VV score is 96.649 but is of no interest

Eddington is 54 and that does interest me. Set myself the target of getting it up to 50 by my 50th birthday, and just about managed it. OK not exceptional, but bear in mind I was well into my 40s before I did my first 50, and purely a mountain biker until until recently. Problem now is that, for some reason, I have loads of rides of 54 miles, so increasing is going to take some time. And you do find yourself thinking that rides that are just under your Eddington are worthless !

Also love the explorer score (17×17, 4613) cos it induces me to ride to new places. I do however include runs – some of the moors to the west of Sheffield would be a little too cheeky for me. Unfortunately, this means that expanding my square is going to involve some of the less than pleasant roads to the East

As above, a couple of laps, over to longshaw and back sounds like plenty for a 6 year old. You could do a great loop across the top of Blacka, down Barbrook, past the Eagle Stone, along Curbar and Froggatt edges back to Longshaw, but at 15 miles that would surely be too much

I wouldn’t recommend taking them down to Forge Dam, great cafe though it is, due to the steep hill known as the Bastard. However the alpaca farm in Ringinglow does have a nice cafe.

If you do go to longshaw you have a short but busy stretch of A road to deal with. There are easy trails in Longshaw and you could do a loop to the grouse. One option is to go back via Burbage Valley and then along the slightly quieter road back to Lady Cannings.

Just ordered the following from Tweeks for £31.99

Maxxis Minion DHR II Tyre

Folding Dual EXO TR

29/2.3

But I’m guessing that 3c means something else

Also demoed one at the weekend (along with a Rocket Max) and was really impressed with both on the downhills – so confidence inspiring, which for a wuss like me is just what I need. The rocket felt a bit draggy going uphill, which is inevitable I guess, and may be partly due to the tyres.

However the big problem for me, and it may be just me, is that my calves rubbed against the stays, just where the bolt was. Maybe the fact that was clipped in is part of the problem, but that’s how I ride. But it is really annoying !

I rode around the western half of the island in June

The south west quarter – from Freshwater Bay to Niton – was mostly off-road on chalk downs. Nothing too technical but lots of ups and downs. The north west quarter – Cowes to Yarmouth – was almost entirely on-road.

Depends on what sort of trip you want, but if it was multi-day you could ride across the new forest to the lymington-yarmouth ferry, go across the island on the chalk downs and get the ferry back from Ryde

How about Cam High Road from Bainbridge in the Yorkshire Dales – 2.8 miles, 819ft, steady 5% gradient

36 ascents required. You need to pick your day carefully – it’s straight into the usual wind direction.

Oddly enough i got the KOM on this back in 2012 with 27 minutes, now it’s been bettered by almost 10 minutes!

https://www.strava.com/segments/1343214

The tile and tracker look like good options .Will investigate further. Thanks.

I wouldn’t recommend Trackr – utterly useless in my experience

After Devils Gallop, you can take a right and then follow the BW along Cunsey Beck – pleasant rather than technical. Then the road up to the Cuckoo Brow Inn (nice for a pint) and the BW behind it which goes up and then down to the lake shore (see link from whitestone above). It’s not as technical a descent as Bresty Haw or Devils Gallop, but I rather enjoy it.

Then follow the lake shore for a bit – you could try the climb at Belle Grange but last time I did it I had to push most of the way. So I tend to go on a bit futher and come back on yourself before the descent to Colthouse

Haimar Zubeldia

Butcher – I think athletics is now much cleaner than cycling with a much tougher testing regieme

Not convinced that the out of competition testing system in either Kenya or Jamaica – the superpowers of distance and sprinting respectively – is very effective

This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/44312755

1) Should Froome be allowed to race etc etc

Yes, because the rules allow it and every athlete has the right to operate within the rules

2) Should the rules be changed ?

Quite possibly. If the accuracy of the test is upheld by CAS then perhaps anyone who exceeds it by as much as Froome did should be treated as a positive rather than an AAF.

3) Is the test accurate ?

Therin lies the rub. Not surprised that the quantity that ends up in your urine from inhaler use varies a lot, but is that handled by a large safety margin? And maybe Sky narrowed that margin by taking it by other means? What happens if poor inhaler technique means you swallow the residue ? And is nebuliser use really banned ?

Unfortunately you have to log in to Facebook to see the link – whereabouts is this happening  ?

I bought a couple of pairs from here

https://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk

Cant find them now, but here is the bit from my email receipt

2      Avid Pad Pin Kit Elixir/Code BlackPair  50524 A15036A      £  11.98

I’ve learnt that it’s always worth putting a bit of grease on the screw and not doing them up too tightly as they do have a tendency to get stuck

But I’d rather that than have to deal with those pesky hair pins when you need to change pads in the wild

Yes

Purchase power is far more effective than voting

And yes, I am a guardian reading, bleeding heart vegetarian tree-hugger !

Worth mentioning that you’ll only be a mile or so from Parkwood Springs – a 2km circuit of fun singletrack – which is excellent for a quick blast in the evening

BC must sack Shane Sutton immediately – oh hold, then already have
What about the doctor whose record-keeping is so shoddy – oh, he’s gone as well.
Well BC should at least break links with Team Sky – ah, they have done.
And the UCI should tighten up the rules on TUEs to reduce the risk of abuse – oh, that as well
Insist that Wiggins retires ?
Tell Jess Varnish not to have a baby ?

To be honest it’s only the sexism stuff that really winds me up, and that only got scant attention from the BBC or the Common’s select comm. And Sutton’s attitude was merely a symptom – it clearly run’s quite deep. Has the problem been rooted out – who knows ?

There is of course an obvious irony that it focused so much on the men and the Tour de France, but the lack of support when Armitstead won the worlds in 2015 didn’t even get a mention.

80% from home (Sheffield)
15% from wherever I’m staying on holiday
3% put bike on car and drive somewhere
2% stop on way back from visiting parents

A few road rides from home end up with me getting a train back, and I can highly recommend the micro pub on Worksop station as a good place to wait for a train !

Compare this case with a couple of other recent ones

Using car as a weapon, driving into a group of law-abiding cyclists, injuring one – 16 weeks

Link 1

Pedestrian stepped out in front of a cyclist, this time the cyclist died, no calls for presecution

Link 2

Obviously neither of these made the national news, the phone-ins etc etc

Thanks for all the replies, we’re going to take a map and give it a go tomorrow.

Can you post a report ? Cheers

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but why no dropper posts ?

The sight of so many of the riders pedalling furiously down the final stretch with their knees up to their chins seemed a bit odd to me !

Well played by Froome for going for the points – this final day procession tradition has been taken to far – it’s a race FFS.

I wouldn’t call Trentin a second rate sprinter – stage wins all 3 GTs – but he’s not exactly one of the big names, and yet had very little competition for the sprints. 4 stage wins is a pretty good reward for his talents.

Don’t think there’s much love lost between QS and Sky anyway – not since Stannard mugged 3 of them a few years back !

Rohan Dennis must be gutted today – he rides 15 stages, waiting for the TT to come round, and then has to withdraw the night before.

Makes Froome the favourite – my guess is he will put 2 mins into Nibbles

Take midge repellent. And a midge net. And more midge repellent

Not sure if the K101 is running this year, but the Kielder 100 used to run at this time of year. It did involve a lot of fireroad, but I remember some quite nice singletrack sections not far from Kielder Castle. The race also went to Newcastleton so presumably took in some of the trails there, but not sure how much. Worth doing, but not worth driving to do.

Either a 29er or 27.5+ hardtail and several sets of wheels

I think this is what you are looking forVG Sheffield

There’s loads of good trails around there without the need to spend too long on the roads or go in search of the cheeky stuff

My advice would be do LC a couple of times, go to the gate at the top, turn left and go down Jumble Lane to join the road. Turn right and 5 mins of road brings you to the top of Devil Elbow. Ride back up and over Houndkirk to get back to LC

Your first bit will be on-road – unavoidable really – but after that’s there plenty of fun to be had.

My suggestion is to go up Jaggers Lane, then Cogger Lane. Either take the BW to the left – probably very muddy right now, or go further up, then come down Hurst Clough. Down to main road, right and left up to Thornhill and then Aston and up a steep road to Twitchill Farm. Now the fun starts – great ascent up Hope Brink, along the ridge to Hope Cross and down the Beast. Back along the shore and across the dam and down to Yorkshire Bridge. Another long slog of a road climb – New Road – takes you under Bamford Edge and on to Stanage. Up the causeway to the pole and a great view over the fair city of Sheffield, then back, find the BW through the plantation (stunning, but watch out for walkers, climbers and boulderers), left at the carpark and then down through North Lees and back to Hathersage.

I feel a bit guilty – I use Strava a lot, but have never paid them a penny. I’d be quite happy to pay something, but the premium rate is too much given how little of the extra functionality I used

Veloviewer on the other hand, is an absolute bargain at £10 a year

Rode around here recently and was surprised by the almost complete absence of bridleways. Then again having walked up it numerous times as a kid (grew up in Clitheroe) the only route I’d consider on a bike would be from the Nick, and only in dry conditions

Slightly surprised to see Landa in the Sky team.

Given his exertions at the Giro and the fact he’s off at the end of the season – probably to Movistar – I wouldn’t expect much of him

Ahhh … interesting – just had a quick look at ‘that’ thread.

I think I missed that one too – and cant find it. Care to give me a hint

I’m not that well versed in the latest goings on, but I am aware that PDMTB have been doing sterling work on the WLT bridleway and are also in negotiations re new trails elsewhere around Ladybower.

If short of time then do Cutgate from Langsett via North America and then back down the western BW. Turn round when you hit the bog of doom or feel you are running out of time. It’s all rideable, all good. However I daresay most people would say the best bit is the final bit of the descent going south, just before you reach slippery stones and the top of the Howden reservoir, but it’s hard to include that in a short ride.

As to Les Arcs, I’m probably out of sync with the majority but having ridden it once I won’t be doing it again. A waste of gravity and a waste of goodwill, either of the legal descents from WLT are more enjoyable IMHO

On the ride I just drink water, but have a pint of water with a High5 zero tab when I get home, before starting on the beer.

Glorious riding around Sutton Bank all weekend

Interesting encounters with rhodies

Unusual route finding

Whitely Woods in Sheffield – also 160 attempts, but that’s over 2.5% of the total (6,819 Attempts By 1,496 People).

And I’m only 46th – although my latest attempt was my fastest

On the day the TDF hit Sheffield I went to the top of Jawbone Hill (on a road bike). Once the race had passed the roads were clogged full of people on foot, so going at walking pace, until a support car went through with horns going etc. So a few of us followed it down to hillsborough – roads still closed so ignoring the lights and going flat out. Now admittedly I only just scraped into the top 30 on the segment, but there were lots of big names above and below me. One place behind me was Nikki Terpstra, winner of Paris Roubaix that year

Whitely Woods Ford
At full speed
Splish Splash Splosh

Lady Cannings Open
Little bit busy
Still great fun

So has anyone found some that are suitable for listening to podcasts on ?

I currently use one of these link which does a reasonable job

Parkwood Springs, Sheffield, ticks 1 and 5, maybe 4

Drumlanrig, Dumfries, ticks 2,3 and 5, maybe 4

First of all, well done to all those involved in the production of this leaflet – excellent work and was well received at a BMC meeting last year

Personally I only ride Cutgate in the height of summer – partly due to a history of crashes, problems and other issues that has ensured that every time I’ve done it I’ve had an epic, but that’s another story. Because I live in Sheffield there is no need to me to do it when it isn’t in good condition.

But I’m a bit concerned we could take this self-regulation/self-restriction too far. Look at a map of Bleaklow – that’s the huge tract between the Woodhead Pass and the Snake Pass – a Cutgate is the only way across it for MTBs. There are a few other trails that nibble at the edges – and those two dead end bridleways – but essentially it’s a bike free zone. You go for 9 miles due west of the summit before you hit a road and there’s no legal trails in between. Even to the east it’s 3 miles.

So I think it’s important that we do something to make it more viable for more of the year. And that means that when people go up there there isn’t a drought, they don’t deviate from the tracks to go round the bogs. This applies not only to cyclists, but also walkers and runners.

When I was up there in August last year it was mostly bone dry, but the bog of doom (as in seen in the pictures) was really bad. Not sure whether boards or flags are the answer, but we need to do something before the path gets half a mile wide at that point. Main thing is to improve drainage, but of course the mud is so think that it blocks ditches really quickly. But apart from that there was only one other dodgy section along the top – a vicar of dibley hole where I had an OTB the previous year – along with some boggy sections near slippery stones (where drainage ditches had been dug, but had got blocked).