Walkerburn is one of only 2 places in 25 years of senior rugby where spectators came on the pitch to join in a punch up! They don't like getting beat there, especially when they have drafted in half the Selkirk team to help them out! They are partisan at best, I personally would go somewhere else to drink. Peebles is a good night out by all accounts.

That ain't snow, this is proper northern snow

Glencoe webcams[/url]

+1 Aldi cheapo specials. At 3.99 a pair last year I bought 2 sets. One set is still unused. Great gloves. I did have to pick off the biking lettering though.

2 years out of my 5:10s so far and the sole, though it looks worn in a V12 kind of shape, is as good as ever. As for drying them out, fill them full of newspaper under a radiator overnight and then remove the newspaper. They're good to go again in 24 hours.

6'3" and 16.5 stone here. +1 for the Nomad but if I get any heavier I'll swap for a DHX5 coil as I'm at the top end of the recommended air pressures now.

You must have very strange technique or the bike is the wrong size for you. Most people would have the opposite problem I would say with the front lifting on climbs. I've got 2, one with a 100mm stem and one with a 60mm. I never have the problem you describe but do have to move myself around to keep the front down. Have you tried tucking your elbows in, thumbs on top of the bars and pulling down in a straight line to the point where the back wheel touches the ground. Maybe not the best description but it seems to work for me.

I've got Louise and my Rock Lobster. Very impressed with them.

<5 deg = longs
>5 but <9 deg = depends what the wind and weather is like but mostly just shorts.
>9 deg = shorts

+1 Swampthing. My fave combo for grip is 2.5 ST Swampie on front and 2.5 60a HR rear. They get you fit!

Loch Insch from Inschriach yesterday.

We should try and organise an STW ride around the Inshriach Forest, there are miles of great natural trails up there.

Rode there again yesterday. It was great. I'd be up for a group ride there.

I had done about 8 proper snowy rides by this time last year! Saw snow today and Cairngorm was open for skiing but didn't get to ride on any of the white stuff.

Nowt to do here. Have you considered Wrexham?

3 years ago when I first started biking I did 108 miles in a day from Glen Affric to Fort Bill for Cancer Research. Missed the camper van after party because I was spark out! 3am to 9pm and it pissed down most of the time. The only time it stopped was to let the midges feed on us. Was great.

Can you shorten the chain at all?

Blimey, it was tough enough for me to part with 400 for a BMX a year after spending 110 on the last BMX!

Moonlit ride last night, sun this morn.

Inshriach Sat. Local sun.

He must eat a mountain of food to be that fat and do 20 mile runs all the time!

You can. There's a few free packages out there. I've never used any of them so can't recommend but google is your friend. If you have to ask how to do it though it rings alarm bells, the security implications are huge and you run the risk of being a SPAM relayer. Also, even if you can completely nail down the security, a lot of internet organisations reject mail from non recognised IP addresses.

I feel your pain too drac. My 14 yo Duke was exactly the same 2 weeks ago. Had a stroke and couldn't move to drink eat or go to the toilet. I phoned the vet and gave my lads an hour with him and then it was off on the one way trip.
This morning I have scooped up 3 turds although the new little varmint has managed to do another 1 outside and all of his No1s outside. He's a 3 month old rescue collie/lurcher/anybody's guess. A great trail dog in the making I think. I too have never really been without a dog so it's an easy decision, especially when you have to start throwing away leftovers and picking up any bits of dropped food! They are good recyclers and hoovers. He's asleep just now and the peace is welcome, you forget how much attention a puppy needs!
Here's Axel. We picked him up last night.

Middle finger??????? That's weird. It's the strongest finger you have and if you are using it you might as well be using two. You need it on the bars IMNSHO. Can you middle finger brakers do a manual/wheelie and feather the brake at the same time? Thinking about it just feels wrong. 🙂

I do believe that Mike from Halfrauds has done it Mick. Ask him next time you're down these parts.

Oh dear! Man who offers proof reading services makes mistake in offer! It should be "not too long". Soz, sometimes you just can't suppress the pedant in you. 🙂

My 1st full suss was a Kona Dawg Primo 06. I loved it then and although I replaced it with a Nomad I have never got rid of it. I'll build it up again one of these days.

What's a Jona? A cross between a Jones and a Kona? Plenty of Kona owna's here.

I'm puzzled. I thought Torx had been the standard for umpteen years? Have you not changed a rotor in the last 5 years or so? Good skills!

The bag is pretty pants to be honest. Having said that, I clip mine to the shoulder strap of my camelbak for helmet use and it's been fine in some pretty rotten conditions. I might invest in some clingfilm for the battery to help with the waterproofing then.

I reckon that is 7 P4 emmiters. A single P7 is 4 P4s on the same die so the power output is about right. 7*P7 would, in theory, be about 6300 lumens.

I still don't understand how you tune a frame. Do you shave bits off to suit the rider or do you just change the bearings? I'd love to be able to tune mine to make it go faster uphill and stick to the ground better on off camber bends. Does it need more paint?

Moray was nice and dry till this morning. It's a bit miserable today but nothing on the scale of down south. We had our biblical downpours in sep and oct. Still finding new trail "features" caused by the erosion from them.

Those pads look like they're made of fudge, certainly not a sintered material. My SSC Hayes 9 pads last for ages (other makes of 3rd party replacement pads are available) but I am a fat knacker and probably heat the pads up more than most. I also always do a proper bedding in. I've never had to replace pads trail side in crappy conditions but I suspect that they would not last very long if I did.

Work 5 days 9.30-5 mostly from home but can be on the road too. After all, if the hardware's gone on a server you can't fix that remotely! If it's slack, I'll go for a ride, just as in the same way if a customer has no service I'll put in the hours till it's fixed. I ride most nights, going out somewhere between 1930 and 2130 depending on how knackered I feel and what task list Mrs D has for me. Not long in from a brilliant ride. Dry trails and wildlife abound.

Bolts into your vertical dropout

No one used them at all?

Ha! They are very helpful but perhaps not the fastest with their help. It's like Caribbean time in there, you have to chill for a while.

The siege and investiture of Baron von Frankenstein's castle at Weisseria by Blue Oyster Cult. End of thread. 🙂

Love the pic of the canoeist. A man after my own heart. Have done some some solo night rides down hairy stuff in the snow just because it was there and the opportunity couldn't be missed but my fave was a moonlit ski in Saalbach. Totally spur of the moment impulsive lunacy because it looked nice at the time and would be tracked out the next day. Nearly ended up in a stream but managed to jump it at the last second. The feeling you get at times like that is second to none. I'd even put it ahead of podger given the choice. 🙂

Oh yeah! I knocked 10 mins off my PB using them and I've had to swap my mobile phone as so many chicks were calling me after I put on my 180/203 gunsmoke beauties.

Bothy sell maps with some of the trails on but it's not very accurate and hard to follow. It's a good reference once you have been down the trails but they are not all on it! You need a local to show you the good stuff. We're going this weekend. I've got our last guided visit GPS'd so I hope we can don't get lost!