wait, i have my brake levers against my grips!

didn’t realise it was such a newbie mistake.

i use two fingers to brake. don’t think i could do it with one.. but maybe i should give it a go

he’s got to do 10k at the same speed, so probably not up for hill sprints – better to keep the same output throughout i believe..

probably bar position more than the bike specifically.

the dropout is no different for either though, is it? so shouldn’t be related..

if you’re around for “muckmedden” in april (22) i imagine they are using some nice routes http://www.muckmedden.co.uk/

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4073

2 legally, i.e. fixed and front

never enforced

well.. yeah i suppose so! i mean it’s a mat in a tent, it’s never going to be the greatest sleep, but it’s not bad at all. i was pleased when i tried it, put it that way.

i have an alpkit “airo” (i think?) and dirtbag, airo is the same thickness as the base so probably similar – it’s very much a lightweight does-the-job-but-not-much-more option, hence me buying the fatter one which i use when near a car etc.

fat one is fairly big when packed down, thin one is fairly uncomfortable!

i wouldn’t carry the fat one on a bike, but i don’t like to carry much at all.

go alpkit, very good and fairly cheap

ah so clockwise is the way to do the gypsy glen? in that case i do indeed know a couple ways back into GT as you say! ta

any routes across the other side of the valley to get back to glentress? up to about the same distance again would be fine!

if you neglect the strongman bib, you are a fool.

quickest way is to take the fireroad before the quarry above the bike park, but it’s steep as shit for half a km, so a push or suffer. it isn’t that far though and mellows out before you join the top of the spooky climb.

will almost certainly be shut on friday though! the alternative is still pretty enjoyable though and as above the blue at the bottom is the one to go for! i’d be fairly happy doing loops of that all day tbh (falla brae it might be called?)

try asking on the trick section of lfgss http://www.lfgss.com/forum33.html – not sure if there are many companies selling full wheels.. but you can probably pick one up second hand there, and they will certainly know what the deal is (trend for fixie tricks is slowly edging towards the realisation that they just want a bmx, currently 26 is quite common)

in my experience it doesn’t stop the sweat but it does make the whole unpleasant situation slightly more tolerable. have the window open too!

you really want to record 28 hours of helmetcam?

a laptop is the obvious and easiest solution – if there are any portable storage only options they are going to be expensive and you’d be better off buying a few cheap SD cards (you only need class 4 and up for gopro)

is the aim to give you more excuses for rests cos you have to keep stopping to put the chain back on?

hmm trying to remember what the train was like for me.. came from somewhere in germany to rotterdam – i don’t _think_ it was double decker but i remember having to hang my bike up in a fairly compact space..

i wonder if you could get a ferry(s)? there must be some routes through the baltic sea.. (the r1 route goes up near gdansk i think)

yeah repairs have been done, probably to the one below by now too, so probably best to avoid riding on it.

a glove with a really long seatpost?

well 15 stone is never going to be life threatening! surely the aim is “keep going til not fat” though? certainly “safe” if you do so steadily.

well it is, yes!

druidh off here made a ‘lost phone’ thread yesterday. good ride?

time for another lap then?

i just use 26 yeah – but it is an arse when you get a puncture in the ice.

weekend past spooky and super-g below it were shut, spooky is nearly finished and super-g marked for repairs – i think they were due to open this weekend but don’t know how on target they are.

got a trek 69er, completely love it, but i’ve never ridden anything else so i can’t compare.

would be 27s yes, unless someone changed them later

might be an idea to double check the condition of the rest of the bike though, by the sounds of it!

i’ve often wondered if you’re better off running your arms along top at the same line as your bars or tucking in further – i sometimes hold on to the hoods with my pinkies and rest my arms inside the bars.. that probably decreases my lung space a bit, but how is if from an aero point of view? better cos you’re narrower at the front or worse cos there’s more bits (the bars) involved in hitting air?

kind of a half arsed tt bar arrangement.

man i’m kind of gutted i’m going for a ride rather than watching it live now..

they’re like mini fixed gear risers aren’t they?

if you’re feeling an “instant” boost, it’s maybe to do with the sugar being more accessible? do gels etc have much straight-up sugar?

there’s a very interesting bit of a radiolab episode which is kind of related – about 12 minutes into this: http://www.radiolab.org/2010/apr/05/limits-of-the-body/

basically a study where cyclists rinsed/spat out real and “fake” energy drink – so should have been evenly matched, but those spitting out real energy drink did better. The thinking is that if your body thinks it’s getting more energy shortly, it gives the go-ahead to free up the reserves it was saving in case you’re attacked by a bear etc.

uh or something like that. Anyway, it’s an interesting piece (as are all the radiolab shows, tbh)

though you might not be so pleased with it after you fit your £50 parts.

Blackburn comp for me (c.£4 )

those just snap at the welds though, you end up going through one every few rides

paddy waggon is a fairly weighty beast too isn’t it?

fuji track is nice enough! they also do a “feather” version with quill stem etc

definitely go plastic.. i like these, very tight on a sis bottle anyway. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/bbb-bbc-19-compcage-water-bottle-cage/

steering looks rather terrifying and also impossible with a child on the front seat!

but it’s quite cool really. also you get a nice soft crumple zone for front impacts.

also lezyne.

one tube if i have one fixed, repair kit, small multitool, levers, pump on frame, few jelly babies or winegums, + nutty bar things if longer.

phone in a sandwich bag+earphones, keys

winegums have a tendency to break into inhaleable chunks when chewing, i’ve found (twice) so jelly babies are preferable there.

weird, both have reasonable feedback.. i reckon one sold to the other outside ebay but didn’t cancel the (long) listing, something like that.