I used to love riding my bmx in the woods when I was a kid. Got a 2nd hand mountain bike at uni but it got so badly vandalised that it was unrideable and I couldn’t afford another one.

Fast forward a decade and an overweight non-exercising me won a Raleigh Chopper in a raffle about 8 years ago. Sold it on eBay and used the cash to fund a Spesh Rockhopper which totally got me into the biking I do now. A mates stag do in Morzine persuaded me to go full suss and I’ve never looked back really.

It’s the woods, the mountains when i can get to them and the exercise for me.

Ok… Despite my initial knee-jerk pee-stained bomber response, the thinking now is just to live and let live.

Mrs doesn’t want to cause any upset in the group. But we are not going to be coerced by this behaviour. We’ll just accept the moral high ground up above this childish behaviour, not give to “her” charity, and sponsor someone else when they go for an actual run.

I’m on my 3rd one!

Got a 2nd hand GF Xcal for over there when Mrs Doubleu was working in Pittsburgh and I was visiting a fair bit.

It got stolen from shed after bringing it home so insurance paid for a new one (last of the GFs). It split along the weld where seat tube meets top of top tube. So now riding a new warranty replacement Trek X-cal frame with all the old stuff on it.

I love it. Use it mostly for longer rougher sustrans trips and such like. Recently took it out at a trail centre when my 5in full suss was out of action. It was awesome.

Ditto above.

Plenty on that side of the A74(M). My trail centre preferences would be (in descending order): Kirroughtree, Drumlanrig, Mabie, Dalbeattie, Ae, Glentrool.

I always try and get some Cream O Galloway ice cream down my neck too.

7days self cert is correct.
Some employers will ask for a private sick note. There is usually a charge for such a note as it not a statutory part of a GP’s work.

I used to swim a lot when I was a kid…

Needed grommets (surgically made long lasting perforations to help glue ear), didn’t want to stop swimming so ended up getting moulds made by the ENT department then using cotton wool, Vaseline and then these moulds under a swim cap.

Whether this would happen on the NHS on the timescale you need though? I’m not sure. Not sure but it might have been the audiology dept that made the moulds like they do for hearing aids. Or get made privately?

Glentress will take about 2hrs drive each way. Kielder about 90 minutes. Hamsterly is probably getting on for an hour an Chopwell 15 mins. Natural: moorland routes round Hexham area about 30 mins drive or a bit longer into north Northumberland.

Other less mountain-bikey options direct from RVI would be to head to the coast along to riverside routes for ice cream/fish n chips; or head inland towards Wylam / Corbridge.

I ride a large. I’m 5ft10 n and half.

I think they measure up smallish. Wa on a medium stumpy previously.

Have all the pie you need Mike.
http://halfpastdone.com/2013/06/26/tour-divide-day-13-holding-out-for-pie/

These guys are another type of human, esp MH!

Heard someone on the radio describe this tour as: Laughing Len’s LOL-o-copter Tour or some such irreverence.
I actually did LOL at that.

Just had parents evening at mini-doubleu’s nursery. He’s only 14 months so I had some baby curry, mrs-doulbleu had some baby pizza, then we had some red wine whilst sitting on the floor in the “sensory corner” (his favourite), whilst his key worker gave us the low down on his walking attempts.

Sounds like it. Especially if short-term / situational. If its much more entrenched think about depression or anxiety?

Unless its overactive thyroid (feel hot, heart racing, shakes? If so get a blood test)

Sounds like you’re doing the right thinks to combat it. Try relaxation, distraction by other activities and main issue is sorting underlying issues you’ve alluded to.

Good luck
Mike

Thanks Bregante.

Ended up heading to Gisburn. Great day out amazing weather, dry trails and lots of dust! My mate did well on my full-suss and it was me that ended up having an off!

That the one in town that’s just opened?

Depending on timings you could do definitely a loop at Whinlatter (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-8z4eet) as its on the way past before tackling the old coach road after Keswick. As you hit the Hartside ascent on day 2 there is a loose off road climb to attempt. Day 3 has the off road ascent up from Rookhope (rather than along to Stanhope). All looks to be ascending!

have you seen these?
http://www.c2c-guide.co.uk/off-road-sections/
http://www.visiteden.co.uk/images/pdfs/AlstonCycleRouteNenthead.pdf

Mike

NO idea of company name but my Mum used a company when went out to Oz that sat with the money for a short while and only exchanged when rate peaked above certain level (I think over several tranches). Rates so variable even hour by hour on such big transactions can make a difference. Can depend on how quickly you need money at other end?

Isn’t the euro may be heading one way over concerns Cyprus style savings tax may spread? So holding off may be worth it*

*i’m not a financial advisor! I can try and find out company if you want.

Which model of Giro helmet is it?
I think he paid over the odds.

Replied to yr email

This one from Robert Creeley. It’s got everything in a few short lines.

Old Song

Take off your clothes, love,
And come to me.

Soon will the sun be breaking
Over yon sea.

And all of our hairs be white, love,
For aught we do

And all our nights be one, love,
For all we knew.

Needs seat post a bit higher 😉

0

haven’t done any running or swimming either.

flu, full of virus 10month old and a bit of a funk all contributed to the lethargy 🙁
off to Cape Town on Sat though 🙂

I used to get this with my old Garmin. Think it was picking up power lines or something. What made me realise was looking at it afterwards on the ‘puter, it wasnt even the tough bits when “my rate” was high!

Ok- atomic22 looks like exactly what I envisioned. “Rodney, I won’t be a millionaire this time next year.” But I will save a lot of time and effort in R&D! 😉
Will give them an email.

Finding a murmur just means hearing more turbulent blood flow than expected. If its been found incidentally, that is better.

Could be an “innocent” or “flow” murmur, where all the plumbing looks completely normal on more detailed testing but the blood flow through the heart is more noisy, hence heard as a murmur. But sometimes can be caused by more serious underlying problems eg with heart valves – obviously this has the potential to be more serious which is why they are doing the tests to find out exactly what the cause is, if there is one.

Hope you don’t have too long to wait to get more answers.

Mike

Isn’t the DO in DOMS “delayed onset”, mine usually starts >24 hrs after ride / run.

Fitness on bike doesn’t necessarily equate with running fitness?
Got flu coming on?
Not as fit as you think?

‘Twas lost on Sunday and only discovered to be missing today. He’s over on holiday from Seattle so not sure even had it or data switched on or that there is any reception in the forest there anyway. He’s gone to visit other rels in Lakes and we’re back in Newcastle so doing another lap is out I’m afraid.

Just wondered if anyone had happened upon it. I’ll give the brake pad a call tomorrow. Thanks.

I have a very large but ridiculously soft Bernese Mountain dog called Jeff. We go and visit my sister in London fairly often and use the tube etc. I don’t think Londoners are used to seeing such big dogs as often the response when the tube doors open is just for people to walk away rather than get on. I suspected it was because they’re not used to big dogs or their only experience of dogs is the jaws on a chain “trophy” dogs from sink estates?

I have noticed that Japanese tourists love him (is there a tv show about Berners in Japan?) but other Asians usually seem really scared of him. I wondered if it was if people came from parts of the world where large packs of wild dogs still roamed they would be more understandably cautious?

Done

I’m also a happy FTM owner. 1.80m tall and I ride a medium. Had a medium stumpy that got nicked… Slightly shorter but nothing that not adaptable to. Makes it more “flickable.”

150 mm revs slacken head by 1/2 a degree which seems plenty really. Not sure i’d bother with a slackset even it was available. Reverb sits in the frame a long way but fine. Only issue is the hydraulic hose for the dropper. It’s currently cable-tied to the outside (with bike tape to protect the frame at rub points) as I’m running 2×10 so all the internal routes used.

Liking it so much will replace it with another when the next model has the routings sorted out.

My sports physio “cracks” my back a la chiropractor-style.

I’m always a bit dubious of the alignment chat if I’m honest. Backs move and hold all sorts of different lines. Injuries and bad posture can make them hold bad lines more of the time and these can become the “new normal posture,” but as i see it this is what they are correcting.

Chiropractors “crack them back into place”, but the way the physio explained it -he was releasing muscular tension so that with looser soft tissue my back is now more flexible. The exercises he’s given me are designed to maintain or improve this flexibility / muscle tone.

When I was spinal boarded to A&E (nothing major thankfully), the drivers insurers rang me after fracture clinic the next morning. They offered solicitors to act on my behalf (I took this up – perhaps I shouldn’t have done, but they have seemed to act fairly throughout). I limped to the bike shop and put £100 deposit on a new carbon road bike after clinic, after they told me the driver had admitted liability to them (as well as me, the paramedics and the police the night before).

The shop mechanic used his mechanic hands to show the carbon frame on my bike was gone- he squeezed the top tube with more force than I am capable of – it bulged and cracks were visible!

I had £1000 interim payment within a week. Cost of damaged clothing and bike replacement in full a month later. Injury payment after assessment by independent doc, though this took 6 months. I read his report which said physio could be useful so I asked them to increase the payment they had offered so I could get some private physio for the shoulder and neck that was still niggling.

Kirroughtree is my fave of the 7stanes. Just near Newton Stewart.
Drumlanrig Castle (though might be not be best conditions as been so wet?)

My Mum moved to Oz and when she came back to visit me and my now wife she brought some pressies (boomerangs and calendars of wallabies, if you’re interested). Of course these were brought in carrier bags from the garage in Sydney, and of course there was Sydney Red Back in one of them. I was going to catch the bastard to take it to the Natural History Museum for confirmation, but with my jam jar only an inch from the little fecker some primal instinct kicked in and I was compelled to stamp the thing flat.

The whole episode led to a few “does your Mum like me?” conversations with Mrs Doubleu!

Are you less likely to get customs attention at a regional airport? Mrs Doubleu and I came back from North America after she’d had a year out there with 5 suitcases, a bike I’d bought and a 9 month old iMac in its original packaging and a load of bubble wrap.

I think that time it was a change in Amsterdam, but in the past also changing via Heathrow and not had any interest in a complete new (but used on holiday) snowboard setup.

Wildtrak in Newcastle competitive? It’s pretty local for us.

The tearoom inside the castle is excellent. They let us use that for no extra castle admission charge (I think the other cafe was closed). Worth considering – the food in there was ace!

Thanks for your hlep / suggestions.

It is about getting to a train station in some respects. Sounds like off road to Stirling is a non-starter. I need to start in Aviemore as I’m planning to do the off road “alternative” section through the edge of Cairngorms past Loch an t-seilich.

It looks like I’ll be driving up after work one Friday to Perth- leaving car there and last-training it to Aviemore. Then stick to Sustrans Lochs and Glens route and finish in Balloch by last connecting train on Sunday night back to Perth to collect car. Maybe I should just go to Glentress for the weekend instead?

Bump for the evening crowd?

On Lochs and Glens North last weekend, on day 1 from Inverness to Aviemore, on the off road alternative section from Slochd Summit to Carrbridge, I disturbed a herd of about a dozen biiiig red deer. It was probably my best moment ever on a bicycle, as they ran alongside me until I started to lose pace as the descent slackened off, at which point they outpaced me then darted across my path and into denser woodland.

A-mazing. I thought it was a portent of a fabulous ride to come – little did I know I’d be back in Inverness at 0200 the next morning with my 6 week old son who proceeded to put me and my wife through a week of hell with a really nasty case of bronchiolitis. Anyway big thanks to the staff at Raigmore Hospital, we all finally made it back to Newcastle last night after an unscheduled week in the Highlands!

I’m thinking I’ll try and do the rest of the route sponsored sometime this summer and raise some money for the children’s ward charity appeal.

Wow. That route is stunning! It just looks so wild!

It’s a massive step up from the Lochs and Glens that I’m doing this coming weekend with my buddies… and so much more like the kind of stuff I aspire to. I’m going to let them them “conquer” the Sustrans route, then forward them this photo series as inspiration for later in the year / next year.

Fabulous. Thanks for posting.