Thanks for all the advice guys.

I ended up doing an XC loop from Corfe Castle, up onto the ridge, along to Old Harry then back on the flat ground through the nature reserves to Corfe Castle again. About 20 miles in total, not an adrenaline fix, but really nice to just be out on my own in glorious countryside to unwind and start being properly on holiday! :)

Ha! We walked that exact bit with the Scouts today! :)

I think that’s what I’m going to do – Purbeck Way to Headland Point (?) then looping back further north.

Thanks. From the sound of it, maybe I’ll do touring tomorrow instead and wait to get accepted into the Puddletown FB group before riding there. Unexpected gap jumps and drops are probably best avoided, given that everyone else would be stuffed if I couldn’t drive the kit van back at the end of the week! :lol:

Thanks for the replies.  I went for the Shimano sandals, and they certainly make a huge diiference!

They’re not as rigid as my Lake shoes, but that’s hardly surprising.  The lack of an enclosed toe also doesn’t matter on my commute, and whilst I certainly wouldn’t ride them on trails around nettles and brambles, I ride flats off-road anyway.

Having said that, they were still far from perfect, and the fact that I have no problems at all in Five-tens even in this weather did get me wondering if maybe there’s something else going on?  I’m wondering if maybe the saddle on my road bike – different to my others – is pressing slightly on an artery or something and messing with the blood flow a bit?  I might try swapping the saddle over for a bit just to rule that in/out.

Nwmlarge (or anyone else who knows PORC), how does it compare to Swinley?

I’m thinking of taking my boys tomorrow, but am wondering if it will be beyond them?

OK, thanks.  Sounds like 5-10s, helmet and Quad lock it is then. :)

Cheers all.  I think another try round QECP might be in order.

Crowthorne could also be a plan.  How does it compare to the Swinley red in terms of difficulty?

I’ll take a look at the Shock, thanks.  It comes with a setting button that automatically sets the pressure, but I think maybe it’s time to look past that…

There’s a non drive side adjuster? What does that look like?

All I’ve got on mine is the one central bolt in middle of the drive side crank arm?

Thanks! :D

I did get some from Wheels, but having tried to fit them this evening, it would seem they’re spacers for the BB in the frame, not the axle in the BB.

Axle in the BB. The BB itself is perfectly snug.

So yes, it’s axle spacers I need. :) Where did you get yours?

Fortunately I can now work from anywhere with decent broadband, and as I’ll either be 49 or 56 when we move (if we can’t do it the summer after next, kids’ exams delay us for nine years. :( ) this is the move for retirement as well, as I’m not going through that more than once more!

Fear not, Shropshire residents! One of the key reasons for looking at Shropshire as a relocation destination is not having to drive significant distances to ride, so Cannock would not be a regular fixture.

All that stuff over the border in Snowdonia is very attractive though! :D

I’ve been doing loads of exploring on Trailforks! :)

I’ve ridden Cannock a couple of times before (going from Surrey to Manchester, it was a great way to break up a journey and avoid rush hours!), and also have my eyes on a few of the Welsh trail centres, but the nice thing about Uffington is (on the map at least) it looks like from some parts of Shrewsbury, it’s easy to ride to for the kids without needing to drive?

As for that big local biking community, does it have a nice “middle-aged fat knacker” section? :D

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

As a result of a comment here and elsewhere, I’ve just discovered how easy it is to create routes on Strava based off the heatmap and then follow them on my phone.

It would be perfect if I could tell it to turn off road segments and only show MTB trails, but even so, I was able to create a 25 mile circular route which is 90% off road in under 10 minutes, so for now, that gives me pretty much everything I was after! :D

I get the notion of using a phone (not least because that’s what I do at the moment) and realise that yes, there are plenty of competitors at the lower end.

The single feature I really like the look of on the Edge 1030 is the ability to just turn it on anywhere and tell it to take me for a ride along the most popular local trails.

I know all of the information is available out there somewhere on the web, but it’s generally a complete pain in the arse to pull it all together into a GPX file, and that assumes you know you’re going to be riding in the first place!

As an example, if I’m going to a meeting somewhere I know has decent riding nearby, I might often chuck my bike in the car and go for a ride on the way home. The Edge 1030 would potentially let me take the bike to any meeting and do that, even if I didn’t know the terrain at all.

I just can’t bring myself to spend with Garmin again!!!!

@akira, thanks for that. Just signed up to their mailing list.

@scotroutes so are lots of things! Can you think of any other area of consumer goods where there is no competition?

@dovebiker The SRAM website only seems to go back to 2011 for manuals, and I’m also not exactly sure which model year I’ve got.

I have been trying everything I could to identify exactly what it is, but have so far come up blank…

Thanks Tracey. I’m sure they or CRC would’ve done if I’d not already fitted it and knackered the bearings! Oh well… You live and learn!

Bugger! I’ve definitely got the wrong one then. :(

Thanks for the help.

Looks like I’ll just have to order the right one, plus extra bearings, then bung this one on eBay…

Looks like I’m not alone then! :)

It doesn’t cause a problem in terms of going flat on a ride or anything like that, but it doesn’t half make everything messier!

Hmm…

The one I currently have creaking is a Wheels Manufacturing one which I’d payed extra for in the hope that it would get rid of the creaking!

I’m wondering now if I should take it back to the shop who fitted it before spending on something else? It really hasn’t done all that many miles at all.

The Specialized specs say this –> “Custom SRAM S-1250, 7050 alloy arms, 10-speed AM double, PF30 spindle”.

Does that mean it’s 30mm?

Hi @philstone Just wanted to check you got my email OK? :)

@Philstone – Doh! That would be Saturday 29th. :)

@darrenspink, I have been looking on Strava, but I find it a bit of a struggle to suss out what’s properly off road vs on small roads and so on. I really wish they’d come up with a feature to tag on or off road!

Thanks for the help so far chaps.

@philstone, my riding opportunity is the morning of Saturday July 28th, as I’ll be getting there on the Friday afternoon and they’ll be getting there on Saturday afternoon, after which I’ll be with them.

I won’t unfortunately be able to actually use the van on the Saturday morning, as they’ll need all the kit when they arrive, so will have to make do with anything a middle-aged fat knacker can ride to from the Scout centre in St Ouen.

Distance wise, I’m looking at probably 25-30 miles tops depending on how technical it is, and technical wise, around the equivalent of red UK trail centre trails would be perfect. :)

I went out with Bike Beans on Tuesday, which sorted out nicely. Lots of stuff I’d not ridden before over towards Esher and Oxshott. :)

Well, I rode for 26 miles last night – albeit with only iirc two changes on the front – and all was fine with the XT shifter which is definitely far lighter than the SRAM one on my other bike. I still don’t know if that’s cause or symptom though.

Gloves seem to fit fine, as I had wondered about that as well.

I assume you’re too young for it to be arthritis. I’m not, so for me the answer is gripshift and the right bar-end.

I really hope so at 46, but how would one find out?

I suspect the mech is a symptom rather than the cause – after all, I don’t shift all that much on the front – but I’ll take my hardtail out this evening to see if that makes much difference with an XT vs Sram mech.

I’ve managed to arrange hospital trips on a road bike aged 25ish, an XC bike aged 36, a CX bike aged 43 and a full susser aged 45, although fortunately only the first required me staying overnight.

Would I get a better class of hospital visit with a jump bike? :)

Cheers guys. Ranmore is a bit far, but Mickleham is certainly more of a possibility.

I’ve also pinged Bike Beans on Facebook to see if there’s an MTB ride this Tuesday. Been out with them a few times a few years back, but I’ve never been much good at finding trails again on my when I’ve been following someone else! Still, Strava and other tools this time round to help with that. :)

Still a complete mud bath compared to Swinley, but a good day out with the boy all the same, and a solid vote of thanks to the shop for using their compressor to reseat my rear tyre and then check it for leaks.

Saved my ride, and wouldn’t even accept payment for it! :)

Thanks Paul. Looks like Bedgebury it is then. :)

Great, thanks. I’ll try in the morning.

No,I haven’t. Which way would I turn it? :)

:lol:

You lot all clearly know where you’re going, but I don’t!!

I reckon at the moment my safest bet is to just change the start point of that GPX I linked to, then take the most direct route I can to/from it. I may well miss out on a couple of cracking trails, but given I’ve never ridden any of it before, I’m guessing I’ve still got lots of nice stuff to look forward to!

I was looking at that climb back up to get over to Bandrake Head (or to be more precise, Abbot Park) and thinking “singing” probably isn’t the words for what my fat old knacker legs will be doing by that point!!! :lol:

Thanks for the link to that other thread, Jambalaya, and all the other contributions from everyone else. :)

At the moment, I’m thinking of taking this circuit of Coniston from that other thread, but starting from High Nibthwaite rather than Torver, as that’s close enough to where I’m spending the night that I can ride over rather than drive round the side of Coniston. If I’ve worked that out correctly, it should give me a nice descent to finish?

Assuming there’s nothing glaringly wrong with that as a start point, I guess Coniston itself looks like the logical place to stop for lunch. Any recommendations there? Ideally somewhere where either I won’t need to lock my bike up, or which has bike locks available to avoid me having to lug a D-Lock round with me!! :D