could buy them briefly, but they never really took off.

what sort of dropouts?

if not, can you get like a rear chain guide that sits in the spacers? what would they be called?

Discos.

http://www.mudandcowbells.com/blog/2009/7/18/rocking-the-discos-singlespeed-chain-guide.html

First time, I was expecting something completely different.
Out of interest – what were you expecting?

It’s all good!
damn straight! 🙂

Also saw him last weekend and looked in good nick.

Very good with the crowds at the Leazes Crit (which he wasn’t racing, but still turned up to).

I as prepared to give Miliband the benefit of the doubt until I saw this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13971770
see also – http://www.twitlonger.com/show/bfensm

> finishing them at the new HQ of RBS.
um, the airport…

>For a station and a length of track?
loops off the edinburgh-glasgow and fife circle plus tunnels under the airport/runway to link them to an airport station.

guessing the tram ****-up is a mix of badly written contracts and finding a right mess when they started opening the streets up.

lots of public works seem to some in badly over original budget and over time. look at the glentress peel project for a bike related one.

Did Rosyth-Zeebrugge a few times last year and it was nice and handy from central Scotland (if expensive). Replacement for Superfast was Notsofast, so you arrived 1400 CET IIRC, but a lot faster than the latest incarnation – a freight only service that takes 31(!) hours.

Heading for Hull instead this year.

Trossachs Ton?

http://www.action.org.uk/trossachs_ton/100_mile_route

I had to write about a couple of deaths recently and chose “passing” & “passed away” both times. Sounded softer than died. Strange as I probably wouldn’t when speaking to someone…

I dipped into, er, proper shaving after a STW shaving thread a couple of years back.

Merkur HD + Derby Extras + soap bowl + brush (latter from local supermarket. Initial outlay more than the Mach3 type things, but ongoing costs much cheaper. Have since added a shaving mug, nicer brush and soap.

Decided to branch out on the blades and trying the sample pack linked above.

Wouldn’t go back to the multi-blade cartridges. Those are strictly for my legs…

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cliffs-of-Moher-ledge-collapses-into-sea-100215149.html

Have used St Andrews, Cairngorm Mountain Rescue and Rescue Medics for events in Scotland.

Cairgorm Mountain Rescue and Rescue Medics are recommended. The former are awesome hecklers. Rescue Medics very good too – dealt very well with a serious head injury at a SXC event, was only when Ambulance Control got involved that it started to go tits up.

Cost for all options were in the hundreds.

peat – now you’re talkin’ cannae beat the smell of a turf fire*.

although always cut yer peat in a low impact way y’all.

Pretty impressive storm for early summer – had a lovely wee tour round central Scotland tonight due to Forth Road Bridge closure (and subsequent Kincardine jams). Lots of trees, debris down and one car on it’s roof in a ditch…

Trail fairies are going to need their sharpest bowsaws for the next wee while.

Have been skiing at Cairngorm in 60mph winds (gusting ?) this year and that was fcking fierce. Funicular was running, but not much else.

http://www.babydump-lemmens-wilvo.nl/

the prosecution rests…

Great wee event, just what grassroots racing should be about. Well done ERC and all their volunteers.

Wouldn’t it be good if it could be stretched out into a wee city series at various locations in Edinburgh with other clubs/groups organising too?

Off for a ponder…

What’s the story with the Larig an Laogh descent to Ryvoan, Marty?
mainly just great big waterbars on the repaired* path, but there are a couple of odd ones on the fall line section of trail – look a bit like this – which i can’t see any reason for other than to control bike speed**.

* much needed as it’s sprawling out into the heather, despite the central section not appearing to be too unpleasant to walk on.
** maybe not such a bad thing

at least it’ll keep the midges down… 😉

descent to Ryvoan is having work done on it at the moment. some of the features could be described as anti-bike.

path down to fords of avon is still tough going, just in case anyone thinks it’s a buff bit of singletrack.

cracking day out when you come back via the road & WHW. tough going in places along the lochside and gets worse (boggier) at the head of the loch, just when you think it must get better.

swimming/wading river at head to meet road/track on other side would be worth it on a nice day…

The 10UTB route is based on the original 2005 course isn’t it? The best stuff at 10UTBs has been the handcut stuff that can’t be waymarked/mapped.

Best fun course I’ve ridden in Leanachan was the 2009 SXC Champs course.

along similar lines (big thing with whirly bits) we had a big ol’ helicopter (chinook I presume) fly extremely low over the house here on the Fife coast the other night. low enough that you could hear the whine of the engine(s) inside the house. the cats weren’t overly pleased.

1989 – Giant Stonebreaker (a right paddy’s hammer by the end – only the frame was original)
1997 – Specialized Stumpjumper – reborn below
2000 – Surly 1×1 Rat Ride
2004 – Specialized Stumpjumper – chopped and dropped into a ss by Ben @ Kinetics
2006 – Voodoo Wanga
2009 – Genesis iO
2010 – Giant Anthem x3

plus a Curtlo custom steel frame on top of the wardrobe that I bought off a friend that’s never been built up.

Try these – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quies-34025-Ear-Plugs-14/dp/B000KHRGG4

😉

here’s my last one:

bit of niggly lower back pain, the well kent golfball down hosepipe sensation and it was out ricocheting round the pan and breaking into bits.

first one was horrible – sudden onset falling about in agony sort of a thing. although i’ve had bad ones since, you know what it is and what takes the pain away.

various investigations, but no cause found. last one to send me to a&e measured at 6mm when scanned. popped out the week before i was due to go in and have it fished out.

where’s those photos of the dam overflowing when someone crossed it?

Looks like there are being fairly rigourous injury stats being compiled for glentress but not elsewhere.
Probably related to this:
http://emj.bmj.com/content/28/4/274.abstract

the old path through the glen took a battering in the storms of August 2004. totally changed it’s character – for me at least – lots washed out and (more impressively) some gulleys totally filled with debris.
http://www.stirling.gov.uk/index/council/news.htm?id=31647&m=&y=2004

i used a bumbag for a while. just big enough to get a rolled short, socks and undercrackers into. covered a much smaller area of back than a rucksack, so less sweatiness.

now i’m getting on a bit i’d quite like a sensible audax-y thing with proper mudguards and minimal luggage carrying ability for commuting. (strokes chin).

When I first read that i thought ‘strip golf’ was like strip poker!
I’m game if you are. See you down the links? 😉

I’m more interested to know if the organisers have now done something to repair the damage that the race caused to the trails at Blairadam?

My best mate was at St Andrews and it is horrible,ruined by the R&A and the Uni.
strip golf/associated tourism and the uni out of the economy and it’d be methil with a bigger beach…

We had a union in my last place. Bloody hopeless and the reps seemed more interested in going on jollies than interests of their members.

Got sick of them rolling over, so cancelled my membership by email. Rep asked me to think again, just ignored my request and kept collecting the dues!

a hundred, thousand apologies if you’re unable to bleach this from your mind.

Another one that wasn’t too keen on the Bealach Bawbag. Cracking day out though:

Give the Fife Coast & Countryide Trust at Lochore a call. They sell off logs.

There’s also somewhere advertising seasoned logs around here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=kelty&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=&hnear=Kelty,+Fife,+United+Kingdom&ll=56.161588,-3.39896&spn=0.005078,0.021136&t=h&z=16
Think they’re thinning in the woodland just to the east of the road, big ol’ pile of logs stacked up when I rode past earlier.

Might be able to muster a mid-west team. Few of us caught a tourney in Utrecht last year. Bikes and mallets being worked on.

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IMAG0128[/url] by martysavalas[/url], on Flickr

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FxCam_1287916197081[/url] by martysavalas[/url], on Flickr

caught it on the 1846 pass over central Scotland tonight. thought it was slightly earlier, so had a couple of minutes of thinking “is that it?”, but very obviously something different when it came into view.

it’s an area with hunnerz of people and a fair few polis about, so presumably not that dangerous if you use a proper lock. is your course actually in the station?

i’d quite like that subaru forester down the front.

what’s your route once you get back onto the mainland?