The trails are dry and dusty
My tyres are all pumped up
I’ve polished my Oakleys
and I’ve got some Hi-five to sup

The hills are a calling and I’ve just got to go
to swoop and sweat and clatter on the singletrack flow…

If you want to know what Rotherham was like in the eighties…

go there now!

That gets my vote as most rundown, poor, depressed town/city. Not all that rough, just poor. Town centre is all payday loans, charity shops, betting shops, pound shops, pawnbrokers, amusement arcades, cheapo supermarkets etc.

I lived in Nottingham for almost exactly 6 weeks (summer 2009) – wasn’t sorry to leave.

Advice for Oil and Gas:
Park at Pittodrie and get the bus.
Dress smart but not in a Tux!
Have paper CVs ready and take names and email addresses of contacts you make there.
I may actually be on the stand myself this year unless there is a big rush of quotations to get out that week. I may just have a walk around and try and win stuff.
Oh yeah, almost forgot: my sister got a job at BP via the exhibition as well!
You don’t have to have an engineering degree to get a job up here, just a mature attitude and a bit of a ‘can-do’ type of cv with plenty of experience. I know someone who worked in a supermarket as a checkout person got a job as a finance assistant within 4 weeks. There are jobs for admin, receptionists, finance assistants, tech assistants etc. If you can’t get a 25k pa job in Aberdeen then you are unemployable! 😆
Btw, Aker seemed to be a waste of time, their recruitment process runs at a snails pace.

I went round oil and gas exhibition in 2011, got a job within 2 months. My wife followed soon after and got a job within 3 months. Everyone I know who has moved up to Aberdeen has got a 25k+ job within 3 months. (unemployment rate is below 2%) Once you’re in, you move up, sideways and along. Annual pay rises are decent and if you live in the countryside and don’t mind a commute, rents are below 500pm. I live within 5 miles of Pitfichie and have a 30 minute drive in. The trails up here are e m p t y and you can almost literally ride anywhere you want.

Try the smaller service contractor companies. I hear BP is still after people though. Look at Fircroft (recruiting agency) or Genesis.

Don’t do it! I had a Note 1. Was heavy, not big enough to be a tablet, too big for a phone. Dodgy 3g and wifi reception. I now have a battered old HTC Desire I got for 40 quid as my sports app phone and a 8 inch tablet for browsing at home.

Hank Marvin
Ritchie Blackmore
Jimmy Page
Yngwie Malmsteen
Steve Vai

Only another 140 miles and 3 hours left to go! (North)

The last ‘proper’ services before the trek to Aberdeenshire

Thanks! I assume the X12 is a ‘dropout standard’. I’ll be glad when it all settles down!

Someone in the USA is selling a pair of Ringle Jumping Flea quite cheaply. Can I get converters like Hope hubs to make them 142×12?

Anyone know?

Exhausting stuff this creative writing!
Basically, as I fell, my bike went right, knocking Mrs D and sending her off the side of the trackbed into a small ditch. I was unaware of this consequence because I was too busy flailing along on my chest/elbow/knee. So was genuinely suprised to find myself ‘alone’ after the crash!
She has a bit of bruising.
So much for a quiet ride on a disused railway track. It’s safer hurtling down rocky gullies it seems!

Well, just got a normal stick-on with some antibiotics etc. I need to get a bike 1st aid kit together.

officialtob, you asked for it:

I found myself on the ground, looking back along the disused railway track, fighting for breath, a searing pain from my left elbow and knee made me wince. I lay there, my limbs heavy and my body shaking with shock, all the air knocked from my lungs, and only able to make terrible gurgling and gasping noises. I seemed unable to draw the slightest breath. I was concerned that Mrs D might think I was seriously injured but to speak seemed an immense task. I urged the words from deep in my diaphragm: ‘b a d l y… w i n d e d’. I imagined that she was hurrying towards me, some of her initial fears hopefully allayed by my desparate gasped words of explanation.
Seconds passed, that to my stunned mind, seemed like minutes. Still, no-one came to my aid.
I managed to move my arms and I pushed at the unforgiving, sharp, granite gravel. The fog in my brain cleared a little and I sat up, still dazed and unsure of myself.
I surveyed a tranquil, pastoral scene. The sun was still shining in the Spring afternoon, the air was warm, fragrant and moist. Small echoes of birdsong passed amongst the relics of the ancient Caledonian forest that fringed the old trackbed upon which I was sprawled. I looked back from whence I had ridden. I looked next towards my intended destination. I could see for half a mile in each direction but the landscape was devoid of humans. Which concerned me greatly. Only about 2 minutes ago or less I was demonstrating to my riding companion how lifting oneself of the saddle and pedalling whilst standing up could be a great help to relieving a tired gluteus maximus. I had, however, proceeded then to demonstrate sprinting whilst in the same riding position.
That had literally been my downfall. In the midst of a forward stroke from my left leg, my left foot had unclipped from my SPD pedal and caused my body to hurtle towards the ground at speed, no longer supported by my Inbred 29er.
I remained seated upon the warm, hard surface, looking around for some rational explanation. My bicycle lay over on the opposite side of the rough, black-topped lane. The surface was pitted with small craters where my vehicle had scoured it’s path to where it lay, the rear wheel still turning slowly with the momentum of the impact.
I needed to end this mystery! I looked again along both directions of the trackbed. Surely she had seen my fall and stopped immediately. She could not have possibly ridden out of sight, unless I had been unconscious but even then… Having gained use of my lungs once more, I feebly called out her name.
A distant murmur returned. I called again! It was her voice, but it seemed to be emanating from the trackside heather itself. I heaved myself unsteadily to my feet and looked over in the direction of the sound. I then saw a flash of bright purple from behind the heather. It was Mrs D! She was lying within a small ditch just over the side of the trackbed. Her own bicycle was lying a short way back along the same trench. She seemed to be immobile. Her helmet-clad head was underneath the lower wire of an old railway-style fence. I rushed over as fast as my bruised body could move.

To be continued…

I’m currently sitting in my office in the only short-sleeved smart shirt and shorts I own: A bright red Quiksilver Hawaian shirt and Alpinestars board shorts. I look a bit ridiculous!
The TDF look would be a bonus, the story of how I got my injuries is getting better every time I am asked…

Thanks Northwind. Bit pricey tho.

I use 2 tyre levers to hold a section of bead open and insert a ‘filler funnel’ (essentially an old, empty bottle of Specialized’s tyre fluid (which btw was RUBBISH) with the bottom cut off) into the bead-gap. I have 2 of the red cups laid out ready on my bench. I then remove the cap of the bottle of Stan’s, put my finger over the hole and shake the bottle vigourously. I then invert the bottle over one of the cups, wait 10 seconds then lift my finger off the hole, fill one cup, finger on, move, finger off, fill the second cup. I then pour both cups into the funnel, poking down any lumps with an old spoke. I remove the funnel and tyre levers and proceed with the sloshing about and air filling.

I’ve found a CK one for 14.99, might do the trick. NOW, I have a Cane Creek cartridge bearing headset, are the bearing exterior contact profiles the same? Can I fit a CK +5mm crown race to a CC headset?

You say the fluid is new. When filling, did you shake the bottle, invert, wait 10 seconds and then pour the fluid into the cup?

I use this to ensure I get plenty of ‘particles’ in the fluid, to help with the sealing of bigger holes. Sometimes the fluid is too runny to be of any use.

If it was ebay I’d consider discussing it to reach an amicable solution.

However:

He can’t fit brakes properly.
He can’t bleed brakes.
He paid Paypal gift.

So stuff him!

This is one aspect of English riding I don’t miss now I live in Scotland! The old ‘am I breaking the law by riding here?’ chestnut.

During my 2 years living in Sheffield and riding all over the Peaks I came to one major conclusion: Sheffield City Council have turned a lot of trails into bridleways over the years but where that bridleway crosses the county boundary into Derbyshire, it disappears or becomes a footpath. Thus showing the attitudes and priorities of the 2 different authorities.

Plus, Scotland is E M P T Y. I went on a 10 mile ride at a ‘development’ (one down from a trail centre) yesterday and saw NOBODY for 2 hours. No-one in the car park either. Only a bit of horse poo to tell me that someone else was there that day.

The thing is with that (extremely expensive…) Yeti, is that there is a stack of spacers under the stem, and then the stem turned upside down!

Yes BUT, that was a test/photo op launch bike and maybe the last rider was a short-arse! And tbh, the bars are not exactly ‘riser’. I was expecting 25mm or 50mm – but they were much lower than that.

Yes, a truck driver from a well-known Speyside company courteously tried to ram me up the arse because I had the temerity to indicate, put my brakes on and turn left while in front of him. (I was in a Mitsubishi Delica, not riding my bike this time). But, some truckers are good, some bad. BUT those that are bad are f*cking dangerous! If a car is a weapon, maybe it’s an M16. A truck therefore is a WMD! A bicycle is a sharp poke in the ribs, at worst.

I tried one of those ’50p’ auto limit pumps at a garage. I used the flat tyre button but it was hopeless.
Another garage had an old fashioned airline – went up immediately.

Phew! I remember when these were 60 quid from China and took 6 weeks to arrive.

Seems like a good idea! I ordered half a groupset then changed my mind – returned it all for full refund…

Thanks for the advice guys. Btw, I currently drive a Mitsubishi Delica so wallowing really not an issue!

I’m Bill Bailey.

Prove it!

What says “pies, pies” ?

How do you say “embarrass a farmer” ?

I’ve been a follower of his since the first time I saw him on Barry Cryer’s ‘new comedians’ show sometime in the 90s – (if anyone has a copy of that show… !).
I even made a tribute website for my college course sometime in 1999 – filled with clips from his tv show.
I’ve seen him 3 times live and going to see him again in just over a week’s time!

I’ve never seen him perform ‘human slaves’ live…
“Human Slaves in an Insect Nation Ahaahahaha!”

I can recite the Chaucer joke off by heart:
“Three fellowes wenton into a pubbe”

I can’t listen to certain passages of classical music without thinking: “have a banana!”

I can’t listen to a certain Killers song without thinking of ham.

On a full-suss it’s open front and rear all the time. The bike always seems to climb better when seated and spinning. Better traction if hitting square edge bumps. For hardtail use, front suss maybe better locked/platformed if doing any out of the saddle stuff.

I had a Mega (1st edition) that came with the Monarch Plus. It felt as plush and capable as my Fox RP23 on my 575.

The two domed washers must be either side of the brake ‘hole’, domed side out, flat side on the caliper and the two concave washers then go on these with concave side onto the domed washer and flat sides ‘out’. This makes the brake caliper ‘hole’ bit into a sort of ball and socket joint that can move about before being aligned and tightened up. takisawa2 seems to have his washers a bit arse-about-face imho.

Me and Mrs Dev rode the Rosedale railway track once, on the black flat bits near the start she ran over what she thought was a stick. I was behind by about 20 feet so I shouted to my oblivious partner to come back and see an adder ‘limping’ off into the heather.

I bought a pair of blue Hope Pro2 hubs in about 2009 from his ebay shop. I got blue rear, black front. Sent front back for exchange. Had to open paypal dispute before correct replacement hub arrived.

There are other retailers similar to his operation. Their names come up from time to time in these pages.

Some retailers are forwards-looking and develop their systems, websites, retailing procedures. BUT some still operate using the way they started online 10 years ago but haven’t upscaled to cope with the increased sales volume. Therefore the kind of ‘Dave Hinde’ shop exists – but only continues to exist because of ‘fresh meat’ coming onto the net and not knowing any better.

Having an oafish owner/manager is usually why these businesses go down the path of darkeness. I have inside knowledge (unfortunately!).

Forecast is good over NE Scotland this weekend. I’m near Pitfichie but Speyside and Greater Cairngorm area also looks dry until Tuesday!

I went to look at the rucsacs. Not impressed. Very cheap and nasty!

Here’s some sample videos with varying degrees of bumpiness.
All shot at 120 degrees, Steadyshot, 30fps
I only have a fully rigid OneOne Inbred 29er with Hans Dampf on front and Purgatory on rear so no magic carpet ride!

The final one is over huge roots that tests the limit of 29er rollability!

I was controlling the camera from my phone mounted on the handlebars. You can’t see me starting and stopping the video because I edited the clips!

The lighting was very low and contrasty and Youtube conversion has degraded the quality quite a bit – it looked superb on a direct HDMI feed from the output…

I used to commute on Northern Rail out of Sheffield. It was all down to how much of a chunt the ‘train manager’ was.
Nice one: train would be packed with bikes.
Total Chunt: max 2 bikes and some stinky old lady that used to work for BR saying “you tell him, 2 bikes max…”
I had a stand up row with the worst train manager one morning. Commuters to Leeds all looks round as I called him something naughty (I’ve got a loud voice).
Commuted the 8 miles most of the time after that BUT no showers at work and I got bad saddlesores quite often.
Commuting between Sheffield and Rotherham via the mostly off-road path was not uneventful though.
A disgruntled walking commuter said “you shouldn’t be riding your bike over the bridge” I pointed to the clear sign that said ‘national cycle route’.
I managed to hit a pikey’s dog while trying to get away from the stink of cables having their insulation burnt off.

I’ve shot some sample footage on the Sony and was about to assemble a post but then discovered the firmware update from 1.3 to 2.0 is out so had to go and try it tonight.
60fps* in 1080 with stabilisation is the main extra feature. Also has underwater white balance and beep silencing. Also found out about loads of mounts and alternative cases coming out in June along with updated app.
I’m still glad I bought the Sony!

*showed up the crap IT equipment in my house! PC was juddery, Smart TV refused to play via SD card/media player, in the end, had to play the 60fps clips straight from the camera with a HDMI lead! Managed to catch me falling off during filming.

Had Juicy 3s, 5s, 7s, Code 5s. Very easy to service, easy to bleed, nice and powerful.
I never got on with Elixirs though.

I vote for Basecamp Bikes at Grantown-on-Spey. Helpful staff, coffee, cake, Yetis – perfect!
Went on a group test ride day on Saturday, some quite interesting trails almost from the door!

I have adapted a GoPro-ish (Dealextreme special for a tenner!) chest harness for the Sony, I hope to have some footage taken on it later today. I’m waiting to take some decent stuff rather than upload the first crappy video I take! I have a lot of test videos but won’t inflict them on the world!
Yes, the Sony sticks out a bit from your chest like a Dalek’s eye but the mounting is very stable. The GoPro hinge flexes a bit for my liking.
The Sony has very good electronic image stabilisation. That’s the main feature that elevates it above Hero3 Silver. Also the low light capability is superior.
I watched just about every comparison between Sony and GoPro and only the Hero3 Black exceeded the Sony but the cost and the QA of the GoPro eliminated it.
The Sony has excellent wifi connectivity and battery life. I helmet-cammed an entire 70 minute ride in one take with wifi on all the time and still had a full battery indicator at the end.

The Sony’s bad points are:
1. Loose LCD screen causing ‘knock’ on audio – Most users (me included), open it up and apply a bit of tape or glue to the back of the screen – easy 15 minute job.
2. Flare from the waterproof case’s domed door-lens – I took my glass off and have made an adapter for a proper 37mm screw-on filter so I can use high quality flat multicoated filters.
3. Poor sound when used inside waterproof housing – I have made the housing into a ‘skeleton housing’ by drilling holes (and then filling them with foam) for the stereo mic and ‘bleep on/off’ speaker.
4. Camera can only be woken from sleep when in the waterproof housing by using the ‘start filming’ button – I have also hacked an old 7dayshop waterproof housing and used the buttons from it to adapt the Sony case to allow full camera control from the outside of the waterproof housing.

The mods I’ve made destroy the ‘waterproof to 60 metres’ feature but make the camera a whole lot more usable for biking. It’s water ‘resistant’ now. If I decide to take up diving, I’ll buy another factory-fresh housing with the new flat dive-door!

I think the main thing holding back the Sony is the lack of mounting options and case accessories. For now, keen users can make their own mods and wait for the official Sony stuff to come out. I can’t fault the video quality which, to be honest is the main reason I bought it. No rolling shutter AT ALL!

I’ll have photos of all my home made mods when tweaking is completed. Should be end of this week.

Aircon compressor bearings. Take the belt off (or cut it as I did!) and see if it’ quieter.