Is one interested in a guided mtb holiday with nice bike hire in catered chalet in the Alpes?

Or going darkside, tracking riders on the TdF/Vuelta etc? Rather than getting camera footage from a helicopter positioned a few hundred metres away, just have drones picking up the footage close to the action. Would also mean motorbikes don’t have to tail a rider doing 60mph down an alpine descent. Being able to flick between drones could make footage of racing really intensive.

We got there around 1pm and most the upper trails and berms were hard pack. Lower down they didn’t have snow on them but they didn’t appear to have cleared snow either side of the trails either, so maybe sufficient tyre traffic had dispelled the snow.

I was surprised to see the car park was full and cars parked down the entrance track, so plenty of riders were there before us. Though it thinned out quite a bit in the afternoon.

Plenty of accommodation dotted around in Ciren if that’s not been discounted. The Premier Inn handily backs on to an estate which gives access to the flatlands around the lakes.

Also bought an Ironman entry. In New Zealand, with three months to ‘train’ for it.

I’ve just had this. Car is still road worthy but insurers say it’ll cost more to fix (using original manufacturers parts and their preferred labour) than the value of the car. So I accepted their pay-off, kept the car and repaired it for a lot less. Makes sense for a work-horse with almost 130k on the clock and a rapidly depreciating value.

“molgrips – Member
Also seen mice out riding“

What bikes were they riding?

Was at Royal Blood gig last night in Birmingham. Watching 16,000 people going bonkers and I only recall one pint launched into the mosh pit. Very well behaved all in all. Did notice people (particularly older couples) leaving after about an hour. How do you get that far into a gig before deciding it’s not for you??

Saw them in Brizzle on Monday night. Wasn’t that impressed by Palace. Just seemed a bit meh. PSB were pretty good if seemingly a little too fixed to the routine. Visuals were good. I loved the tune with the backdrop of mining in the Welsh pits (I think). Don’t know what it was called though.

Family visit to Ilfracombe. Will escape on the road bike to tick off a few more hills from the 100 hills book. Decided not to pack mudguards as the weather report wasn’t showing rain. But now it is. Bah!

We bought some Ford-specific racks that are supposed to clamp to a Focus. Tried them the other day for the first time. Didn’t fit properly, couldn’t get them to tighten fully enough to stay fixed in the same location and scratched the door frame. So will try one of the alternative suggestions above (and maybe get a towbar mounted bike rack).

Anyone? Alternatively, tomorrow, are there any club rides I could tag along with?

Bah, can’t do the 17th. Interesting loop, might be able to include some of that in my commute to Barnsley.

I was planning on doing the High Street loop and the other one (Askham?).

Yes, depending on dates.

@hammermason, why did you have to abort? Did you manage to get to the return journey? I’ve got my solo, unsupported double attempt soon so if you’ve got some tips/considerations, that may be helpful.

‘Run’ by the FF. That was energetic. A highly entertaining set so far.

Quite enjoyed Blossoms, having never seen them before. But their guitarists could’ve put a bit more effort into looking like they were pleased to be there. Shame that Chase and Status didn’t come on and guest cover their VIP remix of This is the moment.

If you need to have someone tell you what you have just experienced, then maybe they didn’t do a very good job.

There was a program on the telly last night about JMW Turner’s interpretation of science, as it evolved, in many of his paintings. That went way beyond what the casual viewer could gain from just looking at them.

So whilst I agree with what you’re saying to a degree, it’s also fascinating to learn about the layers of story telling in an item of artwork. And that requires a more detailed interpretation and description provided by others who have taken the time to look at the ideas that inform the art.

It may have something to do with the current goings-on at Fairford. There was a thread earlier in the week about low flying planes over the Stroud Alpes, which turned out to be a B1 Lancer, although I noticed one hurtling over Ciren last week. The big plane like the one that does circuits above Brize went hammering over Stroud this evening.

Slight hijack, but do any of the Rolex wearers here know where to get a bezel or crown protector that can be occasionally removed? The internet has a few threads but enquiries to date indicate they are no longer made by/for Rolex.

Thanks for the replies. Malvern place looks most local.

Ichabod, still sounds technically beyond what I’m capable of and the bit ‘important’ is likely to be where the whole lot springs and sprays apart and stuff rolls away into nooks and crannies. But I’m sure your response will be useful for the more technically capable.

Rode the train down to Bristol for the Bespoke bicycle show, bought some swrve shorts, marvelled at lugs, welds, paint jobs and funky bike stuff and then sat in a park nearby while waiting for the return train. Was nice.

So, Snowdon road loop saturday morning:

Followed by an empty Penmancho in the afternoon. Some angry looking weather over Snowdon which I thankfully managed to avoid on both rides.

I’ve come up to north Wales (Llanberis) to see what all the fuss is about. Going to have a crack at the Pen-y-pass classic tomorrow morning (road) while looking at the big hills, then consider options for the afternoon. @Alex, what time are you setting off for Snowdon? Good luck with that – it’s breezy and wet here in Llanberis.

Quick hack on soft trails in Cranham plus a quick blast up to Painswick Beacon where I figured I’d get a nice view over to the Malverns in the distance …

Link for full effect.

FoD in the end, no time for exploring so two laps of Verderers, no mud or gloop – just enough moisture to keep it grippy. Then the family trail today for junior’s first visit to the FoD: 40 minutes for the full circuit on a tag-along.

I have a 3 hour window of opportunity for a post-manflu, no toddler responsibility xc hack: cwmcarn or FoD today … decisions, decisions…

Slight thread hijack: I’ve got my investments with a fund manager. Problem I have is their web site is utterly confusing and they don’t have a chart that shows the value of my investments since they started.

Can anyone recommend or suggest an alternative fund manager that has (numpty) user friendly website? Also, if anyone can recommend an IFA or investment expert (pm if necessary), that would be appreciated.

But the OP says “The book is brilliant as well”.

“that’s by far the most irritating thing for me with the new format. Just a click to go to the last post in the thread would be fine”

If I understand this correctly then, yes, agreed. Reading the forum on an iPhone 5 SE means I don’t see most of the thread title because of the multiple page icons (if there are multiple pages). And when there are multiple pages frustratingly I can’t see the last page icon; Instead it seems to be a few pages from the end, where-as I’d rather see the point the discussion has reached and then step back if I feel it’s necessary.

So, why can’t the new format be: click on the thread title to go to page 1 and after the thread there is a page icon with the page number representing the last page in the thread?

An aside, if I log in to view forum activity, for example one of the picture threads, in order to see my last picture posted, the forum activity link just sends me to that forum thread, not the relevant page within that thread. So for the picture thread of around 190 pages, I have to scroll back through till I find my picture.

Low cloud at Afan last friday. Didn’t even notice these as we snaked down the Blade trail!

The day after Afan, still found some energy to dash out for a quick spin between rain showers. Note the trail fix to keep the forks bouncy…

Surprised no-one has mentioned the classic Chris King salt and pepper shakers. It may not meet all the OP’a requirements but it does meet the requirement that matters: its bike-related:

Chris King S&P shaker

Landscape Architect specialising in Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA), Green Infrastructure Strategies and strategic landscape design for a smallish multi-discipline environmental planning consultancy. I also get to assist on ecology surveys which adds variety during spring/summer/autumn.

Yep, I like it; it can be technically challenging and now getting involved in writing landscape proofs of evidence for planning appeals, which is mind bending. (It is a career change from a short stint in IT during which a colleague first told me about stw all those years ago).

New sealed bearings for my hubs. Riding through a Ridgeway mudfest then leaving the wheels unwashed for a month wasn’t a good idea.

Fibrenet BT hub also arrived (meanwhile keeping an eye on the BT thread).

Sounds like the barn roof is going to blow off here in the sunny south Cotswolds. Trees are yawing and the wind is roaring through the branches. Chilly wind but still dry.

Also currently reading The Cyclist who went out in the cold. It’s a cycling adventure that in typical Tim Moore fashion is accessible to anyone but completely bonkers in how he goes about doing it – which in turn adds comedy to it. The line about showering a furious bison …

Geraint Thomas’ book was a good read: covers his training, racing and insightful/comedic stuff but also has some top tips that are quite motivational. Occasionally comments are aimed at the reader sufficiently to make one think: hmmm, maybe I should mtfu and go out in the rain.

I started to worry about those things a few years ago – thinking about the future in terms of what our next generation will be dealing with. I managed to reel it in by asking myself the question “what can I do now?”.

With regard to MCTD’s point above, find out about what you could do within your sphere of influence (e.g. lobby your local MP for policies you want to see/change – maybe get on the 38degrees website or go to neighbourhood meetings; car share/ride to work as much as possible; join your local wildlife trust).

Doing something that you feel is positive should reassure you that you’re at least doing something proactive at a level you can influence, rather than worrying about global issues which can be extremely overwhelming.

It’s the little things that we the people can do to generate positive effects on the bigger systems and communities in which we live.

Without needing to be too specific, can you say roughly which part of Gloucestershire? It may help to focus the search in case they haven’t gone too far.

Ok thanks for the clarification. I’ve ordered the one suggested by deadkenny. Will see if it works with the new forks just ordered…