Time for the STW post adoption group ride?

Like the sound of that.

I think there’s something about people who ride bikes that makes for a good adoptive parent. Willingness to put in the effort, suffer a bit and then get up the next day and do it all over again!

If the weather is good our T5 is fine for the four of us and 2 dogs. Not so ideal when it’s 3 days of solid rain in FOD. Organisation is key. Couple of drybags each, ideally different colours! helps keep things organised. Microfibre towels save space and a bungee clothes line will dry them out if the weather is dry. I assume the van you’re hiring has an awning? It’s pretty essential.

Contratulations! we have our 4th anniversary this coming Sunday for our 2 daughters. As others have said, take advantage of any post placement support – you will need it. Also, make sure the school is on board early. Get them to develop a plan and ensure the additional funding they receive is put to good use for your child

Norrona

I sold all my full frame stuff around 5 years ago and bought an Olympus EP5, which is the predecessor to the the Pen F. I had all the gear, Nikon D700 with the pro lenses and a Leica M9, but the move was a good one for me. Key benefits are I can now take it with me practically anywhere (it fits into my framebag), the IBIS is great, and I love the look of Olympus lenses. I use the 17mm f1.8 and the 45mm f1.8. The 45mm is my favourite, terrific for portraits, super sharp, and very small. I did also have a Panasonic GH4 and 7-14mm f4, but never really liked it, so sold that a while back. I don’t know much about the M10, but Olympus are great at stabilisation and their lenses are as good as anything I’ve used, so doubt you will be disappointed with whichever one you choose. Also, I’d consider used lenses from Wex Photo or MBP. Most that come up seem to be in excellent condition. I imagine they mostly come from hobbyists rather than pros, so haven’t had the same level of use.

I’m not bemused by anything other than the fact Rapha have been generating multi page threads on forums since their inception. This is like being on the road forum on bikeradar in 2010.

I’ve used the Rapha touring shorts for mtb for the last 6 years and absolutely love them (as much as you can love a pair of shorts). Nursing them a bit now though, hoping they’ll last a couple more years before falling apart.
It does seem odd though, for a company struggling financially with high levels of stock, to reduce discounting, close their discount outlets and expand their product range into mtb.

Bagneres de Luchon, or just Luchon as it’s commonly known is your best bet for a family holiday base in the Pyrenees. We have been many times and it’s easily the best place to stay if you’re after a bit of everything. Plenty of bars and restaurants and you have the natural thermal spa. The gondola runs in the summer if you want to ride some downhill or just take a hike. We’ve done white water rafting, but there’s every water/mountain sport available. Plenty of other stuff to keep the kids happy like the outdoor pool, crazy golf, climbing wall, etc. Accommodation is plentiful and therefore reasonably priced.

Mine is definitely not waterproof!

Shimano I do one through their Pro discover range.

Try http://www.kidsracing.co.uk
They’re fairly local to me and we’ve had a fair bit of stuff from them.

I really feel for you. We got our first dog over 8 years ago, and it’s frequently in the back of my mind that eventually we’ll have this day too.

How do you know your cassette is in good order? Have you got another one you can try?

Queen and Slim looks promising

I’ve got Innov8 mud claws for proper muddy conditions, I do find that if there is any harder ground involved I do feel the lack of cushioning. I’ve always got on with Saucony so for trail shoes I use the trail equivalent of the Kinvara. Plenty of cushioning and a 4mm drop. Prefer these over the mudclaws where conditions allow

I did. Tried to convince a couple of mates to do it but think I’ll be on my own

Pretty sure for navigation you will need to pay for the additional regions. I downloaded the app on my phone and got a prompt from the Apple store to unlock world mapping for £19.99. I didn’t think that was bad value

I usually pencil in a load of events at this time of year and gradually cross them off as time, family commitments, etc mean I don’t end up doing them!
Some things I definitely want to do next year are an overnight bike packing trip with my daughter (she’s 11 and asked me to go), also the frontier300 and a longer event like the Torino-Nice.

I did the GWV 100k Route a few weeks ago (the tourist office have fully signed the route). Very comfortable on my 32mm gravel kings. There’s actually very little pave, certainly nothing like RVV

Pencil cases or small zipped bags were one of the first things I was taught to make. Thinking that it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to make some framebags. Start with a top tube bag or a seat pack. Or just one of those straps to secure an inner tube to your down tube. Cordura is relatively inexpensive and freely available.

Tool roll
Cap/casquette
Musette
Workshop apron

I came close to buying one, but in the the end decided the complete bikes were too expensive. I was looking at the Sram AXS build, but went for an OPEN W.i.d.e with same drivetrain and Hunt carbon wheels for the same price (frame was approx £650 more than the stigmata). My local SC dealer says the builds are all imported from the US so that’s why they are a bit more pricy. I think if you did a custom build you could come in a lot less.

I demoed a Levo HT two or three years ago and can’t say I loved it. All that weight on an overbuilt alu HT frame just felt jarring to me on techy, rooty stuff, totally different experience to the FS. I think the fork on it was pretty poor, so that will have contributed significantly to my feelings about it.

Used it for a few years now. Started off with the hifi subscription, but have now switched to the cheaper high quality one, which is still better than spotify imo. I listen exclusively through a chord mojo and shure SE846 earphones. Master is wonderful but I don’t listen enough to warrant the extra cost. Playlists are good and the Apple TV app means you can watch videos, films etc. It’s hooked up to an AV amp so sounds really good.

I use iTunes gift cards, but I’ve only ever seen US and Canadian ones. I used to have an mp3 downloader add on for Firefox which was great for YouTube. I imagine that’s a good place to start

I pretty much stick to the chocolate/caramel type of flavours from medium to dark roasts, so can recommend ‘Italian Job’ from Ravecoffee, or current favourite ‘Stronghold’ from Origin coffee. Union have some good espresso blends too.

Fresh fennel, fried with the onions at the start is very tasty. If you want to make it a bit healthier you can ditch the butter at the end for some cottage cheese, but make sure you take it off the heat for a few minutes beforehand. Truffle oil is great with a mushroom risotto as is a few chilli flakes.

Gravelkings easy for me too. Had my first puncture in 2 years at the weekend.

https://www.komoot.com/collection/447/bikepacking-along-the-coast-of-northern-spain

Not sure why I can’t post a link, but text is above. There’s loads of inspiration on Komoot – still fairly new to it myself, but I’ve discovered lots of ideas

Have you had a look at the stuff on Komoot? This one for example, caught my eye the other week and might be an option for me next year.

I have the Rotor 2inpower on mine. Bought it as I’ve had one on my road bike for 3 years and it’s been excellent. Plus points for me are: no calibration needed before a ride, very reliable data (no spikes or drops to fix in software) and a stiff/light crank. I’ve used q rings for years, so that was another reason for me.

Fenix 3 has much better battery life and function for sport, but I use a Wahoo Bolt and Komoot for creating and following routes. Not sure either watch is good for this…

Kenny

Gilet and armwarmers can cover you for many months of riding during the year. Caps, aswell as useful for keeping rain off are quite handy for this time of year when the sun is low in the sky.

My 10 year old daughter rides my wife’s Specialized Ruse which is either a small or medium, can’t remember which. We’ve done Forest of Dean, etc no problems.

I think if you can only get 2 or 3 hours a week to ride, the advice would be to go as hard as you can. Obviously if you had more time available you could add structure, but sounds like what you’re doing will give you best bang for buck.

who in their right mind puts cash into a depreciating asset when for a few hundred a month you can have one, under warranty and with breakdown cover and only needing a couple of services during ownership. It’s hassle and worry free motoring and makes a lot of sense if you do lots of miles, tbh even if you don’t they are a nice place to be for a few £££ a month so why not

Well I guess that’s me. I bought my Merc 8 years ago and have been putting my company car allowance towards more interesting things ever since

Do the distributors not have a demo fleet? I got a Diverge from Specialized Uk delivered to my local dealer for demo. I’d have thought it would be the same in other markets?

I’ve got a 953 steel fork and that weighs 750g, so I imagine other steels are going to be significantly more.

I was driving to the park a few weeks ago and parked cars were on other side of the road leaving enough room for a single car to pass. Car coming the opposite way decided not to yield to my right of way and continued on my side of the road forcing me to stop. She wound her window down and screamed ‘slow down’, which surprised me I have to say.