http://www.ratracegreenbelter.com/page137.asp

From the Tour Divide ITT page

Abide by TD Rules, carry a SPOT GPS tracker or other brand of GPS logger/tracker, and finish in no more than twice the standing course record (17days x 2) to be eligible for the same Divide racing General Classification that ranks group racers.

Satan's grotto = mordor = twisted sister

Just noticed that Ben Fogle and James Cracknell are listed as ITT starters in August. Does this mean a TV programme to follow?

Appears that Christina Domecq rode RAAM last year – http://blog.spinvox.com/2009/06/29/the-race-across-america-they-did-it.

She's probably had plenty of training time since Spinvox was swept up last year.

Trails a sweet and fast.

Other jump spot could be one of several places but most likely is the run into the Labyrinth known as Babymaker.

I like my Ardents. Much faster rolling than Nevs though not as grippy in the wet.

Just ordered one of the 29×2.4 variety as I hear they're even better. 2.4 on the front and 2.25 on the back is what I'm thinking.

600 sqft does not require anything powered so I'd suggest a Brill RazorCut 38cm.

If you really do feel the urge for power get electric not petrol. Much better for the environment. Less noise, less polution. If I had a garden that needed it I'd get a LiOn battery powered one

Off the shelf short chainstays:

Banshee Paradox – 16.8
Canfield Nimble 9 – 16.25-16.9

But neither have a 150 rear hub or 83mm BB

Singlespeed is the perfect bike for Swinley. Drop me a line if you a looking for a ride

Runkeeper. I know it says 'Run' but its a lot better than that. Good app and good website. Unlike many apps Runkeeper is constantly being developed and improved

Which iPhone game porterclough ?

A clear explanation of PR from John Cleese 23 years ago

I see on MTBR that someone in the US picked up a Spaceframe from Craigslist. Wouldn't be the first place I advertised a specialist bike like a Jones.

scotabroad, I think there's plenty of time left to get the miles in. Well, there better be.

It's my wagonwheel bike that rolls fast that did it.

You know, my first thought watching the vids was "why don't more people getter wagon wheels?" (or 650bs for the vertically challenged).

Just back from a ride round the race route.

The good news is that large chunks of the course were on fire roads that are away from the areas that mountain bikers and walkers generally use. The bad was that wherever the single track was loamy rather than 'built' the routes had all been widened by people avoiding the muddy patches. Brand new sections of trail that could have been good alternatives to some of the existing, overridden trails were just carved into soil and already need recovery time .

Unlike the Forrestry Commision, Crown Estate hasn't been looking to maximise it's revenue potential in recent years. However as their profits feed directly into HM Treasury this situation is unlikely to continue.

The closet they come to a trail centre at the moment is Glen Livet which has a number of way-marked trails and there are proposals for a bike centre with 7 stanes style trails to be developed. If that is successful who knows what they might be tempted to do with Swinley.

Interestingly there are no requirements for permits/insurance to ride at Glen Livet.

I see from the Crown Estate web site that they recently advertised for a new Chief Forrester for the Windsor Estate (incorporates Swinley) and I'm sure who ever they have selected will have their own ideas of what to do with the large number of MTBers now using the forest and the impact that has.

Trails yesterday were great then at 10pm the heavens opened.

When I woke and looked out the window I decided not to bother. A wise decision in retrospect

I've had my share of gates in the past but not this time. The larger size Jones.

Love my Ardents (2.25) but for the damp, slippery conditions that seem to have returned I'll stick to the Mountain Kings.

32:18 on my SS 29er last year.

6' 4"

Banshee Paradox L
Jones

Like many of the above it's several years since I rode a 26" wheeled bike

Maybe you should have got the L. It might have fitted better ;)

I'm sort of at the front of the WH queue now, but its not the best time for me to be spending that sort of cash on another bike so it's on temporary hold. That gives me some time to play around and sort out exactly what I need from my next bike that isn't delivered by the Paradox or Jones.

I'd be reluctant to get a UK custom 29er. Not many have built 29ers let alone LT 29ers.

At a guess –

Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst) – thats the area enclosed by camberley, sandhurst and swinley

and

Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (Which ceased to exist in 2001) an d I think should be called QINETIQ now and is, I think, the area across the A30 and M3 and south of Bagshot

After a few recent Jones threads passed by without the normal slew of "fugly" and "why" type comments. I was beginning to get worried that the STW massif where softening. Its good to see that it was just a temporary glitch and that normal service has resumed.

Enjoy the bike futon. It's perfect for surrey hills. Drop me an email if you want an ad-hoc Jones meet over Christmas (Swinley or Surrey hills suits me)

IsaacClarke – where was your old house? That cat looks strangely familiar

I think I worked out it cost about the same to go and fetch the bike as to have the shipping and taxes to pay

Ti29er: was it you assembling your bike by the shop on Friday evening rummaging around for the right disc pads chatting to an American guy and me?

My advice would be gets lots of time out on a bike. Nothing else prepares you for riding 10+hrs. If you haven't done a 10-12hr ride before then do so. You need to a have a plan on how to get through the mental downs.

And I'll second miketually – get a rigid SS, it's the only way to go. Thats my plan for 2010.

The fact that the results don't contain times for CP4 may indicate that the cutoff wasn't policed. There's a simple way to confirm it.

We know Mike left CP4 just before the cutoff time and finished DFL. How many riders passed you on the final section Mike?

To answers Bonesetter's question. I had one 40 mile ride and a couple of shorter ones on the Paradox before the K100. Just about enough time to make sure it was comfortable and the bars were the right height.

Now I've got it back I know I would have been quicker on the Jones. Although the weights are within a couple of pounds it feels about half the weight and climbs like a goat.

I am a mere mortal. I generally do not race and ride 4-5 hours a week. In preparation for the K100 I upped the amount of riding I did from about three months out. My goal had been to increase the length of my rides by 10 miles per week,hoping to do a 80/90 miler a couple of weeks before the event. It didn't work out like this at all. While I did manage to increase my riding time significantly and for about a month I probably rode about 12hrs a week with two long (40ish miles) offroad rides. I never did get the long rides in. When it got the the race my fitness was OK.

A key element for me was the two 12 hour solo event I had ridden last year. These really helped me in state of mind stakes. I knew that I could ride for the best part of 12 hours. In fact I ended up riding for all of 12hrs 30. These events also helped me practice my eating which is important too. I still got this wrong and it cost me dear.

If I do enter next year I will want to do better so will do something very similar but try to start from a higher fitness base by riding more this winter. I need to work on my speed. I should also move to somewhere with hills.

If I want to get near to 10 hrs I'll need to buy some gears.

For a couple of months it was the only one in the country. Now there are two. But I think its going to get more popular in 2010

For racing the Scandal, Marmasita or Niner Air 9 are great choices. It's a shame the Scandal isn't Scandium anymore.

I was just having that vision too. Think I'll bring the Banshee instead

In the "Mastering Mountain Bike Skills" book it describes a beginers jump as being 2-3ft high with a 1 to 3 height-to-length ratio.

It's a book I'd recommend to anyone.

WTFSF?

Until this week I'd have said the same ones you've been using in Greece. It's now going to depend on how much rain we get before Nov 1st.

The Lost Tribe were clearly scared of getting lost and missed much single track

Count me in this time.

Happy to lead a group if you need.