Sorry if this is a thread hijack/diversion- @postierich- I’m heading up to Torridon way tomorrow, (Weds 10th) for a few days riding with local friend. I’m thinking of riding at Dunkeld on the way back,(Sunday/Monday 14-15th). Is that any use for you? I’d also be riding alone, and could do with company on the steeper stuff!

We have a week in Val Cenis for half term, and are planning on driving there on the Friday/Saturday. Not having driven to the alps in the winter before, what are people’s recommendations for tyres, etc. I currently have standard summer tyres on the van, should I a) get winter tyres? b) autosocks? c) chains?

From what I’ve seen on google maps and from others, the drive to Val Cenis is on the main road, no big switchback climbs. Anyone been?

I’ve ridden the S150, Rallon and AM9. All were great- the S150 is a pretty direct/gravity oriented, and the AM9 more so, but even more chuckable. The Rallon seems to hit a sweet spot of weight and playfulness, but still equally capable downhill.

However, I’ll probably go for the AM9- but I’m looking to replace a Banshee Rune, and I have a 110/130mm travel 29er besides, so I’m looking for something at the rowdier end of the scale.

I was going to recommend a walk down to The Sweet Olive in Aston Tirrold, but apparently it’s closed and has now opened as something called The Fat Frog. You could go there for lunch and post us all a review whenever it’s worth a mid ride pint and some sustenance?

Southern Peru, Bolivia and Chile would be a good option, but it’s all so varied, and it depends what priorities you have. For cultural experiences, it’s very hard to beat Bolivia, and the scenery is amazing to, with some fantastic walking and riding opportunities. Linked with some time in Southern Peru, it would be great. The only thing is that riding/guiding is only developing- i was there over 10 years ago, and there was some great stuff to be had doing the Camino de los Muertos, but it’s essentially a gravel road. there are probably many more options though.

If adventure is the priority, Chile and Argentina are worth a look. It will be winter then, but at lower altitudes, riding is always possible, and the Chileans are especially into mountain biking. Also, there should be snow in July! Valle Nevado in Chile, Las Lenas (Mendoza) and Cerro Catedral or Chapelco (Rio Negro/Patagonia) in Argentina are all small, but well specced resorts, but with limitless back country off piste- with a guide! Bariloche in northern Patagonia is a great base for both summer and winter adventures.

I avoided the toilet issue by being too dehydrated most of the time to need the use of one…

Loved the riding there, some of which I’d recce’d in the autumn, and loved the steep stuff, especially 2 and the last part of 5. Ironically, i’m fine on the steep stuff, but i need to work on keeping speed up on the twisty/rooty/loose/pick-a-line stuff. Happy with my lowly 49th in Vets though.

Thought camping was great, took the family and it worked really well, so hoping to do the same next time. More D’n’b discooo too, i was with the kids in my roof tent and they didn’t get why i was bouncing around instead of sleeping!

I’m in. The email from Scott mentioned that they are working on a way to show the football- and much as i’d like to see it, should we have a national interest in the game, loamy steepness, racing and camping take priority!?

Forest of Dean: if you start from Parkend, or along Speech House Road you can then ride up/down to Pedalabikeaway/Cannop on the family cycling route. It’s a converted light railway, so suitably flat, but has little ‘options’  (berms/rollers. etc) along the side of the trail. When you get to Cannop, there’s the new skills loop to play on. We did this when my oldest was about 5 and the youngest was in the trailer- looking forward to going back now they are both riding and can play on the skills loop.

Oxfordshire, I’m afraid. So Oxo Towers, or maybe just Center Parcs?

Oxfordshire actually.

Oxo towers then, or just Centre Parcs…

Timberline Lodge? (It’s apparently the name of the hotel used for The Shining, and I am Johnny, after all…)

And Perchy, that’s a real skill there…!

Could I give a nod to my musical preferences and call it ‘Stepinsidethis House’?

Those are some nice options, especially the Frottage. (When isn’t it?) it’s a tad big for a Ty Bach, and we’ve still got plenty of upgrading to go- it’s a bit antiquated!

We are about 200m back from the river, with most of the village inbetween. I did think of calling it ‘Thames View’ with ‘wait a few years’ in small letters below…

A timely thread…! Which iPhone is it? I’m asking as I replaced the screen on my 6 yesterday, having bought a replacement screen on eBay, with tools for about £20, and fitted it in an hour and a half, following an instructional video on YouTube.

This works for the 6 onwards, as they have screw on lcd screens rather than the older ones where the screen is bonded in. The only thing though is to make sure you get an apple screen, rather than a copy as they don’t always have the same functional sensitivity.

+1 for the taxi boat from the airport- if only for the transition from airport to Venetian-level transport!

The nicest parts I’ve spent any time in are Dorsoduro and Murano. Only get into San Marco after the crowds have left. The recommendations for the Geto are also worth it- it is the origin of the word ‘Ghetto’ and the role Jews played in the commerce of Venice is some fascinating reading.

A great thing to enjoy is ‘Cicchetti’. It’s like tapas/pinchos/aperitivo, as found in Catalunya/Basque coast/Milan respectively- basically bars with a plate of nibbles and plenty of booze. Google will find you some good ones, though some are majorly overhyped. We went to a great one in Dorsoduro, opposite a Gondola boatyard, and it was ace. Spritz and arancini all round.

No, but I have an Atlas and it’s still awesome. What did yours die of? With a bit of attention mine seems bombproof. It’s now sporting offset bushings and a 130mm pike, and has been ridden on a whole load of trail I only used to ride on my Banshee Rune…

Ive recently come back from 3 weeks in Slovenia, after spending a week there last year with Ride Slovenia[/url]. We went back for another week’s riding with them this year and it was even awesomer than last time. They are based in Luce, which is east of Bled/etc, close to the Austrian border, in the Savinja valley.

My first recommendation would be to contact Jon there; couple of our guys came with their better halves and it worked fine, there are options of other things to do, so if you wanted a day or two’s guided riding- and it is superb riding!- then it could work out for all. Jon hires out Orange 5’s too if you need.

Bike park wise, I’ve been to Kranska Gora and Krvavec bike parks. Both have uplift. KG has more of a straight-up bike park/DH feel to it, but has plenty of options to use the lifts to get out of the park. Krvavec has two trails, which are a bit more ‘natural’. There’s also a flow trail over the Austrian border called Petzen Flow, if that’s your thing. The guided riding was vastly better than all of this stuff though! Edit- it is all pretty steep and either loamy and loose, or rocky and steep. Brilliant, but not very XC…

After the week there we did two week’s vanning/camping in the Soca valley, Triglav national park, Bled/Bohinj etc. Rafting at Kobarid was great fun, as was some of the beauty of the walking in Triglav. Bled is a bit touristy, but it is a fantastic place. Bohinj is also beautiful, and less developed. I would imagine September as the ideal time to go, as it will be less busy. Having said that, neither are tourist traps in the way a lot of other famous spots can be!

I don’t know about GPS routes, but I’m currently in Koritnica, close to Tolmin. The Slovenian tourist board prints maps of each area for tourism and they have suggested mtb routes on them. A lot are pretty low tech XC stuff, but they go to interesting places- the Baška Grapa area I’m in is pretty off the main tourist routes and has some very cool stuff to discover.

Ouch- down here in Slovenia we have a little more maritime influence via the Adriatic- offices estimates were 34 today, climbing to 37 friday. It’s bearable by the lake or if you’re out riding early!

I regularly go for dog walks with a cordless hedge trimmer at this point in the year and keep my more local trails in check. It gets less odd looks than the chainsaw does in springtime/after autumn storms at least…

I’ve got the 10′ one, and have been out a few times so far but only on the river. Spent most of this weekend paddling around on it! It’s good, seems very stable on little waves/wash from boats and doesn’t really flex.

I don’t have anything to compare it with, but build quality of the board, paddle and bag all seem good. It spent most of Sunday afternoon being used as a diving/jumping platform in the river for the kids while I steered it around- it’s pretty stable!

Great event as ever, though I would have liked more of the steep stuff! Pretty pleased with my 17th in Vets, especially when considering I clipped a tree stump when pedalling out of the saddle on stage 3 and landed about 15 feet in front of my bike…! It would have been a pretty competitive time otherwise, but that’s racing. Highlights were:

Silencing the hecklers on stage 2 when I hopped up onto the high line for the steep switchbacks- Felt ACE!

Going back up after the race was finished and finding my Garmin after my crash on stage 3- thanks to the Marshall clearing tape for your help.

And beer!!

@hughjayteens- great to ride together, and today’s DH race I ended up 10/40. Not bad as there was only 5 seconds between 1st and 10th!

46k sounds a lot, but remember there’s nothing stopping you from pushing up, both in practice and racing.

Yak- Im assuming the pedal 2 pedal session is for kids, is it members only or can others join? I’ll be doing the race but bringing the brood down for the daytime part.

Just done the same thing, sticking at the budget end of the market… The Go Outdoors Malham was the first option, but it’s very bouncy when very full of water. I’ve swapped it for the kalenji one from Decathlon, much slimmer, carries all the essentials and the zip/pocket shape is ideal to stick a 500mm water bottle in there too.

Just harking back to the squabble over Marx on the earlier pages, THIS Youtube links is only 8-9 minutes and is a worthwhile and fairly balanced examination of Marx’s ideas and where they have relevance today.

In fact the whole playlist on political theory should probably be required viewing to all registered voters- it might help with the paucity of actual ideas in current political debate… :wink:

There’s a lot of great singletrack throughout the Chilterns, and Henley is a good spot to start from. I’m based near to Pangbourne and ride the area a lot.

A good place for you to start would be with beer. Jeff is a rider and they go out pretty regularly!

This will be my fourth go at the day/night and I’ve done all of them on my own. (Mates are lame about night racing) it’s always been very sociable and a good laugh, despite my results becoming more and more average…!

Chilterns were bone dry this afternoon, loads of lovely bluebells, but CBA with stopping for photos! Some trails I’ve not seen fully dry for a couple of years, and some descents staring to break up and get drifty. Noice.

Gutted not to make this one, seen a few pics and clips on instagram and it’s looked great!

Family holiday put paid to this one- Scott, I’m sure the Bank holiday would have helped you organisation wise, but could we have it a weekend later next year please!?

See you all at the day/night. Can’t wait.

Another to echo IHN’s comments. What do you want your kids to expect as the norm for a holiday, wandering around a plastic theme park, or exploring other places and cultures? Completely on side with the idea of getting out in the wilds, but that can be done here for weekend breaks, camping, etc.

I’d recommend either Oslo or Amsterdam as well. Both are easy to communicate/lot of English speakers, very child/youth friendly, with easy access to country parks/rural areas, bikes for hire and access to water parks and/or ‘urban’ beaches by train. Nothing wrong with a good interactive museum either- Oslo has a Viking ship museum. VIKINGS!!!

A selection on the go, as usual;

“The Wake”, by Paul Kingsnorth. It’s great but the phonemic/cod Anglo Saxon script is a bit of a haul.

Re-Reading “The things the carried” by Tim O’Brien. Still awesome Vietnam narrative.

“Landmarks” by Robert Macfarlane. Only read the preface of his latest, this time on the link between dialect and language. I suspect it will take preference over the other two now I’ve started!

A banshee technical question- i thought i’d use this thread rather than the New Spitfire one.

Does anyone know which 1.5″ Hope lower cup fits a 2016 Rune, for a tapered steerer, with the lowest stack height? I have options of:

BOTTOM 1.5 TRADITIONAL (44.0) – H

BOTTOM 1.5 TRADITIONAL (49.57) – F

BOTTOM 1.5 INTEGRAL (54.9) – G

BOTTOM 1.5 INTEGRAL (55.9) – E

Google has so far failed me… :?

And whoever referenced Einstürzende Neurbaten above- pure class.

First registered with me through the ‘Let Love in’ album , via an art student girlfriend. Read And the Ass saw the Angel at the same period, so hooked since.

Lots of great recommendations here, but ‘Stranger than Kindness’ from Your Funeral, My Trial, and ‘Love Letter’ from No More Shall We Part haven’t been referenced and can illustrate his awesome range and complexity.

Recently the collaborative work on the soundtrack to ‘Hell and High Water’ is outstanding. And Peaky Blinders, of course.

He’d better not die soon, such emotional depth and creative brilliance in his work.

I was there over New Year- family connections. It’s a great place to visit in terms of the outdoors, very diverse scenery and unique ecosystems. It’s also got good infrastructure and it’s relatively cheap- probably way cheaper than Japan!

Culturally it will be a lot less distinct than Japan. If you’re into the archaeology, Peru and Bolivia are the bits of South America to head for. However, with 3 weeks you could have a great trip from Santiago, down to Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, then onto Pucón, Puerto Montt and Chiloé, with a trip down to Torres Del Paine, etc for some proper trekking. Lots of good outdoor stuff, and you can see modern Chilean life and some of the indigenous culture in the south. It’s a good place for riding too, there’s some great riding around Santiago, more near Valparaiso, Nevados de Chillan has a great bike park not far from Pucón and the first round of the EWS was held near there too.

September is the Spring, New year is proper summertime, and it’ll be hot by then, but the best time to head south. Just don’t overdo it with the pisco…

A good way is to work your way south, boat to the bottom and come back up on the Argie side, but this would need more time… Argentina is a bit different and requires patience. They are slowly sorting its economy out and has a load of protectionist import taxes which mean they will inspect your bags to death, and any imported goods are markedly more expensive than in Chile. It’s great though, people are much more outgoing than the Chileans, who can be a bit stiff.

I’ve had my eye on this thread for a while, having spent last winter on Zwift. I’ve not bothered with it until the past week or so this year, as it was dry for a lot of the autumn, and I’ve been away over Xmas.

Ive got the set up working again, (Kurt Kinetic Rock’n’ roll trainer, Garmin sensors and a generic ANT+ dongle) but last year I was focussing on building FTP only. I’m looking at the racing categories this time and trying to work out where I lie. With a 20min FTP of 273, weighing about 86kg, that puts me at about 3.1w/kg?

Seems a bit high to me- and I don’t think my fitness is quite at that FTP right now! Apologies if this has been done to death, but 50+ pages is a lot to read back…

There are a number of goood recommendations here, but foremost, any book for her to speak about successfully should appeal to her as a reader. Otherwise any response would be a regurgitation of accepted interpretations, and a worthless exercise, whenever for assessment or not.

There are a lot of sci-fi/ dystopian recommendations, which are an excellent basis for a presentation, but historical novels are also really good if that appeals. What is her reading preference like? Is she a reader habitually? Also, how good is her English? Is is perfectly fluent conversationally, in a very colloquial manner or can she deal with varied registers? Without knowing her, I would generally recommend the following, all of which raise good themes and have identifiable female characters which she may relate to?

Weaker language/reader- Northern Lights Trilogy, Phillip Pullman or Bog Child, Siobhan Dowd.

Stronger reader/ varied language- The Knife of Never Letting Go/ Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuro Ishiguro.

Habitual reader, adept with language and new terms- The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood.

Above all, teachers would probably want to see personal insight and enthusiasm in a reader rather than a reeling-off of interpretations from crib sites, so aim for appeal to her over anything else.

I take the slow train from Pangbourne to Oxford and back all the time during term time, and I’ve never been asked to get off- at busy times the doorways can be packed 3 bikes deep!

It’s easily doable, but if I were doing it for just a few days I’d book it onto the cross-country services. They are much faster, but you won’t be let on them with a bike, unless it’s booked, even if the train is empty.