Loving these pics, all in cracking Autumn sunshine aswell. No pics from me but as I’ve really had enough of riding through the gloopy stuff for a while I heade out to FOD for a couple of laps each of the free miners and verderer’s.

Trekster – where is that?

I don’t think many people ride trail centres every week though do they? Wild riding is all good and it’s what I do most of the time. Every now and then it’s good to leave the map at home and follow the arrows somewhere that you know is going to be relatively clean and guaranteed to raise a smile.

same with the bikepacking thing. If there was an event every weekend I don’t think many people would do them all but it’s nice to meet new folk who enjoy the same thing and have that element of competition now and again, even though bikepacking by it’s very nature is about getting away from the crowds most of the time

Looks like an old 1980’s Raleigh bomber. I had one and it was great fun so yeah, I’d go for one of these.

Pretty much what Grum says, I’ve tried a 29er and it’s not for me. I’ve no issue with others riding them if that is there want but I’m sick of having 29 inches rammed down my throat (oo er missus!). Constantly being told “29 is the future dude” and rumours of Specialized and other manufacturers all but dropping 26ers from their ranges are annoying to say the least. I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29″ wheels, being smoothed out, less technical and less tight and twisty in an effort to force us all down the 29 route. As I’ve already said I’m not a hater, I tried it and didn’t like it. If I’m to be forced into buying a bike with bigger wheels to ride smoother trails I may as well make my nexy purchase a road bike.

that go outdoors one looks like a decent bit of kit. friend of mine uses a hand pumped fence sprayer, it’s not as good as my mobi but does the job. I got my mobi when they were on offer at £50 and it’s one of the best bike related things I’ve bought.

Surely if it has to be signed for and parcelforce have a signature to say it was delivered then there’s no way he can claim it wasn’t delivered is there?

yeah that’s it. Ray’s a top bloke aswell

What andy7t2 says is all true. What he doesn’t say is that once you’ve got all the paperwork done, got your crb back and recce’d a few routes you’re pretty much set up. Yes, you’ll have to do risk assesments for every ride but these are pretty much generic from ride to ride.

Regarding quals, I’ve got MIAS level 2 and have yet to find anyone to tell me that’s not enough. There’ll be plenty of folk, on here and elsewhere, that’ll tell you there are much better qualifications out there but they can take up to 6 months for you to get qualified and let’s face it, if you’re good at the job does the standard of the qualification matter?

Not sure where you are but raymazey on here runs a 2 day course in Bolton that’ll get you MIAS level 2 qualified, providing you pass obviously.

With regard to the finishing point I wouldn’t be hanging around long, a quick pint or 3 and then off to a bunkhouse in the lakes to meet up with a few mates.

I’d be taking the off road routes and planning for it to be a pleasant ride rather than a trip to the pain cave :oops:, 50 miles a day will be fine

At that price I’d be looking at a superstar set with a superlegerra hub. From some posts on here it would seem they can be a bit hit or miss but I know more folk that got a good set than I do that got a bad set. The one guy I know who got a bad set returned them and had them replaced and they’ve been spot on since

I bought one this week. Not had chance to use it on the bike yet but it’s a good piece of kit. Does away with all the useless tat of Magicshines in the past (did anyone ever use the sos function?) and is just a good light with 4 different brightness settings easily selected from 2 buttons. Multi coloured battery level indicator is a nice touch aswell and both light head and battery feel a lot more safely attached to the bike. If I had to have 1 moan (let’s face it, we all like a moan now and then)I’d say the battery is a bit on the bulky side

Jumping before he’s pushed, Expect a few more to follow him. The shame of it all is that there’ll probably be no prosecutions brought over this whole sorry episode. It’s sickening to think that people in power can blatantly lie to keep themselves out of the shit and get away with it.

I’ve just bought an MJ880. Not had chance to “field test” it yet but seems good and very bright. They’ve done away with the useless functions (strobe,SOS)on the old light and just have 2 buttons to adjust brightness x4. Much more stable on the bars than old Magicshines, battery is a fair sized unit though

I’ve got a dispatch. It’s been pretty good to be fair but it’s on it’s last legs now. Regularly take me and 2 mates in it with our 3 bikes and all our individual camping kit. Just the right size for a double airbed in the back when empty. Like I say it’s on it’s last legs now, thinking about replacing it with a Toyota hiace as only having 1 sliding door means bikes can be strapped to 1 side a bit better, in my mind anyway!

It all seems really simple to me. Abolish VED and add a 1p per litre tax to fuel so the people who use the roads the most and/or have the highest emmissions, pay the most tax.

To be fair the chalk drains pretty well. Granted the rutted mess that is the ridgeway can get pretty bad but get off the beaten track and things aren’t too bad.

Did a 30 miler over the Marlborough downs area today. A lot of doubletrack byways and bridleways but there’s some half decent riding if you look for it. As CG said there’s also the croft trail in Swindon which we (MBSwindon) ride every Friday night. Give us a shout when you move here and I’m sure you’ll find one of us willing to show you around. Also there’s the Bertie Mafoons shop rides from Marlborough.

Just got me a pair of winter gloves from ALDI. Similar design to sealskinz and the ones I bought last year are still going strong

I work outdoors in all weather. I don’t mind putting myself through a bit of pain on a climb if it’s rewarded with a fun downhill. I’m not bothered if it starts raining or gets really muddy while I’m out on a ride but find it really hard to motivate myself to ride if it’s lashing down before I start.

Not sure about the d & b but I have been known to sit down with Mary at the top of a climb a few times

But the question on everybody’s mind is how many “fixie hipsters”? :P

I’ve been on both ends of this and have found that a polite request to pass works from either end. The thing to remember is everyone’s in a race. The slower guy in front of you is likely to be racing in a different category as you and while you’re (well me to be honest)stuggling to hold onto your mid table position he’s in a race for a podium place. Yes it’s acceptable to want to pass a slower rider if the opportunity presents itself but is it fair to ask them to stop and pull over on a tight, twisty singletrack section? Not in my opinion. It’s the guys that shout “elite/pro/expert rider coming through” that piss me off, like they’ve got some unwritten right for the trail ahead of them to be kept clear.

Brilliant, thanks a lot. Part of me thinks you may be regretting this post :lol:

Any of 116 pretty, pretty please? There’s not one of me anywhere!chrisDOThopkinson70ATgmailDOTcom

Graham S – Bikeability in schools is a good start (I teach bikeability for a living so will always think it’s a good idea). I’m always shocked though at the amount of kids I pass at level 2 who then don’t get to put it into practice because their parents just won’t allow them to cycle on road. More often than not it’s because the parents don’t cycle themselves, I’d like to see more family based bikeability courses introduced.

As Singlespeed Shep said up there ^^^ what’s needed is a fresh start from everyone. That maybe unworkable but a sea change in those that cycle for transport is achievable. Some sort of campaign to get people off the pavements and onto the road would be a good start.

Oh where to start!

Fistly, it’s a catch 22 situation. More people cycling on the road would improve safety but a lot of folk won’t cycle on the road because they think it’s not safe.

Also the blame has to be shared between motorists and cyclists. Yes, some motorists’ driving is pretty bad around cyclists but the amount of cyclists that display a lack of any sort of road awareness is shocking. Training for both parties would help but I can’t help but think a lot of cyclists, particularly younger ones, seem to have this idea it’s just not cool to give clear signals.

Another major contributing factor IMO is badly thought out cycling lanes. There’s a couple just round the corner from me that if ridden as suggested put you in the most dangerous riding position for that stretch of road.

Best lid I’ve ever had. TBH I don’t find it that hot either. If I had 1 criticism it’d be that you can’t scratch your head witout taking it off.

what stemcap ad?

I got one of these. Looks good and keeps Mrs DM off my case

I think it’ll be a grower and improve over the weeks to come. Needs to be an hour long though to give each item enough time.

sounds like a fair swap

Best tip I can give you is keep driving until you get to Afan.

I split my time between guiding and teaching, the guiding is a lot of fun but my main earner is teaching Bikeability.

I’m constantly amazed by the amount of adults who can’t/won’t fix a puncture and are willing to spend £10 to have someone else do it. My LBS does a good side line in fixing punctures on all terrain prams as well.

Don’t think anyone’s giving you grief OP, just pointing out that some things take precedent over us lot “dicking about in the woods on bikes”, that’s all.

Just ride somewhere else for 6 months or so. I guarantee there’ll be fresh trails when you go back to that area and who knows, you might find something better

Hmmm, you’ll have to come up with better grammar than that if you’re gonna convince anyone. I’m with the OP.

I’m with shortcut I’m afraid. Yes its a royal pain in the ass when it happens but it happens everywhere, we just have to live with it. Sooner or later the loggers will move on and new trails will spring up, possibly much more fun than the old ones

Well I can’t find it. Can someone post a linky that works?

Oh, and I agree with Mr A. Every town in the UK should have something similar!

The “woods behind nationwide” is a bit misleading. It’s in Croft park opposite the entramce to nationwide, to me it’s more like “the woods in front of nationwide”. The trail is approximately 3 mile long, if you rode it 3 years ago and didn’t think much of it come and try it out again, you might be pleasantly surprised.