Re Enduro 6 I can't see the point of Elite and Fun solo categories. I'd rather see all soloists in one category but some age indicator as to me that would be more interesting and relevant.

Really enjoyed it once I got going. Got to the timing tent with four minutes spare so I could do a tenth lap 😀 Thought the course was a good mixture – short sharp climbs and some longer ones, Bluebell wood, twisty singletrack and some linking track sections. Made a change to do some sections the other way round to the last few years.

en route to the Long Itchington Beer Festival

Well at least it's not a dry start to May for you ….

Tks for the replies. The Santiago is bigger than I was looking for though.

Doing it solo – not managed to fit in a lot of training so might struggle to even keep up with the Ashton lot 🙁

Should I be wary of someone who keeps putting their hand in their trouser pocket?

I'd be more worried if they keep putting their hand in your trouser pocket…….

make sure your pelvis isn't tilted forward when you're stretching the quads otherwise it reduces the effectiveness.

I find the standard stereo fine but then I'm not an audiophile. If you do replace it then I think you'll need – "box" to fit it in the dashboard as the Mazda stereo isn't a standard size, wiring loom to connect the non standard Mazda connections to the standard ones on the replacement unit as well as the unit itself. Other options are to plug in an adaptor via the CD changer port or the FM aerial to run your Ipod..

Maybe I should be on commmission 🙂

As a follow up to my feedback above – it's taken a few rides to get some of the changes bedded in. First ride after I was like a doddery old bloke cycling back from the pub, while the next two rides on terrain more suited to my style some things seemed to click and I was riding much better than before. IMO good coaching should leave you with the skills and mindset to go away and have continuous improvement rather than stopping at the end of the coaching session.

as above plus try riding with your heels down and looking at the top of the climb to keep your head up.

Owned a Mk2.5 for just over 8 years and 88k miles.

Great car to drive. Can't compare to a Mk1 but much much better than an MGF.

Had to replace tyres, front disc/pads (3 times!!!), rear discs/pads once hood under warranty, clutch under warranty and number plates. Sills are rusting at the rear – this is a common problem on Mk2's – and difficult to fix properly.

Can carry two bikes on the boot and get plenty of kit in the boot if it's packed well. The rear parcel shelf will take my 3 man tent and kit bag but restricts dropping the hood. Oh and it'll easilt take ALL my hair care products such as a flannel.

AQR – did two days with them, the first was very good and I learnt a lot. The second not so good but partly down to how I was feeling at the time. Good VFM and I recommend going on day 1.

CycleActive – very nice weekend in the Lakes, good riding but the coach had one way of teaching and if that didn't work he had nothing else to offer. Didn't feel I took a lot away from it.

Jedi / Tony – did a 1-2-1 last week and he had me riding better than I've ever done – I think his skill is in assessing how best you learn and then bit by bit increasing what you're doing throughout the day. Expensive but I feel worthwhile.

But above all, you've got to be open to learn and afterwards be prepared to work at embedding new skills which can be the difficult bit.

Thanks for the Navitron link.

put the money for the camera to better use like a romantic weekend away

Good point, the CRC enduro weekend at Builth Wells next month

some viagra your performance would improve dramatically

I find Torq caffeinated gels are good enough !!!

Actually I'm more interested in my improving my biking skills* so low light and movement in forests 😆

* one thing at a time !!!!

To quote from that site….

Can solar thermal system heat my radiators?
Yes it can give you a % of heat to radiators but it is more suitable when installed with underfloor heating…..it is possible to heat you home by solar but it is unlikely that you would install the system because of
cost.

OK, so you could install underfloor heating to go with it but even then it's not cost efficient.

Solar panels will supply some of your hot water demands from taps but none of that needed by the central heating so it won't mean you no longer need to heat hot water. Not got any figures to hand but the payback seems to be in decades not years. Not looked at a DIY system but that might be better.

PV panels are OK due to the Feed in Tarrif but payback about 10 – 15 years depending on how you view certain things changing over time (eg electricity prices, interest rates). If you work out the figure don't forget to factor in how your capital would grow if not spent on PV panels. ie you have £10k. Invest over 10 years and it will grow at say 4%. Buy PV panels and you have zero in the bank but each year generate income of say £1k.

This will cost about £6k-8k

what size system is this for ?

Also just had a combi fitted and while it's OK (1 bath, three sinks in the house) I don't think I'd go for another one. Second getting the insulation, TRV and learning how to make best use of the system.

I like the Lumicycle LED3 …..

– they are expensive though there's a CLIC24 promo code for £100 off on their web site (LED4 not worth the extra money for 1 LED)
– good beam pattern, the flood/spot combo is excellent that pushes the price up even more
– can be upgraded to the latest LED's when they are available – I could do it myself for @ £30 but no doubt Lumi will release an upgrade at some point
– if the battery goes then you buy a new battery not throw the whole unit away
– run time is very good, 3 hours on high thru to 10 hours on medium (I think)

IMO they'll be releasing a Cree XPG version before next winter.

Or, upgrade your Lumi Halogens for circa £40 each.

I quite like the Builth courses but then I like the traditional cross country riding. A few people got lost on the night ride as well – heard of some not finding the feed station and others not finding the woods !!!!

I managed both night and day courses in their entirety and am putting my rather poor position in the "results" down to others taking short cuts and not <cough> my lack of speed 😉

As above – you generally "keep" NCD for two years if it's not used on a car – not sure what happens after that i.e. whether it reduces bit by bit or is reduced straight to zero. Keep proof of your NCD (last renewal documents) – for when you want insurance again. But I'd phone a few companies just to check first.

Recently bought a new XT chainset from merlin in sale @ £125 and sold an older set of XT cranks (no rings/BB) on Ebay for £32 after fees. I've also found the latest XT to be better shifting and lasting than Middleburn.

1/ so far by folks experiences, do Hope BB's tend to outlast Shimano ones to make them financially worthwhile?

In my experience Shimano outlast Hope and are cheaper – got fed up having to strip / clean Hope ceramic every couple of weeks – doesn't matter how good the bearings are if the seals aren't up to the job. Gone for CK on one bike and back to Shimano XT on another. Also the Hope bearing sits directly on the axle so when (not if) the bearings start to stick they'll mark the axle as happened with mine.

Look like no reserve then. If there was it would look like this one where the reserve hasn't been met.

If you've got the base hours in then you won't lose it over a few weeks – it's speed work that you lose quickly. In a 24 solo I don't think you need speed work unless you're going for a top 10 finish – at MM last year I finished 22nd by just keeping going and never pushing myself into the "red" cos I knew if I did I would suffer big time. Once your body is used to riding at a steady pace for 4 – 6 hours then so long as you refuel you should be able to keep going – it might be tough and it might be sore but you can keep going. As said above the mental side is as important if not more so.

As for major injuries get them sorted rather than trying to train through them – find someone who knows what they are doing and take a week off the bike if you need to. Minor niggles are part and parcel of long distance training though.

Good luck – also at the Builth CRC night/day enduro so might see you there.

I bought some off Ebay.

No idea about the women's version (and also not female !!!) but I have the AMS100 from last year and it's great. Used it for enduros / 24 hours / trail centres / natural and it takes it all in it's stride. Good kit and when I change some of the set up I can feel the difference which is good !!! I'll also plug going to a LBS who's a cube dealer for one rather than CRC but you might find CRC have bought up all the available stock.

Builth last year was a good course (both night and day events) for a Merida/CRC – they avoided the traditional route thru a forest which turns into mud after 200 riders 'cos it's been raining for two weeks (it is Wales after all). The camping facilities at the royal show ground was good as well though the 2nd one at Builth this year is at a different camp site.

but £50 for an extra led wtf

Standard prices are £160/240 so usually it's an £80 difference for one extra LED – assume the driver, case, switches, assembly costs etc. are the same and the optic is most likely the same price (clever design). IMO they want two LED products in the market and have to price them accordingly. If they were £5 or even £20 difference then why buy the 3LED one? Been looking at converting my old Lumi can but might be tempted with another LED3 to put on the helmet…..

Saw GB v USA a few years ago in Brum. Had Henman and Rudeski in the team. Great day out, exciting and great atmosphere. Nowadays it would be a bit like watching some locals knocking the ball about in the park … and losing.

I've run Nevegal (Rr) /Blue Groove (Fr) on Stans and think this is a good all terrain combo. Also run Nobby Nic (Rr) / Rocket Ron (Fr) but slit the sidewall of the Nobby Nic and ripped a nobble off whilst in Wales so would look at this more for Enduros where speed is more important and terrain not as rufty tufty. Had a problem with a nevegal puncturing / ripping but this was due to it being worn.

Have been using Just Riding Along sealant and that's been forming a ball recently – use CO2 cannisters and not sure if that's the cause or not. Might have to invest in a compressor soon.

Give them to a charity shop. Get a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

I might give away some of the 1p books but just looked at one where there are only two copies on Amazon – £10 and £60 😯

I ride footpaths in the hope of meeting SFB 😉

And beat the living daylight out of him if he stole the bike!

I'd be carefull if you go round – looks like he's got a lion guarding the place !!!!

I think comparing modern F1 with Scalextric is unfair. You can now get digital kits which allows four cars to race each other, swop between lanes AND overtake.

As TJ – poor sealing & bearings not parallel. Factor in they're cheaper to produce than older styles but the end user will pay more for them, quicker to install and also the suppliers can make money 'cos you have to buy replacements more often.

Had a WB 28i fitted at the weekend after a few recommendations and seems OK once I've got used to the quirks of a combi – but not sure if I should have gone for the 30Si where you can control the water temperature – 28i is fixed at 55 degrees but this is a nominal figure as it depends on the cold water temp which is less in the winter and also flow rate. Any way, think the water temp control might have turned out to be usefull but too late now !!!

IMO the recovery tights are very good – notice a difference when I use them. Not so sure about the compression socks – used them but haven't noticed any difference. Friend uses compression tights for running and thinks they're great – doesn't have the same tiredness in the legs the day after a hard run.

Edit – thinking about it the socks might not work very well as I don't think the sizing is very good and seem too loose but the smaller size was too tight. Recovery tights fit much better.

Hardtail for speed, full suss for comfort over many hours, single speed for mud.

but I think it's probably harder than Mayhem or SiTS in a team

Far easier, they didn't have to drive through the night to get their entry in on time 😆

It is called 'fronting' and if there is an incident/accident the insurance company may well try and wriggle out of paying up as you didn't tell the truth.

The insurance company doesn't "wriggle out" of paying. The policy holder has made a concious descision to lie to the insurance company for financial gain and has therefore committed fraud. Can't find the figures but insurance fraud is up in the last couple of years and puts a lot of money onto the average car insurance premium as the honest drivers end up paying for it.

Classic signs of organised criminal fraud – car in front brakes to cause low speed rear impact at traffic lights / roundabout. Few weeks later the claimants claim for whiplash. This should have been passed to the insurance companies counter fraud team to investigate. Get on to insurance company and ask if it's being investigated for fraud – if not then why not and then explain to them why it looks like fraud to you. Google "staged accident rings" for more info.

Edit – new Government rules being introduced to speed up insurance companies having to pay out for third party injury so expect to see an increase in this.