Not sure what the SLX is?!

TK Max is a great shout for skiing gear. It may be last seasons kit but only snobby **** will notice.

7 pairs of socks. (make sure they are at least up to the top of your shin and not hiking boot cut. Very uncomfortable in ski boots)

Peter storm thermals are cheap and good.

Goggles. Sinner do cheap mirrored goggles. They are good all rounders for bad/good light conditions.

Trousers. I’ve had the same pair of Westbeach trousers for 6 years and they were only 60 quid. Look them up.

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/230765997780?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla

Dont scrimp on gloves or boots. They make such a difference on the hill. I find the more expensive the gloves, the better.

For a lighter jacket in the later part of the season get a soft shell. Still be good as an extra layer under your jacket.

Oh and on a personal note, if you buy a North Face sleavless puffa I will hunt you down. I’ve not met someone wearing one of those that hasnt been an erse!

Whats the budget for clothing?

Defo get boots fitted in a shop and let them know what skiing you will be doing and they will give you on the spot advice. There is a huge difference now between recreational, off piste touring, freestyle,racing etc. To future proof yourself, I would prob buy touring/back country boots as these work well on and off piste so no need for seperate kit. I telemark so dont have that issue.

As for skis, for the first month I would hire a variety and see what you like. I ride a pair of Rossignol B2’s which are good allrounders. Basic rules to skis;

The more stiff, the faster you go. (only good for on piste)
The fatter they are, the easier the powder/off piste is. (harder handling on piste)

Just like any bike shop, the guys that work in ski shops are geeks who are more than happy to talk all day about the kit, and won’t put a hard sell on you or give you kit you dont need.

I find the “i’m cool as frick cause mum and dad bought me this bike and I own this trail centre” teenagers the biggest pain in the erse. I’ve seen them nailing it down the blue route behind obvious newbies and as they passed they tutted, shook their heads and rolled their eyes. You find ski racing kids have the same attitude.

Most of the “adults” give good chat and the top of spooky wood is a brilliant place for a blether with randoms. I usually stand away from folk cause I’m chain smoking 20 cigs after the climb :roll:

Moo ha ha! Some absolute belters here! I’m still giggling about the electric fence! :lol:

Mine is very tame. After fitting brand new V8’s I went off to Queen Elizabeth country park for a play a few weeks back. 5 min into the ride I was going round an off camber trail when the back wheel decides to go its merry way along a root, making me crash on to my left side. Left leg gets sandwiched between said V8 and ground and gets ripped open by those nastily sharp studs. Quick visit to Petersfield minor injuries unit results in 4 stitches (none of those pishy paper ones!) and a shed load of glue.

The Oak at Bank. Nuff said.

Travelling down a nice wide bridleway I cheerfully said hello to a bloke in his 50’s walking in the same direction. As I got to the end of the track I stopped for a smoke break (don’t judge me!) and noticed I was getting a slow puncture so started to repair it. 10 min later the bloke caught up and offered to help me. After noticing Gordon highlanders, royal signals and sas cap badges on his baseball cap I asked him if he served (I’ve served and I get annoyed seeing people wear mil stuff they are not entitled too). Anyway, turns out he was a gordon highlander, transferred sass, served malya and Yemen. Came back, met his wife at a pub in the brecons, left and joined signals to get a more settled life. To cut a long story short he was genuine original and I could have spent all day listening to his stories but restricted it to 2hrs! Turns out he was in his 70’s and walked 10 miles a day (he proved it by showing me his gps!). Very random meeting!

I agree. Portugese fire place to Ornamental drive is fine the way it is. :wink:

40mpg, thanks for the link to the echo. I think by looking at the comments at the bottom you can see what the problem is with the new forest. Uncompromising, selfish, arrogant stuck in their way ar@&holes who are scared of any progress or sign of fair play. By the looks of it the New Forest Association is full of the stereotypical old retired who have nothing better to do than freeze frame the forest in it’s current state. Coupled with the “it’s my forest” attitude we will have no chance of putting any reasonable case forward for extension to cycle routes or open access rights until the council “elders” move on due to old age and a younger more open minded type take the seats.

No. :mrgreen:

I have past verderers before but usually over 100m away as they have been on the fire tracks. On those occasions, I’ve received nothing more than a tip of the hat. The ones I’ve “bumped” into seem to be realistic and recognise that MTB’ers dont actually cause that much damage and are respectful.

Same goes for horseriders that I’ve encountered. I was expecting a telling off from one but turns out she agreed that the routes are restrictive and the temptation to go off-route was understandable.

I will hold my hand up and admit I was wrong to be cycling where i was during the ground nesting season, but it was the birdwatchers attitude that really got to me.

Its a great place for riding and it would be a shame to say the least, if they enforced the fines or god forbid, banned us.

Didn’t know it existed. Good plug.
:D

So much area and variety of terrain, you could have some seriously good trails around (I’ve found plenty). The cycle network is rubbish, in the northern half especially.

Thanks mate. I just get frustrated sticking to the paths which I do most of the time. Unfortunately if I spot a good little run, temptation gets the better of me.

I never realised there were so many on here from the area. Down in Winchester living but from Mauchline (was up at the the old pit last sat before the holy fair. still great!)

gcubed . Ref the Barony trust.

My family has been in touch with the Barony trust a lot and know Billy Menzies well, due to the fact that my Grandpa is one of the 4 at the bottom of the A frame. He has done fantastic work for the site and was instrumental in getting it to the standard its in just now. I think it would be a fantastic idea to make some trails around the Barony bing and if you want any help at all let me know. Unforunately cause I live all the way down here, I wont be able to get the spade out and help in that way.

As for Glenafton, I was up there with my Uncle and Girlfriend the other week there and all me and her could do was pick out lines on the hill for rattling down. Great train links from New Cumnock and a massive variety of terrain. There doesnt seem to be that much in the way of set up there so initial investment wold be high. Excellent people to talk to about that would be the Minerals Trust. The opencast companies are always happy to boost their green credentials.

I’m enjoying this thread! She gets advice and I get a laugh. Might take a run up to newbury to get a look at the specialized shop.

No photos folks. Aerial photos cost a fortune.

Not a fan of Hargove in Winchester. Thanks for the advice peeps. She has plenty to go on now. Now I can go back to not discussing my girlfriends erse with 3rd parties!

Salisbury is a wee bit far but if she gets a good service she will go. As long as she is driving though. I fricking hate driving around it.

Cheers folks. Not only for the advice but you did give her a giggle.

Golf chick, she is asking where specialized do the fitting service. We are in the Winchester area if that helps.

By adding that much, its probably warped the plates so wont take any charge now. Bin it (in green responsible manner of course) and go to the local scrappies and get one from there. Usually come with a year long guarantee as well as being cheaper.

Being Scottish and now living in rural Hampshire I can see the effect of both sides of the argument.

I think it will have to come down to local discretion. If there is a long distance walking route maintained by the council etc, it should be open to MB. As is the case, all BW’s should be open to MB but the grey area comes down to footpaths, especially around here.

Most footpaths cut across fields which may mean damaging crops or scaring cattle. The biggest thing that would worry me though is in the shooting season it sounds like the Somme around here. Shooting syndicates know where public access routes are but they will be less likely to be bothered if you are on a bridleway (the horsey types are one of them).

I’ve grown up riding wherever and whatever path I want. All it takes is a little consideration, a smile and a polite “hello” and everything should be ok. If that doesn’t work, match their rudeness and do the same back. Feels great and they dont like it!

Cheers folks. The main reason I’m asking is I live north of Upham by a few miles and most of my friends live in Southampton. Its a good run along the south down way to Winchester, so thought I would pick up the Itchen way there and head down to theirs.

I’ve had my fair share of tuts and huffs in the area (i only ride the bridle ways between Winchester and East meon), and was not wanting some git to have a go for being on the path. I’m close to giving up the polite apologetic stance and blowing my top.

Had a belter of a circular route today though instead. Milburys pub, south downs west bound then popped down to cheriton. Bridleways all the way to Warnford then up old winchester hill. Pick up the south downs way westbound back to the milburys. Well worth it!!!!

I was in the same situation last year and handled it very badly. My girlfriend suggested buying a mountain bike so that she could come along with me when I was out, which I thought was a great idea (hindsight is fricking great).

Anyways, she was slower than a week in the jail and refused to leave any of the official cycle routes in the new forest, which turned my 30km exploratory ramblings over the new forest into typical boring touristy fire track misery. To get her to improve I pushed her into doing little cut through s and bumps and dips. This broke her confidence and now we are back at square one, with no sign of that changing in the near future.

Moral of the story? Tread carefully. On the plus side, she doesn’t complain when I go away for a day or 2 now!

Like the look of it as a long term project.

konabunny,

I see your point about subsidised jobs but all the people of yeovil will see is “jobs” therefore they will then vote for the MP that claims they brokered the deal. Its all swings and roundabouts.

There is no single answer to the cluster frick that is MOD spending. Politicians need votes (QE class union votes). We need the jobs from the defence spending (Apache under license from the sceptics). Infighting between the services to secure their own little projects (The Merlin situation between the RAF and Army). Thats not to mention the Mann truck deal with ze Germans that resulted in the sceptics not giving us the avionics for the chinooks because we reneged on a deal for their Oshkosh ones because we were sucking up to the Germans because their nose was out of joint because of Iraq. But the classic one for me was BOWMAN coming in 10 years to late because the off the shelf version from the Canadians wasnt good enough. If you want a giggle, look that one up.

Basically, there is no answer to this. To many people have their fingers in the pie with their own little agendas.

John Travolta played a good MP in Basic and The Generals Daughter but might be a little bit too old for it now.