Cheers guys. Is FoD a drive away? Or would it be an ok warmup on the road to get there.

Looks good mrmo but don’t know how the bloody hell I’d find my way around it! Fancy showing me? ? . I like long climbs and long descents, but I’m not fussy really. Happy to ride what evers there!

How safe or unsafe are the roads for road biking?

Thanks Dobie. Be good to find out more about these, and or here from others too. Is there enough trails close by for a 4-6 hour mtb ride?

Spare tube and leavers and Co2 cartridge on the saddle bag. Pump and a buff and sometimes a gilet or light jacket in my jersey pocket. Works for me.

Cheers. Got two more nights to try the others. Didn’t see a reply before I left so did a quick Google search and went to Taste of Asia just outside. Seems nice so far anyway!

Hey all! So getting close to starting my placement now. Will be in Staverton beside Gloucester. Looking forward to it.

Cheers anyway! Yeah still looking for someone.

Good to hear.

I’d suggest any Samsung that fits your budget. The prices start well below 150. I bought my first Samsung 2 years ago for the good camera (S3 mini), I now have the S5. Great phones imo.

Edit: Fancy an evening ride and a pint?

Thanks for the offer but I’m saving myself for the Bournemouth Wiggle sportive tomorrow! 😀

Edit: I think you could do with a more seasonal video! 😉

Yeah I’d like to know more about that too! How big a loop can you get out of it? Are they easy to find?

Bumping up for the sake of my last reply!
And I won’t be available on the 7th.

So I headed towards New Forest via my Google gps. It appeared to not really know where it was going so I ended up just driving around looking for a car park. Stopped in Burnley I think?!, beside the cricket pitch and golf course. Nice enough quiet riding, nothing technical but nice to be out.

Can anyone tell me the best car park for bikers in the New Forest? Best access point to trails etc? Road names would help! Hoping to ride there again one evening as it’s not far.
Cheers!

Actually New Forest looks like it’s only a 19 minute drive away so might try and explore around there tonight!

Ok I’m here in Bournemouth now, staying in accommodation in the royal hospital, on the A338. I’ve seen a forest car park or two on the way up to Ringwood on the back roads. Anyone know if there’s much riding to be found there? Don’t really care about the quality at this stage, just want to try and get out on the mtb one of these evenings. I have a car. Cheers!

Thanks Zoolander I’ll message you closer. And when I say June, I actually mean from the 25th May to 13th June. At this stage the weekend of May 30th is probably my only free riding weekend!

About how far away would QECP be?

Looks like I’d have no problem finding races if I liked crits 🙄 .

Thanks but CX and track don’t appeal to me at all (got enough bikes as it is). I’ll look into what mtb races I can do if there doesn’t seem to be much road. Checking the BC website now in a minute.

No wind or rain protection on top Simon? I wouldn’t mind that for a short hard ride, when its wet.
Yeah everyone is different. Nothing kills my motivation mid ride like being soaking wet though!

Is that you Mike, of 24 Hour racing fame?

Rob R?? Yes it is 😆 .

I’ll be based there from mid June onward.

Thanks for the tips! Would be nice to try a few races in and around there.

Thanks!Bump.

The landing can’t be fun in that position anyway.

Thomas getting blown off the bike. Holy moly.

Can you elaborate what your condition actually is? Ive never heard of a blot clot on the lungs. Is it blood in the lungs, or an excess of blood between the lungs and the sac they’re contained in?

The point is that the riding is similarly average at each place (and really bad in the wet), but that’s not why you do the event.

There’s a bit of a generalisation. Everyone’s reason for doing an event could be different. I know people say the atmosphere at Mayhem etc is really good, but that’s not really what I’m looking for. I choose events for the fun of the riding, not for the amount of riders I can spot wearing sumo suits… Or something similar.

I enjoyed it both times it’s been at Gatcombe, better than Eastnor IMHO

So Steve it sounds like you’re the only one who prefers the new location. What is your reasoning behind this? Ive never ridden there so can’t form an opinion myself.

If you want fun singletrack then I’d suggest Mayhem isn’t the race for you. If you want a really good event and go accept what you’re signing up for then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Yeah. I did it in 2011 as a solo and ended up pulling out during the night, largely out of boredom! I really like the Bontrager 24 12 course for solo. I was hoping the Mayhem course has improved a lot as it’s the only 24 that I’ll be able to do over the summer. Going from the feedback here though, the course still sounds a bit suspect.

Quick bump.

I guess I just like a course with a few interesting features and fun singletrack sections. I know everyone’s idea of good is different though.

Whatever happens, a report back here tomorrow is expected.

Indeed! 😉

Yes go for it. If she’s single and dating, its perfectly okay for her to be drunk with another guy all over her imo. Not the end of the world, just sounds like she’s out to have some fun. Its just a date, what can go wrong.

Eggs are high in protein so make you feel fuller for longer…. innit. 🙂

Get a new bike!!!! 😆

Get a new bike!!!! 😆

You’ll be able to go faster on the downhills, probably won’t make much different on the flat. I just switched from 9 speed to 11 speed, but kept the same chainset size and roughly the same cassette size. Don’t notice a huuuge difference really. Just nicer.

Just to give an update on this, I decided to go with Di2 after testing the mechanical version. I much prefer the feel and efficiency of Di2 and I think its totally worth the extra 600 euros. Been out on it twice now, and it keeps on getting better. 😀

Like yoga but none of the spiritual twaddle.

There’s lots of different types of yoga, some of them don’t involve any spiritual twaddle, like Bikram. I never quite got what Pilates was though.