He’s completely right, no-one should feel they are obliged to write for a specific audience or change the range of intellectual reference. They shouldn’t be surprised if their audience is limited though.

I like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, but I do rate Hamlet. Arcadia is my favourite of his plays though.

I suspect most of the comments about elitism are more a reaction to the picture of him looking suitably posh and black tie, alongside the deliberately clickbait title of the article. Stoppard, along with writers such as John Berger and Tony Harrison are part of that lefty intellectual mentality who wished to demystify the arts and make them accessible to all, collapsing the idea of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture.

How successful this has turned out to be is debatable; on the one hand, crap like this gets attention in newspapers, but on the other hand programmes like ‘Family Guy’ combine references to Shakespeare, Musical theatre, Christian and Islamic theology, as well as obscure 1980s US TV, and it is consistently popular.

Oh, and 3/7.

It’s the idea that count not being smart about references. Besides, no-one gives a shit about where you sit in a theatre anymore, as long as you can see.

I’m in. Mate did the internet business, as it opened, we’re still 833 and 834….

Properly stoked, my first Dyfi!

Thanks for the dates- I’d like to do both of the events this summer. In fact, I’d like to do some trailbuilding- (as much to learn about building trail for my own, nefarious cheeky trail plans…) as I’ve really enjoyed the riding I’ve done in and around the park.

Fantastic stuff Scott! I’m definitely up for the Day/Night enduro again, it was a fantastic event last year.

Is most of the red/blue stuff open to ride? Or is it worth waiting a while before making the trip down?

Pace- had a look at the pics and the 2.5 bullet looks sound- I’m out of the country at the mo, with intermittent connectivity, but I’ll check funds when I Gert home in a fee days and get back to you! Any further flying tips anyone?

Reluctant wrinkly- that all sounds great to me- I’d already looked up about kite killers and they seem the way to go. I’m fully up for the workout, in many ways part of the appeal is to do something totally different from riding, in terms of terrain/exercise/etc.

CFH- agreed, I’ve always found that getting the fundamentals right with standard kit has made learning any new sport best- worked with climbing, kayaking and bikes! I read that kite surfing is about 80% kite skills, 20% board, and I’m mainly interested in kite skills ATM

Pace- I may be interested in the 2.5 metre, seems a good one for progression. I completely agree about finding a club/not getting carried away- I’m primarily interested in getting some kits skills at the mo.

Great stuff- I take it these are just hand controlled/4 line kites, nothing involving a harness? And is there a difference/preference between running handles or a bar?

Thanks- Ozone caught my eye, but only as a friend of mine used to have one of their paragliders. 3-4 meters sounds about right!

Also, if you plan to rent bikes, there are generally only hardtails to rent, depending on taste. I have a 1st generation Inbred which I keep here for local riding. Saying that, I wouldn’t want to lug a bike around on the buses.

I’ve travelled throughout Mexico and Central America, lived in Peru for a while and have travelled throughout the southern part of South America, some with bike. The best riding I’ve done has been in southern Argenina and Chile/ northern Patagonia. Some superb riding, also in Mendoza, where I am right now- but it’s 35+ degrees in the middle of the day at the mo! Otherwise, Bolivia and southern Peru have some awesome riding. It depends if you want to go for an epic long distance adventure, or epic trails in specifically outstanding areas.

I’m in Argentina with my Argentinean wife, kids and extended Argentine family. No one gives a shit, the one conversation that raised it was about how Top gear used to be pretty good and now it’s a it formulaic. All agree it was to provoke and raise ratings. Likewise they are equally scathing of La Kirchner and her deliberate stoking of the Falklands/Malvinas debate to detract from raging inflation and poor governance…

I have been through similar thoughts with my SB66, however in the end its in the process of getting a lary paint job, and will be rebuilt with an RS monarch plus and pikes. My only debate is whenever to get 26″ or 650b pikes for future use….?

On the other hand, I have had two yeti frames. The first one was a 2006 575 with the hollow section in the front triangle, with the bonded Alu/carbon swingarm. I did break it after 5 years, but it was the bolt on the dogbone which gave way, and hadn’t been tightened with specific torque in mind. It has been replaced with an SB66 which has been faultless, going through one set of bearings in 2 years. Both were ridden in all weather conditions, alpine stuff, UK DH tracks, lots of trail centres and natural upland riding. So the anecdotes of frame failures are not definitive.

The 575 is definitely a long legged trail bike, and great for most uk riding, but I did put 160mm lyriks on mine at one point and it was great in Verbier as a result!

In Pinamar. Its a beach town about 200km south of Buenos Aires. Bit of a bodyboard and sandcastle session on the beach this morning, probably take the quad out on the dunes later. 8)

And yeah, its not what it used to be, what with the Zodiac changing its name and the Jericho turning into Scream pub… (What is it now?!) I once bumped into Thom Yorke in the woods near Appleton, biking back from the pub, well past midnight…

I’ve lived variously in central Oxford, Summertown, Headington, Cowley road and Cumnor. (Nice Cotswold village just west). It’s a great place, the river is lovely, town is pretty (apart from Cornmarket, as others have noted) and there are loads of pubs and restaurants. There is a pretty good music scene, at least for a small city outside of London, and two independent cinemas. -Have a look at dailyinfo[/url] website for an idea.

Traffic is crappy, so ride a bike. Good biking as others have commented on- a drive to Watlington puts you in an ideal spot for XC singletrack in the Chilterns. If you want gnar, Aston hill is handy, as are Badbury clumps and flyup417- when it is finished!

Pants- flickr is rubbish…

Try here

So, the surge arrived over the weekend- first impressions are that it looks great, the red is a very bright orangey-red (Endurooooooo….)

Finish is very good, much better than my old Surge- dropouts are sweetly done, the stickers are well done and suitably lary. Weight feels about the same, but it looks meatier than the old mk1… I balanced it on some wheels and fork to get an idea of geometry, but it won’t get built until after Xmas now, as I’m off on my jollies at the end of the week…

Commencal

Recommend what you own again: Devinci Atlas Carbon.

The frame is sublime, fantastic finish, with a really great bottomless feel to the travel. It’s only 110 mm, but feels a lot more, especially as you can pair it with a 100-140mm fork. The frame also has reversible chips that can drop everything by 1 degree. Slacked off, with a 120mm fork (SIDrct3) and a dropper, it’s more than capable on trail centre/ upland terrain, good up hill and down, surprisingly good on smallish jumps and drops.

There is one proviso: the standard spec is terrible- I bought a 2013 bike heavily reduced from Freeborn, with OEM easton wheels, a 100mm fox float fork, X7/9 drivetrain, Formula RX brakes and a 100mm stem…! The only thing that has survived is the handlebar and headset. I sold the lot straight off the bike, which meant i basically paid for a heavily discounted frame.

It now has American Classic AM wheels, XT groupset and 120 SIDs, much more in keeping with the capability of the frame.

I ride a lot of Chilterns slop on mine- based on the Thames near Pangbourne, so all local riding tends to go through the winter murk of the woods around Woodcote…

Scandal 29er SS for me, alu steerer Exotics for me- again with a bigger front tyre. I’m running a 2.4 Ardent up front and a 2.0 beaver at the back right now, which seems to cut through most stuff fine.

I find that one of the biggest things about moving to rigid is the major differences of handling on wet roots- you really a need to be careful with line choice, but also a lower front tyre pressure is really useful to combat this, especvially with a higher volume front tyre.

OK, trigger about to be pulled… It will be red with white forks!

RC2L lyriks- 2 step ones (130, 160) The mk 1 I had before had 140 pikes on, and the frame always felt like it would handle more?

There’s a regular 9 mile commute involved, but strava so far says:

255 rides, 4,963km to date.

There’s also a fair amount of DH sessions/ pump track play in there too. I think I’ve only been on two road rides which werent commutes, so there’s been a lot of MTB kms!

Yup, I had one of the first surge frames, it was great as both a little jumps/ railing around bike and for trails.

Had a bit of a search round and there aren’t many reviews, but some positive comments. I’m erring towards having a punt though, even if I ride it over the winter and tell it on in the spring, I could get half the cost of the frame back- cheaper than a set of Yeti bearings for the full suss!

Crunch question though: red or green!? It’ll be with white forks…

Hmm, can I do a cut’n’shut of the two!? I have tapered forks ready to go, so the surge is preferable in that case. I also have a 30.9 dropper, which would fit the 456…

+1 for any rider experiences on the Surge!

I’m still indecisive, as much about whenever I need a hardtail, as much as which one! The Surge is in the CRC black friday sale at the mo- so with the £15 voucher as well, it’d be about £165…

It looks very similar to the older ones, but a bit slacker- I’m also looking at those sliding dropouts and wondering if a 650b wheel would go in there sometime in the future…!

Did 40 km on the single speed in the rain. I really enjoyed it, especially slimy descending with no suspension! I did stop for a pie and chips on the way home though… Followed up by a couple of pints and pork scratchings…

Jedi- nothing but the truth, it was as great day for me, but also for my pal Chris, it meant a lot to him.

Also because it made me realise that I can get so much more out of my local trails- riding them faster, take the harder lines, get the technique right.

Another vote for the swinley green as best ride of the year- doing three loops of it with my 5 year old daughter!

There’s been a few…

Helvellyn/sticks pass loop as part of an uncharacteristically dry week in the lakes stands out, as does the Surrey hills ride a while ago, riding a whole load of ‘new to me trails’ on Pitch/Winterfold.

On a shorter scale, the day with Jedi I had in August, and riding at Aston Hill two weeks ago, when I did my quickest run on Surface to Air, riding with the whole line in mind.

Competitively its been a bit patchy, but the QECP day/night enduro was a great ride, as was Gorrick autumn #1. (Little bit grumpy about missing today’s race…)

As ever, one’s own research is the best practice, but is slowoldman alluding to the interviews this morning on the Today programme regarding missing files in connection with historic paedophilia cases?

Quite an intelligently balanced report of what is actually news, with qualified speculation; on the one hand, potentially incriminating files have disappeared,and too often, could this be a cover up? On the other hand, at the time they were only filed allegations without a linked case, and probably not given much regard/priority/importance/care.

Morcilla is where its at- grill it, parillada style and then just split one end and let it splurge over your choice of breadstuffs…

Alternately, a bog standard UK one in a cob with a fried egg and some pepper will do nicely.

Yup, thats how I would have done it. Possibly stans rims, but I’d not be fussed. That blue looks great.

It needs to go and get properly filthy in the woods for the relationship to be consummated though….

Just had a look on the LB site, there are some 38mm rims listed!? Is this a new development, or have I just not scrolled back far enough through this thread?

The ‘in the best possible taste’ series is probably one of the best things I’ve seen on UK TV in the past couple of years, he has a fantastic capability to observe without judging, which the tapestries sum up really. If people liked that, i’d recommend seeking out “Meet the Natives” from a few years ago, also on 4.

I’ve got a copy of “The Ride” journal, (4) in front of me with an interview called ‘Potter’s Wheels’, with Perry. Its a great little read, and there’s a real sense of his enthusiasm for bikes and racing. Apparently he used to make trophies for Eastway with categories like “The rider who placed the lowest who had the flashiest bike”.

The whole thing is very quotable, but one line is very STW; “I also get slightly upset when arty people get into a subculture, because they kind of professionalise it and it loses its edge. They knock off the rough edges, everything becomes tasteful. You don’t get the exuberance and the naffness that was there before.”

Unweighting at just the right moment. Doesn’t matter if its a kerb, over roots or #thegnarliestjumpever. Feels great.

Agreed with the inbred- massively dull and heavy to be anything other than a commuter.

The only bike I’ve ever disliked was a 2006 Marin attack trail. Possibly because it was my first full suss, and I didnt feel any advantage from it, plus it felt very ‘perched on top’ and heavier than the hardtail it replaced.

Taken apart,and all the parts built onto a DMR Switchback frame. Never looked back, that was a great bike!

The V2 scandal is an excellent option of you can find one. I have mine built as permanent rigid SS, but it gives me the option of building it with gears if I want it for longer rides or to lend out.

Hmm, loads of good thoughts here- I’m split over boths as the inline is shinier, but the PUSHima is er, blacker…

I’m not a great fettler, i prefer things to just work so i can go riding, so thats something against the CCDB. Also this sound relevant to my experience of the rp23:

duir- The main thing is it introduces mid stroke support where a shock spends most of it’s time. This means it doesn’t dive if you run it at the correct or slightly less psi and you don’t need high psi to prevent dive which makes it harsh.

I’ve been riding my RP23 with volume reduction spacers in for this very reason, and it does tend to help the shock to sit higher in the travel on small drops/landing jumps. It still has a tendency to feel a little wallowy in berms/compressions. A shame as the suspension is so good over roots/rocks rough sections.

Chilli cheese is a fine invention- first introduced to me via a Wendy’s Pepper Jack Cheeseburger, circa 1995. Didn’t put me off and all subsequent, more refined iterations are all welcome.

Best ever breakfast/quick dinner/tea- mushrooms fried with chilli, on toast with Philadelphia cheese scrambled egg… 8)