We’ve spoken before about this, but here are the things you are leaving on the table:

Managing your medical condition optimally
Getting a solid 8 a night
Sleep hygeine and routine (read why we sleep)
Macro periodization
Micro periodization
Progressive overload
Formalised rest
SMART (T especially) goals
Healthy habits to get to the goals
(Ps get a coach for the last 6)
Performance minded approach to diet feat. Sufficient water, protein and quality micros
Putting some grease in your goodamn rear hub (part of the reason I always disappear on descents ;-)).
Recovery activities
Yoga
Strength training (you’re over 50, this is more important than it was before)
Blood tests to establish a baseline
Recovery tracking
Aero
Waxing your chain
Putting less pressure in your tyres
Not carrying a 35l backpack on every 3hr ride
Trying new sports and diversifying

I’m exhausted just thinking about that lot! How do you find time to ride?

I’m a bit intimidated by your intensity.

One strong coffee every morning, around 1kg per month. Maybe two cups of tea after that throughout the day.

Shipley Park Area Riders Club (SPARC) have regular rides on.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/440746680520120/?ref=share

Conditions on Saturday:

and Sunday:

There seems to be a mutiny brewing in the political ranks among Putin’s municipal deputies. A petition calling for his resignation, originally signed by 19, now 30.

Russian municipal deputies call for Putin’s resignation

Some German stuff off Amazon, held tight with a clamp did the trick for my daughter’s boots

Koevulfix 90g Super Strong Contact Adhesive All Purpose Glue, Great For Shoes Leather Rubber Felt Cork And More, Made in Germany https://amzn.eu/d/6WicMom

…and on the way down

Well done Davros. I passed a guy on the hike-a-bike transition who was rolling in the ferns with cramp pains, so it wasn’t just you!

Quick snap at Ard Moors while taking a breather. Visibility was zero about two hours previously.

Shame about being held up on stage 5, that’s a cracking short and flowy run. I’m definitely up for another  – hopefully in the dry this time!

Well, surprisingly things were brighter and a bit firmer on race day. How did people get on?

I had a terminal mechanical* just after stage six, so had to retire before 1 and 2. Still, had a cracking weekend. Sunday felt much less sketchy and a lot faster. Not as many hardtails as I had hoped! I only spotted one other (hi nice Pipedream guy) but I never once felt the need to go full sus, it was an absolute blast. Also the hardtail was nice when it came to hike-a-bike transition after stage 6.

* brake hose yanked out at the lever. My fault for not replacing them after moving them onto a new, longer bike.

Luckily there is very little wind, but its very greasy! We’re just in a wet cloud constantly. Let’s see how it is tomorrow!

Worth sending off an email I suppose. After that, I’d just suck it up; life’s too short.

First time for me too, doing the ‘sprint’ (😅) event on my hardtail.

Praying for dryish conditions

Normal valves, fancy colours?

Two things I like about these valves:

– you can tighten them with an allen key

– one of the caps has a built in valve remover tool

I like the creative sweariness

I bought a budget Draper one. It is loud and vibrates quite harshly , but the attachments seem to be universal, so I can get replacement blades/new bits easily from anywhere.

Patagonia running top for less than half price. Thanks!

that crown looks very vulnerable

I understand that the crown is best not to get knocked, but when on the wrist, I struggle to see how crowns at 3 o’clock position are that vulnerable. How would a sub or doxa style guard offer that much more protection while on the wrist?

https://www.shandcycles.com/shop/shand-leveret/

The Shand Leveret could be a good shout. Choice of flat bars, comes with alfine gears, disc brakes, even mudguards.

Book club boozeup

As hobbies go, this seems more interesting than stamp collecting.

Does the person drive like a ****? If so, report the fishy odometer goings on, if not, leave it.

Looking at the grain direction, I hope that it’s veneer/ply! I can’t see many redeeming features, especially as an off-road bike.

RIP and thanks for all the happy childhood reading.

Picked up in Australia, meaning when something fits perfectly:

“Like a finger in a bum”

Thanks for the perspective- Angel of the North is nowhere near as big as I thought it was

After breaking the hardtail yesterday, I hit Pines on the singlespeed gravel bike. In 29°C heat. A bit daft but still enjoyable

Just kids having a great time. The parents are probably loving seeing the kids running about playing and not being glued to technology.

Personally I think these campsites should have something like a 10pm “settling curfew” for kids, to create some peace for younger sleeping kids and grumpy gits.

Doing lots of jump sessioning at the moment, building up to these high doubles, at Sherwood Pines.

Lots of fun, until the big crunch

You know squeezy condiment bottles which are obviously meant to sit on their big flat lid with the label’s writing the correct way up? People placing them lid side up with the writing upside down. Thanks fool, now the ketchup is in the opposite place that it should be.

They should make the top of these bottles round.

Corn getting big. The landowner on this farm is a nice chap, and keeps the public ROWs accessible

Looks great. Re. Your bottle issue, I’ve just seen this and thought of your predicament

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Wolf-Tooth-B-RAD-Bottle-Shift_233707.htm?sku=769998&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=product_ads&utm_campaign=facebook_product_ads&fbclid=IwAR2OP6fFZN4NUB04eVUDJujiMKZU-TwWNzTJ3fJ8GqV3WwoWG2lBR9xCNq8

The legs hold ours six inches above a wooden table, with no issues. Just don’t place the furnace cover hot end down on the table while drunk.

We’ve had people come for a house viewing, and it became obvious quite quickly that they just booked these things at around 9pm as some post-pub nosey entertainment.

Local route, and the cherries are ripe for picking. There must be hundreds of thousands of cherries on eleven enormous trees

OK thanks folks. Good to know it’s not going to explode on me