Strava should do a lockdown challenge.

I went out this evening thinking it would be the last ride for a while. Looking forward to some nice quiet roads now.

Plan to be in Courchevel Fri > Mon via Geneva airport. Keeping a close eye on things!

Snow looks very good so will be hacked right off if it gets closed down!

It’s a QR at the back. Anyway I think I’ve found the issue…

Went to swap the cassette out for the one on the bike and discovered that the bike shop hasn’t done a very good job of putting the cassette on…

Pretty sure the two dogs shouldn’t be right next to each other!

I have an Arkose 4 2018 and was hoping for advice on cranksets to utilise my 4iiii Ultegra crank power meter. I bought the bike to use for commuting but I’ve started using it for longer rides in winter and would like to see power.

I was thinking about changing the Rival crank for Shimano GRX 42T and using the ultegra 4iiii power meter this way, but I’ve heard it mention that the q factors would be different – is this an issue?

Sorry if this is a daft question! Thanks for any advice.

Thanks all.

It doesn’t say in the wahoo manual to add the spacer for an mtb cassette but I might try that. I played around with the barrel adjuster and it improved but still not brilliant. Will also try the cassette from the wheel on the trainer.

I just did a bunch of research and ended up with a Wahoo Kickr Core. 99.999% accuracy doesn’t bother me but it’s nice and quiet which I don’t think the Elite ones are. Might be a factor for you.

Peebles is full of **** and the commute to Edinburgh is hellish. You could look for somewhere along the Borders railway and get that into Edinburgh. I live in Midlothian, 30 mins to the Valley, 10 mins from A&E. I wouldn’t want to live in the valley as it’s a bit cliquey and too far away from a bit of culture but the riding is ace.

Peebles is a bit weird in the sense that it’s still a Borders town (same for Hawick, Biggar etc) and 100% agree that commuting from there is a terrible idea. Some parts of Midlothian are a good shout to be fair.

I’d also have a look around Linlithgow Stu, nice wee town, grear transport links and decent access to local biking, tweed valley not far either.

OP – if you are old/almost dead, like grey trousers and red knit jumpers etc then this is a good suggestion. Otherwise – avoid.

RE tourists – I did say avoid in August! All the rest of the year it’s a big enough city to avoid tourist hot spots. Inverness only has one real street so you can’t avoid them.

South side of Edinburgh is where it’s at. Pentlands on your doorstep, half an hour to the tweed valley, relatively easy access to bridge to get further North for snow/more biking/proper mountains etc. Avoid Edinburgh in August but it’s fine otherwise. If I could I would move back there in a flash.

Aberdeen is cold, grey, depressing and a long way from anywhere. Inverness is grim and chock full of tourists all summer. Dundee is small and grim – what is the point of it? Nobody knows. Stirling is a junky town and Glasgow is like a shittier version of Liverpool.

Reasoning. LOL

Two options 1) hold down using legs, knees, arms etc 2) Shout really loud until they stop wriggling*

*may cause crying.

I am really enjoying the Brooks C17 Carved I just bought for my commuter/winter bike. No padding but very comfy.

At the moment I am a similar size to you after a few years of babies/work/no riding.

I have a FS tucked up in the garage but I sat on it and it didn’t sound good so I’m going to ride only my hard tail until I’m sub 115

Do you really need a FS?

Got a wild, muddy and wet ride in this afternoon. Almost gave up going up the first hill directly into the wind on the way to the woods.

Glad I didn’t though, found some nice new singletrack somebody has added onto the ‘secret’ stuff which has been there for a while. Very enjoyable.

Got a Tiger shed last year, quality is good, order process good with decent communication etc. Still looks good a year later, nice and solid.

I started rowing a few months back and it is definitely a positive for my fitness on the bike. HRM is really useful when rowing, I have a Polar H10 which also syncs with my Garmin.

There are loads of different plans around with a bit of googling. I like this guy on instagram https://www.instagram.com/FMRowing/

The problem with rowing is that it gets pretty boring pretty quickly so to combat this you need to vary your sessions as much as possible and I watch Netflix on an iPad velcro’d to the machine.

Remember to always warm up and down – 1k at an easy ish pace is a good start. When you start off do a 2k at max effort and note your times. Do this every few weeks and it gives a good indication of improvements in fitness and/or technique.

I have a basic Yale alarm which emits a horrendous noise if you accidentally set it off.

Builders band securing the roof to the sides (usually easily lifted off for access) and securing the sides to each other.

Two bits of bent rebar set into the concrete base with decent motorcycle chain locks securing the bikes.

Security / coach boots on all the hinges etc.

Half decent padlock on a hasp and staple.

Solar floodlights activated by movement.

Decent insurance policy.

ah, I just saw your update :(

Maybe worth asking for some WFH or flexi time?

Whilst I’m not on a 4 day week, having flexi time and working with a lot of colleagues in the US has been fantastic for my work/family/health balance over the last few years. I work from home twice a week so immediately that’s 4 hours of commuting I’ve got back for other things. The days I have calls later in the evening (i.e 6-7pm) I’ll go for a ride or swim in the morning and start work a bit later. Makes a huge difference to being stuck in the office or battling thousands of others on a commute.

I’d definitely recommend going to 4DW if you can!

Tignes is good early Jan. snow sure and you’ll get some bargain deals for chalet or apartments if you go first week after new year.

Just booked flights to Geneva for a long weekend mid March, now trying to decide where to actually go. Chamonix is the current favourite.

Not sure if 31 counts as old enough for a mid life crisis but I’m getting there now. 5 years of summer time motoring bliss.

Shanahan with an extra week to prepare will be tough to beat…

We have had an Arlo 2 Pro system for a year now and it has been great. Geofencing is reliable and the scheduling works well. Batteries tend to last about 3-4 months depending on how often they are triggered, image quality is decent. Expensive but no ongoing costs.

Looked again recently and the new Blink XT2 look like a decent alternative for a lot less but not sure I’d trust their battery life claims.

I’m going to buy an Arkose in cycle to work but I am torn between the 3 and 4

i prefer the luminous colour of the 4 for visibility and less likely to get stolen.

How does the SRAM groupset stacknup against 105? I’m used to ultegra so makes me a bit nervous.

Any other differences between the two?

Blonde

Very sorry to hear this.

Remember that if you go to bank speak to the Manager – don’t bother with advisers/assistants etc as they are only there to sell products to you.

Best advice is as per above – go to CAB and they can recommend a course of action. It may be worth seeing an IFA but see CAB first.

If you want quickest and don’t mind pedalling up steep fire road then take the fire road to the left before the quarry then take the next right. This is the fire road at the top of the spooky climb.

Not keen on constant flickering. Hurts to watch.

Good editing doesn’t just mean ‘throw every effect/method your uni course has taught you’ at a 3 minute film…

It’s a good bit steeper than anything at Drumlanrig!

Rode a few sections the other day, everything drying out a fair bit so a Crossmark on the back may not be a bad shout.

Looking forward to the descents, a good mix with different challenges. Climbs are brutal though, steep fire road nastiness. Will be dropping one of them for sure!

On the plus side most of the climbing is over and done with fairly quickly.

Tyre choice will be interesting, something fast will be needed if it stays this dry – was riding a few of the sections today and it’s dry and dusty! Not sure if anything there really needs a High Roller.

yep great for man made stuff that only gets damp not muddy. struggles a bit in anything soft for grip when climbing. personally wouldn’t want to run one on the front but a great back tyre for trail centres as they roll so fast.

Dirt School all day long.

Go here http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/48

Learn how to use your camera. Then learn how to use off camera flash. Then do some work seconding for a real wedding photographer. Then make a website.

wrightyson – Member
+1 for Dega, it’s a proper good blast!!
Oh and what do you mean about the grades at CyB Chris?

Just compared to what I’m used to, grades not as challenging. Black not very black.

I enjoyed the Marin trail when I was down there. All the climbs are fire road pretty much but the descents are really good fun singletrack.

CyB grades seemed a bit soft in general.

Video of the lap from Alpine Bikes (not all speeded up – just the first few secs)

Glentress 7 for me. Brilliant course, good length, hard climbs, challenging descents (by GT standards).

Relentless 24 a close second. (2010 when the weather was good)

Stick an Ardent on the back for a bit more traction.

Avoid Super Tacky High Rollers unless you have thighs of steel.