I’m definitely up for that – anything to get out of pedalling uphill 😆

Especially if we get donuts on the bus!

Can I get the bus to the top and meet you lot there? *is lazy*

For the Southern/Midlanders there is a full day’s worth of riding at Cannock, Forest of Dean, Malvern that I know of, but would be happy to go further South if someone knows their way round.

Coed-y-Brenin sounds like a good option – I rarely get to go as the OH hates it, so would be good to meet up there for New Year 🙂

Nant-yr-Arian is awesome, especially the big loop with that proper ‘out there’ feeling, would also love that too. Again, it’s a good centre for a mix of riders giving the option of shorter loops and also repeating the last descent. Not been for ages, I’d forgot how much fun it is!

*ignores Sharki*

I don’t mind where the meet is – I’m based in the Midlands, but will drive pretty much anywhere not to have to ride with anymore smelly boys 😛

Ah, ok! The Mynd is over by Church Stretton (Shropshire) – lots of climbs, but almost worth the pain for the cracking descents 🙂

emma – you’re not the emma I met at the long mynd a few weeks back are you?

So anyway – when and where we all meeting 🙂

(I’m not a girl in the Sharki sense of the word either, honest)

Well, maybe we should arrange a meet 😀

Red run at Stile Cop to the berm – so super awesome fun and don’t need to worry about a single root 🙂

*waves*

😀

I always ask if they are ok and if they have everything they need. Always.

I would post a full reply, but clearly the lack of meat and dairy in my diet has left my brain unable to function.

Same as normal. Well, apart from the fact I spend much more time charging batteries, washing kit and much less time staying upright.

If I was you I’d be gone so fast I’d not even have time to pack

From the guys I know who wear them, the opposite is true. On steep tracks they restrict how far back you can tilt your head and therefore see.

Decision definitely made then.

Is getting a less capable bike and getting your kicks on slightly less lethal routes an option?

I ride my HT most of the time atm, even for the DH stuff. Tend to save the big bike for uplift days and the really rooty stuff that makes me flap.

Getting my kicks on slightly less lethal routes? Well, it’s an option I suppose, but my main goal in life is to be able to ride any trail thrown at me (not necessarily well, mind!) and not have to be in that awful position of having to get off and push because it’s too technical. Yeah, it’s a big goal, but as long as I am progressing towards it I’m happy. I think I would soon get very bored of being stuck on routes I find easy.

I understand goats are quite good at walking on the edges of mountains with 200 ft drops to the side, so that side effect may not be all bad.

Interesting about Rob Warner. Would be good to hear some real time stories from normal everyday riders if there are any though??

so what’s the general consensus on how to make a good cup of tea then?

Thanks Jambo. I pretty much always wear a fullface so that wouldn’t be a problem. Wearing armour doesn’t bother me tbh, and I was also wondering whether wearing a brace would actually force me to keep my head up more which can only be a good thing.

However, I understand even pushing wearing a brace without a fullface is believed increase the risk of neck injury. Having to take the brace off for pushing up (or keep the full face on all the time) would be a royal PIA as I struggle enough with the big bike as it is. I think that’s the deciding factor right now for me as ultimately I ride for fun, and really struggling to the top of the trails would significantly take the fun out of it.

I tend to always ride with better riders and it does help, particularly as most of them are lovely and happy to spent time talking through stuff they do. However, having 1:1 skills training with Jedi really made a huge difference in just a few months, much more than the hours and hours of trying to follow people down trails because he instinctively knew exactly what I was struggling with.

It is ultimately a mind game for me without a doubt. So maybe what I need is more tattoos, hypnotherapy and cake.

Ok then, Jambo, what would you do if you were me (i.e. a bit crap rather than a riding god)? I know you were considering a neck brace a while back so would appreciate your input cos, well you know about stuff

DezB – Member

Neck brace if you’re a downhiller. In which case you’ll be good enough not to need training, surely?

^that’s funny. How did you come to that conclusion?

I’ve already had a day with Jedi, and the mental skills he gave me were worth every penny. However, I do wonder if it would have the same effect second time around.

DH is prolly 50% of my riding, but then, like said above, most of my spills are on XC rides. However, the worst near-misses (i.e. the ones that could have resulted in something drastic if I hadn’t have managed to salvage it) have been on DH trails.

Income protection, hmm, now there’s an interesting thought. Biggest worry of mine is not being able to pay the mortgage. Such a nightmare when it pops into my head just at a critical rooty don’t-blummin-brake section 😕

soobalias – Member

a tattoo will make you look better on the trails and better in hospital should the worst happen.

**** it I’m going with this option ^

No where near – work is all dominating in my life atm.

Best LBS ever (well, they are an LBS to me when I’m working up there, so surely that counts 😉 )

They is super tolerant of my pedantic requests for anodised nipples and if I wasn’t so skint, they’d be building me up another set of fab wheels right now.

That made me cry and angry too. Bastards. I don’t eat meat, but I understand that other people do. No need to be cruel though.

No need to be cruel indeed, but the fact is, most people don’t give the slightest toss about the source of their meat/dairy.

The reason that…..slaughterhouse workers get away with abuse, chickens get their beaks clipped and dairy cattle are milked until the chronic mastitis is so bad they can barely stumble to the milking parlour…. is nothing to do with government legislation and everything to do with end consumers. Anyone who eats milk, meat or eggs is DIRECTLY responsible for the treatment of animals that produce them. If they didn’t buy it because of the practices that go on, then those practices would change.

A few people may even say ‘aww, that’s awful’ the government should do ‘this’ and ‘that’ – but what they really need to do is take a long hard look at their own actions. Ultimately though, most people are careless, selfish and just don’t believe that causing an animal pain amounts to abuse if the end result is a pre-packaged product in a supermarket.

I have much more respect for people that say “I honestly don’t care” than those that say “oh, I wish I could be veggie, but….” or “yeah, it is awful what goes on, but……..”

lexiekay – Member

Not sure that’s work for me as i’m a girl…

Then dick around with weights machines admiring the boys 😉

In all seriousness it’s a good workout – bench press followed by deadlift/squat is full body. All the rest is just a bonus.

My current workout, when I can be bothered, is push-press, front squats and press-ups as I am limited to what I can do at home.

If I was back to a gym, then bench and squat would be the core of my routine.

wishful thinker

A ladybower loop, but extended to pick up the Beast and Cavedale and Potato Alley rather than heading over Whinstone which will be a sandy brake-pad-grinding swamp.

You’ve gotta do the Beast at least! 🙂

Cheers Rob, I may be in contact! We may try filing down a 2 mm key first.

Konastoner – yeah, they are both the same unfortunately.

So damn frustrating as I’m not going to get the time to look at them again until next weekend unless I’m particularly lucky, and I was so hoping to try them out on a night-ride tonight.

littlegirlbunny, check that the grub screw is clear of dirt. A small pin / needle will clear the allen socket

done that 🙁

Erm, I’m not sure it’s gonna be happening in a hurry – as it seems that someone, at some point, has rounded off the grub screws to the compression knob so I’m struggling to work out how the heck I’m gonna get it off 🙁

being airbourne

725 mm on both bikes

Race Face Atlas AM’s on the DH bike – 0.75″

Race Face Atlas FR cut down to 725 mm on HT – 0.5″ rise

I’m pretty small so 725 is the max I would go, but definitely noticeably better control than the old 710’s I was running.

Both low rise, – much better on climbs compared to the risers even with the big forks on the HT. Like being a bit more over the front. Don’t think I’d go with completely flat bars though.

*covers eyes*

Cracking

HTH

Milkie – Member

My mate wants to do this:

Stuff that for a game of soldiers

What foxyrider says ^

Judgement every time.

(Although I’d normally yield for descenders because, well, it’ll mean an excuse to stop climbing and that can only be a good thing.)

Think of it as extending that wonderful thing known as ‘new-bike-feeling’

Once it’s ridden you never get it back 😉

Going fast is very important on a lot of the trail centre stuff – because a lot of the trails are vastly more fun if you can hit them at speed. Kind of makes them more three-dimensional.

I hate having to pedal to get my fun though.

On steeper stuff I’m not too bothered about getting down in the quickest time….great if you are a DH racer, but I’d rather take an interesting/fun line down and be at the bottom 30 seconds later.

So, in summary – It’s all about the fun. Some trails are more fun the faster they are ridden, others are more fun if you pick your way down via the most interesting bits 🙂

I’d never sacrifice descending ability (of a bike) for pedalling/climbing ability.

When I started out I was firmly in the ‘if you don’t fall off you’re not trying hard enough’ camp. I was always getting injured and crashing on most rides. Until I had a nasty off which put me off the bike and from which I will never regain full use of my thumb (hence cannot change gear with it). Then I spent a very long time in a mental wilderness of not being able to ride at the level I wanted because, quite frankly, I had neither the ability or the balls to do so anymore.

But now I tend to ride well within my comfort zone and find my progression is mostly steady and overall I’m probably progression quicker than when I was really trying to push myself (that’s all thanks to some mental coaching from Jedi).

However, I have a VERY specific set of goals which I feel I have to reach if I’m ever to become the rider I want to be. I need to be able to coaster manual, nose pick, hop in one place, not be daunted by blind-drops-to-steep-landings and bunnyhop to height. Until I can do these things I think I’ll always feel like I have a glass ceiling to the trails I can ride.

Also, I really want to be able to whip the bike and hip/transition. A few months ago I thought this would only ever be a dream, but have noticed I’ve been able to tweak the bike in the air over the last few weeks (goodness knows how) so maybe, one day, in several years time, I’ll pull it off!