Cheers guys, advice much appreciated. All sounds good so far. I am expecting a bit of a rubbish commute but hopefully doing it on the bike a few days a week should keep me sane. So, what tyres for the trans pennine trail then? I’m assuming its one for the ‘crosser?

Re the Kinnoul vid. I allready have an Orange and will ride pretty much anywhere if it is soundtracked by Duran Duran

Holy moly that is a positive response. Really great to hear. For some reason I hadn’t even realized the beaches would be close by as well as the mountains. I guess having limited options for riding from the doorstep would be a little disappointing, but realistically I doubt I’ll be able to stay in Sheffield so will have to move further afield anyway.

A lifetime of riding and walking

pretty much sells it in my book, but it is great to here there are a few decent pubs around. Having lived in London for 3 years and missed the outdoors immensly I think I would be pretty happy trading decent nightlife and cosmopolitan-ness for beaches, walking, mountain biking and lift accessed snow. Sounds great, cheers all

Delamere and environs are ace!

Look at all the radness![/url]

I paid £40 to crash my bike in to things and get in Scottfitz’s way. It was ace. Looking forward to the next one, hopefully I’ll get my act togethor a bit more

Sweet, looks like we’ll be heading round at the same time on sunday. I raced the last one and it was blooming pedally, looks like this year it may be a little less so. Be fun either way

I’m all signed up for some hardtail cat fun times. Should be reet good fun if the weather plays ball and it gets a little dusty. Here’s hoping

Well this is quite an interesting read. I am a pharmacy student and I’m doing my masters research in Vienna at the minute. Pre reg next year is the plan but after that I am not no sure. I am really enjoying the research here, plus the Alps are just down the road.

If anyone knows anything about how funding of overseas PhD’s work it would be great if you could shed a little light. The professor in charge of the research group has said that he would not be able to get the normal Austrian government funding if I was to work there, so I am not sure were it would come from.

All signed up. Was there last year but arrived towards the end of 10utb and only did the Enduro the next day. It was reet good. Hopefully it’ll feasible to race 10 under and the enduro again this year, although I suppose the enduro course might be beefed up a bit as it is a Scottish Series round

Do one of the Enduro races. You get all the best bits, a reet good bicycle race and a tonne of flapjack

Put a million PSI in the back tyre, forgot about the front one

Was having an ace time up until that point, the back of seniors is clearly the cool place to be. Hopefully bump into you guys next year

Having raced Inners Winter Enduros and a few of the no fuss ones, I am pretty certain I’ll be at a few of these next year. Allways good to bookend a race weekend with a few days of premium scottish riding.

So, venues then? I assume one or two around Peebles, Ft William, Kinlochleven, maybee Perth, certainly room for a few ‘interesting’ ones.

So if it does as expected and pisses it down, does anyone know how flat / wet the camping field will be?

I’ll be Hardtailin’ at Eastridge, on a red rockhopper (niche!). I’m looking forward to it allthough I was at Eastridge this weekend and kept getting bogged down on the flatter, rougher bits. Raced the Sauze D’Oulx superenduro on it a month ago, they had a proper hardtail cat, let us on the podium and everything.

The ‘fantasy’ riding trips are ace (plus I think they all take place in real places?). Not read the US one in the new mag yet, but stuff like Dan Barhams’ Peru one from a while back are the stuff I want to read about, mtb’ing at its best. Even if I’ll probably never ride those trails, I still like to know they exist.

FWIW I think the mag has been bang on for a while now, certainly can’t think of a better one

Three from the Lakes over easter:
[/url] Spring 2[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

[/url] Winter Sun[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

[/url] Honister Radness[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Wilde, I was with them but my back was giving me grief so I bailed out and turned around at the top of Gatescarth, I wasn’t feeling to happy about the carry up Nan Bield. Never ridden that side of gatescarth as a descent before, it was pretty ace. The stuff on green quarter was running really nice aswell. Fat bike might have been the ideal tool for that though.

The Lakes is not looking to good, this was at about 500 meters on the south side of Gatescarth this Sunday, either side of the trodden path you sank up to your knees:
[/url] Spring 1[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

I am praying for an almighty thaw in the next few days

Nick – seen as you owe me a trail ;0 is that langdale at the top of your first pic? and where oh where is that final one? Completely stumped…

[/url] North Lakes[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Nick. You appear to be scoping out the right part of the map, yes.

Cheers Fergal. Got a bit carried away there

When I say pass, you say Storm.
[/url] Nan Bield[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] North Lakes[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] Hiking for Trails[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] Stake Pass[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] Sty Head[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] Glenridding Mines[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]
[/url] Cal, Silver Crag[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Cheers guys. Good to know. I caught the train from Klangenfurt to Vienna a few years back and I am sure I remember there being sizeable hills pretty close to Vienna. I guess I’ll have to get the map out

Does this mean nothing to you all?

You don’t want to see my smile. Phoning ahead it is. Any recommended huts to stay at between Les Arcs and Martigny then. I like the kind with beer on tap

Anyone know if you would need to book yourself a bed ahead of time in the Mont Blanc area in July/August. In my experience you can wing it in Austria but this seems to me likeit might be a busier part of the Alps.

That is a pretty useful map. My current thinking is strap on the frame bag and do the D902 out of Bourg St Maurice then over the Col De La Seigne, down to Courmayeur, over the either the big or small Col de Ferret, allthough small looks to be more singletrackous, and then in to Martigny, and stop over at a hostel on route.

Great plan, unless anyone else knows better?

My brother and I took a fairly haphazard route from Chur to Innsbruck a few years back. There is photos and that here[/url], here[/url] and here[/url]

We found a few campsites and hostels that came with free lift passes so we ended up stopping in Arosa, Davos, Ischgl and Soelden as opposed to pushing on every day. It was ace. There are a few tasty looking routes you could do between Garmisch and Garda, allthough I have only ridden the trails as day rides for the most part.

That website is Bananas, I have hiked up to the Pitztaljoch, that was scary enough. Is that the guys of Lakeland passes fame?

*Gets map*

Hell yes. That sounds awesome.

Done hut to hut and bivi stuff way further east in the Dolomites/Tirol/Graubunden part of the Alps, it is rad. Bivibag/one set of socks could be a good plan.

That description should make for a decent start point for figuring out a route, allthough I guess I’ll be heading in the opposite direction.

You have any plans for this year?

Hey Mate, cheers for that. Ace trails = excellent news.

I should clarify the frame bag comment, I am happy to ride with them, and have done some fairly full on alpine stuff with them before, so happy to take it on. I was planning on racing a superenduro before doing this trip so just need somewhere to shed all the bobbins that I would take for that. Sending it home with a mate is an option.

I don’t suppose you mind detailing the route you took, and huts you stayed at?

Anybody?

It is looking promising as far as I can tell, Les Arcs – Aosta then Aosta – Rhone Valley looks tasty.

Anyone know if you can see french topo maps online anywhere?

Cheers guys. Bus to Geneva and then on to Zurich might be a decent option. It feels like going over to Aosta and then over the San Bernadino or through the tunnel would be a quick way, but it seems not.

Ker-bump? Anyone?

Do it, it’s rad

[/url] Alpine Cal[/url] by DavidRMartin[/url], on Flickr[/img]

‘May’ have seized the opportunity and headed up the old man last week. Turned around at the tarn on account of the sideways hailstones. The trail is ace, not really tech but really good fun. Sanny – would be up for another crack at it. Give us a shout if you are down that way?

Has anyone tried the tourist track of the Old Man? Was pondering having a crack at it on a weekday this winter. As far as I can remember it might be pretty good?

It was a bit ace. Really enjoyed being in with the Hardtails (Hey guys), it was a great laugh, despite experiencing full death on the last stage. I reckon the one day, two stages twice worked really well. Smaller races like that compliment the ‘big weekend’ UK rounds nicely. It was a great intro to Hopton as well, I will definitely be back for some just riding along in the near future

Looking forward to it. Anyone else in the hardtail cat? Can anyone tell me how long getting up the hill will take? I am going down on the sunday and would like to get atleast one stage ridden before the off, but seen as I am second starter at 10:30 it is lookiing like I might need an early start…

Oh lord, so many to choose from. 4 passes is a superb day out. If you want a few pictures some are HERE[/url]

Ah the Goldseeweg. Bit of a guddun that. Did you ride anywhere else in Sudtirol? There looks to be a tonne of potential around the Vinischgau valley, plus I think they have a trail center type thing in there?