excellent. Anyone know of any other locations in the area? as you go north up towards Verbania, there is a huge national park (Val Grande) with not much in it. What’s the law with bike access in Italy?

That’s great, thanks! we’re looking for alpine style riding really, so DH-ish routes are ideal.

I’ve had a look at this too, http://www.superenduromtb.com/en
it’s an italian enduro series and seems to be in plenty of northern italian spots. Anyone know anything about it?

Pretty inspirational actually. Makes me want to grind some gonzo death cookies on my boing-boing. Or should i be posting this in a different, more “specialist” forum…!? 8O

my contribution:

Run Lol Run; the story of a girl condemned to endlessly repeat her ungainly sprinting technique, to the hilarity of others.
Tins- Arnold Schwarzenegger discovers his secret past in metal food container production.
Tin Town- welsh scallies discover their neighbourhood is made entirely from old spam containers.
or:
Twin Ton- generously built cyclist in identical sibling shocker…

to reiterate the points a lot of others have said, it very much depends on where you are, what you teach and your work ethic. I work in a boarding school, and the hours can be terrible at peak times of the year.

What you take home seems to depend on subject; I teach English, so the marking can be endless if you don’t plan well for it, especially exam moderation.
The other part is the emotional side. Working with teenagers can be pretty draining, and it’s not just the horrors we read about in the papers, the atmosphere of schools can be pretty full on.

relliott6879- i’d love a Hope headset, but they are less than easy to get hold of ATM.

Having looked through the CC website, and the SHIS info, i am pretty certain I need:

ZS44/28.6 ZS44/28.6, (1 1/8 steerer, Zerostack, 44mm headtube) top

ZS56/40 (1.5 inch steerer, Zerostack, 56mm headtube bore) bottom.

This is for a Yeti SB66 build, correct me if i’m wrong!?

-Also, the CC10 series cups are fairly sensibly priced. I just need to find some in stock now!!

Hope this helps for others.

CC seem to be the option. I have been looking at the SHIS info about headset standards. most informative, bu i still haven’t worked it out… slow laptop isn’t helping!!

As a shoegazing sixth former, i saw Ride at Derby assembly rooms, supported by a rather lively support act called “The Verve”.

Talk about upstaged; in response, Andy Bell (He who went on to strum for Oasis) snapped 3 strings on his guitar during Ride’s first song…

@gingerninja69 YGM re selling rear end.

See, I very much like the idea of a frame which will take longer forks for alpine jaunts- I stuck some Lyrik 2-steps on the Yeti for vernier, which was great, but rendered it fairly useless for day to day stuff. The Jekyll is very tempting as I could take it for trips away, where one day it’s all about trail silliness, and the next big xc epic. The only thing is, it’s a whole bike or nowt. Also, having the choice of one shock or nothing is a bit limiting…?

I’m back!

Those chumbas look nice, got a demo? The EVO G2 is both shiny and ticks the boxes… I also fancied a Mojo, forgot that one…

Re the stumpy- rode one a while ago, and maybe it was the stock spec, but it didn’t make me feel suitably godlike-to-the-rad-core-gnarly. Or something.

As far as the details, I’d love to say it was after a fakie reverse tail whip over a 15 foot gap of snakes and lava, but no, JRA. Those who know Brechfa, there’s a little wooden humpback bridge about half way along, suitable for the average shopper bike: did a conservative little pump as I rolled on to it and the next thing, a big bang, and I’m sliding down the other side of it, on my knees, rear wheel brushing my back, still managed to “steer” myself away from the railings and into some soft, if rather many leaves. RAD!

If there’s a ride on next week, count me in! I know swinley well, but have never ventured to Tunnel hill. will look out for posts… ta!

oooh i’d forgotten about the Turner or the Nicolai… and i’ve just looked over that devinci… :?

It should be said this is not really a problem, more of a luxury, having the chance to ponder about a new bike which should hopefully become real! I’m hoping to demo some of thse in the lakes this weekend, so it should help a bit.

Good to know about the cups on the Megas, that might well help, especially when it comes to the financial part.

Out of interest, what were the reliability issues with the Intense? and the commmies have supposedly addressed the issues from their older frames, or is that just marketing cr@p?

lovely, but aren’t the megas 160? The forks are rev 120-150 u-turn, so i’m seeing any frame replacement (in my own mind at least) as being 150mm max travel. (?)

grr- creppy work wireless…

I return- yes, i probably could find a front triangle/full frame of this vintage on ebay/here/yetifan, but i’m more into a new frame, for a change as much as anything else. It’s been a great bike, and has done the alps, loads of trail centres, multi-day in scotland, etc. This is what i’d look for in a new bike, but i have found in the last couple of years i’ve been more willing to go a bit “bigger” in my commitment to stuff, so i’d kind of like something a bit stiffer than bikes of that era… And i’m worth it… :wink:

Where i live (Chilterns) we have red kites visit our neighbour’s bird table. they look big enough on the air, but when they swoop down to some garden furniture 10 yards in front of you, they are B-I-G.

Outside of the UK, seeing green and red macaws flying in tandem in Costa Rica was pretty special.
Probably the most remarkable moment though was in 2010, on Cerro Catedral in Argentina/Northern Patagonia. my wife and I had walked from the Refugio near the top, up to the peak. From behind the ridge, a condor swept up on a thermal and hovered above us. I’d seen condors in Peru a few years before, but having a bird that size, eyeing you up to see of you’re edible from about 20 feet above you is a bit different to the usual human/wildlfe encounter!!

Pangbourne.

River -tick
Chilterns -tick
pubs- plenty, -tick.
all the shops you need day to day, including cheese shop, butchers and uber-comprehensive hardware shop -tick

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but i’ve just bought a whippet frame too. As it’s my first carbon frame and i know nowt about the things, do i have to face the frame for the BB at all?

ta- will also post pics when done! :D

Good points about geometry- and I would probably sell the soul if I did the build. I’m leaning toward the 456 at the mo; geometry, tapered head tube and “normal” BB all seem the right way to go?

Interesting to consider that the whippet is less all-day comfortable than the soul. COnsidering the purpose of both, it makes sense. New school carbon isn’t that different a material after all!

All very true- wheels on the soul are pro2/ crest, juicy carbons, carbon bars, slk saddle, etc- various other suitably light bits. The frame is about 1900 grammes. Whippet is 1300, 456, 1500. I’m not sure if I could get The weight difference down for 300?

Good to hear the 456 works well with shorter forks. I could probably go for 120’s with it then?

Riding from Watlington is good, especially as it’s the best place to start with from Oxford. Head from there over to Turville way and back will make for a good ride. There’s an MBR route around and also a Singletrack one from a couple of years ago.

I should be out riding on Friday morning if the weather is not too foul- email in profile if you fancy.

Yes.

Private sector.

This might sound a bit weedy, but is round one a particularly “rough” course?

I’ve managed to get a flesh wound on my forearm through numptiness last weekend, and i don’t want to be rumbling over too much rooty- rockiness which might get the bingo-wings flapping for 2+ hours!

We’ve had really good times with a single Croozer. I’d recommend getting a single, as a friend of ours had a double and it doesn’t clear half as many gateways on bridleways. The other thing is that we’re now expecting child #2 and by the time we get to riding together, child #1 will be three and will probably graduate to a tagalong- she’s on a likeabike kokua now.

Patience on Ebay seems to be the key!

Just been reading through this thread, lots of events on here which i’d love to have a go at! This might be premature midlife crisis on the way, but at 36, I reckon if I don’t start doing things like this soon, it won’t happen at all!?

It strikes me that there are a fair few people, (like me!) who would like to do a longer stage event but don’t have a group ready to do these things.

Anyone interested in making up a “team” for a few events over a season? I’d love to do some single day events, such as the CRC marathons, then build up to short multi day, such as The Bearded Man/Red Kite and then do a longer multi day event?

If anyone is interested, give me a shout. (email in profile). It would be good to have a “pool” of people, as no-one can usually commit to everything. I live in the South East, but that doesn’t exclude anyone- we all travel to do the events after all… This could be a good motivator during the winter too, if there’s an email list/etc on the way round?

i’m reviving this thread, apologies if it’s been covered elsewhere- I was quoted a minimum of £2000 to install a woodburner this morning.

This would be for a chimney running straight up through a single storey roof (which has been built with space for a chimney to go in it already)and then run up the side of the external wall and vent above the second storey. In total, about 7-8 metres, plus flashing.

Realistic, or taking the p**s?. And what are the issues around self installation? Thanks.

This reminds me of a few years ago when i had an old Marin Wolf ridge. At the time i bought it thinking it would be the “ultimate trail bike” (about 130mm suspension) I rode it for about two months and it bored the pants off me.

Ended up moving all the bits onto an ebay-ed DMR switchback frame, sold the full suss frame at a profit. I still remember taking it around Dalby forest not long after it opened, and revelling in just how good it was to ride…

Just in: potential common drool-fest for both those from a road or MTB persuasion alike:

Cannondale 613 on the road. still love it now.

DMR Switchback- built up on the very cheap, with bits taken off a Marin Wolf ridge. (which was my least loved bike)Totally rediscovered hardtails as a result.

And as a refinement of the above- Cotic soul- though i had to run it with 1oomm forks for a bit until i picked up some 100-130 revelations. Still that setup two years later, and going strong.

rob2- i’m stuck on the slowest computer imaginable right now- I live in Whitchurch. Let me know if you’re going out, and i’ll do vice-versa. (email in profile) i’m busy Saturday, hoping to get out Sunday. -7.30 ish is do-able, if painful!

I will have a search of my past emails then- thanks for the info. Anyone ever ridden with reading CTC offroad?

erm… that might be a tough call for week nights- it’s about an hour away! what sort of time? Do you do weekends?

I’d love to get some local knowledge- We tend to ride up to the M40 area and not much beyond. email in profile if you’re up for weekend trail guide/swap?

You seem to be more into getting out and getting in the miles, rather than really technical stuff? If you’re coming from a 100mm hardtail, i’d say something around the 120-140mm travel mark full suss would be ideal.
I’d go for an ARS5 or a Lapierre Zesty, from my own pootles on other’s bikes. and they are both pretty. The anthem is brilliant though, and the 2010’s have the requisite thru-axles/tapered steerer malarky which makes them much more rigid, despite shorter travel. (as opposed to buying a second hand bike)

Also, if you’ve been off the bike for a while, you might want to look over your other riding kit; with winter on the way, a good pair of shoes, and some good quality, comfortable kit such as wicking baselayers, windstopper jacket, new helmet, winter gloves, socks, decent eyewear, etc might soon add up to another few hundred quid- and might make the difference to riding though the winter or not.

Also, if you want a good looking bike, you’ve got to have the kit to match!? Some may disagree, but it’s all about fun in the end, and if it feels nicer and more encouraging to have some natty threads on to get yourself out in the middle on January, it’s well worth it.

I have a kinesis crosslight pro5- great commuter and explorer/ winter epics on downland. Cheap off ebay, about £300 the full build.

-The newer kinesis frames have bottle cage mounts though, which is a plus- i find the lower sitting position of a road-style frame with a camelbak gives me proper back ache.

Also, Salsa Bell lap bars give you a great riding position. My right wrist has never been ideal since i broke my scaphoid a few years ago, and Bell Laps have been a great solution.

I saw a Boardman CX frame on Ebay the other day- they take discs…!

+1 for the kokua likeabike!

We bought one off ebay for my daughter’s second birthday, (2 weeks ago) and on Sunday she did 1 1/2 miles on it, mainly paved bridleway. I think the little elastomer shock is genius- and seeing her charge over speed bumps shouting “wheeee!” has kept me going all week!

What the others said. Sligachan and Quirang are ace, especially the latter. Make sure you can bunnyhop a drainage channel though, the Sligachan route is littered with them! Whisky fans should head ot the Sligachan inn afterwards.

We stayed in the youth hostel in Uig, which was OK. Views were fantastic.

I bought some schwalbe cx pro’s of ebay- i think there are some there now still. -Not the fastest rolling and wire beaded, but cheap as and only 2 flats in 3 months of riding and commuting?

Well that’s a lovely thing to watch at the end a Monday. Thanks Jedi!

….And she plays golf too… :roll:

I find that my wife is irritatingly good on a bike- especially as she has only really got into it through me, and doesn’t ride with me as much as i’d like. However, she does see it as some fun, with some enjoyable trail to ride, nice views and a pub/cafe at the end.

However, give her a hockey stick and she’s terrifingly competitive and as physical as the rules will allow… Could it be said that many (sporty) women really enjoy something with a bit more team interaction? She also really loves the dynamic and tactic of the game too.