You overtook her though. That's the important thing.

It's all down to a simple misunderstanding.
I thought I was supposed to be eating five portions of fruit and veg in every meal.

Best missing the point completely so far post…

"Sorry fella but you do have a little room for improvement in the performance department…"

Thanks for trying to be tactful and not hurt my feelings while pointing out that I am slow, after I have mentioned several times how slow I am.

Best thought provoking post so far…

"a) all the other riders in the races were milandstrailquestgrahams and riding different bikes"

Wow, can you imagine that ? A whole race full of MidlandTrailquestsGrahams. That really would be awesome.*

As I said, I used myself as an example because I'm slow.
I used racing as an example because it offers an opportunity to compare one bike and rider with another. Maybe I should have said that riding a bike that doesn't match the majority view on STW forum of how a bike should be set up doesn't prevent me from enjoying the scenery as much as other people.

* Before we get in to even more misunderstandings and accusations, this was satire. Or possibly self parody, I'm not sure. My language skills are at about the same level as my mountain biking skills, although my spelling and grammar are better than cynic al's.

Several species of small furry animals gathered together in a cave and grooving with a Pict.

This thread did produce a couple of gems though.

Firestarter's egg & spoon comment for one. If I had claimed that I could have finished top half in the junior race, it would have had some relevance.

And SpokesCycles repeating the myth that bunny hopping is essential to riding "proper" trails as if that's all it takes to make it true.

I liked DeVs' reply and I'd like to be able to make the same claim myself, except that my power lifting total is 350kg at 100kg. Anyone who knows what that means will know it's the weightlifting equivalent of running a 50 minute 10km or peaking at 700w on a Powertap.

Cinnamon girl, ampthill and one or two others have got it.

Most of the rest are responding to what they would like to believe I said so they can shoot me down.

It's not about me,it's about the bike.
I used myself as an example because I'm old, fat, slow, unskilled and riding an unsuitable bike.
The question remains, why are so many riders who are convinced that having the shock preload precisely set and running exactly the right tyre pressures even slower than me.

Subliminal advertising. :wink:

I suspect the sliding drop out adjuster bolts on my Lynskey are imperial.
I haven't checked the threads, but a 5/16 AF spanner fits better than an 8mm one.
Something for any Lynskey owners to bear in mind if you ever need to replace the bolts.
Don't try to force an M5 bolt in what I think is probably a 3/16 UNF thread in the frame.

This thread seems to be drifting towards a discussion on my riding ability.
That's not what I originally intended.
I was more trying to make the point that there are so many people laughing at the idea of riding fast on a Rohloff or 29er and recommending going on a skills course and getting your shock TFTuned and so on as if that was the only way to ride fast and enjoy mountain biking, yet they are not beating me, an overweight underpowered old duffer,in races.

"…you aren't fast…"

There's been some hurtful things said about me on this thread, but that's the worst. :cry:

"It could be that you are a average rider/runner participating in events that are fielded by a high percentage of below average ability people."

That could well be the answer.
I had a go on a PowerTap on rollers once and was dismayed at just how low my power output was. I think I peaked at about 700w, which is about half what a good roadie half my weight would put out.

Definitely get the threads retapped before attempting to fit another BB.
Race Face do a downhill BB with longer threads than standard. They're not the longest lasting bearings, but they can help if the outer threads are damaged by engaging on good threads further in.

An example of my awesome riding skills at HtN.

And yet, only 15 riders completed more laps than I did.

For those who have got the technical skills and the bike all set up correctly, where were you ?
For those who don't think they have, just go out and ride and enjoy the scenery.

Good point, njee, that was by far my worst result and I was surprised by the standard of rider in the veteran class at XC races. I even started a thread on here asking why XC riders were so much faster than marathon racers.
50th in the veteran class, but I think I worked out at the time that if I had ridden in the open or sport class, I can't remember the details now, I would have been top half again.
Compare with 10th at Set2Rise and 16th at Hit the North though.
A long, long way behind the winners, but reading some of the opinions on this forum, I'm lucky I even did one lap in the time allowed.

There is a sort of serious point to this and I don't mind making a fool of myself to make it.
There have been a couple of threads recently where people have become disillusioned with mountain biking because they don't have what they believe are the necessary skills to ride properly. Both were women, maybe it's just that blokes are less likely to admit such things in public.
As I said, I can't bunny hop or do much technical stuff. I'm fairly good at track stands though.
It's a shame that people are being put off mountain biking because they think they, or their bike, are not good enough.
If I can do it, and do it reasonably well, it really can't be all that hard.

You stopped reading too soon.

A farmer thought he had lost some sheep, so he sent his dog out to count them.
Ten minutes later, the dog came back.
"How many sheep in the field, lad ?" said the farmer.
"A hundred" said the dog.
"But we've only got 96 sheep" said the farmer.
"I know" said the dog "I rounded them up".

"After payment, no further costs will be incurred, guaranteed!"

I missed that bit. I thought is was still pot luck whether you got a separate import duty bill in the post a week after buying from Ay Up in Australia.

Hash browns and a tin of spaghetti.

If you've ever wondered what a 95kg vegan eats for lunch, now you know.

It's about time Ay Up had a UK distributor.

I wonder how long we've got until the oversize handlebar bubble bursts.
Or the hydraulic disc brake bubble.
Or the clipless pedal bubble.
Or the suspension bubble.

"will the 29er bubble burst?"

Yes, round about the time the whole mountain biking bubble bursts.
Mountain biking's just a fad. It'll soon be forgotten, just like hula hoops and skate boards.

bassspine, yes, but that was a Triumph. They never break down.

That's got to be the weirdest spoonerism I have ever seen.

"The other allotment owners have threatened to burn down his shed!"

Burn his shed down then, they'll get the blame. :wink:

Seriously though, £190 000 for that ^.
Go Ape could have knocked something up for a couple of hundred and recouped the money by letting kids climb across it during the day while the mice are asleep.

Most niche bike ? I think I'm in with a chance for that one.
Most overbiked poster.
Most awesome poster without a surf board.

I saw the pictures of this in the paper.
It's more a question of how did two poles and a bit of wire cost £190 000 than is it worth spending money to keep dormice from becoming extinct in this area.

It's frightening to think that someone with so little mechanical knowledge is riding solo round Africa.

We regularly replace the shock absorber bushes on the buses at work.
The rubber bushes come in a universal kit with three pairs of heavy steel washers, about 60mm diameter, with different sized holes in the middle.
This means, for every bush we fit, there are four washers left over.
I keep meaning to save them up and take them to the next event I enter and just leave them in a pile with a "Free, take a pair" notice on them.

"Is there a more rubbish bit of design than…"

…a mountain bike with only one gear.

Can you jump red lights in it ?

"… I'm not sure I have the technical skills…"

Don't let the constant talk of "technical skills" on this forum lead you in to believing that they make any significant difference in the real world.
Just get on yer bike and ride. When you come to the risky looking bits, get off and walk. That's what I do.

"Not confident enough to try any biking events"

"OH and I were training for the OMM last year…"

:?: You were planning on doing a two day fell running race, but you won't do a 50km mountain bike marathon ?

"Shorts are essential to hard work, to hiking and to camping. They are less expensive and more hygienic than breeches or trousers. They give freedom and ventilation to the legs."

Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, 1908.

I still haven't grown out of shorts at 47 and wear them almost all year.
Proper shorts, mind, none of this knee length baggy nonsense that people call shorts these days.

Get a top half finish at a 24 hour solo. Achieved at SITS.

Carry on ignoring the fad for learning how to ride properly. I don't even know what the "attack position" is. If a track looks too steep or bumpy, I get off and walk. Ongoing achievement.

Ride more of the local bridleways. Partly achieved, there's still a few more to do.

Put on a trailquest event. On schedule to achieve in December.

Put the unemployed in to gladiator academies so they can fight each other and get eaten by tigers.
It would make great TV.

Because anyone can become ill or get injured.
Parents chose to have children.

It's on tomorrow.
http://www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk/events-and-results/event-details.php?e=111
You can enter on the day, but you'll need to register and get get a membership number first, which is free.

"Some of the shift patterns are horrible too. 6-6 nights thursday to monday. Try having a social life outside of that."
Not everyone's social life revolves around going to the pub on Saturday night.

Soylent Green is the answer to the unemployment problem.