Which makes me QoT for the next two weeks… until some racer girl notices and fills in her form on a carbon hardtail.

Well spotted GaryM!

I did start to feel a bit sorry for my stem as I ground up Long Hill (which proper does what it says on the tin). I am sure that it’s not fair to cover it over with lights and all that stuff.

Hmm Ritchie Porte? Shouldn’t he have been leading me all the way for a final assault on glory on the run into Buxton? And as for that mechanic. I’ll be having words with him indoors…

Sock Guy stripy arm warmers in fluorescent yellow and blue.

I find the fluro pink and yellow ones a little garish when worn with my fluoro green Jake the Snake

We were barreling downhill on the tandem and made one of those ‘Your speed is’ signs light up. We were grinning like loons at 42mph :D

Am I allowed to claim roadie scalps if wearing baggies and stripy arm warmers on my cx (with slicks)*?

I’ve done it by kind of accident – he passed me, I jumped on tail and didn’t realise that I was putting out a proper lot of power, had to pass him so as not to run into his back and keep riding nonchalantly along at speed along the lines of ‘me, I always go this fast, you just caught me changing gear’. :oops:

*Commute is 40 miles each way and I can’t do it in under 3 hours on a mtb :cry:

For those that missed it

Good point. I should be following Stephen Fry on Twitter. That was truly excellent.

Never run your own company. The buck always stops with you. If there’s overtime it’s always you that gets to do it.

Try again next week…

:cry:

Are these threads related?

Picture me on Sunday morning. In cycling gear, sitting eating a cheese roll and drinking coffee and happily discussing which local loop we’d start on.

Until a casual glance at diary reveals… I should be at work. 5 minutes ago.

OMFG.

What would happen if she stopped paying?

In the absence of anything else, reapply chamois butter.

Sore bits seems to be unrelated to saddle cushioning but more to position. I always seem ok on a mtb but road bikes can get me. I think it’s partly saddle shape and partly position – borrowed a bike with frame size 1cm bigger than my usual ride (which has a Charge Spoon boys saddle that I’ve never even noticed I was sitting on). 20 miles in I realise it’s not as comfy as my bike with 20 miles to go… by 10 miles to go I was standing wherever possible. I think being stretched out rolls your pelvis forward and you’re not sitting on your sit bones as much and more on softer tissue. Ow!

Eddie Shah’s and many of these comments make me furious. Surely alarm bells would ring with a girl very much younger?

In my teens, I looked of indeterminate age and had a facade of maturity. Underneath utter confusion. I was pretty good at calculus but much of the rest of the growing up stuff was based around serious amounts of risk taking, drunken, idiocy. In retrospect, I can put it down to a desire to grow up mixed with puzzlement (how?) and terror.

The fact that the adults I met didn’t take advantage of the teenage behaviour could be testament to them being good adults rather than selfish, gratification-seeking, older men who don’t give a toss about who they are shagging. It could also be down to the law which was there to protect me from myself as well as the stupid, the selfish, the shameless and the abusive.

Well that clears that up then. At last I can sleep at night! Although slightly disappointed to hear that Brailsford is only a B list Sirian royal. I think Sky need to clarify.

Wow, a whole queue of people with funny names! If only it wasn’t Coke I might join them – never see my name on things.

That’s awful. Hope you get them back :(

Sorry, no. But a while ago – when she was still Nicola Sherlock – we were approached by another designer to collaborate on some work. I did briefly worry that she’d go off with her just because Sherlock Holmes sounded like a naming opportunity too good to miss. A nice line in deerstalkers, perhaps..

Got piss wet through on a bike yesterday. Does that count?

Oh darn, I’m not quite that techie. Will just have to live in fantasy world where all my tweets work google magic. <Checks wallet, determines not rich yet, decides probably not working *that* well.>

I’ve used strava phone on my when lost – explore button at the bottom of the phone screen.

I think it’s intended to show you where all the nearest sections are (which I suppose you could use if you created sections you want to revisit). It was also quite handy for getting me home!

Thanks for the private browsing tip. I’d always wondered what other people see if they google my name or that of my business. Turns out that my business comes up first on google! Win! (Makepiece if you’re curious).

My name also brings up real pictures of me – which, as it’s a very distinctive name with no famous namesakes, you’d kind of expect. However it’s slightly scary how much there is about me on t’internet.

Put in an offer just below what you’re prepared to pay – £200k. Insultingly low will probably result in them feeling insulted / not trusting you can pay it. I would point out the mouseprice figures to justify your offer. Remind them that they’re saving money on the estate agents and also rental income (e.g. if you moved out for them to sell it). Don’t go increasing it at the drop of a hat. Good luck!

Flying ants have reached the Calder Valley.
<flailing wildly>

+1 for pipe lagging and practice.

Also I found that my camelbak strap provided an extra layer (I’m afraid I wasn’t hardcore enough to fit everything into pockets and onto the frame so I used the smallest low profile one I have – and I was grateful for it).

It really does get easier and less painful with practice. Honest.

From two rides I can’t say how good it is downhill but it climbs like a rat up a drainpipe on speed. It’s accurate for a 29er – I’m better on 26″ wheels but I could put it where I wanted it. That said I haven’t rocketed down anything particularly lumpy so that’s not much to go on yet.

I’ve only borrowed it a couple of times as it’s being properly reviewed in the next edition of Singletrack.

Er yes, is bailing out the barn a permitted excuse for splitting? That and the road being under water? And the trains stopped? And the world coming to an end?

Ouch! Hope you’re better soon. I sometimes react really badly to horseflies (legs swollen to nearly double width once) but this year only days of horrid itching. Don’t understand why the difference but they put the fear into me if I see them!

Riding in Wales I was just declaring myself pooped at the top of a climb. The words were scarcely out of mouth when I saw the unmistakeable swooping flight round my legs and shot off without drawing breath… ‘ride like you’re pursued by horseflies’ could be my next race strategy.

Cycling. It’s the new cycling.

Proper oats, water, aga person me.

But if I ride to work I like the breakfast smoothie from the coffee shop opposite: oats, yogurt, milk, banana and assorted pink fruit whizzed in a blender.

Nice site maccruiskeen. Interesting, thanks.

Nothing. I’d look boring and plastic.

Seriously, if I look at my face critically (like so many women do – if you haven’t seen the Dove ad go and look for it) I’d take a bit off my jaw, make my nose smaller etc etc. But that would just create a face that’s even and toned down to the lowest common denominator of conventionality. But that nose – pointy though it is, is my Dad’s nose, and I love my Dad. My square jaw is definitely inherited from my Grandma, and I miss her. In the end, my face is part of who I am – I would rather animate it than create a mask to hide behind.

Boo. Missing the free chips. But going to Coed y Brenin. With free Chipps :-)

We’ll be there.

But sadly not on the tandem as the tandem-fettler disappeared into the shed yesterday for a quick fettle (or whatever you lads do in there) and emerged with a list of tandem repair items that can’t be sorted by 8.15pm tonight. :(

The good news is that my bike has gears again (after unilaterally turning itself into a single speed for the Lee Quarry race). But darn, I’m going to have to pedal now!

Get her to ride lots of whatever she likes riding best (whether it’s berms or rocks or singletrack) before easing into the stuff she finds more intimidating. Also to build up a bit of stamina – it all seems easier once you’re not struggling for breath all the time.

I say this because nearly three years after starting riding I am still struggling to clean a few things that put the fear into me when I first started – even though I do way harder stuff on sight now.

Oh, also, Ed Oxley does great skills courses – I went on one day course and it moved my riding on massively.

I cycled up a stretch of dual carriageway yesterday on my way to work – not really by choice but because I couldn’t see a good way round it (on a 40 mile commute you tend not to want to add loads of extra miles).

As I trundled along there were very few cars and they gave me a wide berth. The only terrifying section was crossing entry and exit slip roads – warily – checking over my shoulder a lot. The dual carriageway gives way to single carriageway 50mph and it’s actually scarier as the traffic compresses into the smaller space.

Drivers don’t seem to realise that you’re not there to be an impediment. You checked the map – same as they did – and planned a route and expect to be able to cycle it without losing any limbs.

Personally, I think everyone should do a mandatory year of driving in Belgium or Spain where the culture seems to be that it’s fair enough to scare the bejeezus out of fellow drivers but woe betide anyone who so much as mildly disconcerts a cyclist.

Aagh. OK I admit it. I am reading this thread to convince myself that it could be worse. I am watching the sunshine from inside my shop. I saw people riding bikes on the drive into work (and nearly stopped to berate other drivers for how sh*t their overtaking of bikes was). I am feeling sorry for myself.

But not nearly as sorry I as feel for you lot! Eat lots of vits, minerals, comfrey extract and get well soon. Oh and fish oils, very good for concentration, protecting and improving brain function.

I have a problem whenever I lose weight – I get a cold. Which usually starts with me feeling really knackered and wanting to sleep all the time.

Could this be it?

It might be a bit quick for you (unless you had one waiting in the wings) as it usually takes me a couple of weeks. It’s really annoying as I do eat good quality food (v little processed, lots of veg, a reasonable amount of protein and enough butter not to want to pack in the diet :-) ). No idea what to do about it though, sorry.

Sorry, gone a bit feak and weeble. :(

Have a good one.

Thanks for that! Great loop, gorgeous sunset.

Although a sweeper through Bucky woods might have been a good idea – I thought I was going to spend the night there at one point… :|

Strava…. la la la… puts fingers in ears.

Must not get addicted.

Where did you say you were starting from?