I’m really curious as its just never been that cold here in that London. Do cars start OK or is it causing grief? I mean with newish, otherwise reliable German and Jap stuff not 15 year old Rovers! Presumably in countries with reguar -10 temps the cars get a winter prep service but not in Derbyshire I suspect.

Why don’t schools employ temps / floaters to cover for staff sickness and leave? Its not going to work for some subjects but surely the current situation is worse.

Surely its tougher – cold air in lungs, stiffer joints, extra calories need burning to keep warm. In addition all the extra layers make one feel a bit cumbersome and most people ride and race less in winter so are less fit. And the ground is probably soggier so a bit harder going, so yes overall, cold, winter riding is quite tough.

Still good for you!! Just eat more and wear more wool.

i had a 1.9 (2001) that was 136 hp and kept if for 8 years / 130,000 miles. fastish, 53-55 mpg, never broke down, sold for £2.5K.. great.

now have a 2.0 140 hp (ish), new in early 2010. same feel of power and slightly better mpg. obviously feels more refined as brand new.

(taxi drivers are professional drivers – are they good drivers?).

well, yes actually, i think London Cabbies are good drivers. they use their skills / knowledge to bully other users that can be ititating but i am very confident of not being hit by one. Minicabs on the other hand are the very worst.

Bristol Bike Fest has a great atmosphere and decent rocky course. camping, bar, bands etc. early june so good warm up for MM.

shorts in snow = rad.

i like them. surely the whole point about a grid is that electricity gets shifted easily to where it is needed? obviously they need to be part of an energy mix that will include wind, wave, nuclear and maybe some coal and gas.

I guess you can’t really go wrong if you fly to Demver and then drive west through Colorado towards Utah.

We did exactly this last month – two days in Fruita and a week in Moab and it was all really good. When I was skiing in Vail 2 years ago I was assured by locals that the riding there was good and it would be surprising if it wasn’t. US food is mainly $hite but micros produce good beer (even in Utah where there is a 3.2% alcohol limit on draft beer) and locals always super friendly. Bike shops in Moab provide a good uplift service to top of Porcupine Rim and other local trails. Its a long way to go but really good riding.

16 years in my own flat then house, total peace and quiet and freedom. i’m a great cook, its a great set up.

I think that avoiding some trails in winter / sustained wet periods is part of being a responsible mountain biker. Even in the ten years i have been riding several areas have been ruined or at least altered and largely by mountain bikes. Most single track only stays single track for 2-3 years.

I managed to wreck mine 2x and eventually chucked em and put a normal QR on. But then I am cack handed no question. For some inexcusable reason I had a habit of turning themm the wrong way so over tightening. Inexcusable. as is the price of £60 for the Ti version.

they look great – almost like cartoon mountain bike tyres! After ten years i have slowly learnt that light tyres are hardly worth it in winter when what i really need is reliable grip.

Before I did it I was worried at the thought of 7 consecutive days but having done it twice now I would say its easier than you imagine. Most days are around 70KM with so not super long, there is plenty of tarnac and fire road to spin away on and 95% of it is not a race so take your time. Net result is that it is a lot less knackering than a ‘normal’ 100 km enduro that most people ride as fast as poss with as few stops as poss. Lots of the riders are not v fit and the atmosphere is not as racey as say a Gorrick or Thetford.

Just get the miles in, plenty of 4-6 hour rides and plenty of back to back days. A riding holiday in May or June would be helpful. And fun!

Fascinating thread – I had no idea so many STWers lived in the area. SW Wilts is great and Frome has more Listed buildings than any other comparable size town in UK. Apparently. Personally i hope to live around Hindon – Tisbury – Donhead – Mere as and when i can finally escape the smoke and get back home to where all my family live.

Gorricks are great fun – loads of twisty up and down singletrack, roots and drops. Pre lap well worth it IME. I would say that 80% of people are there for a combination of traing and fun rather than execting to win something butthat doesn’t mean we don’t try our hardest. I find you just get sucked into competing and after 90mins you lungs feel raw and your legs are jelly. Then go and have a cheeseburger with extra mustard and ketchup from the van and a few beers when you get home. Beats DIK every time.

Thetford Winter Series is good as well depending upon where you live. Todays event was as goood as ever.

unless you take to the numerous paths off to the sides, many of which are steep, rarely used, very decent singletrack the SDW is a bt of a motorway and best seen as an epic, fitness / roadie type ride.

Endura MT500 jacket, either with or without a hood. I think that layering is much better than a big thick layer. I have a Gore soft shell that is ok if dry cold but in more than drizzle it turns into a soggy, heavy, slow to dry, beast.

I’m always conscious when I’m doing intervals that when I pass riders only to slow right down thirty seconds later (rinse and repeat), they probably think I’m a giant douche.

ditto that. also and more excusably when others jump a light and go ahead only to be overtaken etc etc.

It sounds as though you have other bike options and as you yourself say sometimes it is dry or frozen so you are hardly giving up. I suspect your attitude to mud is about the same as mine.

Fruita! if me and the bike get there ok. Reminds me, i must finish packing.

i’m disappointed they are going to waste money on the high speed rail line to Birmingham and beyond. I would have thought that there were lots of better uses for that money. That wouldn’t trash so much countryside.

For me having a bike set up on it permanantly makes it much easier to use. Otherwise swapping over wheels, fixing up the wires for the handlebar mounted read out and so on tends to be enough to put me off. That and getting drenched in sweat. Personally I would rather extend my commute. Even in London I can find good places to do intervals without excessive risk of accidents.

I have Crests and they are light and strong so far (five months but I am only 70 kg). In my exerience they are hard to get tyres onto on a tubeless basis. When on they work well however.

Having only started in 2000 these pictures make me feel very beginnerish. I can imagine how that gear must have induced envy and qualified you to look down on others and especially roadies whose bikes were pretty much identical to their 1950s predecessors.

Right place right time sells by email but he does charge more than OP is looking to pay. Personally i agree that being cheaper would sell more and probably more cash overall – works for cheap music, flights, hotels doesn’t it. I’ve actually bought quite a few images and prints and a mouse mat with me on it.

Gets his coat……

Thursday night is late night shopping night in the West End (incl Covent garden) so let them shop and you can go to the pub and enjoy yourself. Loads of bike shops in W1 and WC2 but personaly I’d go to the pub.

If hungary why not try one of the Korean places at back of Centre Point – v cheap and cheerful – great grub or the Ehiopian place on Caledonian Road 10mins walk north of Kings Cross. Proper food that raw chilli soaked beef eaten with fingers.

plenty depending exactly on your needs..

The Rider by Tim Krabbe – just a good book, believe me;

French Revolutions by Tim Moore – funny, possibly too frivilous for some tastes but i liked it and laughed out loud alot;

The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton – classic equivalent of Fever Pitch but better cos its about riding;

Put me back on my bike by William Fotheringham – biog of Tom Simpson. well worth it.

Breaking the chain by Willy Voet – inside story og 1990s roadie drugs by the man that supplied the Festina team.

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage – another side of the story. a bit boring IMO but probably worth reading.

One more KM and we’re in the showers by Tim Hilton – a recall of life as a club rider through the post war era. Quite interesting, lots of background on the socialist roots of cycling, a fair amount of stuff on famous riders through the years.

A Colombian in USOstal wrote a good book or life with Lance that had some nice insights and anecdotes. Penna may have been his name?

Any book by Armstrong is $hite and if you are like me will make you hate the man for being the arrogant cheating git he undoubtedly is.

Thanks everyone. I had a feeling High Rollers would get a mention at some point. I think Schwalbes are a bit thin skinned.

You might not be first to the bottom of the hill, but you’ll have a big grin on your face when you get there. Just stick on some big tyres.

this is so true. went HT this year on a Soul after 8 years on FSR / Flux and is just great.

Sorry but watching both vids i thought that they were ruining a good walk. And walking doesn’t normally beat riding but all that slow speed hoppity hop stuff – great skills for sure but thats not the essence of riding for me. Give me some fast flowiny singletrack please.

chilli chickpea and cabbage surprise. It tastes surprisingly good …..

I thought the BS was a load of bobbins when first mentioned back in the ellection but increasingly I think it could be quite a powerful idea. Personally I do sod all to help other people but others I know do their bit – coaching the kids footie team, raising money for some worthy cause and so on. too many people just don’t want to contribute to anything other than their own immediate happiness but thats no way to a better society. Its not a new idea but perhaps people need reminding every now and then. ‘Don’t ask what your country can do for you etc etc’ Its worth a chance I think.

Had Olympics for 18 months and Crests for 6 months and both do very well running various normal tyres with latex. Very few punctures, stay up well but quite tedious to change tyes (I’ve resorted to summer and winter and thats it). Had 819s for 3 years before.

UST is better for running realy low pressure as I find that below 30 psi (i weigh about 67kg plus kit) results in burping at best and tyre coming off at worst. At 35 psi that still gives loads of grip they are spot on.

in terms of strength they are all fine but i am a wuss at most riding.

Endura MT500 for proper bad weather and deepest winter. Really protective but v bulky..

A Karrimor paclite – all the rage a few years ago but mainly downgraded to commuting now, or for damp days with showers. Packs down quite well. No ‘features’ which is a good thing.

A Montane thing that packs up to the size of a typical orange – mainly for roadie emergency duties. Compact yes, but only showerproof.

I came on the train today.

I think it was the vibrations.

Sorry.

Good thread, trail erosion and widening by us is only going to become a bigger issue. The clue is in the name of this website.

I’ve never had such misted up glasses, even at MM in 2008 and that seemed to be a similiar level of rain and mud. Just a massive shame, so much effort by so many people and ruined by the weather. We quit about 2:30 as well. Felt ashamed and useless but my brakes had nearly gone (I know it hardly mattered under the circumstances but..), I couldn’t see much alot of the time, esp when under trees, and it just wasn’t fun or worth it. Bike is shiny clean now but sounds completely knackered. At least I replaced my summer tyres with Trailrakers. During the early mud stages, up to say 1.00 i was cruising past some people simply because i had grip and they didn’t.

nice thick merino base layers with long arms, a fleecy buff, a really nice de marchi mid layer that is ten years old but is very warm for its bulk, a ground effect merino top who’s name i can’t remember, woolie hats. I love the heat but love pulling on warm clothes on a cold day as well.

the sixties surely even though I was only borm in 1968.

That was a real revolution in cultural norms, everyday behaviour, music, fashion, social upheaval (mainly in a good way I think) and everything since has been fairly incremental in comparison. That said punk in late 1970s must have been good. 1980’s moder romance shite is fairly embarrassing.