…or Bottle Green Ginger & Lemon Grass cordial for the hard tail pootle. Very nice and the ginger adds a bit of kick !

Nuun tablets-Citrus flavour… I just like the taste and they help avoid cramp by replacing salts.

Quick tip for cleaning rather than buying Camelbak tablets, denture tablets. Works a treat but make sure you rinse it well and dry it out a bit then store it empty in the freezer.

No mould.

Fourbanger

This never happened.

LOL… ahhhh you were there, did you nick my bike computer too.

Serious though. It was a single track bridge and the Landrover was stopped on the brow of it. I left the bike in front of the Landrover and landed in the railings behind it. The passengers witness statement said I ‘flew past her window like Superman’ !

It would have been funny if I could remember it !!

In response to a few things said back at me I just want to put across a few pointers from my experience of a head on crash and then I’m out of here !

I was travelling down a hill at 33mph and met a Landrover on a single track bridge coming round a blind corner where 364 days a year there are never any cars. It was no ones fault.

I BRAKED in an instant panic and the bike locked up and I went OTB, cleared the Landrover mid air and went head first into the railings. There was no time to make a gentle braking action and power slide to the right and it was automatic to break hard, NO ONE would do any different in that situation. It’s the same as falling off a cliff, if you see a branch you will grab for it, you don’t have time to wonder if it will hold your weight or if it’s covered in thorns.

I don’t even remember what colour the Landrover was(or that it was a Landrover) let alone going over the bars. From the moment I rounded the corner and hit the brakes my mind has blanked the lot.

I clearly hit the railings full on head first. The witness said I din’t even have chance to hold out my hands, so there was no natural instinct kicking in to help save me.

I spent two nights in hospital, the first in intensive care whilst the swelling around my brain was settled.

Doctors opinion and my opinion… the helmet saved my life, and nothing anyone else is going to persuade me otherwise. That’s what a near death experience does to you BUT….

…you’re all individual and all entitled to you own opinion and you all have your own life choices to make. Perhaps I though can appreciate more how quickly and easily it can all be snuffed out and how in most cases you won’t know a thing about it but those around you will.

… and the Stone Roses never split up, what is going on !

My helmet after going OTB and colliding head first with some anti vehicle railings along side a canal bridge…note how much the helmet is crushed in along the edge in the middle of the photo. It still scares me to think what my skull would have been like had it been crushed in by that amount.

Boogey, Boogey !!!

Reporting in…

Went up 2 weeks ago during the nations freak heatwave only to find that Snowdon was the only place shrouded in cloud and blowing a gail, but I did Llanberis up and the Rhyd Ddu down, then Maesgwyn back into Lllanberis. The Rhyd Ddu path is exhausting and the gail force wind along the ridge from the summit made it impossible to ride the first section… so I gave up on the idea of a second climb and left feeling defeated.

Stubburn as I am I went back this weekend. Glorious sunshine, not a cloud in the sky and no where near as busy. So the chosen route which I would highly recommend…

1. Llanberis up all the way to the summit
2. Llanberis all the way down to the gate at the top of the tarmac road
3. Llanberis back up to the junction with the Rangers path
4. Rangers path down to Maesgwyn
5. Up & over Maesgwyn & back down into Llanberis

Took 4 hrs 55mins, 3L of hydro water, a couple of energy bars and some energy Jelly Beans (and still got cramp on the Rangers like I’ve never had before !). To show for it, a couple of big chips out my frame, only 3/4 of a Jockey wheel left and the seat ripped out of my shorts, but a smile from ear to ear.

That Rhyd Ddu path is not one to be combined with a double climb especially as it adds in the climb up the switch backs on the first section of the Rangers path that no one sees if they just come down the Rangers from the summit. A proper energy sapper !!!

There was a bunch of riders at the top of Maesgwyn who let me go down before them so if any of you on here thanks and sorry… they got to see a lot more of me than they’d anticipated… that’s when I caught the saddle in the growing hole of my shorts. As I sped off and started jumping over the drainage channels my shorts snagged completely on the saddle so I had no option than to do a full on tear and leave my arse hanging !!!

Some of you just haven’t got this thread have you….

Sarcasm lowest form of wit, highest form of intellect :wink:!!!

So…. 7 months and counting, it’s been so dry up here that my wet lube has dried up in it’s can and is now used as my super dry lube !

Sorry Jeff, have you checked out the forecast for tomorrow. Apparently North Wales is going to be……. dry & sunny !!!

It’s been so dry over here that when the gardeners came to the office this morning to blow the leaves and cut the grass they found themselves tangled with tumble weed !

As dry as dead dingo’s dangler as they say down under !!

My attempt was not that sophisticated and used the base of a 5 litre detergent bottle but it did the job….

Now that is a funny picture…. it brightened up my day. Given there is about 3 rolls of electrical tape in there I figure front end weight not an issue for you then ?

Your talents are wasted my friend, why are you not working for the Red Bull Formula 1 body work development team !!! :D

Save our milk bottles, try these instead….Muckynutz….

http://muckynutz.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=46

Snowdon up & down then up again and down again tomorrow. Very early start (the best kind).

Very excited, checked the bike out last night & will again tonight just to make sure !!

No brainer…. ‘just get out & ride’.

Doh, wrong magazine !

Joking apart the Peaks will be great tomorrow. I was thinking of going myself but I’ve opted for Snowdon.

Up North it’s been shite, shite, shite !

In the Lakes the top of High Street was drier in March than it was in August. The Peak District has had black peat (usually goes to fast dusty sand in the summer) all year round, and North Wales has seen rivers bursting their banks in June.

I’ve had to wear my jacket throughout August and wore my bloody tights in July.

In contrast I do know the East and South have had very dry weather because I’m sick to death of hearing the bloody farmers moan moan moan about it on the news every other week.

The reservoirs up here are all full and if you go round the edge of the Lakes (in the Lakes) the water’s up around the feet of some of the Lake side benches.

Going to Snowdon tomorrow and just checked the forecast… guess what f-in rain & cloud !!! Even our Indian Summer is shite up North….. but isn’t the riding sooooooooo much better than most anywhere else. Guess you can’t have it all :D

It’s good for people to start out on and work their way up to the big outdoors, and also good for a quick winter blast with 2 laps round the black…..

At least it was until they turned it into a BMX track.

Wow what a coincidence… you’ve just had cheese cake, I’ve just worn Lycra, and not for a bike ride either !!!! 8O

I’m going to head out & get an early start hoping to avoid the madding crowds.

The Rhydd ddu path down looks too good to miss !

How long do you think (hours not km) ?

i think i would do:

ranger -maesgwyn up llanberis.

down ranger, back over maesgwyn, back up llanberis an then down rhyd-ddu and back along the road (via a few in the pub)

Not a bad idea, I was thinking the Llanberis down would be a nice easy one at the end, but two techy downs might be better.

With some insurance companies they’ll ask for a ‘Sold Secure Gold’ cycle lock and chain which means it can stand a 5 minute attack.
I got a PJB Bull Point Anchor and an Oxford HD 2.0m chain & lock.
The anchor point is actually a motor cycle gold standard and the chain is long enough for me to loop round the two bikes I own.
Best price was here: http://saundersonsecurity.co.uk/acatalog/Oxford_HD_Chain_and_Lock.html

Loads cheaper than anywhere else and you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect to be able to carry the chain around with you in your Camelbac

Don’t confuse motorbike sold secure gold with cycle, other wise you’ll end up spending too much. Soldsecure has it’s own guide: http://www.soldsecure.com/search

Had a very similar issue on a new bike. Turned out to be a be a rough tooth on the front ring from a rock strike on a first outing but by the time I’d had 3 bad chain sucks the chain was beyond repair.
I don’t think I helped matters cleaning the chain with a degreaser in a chain cleaning device. The SRAM chains state that the chain should be greased back up asap if you have to use a degreaser.
The Mucoff spray on lube is horrible stuff and a bitch to get of your tyres when you over spray but it does the job of getting the grease back in.
The problem you’ve got now is that if you have stiffened a link, when you clean the chain up and lube it you won’t notice anything on a quick test run. As soon as you take it out and get it on the track and get some dirt in the link it will stiffen up and suck again.
If you’ve only had one chain suck you should be able to clean it up, re grease then lube but if it happens again after that I’d go for a new chain.

I bought some normal Stealth tights last year and wore them up to April. Very, very, weather proof. I never found them too warm, in fact I even put them on twice mid summer for a ride up Walna Scar road and around Penmachno because it was pouring with rain.
I was worried they would be too heavy and warm as the fabric does look like it will bake you but I honestly never had a problem, they feel a lot lighter than Hummvee’s baggies I wear in the summer.
In the words of Homer Simpson donning his ski tights… ‘it’s like you’re totally naked !’

Well done. Tick it off the list, but next summer try the route up the Dodds and down the Dolly Wagon. I loved it, one of the best routes I’ve done this year. Great banter with a group of Yorkshire men who’d just done striding edge and nearly choked on their tea when they saw me on the bike, and I had a race with a fell runner coming down the Dolly Wagon. All came together that day….. and then the f-in rain came !

With some insurance companies they’ll ask for a ‘Sold Secure Gold’ cycle lock and chain which means it can stand a 5 minute attack.
I got a PJB Bull Point Anchor and an Oxford HD 2.0m chain & lock.
The anchor point is actually a motor cycle gold standard and the chain is long enough for me to loop round the two bikes I own.
Best price was here: http://saundersonsecurity.co.uk/acatalog/Oxford_HD_Chain_and_Lock.html

Loads cheaper than anywhere else and you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect to be able to carry the chain around with you in your CamelBac !

Donk, route in ‘Lake District Mountain Biking’ is as follows:
Start Ings and up past Dubbs and upto Applethwaite Common and down to Limefit Park missing out Garburn :(;
Onto High Street going up Hagg Gill past Thornthwaite Crag and upto Straights of Riggindale;
Down the Straights and up to High Rise and along to Load Pot Hill;
Down Hart Hill & The Pen to Hullockhowe;
Road round to and through Bampton Grange and up to Swindale Head;
Up Nabs Moor to Mosedale then down the valley to Sadgill;
Across Stile End to Kentmere;
Then either back over the Garburn and down to Ings, up past Kentmere Hall and down past High House etc and back down to Ings or follow the road to Staveley and back to Ings.
60k 1932m of ascent.
Doesn’t look that bad actually. Just bloody long and you’d be walking all the way up the Garburn Pass if you did that at the end. The climb up Hagg Gill looks a killer.
It’s on my radar !!!

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=340904&y=515713&z=115&sv=340904,515713&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=619&ax=340904&ay=515713&lm=0

Try this…. I think they went a bit further up beyond Boredale in the Hause. I think the path and the hill in the distance is Redgate Head. I just down remember seeing any ferns up there.

How long did it take you to do all of High Street from The Garburn and did you follow the 60k route in the Lake District MountainBiking book ? I fancy that myself.

[Up – from Dockray, over Great Dodd, Watsons Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Whiteside Bank, etc.
Down – Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon and Grisedale Tarn. Above the tarn is a bit too stop/start because of the big water channels but the section from the Tarn down is about the best singletrack descent I’ve done in the area.]

I agree with Eckey-Thumb. I did this in July and was great and amazing buzz when you finish…. but be warned… the ascent to the Dodds will be piss wet through now and possibly un ridable (it was still very wet in July) and the Dolly Waggon trail is very techy, very steep and you need lot’s of skill to get down it, so it does depend on skill levels of the group.

Donk, I’ve always done the route anti clockwise but the MBR route I have goes clockwise and misses out the loop around the edge of Ullswater to Patterdale, comes down the Knott, climbs up from Hartstop to Boredale Hause and drops down Matindale common and up Barton Fell.

The first time I tried the MBR route I made a mistake at Barton Fell and ended up doing it in reverse climbing up Martindale Common (which is steep but ridable), and therefore avoiding the bike hike from Patterdale up to Boredale Hause but climbing the Knott. Like you I couldn’t reconcile missing out the decent from Boredale Hause to Hartstop or the last drop round Loadpott Hill off the High Street ridge and down to Barton Fell. Barton Fell anti cloclockwise is also very good and one that I’d prefer not to climb.
I really enjoyed the BW from Sandwick along the edge of Ulswater on Sunday having never tried it before because I’d always followed the MBR route (in reverse!). Nice and techy with some good views and a good buzz from clearing it all (well most of it).
Doing Sunday’s route does have it’s down side and that’s two (and a half) big bike hikes in one day (Boredale Hause and The Knott plus the hike up the steps onto the higher BW round Place Fell) and my shoulders are still aching. When I was climbing Boredale Hause from Patterdale it did look like a tasty descent to come down although busy with walkers.
Like you I’ve never come down the Knott. It took me a while to work out what Sanny had done but if you check out the photo on page 10 they actually went to the very very top of High Street i.e. including the big climb after The Knott and after you normally turn left to start the ridge to Loadpot Hill, the big f-in ridge at the head of the reservoir… that’s a big big climb all the way from Hartstop. Coming down that, rounding the Knott, dropping to Hayeswater and then down to Hartstop is starting to look quite tasty !
Maybe I’ve been hasty in my criticism of MBR as there are elements that look good in the opposite direction. That said in 3 years I’ve only ever seen one route around High Street in MBR and about 18 around Hayfield & Ladybower and I was amazed that the suggestion was to go clockwise and miss out the loop from Patterdale to Sandwick. As I said before I’ve also known some of the routes to have some almighty clangers in them which lead me to conclude they don’t (always) ride them.

Don’t cry for me but… I don’t need to worry about upsetting riding buddies with the choice of route… I haven’t got any and always ride alone :cry:

PS Can’t work out where the photo on page 13, top right, was taken on the route and it’s starting to bug me. Any suggestions ?

http://www.gpsed.com/track/133256257489846458

Link above to the route as I recorded it on Gpsed.

I know 40k in 5hrs doesn’t sound quick but be warned… Two big bike hikes the first up Boredale Hause and the second up to the Knott from Hayswater reservoir. The top of High Street is also slow going because it’s just so bloody wet and thick with hub deep peat at the moment… this is a hard work exhausting trail best done when it’s dryer at the top and take plenty of provisions. The views are spectacular and the descents are fantastic.

If you do the MBR route the climb up Martindale common is ridable (just) and does shorten the route and take out a bike hike but I really enjoyed the Patterdadle route I did yesterday.

MBR did post the Martindale route in the opposite direction, climbing the last fast descent off HighStreet back down to Pooley bridge… madness. I also did a MBR route in the Berwyn Hills and spent half an hour looking for a ‘red telephone box to turn right at….’ it was a post box on the entrance wall to a house. They don’t ride them at all !

Well thank you Rusty Spanner. I feel I now have the moral high ground and rather than swearing like Father Jack from Father Ted I have the smug look of Mrs Boyle when she wins a moral victory.

The masked expletives are automatic. I had tried typing the Father Ted version of the f word but even that gets masked when you post.

Thanks for the **** complements guys !

Bright sunshine in the Lakes all day today but the top of High Sreet was a bloody quagmire. Hub deep in wet peat… nice !

Just doing a couple of Grolsch now !

Speckledbob… Would it have made a difference if I’d called it ‘Fanny in Pooley Bridge’ or maybe even ‘Arse in Pooley Bridge’ !

Bregante… no lamp shade. Why are you not riding ?

New word for the day… circumferentially !!!

d45yth – Don’t worry I wasn’t wound up and I enjoy the banter. I actually thought your reply was very funny. You’re not the first to think I’m beyond hope, ask my wife !
Thanks for the advice. Checked the gauge, in fact I’ve bought a new floor pump as the last one was on it’s last legs. When I say ‘some give at 40 psi’ I don’t mean very much and I actually mean a small amount of give. Enough to see a bit of compression when you push down on the bike and below the point when the tyres rattle your teeth when your testing out on tarmac.
Here’s the other thing. A lot of my riding is in the Lakes and all three of the splits on the bead have been up there (Kentmere and Woodland Fell twice !) so plenty of hard knarly stuff tested but it’s been on the tame parts when I’ve picked up the splits, for instance I came down the Nan Bield last weekend after all the hard drops etc and then picked up the split hopping over a stream just before The Heights in Kentmere, and this was running the tyres at similar pressures to yours.
I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s the depth of the rim as opposed to the width of the rim that might be causing the problem. Physics would mean the rim is very rigid and perhaps digging against a bead which is (maybe) prone to splitting (although I ran the Maxxis on a pair of Crossmax XT’s with only one split when I too was just pushing the tread for one more ride) on impact which is making for a poor and expensive combination… and all this just so Easton could big writing on the rim !
Back up to the Lakes this weekend for a test at the higher pressure, that’s as long as it’s not underwater by then.

Thanks for the tips. Looks like a bit of exploring in the Akamas might be a better option. Certainly from what I remember driving over and looking at Google Earth there looks like some half decent trails with the added advantage of having the sea as a constant reference point.

Anyone know where I can hire a half decent full sus from ?

Perhaps I need to change my user name so people don’t think I’m 5 and I’ve just bought a Raleigh Grifter !

d45yth – My point is this… having been riding now for many years I’ve been through quite a few tyres all with different designs for different conditions. IMO all tyres have a point of equilibrium where the tread is working to the best of it’s designed ability and often this is with a higher pressure rather than a lower pressure. If the pressure’s too low the tread gets swallowed up into the tyre, rolls around and creates drag with very little grip, too high and the tread doesn’t get chance to grip the surface. Again IMO, some people often make the mistake of trying to achieve more grip by lowering pressures when in actual fact they are compensating for a poor set up on the bike. The suspension should be set up to take as many hits as possible thereby leaving the wheel in contact with the surface as much as possible and if the tyre is at it’s equilibrium point then the tread will give it’s maximum grip. On a similar point in my experience when it comes to muddy conditions a fat tyre at low pressure will simply sink as it tries to float where as a thinner tyre at a higher pressure will carve through the mud.

d45yth Now I’ve had a rant I would welcome your advice on my current problem. I’d been running the UST tyres on the Easton wheels at about 30 to 35 psi but I’ve suffered 3 flats where the UST tyre has split just above the rim. I suspect Donk made a valid point in that the rims are a lot stronger than the Mavic’s on my old bike and the bike is a lot more aggressive, as is my riding. Hence having bought a new Ardent (because I was very pleased with the grip, at a fairly high pressure) I’m going to try running them at 40 psi in an attempt to try and resist the flats I’ve been getting. A viable solution or am I still beyond help…. ‘Help me d45yth, you’re my only hope’

55psi for bedding in the rim over night, lowered to 40 psi for the ride but don’t think I can go any lower given the splits I’ve been having. At 40psi there is plenty of movement in the tyre still.
I prefer a harder tyre anyway, tend to roll faster so you can get your speed up and float over the knarly stuff as opposed to trying to ride it all, I also think the grip works better at higher pressures, you can feel the tread doing it’s job !