Oh, and my brother tried it a few times to help with his fear of flying… That didn’t work either.

Yes and no it had no effect (but only one short session).

Flickr[/url]

:mrgreen:

…but mixed red and black its fine.

But the black route follows pretty much all of the red route anyway… What are you doing that you do the black route without any of the red bits? And although its been a while since I’ve done it, a lot of the forest track has been cut out of the black now.

2004 – my Raleigh Activator got pinched (never took it offroad) so I replaced it with a cheap Edinburgh Bike Coop hardtail. 6 months later it got replaced with Kona Explosif :-) Can’t believe I’ve been doing it so long already!

Nothing in britain compares to Kirroughtree

Not even Golspie?

I’m on my 2nd Xen now – the Hex won’t fit my wierd head. Its a comfy helmet, but I will say that its absolutely roasting to wear! Its not particularly well vented, I don’t think.

Similar to the above – no showers, lockers, drying etc and bike lived in an alcove. Company moved office and only difference is a shed out the back to keep the bike in. Not even a mirror now to check how sweaty I look! Still they at least let me do the bike to work scheme…

I really don’t get his point though – we’d be walking up with bikes on our back doing no more damage than a walker, and the top of Cairngorm seems the most devoloped mountain in Scotland, having roads, lifts etc.

Well access in Scotland is about ‘responsibility’, which applies to ALL countryside users. If its considered reponsible for thousands of walkers then dozens of bikes are equally responsible. If it were thousands of bikers, that would be a different matter!

I wouldn’t worry about it, personally.

That’ll be a Darwin Award contender, surely!

Thanks for the responses – conditions off road are unlikely to be bone dry in the North of England in early April :-)

Unless the Reign X is significantly different to the standard Reign, I didn’t feel like it had a low BB at all, and I was using 175mm cranks. The bike was/is an awesome climber which makes up for any pedal strikes.

…and still be capable off road?

gp4000s

Errrrr….

H is for Handjob

Trance X – inbetweener?

I’m happy to organise/”guide” if anyone is interested…

Yup!

I’ve got a few nice ones, but no idea how to post pics – advice please gents?!

They need to be hosted somewhere, i.e. http://www.flickr.com then right click the photo, copy the photo location and then use the IMG button to paste the photo in.

singlespeeddan – is this you?

druidh – have you done the Carn Ban Mor ride yet?

Anyway, shit ride (IMO) but awesome scenery and great wilderness feel: Skye

Carn Ban Mor (and indeed any riding round Glen Feshie, Coylumbridge and Glenmore)

Any Ochils route (i.e. Dumyat, Stirling)

Devil’s Staircase, Glencoe

I wouldn’t worry about anywhere being busy in the north of Scotland – its not condensed like the Lakes and Peaks are.

Another book I think is worth getting is this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Scotland-Trails-Guide-Mountains/dp/0955082226

i think the general idea was to have a day out riding bicycles. it’s a hard concept to grasp for the non-cyclist but i believe they enjoyed themselves?
i guess much like riding around a muddy field 20 times it’s something you have to try before saying you don’t like it.

Blimey, got a chip on your shoulder there MrSmith? You jumped down nickc’s throat a bit there! He was maybe assuming it was a charity ride, or raising awareness, or such like?

It does look fun to me, but I can’t help but feel that its all a bit too cool for me, what with them mostly being fixie riders. And my dad wears tweed regularly, so its hardly a novelty to me :-)

I have no problem giving them access, but I want to make sure that the flat is in a tidy state prior to them coming round – keeping 3 bikes in a small carpetted flat and riding 2-3 times a week means its difficult to keep the place looking reasonable!

There is no re-signing of the lease as in Scotland leases roll on after the initial period, however the letting agents are arranging an energy efficiency assessment of the property which they claim is required (hence granting access), however the information they sent out indicates that it is only necessary information for new tenants and not existing. I have a feeling they are trying to justify their fee to my landlord, or my lease may be up for a significant renewal.

WTF?! (from matt’s 2nd link)

We also recommend that you avoid ironing the garment but if you do use the steam setting on no higher temperature than “warm”. At some temperatures, the heat from the iron can have a rejuvenating effect on the DWR finish but there is a greater potential for fabric damage if the iron is too hot.

The care instructions on the inside of my Endura eVent specifically tell you to iron it to replenish the water repellancy! I’ve done this a few times and seems to work great, although I guess I should reconsider it now…

…you need to be respectful of that

Well I appreciate that, and I know my landlord would too. But as things are now through an agent, with whom I’ve already had an arguement with, ‘respectful’ is not the same as ‘lawful’.

Good point Pook, it may indeed be a typo. I don’t particularly want to raise it as a specific issue though, as my rent may go up when the lease is re-written (no increase in 2yrs)!

The Rize is a great frame but i think that it is a bit on the light side for me i want something a bit heaver

Well the Hustler is a bit of a lump so it fits the bill – but any other particular reason you want a Hustler?

Done (poss taking 4 bikes up North over the summer…)

I kinda miss my Reign…

Really? You must be pretty lowly.

I am, but the max we charge is £50 an hour for associates/partners… Well last time i saw the rates anyway!

**** me, £45 an hour? I get charged out by my employer (Consulting Engineer) at £40/hour and I’m pretty sure I earn a fair bit more than bike mechanics (which ain’t much, before anyone thinks I’m gloating)!

There’s some downhill style stuff in the trees above Bonaly – built up jumps, some small berms etc. I wouldn’t class it as XC unless you’re world cup level.

Fox v Pinder? A much more interesting debate :D

v

Aye Pentlands was snowy on Wednesday night for a ride – I imagine everywhere will have a bit of snow still. I’ll be giving Gypsy Glen a shot on Sunday. Hopefully rideable :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNHcxyTh-A&feature=related

No way!

Stunning!

Try looking at the rest of them :-)

mike – stop being a fanny. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than badger this woman. And if not, do you have issues with female authority or are you just plain screwed up?

Maxxis High Roller 2.35’s on a 717 rim here – still very square profile, and no squirming (that I’ve noticed from 1 ride!), so you should be fine.

Have run 2.3 Conti Gravity’s before too.

You do realise that there are a hell of a lot of cyclists use that road. Probably not the best one for driving very fast on…

They must all hide when I drive that road then, as I’ve seen maybe a total of 10 bikes in the 20 years or so I can remember regularly going up and down that road. Have always thought it’d be a good cycle route though as its generally fairly quiet.

To be fair, GT is probably the worst place to go at a weekend when its been snowing, unless you’re off the beaten path. All the regular trails will be icy as buggery. You’re better going to Innerleithen or Drumlanrig if you have time.