Hi Rob, I’d heard you’d moved to Sheffield! Email me if you fancy a meet up/ride sometime

Depends what you mean by good! I always enjoy that route, usually when I’ve ridden other Dark Peak routes a bit too often. I always spice it up a bit with some cheeky stuff though. Basically it’s all about the rocky switchback off Stanage Edge. Overall it has a fair bit of road in it, and Lady Cannings is closed at the moment. If you don’t know the Dark Peak or don’t often ride there, you get more bang for your bucks by riding some of the loops around Ladybower/Hope/Castleton IMO

Fraid not chap, I’m still in the olden days here, only ever use OS maps and my memory to plan rides, and if I did I wouldn’t know how to post it up! Happy to show you round if you like, or if you email me (in profile) I can give more detailed directions

My fave White Peak ride starts from Calton Lees car park in Chats worth, goes up and over Calton pastures and drops down to Bakewell, then up Intake Lane to Haddon Fields and the switchbacks to the river Lathkill (best 30m in the White Peak IMO) then through Youlgreave across the field bridleways to Birchover, Clough Lane and over the A6 to the bridleways that traverse Fallinge Edge, up onto the moors above Chats worth and back down to Calton Lees. Dunno if it’s in any route books, but it’s about 35k and fairly easy to spot/navigate with an OS map

Late for the sky Jackson Browne

Depends what you are into, but when I did the C2C a few years back, it included some great techy steep singletrack drops across the NYM. Bit tricky to make into a loop though. Look on pedalnorth.com for routes

I was contacted by OP and donated my old groupset/wheels. A coup.e of weeks ago I had an email from OP to say that he and his friend had failed to gain entry to their chosen event and his friend had gone off the idea of road riding so the stuff was no longer needed. I replied but haven’t heard back yet

To service a Hope free hub is as simple as it gets, basically pull it apart, clean, push back together. Pawls/springs can occasionally break but are relatively cheap to replace

Thanks for sharing, but I wouldn’t dream of rinsing with tap water, far too risk – averse at my age

+1 for getting measured, I think the key measurement is how wide her sit bones were. My wife has found this the best way to a happy bum. For years saddles have been hit and miss but she can now measure any saddle to see if it will fit. As others say, Specialized do this but I’m sure you can diy quite simply (forgotten how, though)

Just done this on m wife’s bike. It fits fine

I use contact lenses when riding and glasses for my shortsightedness the rest of the time. Over the last few years the optician has been pestering me to use varifocals so when new glasses time came I went for it, about 6 months ago. I find only a very marginal improvement in reading ability but a real “woo, the world is spinning” feeling in the periphery . The thought of experiencing that while glancing over my shoulder or other quick manoeuvres when cycling would put me off, it’s fairly pronounced and unsettling. Don’t do it!

Depends how far you will be riding, and what direction. If you head south into the White Peak, there are some lovely quiet lanes. We often stop in Monyash and there’s a nice little cafe that sells decent food. Mind you, last time we were there, their card machine was down and we had to go to the pub next door and we found their chip cobs even better than the cafe

New frame. That bb sounds like a fundamental flaw and shortening cranks etc is only going to tickle the edges of the problem. I have a Bronson which is 2 cm higher, and that seems low to me

I use a bit of lino cut to size for the floor, replaced with a bit of carpet when camping. Generally I leave it as unconverted as possible for flexibility, we use it for our outdoors lifestyle, carting wood etc, furniture removals, camping so need it suitable for all these purposes

For the bikes, a gutter for the wheels made out of an old ikea bed base support, luggage straps to anchor and pipe lagging to stop rubbing. Other stuff gets wedged and ignored for soft stuff like kit. For bigger trips, other luggage gets anchored with bungees or luggage straps

Well done for putting on an event.
I started doing trailquests in the 90s as a way of exploring areas for family mountain biking but once my time started the red mist would descend and I would spend 5 hours on a series of sprints between check points, going by the fastest route ignoring all the good bits, so that didn’t work! However I did go in for a few diy events and used to love the home – made sociable feel, especially if there was an overnight camp. Hope yours goes well

Sorry, my contribution randomly “sent” itself!
Equally it could be that it’s not properly proved. Take it out the fridge earlier.
A good tip for extra flavour is to use the oil sundries tomatoes are stored in. Makes a yummy flavoured dough

Agree you should leave out the sugar. It could be heavy and chewy because it’s not kneaded enough though how that might happen using a machine I dunno. I always knead by hand and stop when it reaches the right consistency. Equally it could be that it’s n

My son fitted a pair backwards when High Rollers first came out. After a couple of rides he was ready to bin them because they were so dragged. Then he spotted his mistake…

Short of New Year’s Resolutions this year were you, Quirrel?

It’s too far ahead for me to make any definite commitment now but feel free to email me (address in profile) the week before to see if we can sort something

Oldandpastit, that applies to any statement that includes the word ‘apparently’

Marmalade is a corruption of ‘Marie malade’, apparently Marie Antoinette ate it when she was feeling a little bit poorly once

I may be up for this if it dries out a bit, currently giving the soggy Peak a rest from my clumsy tyres. What date(s) are we talking?

A good way to kill your love of a great album, but…
Blue – Joni Mitchell
Bringing It All Back Home – Dylan
King Of America – Elvis Costello
Sign ‘O’ The Times-Prince
Everybody Knows This Is Now here – Neil Young
Impossible task of course, I couldn’t even choose a top 50 if this were real

We have Internet, phone, TV down where I live. Just wondering what level of outrage is appropriate towards virgin? On the one day the met office is advising us oldies to stay indoors I can’t watch Judge Judy and Murder She Wrote!

Good luck OP, I did it in April one year in sunny clear conditions, it was great!

Doesn’t seem to be an option on Virgin, only beeb 1 Scotland

Presumably both s/h full bike purchases? Be wary, especially of obsolete parts that may need replacing, especially suspension forks. Are you the beginner? Second hand can lead to some great bargains if you know what to look for but can also be a minefield so make sure someone who knows what they are doing examines potential purchases. The newer of the 2 choices you mention is a notch below the Cinder Cone but will have less wear and tear presumably. Konas have always been highly regarded but I don’t know enough about these specific models to comment on them individually

I’ve just had an OnOne stove enamelled by Vernon Barker, cost about the same as powder coating. It will cost you more than the frame is worth so not cost effective. Still worth it IME

Any possibility of improving drainage? There’s 3 main boggy points, all relatively short. I’m no groundsman but wonder if raising the path with drainage pipes under might create a usable/sustainable track

Last seen on the Peaks Pootle. Currently doing a digital Reggie Perrin.

Yeah but my solution involves doing nothing which is always better

Could be an expensive fix. If it’s not skipping gears, leave it till dead?

I reckon you should look at the White Peak, lots of quiet lanes that barely touch main roads, my wife and I easily put together 30+ mile routes, would be simple for you to get a 1″ OS map (Buxton, Matlock, Dovedale OS Landranger 119) and and make your own route to suit your needs

Done, just to fool people into thinking I’m not grumpy

Mine is working fine, as normal

Isn’t a trigger a light xc bike? I remember switching from an xc bike to a trail bike and being astounded by how much more calmly it dealt with stuff. Maybe you are really a riding god on the wrong bike, light bikes tend to pinball off stuff

Could be any of the above, my bet is fork bushings. One possibility not mentioned is front wheel bearings