If its got the old school Cannondale cantilevered drop outs you might find that it limits your options a bit.

Something like the old Hope torque arm set up might work, but you would a) have an old brake, and b) need an old Hope hub. (But I have a bunch of those bits about to go on ebay)

I think someone did a similar universal adapter with a torque arm, but can’t find a link, and probably impossible to get these days. [Edit, like that one up there ^]

Looks good to me, in a “light full facer on the odd occasion I fancy one” kind of way. Especially as I already fancied a Super to replace my Xar.

Glastonbury 95 they were billed for the acoustic tent, fortunately for me that tent was run by friends. I got to be on the sound desk out front. The whole festival tried to get in that tent, probably one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.

I just about squeezed into a corner, with a lousy view, it was great :)

He might well be, but I might suggest carefully reading other headlines on that site before quoting it as fact :)

Saw interesting comment re: JTL this morning at the link below too, good timing! Offered up purely for completeness, not out of any claim for the quality of the anonymous source :)

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/08/the-secret-pro-transfer-season/%5B/url%5D

What has that function got to do with servers?

Fighting dumb coding with bad jokes :)

No capital letters in the username?

And a crazy idea, but some computers can actually change things to lower case rather than making you type it in again. Maybe something to consider on the next server upgrade :)

At least funky passwords are OK!

Can someone tell me how registering on the day works.

Turn up, sign on, collect number etc.

http://www.brightonbigdog.com/details/%5B/url%5D

I’m getting abut worried about this now.

Relax :)

Rode most of it last night. Got absolutely soaked and then fell off. I predict carnage….

So you’re saying I really ought to change the Nanoraptor that is on the back of my bike right now :)

I’m in “wonder how that will sound on the new hifi” mode. Lucky the neighbours are out

Skinny Puppy – VIVIsectVI

Does anyone know what the equivalent UK qualification is to the French requirement?

Based on these 2 pages, sounds like the french have had to accept that IML + and MTB qualification is sufficient (cos, what else could you add to that really …)

http://www.ridethealps.com/about/become-a-mountain-bike-guide/%5B/url%5D
http://www.whiteroomchalet.com/sumFAQ.htm#12

0% interest. The fee isn’t interest. Its also entirely optional :)

Sounds about right – depending on how much effort you put in. I did a group training ride a few days after donating earlier in the year. If a spot of blood doping is supposed to be worth +10%, I was definitely feeling the -10% effect!

If its hot where you are, that probably won’t help either.

Is anyone else having trouble getting results from the timelaps website?
Doesn’t seem to be loading up for me.

Yup, been borked since I first looked last night, at home and work.

I managed to hi-five 2 of the 3 kids at some speed they loved it!

I think I managed a full house. I debated it from a smiling kids point of view and went for it :)

I enjoyed it, but found it really tough due to the heat. I didn’t drink enough on my first couple of laps and paid the price.

Snap. Went out way too fast and not drinking nearly enough. Giving up on energy drink, and necking litres of water got me going again. Hands and arms still wrecked but great fun.

Have they trashed more in the last week? I was out last Sunday and while there was a lot of work it seemed to have relatively little impact on where I normally ride.

Its a cyclic thing unfortunately, every few years they come in and do a bit of harvesting and thinning. A few trails did get “reorganised” by the bad winter as well – both fallen trees and water damage.

Previously its been much worse than what I saw last weekend but there was some machinery parked ominously close to some trails …

It is ****’ scorching here today

Yey! :)

Spent last night doing the last bits of bike fettling. Looks like we’re going to get dry weather so I’ve ambitiously set up both bikes in dry conditions mode as well

Heh. I got out the mud tyres last night, just to appease the weather gods :)
12h solo for me, Rocky Mountain 29er with faithful Bonty as backup.

Anyone know what the pit setup is like? Trackside camping for solos?

In 2013 Rugby Union had a higher % of positive tests than cycling and athletics. Did you see that widely reported?

No. Do you have a source? Pretty amazing since they have virtually no testing in rugby and most of the positives (at least those reported) are usually for non performance enhancing stuff like Bath Rugby/ cocaine [/quote]

LMGTFY : http://www.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/story/233993.html

And if you were asked what you had been doing 12 months ago that might have caused odd blood values, what would you say?

I know what you are getting at here but if I was asked that question I’d probably check Strava, see where I was riding, who with and how much etc. I’m sure a professional athlete might have a rather more sophisticated diary to look back at?
[/quote]

Sure, and I guess part of my point was that while you would expect a pretty thorough training diary, this surely ups the ante. Just what do you record in that diary in case you need to explain some test results you don’t even understand, when you don’t necessarily know what analysis is to be performed on your passport results, and the analysis performed in 12 months time might be different to the current protocol.

I’m really not trying to be any kind of apologist for anyone, but its a fairly daunting situation. I wonder how many big teams run their own parallel passport (c.f. Sky and Henao) to ensure they have some form of defence. I think some teams toned down their independent testing as the passport system ramped up.

Isn’t that rather the point of the biological passport, that it picks up the physiological changes consisted with doping without there needing to be a positive test?

It is. And one assumes they have set their limits in such a way that they can be fairly confident in their assessments. But its not exactly simple science, and all the data they are collecting from tests on athletes in the system is, arguably, biased towards that population.

No idea how much “neutral” baseline data they also have access to, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find that some people who have done nothing wrong appear to be doping by the current understanding of the data. And if you were asked what you had been doing 12 months ago that might have caused odd blood values, what would you say?

So, great to collect the data, but lets not pretend it is the end of all doping, or impossible to reasonably challenge the results. Hopefully the safeguards with multiple experts etc mean that the chances of false positives are slim

Also, wasn’t Endura not of a high enough level for the riders to be subject to the passport?

No.

Did my first road race on Sunday (late starter due to training for ironman this year). 3/4s seemed to be dominated by a small group of 3s as it was a tough circuit (purbecks) with a small ring climb every lap (and 8laps).

I was there. My lesson for this weekend was – if you wake up feeling like you have a cold, best stay in bed :(.

Had nothing on the climb and went straight out the back, stuck it out to register a finish as I was sharing the effort with another guy but should probably have knocked it on the head as I still feel crap. I’d been feeling great on Friday as well :(

To be honest, given the profile I’m surprised it stayed together as much as it did.

Yes, that’s the one. Obviously there is a fair amount of 4wd track stuff but there was loads of singletrack to mix up with it – and from reading write ups/itineraries with other operators I think a lot more of it and more technical than you are likely to get with anyone else.

We rode some nice trails around Kathmandu, some nice downhills around Pokhara with either fire road climbs or a bit of shuttling, and then the big rides in the Mustang Valley. All had their own character, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Going back to Kathmandu at the end was a bit of a shock though – it had been quiet due to strikes on our arrival, getting back to it in normal mode from the quiet in the mountains was a bit crazy.

Went, loved it, quite tempted to go again. But I was riding with Tangi too so can’t really offer an alternative view.

He definitely offers “real” mountain biking though so should fit your aims well.

Loads of photos here, the riding ones are from near Kathmandu, Pokhara and the Mustang valley:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garyhill/collections/72157628783377625/%5B/url%5D

Loved the course and it struck a good balance between being fun, challenging enough and rideable for most. Maybe less climbing in the last 1/3 mind as so many were walking.

I thought it was one of the best courses I’ve seen at any mountain mayhem, great fun even if I wouldn’t really mind if there was less climbing! Nice to go again after a 3 year break and get the best weather ever too :)

You mean, popped off the rim, no other damage?

If so, yes, happened to me as a one off earlier in the year. Just going fairly gently up a slight slope at the time (though I had been banging over cobbles shortly before).

Still running the same tyre, few hundred more miles, not happened since.

Great event though and absolutely loved the jump action at the very end. Honestly never expected to see anybody crazy enough to lie down and let (knackered) riders jump over them, let alone 4 people willing to lie down together to be jumped!

I set myself up for the jump at the end of our last lap and only realised there were legs to clear at the last moment. If they knew about my jumping skills they would have been getting out of the way real quick. I managed to stay upright :)

That was the 4th time I’ve ridden there and I don’t recall feeling this broken before, my arms are still dead.

It won’t be stronger. If I’d bent an axle I wouldn’t be looking to swap it to Ti!

Depends on the conditions for any given card, currency that it is based on vs local currency, etc.

I nearly asked if you had taken that out :)

Its a tight fit, but will come out with a bit of gentle persuasion, and I’ve taken it out with cranks installed. I have to gently pry it out with a small screwdriver and I do have chipped carbon for my efforts.

One end of the plug is “hooked” in and the other not, I think you need to lever it out from the front side.

Failing that, you might have some joy with the plastic inner from the BB end if you take the bung out from the down tube but it will be a harder job than getting the BB plug out.

I don’t have a plastic tube. Standard outer that sits in the cable guide on the frame, steel inner cable going from that round the bb to each mech.

My point is, from experience of both, that should be easier than faffing with a tube. It should be easier to catch the steel cable through the cutout in the BB and pull it through.

I have the same frame and found it really easy to run the cables – what exactly is going wrong?

I put new cables on at the weekend and it was a bit of a faff as I was using a Gore cable set, but actually found it easier to run a section of normal cable through and then follow that with the plastic tube as the steel cable is heavier and keener to head to the right place.

A bit of wiggling of the cable and pluck the end out with long nose pliers if it doesn’t just pop past the BB sleeve.

tooling costs for all of the separate parts will add up to a few thousand, and everything left will pay for an initial order from the manufacturer.

With a rock solid business plan like that, how can he fail :)

Are these the same Zipp that merlin and ribble are selling for shed loads more?!!!! (or the Chinese ones ‘Zipp’ copies?). Just seems like imported here then whacked up on price.

If you have to ask, are you sure you are ready for the direct chinese import approach :)

Its long, but not especially severe. “How bad” depends on what you consider to be a hard climb, and what sort of ride you wrap around Sa Colabra itself.

I’m in. No copping out due to weather on account of missing other events to do this! Vintage Ritchey cross bike is all polished up and ready to go.

That’s why the idea of making up a paste appeals – you could store it in the fridge with a little layer of oil on top which should keep it nice and fresh.

Alternatively (as suggested by the guy teaching an indonesian cooking course I did), fill up an ice cube tray with the paste and lob it in the freezer and just pop out cubes as and when you need.

Really enjoyed it when I did it a few years back and missed it the last couple of years because I had other things happening that clashed. Was all set to do it this year but Charlie’s little bash in Dorset caught my eye – this weekend seems to be full of events I’d like to do.

Hopefully I can have another bash at it next year!

Really!? General consensus on alfaowner et al is that the 1.9jtdm will do 60-70k before belt and pump need doing.
Mine was done at 76k (previous owner) and is now on 105k.

You’re right – I was getting mixed up with the strong messages about shorter intervals on the petrol engines. Bonus as I thought I was about to have to shell out for mine :)