If your ears are really “rammed with wax” this is at the very least likely to be a contributing factor.

I’m prone to wax build up, and if they do get bad, I can feel dizzy and unbalanced, especially when I stand up suddenly. I have in the past been to the docs simply because of this, yet had no cause found and getting ear drops has relieved it.

Otex Ear Drops have been a good answer for me, I do mine every few months now, and very rarely have a problem. Can’t see how it would do any harm to try them immediately, softening the wax. You may possibly need your ears syringed, I did the first time, though I think they do this less often now as the drops are better. A few days of regular drops may well make a difference.

If it is a more serious vertigo issue, you have my sympathy, a friend has suffered this on and off and its clearly not pleasant.

Fingers crossed for a quick solution.

If you’re off-roading, I seem to remember short-cutting part of the road on a bridleway which missed out the toll booth. I couldn’t condone this, but we’d all forgotten to bring any cash on a quick up and back down the mentioned excellent Hawkcombe!

E: Roast Chicken
D: Fitou, surprisingly good red
L: that feeble guitar playing is a popular choice. Mine is even a little Christmassy. Fortunately the neighbours have already gone away, so the singing can commence too…fuelled by that Fitou.

My most stressful was probably this one;

Drove from Surrey to Essex, allowing plenty of time. Arrived, drove to the industrial estate the business was on, checked it out, then drove back to a Little Chef I’d passed, as I’d nearly an hour to kill. Timed myself driving back, about 10 minutes. Had a nice coffee and a snack, whilst genning up on the company. Felt well prepared, the job was exactly my sort of thing.

Walked back out to the car with 15 minutes to go, sat in it, turned the ignition. Click. Click. Click. Nothing. Dead as a doornail (never understood that saying BTW). Battery was completely dead.

10 minutes later, still nothing, nobody around with jump leads. Slightly panicked, I rang the business and got put through to the Director I was seeing. “No problem, I’ll come and fetch you”. Which he duly did. I was pretty mortified, but it broke the ice nicely.

Got to last two, and a final interview, but didn’t get the job.

I think my company car had sussed out that I was being disloyal and talking to the competition…

At my last successful interview, there was a 10 min presentation. I’d double checked they’d have a laptop and screen.
Of course, they didn’t work at all. Fortunately I’d still brought my own laptop, and some hand outs, and 4 of us huddled around my screen on a small table whilst I did my stuff. Again, it broke the ice, and I was less stressed than their HR person!

Workstand

Pump spray thing for cleaning after rides (or Karcher if funds permit)

Tarp (DD, Alpkit Rig 7 etc), great for overnighters on or off the bike.

What Andreas said, leaving your best friend in the van simply isn’t an option I’m afraid. You’ll either have to leave the dog at home, or amend your plans to things the dog will be able to join you on – most love hiking anyway, subject to size and age!

Not on the 1:25k OS Map either…

Definitely a hidden entrance to the underworld. Or some trees planted by a farmer, though why he’d do that and lose crop space, I don’t know.

Finished at Devil’s Dyke in the end, then turned right and headed down to Hove station. Fortunately we managed to get the bikes a little cleaner, or we’d have been thrown off the train!

Great couple of days. There was plenty of mud, more so today, but hey, the bits in between were lovely under the sunshine today, and the first hour or so on crisp, frozen ground was superb, with views to the Isle of White, Surrey Hills and Ditchling.

Not Rackham Hill!!!!
Better leave a lamp on or the devil might get you!!

Devil left us well alone, but the Puncture Fairy visited overnight…

Thanks all for the comments, helped motivation a little at the very least!

Tucked up under the tarps in windy but dry conditions with a dram of Laphroaig Select,just below Rackham Hill by the earthworks. Life is good.

Been slow at times, but not as bad as it could be, though bikes are pretty well caked. A few interesting moments with front wheel grip…

Thanks all.

Hard to judge how long it will take, until we know how muddy it is.

The pub definitely features in our plans for feed and water!

As above, make a polite, insistent fuss. Research people in the chain of command. Make sure the garage know you’re not going to go away, make them WANT to help you to get you off their back and onto Head Office’s.

I had a Honda Accord diesel which died just out of the 3 yr, 90000 mile warranty. After a little prevaricating, they paid. Took a while, but they sorted it out after an initial quote of a similar value to your friend’s. In the end, they wanted to investigate, as they were starting to see a few problem engines, and I think this tipped it. Was about the chain that ran the oil pump in the end.

I would hope that Volvo would take a similar view of their reliability reputation as Honda did for me. Volvos have a reputation of lasting for hundreds of thousands of miles, 30k is NOTHING.

Revert to social media if you get nowhere, but don’t get angry on their quickly, just that polite insistence. If you’re struggling to find out who to contact, ask that question on Social Media perhaps, wanting a specific name or asking that a senior manager contacts you.

Good luck.

Well, we’re going for it in the morning, though we have decided just to do part of the trip from Petersfield station to Devil’s Dyke or Ditchling finishing Saturday afternoon in Brighton, so just one night out. Sort of a test of gear and willing! Gonna be a tad chilly, a tad muddy, and a tad breezy! Feel free to point and laugh if you pass us (Giant Anthem and old Scott Comp Racing).

There are a few folk on the street who make a bit of an effort, me included. Sadly there are plenty who don’t, yet the grit bin is often emptied mysteriously and people’s front steps and drive covered in grit, yet the road to them still covered in snow…nobody will be surprised to learn this is Surrey.

Of our 6 flats, my immediate neighbour is a star, always getting on with it, but most others don’t bother and I’ve occasionally had to clear our whole shared drive (moderate 20 yard slope) on my own whilst the others watched from their windows. Funny how I then only did mine and said immediate neighbours car spaces, eh? I bought the communal shovel, neighbour bought our grit.

No proper snow here though this time, but the roads were damp and temperature dropping, so went out to the grit box by the short steep bit of the street, only to find the grit completely solid and I hadn’t brought any sort of tool out. Scraped enough with my gloves to get the key bit done…hopefully.

Over at Leith Hill earlier. Reckon it would be fun riding on the Surrey Hills tomorrow morning, proper snow mostly confined to the top 100 feet but couple of inches of proper crunchy snow. Lower down was slush which will freeze tonight to nastyness I suppose…

Ah, that brings back memories of my own trip on that line. In 1977. When I was 9.

Actually, it doesn’t. It was summer.

Some great ones there!

We saw this in a shopping centre in Sweden

Given our intended canoeing/carrying-canoes-on-our-heads trip we were tempted, but the main thing that was F#cked Up was how much it was!

Cheers all! Will keep you posted if we get it done. Won’t be until at least end of next week, I need to replace most of the drivetrain first judging by how it felt yesterday.

Thanks folks. I know its a daft plan…

It’s as dry as anything right now. As in today, but we’ve got a bit of rain forecast for the weekend. It’s so dry though that it might still be alright and there’s plenty of wind forecast to dry it.

In fact, you could probably do it west – East this weekend barely pedalling.

Wind will make or break the trip, the mud, (save at the far western) end is never that bad.

Temperature wise, it was T shirts again on Tuesday night’s ride.

You’re not wrong about the wind…

I wondered about mud at the western end, I thought it might be worse, thanks for the tip. I’ve only really been on sections east of Butser. I used to commute home over Truleigh Hill-Devil’s Dyke regularly, and though it got a bit greasy after rain it wasn’t too muddy. I completely avoided it between October and April though!

tarp in summer: the mosquitos eat you up. You crawl into the sleeping back to protect you. Bake to death. In the morning the face is swollen from all the mosquito bites. If you are lucky the ants were too stupid to get into your sleeping bag.

tarp in winter: the mosquitos and ants hate tarps in winter time. All gone.
But the night will be still VERY crappy. That’s the unhappy part.

A big fire might improve the situation? Had a look in the internet. The trail is beautiful. But no trees. Makes the fire option more difficult so.

Sadly fire isn’t part of the plan on this trip. Can’t carry a firebox, and inappropriate to leave a trace of any fire.

I’m used to lurking under a tarp in all weathers, so not worried about that bit, and have good warm PHD sleeping bag and a bivi. Comfort wise, its getting dry if we get soaked that’s the problem, but will have a change of base layers and a limited amount of other clothing inc down jacket.

I have also remembered our solution to the (lack of) alcohol on a previous trip to southern Sweden where we had to carry the canoes a lot. Pre dropped caches! I’d better not mention it on here or there will be folk wandering the downs looking under bushes….

YEah, the pubs are all at the bottom, other than the Devil’s Dyke. In fact, there’s not much other than slime an fields on the ridge at all…

The Highlands ride sounds superb, this time we need to be close to home but could be one for the future.

Thinking at least of a litre of Laphroaig in a Platypus bag. When I’m canoeing its easy – we carried 20 kg of wine all the way to Sweden this summer…

Already trying to suss out pubs. Probably more useful for lunch stops, as bivis likely to be higher if the weather is nice enough. If we don’t get turned away for being covered from head to toe in mud…

I pray for cold! Weird eh…

Keep them, obviously, in full knowledge that you will never, ever, get them out of the manky bit of oil clogged filthy kitchen towel that you put them in, at the bottom of a box that only ever receives things, never has them removed.

After all, you never know.

Anyway, things like worn chainrings can make excellent Ninja Stars if (when) there’s ever a zombie apocalypse.

Given Giant’s excellent reputation for sorting out problems under warranty, wouldn’t it be better to talk to them before getting out the hammer? Though I do understand the appeal of getting all the frustration out by “mending” things with a little gentle physical persuasion…

A truly remarkable country. The tales of it being busy are somewhat exaggerated, as its just a few hot spots. The rest of the country is pretty much empty, unique and properly spectacular.

“A while back watching the Pogues at Brixton Academy, someone managed to land a full pint in the sound desk which brought the opening act to a stop as the kit blew up and had to be swapped out.”

To be fair, it was probably Shane McGowan chucking the beer. Or just chucking up over the electrics…

Bu88er.

Can’t help with the warranty issue much, but the UK importers are pretty good. Check with your retailer first, if no joy speak to the distributor, ProAgencies https://www.proagencies.com/msr

I have a LuxeOutdoor Habitat, which is almost a direct copy of the Hubba Hubba, with just a tiny little difference to the cut of the fly sheet. In similar conditions (Storm Desmond), I stupidly pitched halfway up the Brecon Beacons in December. This ended up with the tent imploded on top of me as you describe, though my poles did survive without breaking, but permanently bent. I therefore somewhat sympathise with your experience! Its difficult to sleep when the top of your tent keeps pressing on your face…
Must have been rather scary, we were, at least, tucked into a little valley on the way up, having been physically blown over several times attempting to find a spot near Llyn Cwm Llwch which I’d advised my mate would be sheltered from the SW winds being below a massive slope. The wind was coming vertically downward in 90mph gusts…we quickly got lower.

North and South Downs are already pretty muddy/slippy, I’d stick to Surrey Hills, but maybe try a new variation on routes you know?

Or go to Swinley, but maximise the off-piste riding to vary it. That is in mostly very good condition at the moment.

Absolutely. £20 odd quid for unlimited maps to either print or view via the App. I use it regularly. Whether the app is any good on the bike itself, I’m less sure of due to the limited view at any time, but print what you need beforehand and its good value.

My Fatbut (Fitbit) measured Sherwood Pines red at about 9 miles. Never sure how accurate it is, but it gets Swinley about right. Took me 55 minutes at moderate pace, so did it again to get a decent session. Its a nice pleasant ride, almost entirely singletrack, and flows well enough that you can enjoy it at whatever pace you prefer. As others say, there are a few other options nearby, but if you just want a blast without having to think, as I did, its good. The “bike park” can make a nice diversion for a bit of fun, though don’t expect BPW standard!

Maybe 20% from home (Woking), along the canal to Tunnel Hill, the ranges, or over to Swinley.

More often, drive to Swinley or Surrey Hills.

Occasionally, further afield, especially South Wales (Trail centres and “natural” stuff).

Adam and Eve. Saves money on costumes, just grab a few leaves on the way in.

Pretty good area, though as others said Swaledale to the north is probably better. Close enough for people who are happy to drive out to the start, but if they’re wanting to ride from the house, the off-road riding is less interesting I’d say.

Providing route ideas in the area on a webpage would help market it.

Good bike cleaning area also a bonus, not just storage.

Can’t really help you as I’m no expert, but just to say that I love the earthier tone I get out of my little Baby Taylor travel guitar.

The poor thing gets dragged all over the country camping and canoeing, and despite being small enough to fit in a large drybag for my canoe, still returns enough volume and tone to be a pleasure to play and to listen to.

Diana: at home in bed having a lazy morning, thought my then girlfriend had re-tuned the radio to a particularly miserable classical music channel until the news headlines came on. Was surprised I was quite sad about it, but it did mean a really easy drive to Scotland on the day of the funeral.

9/11: at work in Staines. One of our store managers sent an e-mail round saying one of the World Trade Centre towers had collapsed. Didn’t really believe him at first, and internet was “stuck” due to overload, so it was hard to find out what had really happened. The rest of that day was utterly strange, couldn’t stop watching the TV with a sense of disbelief. That one I will never forget.

7/7: in an offsite meeting. I normally worked in London, but was near Reading viewing a suppliers products. Somebody came into the room to tell us, as they knew we had colleagues in town, fortunately unaffected directly. Spent most of the rest of the day trying to help my colleague get home, as she lived in north London but all the trains were paralysed, and I kept driving her to different stations to see if that helped.

Obama’s election. Memorable mostly because we were crossing a pass in the Jebel Sarhro when somebody got a signal. It was a surprisingly big thing at the time, and seemed a really positive result.

Brexit. Woke up early, and couldn’t get straight back to sleep so glanced at my phone news app. That really woke me up, as others said I felt almost sick that it had actually happened. Couldn’t get back to sleep and by the time I got into work that morning I’d already calculated how much the business (a charity) had lost for the rest of the year just due to the plummeting pound; around £350k. I was somewhat angry with my fellow citizens.

I have a different Rab version in the same fabric, and it is excellent on the bike, very breathable and waterproof. The only issues are that the pockets can fill with water in extreme rain, and the fabric is light enough that if you catch it on something, or crash, you’re likely to damage it.

Approx 35 I think, mostly through camping, biking, walking and canoeing trips. Includes ferries, the top of a mountain, on a sleeper train. Doesn’t include the sofa.

France
Germany
Denmark (this might not count as it was in the back of a moving van then on a ferry!)
Sweden
Norway
UK (full set this year; England, Wales, Scotland, Norn Iron, Yorkshire)

I got the Shimano ones cheap, they’re really good if they fit you, warm as toast and dry with a better grip if you have to walk than they look like. Just remember that if its REALLY chucking it down, the rain will run down your legs, fill the boots up, and the fact they’re waterproof will stop it escaping. This is even worse in a damp blizzard on a wet 10 mile commute, by the time I got home my feet were no longer with me and my hands too cold to open the front door…and I accidentally poured about a pint of water on the floor when I took them off…
Not sure I like the look, but they actually do the job really well…if you can get a deal.

Most annoying?

Cwm Carn. The lack of a feeling of being on the edge of the world since the trees grew up on the start of the last downhill part. It used to be amazing riding that bit with a feeling of an abyss on your left. Apart from that, its ace.

Coed y Brenin. That ramp up beneath the building that I’m always in the wrong gear for because we’ve just stopped at the shop…

TNF Grizedale. Sadly, quite a lot of it! The “boring climb” v “fun descent” ratio is all wrong.

Afan. The way its spread out, and the fact I’m crap at rocks.

Swinley. The fact everybody disses it even though its far better than not having a Swinley, though I know much is tongue in cheek. The place is great, its just Swinley, it can’t be Afan or Glentress its in Bracknell FFS. The cafe is truly rubbish though, the car park is ridiculously busy on a weekend, and the bike wash is only open at times you are unlikely to finish at. And the parking machines are a law unto themselves if paying by card…will it work, won’t it work, will I have to walk to another one…then another one…