You couldn’t make this up.

Perhaps you should see a sports psychologist to sort out your issues with the wrong / cheap type of sugar?

I’m waiting for Stopadoodledoo to arrive for things to really get funny.

Read about forefoot striking and heel striking.

Don’t worry about such nonsense and just run: the most important thing is to build up distances and times very gradually. Switching between running and walking works well.

70% of Britons identifies as Christian in the 2001 census.

Pilgrim Fathers aren’t the same as the Founding Fathers.

And OP: apart from the fact that “they” mention God “a lot” do you have any evidence that America is particular religious? It’s a country of three hundred million people. I’d hate to think you were making unfounded sweeping generalisations…

LycraLout – Member
excessive use of full stops= latent chubbiness just waiting to burst into flower

Is the obesity time bomb ticking?

Stopadoodledoo – Member
So you’re saying that anyone who does less than 100 miles a week is not a real cyclist now, as well as people who wear baggies? What next; those who use Camelbaks rather than water bottles can’t class themselves as a true cyclist?

Not that it matters, but I do nowhere near 100 miles a week. I ride at the weekends only because (a) I work from home so have no need to commute (and even if I did go to the office, it’s a 90 mile round trip) and (b) I work 10+ hours a day, meaning that I’m knackered when I finish. I only ever wear baggies because I can’t see the point in lycra (what are the advantages then?) and yes, I have a Camelbak. I also never ride on the road unless it’s required to get from one trail to the other. I also quite often ride in the Surrey Hills. Oh, and I am in mid-Management in IT, working for an Investment Bank.

By your standards then, I’m not a real cyclist, I’m just riding for the image. Is that right?

You’ve been well and truly sprung there Jason 😉

bigdawg – Member

Couple of things Ive noticed though…
When racing I dont need as much drink or gels as I used to (500ml will now last me virtually the race – I used to take three of these, and maybe two or three gels as opposed to every 20 minutes)

This is something that I’ve noticed as well. I’ve been on iDave fully for a couple of months and have lost just over a stone in that time. What’s really striking is the extent to which what I need to eat before and after riding has decreased. From a couple of flapjacks before a ride and then every hour when I’m out, I’m now down to a handful of PowerBar energy shots each hour and have never felt like I’m lacking in fuel or energy. Given that I’ve been injured for much of this period and have only started to ride properly again in the past few weeks it’s also amazing how much difference losing weight has made in terms of speed and efficiency. I’m not really any slower than I was than before my back blew up.

So there’s nothing on a whole mile of curry that takes your fancy? You must be right picky…

I only read these threads for Stopadoodledoo’s comments. Class.

Hopefully see you in the Rusty at some point soon Jason!

DanW – Member
You can’t really go wrong with any of the race bikes from the top manufacturers.

For me though the main companies didn’t really represent good value for money. I was set on a Canyon but when they sold out had a rethink.

I went for a Santacruz Superlight in the end on the basis that it was light, reliable and beautifully balanced both up and down. It also feels much more solid than an out and out race bike which suits me much better. Here’s a little pic of my SC Superlight at 22lbs with no crazy light or expensive parts:

What do you have on there to get it down to 22lbs? Just curious like…

Deveron53 – Member
What the hell is the thread about? I couldn’t be arsed to even look at page 1!

And clearly the idea of reading and understanding a thread title is also beyond you…

Really friendly and good service.

You never know when that kind of knowledge might come in handy 😉

how many UK historians can you name off the top of your head?
Ok I don’t know many and they’re limited to ones off the telly I’m afraid and some do stuff that’s abroad too and some are actually foreign but here goes:

Maxwell Hutchins
Bettany Hughes (on last night dong a brilliant programme about the Minoans)
Francesco di Mosto (Bloke what done programmes about Venice and stuff my mum fancies him)
Simon Shamer/Shama something like that
Dan Snow
Andrew Graham Dixon
Fiona Bruce and the orange bloke.

Oh I don’t really know tbh.

I don’t know whether to be offended that you missed me off your list.

druidh – Member
After all, how many UK historians can you name off the top of your head?

I really hope I could win that game…

You’re spot on though: media don whose reputation is based on being controversial backs himself into a corner and ends up going way too far.

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Quick! Build a youth club! That’ll sort it out.

Do you

(1) Actually understand the concept of long-term modes of addressing social problems?

(2) Have the ability to understand arguments on their own terms rather than in the form of caricature?

Just asking.

No. It makes you look like a try-hard.

Dr Mattie_H, BA, PhD, FRHistS

Point made.

Good news Chipsngravy — and best of luck with the rehab.

Fingers crossed I can manage this successfully…

Same here: built up slowly over a few months then had a short period of excruciating pain three months ago. In my case it’s caused by sitting at a desk hour after hour but it still really effects me on the bike. Had to take a few weeks off completely and am only just now starting to get back into a couple of gentle rides a week. Even now it’s pretty sore: I can spin but I can’t really put much power down on the flat or climbing. The good thing is that at least I can run.

I started off with sports massage. That freed up the muscles in my lower back but actually made the pain much worse. Since then I’ve been seen an osteopath regularly. He’s done a great job in improving the state of my back and general flexibility and has also got me to the point where I can be comfortable during the day at work and at home. It’s taking longer to reduce the inflammation and pain though. I’ve been addressing that through ice and Ibuprofen. He also gave me a set of stretches to do each night which seem to be working. Now that I’m a bit more comfortable I’m going to start work on building up core strength I think.

Bloody frustrating though: after just about getting through the Welsh Ride Thing I’ve had to bail on everything else I had planned and was training for including the BORS and Kielder 100. Guess next year will have to be my midlife crisis fitness year…

Elfinsafety – Member
wow… what inflated levels of self-importance.
something not-uncommon for people from london i’ve noticed.

So where does yours come from then?

Is it such a great city to live in if you’re not as fortunate?
Erm, yes. As proven by me!

Perhaps in order to live happily in London you really have to emotionally commit to it? Like to a perennially losing football team. Not surprisingly you then fall in to some of the parochial tosh posted above.
See, I think that’s a load of tosh what you’ve posted, but then we’re all different, aren’t we? Something never more apparent than when in London.

Abnd this:

The combination of excessive self-regard whilst ignoring other people and the social and structural problems around them that many Londoners have is not very attractive.
My personal experience is that it is actually easier to mix with ‘other’ people in London than it seems to be elsewhere. I certainly noticed a greater gulf between different groups whilst in New York.

Rational and critical thought really isn’t your strong point.

Charlie the Bikemonger FTW.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
because simon scharma made such a good history teacher didnt he!!!

being good at something doesnt mean you know how to teach it

Not the same thing at all: Schama was a very good university teacher and an excellent academic historian before he sold his soul to television. Vorderman isn’t in the same league.

This is fantastic: thanks for sharing!

Will do

Ha! Trying not to these days…

So tell us about Girton Stoner…

If you were there a very very long time ago…

But you only went to Girton Stoner…

No. Just too predictable.

Why would you drive into the city centre? As people above have said the Park and Rides are excellent and getting from the ring road into town on a bike is straightforward and often quicker than driving. There are so many Park and Rides because the road layout isn’t set up for car traffic and the council are actively trying to discourage people from driving into or through the city centre–hence the current controversy around getting rid of the St Clements car park.

KungFuPanda – Member
Worse, is when guys say, usually after I’ve just criticised a female member of staff, “Yeah, but you would though wouldn’t you?”. Ummm, no, why on earth would you think I would? I find it incredibly sad (for them).
Was that a deliberate ‘coming out’ or a freudian slip type declaration of chutney ferretness?

So you do cover the whole gamut from misogyny to homophobia then… And here was I thinking your ignorance was limited in its scope.

derek_starship – Member
KFP has killed the thread.

Well done you

But that’s where the kind of post that you started here always ends. Take some responsibility…

JHW’s point about the gender split among riders in Chamonix is interesting. One of the main things that has struck me when I’ve been riding in the States is how much more diverse the scene is. In Oregon, Fruita and Moab you get a real mix of men and women and of different age groups and of families out for a ride together. There are mixed groups, women riding on their own and groups of women riding together. It could be because these are all more outdoory places and so the sample is self-selecting, but the UK really does seem strange by comparison.

It would help if you were clever enough to use the search function on the forum 🙄

Yes there is: foil box that disposable BBQ comes in or three layers of kitchen foil or an adapted takeaway box.

Not exactly difficult to work out though is it?

One of the bearded bikers riding with Dr_Bakes: fantastic few days despite the brutal weather.

I wasn’t t so positive on the push up onto Tarren Hendre mind.

Huge thanks to Stuart and everyone else for organizing such a great event. Already refining my kit list for next year…

It was going pretty well but a sore back has kept me off the bike more than I’d like for the past month. Really need to step things up now…

It’s just you.

Rad

Did you find the PDF then Adz? Could you email me if you get chance please?

Mark: Woodcock route is a good one but there are a few changes I’d make based on our experience of it. Jason has also said something similar in the past. I know you’re busy at the moment but if you get chance let me buy you lunch at some point–I want to pick your brains about training programmes and am more than happy to offer my thoughts about the C2C in exchange!

It’s a great ride btw. I’d love to do it again at some point.