Allow me to retort:

1. I did a brief check prior to posting it – not exhaustive I concede but the intention was there.

2. Some poetic licence is acceptable I think – this is the internet and a cycling forum – not Encylopaedia Brittanica.

3. Yeah – link was a failure. Apologies for that – I am a luddite.

4. Not piss – vomit. And I have showered since.

I am using my Cotic X to tow my daughter to nursery and also just on little family rides and that works well. I have disc brakes on it so plenty of stopping power. Although it does have cowled dropouts they don’t interfere with the Chariot EZ hitch – but Croozer may be different?

I did put an mtb cassette on it so got a low gear of 34/34 which is a good thing!

I would love to get an ancient bike and ride L’eroica on it – so yeah – I get where he is coming from

Just to make you jealous I am ,roll on next Friday !Flying to Pisa for L`eroica with an old Holdsworth with toeclips (no yak leather shoes though !)

I AM jealous. Very. I have hankered after a Holdsworth Whirlwind for some years now. One came up on Ebay but was in such good nick that I didn’t bother bidding for it – figuring it would go for way more than I could afford. In then end it went really cheaply – kicking myself!

It is clear he loves riding his bike – great. It is also clear he loves some of the other things around cycling – the mystique, history etc. Good for him I say. YMMV but what works for him is his business. The more people on bikes the better IMO.

FWIW I thought it a well written article which I could relate to. I don’t go in for the merino wool/peaked cap look – but I love steel framed bikes (as do lots on here) and old school kit. I would love to get an ancient bike and ride L’eroica on it – so yeah – I get where he is coming from

I leave mine at home – on the road bike!
Seriously – for MTB and CX riding I use a hydration pack. Keeps it clean and stops me losing the damn things. I allowed myself to be convinced to go bottles only during a nine day fully supported stage race earlier this year and regretted it.
For those that say contamination not an issue – tell that to the approx 150 riders who got Campylobacter a year or two ago…..

@pypdjl – how do you calculate anything without numbers?

As I see it it is all about personal perception. Our personal experiences actually tell us very little about how safe or otherwise cycling on the road is. I have certainly had the odd close pass and occasional road rage but on the whole I find road cycling to be an acceptably safe activity – but that is my perception.

Trail centres being constructed rather than natural stand up to wet conditions better than local trails. They are also maintained to a certain degree. So they are a better choice than local trails for when it is wet -if it is damage to the trails that you are concerned about.

I feel like a callous uncaring parent reading all this 😉

We had planned on using ears only -got given a sound only detector (don’t know brand/model) and used it – and found it useful. Never really felt the need for anything more fancy.

The way this thread has gone is bizarre……

The facts are – the man was illegally parked – HE caused the accident.

He then failed to give his details – again HE is at fault.

As for mitigation – there was no emergency cause to stop – he had an “emergency” need to draw cash.

How anyone can see this as not 100% the driver’s fault is beyond me.

Depends – on your current level, what you want from the course, the instructor and the group you are with (assuming not one to one).

The first course I did focused on line choice, cornering better, lifting the front wheel (both over uphill steps and in order to clear small drops) , dealing with trail obstacles. Also basics like bike setup and body positioning.

Chances are you will learn more than you currently expect.

If the story above is entirely true then the fault lies entirely with the driver. I hope there are repercussions for him – but suspect there won’t be!

Glad you’re ok OP! Could have been nasty.

FWIW though I am convinced I hit far more branches BECAUSE I wear a helmet than I would without – it raises my height and I simply don’t see some of them due to the visor. (talking about my local twisty wooded singletrack stuff) I reckon I would also be a bit more careful after the first one bounced off my bare head 😉

I don’t mock fat people, but I won’t deny I find them repellent.
I am no oil painting – but I watch my weight. A few years ago I gained 2 stone and loathed myself for it. Back to my normal weight, which is the same I’ve been since I was 20 (now 38).

My mate was obese – grotesquely obese. For years he was quite literally the largest individual I have ever personally known. One day he decided to take himself in hand and he is now a normal weight – taken up skydiving and loving life. No fad diets, surgery, liposuction – just simply an improved lifestyle.

As for the thyroid excuse -please. Using the figures from the article (1.5 in 1000)for every 800 fat people out there 3 have thyroid issues. What excuse are the rest using?

Your weight is one of few things in life that (aside from rare diseases) is entirely within your control.

Not today I have had access to the Controlled drugs cupbard all day though.

I think you need to adjust your mix. Less Ketamine, more Buprenorphine.

Schooled in South Africa – so I got the cane PLENTY. We used to pull a single thread out of our ties every time we got lashed – and I held the record for the first term of high school. Mostly the art teacher who hated me (about as much as I hated art) and I sometimes got lashed twice a lesson by him – once at the beginning for not having done any work, and once at the end for the same reason.

TBH I don’t have an issue with caning as a punishment for suitable situations – though I guess you could say it didn’t work on me, or at least it took me a very long time to learn my lesson! That said as I got older I did settle down and buckle down and finished up near the top of the school academically – so maybe it did work in the end.

Thanks for replies – 1×9 it will have to be!

They work very well, very secure and you can adjust the angle of the light “on the fly” which I find useful. Unclip it for charging etc.

One minor niggle – if you have bigger vents like a Giro Xen then the base deforms over time. Not an issue with helmets with normal size vents.

mr bloddy it is the “deluded” “no roadie I see smiles” etc posts that make this an us and them type thread.

Double post

These “US and them” threads are ridiculous. We are at the end of the day all people who ride bikes. Why try to pigeon-hole one type of bike? The idea that “Roadies” are less friendly is absurd. I rode the Southdowns way on a beautiful weekend last year and met hundreds of mtber’s coming the other way. I got “blanked” by more than half of them.

What’s more I have two mtbs, a cross bike, a road bike, a heavy duty tourer and a crappy commuter. Most of my mates have more thaa one type of bike – as do a huge number of people on here. Why the hell should we be branded or identified by whichever bike we feel like riding that particular day.

We get enough shite from the Daily Mail motorists as it is without creating arbitrary distinctions within ourselves.

Case of “look before you leap” really. They are for the most part very rocky, technical and relatively slow trails and you can usually see the main features well in advance and get off if its too much.

Hi Superfli

Not got your email yet – may have gone awol?

Thanks very much – have emailed you.

FWIW I use my CX bike towing the sprog. I don’t have a full suss but I choose the CX bike over my Soul because being rigid and stiff it helps keep me focussed on not getting too carried away and bouncing her all over the shop.

Ah I see. So my response should have been something like “Its cause I got reel skillz like innit.”?

Can anyone translate what these two are on about?

Hard tail only – Cotic Soul as my main bike, I also have a Cotic Simple (26″) which I usually run rigid.
I had a full suss (Scott Genius) which I kept breaking and moved to a fairly bombproof hardtail as a result.
It is great for 95% of the riding I do, and keeps the trails local to me exciting and intertesting.
I do occasionally hanker after a full susser again, but the upkeep/maintenance costs and hassle put me off. That and the price! Hard to justify as it would be used pretty infrequently.

Letter in FT [/url]

The Mytimug stove set mentioned above – where can those be found? Looked at Alpkit etc but can’t see a set.

There is a section of trail in South Africa where you ride along the escarpment looking down over a massive drop.

They call it “Great Wall My Chyna”.

“Chyna” is the South African slang for mate.

Thanks Jamie – the ETC one at Edinburgh comes in 28.6, 31.9 and 34.9mm options…..

Think I am going to get the OMM White Rock instead – mounts to brake bosses.

Amplebrew – thanks, that would work I guess. Seems pricey for what it is and a clunky solution – I like the Mpart one – just need the right size!

Thanks Peter but I am aware of the difference – the seat post is 27.2 – so I need a 30mm clamp – as per my post.

I had to do the test a few years ago (yes I am one of those bloody foreigners). I didn’t bother to “learn” for the test, taking advice from others I simply got the model questions and answers book and learnt the relevant sections by rote. It took me about five minutes to write the test and I got 100%.

I totally failed to see the relevance of the test. As far as I can tell it simply tests your ability to memorise a few random and irrelevant facts. How that makes me or anyone else a suitable citizen is beyond me.

This sounds like fun – might learn something too!

Anyone know if you can do similar in the South East?

Thanks for the suggestions so far. The Kinesis option looks good, but now being tempted by Stans Iron Cross, on Novatec Hubs, well over budget though!
Antigee you said you avoided Novatec because of reliability?

I get the impression most of the posters here haven’t actuallt ridden a sportive.

I have ridden over a dozen and in my experience:

The numbers ARE regulated. They advertise a maximum field and then close their entries. The number varies but there is always a maximmum. I don’t know but presumably the organisers have to sort this out with the local authorities?

There are seldom “masses” of people. Even in the big events the fields split up very quickly and lots of time I find myself riding on my own. There are certainly groups but I usually find they are either too slow or too fast for me.

Again in my expereince there are no bunch starts – the field is released in batches. Again the numbers vary here but in the most recent sportive they were batches of 10-12. During that sportive admittedly a small one) I saw only 5 other riders all day in a five hour ride and we never rode together (they were too quick for me!)

As it happnens i do feel sympathy for people who are trying to get somewhere in cars and get held up but I really feel this is less of a problem than the haters make out.

I am not in favour of “regulation” but I would like to see more responsibility taken on by the organisers for the events in terms of briefings/litter etc – as others have said. Most though have been very good.

The standard of riding IS variable. In many instances though a helpful word or two could get these guys on the right track. I occasionally ride with a large club of presumably experienced riders and I can vouch for the fact that the riding is “variable” there too! This club sets off in batches of 10-12, and follows a fairly set route, and has over 100 people turning up on a nice day – kind of a lot like a sportive really!

Mr Hoppy – snap! 😉
I run a Chariot Cougar with my Cotic X, and Cotic Soul, no issues. Did have probs with the Roberts bike due to the Rohloff Gear changer but this was solved with the use of Wandertec spacers (did need two!) to space it out.
Our 8 month old seems to really enjoy the trailer and it means the missu and I can ride together again. With her on the mtb and me on the cross bike we both get a workout.

Not without his flaws – but remains a personal hero of mine.