has he done it yet?

*waits*

I think I may have to preach

You're gonna be a Dad – sort yourself out!

To the rest of you moaning/whinging and whining about your lovely ladies either:

MTFU

Get a new model

Or

STFU

I get so fed up with this nonsense……trust me, it works both ways. Men can be just as domineering with when/where and how you are allowed to spend your free time. It comes down to successful negotiation. If you can't manage that you either need to find someone with whom you can form a proper relationship OR you need to take a good hard look at your own communicating skills.

*waits for torrent of testosterone fuelled feedback*

Oh, and U31 – you're a very naughty boy *wags finger* ;)

memememememe

Managed to dodge the showers all weekend and had yet another two days of glorious trails. It's made all the winter weather training more than worth it, I'm appreciating every inch of the hard packed surfaces!

New love of my life

Hey theginjaninja – I appreciate the pics!

We'll be going out again in a few weeks – know some of the trails after last year, not all, but certainly enough to fill a week.

Plus the Cachette is so much fun, so I'll know I'm gonna have a good time……with too much armour, too much bike and too much stopping for photos :lol:

TBH I tend to post on smaller forums where I feel like a valued member of the community rather than a 'doris-with-two-wheels-trying-to-fit-it'

I rarely, if ever, ride with other bikerchicks, but, I am very lucky to have a good group of cycling buddies now who I have got to know over the last three years. I never feel like I 'need' a female orientated forum and feel lucky because of that.

I have had very mixed experiences of both online and LBS shopping. I have a particular hatred for some arrogant LBS owners, and those that rip of newbie riders by overcharging significantly for repairs/fitting.

Recently, however, I have found some absolutely top class service from Four LBS's in particular:
*Coombes Cycles in Hereford – fitted a Hope Bottom Bracket, including free facing of my BB, set the bike up perfectly and provided amusing stories of MM all for the retail price of the BB…and completed in a morning leaving me to collect the bike at lunch break.

*Swinnertons (Cannock Chase) – have a good supply of stock, and are always happy to help, even when really busy

*Red Kite in Brum – haven't always had what we want in stock, but are still happy to help, provide alternative suggestions and generally polite and helpful service.

*The Bike Chain, from where I recently ordered a large amount of kit for a new build. They sourced it all at a fair price, kept me constantly updated with info about the suppliers and got the stuff shipped out as soon as it arrived.

Top quality service from all four….just wanted to say so really – because good customer service doesn't get recognised anywhere near enough.

"can I have a taste of that" when used in the "gis us sum of your food" context.

That's brilliant, thanks :)

I just got some DHF from Merlin – they are being sent today

Riders 1995 to 1999 would be fantastic please. Think you got me just before I committed to the left coming outta the berm only to hear the guy shout 'GO TO THE RIGHT' :lol:

littlegirlbunny {at} hotmail dot com

thanks!

This pic summarises MM for me…….it was only taken because I was way less fit than I would've liked and couldn't resist stopping to just chill in the evening sun and grab a quick photo. Realised at that point getting up the hills was the least of my priorities when there was cracking singletrack, wonderful evening sunlight and great company – the hills could wait their turn!

5thumbs – Member

RNP – and what happens if you come late to MTB (like me)?

I'd love to have built up years of experience but realistically that isn't going to happen anytime soon (if ever). Meanwhile I don't see the fun in trailing along at the back of the pack due to lack of skills/know how.

Life really is to short not to enjoy it and if a skills course helps fair enough. Cheating doesn't come into it IMO.

Yup – what he says ^

I only started riding a few years ago. I never had the luxury of a childhood full of riding and have had to learn most stuff from scratch as an adult….so I'm working really hard to catch up with those lucky enough to have started from a young age and need all the help I can get

Even if it is 'cheating' at least I am trying to get the most out of my riding (and life!) before I'm too old to appreciate throwing myself down mountains.

There is very little more frustrating than being limited in what you can ride due to a poor skill set.

In addition – repetition may have been the way you learnt, but I've seen many riders who have been on bikes for decades, but have ingrained bad habits from repeating said habits rather than developing the skills they need. RNP – I guess you're one of the naturally gifted lucky ones.

I ride as much in the winter as the summer

But undoubtedly enjoy it 100% more in the summer

twofortythree SL

Jedi is awesome – I am still benefiting on every ride from the session I had with him. He's a sound guy and it makes me happy seeing these kind of threads pop up so regularly.

I can't believe anyone would be negative about

a) people having a good time
b) regular positive recommendations
c) a genuinely nice guy who is lucky enough to have a gift that can help others and thus he can make his living out of it rather than slave away in a job he hates. (I'm insanely jealous of Jedi being able to do that)

I'm not the best rider in the world, and tbh, always thought it would prolly be only the pro's that would really notice the difference.

However, I've had both a Van R and an RP23 serviced (not PUSHed, just standard service) by TF Tuned and I cannot even begin to explain the difference. It is instantly noticeable. Well worth the money :)

I ride a Chammy all day – it's fine.

WGAS if they are chavvy/tacky/common…….

…if you like them, and you want a(nother) tattoo, get them done. No other reason is necessary :)

(btw, I don't think they are chavvy, stars nearly always look great – no matter how many I see)

pedals

Felt like one of those films that could have been up there with the best………

…….but it failed spectacularly on most counts (sets, camera work, acting etc)

There's no excuse with modern technology for sets to look so blatantly 'movie-company-warehouse-set'

It wasn't a love or hate film for me, I'm kind of indifferent to it, to be honest. However, I was very glad to see some proper monster and not some arty-farty shadows!

They've built a new BMX track 10 minutes up the road

I like that, a lot

I'd go.

There's the phone/internet for staying in touch – as long as you listen and care about the kids they will know you love them wherever you are in the world. It's not a life sentence, you will be able to change your mind later…..but not if you miss the opportunity in the first place.

14

I knew then that there would be only one car for me

Blue Velvet would be my choice

Shame to see him go, but at least he lived his life to the full and got more out of it than most 74 year olds.

gravity dropper with 4" drop
hone crankset
fire eye skinny grips
troy lee helmet that fits like a glove
CK headsets

I know this is gonna start an argument, but don't FFS see a Chiropractor – they are quacks who'll rob you blind.

Physio would be the way I'd go

between 9 and 10 starts at weekends

7.00 pm (ish) starts in the week

never start in the afternoon if I can help it as I just CRFS at that time of day – think my brain goes into sleep mode.

After driving last year I can't see the point in ever bothering with the hassle and cost of flying again.

As above – it's an adventure, you can take spares, you don't have to worry about idiots breaking/damaging the bike, you have more flexibility, you're not at the mercy of the ash clouds.

Sheepie – couple more links to look at for sites that are great at labelling vegan skate shoes :)

http://www.kateskates.co.uk/ (type vegan into the search engine and it will bring up all the vegan pairs)

http://www.rawshoe.co.uk/index.htm (raw have a very good search engine which allows you to select ‘skate’ shoes and the size you are looking for and then details all the shoes and their material specification)

HTH!

xherbivorex – Member

not again. please, just this once…

sorry xherbivorex – I tried to resist :|

crikey – Member

Sidi shoes are made from Lorica, not leather.

Sidi make excellent Lorica boots and shoes – my old motorbike boots were Sidi and they were ace!

Sheepie – Member

Thanks littlebunnygirl, they look good. Does it cost a lot to get that done?

Not a huge amount – I think it was about £35 plus postage to have the soles put on for me, although looks like it's £40 now

http://www.feetfirst.resoles.co.uk/cycling_mtb_shoe_repair.php

highclimber – Member

Of course, synthetic (oil-based) materials are much more friendly to the environment than proper materials such as leather and rubber!

Yes, they can be indeed, although I would say it's six of one and half a dozen of the other.

I see an awful lot of contaminated land sites through my job, and tanneries are up there with the worst.

Of course shipping exotic goods halfway round the world, whether it be Indian/chinese leather/rubber or oil produced synthetics is never a good thing. Leather again is also pretty harsh on the environment, especially if you take into consideration the 9/10ths of an animal's bodyweight that goes up in heat whilst it's alive, and the food and water that goes into feeding/watering/transporting it.

So long term durable synthetics shouldn't just be knocked off as 'bad' until every factor has been fully considered.

maxray – Member

Wont most synthetic footwear be ok? Presuably it doesnt have to be hemp or other stereotypical veggie/vegan material, most synthetic stuff is devoid of meat isn't it?

This is also true.

Sometimes glues and stuff can be animal sourced, but normally the suppliers are happy to provide information if you ask nicely!

I got the veggie shoes ones because they looked like they were gonna hold up to a battering rather than falling apart at the first sign of a rock. :)

I got two pairs of veggie skate shoes resoled by feet first (one pair of veggie skate shoes, and one pair of old SPD shoes). They have been spectacularly good :)

That's a pic of the veggie shoes just after I had them done….they have been to hell and back since then and are still in great condition after, must be 18 months now. The veggie skate shoes are absolutely fantastic and the 5:10 sole is still well attached. This is despite them being used constantly and getting regularly soaked through. Actually, as a point, they are pretty weatherproof on the whole and have kept my feet snuggly warm this year through all the awful weather….but they aren't too hot in the summer either :)

The better half on Christmas Eve

markenduro – Member
no use of incorrectly spelt swearing to get around the swear filter lose you points.

pah

use of WTF has gotta count for summut? surely

OP – thank you for the effort in the pic – it's had me spluttering into my tea :lol:

peanut butter, salad cream and cucumber sandwiches are the food of the gods

I'm so crap because I've been riding flats for 18 months and still hate them and have dreams of SPD-attached-to-the-bike-and-TTFT-my-feet-are-in-such-a-nice-place fun and frolics

It feels so much better to admit it…..