I would go south to north and come back the way I came, after doing something on Benachie.

Strava names.
Up the South side is called Don view to the rocks
Down the North side is called Sleeper.

……and ace, I didn’t know about the crossing.

Renton,
Remember the guy you rode with called John Young? Find him again and he’ll help you set it up/tell you if there is anything wrong. He really knows his shit when it comes to suspension (not the others on here don’t).
He is on Moray MBC and Pinkbike as JY and Betsie. Contact him and he will gladly help you out.
Matt.

Thank you Klunk for that last set of images, absolutely amazing.

I like that. A fair bit of variety considering it feels like only ever ride on one hill.

Strava by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickr

Stomach cramps, diahorrea, sore muscles and joints, hot and cold flushes, headache, nausea (but no actual vomiting).
Like you I’ve found any movement painful and very tiring.
As my landlady has also got something similar I’m guessing it’s something like Gastroenteritis.

On the plus side I’ve lost a lot of weight 🙂

130/150mm and coming in at 37 1/2 lbs in this guise.

IMAG0881 by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickr

Just assume Penmachno will be like a stream and Marin will be fine and you won’t be far away from reality…

Rode both this weekend for the first time and this ^^ summed them up.

I’ve no idea why the Chromag is better than all the others I’ve had in the past, but it was effortlessly smooth every time?

Chromag without a doubt.

Weighing in at 37lbs, this can be hard work on the ups.

IMAG0881 by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickrx

Tricky things those canal banks. High speeds, slippy cobbles, ruts and beer all mean you’re probably going to go for a dip at some point, or as in my case, you’re going to the bottom of a drained canal 😳

I’m not the only one, all the lads I ride with in the Ringley Woods area have taken a dip In a canal.

I spend too much there!

Just placed an order tonight with no issues.

Done.

Good luck.

Flat and wide feet here and suffered all sorts of pains when running. Did the gait analysis thing and now have no issues at all.
Ended up with a pair of Ascics GT1000 (I think. I’m at work)

Would one die if a 26 inch wheel was put in a 650B frame?

My mate has done it to try and replicate his downhill bike but with less travel. XL Nukeproof Mega TR 275 with 26″ wheels.

Frame and forks are less than a year old. I also have a back-up 26″ frame in the unlikely event I break a Nukeproof Mega.
I’m gonna be 26″ for a while yet.

Pudding, chips, peas and gravy from the chippy with half a loaf of HEAVILY buttered Warburtons toasty bread.

It’s what I live off when I visit Manchester.

I live in the NE of Scotland so will rarely ride it, but what the hell, £20 in.

Good luck.

colournoise – Member
Best intro to a whole album for me is the squall of noise at the start of “Seagull” on “Nowhere”.

That album also has one of the best outros in the cello melody at the end of ” Vapour Trail”.

Leave Them All Behind from Going Blank Again would be my choice. Nowhere is the better album though.

In the mid 90’s I drove a few nice cars amongst which were a Bentley Brooklands and a BMW 750iL. The only thing that impressed me with the Bentley was the carpet. The BMW was simply awesome.

John Young, he’s pretty fit for an old bloke

Maxxis tyres. They don’t fall to pieces like all the other brands I’ve tried.
Deore chainrings. They work and last for ages.

JonEdwards – Member
Define “trail bike”

The biggest I’ve done on my Rocket are the 2 drops on The Matador at Innerleithen, which claim to be 8′ and 6′ according to the warning signs next to them (they don’t look quite that big in photos). The 6′ one is a pretty flat landing and bloody well feels it – much harsher than the supposdly bigger one further up the track! (maybe I’m not going fast enough)

Essentially, bend your knees on landing and it’ll be reet.

This, but on a Nukeproof Mega TR.

9 months for my current Nukeproof Mega TR frame, although it is on its 4th shock. I think the oldest part of the bike is the rear hub body at 4 years old.

IMAG0556 by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickr

Large frame with a 30″ inside leg.

Try pushing on the lowers (with air in) whilst trying to tighten the nut.

AlexSimon – Member
Hairscary – are these photos of the same climb you mean – looks beautiful!
http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4368

That’s the one.
Has it all, just doable to the bridge, a hike-a-bike after that, then back on the bike to the hut, with stunning scenery all around.

Glen Clova to the pony hut.
To the bridge is doable….not by me, three fails in dry conditions. A carry for a bit and then back on the bike for the final bit. It wrecks me every time.
Stunning scenery when you look up.

Option one for me…..although I have absolutely no exciting moments. My motivation is to do my job with as little stress or hassle as possible, go home and not think about work.

The Gordon Way, Bennachie, a few weeks ago.

IMAG0841 by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickr

Best thing for the boardwalk really.

iolo – Member
My handwriting is bloody awful too.
I get over it by writing everything in capital letters.
At least then it’s a little earlier to read

I stopped doing joined up writing the day I left education…….25 years ago.

9 in 25 years although I’m sure there are ones I’ve forgotten about.

Christmas work at a catalogue company’s distribution centre, loading and unloading three piece suites from delivery trucks. Dirty, heavy and hard work. The attitude of some of the permanent staff was shocking, their method of unloading a brand new leather suite that was stacked three high was to slide it out until it fell to the floor, you could hear the frame break when it landed!

First proper job was……..

carlosg – Member

Ended up doing 18 months of on/off temporary clerical assistant work for the inland revenue in Leeds. The work was boring filling stuff mainly but it was flexi time and myself and the other temps would make up most of our weeks hours from monday to friday lunchtime then have a 2 1/2 hour liquid lunch and spend an hour in the afternoon hammered before we could go home Happy days.

…….this, but in Manchester in 1990. As you say “happy days”

Christmas work at a catalogue company’s distribution centre, loading and unloading three piece suites from delivery trucks. Dirty, heavy and hard work. The attitude of some of the permanent staff was shocking, their method of unloading a brand new leather suite that was stacked three high was to slide it out until it fell to the floor, you could hear the frame break when it landed!

First proper job was……..

carlosg – Member

Ended up doing 18 months of on/off temporary clerical assistant work for the inland revenue in Leeds. The work was boring filling stuff mainly but it was flexi time and myself and the other temps would make up most of our weeks hours from monday to friday lunchtime then have a 2 1/2 hour liquid lunch and spend an hour in the afternoon hammered before we could go home Happy days.

…….this, but in Manchester in 1990. As you say “happy days”

Be prepared to change your plans and have a copy of the ferry timetables to hand.

I did a wee tour of the islands last year in August, cue 50/60mph winds from the north, heavy rain, cancelled ferries and a flattened tent at Banranald campsite.
I had intended on doing your initial route albeit a little quicker, but ended up doing your second route in 4 days! The winds were that strong from the North meant that I couldn’t avoid going fast (top 10 on Strava from broad ford to Armadale on Skye 😕 ) and consequently arrivied stupidly early for every ferry and ended up doing way more miles each day than I had planned.

I really enjoyed it and want to go back in better weather.

[/url]
IMAG0841[/url] by MattNSmith[/url], on Flickr

As someone who sweats profusely I can see the point of wearing goggles instead of glasses. Sweat runs down the inside of glasses and obscures your vision, this does not happen with goggles. That said you could only use them on the downhill bits as they would be too hot for anything else.
Personally I only use goggles with a fullface and don’t bother with glasses or goggles with an open lhelmet.

jam bo – Member
October 29th. I was flying back from Aberdeen

Mine started about this time, along with a lot of people at work. I’m Aberdeen based.

I got rid of it after about 3 weeks but have another cold now 🙁

Hairyscary…. Great pics! Sent a shiver down my spine looking at that old chair…. The creases seemed to change in every pic….almost like someone or something was shuffling about on it. I dare you to stay there one night…. Just the one.

Not on your nelly! Like I said, just being near the place makes me feel uneasy.

and the pictures are not mine, I just used to ride past as quick as I could 😳