The KING of Scottish Rugby, the breaker of French hearts, the mighty Blairhorn has returned. I hope he regains his amazing form immediately, because Furbank is very very good indeed at the moment. Looks a scary England team that have their best chance in beating us in a few years. Lawrence is great.

Seems weird for Scotland to put Ben Healy on the bench when we have both Finn and Blair starting. I would have saved a space for Kyle Rowe who can play across the backfield.

Ah well game on.

You cant go wrong in Aviemore or Braemar areas. Endless wild mountain biking to do there – including ticking off some summits by bike with rowdy fast descents…dreamy! The cairngorms are peppered with campsites that you could look up. Polite note from a highlander: Make sure to at least shop locally if you are going to be “wild” camping and support local eateries etc, don’t just be a layby hogger with a van full of tesco shopping from down south.

If you do one route around here I would recommend carrying up Beinn a’ Bhuird (you can cycle to the foot of the steep bit no bother) and descending all the way down to Linn of Quioch. It’s pretty technically easy and not steep, but its a sustained flowy downhill all the way down from the top of one of the biggest mountains in the country – so cool. You could also just push straight up the descent path if you don’t fancy the long cycle in for the loop – would be a pretty quick day as you can get down in about 20 minutes.

More scenic, and better riding IMO: head to Torridon. There are less routes there and more midgies, and shops etc are more sparce. But the riding is world class – The Lollipop loop is unmatched despite the huge day out – big mixture of fast and flowy, techfest, slabby but all perfectly rideable. The Beinn Damh loop in dry weather in fantastic. There’s plenty of paths around there that lead to kind of nowhere too so great for exploring. Scenery is basically unmatched especially on a dry sunny day.

Make sure to stop off at Laggan Wolftrax for an hour or two’s smashabout as well if you’re travelling. Small trail centre but great fun with comparably minimal climbing.

@kittyr – scary isn’t it! Happens to me on my back the worst so I avoid it entirely (plus I’ve never found it comfy), less so on the right side but still present, but not really on my left side. Weird!

@BlobOnAStick – you probably don’t need to worry but worth getting checked out if you’ve experienced awakenings like that, as obstructive apnea can cause health problems further down the line.

It’s a long wait time but the sleep clinic is actually kinda cool. Or they will give you a take home test kits with all manner of gadgets to plug yourself into, but it isn’t uncomfy at all.

@MSP – interestingly enough I have had a couple of sleep paralysis episodes over the past years. I don’t remember breathing difficulties coming to the fore there, rather I felt half awake and couldn’t move for a bit. Hasn’t happened in years though.

Closest thing I can find online is “Transtional apnea”. From what I understand – what may be happening is that a natural slowing of breathing or even a pause between breaths between states of consciousness is setting something off in my brain as a kind of panic response and I get a bunch of adrenaline released from it. Some wiring going wrong somewhere.

It’s almost like I am not feeling any anxiety mentally but it chooses to come out in this strange physical symptom. It is intermittent and I cant really pin down any pre-bed triggers for this to isolate things to stop/start doing. I’ve gone months without this happening and it doesn’t seem to matter if I have had a stressful day or not. I do wonder if it is worsened by me expecting it to happen when going through a spell of it.

I’ve never had this told to me by a doctor though, just what I can find and try to understand online. It is a really weird thing to try and describe and people immediately assume a physical blockage which apparently isn’t it, and also doesn’t feel like it.

If nothing else it is interesting!

Fantastic, I have been desperate for more channels to buy crap Muddyfox seat covers from.

@nicko74 – haha quite possibly. Maybe it is for the best after a particularly large dinner.

@devash – just to confirm I did put in a paragraph about this in my post:

“Just to confirm: I have been to the sleep clinic, been for several appointments about this over the years and there is no sign of any obstructive apnea or anything else being off really. Nothing unusual happens after I actually fall asleep and I don’t snore much apparently. I have done my own research with sleep recordings etc and the only thing it picks up is farts alongside very relaxed long breaths. My RHR is usually very stable between 40-50ish. I kinda just get sent home with advice on good sleep hygiene every time.”

Watched first couple episodes. I meant to only watch the first but it really drew me in; it is a little more unsettling that I thought it would be from the trailers. Really enjoyed it.

I have recently made a change in regards to this. I get paid quite a bit over the odds for what I do and I was saving quite a decent amount, bought a house with it and a bunch of nice other toys and generally sustained quite a carefree lifestyle. My work was making me utterly miserable in some respects though and my mental health was really starting to suffer – to the point where I was just too tired and unmotivated to do anything about it like I dunno find a new job.

I spoke to my work after much back and forth, time off with stress etc, and it was decided I would do just 3 days per week – not compressed, just at 60% pay. I am *very* privileged in that this still works out as a very liveable amount, though I have had to cut back on luxuries to save and have to think about purchases more. I didn’t think too much before about dropping a few hundo on something cool I wanted whereas now I would have to be careful with that and save for things.

However, the quality of life increase is phenomenal. The house is cleaner all the time, I am more motivated for exercise or whatever, and I am doing some learning in my free time and getting all my neglected life admin in order. I am in good form today because I know I essentially only have one more day of work this week and it is not tomorrow. The company is also pretty happy with it too, as things are not looking so great financially as they did in the pandemic and other staff are having some hours cut.

Only issue is that I still don’t super like my job – although it is much easier to handle mentally. I don’t want to get too used to working 3 days a week because when I do find a new one that’s 5 it will feel brutal for a while.

I don’t think I can bring myself to not wash my bike. Presume the Transition dude was talking about the frame not the drivetrain? I get irrationally uneasy if I have to store my full suspension bike for a week or two between uses with a drivetrain that is dirty and grainy.

Spent some time walking around Edinburgh on Saturday. Mostly mild and rainy, but when the sun peaked out on a rare occasion it was properly warm, felt more like May than mid Feb.

I know that there are naturally warmer spells in any winter and one day is not an indicator – and I am sure there will be one more cold snap to come this winter. But the general tone is quite alarming this winter. I was away weekend before last in Torridon hoping to climb some snowy munros, but it was about 12 degrees and pissing rain the whole time. Only snow left was remains of cornices or in gullies very high up, and that has been the case for 90 percent of the winter.

I’d recommend anyone to Check out Iain Cameron’s book “The Vanishing Ice” about tracking and realising the decrease in lasting snow in recent winters. It is pretty grim stuff if you read between the lines.

I use Nike Wildhorse for (dry weather / flat) walking generally, the v5 because they fit my feet well. Keen to try a pair of Altra Lone Peaks because of that big wide toe box too. I tend to use Trail runners for everything outdoorsy (biking excluded obvs) unless it’s the depths of winter these days – not a fan of boots at all. I find an added benefit of trail shoes is that they dry fast if you get wet, whereas with leather boots if water gets in (granted, not as likely) then you’re walking in a swamp all day.

If its is really cold, wet or miserable I have a pair of Adidas Skychaser GTX, which are kinda just goretex trail runners with a high ankle. Nice and light but a bit more weatherproof if I really can’t be arsed with wet socks. Still feel light on my feet with them.

Only way I can do it is on a Zwift group ride at a pace that matches what Z2 is for me. Otherwise the boredom far outweighs the joy despite the benefit, and I would rather try and approximate a Z2 run or climb a hill or something

@andybrad – I was in the same situation with a previous tooth. Had an appointment on March 26th 2020 or something like that for this very tooth that was bothering me now because it was hurting a little bit. Obviously that got cancelled for nearly 2 years and shortly afterwards the pain totally vanished. It is probably that if lockdown was a week later I wouldn’t have had the week from hell that I am currently having!

Saying that, this morning the antibiotics have really kicked in more and I feel and look more or less normal now. Modern medicine is quite an amazing thing. Just 2 more days of those disgusting bitter tablets to go…

Thanks for the replies all! It’s awful isn’t it – still seems weird to me that such a small thing can cause a very very serious infection. I am still super tired and a bit here and there even though this evening the pain is all but gone and the only swelling left is a bizarre baggy neck. Hope that shrinks too haha.

@Cougar – haha I don’t know the terminology, maybe it is the pre-molar. In any case, I have a probably irrational fear of having gaps in case my face decides to shrink because of it when it older like a bog body. I don’t think that really happens with a few missing teeth but nevertheless.

I did for a second decide I could possibly jab it with a needle, but then after a quick google I got scared of sepsis haha! Plus I would not have known where to even go in.

@mattyfex – I have had a couple root canals done before (my younger self was a bit wayward with the old oral hygeine) but never for something quite as extreme. I have not been given preventative ABX before, assuming because of the whole Antibiotic resistance thing it seems they were not so keen to hand them out. This time though the dentist had pen to paper for the prescription before I had even taken my jacket off.

It is a pretty big tooth, with an even bigger (thankfully now smaller) infection. It almost made my jawline look great on one side if it wasn’t for the added double chin in gave me.

Yes I think I will visit my doctor. It’s only recently I’ve started to really think it could cause problems and not just a bit of an anatomical quirk!

I am perfectly mobile now but I do feel like there’s a banjo string in there ready to snap from mismatched strain. Doing squats for example I have to concentrate as hard as possible to keep my feet and knees tracking outwards and not caving in. It’s quite annoying.

Thanks @chaos – as annoying as it is, it is very interesting! Will watch.

Technology not working exactly as intended.

Case study: there’s a hipstery food court-type place here called Edinburgh Street Food which has an app ordering system rather than a traditional order point as there are so many vendors. In theory it works spotlessly and saves a lot of time…EXCEPT: The mobile signal inside is so terrible and so is the wifi because it is always so busy. It can take about 10 minutes to navigate through the website to actually put your order in because of so much loading.

I am usually twice as hungry from seething with rage by the time I manage – even though I am not in a rush by design of me being in there to have a good time and a nice meal.

Alternatively: The screw part that connects the jetboil cup to the stove. Several times the thing has nearly ended up being booted off the hill whilst I faff to get it aligned properly. That’s definitely a me problem.

Apart from that I don’t have anger issues..!

Hmm – curious! I’ll bookmark that, few nice bikes on there but not quite what I’m looking for at the moment.

My bike is a 2021 Trek Fuel EX8 Size Medium with a few upgrades (brakes being the best upgrade). I wonder if they would offer a p/x on something a bit larger as I doubt I would get a great deal for it anywhere. Worth asking. Thanks!

You’ll be looking at one of the big name brands’ own 3L membrane for around that price – rather than the more expensive (and generally better) Gore-Tex Pro or whatever.

Adding onto the stuff here:

– I did it in 2019 so route might have changed, but I rode it with tubed 38mm gravelkings (which I don’t really rate tbh) and was generally fine apart from one hairy moment*. If I was doing it now I would probably want 40+ just for comfort, you see some people on XC MTBs with 2.25s but that’s really not necessary.

– *Be aware of the central part of the roads – where the gravel is smooth and fast and grippy on either side, the gravel can pile up in the middle strip and be pretty loose so take care especially on fast descents if crossing over to overtake. In places I remember it being more like 2 lines of parallel singletrack with big loose stuff in the middle.

– The food stations are (at least were) great, if they’re still doing it and you are not doing a full-on race pace then grab some of the cheesy potatoes at the third one. Or actually they might not take you to that on the 130km route.

– Bring at least 2 tubes and a windproof if you can fit it in somewhere. It gets cold and windy af up on those hills and would be grim to change a tube.

– The climbing is relentless and kinda knackering after a hundred km so take a bunch of food – it is a really well marshalled and signed route with a lot of people around but still not the kinda place you want to bonk.

– There are usually a bunch of folk with denim shorts and T-shirts absolutely shredding it on fixies too

Carrying speed better through jank. Largely a confidence issue and the jankier the trail, the more I ride with just enough speed not to come to a dead stop. But mastering that so I could float over stuff faster would be nice!

I have a 130/140 trail bike which is generally fine and not what is holding me back at all…but I did have a go of my mate’s big 170 enduro bike once at inners and the difference was pretty stark I won’t lie. But I was still relatively slow.

I have a weird observation that maybe someone a bit more anatomically minded can either confirm or debunk:

When I have to get off and either push or carry across the back, the first ten minutes are excruciatingly slow and hard, even if I was riding effortlessly. I have a theory that hiking uphill is more hamstring dominant for me than riding which is more quad dominant. So I have been spinning or grinding away no bother, but not activating y hammies very much so they are not as warmed up as the rest of me. Combined with the added core stresses it does take me a while to get into the rhythm of it.

I remember a particularly grim day out was carrying up Carn Liath on Beinn a’ Ghlo up all those bloody steps. Took me until about half way up to feel like I wasn’t made of wooden planks nailed together.

I’ve done more hillwalking and added a few different posterior chain exercises to my routine over the past couple years and I do feel as if it’s not too bad at all now.

Damn it Toulouse. Look how they have massacred my boy!

Two weeks is a long time to be without Kinghorn – he is quickly turning into a world-class talent.

You could just do a couple laps of the blues around the Buzzard’s nest as warm up, but this is a bit of a faff at the moment because it’s shut and theres a muddy and long diversion.

The new taster trails are really quick to lap so I’d recommend doing those a few times as a warm up.

What I would do is just head straight up to the top of SW, it’s essentially the same as the other blues if the drops are avoided and the old trails are not busy these days so can take your time generally. You can then work your way down Super G etc, and it is easy enough to traverse over the new trails from around there I think. Or you could just carry on down Fala Brae to the bottom then switch sides and do the new trails after.

Dunno if you have done them but the new top red trail – Twitcher – is probably not a place to take a beginner so make sure you don’t accidentally do that one. The new long blue is class though.

Cyclists would still be able to benefit from the route by simply specifying plenty of bicycle carrying space on the rolling stock and making travel free for anyone with a bicycle.

Haha that would be the most Edinburgh council thing ever. “Yeah we are taking away a popular route that people like you use daily, and you can’t cycle on it anymore, but if you want to take your bike for a tram trip that’s free now”

Rode a couple off-piste stuff at GT for the first time just this weekend. Did Thunderstruck and Careless Whisper. They’re nice trails – easier than the Golfie but steep and techy in places. Also did Plan B / Trailfairy Plan whatever the accepted name is a few months ago by accident – fairly took me by surprise which how steep it is. The new flow trails at GT are still absolutely hoaching at the weekend but nevertheless fun and easy to lap.

Sounds condescending so feel free to disagree aggressively….

But it’s amazing how much mindset can affect your physical performance especially if you don’t particularly look forward to it. I bet that when you get up and go for it on your training sessions you feel way better for it. I am also in the “not a fan of running” camp when riding is more fun, faster and I feel like a Cool Dude ™. However I have begrudgingly accepted that running is considerably less faff to prepare for, all you really need to do is put your trainers on. You can get a decent workout in half the time of an evening ride too, and you just gotta do it unfortunately.

Have you tried changing when you go out? I tried for so long to be a Type A “go and exercise before work” person but the majority of the time I failed to leave the bed – and when I did I felt flat and slow and half asleep still no matter how much sleep I got. Even on weekends I don’t generally like to get out and do whatever before 9am really.

I’m now pretty happy with being a “do stuff after work” guy though this does come with the negative of a slightly later dinner and is more prone to plans changing. And I don’t have kids so imagine that would be tricky too. I just need to make sure that when I get home from work the first thing I do is change into whatever active wear is required and do not sit down or potter too much.

Slightly weird thing – been weighing myself (but naked, straight after getting out of bed) every few days since the start of the year. in the first 2 weeks I lost 2Kg, but have not lost anything at all in the last 2 weeks, just been floating around the same number.

This is despite the fact that I am *definitely* getting smaller – i.e. one of my waterproofs fits me noticeably looser than it did 2 weeks ago, and it was pretty much too tight around Christmas time, and I can now button up all the buttons on a size M flannel shirt which I couldn’t do a few weeks ago haha. Even my face is a bit trimmer. I do feel like I prefer this metric but it’s a bit unscientific.

I’ve done about 2 weights sessions this year and otherwise just been riding/running/zwifting loads so if anything I expect I would have lost muscle too. Curious! I’m not super bothered as I am feeling a lot fitter and spritelier but it would be nice to slightly raise the old W/Kg figure lol.

I’ve never used them myself and I actually don;t know anyone who does in person  – my first “proper” mtb was a Trek Roscoe with 2.8s a few years back. I would probably consider it now though if I had a hardtail I was wanting to ride on quite rowdy trails but I am nearly 90Kegs and have dented rims before!

Not OP but will be checking some of these out myself. I have an Evoc 3L and whilst I love the design and avoiding a rucksack, my hips just don’t seem to like bumbags at all and they all slide down onto my bum. If I want to avoid this I have to wear it really high on my waist which is really uncomfortable. Guess it is just the shape of my midsection.

To be fair – Trappiste Rochefort, Tripel Karmeliet or even your garden variety Duvel are delish and quite nice slow sippers. Still a hell of a lot though.

Had my first “big” all day high elevation Mtb ride of the year, not just Zwift or a nighttime hour out – which would normally be followed by a couple beers in joggers in front of the TV on Saturday evening. I was actually kind of disappointed not to want one!

Had a chippy instead as a treat – which whilst delicious and I was ravenous, also made me feel a bit crap as I’ve been eating more or less all wholefood and rather lean nutritious stuff as well as avoiding the deoch – think it was the salt and grease! 

Actually kind of made me think I should dial back the whole “live like a monk” thing I’ve been doing so far this year a tad, so I don’t go crazy and develop a bit of a disorder. I feel great and have noticeably trimmed down but I don’t want a slice of cake or whatever to feel like something I need to agonise over.

I’ve really found Dry January to be quite interesting and it’s really made me explore my relationship with how alcohol is tied to my personal reward system. Mad how an internet trend that I’ve always kinda thought was bullsh*t has had quite a profound effect. I’m sure I’m not a teetotaller now, but I really can’t see myself rushing to the offie to get a couple 9 percent Belgian ales every Friday like usual again. Christ that’s all a bit pretentious isn’t it! 

I have to be quite honest and will sound like a DM reading nut job here, a lot of cycle commuters really annoy me when I am also cycling. 

I get annoyed at the crowd who have to get to the cycle box at a red light at all costs even when there are like 3 cars queued, and then proceed to bimble along at like 10kph. WHY? You are just holding everyone up, and I can guarantee a lot of those drivers will be waiting for the first opportunity to pass you dangerously.

Had an experience today on my traffic light riddled route where two folk insisted on being in front of me at all times, even though they were going incredibly slowly. Lights would turn green and I would overtake them straight away…until I got to the next traffic lights and 30 seconds later up they trot and weedle their way into the very front of the cycle box. Can’t you just stay behind the very small amount of cars? The phases are looooooong, it’s not like you’ll miss it from 20 metres out!

And then there are the lot who zig zag in and out between parked cars spaced a couple car lengths apart, without looking behind. Just hold your line, you will get hit one day by someone on their phone! You are not magnetically attached to a point 6 inches from the curb.

Sorry for my slightly unrelated rant. Bike commuting is fantastic and more people should be doing it, but you have to take some common sense with you when you leave the door!

Oh man – I am geting mixed up with the orange cans of Schofferhofer. I gotta find some of that Erdinger!

@joebristol – I do suspect my power meter is slightly over reading – but I may have done enough to not have my fitness drop off a cliff totally – with the added benefit of quite a few extra kilos in my legs to push around. I did get quite heavily into powerlifting during my “non serious bike rider” time and got a fair bit broader and heavier, but there’s also chips and beer style weight there too in equal measure.

Can fair crank the power out but when it goes upwards I die on my arse trying to keep up with my mates.

I used to be 71Kg with an FTP of 306 as a high point…4.3w/kg! Mad thinking about it now.