I’ve got some un-used 26″ bonti mud tyres (not sure exactly what without going out in the cold and dark!) if anyone is interested.

I’ve just started reading https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SC43RXT/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 and I’m enjoying it (though not read that much of it yet)

The answers to my questions

1. Iraq and Syria.
2. Siegfried Sassoon.
3. Sacramento
4. Tungsten.
5. A portion of text, word, or phrase believed likely to occur in an encoded text.
6. The overall leader of the Giro d’Italia.
7. Checkmate.
8. Gybing.
9. The World Wide Web.
10. 12 (Hurricane)
11. Elton John.
12. Covid-19.

@zippykona I was letting other STW-ers have a guess. The answer to mine is “Checkmate”. My complete set of questions, from the first quiz I did are:

1. The region once known as Mesopotamia is mostly composed of which 2 modern day countries?
2. Who wrote the George Sherston trilogy consisting of “Memoirs of a fox hunting man”, “Memoirs of an Infantry Officer” and “Sherston’s progress”?
3. What is the state capital of California?
4. What metal has the chemical symbol W derived from the name of its ore “Wolframite”?
5. When decrypting cypher text what is a Crib?
6. Who wears the Maglia Rosa (Pink jersey)?
7. The Arabic phrase “Shah Maat”, literally “The King is dead” has evolved into which modern day term?
8. In sailing terms what is the name for the opposite of tacking. i.e. turning downwind.
9. Tim Berners-Lee, or to give him his full title, Professor Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA FBCS is famous for inventing what?
10. What number on the Beaufort scale is defined at sea as “The air is filled with foam and spray; sea is completely white with driving spray; visibility very seriously affected” and on land as “Devastation”?
11. Who wrote the music for the stage version of Billy Elliot?
12. What is usually diagnosed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) from a nasopharyngeal swab?

answers in a bit.

Got loads, including some really difficult (but I think interesting ones). How about:

The Arabic phrase “Shah Maat”, literally “The King is dead” has evolved into which modern day term?

Not sure how to post a hidden answer, but I could message you direct.

+1 for Tagg Lane dairy. Found this recently but bear in mind that you-know-what means no inside and no toilets.

@dove1 yes it was a 1.6 It cruised along motorways at 55-60 relatively easily, but even the slightest hill caused it to lose speed. I can’t imagine what the last few miles into a ski-resort would be like, or do they just soldier on?

I can’t believe that the brakes were disks on the front as they were shockingly poor. Again, the idea of a twisty descent seems unimaginable. That said, I gather that servo-assisted front discs is a standard upgrade, so that would be a possibility.

Bit of a thread resurrection.

We’ve moved on a bit, and are just back from 2 nights in a rented (M-reg) Westphalia converted T2. We had a brilliant time, and also took the chance to look at:

a) A local VW repair shop (Rusty Campers in Kent)
b) A modern Transporter conversion (South Coast Campervans)

The rented van was pretty stock, so drum brakes, ‘manual’ steering (i.e. Not power), and pretty gutless. Has anyone ever driven an old van to the alps, and how did it handle the hills (both up and down)?

Rob

I’ve done it as well https://www.strava.com/activities/2393643590 moving time was 8:41. I used it as a training ride for a later “SDW in a day”. I found some of the navigation a little tricky, and in places I was just riding across grassy fields with no sign of a path (its possible I was in the wrong place!).

Where it benefits versus SDW is that at the end you are back at your car, so logistically its much easier. There are no taps (that I’m aware of) you you’ll need to rely on businesses, of which there are plenty. I started in Winster, and I used a shop in Hartington and the tea-hut thing on the Tissington trail in Tissington.

Whilst the climbing per mile almost exactly matches the SDW, there are several long flat-ish sections, so when you are climbing you’ll know it!

LR

@marko I get that, and for a while your comment made me thing “Oh yeah”, but then I also ride a motorbike, so all of these risks have to be put into some sort of context.

I gather they are fairly gutless. Has anyone ever been anywhere where they really struggled? We’d like (I’d like!) to be able to head off to the mountains.

Rob

@dovebiker that is one of the issues. The only place to put anything is behind the front seats, so the local one that we might look at doesn’t have a sink. Just a unit with cooker.

@trail_rat it wasn’t so much that this particular one has a roof-rack. More: pop-tops, pros and cons:
Pro – the ability to carry a windsurfer or kayak might be handy.
Cons – Lack of space/headroom, but we don’t need the extra beds.

@dovebiker has answered some of these, and perhaps a ‘proper’ T2 camper would be better, TBF they are selling it more as a ‘day camper’ and we were thinking that there would be budget to tweak it slightly (subject to there not being a “wall” against which to put anything.

Rob

Possibly looking at one that’s a slightly odd configuration: Not a pop-top, and has 2 sliding doors (i.e. both sides open). Are either of these things a good idea, or terrible?

It *does* have a full-length roof-rack, which might be handy.

Rob

There’s a slight sense of “don’t do it, it will rust in your tears” about some of the responses! and I guess we’ll need to go slowly. I can’t see that w’d get much use out of one this year in any case (but I want it *NOW*! obvs)

Are the new ones worse for rust than old ones (bearing in mind that they can by ~45 years old)?

There are some private, relatively high mileage, originals ones for around the £20,000 and then there are ones like https://www.vwkampers.co.uk/product/1975-vw-t2-classic-camper-nut-and-bolt-restored-huge-spec-39995/ which look lovely, but that’s a ton of money on an old van.

I don’t think the small size is going to me that much of a problem, there will only be 2 of us, and we’ve (hopefully) done enough camping/sailing that we’re used to the lifestyle.

Keep em’ coming. Especially pics.

Rob

I think I’d be happy with a different van, but there’s family pressure to get something cute, which nothing else really satisfies.

I’m assuming that it’s be the 1.4 petrol 80bhp water-cooled version.

I see several comments about the new ones and rust, but are they worse than the old ones? I’d assumed that an re-vamped old one would still have problems.

I get that they are small, we measure them as smaller than our car (XC90), but that is part of the attraction. I really don’t want a massive thing, and the kids wouldn’t want to drive one of those either.

Rob

Our kids are grown up and so, whilst interested in using the camper, show no particular desire to come with their parents ;-)

So, it would almost always be just the 2 of us, which I presume makes life a lot easier.

How is it with bikes? We’d certainly take 2, but I wonder if more is achievable. I have a 4 bike thule carrier for the car but it limits the places we can go (it grounds very easily) so I wa thinking to invest in a gravel bike for the Mrs and take just those to allow a bit of flexibility surface-wise.

Rob

@dove Brilliant info, thanks. Sorry to bombard you but:

Do you always put up an awning or if you were staying a single night is it possible to sleep in the van along with all your kit?

How important is an electric hook-up? How many days could you go without bothering? (I presume the fridge is mains electric)

LR

Brilliant, I knew this place would come through.

For starters

a) Some of the campers we’ve looked at (online only at the moment unfortunately) are full-width beds, and some 3/4. Depending on which you had, how did you find the trade off between the extra bed space versus (presumably) the extra storage? And how wide are the beds in either configuration?

b) Would a fairly bog-standard leisure battery have the capacity to run a small fan all night? Do they recharge from driving, or only on mains?

c) Some of the vans have hob and grill, some have an oven. Does anyone ever actually use the oven?

d) Did you have an on-board toilet and if so, how did that work out? Is it possible to be off-grid for a night or two (not really planning to, but it would be useful to know that we could).

Thanks

Rob

Mills’ Mess – Nice. Never managed it, but I did use it as a password for a while (back in the 90’s) as a reminder of the aspiration.

I must say that I’m amazed by the amount of Bassoon playing that’s in this discussion. I don’t, but my daughter has grade 8, and has played at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Hertfordshire schools symphony Orchestra (pretty much our last night out before you know what). Now that she’s left school and is off to Uni we have to decide whether to invest in an instrument.

Me, I can juggle. Balls, clubs, and used to do flaming torches.

I’m also following this with interest. If you don’t mind me jumping in with a question:

If you had a choice of pitches, where would you set up?

e.g.
Under trees, or in the open?
In the evening sun, or in the morning sun?
Close to water, or avoid?

That sort of thing. I’ve been riding round looking for spots for our first bivi, but I’ve really no idea of how best to choose the spot.

Thanks

I’ve been mucking about with rollers during lockdown. A few simple workouts that I’ve tried:

1. My favourite is the Desert Island Disc workout. Put on a podcast of DID (the music choices are shorter for rights reasons) and pedal at a nice easy pace. When the music plays go like crazy. Really get your HR up into Z5. The music will typically be 30-45s and by the 8th time this happens you’ll be pretty bushed. The whole thing will last about 35 minutes.

2. 5 minute warm up in an easy gear then for 1 minute ride at an elevated cadence (I find ~100 works for me). Then change up a gear, 1 minute same cadence, up a gear, and so on. You should be able to manage a few changes until you can’t hold the cadence. Your options now are either all the way back to where you started, or down a gear at a time. 5 minutes at easy pace and repeat, and then again. So it might look like

5 mins easy (say cadence ~70) lets call it gear A
1 min A 100rpm
1 min B 100
1 min C 100
1 min D 100
1 min E 100 (by this point I’m probably doing 30mph)
5 mins A 70

and so on. 3 reps takes 35 mins.

3. Increasing Z5 intervals. The other day I did
5 mins warm up
3 mins Z5
5 mins easy
4 mins Z5
5 mins easy
5 mins Z5
5 mins easy.

Took 32 mins.

There are lots of variations. When I upload to Strava I’m looking to see whether I can make out the patter (in my HR) of what it is I was trying to achieve.

LR

There’s a little bit in the woods opposite Matlock Farm Park that’s good fun. Riding round a quarry (or something) in a tiny area a couple of hundred metres across. Great fun though. Have a look at https://www.strava.com/activities/1492841144 and https://www.strava.com/activities/1537109270 it’s not all universally great, and as others have said can be muddy, but there are some good bits in there.

LR

We’ve had a pass since 2013. We didn’t receive any notification that the battery was due to fail but this year I chatted with an online assistant on the eMovis website who suggested that we should get a new one.

I struggled to find my login details since, during the time we’ve had one, they’ve been renamed a few times. In the end we got online and ordered a replacement which arrived ~2 days later. I then got an email reminding me that I had to register it (which I had not realised).

I think they are great, especially if the co-driver is asleep, or if the weather is rubbish. If any one is going to get one I think I can get us both a 5 Euro discount, so let me know.

LR

On a nice day drive round to col De Forclaz down at the down end of the lake. There is a cafe/shop but the best bits are: a) The view b) There is a short astro-turf covered ramp off which the paragliders launch themselves into thin air.

If you are taking bikes, the piste-cyclable is a pretty good way of getting around, but not very exciting.

Rob

French, Vietnamese, and Arabic. I think it would be hard to use some of the sentences in a real-life situation, but I like it because its 15 minutes where I concentrate on the language, which if I pick up a book I find hard to do.

I need to find a real Arabic speaker to talk to now I think in order to progress as the Duolingo course is much smaller than some of the other languages.

My Edge 1000 has been a right pain this week. Failed to record properly on Tuesday & Wednesday. Didn’t ride Monday and yesterday/today seem OK.

I’ve rarely have problems (of this kind at any rate!) before. Had it about 5 years and done ~ 12,000 miles.

I should start this by saying that I DO NOT like Marmite and wouldn’t normally touch the stuff (and I’m only really a veggie by marriage). However, our technique is:

Parboil and then give the spuds a little shake to fluff up.
Meanwhile pre-heat the olive oil.
Add spuds to oil with about a teaspoon of marmite.
Mix it all around.

They come up great. And with some Tesco Vegetarian gravy are perfect.

Well done. I agree about the Amberley climb. The other one that always does for me is Old Winchester Hill, but perhaps I’m tackling it wrong. I always end up having to turn 90deg left up a steep incline with a step at the bottom.

That said, the total unrideability of it is something of a blessing. In that I *have* to push, and that rules out early on any worries I have about riding without pushing. Sort of breaks the duck, IYSWIM.

LR

What the others said. It was pretty horrid for about a minute or so. I felt quite sick, but then that went, and the overall situation improved.

What also helped my BPPV was staying hydrated, and getting more sleep.

Its not really a case of “being offered” of “having” an Epley manoeuvre, just google it and do it as often as needed.

LR

Glad you enjoyed it and glad I could help.

Do you mean 0.5 hour or 1 to 2 hours? 0.5 hour would be tricky, but there are some trails relatively close. For my money I would:
a) Head up the path that runs alongside the railway line (Peak Rail) to Darley dale.
b) Come off and turn right up to the main road.
c) Take a staggered right-left and go up Two dales.
d) Take a left onto Back Lane. (To use the 3 words this is at ///yelled.foil.toolbar)
e) Head up there and turn left into Whitesprings Plantation and follow your nose.
f) Alternately there is a fun track at Ashover Quarries. You should be able to get in from ///study.twitches.option (Near Matlock Farm Park).

Either way you should be able to head back via Farley moor and back into the Top of Matlock.

Following James Hayden (ever since he passed me whilst I was out for a bimble an he said “Hi” ;-)

A bit of follow-up on this (for anyone googling in future). We’re just back from a brilliant week in Morzine. I’m not sure we could have fitted much more activity in. Leaving aside the rafting and Via Ferrata (feel free to ask if interested) and focusing on MTB/VTT we did the following:

On about Wednesday we went to the Intersport near the Super Morzine lift. All the bikes were taken for Thurs/Friday but there was availability for Saturday. I think this worked in our favour as it was probably quieter as well (change-over day).

We got 4 reasonable bikes (for our level of ability) with knee pads, body armour, and helmets. With the multi-pass discount we paid €244. We bought day lift passes. Its a bit of a shame that the multipass doesn’t give a discount for this, since in effect we had a day on our multipass that we couldn’t use, but it is what it is.

Spent the morning doing repeated loops of Soylent Green and Alpage (both green) then started switching to the blue at the bottom of Soylent Green.

Headed off to the Refuge Abricotine for lunch via (I thought) quite a fun path (I’d been expecting fire-road). Up the Lindarets lift, then through Avoriaz to the Fourmiz green. We liked this run, its a shame that its so hard to get to.

In the afternoon we did more loops as in the morning, with gradually introducing more bits of blue. Especially at the bottom of Alpage as the end of that is a bit boring.

Finally we did Tutti-Frutti blue all the way from the top and at that we called it a day. Super-Morzine down, hand over bikes, job jobbed.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Morzine was excellent.

LR

Love the idea. We visited Vietnam last year and loved it. I spent some time trying to get to grips with the language and it was, in my opinion, time well spent.

+1 for Blood Road.

answering my own question, the 2nd table in https://www.morznet.com/lifts/summer-dates suggests that Super-Morzine is within Avoriaz, so I think that’t the pass that would do us.

I think I’m being dense, but I can’t find a map, or list, of what constitutes the lifts in a “Morzine only” pass.

I’d imagined (from advice I read here) going in the direction of Avoriaz. If that takes us through 2 zones, then we may as well get an area pass.

I think our accommodation either came with, or suggested buying, some sort of summer resort pass that might cover some lifts.

Thanks for all the replies. I think we’ll just rock up and take pot luck.

I do get all the stuff about the economics of bike hire but at the same time ~£320 + lifts + lunch + snacks for a day easy riding is quite an expensive day out.

On that note, how do the lifts work for a single day biking?

razorrazoo I get that they might be the Carlos Fandango of downhill bikes, but we’ll be somewhat over-biked on the greens that I anticipate we’ll be on. I guess that’s the problem, its 90E for a bike that can do everything – even if you don’t.

Saw it “in the flesh” as it were last might in Haslar marina and thought it looked awesome. I hope he nails it this time.

Reading this thread with interest. We’re off to Morzine in August. We’d like to hire bikes for the day but whilst 2 of us cycle 2 of us not so much. One recovering from illness and one just not that keen. So, I need a relatively easy route, but one that is pretty, with nice snack stops, and that inspires such joy that I can convert my youngest (16F) to riding.

LR