Yoga helped my flexibility, core strength and breathing hugely, and was really beneficial for my climbing. However, it was only when I practiced 5-6 mornings a week that I really felt that it helped. As my yoga instructor used to say “practice, practice, practice”. If you can make it part of your daily routine (in the morning before breakfast) you will see improvements, but remember that it takes time to loosen and soften the body.

I have been in the exclusion zone on the Belarusian side. We were picked up by the head of the police (a friend of the friend we were visiting) and a soldier at the local bus station. I don’t think it something which you can just rock up and do. We were driven around the entire exclusion zone up to as close as you can get to the Ukrainian border. I think this is where the old reactor core is buried (which some people – now deceased – tried to steal). It was a very strange day. Amidst the old buildings there are now lots of Elk and Buffalo. No one is going to bother them there I suppose. Just outside the second checkpoint there is a huge map of the area where they marked out all the dwellings which had been evacuated. Quite eerie.

My solution was to put the plastic bracket on the hose, zip tie it in place and forget about it. It is such a tiny screw. Trying to get it out would be more trouble than it was worth. Not very constructive, but as least you know you are not alone.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2013/0124/1224329225295.html

Interesting opinion from Mr. Sutherland.

Bearvertown Black Betty.

http://www.beermerchants.com/beavertown-black-betty-black-ipa.html

So so good.

Another thing to take into account is that the dual air Revs will allow you to play with the +&- air pressure which can allow them to be pretty sensitive for small bumps (start of the travel).

I think it would depend on whether you have a poplock or a crown compression adjuster. If you have poplock (or similar) the threshold adjuster will just be either (1) not in use when fully open or (2) used to blow of the lockout when locked out. It becomes much more useful when you can adjust the low speed compression alongside the threshold. This allows you to eliminate the fork bobbing and also keep it high the travel to stop diving, but then open up on big(ger) hits.

The RLTs have separate low and high compression. However, only the low speed compression is adjustable. The highspeed compression is factory set (unlike the mission control on Boxxer Teams and lyrics).

In order of preference I would choose (1) crown adjusted compression and then (2) crown adjustable threshold.

I could be wrong on all of this, so happy to be corrected.

The Mowa ones are not too good. I got some to pimp up my bike a little. They needed a pliers to secure, rattled and were not a good fit for the cables. Not worth it in my opinion. The plastic c-clips are the handiest I think. I don’t think I have ever lost any and easy to get on and off.

Yes.

Flann O’Brien “At Swim-Two-Birds”

Edit: Looks like it has been done, and will be done again. My mistake.

“Cheap is relative. There’s about £500 of wax in my X-C box.”

True. However, I don’t have £500 worth of wax in my xc box, nor do I have any XTR or CK on my bike. Nevertheless, I am only new to the black magic of waxing so there is still time.

GregMay: It is a great “sport” in so many respects and complements cycling and running very well. Enjoy.

I may be wrong, but the washers you use for Elixirs take into account the thickness of the calliper. This is why they are still needed when using a 160mm rotor on the front with a post mount fork. Thus, the 185 adaptor should work with all callipers to fit a 185 rotor. However, I think the sting is that the calliper and adaptor may not sit flush with each other as avid compensate for this with the tri align system. As I said I may be wrong and there is no harm trying..

My OH is Swedish so I have spent a bit of time skiing around Stockholm (when there is enough snow) and around Mora (which was really good and easy to get to by train). Sweden is not that expensive when compared with Norway and flights can be cheap once you are flexible with times. If you fly into Stockholm you could pick up skis there as there are a number of good shops very close to the central station and it would save paying for shipping, and then for the extra flight costs.

Compared with cycling kit, xc ski stuff will not break the bank. http://www.polder.se/ is a good site and will give you a feeling for the price of stuff. Fitting is the only problem and it is important to get the right ski. Also, there is a difference between the classic and skate skis and boots as they are designed to do different things (but you can get combi ones I think). You would also need different length poles for each discipline. I am no expert, so I am happy to be corrected by those that know more.

I run 1×9 on my Cotic Soul with an E13 Freechucker guide, an E13 34 tooth Guidering and SLX cranks. I would not run 1x?? without a chainguide. It would not be worth the heartache of losing the chain. I would also not use just a top guide for the same reason. If I was doing this again, I would get cranks such as:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=64623

It has a removable spider for the granny ring. It was a pain having to file the granny ring tabs on the SLX cranks so that they could be used with the chainguide (although a BB mounted guide should not have this problem). The freechucker guide has the advantage that nothing moves, and it is (was) very cheap. I also think a bashguard it worth using to protect the chainring, chain and your legs.

http://www.e13components.com/product_fckr.html

The above set up has not been touched in over 2 years and I have never dropped a chain. If you are going to go 1×10 (and are sure of the decision) I would dive right in with a full chainguide and SS specific ring.

Cool. Thanks for the replies.

Donal

The price difference, when spread over the life of the frame, is minimal. In addition, you can always upgrade the damper is whichever forks you get at a later stage. Get the frame which you really want as you will (may) regret it if you compromise. For what it is worth, I had an older version of the soul for the last number of years. I have just replaced it with the newer version. From an objective perspective, the advantages of the new version of the soul over the handjob are: the tapered headtube; the ability to take a 140mm fork; (better) dropper post compatibility and cable guides; and great resale value. In the end of the day, trust your gut feeling.

As most people said, any primoloft type jacket. I would stay away from down as cycling bags tend to get pretty wet and damp. I have a Patagonia Micropuff pullover and a Mountain Equipment Fitzroy. Both are great. The patagonia is a slight bit warmer while the ME has a good hood which fits over a helmet (climbing and cycling) well. The Rab photon jacket is also really great and is on sale in a few places at the moment for just over £100.

As someone else mentioned, a nice fleece could also do the job.

I had a 2.25 Advantage on my 717 set up tubeless with rim strips. That would be about the max size I would put on unless you are running pretty high PSI.

Should be no problem from what I remember. I changed lever blades on both elixir r and elixir 5 without having to bleed the system.

The Tech version works well with Elixirs and XT shifters. Not perfect, but perfectly ok.