just like I would eat at home

Exactly that!! I guess I’m now poacher turned gamekeeper now being a bean-counter rather than living of the fat of an expense account..

Very few people who claim expenses seem to get the point that, regardless of whether or not you’re away from home you would still have to provide yourself with an evening meal. Overnight allowances are set as a contribution to partially offset the inconvenience and not to pay for the entire cost someone’s jolly night out

it’s not breathable enough

Moon on a stick!! Breathability relies on there being a humidity gradient which in our lovely maritime climate we very seldom get.

Are you sure you’re not confusing breathability with sweating? I realise it depends on individual metabolic rates, but doing anything strenuous with a belay jacket on? … you’re gonna sweat!!

you can wear a cycling coat over the top for insulation

Personally I always just put my Montane Prism on over the top of whatever I’m wearing. Think of the origin of the species …belay jacket!

https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_belay_jacket

Also, just think about this; putting a shell over the top of an insulated jacket can flatten the loft.

Clean the frame well

…and clean somemore! Use meths as a last clean and go and have a cuppa.

Use paper templates to get a good fit.

Take your time and be patient!

hair dryer

…all the time!!

Not a patch on the original 1996 series with Amanda Burton. Way, way beyond its shelf life now in my view, as is Sherlock, Luther, The Fall, to name a few.

However, enjoyed the latest Missing and looking forward to Broadchurch returning.

Given that, what are the STW collective watching/catching up on/boxsetting at the mo?

Really like the Scandi Dramas (The Bridge, Follow the Money etc) but think have pretty much exhausted that genre for the time being.

If you want any of the location info, drop me an email

Have sent a PM

Couple of spots on the Wayfarer’s way that are fairly quiet

Yeah …that’s the kind of thing I’m thinking!

locks on the Kennet and Avon

…just a bit too close to the mass of humanity for my liking!

it’s not so appealing kipping in the corner of a field not far from home

..totally get that. Bucklebury Woods are 10 mins from my door and part of my regular commute!!

just accept that is it s a bicycle and it will get scratched and scuffed with time?

Bikes are designed to be ridden … get over it!!

However it’s worth heli tape on a few areas like

The seatpost scuffed up from saddle bags on adventures.

or wherever you attach anything (eg framebag, lights)

The clamp marks form the car rack on the way to Scotland for the weekend

sighs and shakes head … now that’s just careless. A bit of cut up Karrimat works a treat!!

Try a Brynje mesh base layer

Massive fan of mesh base layers here…buy one, you won’t regret it.

A bit unfashionable with MTBers maybe, but how about trying Deep Heat. I know the science is a little flawed, but even it acts as a placebo it might be worth a go.

Wouldn’t be adverse to racking up miles and would most likely consider the cross bike if it’s mainly tracks and quiet roads, although wouldn’t mind sniffing out any tech/interesting bits.

Currently looking at something from Wilton going along Gravely wood and back along the old Western road. Do you know what’s that like at the mo?

Similar set up to many: strip of in garage into a dry robe. Hose worst of kit off if necessary and straight into washing machine. Boots on a boot drier that lives in garage where all boots are kept. Kit gets dried on an airer in the utility room next to radiator.

stumpy01 – Member

orangespyderman – Member

Wife encourages me to go out on the bike at least once, and if shopping is well in hand, then sometimes twice a weekend. She likes it because I’m less stressed when I get back from a good blast round.

Your Wife needs to explain this to my Wife….preferably in simple terms with pictures..

Guess I’m lucky as my wife and I share our love of biking, kayaking and hillwalking/climbing …LOL…it was part of the selection process!!

Children have been encouraged to take an interest too. They haven’t taken to everything and kicked back a bit as teenagers, but by and large we can either find time to do things together or at least never feel guilty or resent if one or the other of us can’t join in.

the wax that still is in the rollers and that is slowly oozing out

I think that’s the crux of the matter. It’s only the rollers that need lubricating. Lube anywhere else just acts as a gunk magnet

I never clean before putting the chain back in the tin. As for cleaning on the bike – a hosepipe and water gets the muck off no problem

Excellent …thanks. I’m in!!

Thanks Guys …sounds like the way forward for me.

This I like:

but it’s not the horrible gloopy, muddy mess that wet lubes produce

which is what I was wanting to avoid by switching to Scottoiler.

Daft questions — when you need to re-lube, how easy is it to clean off the existing gunk? Also how does it stand up to the (or maybe just my?!) regular hose down?

Have a look at Bearbones forum …loads of good stuff there

not long enough to ponytail yet

You know the only thing that’s under a ponytail?

I’d definitely recommend greasing or anti-seizing the thread and also removing it from time to time to stop it welding itself in there

+1 top tip … learnt the hard way here!!

Turn off alarm, lie in bed for a few minutes hugging wife, get up, pee, downstairs, kettle on, R2, make tea for both of us.

…make packed lunches and breakfast, shout and swear at teenager to get up, put on cycle or running kit and go to work

Let it dry

Nooooo … quick wash down with the hose, dry the chain, apply Scottoiler UBS

Pretty much a daily routine for me … takes all of 5 – 10 mins

Those garden trugs for wet stuff.

Easily the best solution for the back of the car. Use one all of the time for paddling. You can stand in the empty bucket and strip off!!

Many years from now…
‘Now then kids, when I was a lad, climbing in Wales….’

I had to laugh at this. I was at Bangor Uni in the late seventies/early eighties and getting benighted on a climb was like a rite of passage!

Trouble is that many folk nowadays don’t view it that way, and the slightest hint of trouble and it’s a call to MR

If they hadn’t carried all that crap up the route, they wouldn’t have been so slow and got benighted in the first place!

Realise that’s massively tongue in cheek, but on a serious note, if you aren’t equipped to be able to spend the night out on the hill, you’re not properly equipped!

Agree with the comments about holster and separate dry bag.

Wildcat Tiger Harness and Alpkit Airloc tapered dry bag here … perfectly happy with it.

It’s Newbury or bust

…Good Luck ;-)

Take her to The Rowbarge in Woolhampton. The food there is amazing.

Good recommendation. Also poss try The Angel (also Woolhampton) or The Blade Bone at Chapel Row

The trails round greenham (aka the rebel base) are much better than those out the back of Nationwide

Yep – some pretty sweet stuff around there … and

sprint training against the horrific wind

So much so I often whimp out of riding westwards along the common and ride along the canal and cut up the road past Greenham Church to get into the woods off the back!

Also many trails aren’t on OS maps so you need to go out and look for them

…beaten to it!

As most have said, best way is to go out and explore. It’s also worth making notes on an OS Map — marking what’s unrideable, which way round is best to ride a section, marking on location of unmarked trails in the hope you can find them again.

There are sections of our local woods that I never seem to ride exactly the same route.

Just have fun and explore!

LBS…let the experts take the pain out of it!!

Tillydog has it spot on IMHO. Same here for me too … each of my bikes has a pump and Topeak saddle bag with the said items with the edition of a CO2 canister so they’re ready to go.

Food, and if necessary a packable rain top goes in back pocket. Anymore than that for more remote rides, then the rucsac comes out with pretty much the stuff that vincienup mentions (maybe with the exception of the BruKit/Jet Boil!!)

Being an BC MTB Trail Leader, ML and member of an MRT, and massive plus one for the comments about not reallying on phones/GPS for navigating and for carrying a map and compass when out more remotely than your local trails or trail centre. Top tip here is to print out or copy the section of map you need rather than use the full map (but keep that in your pack as a backup).

As everyone else has said, keep going! Dial in your expectations a little bit more.

Read a short article on Ned Overend in another (lesser!?) MTB publication about riding in your 60’s. Worth a peek maybe:

MBR January 2017

38 on front and 11-42 (11 speed) rear cassette on XC bike works a treat for me. Every now and then I’m spinning out on the roads but most of the time gets me up most hills

Do you have a tow ball? They’re the best place to mount a rack

+ 1

Always used to put the bike in the back of the car but got feed up of the mud-fest. Bought a Thule one that swings down to give access to the boot.

Highly recommended

I’m back as I’d rather save the holiday for the summer when at least the rain is warm – having said that it’s a cracking day today and I’m stuck inside……

Likewise … and just to rub salt into the wound the missus is out riding today!

I do have things to do just can’t really get focused enough to do them.

Know that feeling! Just can’t get motivated to get stuck in. I think I’ll be making excuses about three o’clock

I have the tapered dry bag from alpkit, i’ve used it by itself but found it a pain if you need to be in it mid ride.

forgot to say … one of the advantages of having a separate harness is that you can pull the dry bag out to get at things and also you can take it away from the bike so you have your kit with you in your tent/under a tarp, in the bothy

Tape up your frame/bike

+1 absolutely deffo!

Welcome to the world of bikepacking!

If you’re packing enough kit for overnighting – sleeping bag, mat, tent or tarp, stove and food, spare clothes etc, then that’s going to be far too heavy for a backpack.

Trust me – I’ve tried! Having done quite a few mountain marathons and got my kit down to a very minimalist level I thought I had it sussed for bikepacking, but it wasn’t! Carrying that amount of kit on my back almost crippled me!!

Buying some decent luggage (a mix of Alpkit and Wildcat) was a revelation! I use a Wildcat Seat Pack Harness with an Alpkit Tapered Dry bag on the back and an Alpkit Harness and Drybag on the front and also have a small off the shelf frame bag from Wildcat. Stability has never been an issue

I would doubt the need to have to use your dropper post if your bikepacking as generally you won’t be riding the kind of terrain that would warrant it. Even if you were, you’d just manage it by riding more defensively.

Loads of good advice on the Bear Bones forum.

No definite links to terrorism… yet…. it could still be a traffic accident like the Glasgow bin lorry

Don’t jumps to conclusions

More three part dramas like this needed please

Absolutely excellent. Recorded it and watched it as a box set back to back … brilliant way of watching it!

What are the collectives recommendations for similar things to watch?

The 235 is billed as a running watch do you have any problems using it for biking? Or other multisport? I’m currently going between the vivoactive hr and the 235.

Coming down on the side of an 235 at the moment, but I can envisage the Garmin Edge still upfront and the 235 and being used more as a wear all the time watch/activity tracker and multi-sports watch

At the mo most of my off road riding is done in a pair of winter bib longs with a pair of waterproof shorts over the top.

Makes perfect sense to me to keep warm and dry.

On the road, ditch the waterproof shorts and use a bike with mudguards

….simples!!

@ jam bo. Thanks for that … looks like it ticks the boxes. Can you synch/download the GPS track log with any mapping software after the activity?

If for use in the UK — synthetic for function, down for posing. End of debate.

Some interesting comments on Mental Health there. I work for one of the Emergency Services and Mental health is a massive issue for us and we’re all made aware of its importance.

A good starting point for anyone interested is http://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-yourself/five-ways-to-wellbeing/