Only problem with non ust tyres is that they're sometimes made of cheese, and sidewalls etc. may take a while to actually seal. I add 25% more sealant for this reason – and even though it may take a week or so to finally settle down and hold air it's really worth it. Less weight, better traction, less chance of a puncture (glass etc. aside!) and more confidence. Stans is the least faffy solution there IMHO – well worth it, and reasonably cheap if you shop around!

Wet ones are the way forward – or Boots cucumber wipes make a difference too! I always take five changes of gear plus 2 sets of foul weather gear just in case ;-) Oldgit also makes a very valid point about the faster start – but if you blow up 6 hours in as a result it can ruin your day. If you know your body then you'll be fine either way!

Ti29er – good luck with it! Couple of thoughts:

1. GET A PIT BITCH – I've done 10 24's without one and will never do it again. The drive home is not fun or safe as well . . . .
2. Riding time – 20hrs or so as I cleaned my own bikes etc.
3. Nutrition – I play safe and mix drinks around, eat 1 gel and 1 energy bar per laps and then have savoury snacks – marmite crisps, peanuts, rice crackers and anything to take away the taste of suger – especially picililli and ham finger rolls. Get a thermos for soup which is easy to digest and eat, and always stock up too much on food. Practice long rides and see what your stomach tells you – if it shuts down you are xxxxxd.
4. Hydration – it's hard to drink enough – maybe 600-750ml an hour if I'm lucky. I've tried elete electrolyte and it's great to help avoid cramps.
5. Bikes – I always get both bikes in tip top shape beforehand – it's a big psychological help, as is spare wheels and tyres.
6. Sleep – do it if you have to. If you are spaced out at 3am you will crash and will hurt yourself – so losing an hour or two and 7 or 8 places is a safety call really. Psychologically I think it is hard from 11pm to 5am – if you have demons \ doubts \ issues \ motivation problems they will come out to play so be ready for that. Or just sleep!
7. Training – just do loads! I really do a 24 on my anaerobic threshold (168bpm) and try not to go into the red – and walk the hills to save energy. I am not too proud to push!
8. Pace – go easy at the start or suffer after 12 hours. It's your race – and that's why the anearobic threshold works for me as it's my pace guide.
9. MP3 player – handy at night on low volme – it really helps.
10. Try and enjoy it! I enjoy finishing them more than riding them – there is a deep satisfaction to be gained from achieving a finish. So much so I will do mayhem again this year, having promised myself that I wouldn't do it again!

All the best!

Sennheiser's are great – I prefer the OMX70 ones here:

as they never get loose or fall out and are really comfy on looooong rides – have lasted 18 months so far on road and mainly MTB – great value too.

Stevomcd – Unless Duckman says otherwise (first dibs are his!) GPS is yours – done!!! will mail in profile.

Duckman – if you're still looking I'd suggest you look at the MM GPS. I took the adventurer 2800 out today and it's great. Mine cost £199 from http://www.tredz.co.uk and with the PC software and pre-loaded maps of most UK national parks it's a great, cost effective solution when compared to the Garmin edge GPS's. Not as technically accomplished but good all the same and really worth a look.

Totally – get the chainset and keep the spares. It gets even worse when you look at XTR!!!

For the road bike Conti GP4000's are awesome in black chilli as above.

Ont the MTB Nobby Nic 2.1 UST are great for most things, as are the 2.1 Ignitors.

Good stuff – we've all done it before! Now the first thing I do when cleaning the brakes is take the pads out first!!! Have a good one!

Me in Kit: 98 kilos
Bike: 11 kilos
Ratio: 8.9:1

Feel like a right fat knacker now :-(

Suggest that you clean the rotors with meths or brake cleaner, clean the brakes up but bin the pads – they're kaput. Get new pads, fit to your nice clean brakes and you're away!

Hi Duckman,

It's a Garmin etrex Legend – monochrome screen; blue casing – link to look at here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-eTrex-Legend-GPS/dp/B0000C4G4Q Garmin don't make it anymore – I bought it 5 years ago when I started my ML too as a map backup on gps position, distance travelled from base point, electronic compass etc. I ended up doing loads more MTB and scuba diving so never really used it and never completed the ML either :-(. I was going to ebay it tomorrow so first dibs to you. I never loaded maps to it (total faff and expensive) so a good check on where you are and travel data but not too much else to be honest!

For trail riding the bike quality and handling is more important than weight. I prefer a lighter bike if I'm riding marathons, enduro's and 24 hour races solo. IMHO rotational weight on the wheels will become apparent a few hours into any long event on the climbs. Psychologically I want a well set up and light-ish bike that will support my 15 stone well without breaking and will do a great job – this also helps the mindset on long events. I'm with epicyclo on that!

Agreed on the influence bits above – but the service matters and Sky do heavily support a UK cycling team – even if they are all roadies!

Hi Duckman,

I am trying out the memory map adventurer 2800 which arrives tomorrow (YAY!) from tredz for only £199 so worth a look with OS maps! If you want my etrex vista which does all that you need in great working order for £30 posted please let me know!

Suggest your boss is getting his kxxb out as you're new – it'll settle down once you do and start getting into a routine! Give it 3 months and if this does not change then get out of dodge!

I rinse the bike and myself off at the same time before i wash the clothes – I don't want my nice clothes or her nice undies covered in mud, GT 40 and the like . . . . . . otherwise the machine does get clogged up sadly ;-)

Without getting too personal my wake up two espresso's in the morning sorts any movements out for the day straight away. I don't do too much through the day as caffeine gives me mood swings – more of an issue than sitting down!

In my experience Endura products have been good (I don't work for them either!) – as is their after sales service. I've had 3 pairs of MT500 shorts for 3 years and no issues with them at all. My 6 your old bib tights were knackered, I sent them off and got them back as good as new in 2 weeks for £15. Sometimes the zips on my overshoes broke (fingers numb at end of cold ride) and they've been repaired too. Would prefer not to break the zips in the first case but their stuff works and if you get a problem it can be repaired in the UK!

Bruk +1!

For comfort without the cost you could go for a hei hei – nice short travel all round cross country bike. 29er's are great – well worth a look for comfort and I'll get one when I can afford it . . . . :-)

Jenga – maybe you did nothing to provoke it? Just a random flake and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Good luck with the case and just tell them the facts – stand up for your rights!

DB – go back to the shop and look at it on warranty – good rims and hubs but looks like dodgy nipples. If no go on the warranty get it re-built anyway, it'll be a lot easier for you in the long run!

My old Blur was lovely on the trail – on rails in fact – but was a bit heavy though. If I had the money I'd go for the Blur Carbon or the Yeti – both amazing bikes but not cheap. What about the Scott Spark? Nice race \ marathon bike if you want the speed.

I'm on XT servowave and was riding all through the snow and cold weather. The brakes (and XTR's on my hardtail) have been shit since. Sticking pistons, loads of hassle and I suspect that being frozen in the garage for 3 weeks didn't help them much at all either. Roll on summer!

I only recorded about 11,500 feet of climbing on my Polar if accurate – which I doubt given the previous posts! Did every one else get circa 15,000 feet?

All,

If we were talking about two 15 year olds that would still be thin ice and teen hormones could rage in equality, but we aren't. We're talking about a 15 year old girl an adult male having sex. Be it accidental in his case or not, it's awfully wrong on a moral and legal level. I'm sure many on the forums here have children around that age – I doubt they'd be happy to find their own friends screwing their daughter, regardless of physical maturity. It's just plain wrong.

Turbo training is dull but MUCH better than nothing – so get some loud music, some great videos (cycling or MTB related ideally!) and get some hours in. Do use a fan to cool yourself down and you will sweat buckets so get a towel for you and a bike thong. It's a nice and simple way to train – and will help your fitness whilst you look forward to working on your skills in better weather! Just do it!

If it's an important date you want to impress and they're foody then the Champignon Sauvage is the best – not cheap but good value compared to London prices and the bracket it's in.

I used to buy stock bikes and was happy with that – started tweaking wheels on my old trek as I hated them, usually upgrade forks, rear mech, chainset, wheels etc and have built up a blur, tarmac, and XTC as I liked speccing the parts I wanted. More hassle, time and expense but a good way to do it but more fun. All personal choice really!

Mud Monster – the good news is that the night rides have no parking fee – a hidden bonus for members or prospective members, along with free use of the bike wash. Handy for this time of year! Turn up around 6.15-ish, ride starts at 6.30.

The red route is quite muddy right now and the spooky woods section is closed as the berms haven't survived winter too well. Only one climb isn't too rideable, the rest of it is good for the time of year! There are some rooty sections to keep you on your toes . . . . . :-)

The Bedgebury cycling club (boars on bikes) go round on a Saturday at 10am – meet at Quench cycles – if you fancy a ride round with some guys who know the trails well. http://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk for a shameless plug!

My nobby nic UST's were fab – bought some non UST racing ralphs and they were a nightmare and the walls leaked so much you'd think they were made of sponge – would pay more for the UST's and the peace of mind.

Well, I'm 6'2 and really like the 175mm cranks – on my road bike and MTB's. All personal choice though!

Try taking the valve core out to inflate the tyre – not resting it on the floor, perhaps hanging on a work stand – then when you take the CO2 canister out it'll deflate but the seal and beading will be intact. Chuck in your sealant then reinflate and bob's the word!

Or, like me yesterday, after a xxxxxxg major tourettes hissy fit, I took my new wheels and tubeless setup to my local bike shops with lots of cake to get it sorted. Simples. :-)

My sympathies to the family – in fairness the automatic should and could go into neutral but he probably didn't think about it and panicked. Brakes wouldn't hold the whole engine's power either – just awful for them all. A family died nastily here – sympathy is a good thing right now.

Rossendalelemming – your boss appears to be a bit of a git and my sympathies on the situation. He's made a threat of redundancy and not followed any procedure at all – do take the good advice of others here and get to an employment lawyer NOW please. CAB are useful to a degree but will delay the response – get to a lawyer!

Your employment lawyer will be happy as they have been very busy over the past 18 months! There appears to be no process, no selection criteria and they haven't even asked you for alternatives. Looks a lot like bullying to me – so take a robust stance with your lawyer and take no shit.

Also, it would be a shame if all documents were lost and consultancy fees are rather high . . . .:-)

To preserve some dignity for both of you just tell her that it's not working out, the relationship isn't what you're looking for and you think it better that you split up. Relatively painless for you both – that 'it's not you it's me' or whatever is just dishonest and suitable for a 14 year old. Sad, but every relationship ends sooner or later. So get out of it, and then the two of you can start a new one and move on.

Fancy soloing again this year although I keep hoping for better weather – as if . . . . !

Sorry Mark – have edited post and have bought a premier subscription for penance. :-)

Sorry Guys – I think the STW magazine and website are fantastic. I don't love every article but read them all the same – these guys (and girls) do a fantastic job and have different views to mine, especially on whisky (!) which I welcome. It's great quality in print, the different opinions actually matter and they're doing bloody well given their origins. The independence of STW is important too – future publishing shouldn't rule the MTB publishing world. STW is catering for a specific demographic methinks, and more importantly they got of their arses and started this whole thing off.

Hate to say this but maybe the negative nancy whingers here should just xxxk off somewhere else or be truly and positively constructive about this as some others here have? Or start their own magazine and forum and see how that goes?