Love my Grade. If I was looking for another MTB, the new Zaskar would be on my list.

You know what though Doris5000? It was one of the best festivals I have been to. The British Spirit really came out, everyone was determined to enjoy themselves no matter the conditions. I went the following year when it was glorious sunshine all weekend and it didn’t have the same feeling of everyone in it together somehow.

That happened to me at Bearded Theory, the year the main stage was destroyed by a tornado and the ground was like thick melted chocolate.
In a funny kind of way, that year was the making of B.T.
The atmosphere was great and the way they re-jigged things to keep going all weekend was incredible. The festie has grown in size and reputation a load since then.

I’d say 28 would be ok.
I’ve done some fairly serious off-roading on my GT Grade on 28h Alex rims with no issues at all & the top-end Grades spec Grails, so I’m sure they’re up to the job.
(I’m a bit lighter than 82kg, but not a lot. 😉 )

I can certainly agree with Shitehouse Family.

Lightning Seeds. So limp, so lame. I actually shout at the radio before tuning out. The aural equivalent of a weak handshake.

All that kind of stuff, I mean – what’s the point of it?

My missus likes Belle & Sebastian, but they bore me to tears.

Looking forward to it! 😀

Were not Discharge an influence of ND?

I think so, yes.

I saw Napalm Death countless times in Brum, back in the day. 🙂

Proof that there is no need for fancy carbon frames & disc brakes….

Indeed. Not if you can hardly ride any of the course! 😉
Doesn’t look my idea of fun. I like to keep “get-offs” to a minimum.

I would have said Tame Impala on the strength of Innerspeaker, but their new direction doesn’t really do it for me.

CountZero wrote:

most dance music; fine if you’re dancing in a club, but who could possibly want to listen to one continual, ‘doof doof doof doof doof doof’.

Err… me?
That pretty much describes over 90% of the music I listen to. 😀

I love the psychedelic Beatles songs (but not their early poptastic ones,) and most of Led Zep’s music.
Stones – only really like “Paint It Black,” Velvet Underground, I’m not that familiar with, but I like some of Lou Reed’s work, despite the fact that he can’t sing in tune. Neil Young – don’t get him at all.
Jimi Hendrix – still one of the most original guitar players ever. Decent catalogue of songs too.

So many people happy with the limits they impose on their own minds.

The thing I object to, is having to put up with other people imposing limits on what I get to listen to. I really have a problem with the radio at work. No matter what station is decided upon, there is so little diversity in the music they play that it makes my blood boil on a daily basis. I can kind of understand the latest releases being on heavy rotation, but why when an artist may have 20 / 30 / 40 years or more’s worth of material to choose from, do they play the same one or two oldies over and over again????
There’s so much amazing music out there that I’m passionate about, it kills me to have to be force-fed stuff I don’t like.

I cycle to work every day, so no change here.

I do enjoy road riding, but sometimes start getting bored when fatigue sets in, so I try to plan in points of interest towards the end of a ride, to give me something to look forward to. This could be a tough climb, fun descent or maybe a nice village, lake or wood to give me something to look at.
I also keep a look out for inviting bridleways to possibly explore in future. I’ve been mixing it up a bit on my GT Grade, but my latest rides have been just tarmac.
Just riding for fun / general fitness improvement at the moment, got no events on the horizon.
Strava can help motivate me to push on a bit when I’m flagging and might otherwise have headed for home, but I use it for clocking up miles, rather than attacking segments.

I just don’t get the utter fan worship of the ‘Boss’. Simplistic tosh Brucie Baby, some things do indeed hurt more than cars and girls.

Me neither! Not a clue what appeals about his music.

Isn’t it great that there’s such a diversity of music out there for us to choose from?

Absolutely!
Just a pity that all the work-friendly radio stations play the same tiny selection of crap day after day. 😥

I can’t stand soft rock and the likes of Kiss, Guns & Roses, Motley Crue etc. ACDC do nothing for me either.
I hate wailing vocals like Whintney Huston & Celine Dion & pretty much all soul & motown music and anything in the overblown, showing-off X-factor style.
Never got The Clash, although I am a fan of a lot of punk. Billy Bragg makes me want to give him a good shoeing. I hate Elvis, The Farm, anything with Paul Heaton in it, The Jam, Razorlight, Morrisey, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Level 42, Mike & The Mechanics, Bob Dylan, almost all R&B & boy / girl bands… I could go on all day.
I can’t understand the popularity of Frank Sinatra either – I don’t dislike his songs particularly, but he just sounds like someone’s dad who can hold a tune. Nothing spectacular.
I don’t get the whole obnoxious swagger that goes along with Oasis & Kasabian, although I admit to liking some of the songs. I have a huge problem with their attitude.

As regards some of the bands mentioned so far – I love Elbow, Coldplay were good up until their last few releases IMO and U2 have some awesome songs, although I wouldn’t call my self a fan. I loved RHCP, but they have become way too easy-listening now. The same could be said for Pink Floyd. I love their really early twisted, psychedelic stuff, but then it went a bit wishy-washy.

I might have given the impression that I don’t like any music at all, but I love tons of different styles, mostly at the more extreme ends of the spectrum though. Music tends to polarise my opinion in the main. It’s usually either a love or hate thing – there’s not much middle ground. 😉

My biggest strength is climbing. Biggest weakness – jumping.

I’ve realised that the obsession with gear and bikes has taken some of the fun out of it

Happened to me a few years ago and I’ve been on a rigid SS MTB ever since. Clearly not for everyone, but it worked for me.

I had an amazing time in Wales! I love the Grade. It’s pretty rapid on the road, not as snappy acceleration as a race bike (obviously), but it wasn’t designed for sprinting out of corners. It’s really comfy for long rides and I’m seriously impressed with it off road. There were a few sections where I thought – “no chance, but I’ll give it a shot,” and I got through clean – both up & down hill. I was a bit cautious to begin with (I’d not ridden a road bike for nearly 20 years!), but before long became aware that I could push it a fair amount without disaster.
35mm is the widest tyre recommended. You could squeeze a bit more in, but mud clearance would be an issue. To be honest, I was bombing down loose, rocky fireroads and taking rockier stuff at a reasonable pace without scary moments or pinch flatting on my 35mm Landcruisers, so a bigger tyre doesn’t seem necessary.
I haven’t touched my MTB since I bought it. (Shh! Don’t tell.)

I think its a humorous not-taking-ourselves-seriously response to the industry using terms like adventure, enduroad, allroad etc.

This. ^ 🙂

Fantastic battle in the Elite Men’s XC! 🙂

Some photos from my recent trip to North Wales. Found some awesome trails & lanes, ideal for this kind of bike.

Oh yeah – forgot about the glasses for DSE use. Struggling to read small print unaided now too, unless it’s at arms length and in strong daylight!

Mentally, I’m not bothered about age.
Physically – I’ve almost constantly got knee or back pain to varying degrees now. I’m ok once I’m in action, but getting going isn’t as easy as it was!
Fitness wise I’m happy enough. Doing a bit more on the bike of late and feeling good. Don’t seem any worse than in my younger days, although my fearlessness isn’t at the same level it was in my 20s or 30s.

I thought you were on about those guys with the scooters and stupid hair. 😉

CYB.
Hired a HT for my daughter a couple of weeks ago. All good & loads of riding options.
Might need to book up a bit in advance for a party as they were pretty busy.

Another vote for Minton Batch. I like it, but I can’t see what all the fuss is about tbh.
Doethie Valley too. Again I enjoyed the ride, but I was expecting something more memorable from the trail itself, given all the hype.
Neither are bad trails, but both are a little short of the awesomness you might expect given their legendary status IMHO. Even the Vertebrate Wales Mountainbiking guidebook includes the Long Mynd (even though it is in England,) basically because of Minton Batch.

I have the same issue as the OP. (I only use Strava on the PC – no apps.)
If I zoom in to look at a ride in more detail with the satellite view, much of the area goes low-res and shows no detail – pretty much useless.

I use Grit.cx from time to time, but the forum is a bit quiet.

I’m pleased with this one.

Regarding flared bars – the Grade has own-brand Droptune bars with 14 degree flare.
Initially I didn’t like them (having only ridden “proper” road bike drops before,) but the extra width, elbows out position really proved itself on the looser, more technical sections of descents last week. I’m not sure I’d want any more width / flare though, as the drops are nearly on the limit of what I find comfy on the road.

Agreed Lunge.
Mountainbiking in the main, has moved so far from what attracted me to it in the 80s. Even Singletrack Mag. has gone more and more Enduro and less relevant to me.
Adventure / Gravel Biking has reminded me how much I love cycling and exploring in the countryside.

Had a great week in Snowdonia, putting the GT Grade through its paces.
I’m much impressed with the off-road capability. Decided to run Schwalbe Landcruisers and can report no punctures or cuts and they gripped pretty well on all surfaces I encountered. 🙂
(No issues with the wheels either Sofaking and it’s had a good hammering now.)

I’m out.

I like the new single a lot.
Previously, I’ve only caught them on TV playing various festivals. I thought they were ok, but I wasn’t keen on the vocals. I much prefer the harder sound of the single (vocals included,).

Re-read the OP.
It’s not the mix-tape you have. It’s a recording to tape of FACT1. 🙄
I’m even more confused now! 😆

Was it taped off CD?
I do seem to recall some of the track listing on the CD inlay was in the wrong order – maybe that has something to do with it – or I could be wrong – it’s been a while since I played it!

I’ve got the double CD F.A.C.T. mix. Still rocks today!
Sadly I know nothing about the tape mix, so can’t help. 😥

Discogs have the mixtape, including photos of the inlay, but there doesn’t seem to be mention of the tracks you describe. Strange…

http://www.discogs.com/Carl-Cox-FACT/release/854681

Sofaking – those photos are stunning! 😮

My other interests are music – mainly psytrance and techno and I enjoy reading.
I play guitar and mix on CDJs sporadically. (Read that as – hardly ever these days!)