dovebiker I did notice that mid-range shifting had gone to pot on my last ride; 1-2-3 were fine, 3-4 mostly fine, 4-5-6, were abysmal, 6-7 mostly fine, 7-8 fine. Was hoping a bit of adjuster tweaking would fix it, but given the bolt issue, I’ll have to have a closer inspection…

As has already been said, but you can’t really say it enough.

Practice, practice, practice.

I was always told to throw away shit photos, which in the days of shooting slide film, could be 34 – 35 shots off a 36 shot roll, if not the whole roll. I could never do it, so have folder and folders of shit photos. I did use the crap to see what I was doing wrong though, so look at what other people produce, their composition (where the rider is in the shot), the position they have used to capture the shot relative to the subject (above, below, to the side etc) and try and replicate.

I bought some 100% Briskers after they were recommended in this thread.

I would’ve bought the Dexters, but the Briskers were reduced to a stupid to not buy them, even if I then buy the Dexters level. So far they’ve been OK, the palm have no padding, which is either a problem, or not a problem, depending on your point of view. If you get the palms wet, then they stay wet and the windproofness depends on how fast you’re going. I haven’t used them in wet, or really cold, weather yet, so can’t really comment on how good they’ll be in that situation. So your milage may vary.

Defo google then… 🤣

I shouldn’t laugh, I also ride a rigid fat bike and am closer to 50 that I’d like. I wear glasses, but have been planning on using my old OTG skiing googles for when it gets bad. Haven’t worn them out yet, as the weather hasn’t been bad enough, but I’ve tried them on and I look like a proper nobber. 🤔

Somehow, I managed to contrive a few hours off this arvo, so headed out to try and link up a load of byways and bridleways that I don’t have time to fit into my usual early morning pre-work rides.

There were two lovely tilled fields to bounce across…

A beautiful sunset to watch…

And a lot of wishing that I had a better / another front light.

Off to that there London tomorrow, so no riding, or repairing holes in tyres from massive thorn removal.

sofaking great photo by the way! 👍

cchris2lou upload them to a web server, find out the URL that references the image and use the Insert / edit image button to add it to your posts. Simples.

richmars I’d do it more often, if I didn’t then have to ride on the road from Wilburton to get to Upware or Wicken!

Last one, from the commute home last night. The mainline railway bridge that marks the Stourbridge Common and Ditton Meadows boundary and carries trains to and from Ely and beyond into Cambridge. Also the site of the proposed new cycle / pedestrian crossing as part of the Chisholm Trail linking North and South Cambridge.

oldnpastit Get out there and report back! 😉
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I’m using two of those free Chinese ones that you get when you buy cheap Chinese lights. I’d much rather have one that has a steady and blink mode like my old DiNotte 140R though.

Over the River Cam, this time at Bottisham Lock, which is actually at Waterbeach…‽

This morning, at Swaffham Lock pumping station, just a bit further down river from the photo above…

My old Spesh HardRock under the A14 bridge over the River Cam.

High Bridge over Burwell Lode again, this time looking out over Wicken Fen.

Mark’s Grave on the Roman Road where it goes from being a Byway to being a Bridleway.

Going over Queenholme Drain on the Aldreth Causeway. With the beasts of Satan on the river bank…

Baits Bite Lock, River Cam.

Bottisham Lode pumping station

The bridge over Reach Lode that Sustrans spent all their Millennium lottery money on. Heading towards Wicken Fen NT.

Cuckoo Bridge, where Rampton Drift meets Cuckoo Lane.

High Bridge over Burwell Lode, looking out over Adventurers Fen.

Swaffham Heath Road, over the A14 / A11 junction.

winston please keep us informed as to battery run time on full, etc. I’m after a new set of lights and these look useful…

Over a burn and onto a byway…

Over the A14 at the end of a another byway…

On a bridleway, over a fenland river near Wicken Fen…

Turns out I’ve got a lot of photos of the Dune on bridges. I could easily post another 12…

I have a Black Edition Fiesta, I can fit my Calibre Dune in the back, but only when I take both wheels off. It’s a bit of a pain to be honest, I should really buy one of those single bike carriers to hang off the boot…

Thanks for all the suggestions, those Castelli tops, while they look nice, are probably slightly out of budget… 😲 I know that Spexcel do a knock off Gabba, no idea how it compares though. I might try that Alpkit one and get one of the Decathlon waterproof jackets for when it’s proper miserable.

Calibre Dune from Go Outdoors…?

NS Bikes RAG+…? Or another one from this lot…?

I forgot to mention peanut butter¹, also a terrific source of protein and damn tasty too…

¹ Other nut butters are available…

Get to like eggs, beans, lentils and tofu. If you want some inspiration for veggie meals, then you could do a hell of a lot worse than getting the following out of the local library: For The Love of Food by Denis Cotter, Plenty by Ottolenghi (or any of his other books really), Curry Easy Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey, A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones, or just go to The Guardian website.

As has all ready been mentioned, beans on toast, is the perfect meal; pimp with cheese, fried eggs and hot sauce for moar…

Rather than protein shakes, I make my own kefir, which I drink as a smoothie, blended with a banana and some frozen berries. Good for the guts too…

If he’s taking requests, then a Pinion gear boxed, Gates belt drive compatible, fat bike with plenty of room of 5″ rubber. Preferably in Titanium…

So we went with a slightly more reputable website(s) and splurged the birthday money and the remnants of the monthly pay check. Fitted the pedals and had a quick spin round the garden in the dark; looking forward to cycling to work tomorrow now.

There are plenty of OTG goggles for skiing, just use a pair of those…?

If a frankenbike doesn’t whet your whistle, then get a Calibre Dune. Best £480 I’ve ever spent on a bike…

What about a pair of Lauf Carbonara forks…? Or does everyone still think they’re not stiff enough? I was thinking of getting some bounce for the Dune in the new year, so watching with interest to what’s suggested here. I don’t really ride trail centres, so am looking for something to just take the buzz out of rough bridleways and byways.

Nobeerinthefridge it’s all road/bridleway/byway riding around here, and as it’s on the edge of the fens, not much in the way of up and down either. I could jump in the car and drive to High Lodge at Thetford, or even Chicksands, but I’d spend more time in the car than I would cycling. Plus, all the local woods are on a pheasant shooting estate, or all the land is taken up by studs and paddocks.

I’m sure there are probably some sneaky trails somewhere, but then I’d have to go and ride with other people to find them. Plus my sense of self preservation is far too strong to be throwing my self off huge drops etc… 🤔

If there was anywhere locally that had (small) jumps and stuff, I would go occasionally and have a practice. There isn’t, so I don’t…

So I bought a pair of the 100% Brisker gloves and tried them out on this mornings ride. They felt a tad cold when I left the house, with my pinkies getting the worst of it. After about 40 mins or so, my hands and pinkies especially, felt fine. At one point, I thought they were getting a bit warm, but the constant in and out of shade, plus the extra wind on the descents, kept my hands at a nice temperature.

Not sure they’d be much cop at, or around zero, but for 5 – 6°C, they’re fine.

staffo They don’t have the ones I’m after unfortunately…

jimmy you can order direct from Lake, pay in Euros and have them shipped from the European warehouse. Shame it’s 💶💶💶…

dovebiker yeah, they really don’t look very wide in the photos of the sole…

Does anyone know how wide those 45Nrth boots are…? I was about to blow two hundred and the rest on some wide fit Lake MX241 Endurance or MX237 Endurance shoes. I could afford pedals as wells as boots if they’re wide enough…

I was looking at getting a pair of the newer MT500 Plus, although they are eye wateringly expensive for something that generally only lasts me a season… I’ve used the older metallic silver road overshoes before, they were fine up to a point, the neoprene didn’t get on with the buckles on my old shoes, never had a problem with the zips; but as Dogsby says, it’s the bottoms that give out first.

Thanks all. @stevenmenmuir how windproof are the DeFeet Dura Gloves? The pictures make them look like they’re just a thin knitted material…

Anyone remember the magnesium frame then drove over on Tomorrows World, when it was first announced as the new wonder bike frame material…?

Just bought an Apeman Trawo for the kids to use on holiday and for me to use on the bike, if I fancy. No idea if it’s any good or not, but it was a lot cheaper than an SJCam SJ8, Yi, or GoPro. It’s arriving today, I can report back with initial impressions if you like…

So I picked up a set of On-One OG Bars, which most unlike Planet-X, turned up within two days, rather than the usual week and a half. Fitted them last Saturday and haven’t managed to get out and ride, as I have a throat infection and have spent the last week on the sofa…

Just need to get me some of those Ergon GC1 grips now…

My Jumbo Jims have stayed up ghetto tubeless, without me having to fettle the pressure, using OKO Off-road Sealant; a lot cheaper than cycling specific tubeless sealant.

Been years since I was on holiday around there, we stayed in Argens-Minervois. I can remember doing a ride South from there, on the D212, through Lagrasse, onto the D3 to Monze, and then turning right up some brutally steep single carriage road passed Château de Miramont and then down the other side and back to the villa.

I was hopelessly over geared on that holiday and never made it as far as Pic de Nore. I did a few rides up the valleys nearby though, taking in Citou, Cassagnoles and Minerve. Basically, head up a valley, turn left or right, come back down the next one, loop back.

@trail_rat at least the Strongbow has a bit more back-sweep, that Alpkit effort is just my existing bars with a loop tacked on front. Shame, as the price was good…

I’m now thoroughly confused.com and am worried that the Mary’s have too much sweep and that I should get something in the middle ground as a starter. I think I’ll switch the internet off for a bit and try and un-confuse myself…

@whitestone thanks for the links! I’m pretty convinced that I’d like the Molokos, mainly for the different hand positions. Will stick with the On-One Mary for starters and see how I get on with the sweep. I was looking at the Origin8 Strongbow the other day, but couldn’t find anywhere over here doing them, bit like the Space Bugles…