Supposed to have been harder this year. Even more climbing.

Weather was superb. Red routes were a little lumpy to say the least..

Mens Open Winner finished in 7:58 but I didn't catch his name either. Too tired to remember it.

The midges are also here in force

I'll be riding a common as muck Jones. You'll be able to tell me from Dean because I'll be nearer the back. dRjON's is, I think, less swoopy and I'll probably be nearer the back than him too.

Probably wearing the same Twin Six Speedy top as last year. Yes, I have washed it since.

and still no Grand Vet category for the very old

As Duir said, try it and see. Just be aware that it will take a few rides to adjust. The first ride your feet will come off the pedals

I rode clipless for years and this year tried flats. Now have them on both bikes and don't find any problem on climbs.

My left shoe has started squeaking annoyingly on my Crampon. Lucky I've just put Point One Podiums on the Jones.

Went round at lunchtime. Course holding up well but there are some spots that I don't expect to dry out before the race. A new section 3/4 of the way round is particularly heavy going. I wouldn't rush to put on the mud tyres though

The bubble just keeps getting bigger despite all the naysayers.

Doesn't seem that long ago that all 29ers were rigid and half of them were single speed. Still feels like that here in the UK. As frame makers push the manufactures we're seeing tougher rims, longer travel forks and burlier tyres. This year, in the US at least, there will be a fair few 140mm FS 29ers available.

There was a time when people said they would never be any good for XC racing but thats changing. Maybe the DH world will too. We wont know until the frames & components are available.

I don't need to train, because I've a lighter bike with bigger wheels arriving tomorrow.

Does it have a built in electric motor?

Trails around Minley super sweet last night. Not dusty like last year, or wet like 2008.

It might all change in the next 24hrs though

I ride to Swinley from Wokingham weekday evenings from time to time. Riding tonight as a mater of fact.

Biff of The Outcast fame used to be the man for such thing. Not sure if he still is. Try biff@yesweareontheweb.com

I use Runkeeper. Excellent app and good website too

Hey BigDummy,

Thanks for remembering. Keeping wondering if I should get the broken chain stay repaired…

If you're near Molly Millar's you're near me. This is the route I take

a nice 20min spin on the road

I can only assume you're going the wrong way. You only need to do one short road section to get from Wokingham to Swinley.

I was struggling to follow the instructions to find New England until I looked at an OS map. From the Lookout end of Whole Nine Yards, turn around and the entrance is in front of you, slightly to the right

Anyone out tonight?

Clipless is for the clueless

Umm, wasn't last years course around 11000ft of climbing. If it's only 6000 this year then thats a relief

There's a group of us usually out Thursday evenings, start point flexible

I've used aebike, jenson, competetive cyclist and aspire.

Those that ship by USPS come in via Parcelforce which is a shame. However I have only ever had the occasional USPS one that has made it through under the import duty radar. Smaller items that get USPS'ed seem to arrive with the normal Royal Mail

Be nice if this turns up in Europe for 2011

Pictures in issue 58 still look better on my iPad than those in 59

Even on the iPad issue 58 pictures still look better than 59s. In the second Issue 59 PDF the images appear but they look like the contrast has been turned up

Not quite iPad ready it seems. GoodReader and iBooks fail to display the images within the PDF

There was certainly an active road scene in Barbados when I was there on holiday and it wasnt a "white man's" sport.

Last week one of your fellow british with a super-wide bar got a massive crash because he clipped a tree.

I clipped more trees when I was using narrower bars.

Think I was running 34:19 on a 29er last year. My write up is over there

Don't worry Paul, it was HTN 1 and the first Torq 12:12 where the mud was deep and the riders were moany

Part of me is thinking of running gears (well 6 of them anyway) for this year just to get it over quicker but the SSer in me keeps telling me to MTFU

As rone said, mental toughness is what it's about. Just don't give in. If you're already saying to yourself that you're not going to finish then my guess is you wont.

Riding with someone is good, but don't rely on it. During last years race I started out riding with Miketually lost him around 30 miles, had a period alone, joined up with a total stranger who I to'ed an fro'ed with over the next 20, had another period alone, met said stranger again for 5 more etc, etc.

Can't see there being as many lonely stretches with so many more riders this year.

There's a down side to riding with someone too. I discovered in my two previous 12hr races that negativity can be infectious. I found myself riding with people hating the conditions and talking about quitting and my mind starts to think the same. Once away from them I focused on not quitting and just keeping riding.

I have a pair and like them a lot. So much so that I find myself preferring them to the clipless pedals I've been using for years

Not found the convex shape a problem

Looks like you had lots of fun even without the bikes

Until I looked at the gallery on the camping ground website I'd never seen a roof tent. Finally a reason to get a Land Rover – Roof tents

Will there be food available after the race is over this time? At HTN 1 I was saved from starvation by some friendly folks camped next to me.

My Sunline's are 762mm and have no problems in the woods. You'd be surprised at how wide the gaps between the trees are.

How about yellow with burnt brown bits on top

Don't add the salt to the mince just liberally salt the outside before cooking. If you do, the salt breaks down the meat proteins and you get that solid, sausage like middle rather than a nice open texture.

As Joneses are so common here's my Banshee Paradox

can I suggest a shorter stem and wider bars?

Not familiar enough with the area to keep track of these descriptions. GPS anyone?

I do have a nice pair of white Synros FR 20 7075 690mmx20mm that are now surplus to requirements