Thanks chaps! Help appreciated as always!

Try some on our blog here…

West Highland Way[/url]

Which area are you staying in?

Also, if you are staying in a hotel then give them a call. A lot of hotels now have secure indoor locked places to keep bikes – just make sure its well locked up. Give them a call – no harm in trying!

..old school parenting!!

Not an injury as such, but on the subject of old school parenting, i remember being about 10 or 11 and going to the dentist. Had ‘gas’ whilst having a tooth out and woke up feeling very dizzy. Was sick – a very blood red sick – all over the surgery.

I was promptly b*ll*cked and slapped!

Thanks Mum!

Its 4 weeks since i broke my clavicle – collar bone to you and me! Still not back on the bike but feeling as though i must be getting close!

Managed to come off my bike in Philips Park on one of the new trails :( I was looking on you tube last night and was able to pinpoint the exact spot – 32 seconds in and accompanied by recognition by the rider that he wasnt expecting that to happen!

If you are anywhere near Manchester then get in touch…

Just googled them – stand corrected! They look like a 86* series bar…

I had a look at the 961 aero bars but thought mine were a bit chunkier. The 951 seemed to be more like an aircraft wing in profile whereas mine seem to be quite uniform in shape.

The Thule 591… elaborate for me please!

There is a site that allows you to upload your gpx file and it will compress the ‘time’ whilst keeping the ‘distances’ the same. Cant recall what its called but this isn’t something that i agree with!

That’s what Right-Click is for. It’s an internet usability standard.

How come i didnt know something thats so simple… :oops:

The only tweak that i would like to see would be when following links posted by users, the link should open in a new tab / window rather than on the same tab as it does now…

Its on Coal Pit Lane – quite a way up. Have a look at the map below – i have put a cunning arrow on it…

If going up the mast road, just before the cattle grid at the top, there is a trail off on the right. For the first couple of hundred metres its paved with ancient paving stones. After that it descends the moor before eventually reaching Coal Pit Lane. The monument is right at the bottom next to the junction.

Thanks fellas

I had found Lavatrax on the net before i posted and worried that it might be a bit more catered towards groups and multi day bookings. I’ll give him a try though – so thanks again.

As we take a spin up over the moors, though the woodland or over the fields, its easy to take this beautiful landscape for granted. Its available to us week in, week out as an escape from the day job, the other half or whatever else we need that release. But 100 years ago, many of these places were unavailable to Joe Public as the land was owned by the local gentry and trespassers were not welcome.

Most of us will be aware of the famous events at Kinder Scout[/url] in April 1932, but the ball was started rolling a long time before. At Winter Hill to the north of Bolton, the first mass trespass was undertaken in September 1896. The events of the day are well recorded in this blog here

Cant tell you a lot about this one. Came across it on a track just outside Helmshore in Lancashire…

Most of the snow has gone round our way now. Just a few drifts and icy patches. This driver still hasn’t dug himself out though!

North Bolton area…

I’m an antique restorer

haha that would come in handy if you were to take up any of the offers posted over the last 5 pages!

EASTER Tune association thread (its Friday and I am bored)

You might be bored but its Friday, and i’m in love…

Admittedly not a strong link to an Easter theme!

Brew Dog is rediculously over priced imho…

Try the New Oxford just up the road on the A6. 10 minute walk from Victoria…

We have done

War & Defence
Trains & Railway
Water
Churches
Tunnels
Dead wood / Trees
I also thought we had done bridges and art, but might be wrong…

Recent suggestions that i can remember:

Trig Points
Derelict
Horses (?!)

17./ Most men like having their nipples played with.

Not sure about that! This quote from Glokta in Joe Abercrombie’s second book of the First Law Trilogy…

“Some women, for reasons I could never fathom, insist on fiddling with them in bed, as though we derive anything but annoyance from having them interfered with.” :D

Think its the coldest place i’ve ever been!

Good place though, if not as friendly as Munich and other southern towns…

No spam on mine. Just a note to say that someone i dont know is following me on twitter – god only knows why!

Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder – Together in Electric Dreams

china crisis – wishful thinking

Fairly sure that the first book i ever read in infants was “Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry”!

Thereafter I loved The Magic Faraway Tree

and any other Enid Blyton books. I remember liking this one because of the secret railway tunnels…

Probably my best primary school read though was Speed Six by Graham Carter. A book about motorsport…

Good pictures – but where are they?!

Intersting lesson for anyone in business! Have noticed just how many people still believe the Bolton services to be a dump. Granted they once were the Nr 1 dump in the UK but since being demolished and rebuilt they are pretty good – nice European feel to them IMHO… Just shows that spending the money is only half the battle – takes years to lose the old image.

I like Tebay – mainly because i love the pies in the deli – the ‘Old Growler’ is a particular favourite. I also sentimentally (though not sure why!) feel excited whenever we get to the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum when going up to Scotland!

Presumably there is an ettiquette to eating it? Do you swallow it or not…?

Was just wondering why the helicopter is buzzing around the area…

Just for my two-penneth, I bought my Zesty from ubyk and i was very happy with the sales and service from them. Would whole heartedly recommend them…

Have to say i agree 100% with Judy-Rockshox about Rowan Atkinson – i thought it was totally inappropriate. John Bishop was a sad man, Ricky Gervais was Ricky Gervais.

As for Peter Kay, well i’m a Boltonian and i always try to seek the positives in his act. Years ago he started well and i dont begrudge him the money he’s made, I just wish he’d enjoy a retirement on that money and give up making this rubbish. It was a good comedy idea – just very poorly executed.

That said, much of the video was shot in and around our village and the moorland scenes were all up where we go mountain biking so the video was interesting to me, if for the wrong reasons!

where are you based? My mate is a mole catcher… no genuinely he is!

Steak and BJ Day you say?

Cant wait to see the special Google Logo in celebration!

Sad that so many people have written Elton, I’m guessing they’ve never gone and listened to his very early work…

I guess the same applies to Paul McCartney. Both extremely talented (if not necessarily my taste) but now people dislike them for always wanting to be the ones at the party – sucking upto anyone and everyone that believes themselves to be influential.

As a young child (so talking 35+) years ago now, I had an old aunt who had an irrational dislike for Benny Hill. She couldn’t stand him and would go out of the room when he was on tv. That had a big impact on me and i made a point of not wanting to ever end up like that about anything.

By and large there is hardly anything that i cant tolerate…

Except Chris Moyles.

Pretty much the first thing I said to the missus this morning was what an ar$e Cheryl Baker must be. She commented that I had woken up in a typically grumpy mood which i thought a tad unfair.

Anyway the BBC have released aerial footage link of the extent of the terrible conditions. What surprises me most is that the sloping roofs of houses don’t even appear to have much snow on them! This whole snow issue seems to be being blown out of all proportion but then again, thats generally what happens when the south and south west gets a few flakes of snow!

Oh and another thing – how many times will i read about “blizzard” conditions?! Its a few snow fluuries FFS. Captain Oates would turn in his grave.

RANT OVER!

Right, i’m just popping out, i may be some time… :roll:

There are walks a plenty but the Sharps Edge trail up Blencathra is an experience not to forget. Not particularly hard but certainly exhilerating!

A couple of things we have tried in recent years include the Via Ferrata at Honister Slate Mine (brilliant!) and we also went gorge walking which was good as well but dependent upon the amount of recent rainfall.

Via Ferrata
Ghyll Scrambling

If you are looking for a pub then take your pick from these:

The Angel[/url] at Bowness – great food and drink made all the better if its a sunny day and you can sit outside

The Masons Arms[/url] at Strawberry Bank – home brewed and imported beer along with very good food.

Same price as last year i think… Yes i’m signed up for it and tbh, given the atmosphere and how much i enjoyed it then i didn’t have any qualms in parting with my money again this year.

Last time was my first 10k run and I was ill for a while before the race so entered on the back of pretty much no training. I managed it in about 1 hour 1 minute. This time i’m aiming for sub 50 minutes. It will be a big ask and i’ll be relying on the atmosphere to get me round!

Joe Abercrombie’s “The First Law” Trilogy…

Sorry, but get really p1$$3d off with the negativity on here at times!

If its your first tome out in 15 years then i dare say you are looking forward to going to Gisburn tomorrow! And so you should be – you will have a great time!

Sure, once you have done a lot of riding then maybe you will think it comparably less exciting or challenging than other places but i reckon you will enjoy it!

Its quite hard work on the uphill sections especially if bike fitness is a little lacking. As Dales_Rider said, some of the best bits are off the main fire road so keep your eyes peeled so you dont miss them. Also (according to some) the Hully Gully is in a poor state towards the bottom so watch out for that.

Have a good one!