££££ you then have to find the specific person to sell it to. The further up the ladder you go the more narrow the appeal is and when you go to serious money you are dealign with serious buyers – if you get my drift.
I used to buy & sell records for decades – mainly rare disco soul hip hop breaks house electronica.

Lord Gun won’t ship as the item is under the price needed – this price has to be over £135. before they add VAT to ship to the UK.

Never heard of Deporvillage they have the same item in stock but cheaper. I thought Lord Gun were like other continental sellers I’d used before (Bike 24 etc) that I never had a problem with.
I can’t get the item from UK seller or anything similar – its an FSA stem with -12 negative rise. Plenty of -17 but thats too steep for my liking.

Got notification today & Vaccine booked for Monday – long term asthma but no oral steroids or hospitalisation. Asthma managed very well with Symbicort 🤷‍♂️
I had a different long term illness but that was fully cured two years ago and wasn’t something that was effecting my day to day health – it was a long term issue. Wife says that might have been flagged as well (she’s a clinical commissioner).

think I’ve got those as well – DM me I’ll send a pic to see if we’re talking about the same things

I’ve got a bag of spare arms – somebody reared by carrier so had to buy a new one but kept the arms. The only problem I foresee is my rack was for 3 bike barn door so not sure if they are compatible?

RIP to a Legend not only his own work but Bitches Brew – amazing

Spark/Lux/Oiz/Supercalibre in no particular order. Availability & price depending.

Long term asthmatic on prevention meds as well but I won’t be holding my breath for the vaccine soon. I’ve looked into the rabbit hole that is covid & come to conclusion its just an opportunity costs that I have got time to invest in.
Example – college at work COPD just had stage 2 lump removed from his lung chronic heart disease just had 3rd heart attack – signed off sick fit to work 😳 never had a shielding letter.

ive never used a specific frying pan just a large pot & done everything in that.

I suppose in some truth any bike can be used to bike pack so I think the best answer to this is – there are far better options. The Lux is pure XC – the head angle is 70deg that alone gives you an exceptional aggressive position then factor into loading it front & rear it just wouldn’t be very comfortable or well balanced. There’s no space in the triangle for a bag so its all on the top tube but the shock is in line so will restrict any straps.
The ingenious & flexible rider could probably work a way round all of these issues but it would somewhat IMHO be akin to the old square peg round hole cliche.

Ive posted this a few times – got a 2020 Lux. Very fast very aggressive XC bike nothing about it is trail oriented. It would tick all those boxes you want except bike packing.

I bought a Chinese one from Ican about 4 years (basically a Whisky No 9 copy) its been great.

Christopher’s intervention where he shouts back at Tony for being a fat **** that will proabably die of a coronary 😳

Christopher sitting on Adriana’s dog high on skag – ‘she probably crept under there for warmth” 😳😂

Fila tracksuits, Carmela’s matching outfits, Paulie’s shoes, Janice & Ralph sharing the dildo.

I think it’s important to remember there’s no direct switch in your biological system when you move from one zone to another. Its more of a curve & zones also have ranges eg FTP can be high, low or duration. Also depending on who you speak to there are there many zones depending on what training program they use.
Endurance and FTP are two parts of fitness you can work on at the same time – Zone 2 will lead to a better ability to push your FTP but building this takes time & patience. I do all my Z2 on a turbo between 60-90mins 3/4 a week over Nov Dec & a bit in Jan sitting exactly in the range -its hard because of the focus needed to not get bored and your FTP will fall and this can lead to a bit of ‘ego panic’ but thats ok as you start to build it up from Jan onwards peaking in Jun/July/Aug – this is obviously all dependant on your aims, lifestyle, age and access to training tools etc and what works for one doesn’t work another.
FWIW my ‘endurance’ rides aren’t Z2 – they are a mixture of intensity but staying away for anything in my zone 5/6 and limiting any time over 400w. My Z2 sessions are mainly around mitochondrial health – I might be taking this thread down a rabbit hole but riding bikes has become more than racing and fun etc as I’ve learnt more about how Z2 work leads to life longevity in terms of mitochondrial health.

Ventilatory threshold – between 50-75% of your VO2 max.

@reluctantjumper 👍 make best use of the resources you have.

@davemonty the term that probably best sums up what you are saying is called ventilatory threshold

my first suggestion would be to buy a PM you can use in the real world. If not then from what you’re looking to achieve endurance is primary as well as good fuelling system. I wouldn’t get hung up on low power in fact for ultra endurance keeping power relatively low is a good thing. FTP is a denominator to base training on raising it is good as long as it periodised and also used correctly. Zone 2 is a great place for ultra endurance its a zone easily done with a HRM and it builds the amount of mitochondria in your system which allows you to reuse lactic quickly and efficiently. Keeping lactate blood levels low is critical for ultra endurance – its the classic go slower to go quicker.

@reluctantjumper do you use a power meter to train ?

I’m currently doing a sport psychology degree & have a couple of friends that are letting me use them as guinea pigs using WKO5. Along with myself I focus on aims & objectives first then uses the metrics on the software depending on the physical attributes and motivations.
Also incorporating HRV, sleep tracking, mitochondria health (zone 2) and as much as possible – mindfulness/self reflection & breathing technique’s. The idea being to incorporate life longevity overall wellbeing and mental health into cycling as much as the ‘fitness’ aspect.

I can highly recommend Donald Glovers ‘Atlanta’ think it’s back on iplayer. For me this is now second to The Sopranos as I’ve rewatched it numerous times and as with The Sopranos ‘the action’ is in the writing, characters and its breathed of context & nuance. Its also very funny but deeply moving & poignant.

@IHN Yeah indeed – Tonys relationship to his mum is central to the whole of the series. I think this is where people might struggle with The Sopranos as opposed to other TV dramas where in the loosest sense ‘action’ is the attraction. The Sopranos is the story of a hugely dysfunctional family that happen to be mafia and how they justify and cope with all its aspects on day to day basis. How this is crafted by David Chase & the writers is genius. So many lines.
“..from beyond the grave…”😳😂

The greatest TV programme ever. The character development and story line depth has yet to be equaled never mind bettered IMHO. Must have watched the entire series 5 plus times and now just on the last episodes of season 6 and still finding nuggets that I missed all the previous times. The dark humour is so good and the violence is utterly brutal at times portraying the shocking ruthlessness of the character’s.
All the other classic TV shows of recent times are excellent but none of them had James Gandolfini.
For those that know – Pine Barrens 😂

Get a bluetooth HRM & then add Elite HRV (heart rate variability) to your smart phone (its free). Link the HRM to the app. Take a morning reading everyday – it will give a score that’s based around a balance between your sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous system. In the loosest terms this tells you when you are ready to train harder /stressed need recovery. Just do an internet search on HRV for the real details.
Here’s a really simple one
https://www.firstbeat.com/en/blog/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv/

yeah the Lux certainly isn’t going to get you out of trouble on descents – it goes where you point it and if thats wrong the rest is up to you – I like this but at 54 I’m still foolishly convincing myself I’m a contender 😉 but it might not be for everyone.

I have a 2020 Lux got it during last lockdown, its a pure XC race bike and it’s very very fast. In respect to ‘fun’ if going at supersonic speed with a 70deg head angle is your definition of fun then yeah it’s the bike for you – the other bikes especially the Epic were just too slack for me. There’s two really good clips of earlier models (same geometry) on YouTube by Dave Arthur & Guy Kestervan that put it through its paces – Dave Arthur takes it round a DH run somewhere in the U.K.
The Lux comes with a dropper though TBH I’ve barely used it here in the Chilterns & raced it at Gorrick over 4 & 8 hours. I also needed two bottle cages which the Lux has with its in line shock. Pink bike did a whole test of XC bikes recently (didn’t involve the Spark) which is also on YT.
I think The Spark is the only comparable bike as its head angle is 69deg but I went for the Lux for the bottle cages & the wheels – Reynolds XC Black Label with Industry Nine Hyrda hubs & AXS plus before brexit it was cheaper than the comparable Spark.

We can all pontificate on this issue as much as we feel and argue our own subjective opinions but all that matters is law. We should never forget laws are enshrined to protect the public and we are that public – governments serve us not the other way round. We have freedoms and they allow us be move speak and act in ways we feel are best served for us as a democracy. like it or not until ‘local’ is defined in statute, talking England only here, we can go where ever we want -the rest is a matter for your own conscience.

guidance isn’t legislation – This won’t be published yet probably Weds but there was significant confusion around these issues during the last major lockdown not just over exercise but other aspects of lockdown as to what was guidance and what was actual legislation enacting a fine or actual criminal prosecution. I’d wait and check the law society website who publish the legislation like previous times.

One recharge battery for rear mech & a 2032 for shifter – its 1X on my Lux so no front mech.

Is it not available in the U.K. – mine came with the bike but I would have to say yes it’s so good. it’s not just the shifting quality, its so easy to work with. I banged my rear mech racing at Gorrick so fitted a new put the derailleur back on re index with the app. Took about 15 mins max.

Came as standard on a Canyon Lux I bought before first lockdown and used it all over summer absolutely fine. My only gripe is the 40NM the crank is suggested as being tightened to. I switched the direct mount crank it came with for a quarq PM & had to take it LBS to remove it. I’ve also had a GXP external as well that came standard with a SS Salsa El Mar and I never had a days issue with that either 🤷‍♂️ – I only switched as I had an old set of XTR cranks I converted to single ring.
FWIW AXS is amazing 👍

Love riding SS. Chilterns based so there’s plenty of hills to work on, some are a real challenge but doable others can be completely avoided – mainly due to conditions & traction as I only generally ride SS in winter (Salsa El Mar). My current fav thing about riding SS is, this happened today, dropping riders who you accidentally bump into on e-bikes 😁 Rigid as well for added impressiveness 😉

Boss “are you getting the vaccine”
Me “Yeah why”
Boss “are you not worried about how quick its been done”
Me “no & what do you mean I think its quick amazing actually”
Boss “what if it causes cancer ”
Me “I think its the 40 a day cigarettes you smoke you need to be more concerned about”

Absolute genius, Saw them at The Festival of the Tenth Summer at Gmex in 1986 which inc A Certain Ratio, New Order (when Ian McCulloch joined them on stage & sung JD releases) The Smiths, Cabaret Voltaire, OMD, The Buzzcocks and they blew them all away. He/they were truly one of a kind inc the poor releases, it’s what adds to his brilliance IMO – He genuinely didn’t seem to give a **** what people thought and just went about the creative process good or bad.

Yeah to virtually everything ⬆️⬆️ from me too. Pro Ones old & new are super fast & defo size up on the large side. My experiences of them riding – they are made from at least 50% cheese, not really in respect to punctures but more wear & tear. Currently on Hutchinson Storm as they came free with new set of wheels – not tried them out yet. Would also never go back to tubes.

😂 sorry I tried, my attempt at irony just isn’t up to the level of some those on here – I’m but a poor amateur ☺️

All sorted. Who’d have thought that following the suggested procedure in a polite & concise manner would elicit a similar response with an apology for any inconvenience followed with a swift resolution, all without the need of a CEO 👍 😉