theres not a single thing I’ve seen on the show yet that you cant do at home.

it’s a lot harder to avoid other celebrities doing travel shows with their dad/dog/family/another celebrity though

Summer (a dry one), yes

Winter (September to May), probably not

(this of course depends on your definition of a road bike, your skills in slidey conditions, your belligerence, and willingness to getting it covered in the component eating grinding paste that a damp cinder track can become)

the Russian figure skater who blamed her positive test on a strawberry dessert prepared by her grandfather on a chopping board he used to crush his medication pills on…

made Contador’s steak excuse look amateur

[colournoise]

colournoise

Full Member

The Trap Door is hands down some of the best TV ever in any genre. Not sure it’s a cartoon though…

he’s right :-)

Trap Door, Morph and Wallace & Gromit are stop-frame animation, not cartoons :-)

The Trap Door is hands down some of the best TV ever in any genre. Not sure it’s a cartoon though…

he’s right :-)

Trap Door, Morph and Wallace & Gromit are stop-frame animation, not cartoons :-)

[burntembers]

burntembers

Full Member

I also vaguely remember Watoo watoo about a bird, and a cartoon about an egg called Ludwig?

i remember Ludwig and was just thinking about it the other day, i always assumed it was a bizarre Eastern European animation dubbed into English but wiki says it was produced in the UK, it was… odd

luckily my Dad loved a cartoon so The Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Road Runner and all the rest were required viewing :-) then as I never grew up Roobarb and Custard, Henry’s Cat, Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain, it goes on…

B.A.Nana

Free Member

Does anyone remember one where the main character was a beach buggy?

Banana Splits? was live action but dd have animation in it, Arabian Knights for one

I also vaguely remember Watoo watoo about a bird, and a cartoon about an egg called Ludwig?

i remember Ludwig and was just thinking about it the other day, i always assumed it was a bizarre Eastern European animation dubbed into English but wiki says it was produced in the UK, it was… odd

Does anyone remember one where the main character was a beach buggy?

Banana Splits? was live action but dd have animation in it, Arabian Knights for one

2.5L of storage is 2.5L of storage :-)

you still can fit a useful amount of snacks, tools, spares, a waterproof or whatever you fancy in there

if you’re serious about it have you considered a custom frame bag to fit your bike, Restrap for one will make you one up based on a cardboard template you send them

Morvelo was acquired by The Hut Group a while back and then the Frasers Group bought Morvelo (and ProBikeKit) off The Hut Group and decided to mothball it making the Morvelo founders redundant in the process. the Frasers Group also own Evans which is probably why you end up there now.

Overland has morphed into being more of an upcycling brand than specifically a cycling thing.

I’d suggest the King Alfred’s Way is not very smooth running in places, quite off-road at times and susceptible to the weather a lot more than the Downslink :-)

The newish riders version of the North Downs Way is easily accessible from London and the second half after Sevenoaks is easier going (the first half has some technical moments), it has some tarmac sections in it though but they’re generally quiet lanes, a lot hillier than the Downlink mind you

The Rebellion Way in East Anglia is flat (obvs) and easy but again not continuously off-road and traffic free

Seems I have a similar story to many on here, lazy right eye that I had operations on as a kid, eye-patches and a frosted lens on the left eye to encourage it to work to no avail. And great for the self-esteem.

Both eyes technically work but they’re not joined up and I use my left eye 99.9% of the time but if I shut or cover my left eye the right one works perfectly but it quickly starts to hurt. The squint is subtly noticeable to others and it gets worse when I get tired.

I often wonder how much better I’d be at ball sports if I had binocular vision, although it seems my brain can compensate and I’m actually better if I don’t think about it, I also often think if I would be faster through singletrack if the trees weren’t 2D and it wasn’t just down to my lack of talent :-) Low evening light strobing through the trees on my left hand side is always a hateful experience.

I’ve mostly learnt to just get on with it and I don’t notice too much of a hinderance, although I used to enjoy shooting and being both left-handed and left-eyed make things awkward with spent cartridges spinning across my face, but that’s a very niche issue. Oh, and centering stems is a bit more hit and miss than both eyed people. Having only one useable eye does save 50% on contact lenses though…

[Stevet1]

Stevet1

Free Member

Re-reading LOTR now and always wonder if Jo Burt took inspiration from Goldberry for Summer.

having read the first page and gone no further as it, um, wasn’t for me, no :-)

Re-reading LOTR now and always wonder if Jo Burt took inspiration from Goldberry for Summer.

I haven’t been asked if I’ve done it for years, and it makes no difference.

If worried about it inflate your tyres to 100psi and then let some air out so they’re 80psi again. Technically you’ve let some air out of the tyres…

As above, go for the shoes that fit you the best, not that are the stiffest, especially if you’re doing 3+ hr rides.

Any dedicated road shoe will be stiff enough anyway

unrelenting climb on the SDW from the Adur up Beeding hill

the climb just to the north that finishes in the same car park but comes from Upper Beeding, affectionally known as Brick Bostal, is both steeper and technically harder, you can thank me later :-)

there’s a lot going up the north scarp of the South Downs that can be tricky

the bridleway immediately to the east of Ditchling Beacon is almost impossible, and the one immediately to the west (Burnhouse Bostal) has a short steep section in it that needs the planets to align

the one that parallels the A273 up the east side of Wolstonbury Hill is another one

to be honest you could work your way along the length of the South Downs challenging yourself

yes, it doesn’t have to be a ‘gravel’ tyre, any slicker MTB tyre will do

depends how much tread you want but a Vittoria Terreno or Schwalbe Thunder Burt have gravel tyre characteristics

as the ferry terminal is down a ramp right at the end of the train terminal parking your car (for free?) in the environs of a nearby station and training in might be an option

we did a bikepacking thing on the IoW for the weekend and left the car in a standard car park near to the ferry and spent most of the time wondering if it would still be there, because Portsmouth :-)

Gore

I have some Tadeevo barefoot shoes that were pretty spendy but pack down nice and flat and are comfortable for walking around in and with a sturdy enough sole for an impromptu 4 hour trail walk in the hills

Just got some Merrell Vapour Gloves that are significantly lighter but pack a bit bulkier, decisions decisions…

56, and fitness has… changed.

like others top end has gone but endurance has increased so if I can hold on for the couple of hours at the start of the ride I’ll be dragging everyone home :-) guile helps a little here too, which is definitely an age and experience thing

both maintaining fitness and recovery is harder though, and it’s worthwhile spending as much time on body maintenance as time in the saddle with stretches and core work which I think has made the biggest difference to me in keeping me keeping me going

you have to work at it a *lot* harder as you don’t have the natural spring of youth, it’s absolutely worth it though

bikepacking races are still about preparedness and organisation, what that is has just shifted. the people at the pointy end of the race will know exactly how far they can travel in a day and have their possible accommodation spots already noted down, in exactly the same way that any prepared rider will have their resupply places noted down and anything else of note, there is also organisation in researching places that have remote entry rather than choosing a hotel that might have time sucking reception and a discussion over where you can put your bike

the dangers of ultra racing through tiredness are massively over dramatised by some, a rider is far more at risk from the actions of another road user than anything they might do through fatigue

staying in hotels is a common race tactic these days as riders have realised that have a few hours proper sleep rather than being uncomfortable in a bivvy bag means you are better rested and therefore stronger for the next day, you can also travel lighter as you’re not carrying sleeping gear if you solely rely on accommodation

the of ease of airbnb and booking.com have made this incredibly easy, they’re an option which wasn’t available when bikepacking races first appeared which meant that misery in a ditch was all part of the image, it does make the whole escapade quite expensive though. as mentioned above it has to be a facility that’s available to all so you can’t stay at a mates if they’re on the route, even being invited to stay in someone’s home is a fuzzy area to some

i think the TransAtlanticWay is the only bikepacking race that has a mandatory stop rule, a continuous 3 hour stop in every 24hrs

you’re not *really* raging that she’s bringing her new bloke along, if you were just friends you’d be happy for her, you’re raging because he’s taken the opportunity for you two to spend a few days together and you were seeing that as a tiny victory of your ‘friendship’ over her new relationship, and on top of that deep down inside there was the tiny whisper of a breeze of hope that something might happen because you were somewhere nice and all that and even though you knew it probably wouldn’t there was still a hope, the same one that’s been there the last three years.  maybe she invited him because she knew this was going to happen and needed to put a stop to it, as others had said you should have discussed this and you’re being incredibly naive if you thought you two could just be away for a few days together when there was a new man involved

but also she was incredibly rude in not telling your clubmates that she was bringing someone along to their group holiday

the best thing for your emotions is not to go, it sounds like she’s ruined your holiday already, you may feel that you’ve ‘lost’ but it will be the best thing for you, you’ll have to suck up the financial costs i’m afraid but this sort of thing always happens. it sounds like you’re far more friends than she is and removing yourself from her orbit is more sensible in the long run

if you do go are you going to be chewing wasps all holiday and create an atmosphere or were you thinking you were going to turn up and still be the good ‘friend’ because her new man will feel it’s all a bit weird. as it’s a cycling holiday and you’re men and there’s egos involved you’re going to try and beat each other up every hill and everyone will feel embarrassed anyway and wish neither of you had gone

ditch the backpack and get a suitably sized saddle pack.

yes, I know, bikepacking etc blah blah blah, but it will make it far more enjoyable, especially in summer

to keep with the theme, a Kryptonite motorbike disc lock (a teeny tiny D-lock) because i’ve had it lying around for years and a Kryptonite Seatsaver cable

i didn’t know about the ABUS Titalium and now i’m very desirous of one :-)

another vote for classic Tuscany, cliched as it may be it’s amazing, the roads are amazing and the hilltop villages are out of a postcard and the ones you haven’t heard of are usually nicer than the ones you have, you can easily do the strada bianchi on a road bike, i’ve seen old ladies ride to the shops on it, it’s not really gravel :-)

if you want quite and less touristy then Umbria next door is also lovely and if you want even quieter and a lot more hilly then the Garfagnana in northern Tuscany is a hidden gem

This isn’t just an UCI event organisation ‘issue’ as it’s the same as any other Pro level CX race, especially in it’s heartland of the Low Countries. Tens of thousands of people turn up making it more of a large capacity sporting event with some cycling in rather than a cycling event, the amount of alcohol consumed only underlines the former. It’s not like any UK cycling event where it’s mostly just Cyclists (with a capital C) turning up. By a very long way.

As most of these races are in the Low Countries the cycling infrastructure is already there, in spades, which is why loads of people within cycling distance will just rock up on their town bikes, in normal clothes, tie them up wherever and go watch a race with beer and frittes in hand and then just noodle off home a bit wobbly afterwards. Those from further afield will often board one of the many coaches heading to the event, the famous CX riders will have their own fan clubs who will charter an entire bus (with the luggage compartment full of crates of beer) to get them to whatever field it is that weekend, which is a lot more sustainable than everyone turning up in their own car.

 Bit of a non story really.

I’ve not been to many Pro level CX races on the Continent but I’ve been to a few and spectator’s bikes have never been allowed inside the venue. There’s tens of thousands of people crammed into a small area and it gets *busy*, to the point of anxiety inducing crush in some places, adding people wheeling bikes around would make it very messy, even it it was just getting them to a bike parking area. It wouldn’t be a viable, or safe, proposition.

I can’t remember seeing any dedicated bike parking outside any of the venues either, people just lock their bikes up to whatever’s available and because it’s the Continent it’s usually a Dutch style town bike they use for just getting around on and not some $$$$ fancy pants toy so they’re totally okay with that. I think maybe there was one event that commandeered a fanced off tarmac sports area that you could pile bikes in that happened to be close to the entrance but there was no security there, for the above reason.

A reminder that the majority of people turning up at a CX race on the Continent aren’t Cyclists (with a capital C) and it’s a spectator sport like football is here and most are there for the beer, frittes and to be entertained by the race monkeys, and then go mad in the rave tent at the end.

another vote for the Newhaven-Dieppe crossing for better riding from the port 

if you’re turning up in a car check the prices, when we went last a month or so ago it was cheaper to take a car with four in than two people with bikes, so fill the car with people and bikes and park the other side

a week ago and you’d have been fine, but this week’s rain has been the “It’s Changed Now” weather.

as mentioned above the green chalk of death is back and the seasonal puddles and mud are in for the winter, if you’ve done it before in dry weather you’ll have an idea of how long it takes you, add a significant chunk to that, take lights

on the plus side you’ll have a tailwind and if you can postpone it to Sunday you’ll hardly need to pedal

I’ve been lucky enough to have done enough riding around Europe to have a whole host of climbs that are ‘better’ than the ones you’ve heard of but aren’t on the ‘iconic’ list :-) For example hit Alp d’Heuz and Sa Calobra at the wrong time and you’ll be mixing it with tourist traffic and breathing diesel fumes from the queues of coaches.

The Pyrenees isn’t getting a lot of love here, it’s a lot quieter than anywhere in the Alps and the sense of openness and exposure is much greater. The Tourmalet is the obvious iconic big boy but there’s also the Peyresourde, Mente, Superbagneres, Luz Ardiden, Aubisque and Bales all of which have a cycling history attached to them, you might not be able to buy a coffee mug or t-shirt with a fancy design of them on though.

Also throwing Monte Grappa into the mix, there’s 11 ways up if you wanted to make a day of it.

it’s the outer cable stop and cable guide that’s become disassociated from a fork mounted cable hanger

i’m a big Sidi fan from back in the day and tried the Jarin and it really isn’t an off-road shoe, it’s a road shoe with some lugs on the sole, which might be what you want

the sole is incredibly stiff, to the point of it becoming uncomfortable after a couple of hours of ‘proper’ off road as it transmits so much trail buzz through the foot, and the grip on the sole is small plasticky lumps that don’t offer much traction at all so fine if you want to walk to the cafe but hopeless if you need to do any hike a bike or extended pushing

as a road and light gravel shoe they’ll be ok but not for anything more rufty tufty. also be aware that the shiny iridescent leather doesn’t have as much give in it as the usual supple Sidi upper

mashr
Full Member
and you can eat it during the uplift

Didn’t read the OP, huh?

i did, mostly

pack some sandwiches

seriously, just pack some sandwiches, muesli bars, babybels, bags of nuts, whatever you fancy, there will be shops where you’re going and you can eat it during the uplift

5labFull Member
for those concerned, there’s no chance of me riding on it, I’m normally doing >25 down that hill, it’d be suicide to use the bike lane.

DfT guidance says that cyclists going faster than 18 mph should use the road instead of any designated infrastructure, crack on

having done enough multi day rides in the mountains with bags on you can’t have a low enough gear, sure you can mash on with the ride-what-you-brung gearing you have but it gets boring quickly, easier gearing just makes the whole experience more comfortable

the climbs in the TNR won’t necessarily be steep but they will go on for hours which can become weary if you’re overgeared

going from 10-42 to 10-46 would be an appreciable difference, would you be able to make the 50 if you bought a WolfTooth RoadLink hanger extension or similar?

a few years ago, several days into a long distance race and so constantly tired and hungry, spent the night sleeping on the flat roof of a hostel next door to a pizza restaurant where we’d eaten the previous evening alongside many other riders. up at dawn to climb Monte Grappa before it gets too hot and i’m hungry and in need of breakfast but poor planning meant i had nothing. spied a pizza box perched on top of rubbish bin, looked inside the pizza box, there’s most of a mushroom pizza. ate it. it got me up the hill. in an amusing turn of events i found out whose leftover pizza that was and i still owe them a pizza :-)

a few years earlier and another big multiday ride but not me. somewhere halfway up the last Alp of the day and there’s a fellow rider in a desperate situation needing food and i give him what i can spare from my back pockets. meet up with him in the evening and he says it was horrific, he knocked on a campervan door for food and then in what he says was a new low point sucked what was remaining from a discarded energy gel he found in the gutter…

oh, we found found an unopened pack of Munchies (the chocolate sweets) in a bin in the bus shelter in Hurstpierpoint, ate the lot, obvs. full freegan

i think perceived lore is that it’s 100, the trick is knowing which ones you can just slam shut behind you

did the Ventoux Three ten years ago and rode Bedoin, Malaucene, Sault mainly because we started in Carpentras, and as the Sault ascent is the ‘easiest’ it’s nice to have that last
not done the gravel road but from those that have it’s either “oh, you’ll be fine” or “you need a cx bike”, your 32’s are pretty much a cx tyre size so you should be ok :-)

good luck with the weather, i’ve ridden the hill when it’s been baking French summer at the bottom and life-threatening hailstorm at the top, it’s fun like that

Ventoux Three

any 1x hydraulic brake system with the gear paddle zip-tied to the brake lever? did this to my ‘can be singlespeeded if desired’ cx/gravel thing without any issue