Cheers Dave. That’s helpful.
I’d be on my own and no (planned!) stopping.
I don’t know what average speed is either tbh, but I’m no xc whippet these days, but neither am I a slouch. 😉

I rode the Verderer’s Trail just before Easter as a warm-up, before heading off-piste.
Hmmmm…
It’s o.k. (For a mainly Blue graded trail – pretty decent.)
I don’t like the new harder surface and extra width some of the old trails that have been incorporated into it have been given, although I guess that’s the only way to withstand the extra traffic a waymarked route is sure to attract.
The actual route itself is pretty good, passing through lots of different bits of woodland, with interest added by changes in elevation and some switchback climbing.
It’s all about the final descent though.
Great fun, but not really to my taste.
There’s too much of a move towards smooth, artificial trail features like berms and jumps in manufactured XC trails these days IMHO.
These trails probably keep a lot of riders off the more sensitive “natural” stuff though, so it’s all good! 😉

I think my clothes soaked up enough water on the cycle to work this morning to solve any water shortages there may be if I was to wring them out in the right place. 😥
Think it’s time to replace my waterproof (LOL!!!) trousers.

Bottom brackets. They used to last for years. Now they last for months. (Or less.)

Iron Maiden at the Birmingham Odeon, October 1986.

amt27 wrote:

Year 2000 was the name of a cycle events company run by Gerry McGarr of Glos City CC in the early/mid 90s, he put on some series with stages in the FoD, one event had the start/finish along the fireroad by Worcester Lodge (above the waste/recycling facility) and used a downhill as the start. I did this event when I had a spotty face and glasses, on my Cadex CFM1 (still got it).

Yeah. I rode several of Gerry’s Year 2000 xc races (Hopton, Chepstow, Colstey & Shobdon to name a few.) They were good events and Gerry was a sound fella. I did a couple of his midweek guided rides in the FOD too. One of them was filmed for Heart Of The Country – so there was my 15mins of fame. 😀 (Must still have the video somewhere – LOL!)

Nice video! 😀

Great pics Sheldon!

342 on FB. Can’t be bothered with Twitter.

As far as first impressions go, I love the new mag. (It looks really heavyweight and arty, like a Howies catalogue!)It feels much better quality, is nicer on the eyes, superb quality photos and the articles look promising. (I haven’t read any of it yet, because I’m finishing off a really gripping novel at the moment and it’ll have to wait a bit!)
I’m happy to pay a bit more for it, as it’s the only magazine (of any type) I buy now. I’ll certainly stay on as a subscriber.
Great job!

I’d like to have a crack at it, it looks like fun, but there seems to be little of real interest unless you’re into jumps, but I guess other Welsh trail centres cater for more techy xc riding to be fair.

Probably SPDs.
I can do without gears & suspension, but clipless pedals transformed my riding and I’d never be without them.

I managed ok with Gripshift on my old Klein Pulse, but I think I prefer rapidfire.
My brother though, has always loved Gripshift and has ditched the rapidfires on his current bike to go back to twisties.

I don’t buy the “good music is good music” deal, at least as far as sound quality goes. O.K. I’ve got some CDs of 70s / early 80s punk that sound awful on any system, but are still great, but you can get SO much more out of a quality recording played through a decent system and some nice floorstanders.
I don’t have an audiophile mega-expensive system, just some reasonable Pioneer seperates, but my Tannoys are the best thing I’ve ever bought in my life.

stumpy01 wrote:

At home with CDs, I look at them & my mind makes a decision very quick about what kind of mood i am in and what album I should listen to

I’m exactly the same! The spine of the CD case says an awful lot more to me than title & artist. 😀

Do the CD lovers still have ipods as there is no arguing a an ipod nano is for more practical than a CD walkman!

I had a (non-iPod) mp3 player until it broke, just for commuting and the like. It was full of albums ripped from CD, not downloads, but for portability, yeah, iPods make a lot of sense. I’ll probably buy another one at some point.
I couldn’t have one as my sole music source, though. (They don’t make one that’ll hold all my albums for starters.)

41 here.
As a side note regarding DJs:
The popularity of the media for dance music DJs to carry their tunes on varies depending on the genre – for example, I listen to a lot of psytrance where the CD is still the most popular medium for DJs (But software based lap-top mixing is on the rise.)
In techno, Cds never caught on at all and you’ve mainly got vinyl die-hards (who value sound quality uppermost) and those who’ve embraced lap-top mixing or a combimation of the two.
I can’t speak so much for other genres – but I know a bit about these two! 😉

emsz wrote:

dont get this attitude

I dont ever want to stop buying/listening to music. the artist/music is waaaaay more important than what you listen to it on.

Yeah, you’re right of course – I do feel that way though. 🙁
I’ve downloaded the odd album or EP, (maybe half a dozen, I reckon), but I have to burn them to CD to listen to properly anyway, which is a ball ache and even if I print off the sleeve and box them up, thay still feel “dirty” like a pirated album… 😆

Glad there are some CD lovers out there. 😀
The day I’m forced to buy music by download only, will be the day I stop buying music. It’s not that I necessarily think the CD reigns supreme, but I want some sort of physical media to store music on.
I still love the excitement of getting hold of new music with the sleeve notes, cover art and that new album smell. I must buy probably about 12 to 15 Cds on average a month and would buy more if a) I could afford it and b) I had more time to listen to them!
I find CDs far more convenient and reliable quality than downloads and my hifi is far superior soundwise than my pc.

Many of my CDs are at least 20 years old, so I don’t know where the 10 year lifespan idea comes from???

The problems I see for the CD, is that many people these days seem to have a really short attention span and flick from tune to tune all the time (sometimes before they’ve finished!) rather than sitting down and committing to an album’s worth and many can’t tell how crap most mp3s sound, because they’ve never heard how incredible music can sound form a better source, played through a reasonable hifi with good speakers.

Tbh, there are loads of little free cark parks dotted about, but they’re a bit more bother and likely to be less secure.

They do that already when it’s busy. 🙂

Is the new car park free?
The only reason most people park along MD is to avoid car park changes.
If it’s a paying car park, I’d expect no change to the congestion.

I’ve found that I now enjoy riding rigid ss more than front suss and gears. My HT has now swapped commuting duties with the ss and I never take it offroad now.
Most of my riding is done in the Wyre forest and Cannock where the ss is ideal.
Even on my last trip to Wales, where I rode the Pont Scethin route and The Beast at CYB, I chose to take the ss. I just like riding it more.
It’s a 26″ wheeler and I run 32:17 usually, but pop an 18t on for Wales / Peak District etc.

Thought Keef was a safer bet than a stranger then Kinda? 😮

Antisocial behaviour …
whatever do you mean…LMAO! 😉

Yeah – those trails were waymarked before by 9.feet.com (RIP) iirc.

I see the X-press shifters have gone off that Cindercone Tomaso!
Mine didn’t last long either! 🙂

I still love those early 90s Konas!

Here’s a couple of me from the dim and distant past…

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Coed_Y_Brenin_Aug1990[/url] by franklini10[/url], on Flickr

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n759618369_674274_5040[/url] by franklini10[/url], on Flickr

My bro. could only just sit through it, he reckoned it was total garbage and by his own admission, he watches a lot of crap films. 😉

Nice pics and it sounds like a great event! 😀
Did the route head off north, towards Bronaber / Rhiw Goch (where the Log Cabins are)?
I’ve ridden that way in and out of the forest before and some of the scenery in those photos looks familiar…

Sean Bean’s American accent in Silent Hill was pretty comical.

Nice job! 😀

I’d recommend the Pont Scethin route for proper old-skool biking, with long descents and evil climbs that require a bit of pushing / carrying.
CYB and Penmachno / Marin Trail offer the best waymarked trails in the area.
Cae Du at Beddgelert is a nice campsite and kind of central.

I think he’s great for these type of programs and could have watched for hours.
I’d rather watch him just chatting to folk or the camera (love his accent!) than one of his stand-up shows, tbh.
Seems like a top bloke to me. 🙂

schrickvr6 wrote:

I hate talking on the phone, especially with other people in the same room.

Me too.

I bleached mine once, but it turned ginger, so that was the first and last time! 😆
Dyed it bright red for a festival once.

Do most people end up in hospital from MTBing then?

Probably jinxed myself now, but I’ve been riding mtbs since 1989 and, although I’ve boken ribs on several occasions, have never crashed badly enough to bother to seek hospital treatment.

Hmmmm…Wondering if that makes me:

a) Supremely skilled
b) Very lucky
c) A Doulbe Hard B*****d
d) A bit of a mincer, riding-wise?

Sorry – I’ve not ridden that route for over 10 years now…
Pretty straightforward though tbh.
You could head up from Sling Common way or down from Romsley, over the m/way and follow the bridleways from there to Waseley and then Rubery. Bit of road then to the nearest bit of Lickey.
Have a nose on Streetmap, you’ll work it out easy enough.

I used to ride from Clent to Lickey – mainly offroad when I lived a bit closer.
You nip over the M5 just down from the Manchester Inn and head over Waseley Hills direction iirc.

I’m pretty sure my Gaerne shoes are a 42 and that’s my usual size. Fit is pretty good.