Doing it on Monday if anybody is stil interested?
Paul, I’ll email for the GPX route, if that’s OK?

Do they let dogs in then?

I didn’t learn to ride until I was 22. Didn’t do me any harm and being ‘useful’ and ‘theother kids can do it’ are hardly reasons to force anybody to do it.
It’s great to be able to ride a bike but hardly worth pushing a youngster in to doing it so you can be be ‘proud’.

It appears to be very important to you (lot) but not one bit important to the youngster that a bike gets learned how to ride.
It’s not that important though, is it? Why are you forcing the issue?
I can see that something like learning to swim would have its life(saving) merits but riding a bike?
It’s just a bike.

This is the thing with free – goodwill gesture – gift type things. You don’t really get to choose as they’re free – goodwill gesture- gift type of things.

Different Strines, I think mate.. You appear to be referring to Strines in between Marple and New Mills while they are discussing Strines Moor in between Langsett and Derwent. Not withstanding, the off road stuff around Strines (Stockport) station is nice enough 🙂

That’s Calver not Calcer. Sorry.

From Chesterfield I’d head over to and through Chatsworth, Baslow and then right at the lights at Calcer to Grindleford. Straight up to Fox Houses and turn left, down past Surprise View and through Hathersage and straight on to Hope. Turn right onto Edale Road and follow that through Edale and onto Barber Booth. Up Mam Nick (Edale Rd – longer and much nicer than the gurn fest which is Winnats on the other side of Mam Tor). Turn right at the junction and follow Rushup Edge toward Chapel-en-le-frith. Follow the road all the way down into Chapel and go left on Long Lane on the other side of Chapel. Follow this into Dove Holes. Turn right onto the A6 (not as bad as it’s made out to be) into Buxton. Turn left at the round about and follow the road back to Bakewell and on to Chesterfield.
It’s an easy route to plot if you have a map and easy enough to follow on the road. Some beautiful views, quiet roads (some obviously not so quiet), tremendous descents, good challenging but not leg or soul breaking climbs. Not sure of the mileage though. Sorry. I just plotted that as I went along while I’m sat in Buxton’s Costa.
Enjoy your road riding weekend. Both the on and off road riding is excellent round here.

Riding over to Llandegla tomorrow. Camp Just off the Offa’s Dyke and ride back Sunday. Off road wherever possible. Hurling down with rain in the Dark Peak. Hoping to stay dry in Wales though.

Which entrants is that Jekkyl?

I’m in for it next year and I’m already hanging on to every real world experience I can find but part of me is already thinking that the spirit of the race is to just get out there and experience it. Maybe planning too much for every eventuality?

Any mention of what the race ending mechanical was and how it was fixed?

To use the Anker in the USA, do I just need to get the two pin(?) plug in comverter thing?

Looks to me like he’s having a great time and not caring one bit that Jekyl’s head has burst with the inconsideration of not following ‘the correct route’,
How do you disqualify yourself from your own “individual” ride anyway?
I’m in for it next year and if I’ve got half the inclination to have a chat and a laugh with somebody at the mileage that this bloke’s at, I’ll be pretty amazed and I like a laugh and a chat as much as the next person.

Excellemn stuff! I was hoping you’d volunteer James. Just need Crikey and Fat Boy Jon and we have the team back together. Everybody is welcome, the longer you can hang around the better. I’m a really good wheel sucker. How does the weekend of the August bank holiday fit?

I did the Manchester to Blackpool when it went from the city centre on a Cannondale F1000 sl, the lockout on the lefty fork was broken and it had knobbly tyres. I had a nice time and it didn’t hurt one bit. I think you’re over thinking it. Ride the bike you’ve got. It’s only 50 miles and it most definitely is not a race, at all, in any shape or form.
Some of the ladies from work are doing it and they are not cyclist of anybody’s description.
In fact, if you’re determined to do it on a road bike, depending on date, you can borrow my Defy to do it if you like? You’re my height if memory serves.

Road. Possibly the Rapha route. Open to discussion. NOT the route I did 4 years ago to raise the money you lot gave. Christ, it was grim! Fast. But grim!
Join in for sections is fine. Everybody welcome. I’m not raising money this time. Just going for a ride. Training for a big race next year.
They would be the ones Rusty. Sites at Heald Green, Wythenshawe and Little Hulton. My wife is a boss of them. She’s horrible*

*this probably is a lie…..

“30 limit but people regularly drive thru at 50”
My apologies James but my Garmin says I was doing 50.1mph right past your house on my mountain bike on Thursday morning last week.
That is a joyous descent when coming from ‘across the border’ 🙂

Trevor Hork. He has a lisp.

Either Reddish North or Bredbury stations (in Stockport) are on the Manchester to Sheffield line for Hope etc. – as stated, much better than Buxton to ride home from but if it has to be Buxton:
Manchester Road out of Buxton toward Long Hill. Just before it bends left, carry straight on up the singletrack road with the dead end sign. Follow the bridleway all the way round until you drop on the Long Hill above Whaley Bridge. Cross over and go down to the res…. this is rubbish without GPX or map co-ordinates. Sorry. Basically, the above and plot a route into Lyme Park and then over toward Marple and then Black Lane bridleway from behind Marple Hall School to Bredbury Hall then behind British Gas on Reddish Vale into Stockport town centre. It’s not a fantastic route.
Hope etc back to Stockport is superb in comparison. Peak District. Peak District light then the same Bradbury Hall bridleway into Stockport as above.

Not far from my house. Goyt Valley and over to Macc Forest. via Cat and Fiddle and Three Shires Head or through Lyme Park and over to Roman Lakes and Mellor Moor or full on charge at Hayfield and the Dark Peak classics?
Google any of those names with a mountain bike search in Google.
Loads of ace road riding round here as well.

Train to Strines or Marple and ride back. 4 bikes on this morning’s 7.39 New Mills To Piccadilly. I don’t think it came from Sheff. though. Sorry. I don’t get the train often enough to know much more but nobody was enforcing a two bike rule this morning.

Is this depression or properly fed up because I’m heartbroken?

If you can afford it and you want it, get it (whatever ‘it’ turns out to be). Just don’t think it’s going to rocket fuel your performance and get you podiums. Large differences in bikes will only bring about small, if any gains.

I had a Cannondale Flash (alloy) with Lefty and I now have a Giant XTC (carbon). The Flash was lighter, the XTC is now almost as light. Either bike would have and will do just about as good as each other for mid pack XC racing mediocrity. Neither one or the other is going to make a significant difference.
I prefer the XTC for Peak District bridleways and all day riding.

“Surely you can make the ‘village fete’ more interesting if someone is confronting someone? No?”

They’re usually annual affairs rather than weekly.

“Go back next week and do it right this time.”

You’re not quite grasping the concept of ‘village fete’.

I know a guy who was at rock bottom. A hideous childhood, was homeless (living in a Ford Escort), just about hanging on to a very poorly paid job, had some very nasty people looking for him, no family. No notes, no prior mention to anybody (nobody to mention it to in all honesty), made an honest assessment and concluded that he’d really rather not be around anymore. Took enough anti depressants and sleeping pills to end it for an army.
He was found, ambulance, hospital, either a referral to St.James renal unit in Leeds or the mortuary. All without his knowledge. He was all but dead. A&E doctor said “It’s between him and God now” to the student nurse tasked with sitting with him until “he goes off”.
He’s been married to that student nurse for 21 years now.
The point I’m making, (I think) is, you’re lowest point is YOU’RE lowest point. You CAN come back from this. Ride it out. Just keep riding it out. If it seems that it can’t get any worse and yet then, it does, think about that. You were convinced it couldn’t get any worse but yet it did. You didn’t think it could get any worse. You were at your lowest possible. Yet it went even lower…… . You ARE stronger and BETTER than you think you are. It will take effort and energy. You probably don’t have that energy now and you can’t muster the effort but you probably will get that energy soon. Then you can decide if you’re prepared to make that effort.

Christ fella! Is there anything that doesn’t warrant a new thread from you?

I think it’s largely down to how your employer decided to run the scheme rather than a legal rule by HMRC or any of the cycle scheme providers.
Local council I worked for stipulated 12 months employment before it was allowed, current employer it’s out of probation period (which can be anything between 3 and 12 months depending on the job role).
A colleague at my current company was told he could not have a new voucher for two years after his first voucher had expired. He challenged this as there was no stipulation of it in any of the providers rules nor the company’s HR or payroll rules.
After some to-ing and fro-ing, the company decided to allow new vouchers when one and run out and indeed, Cyclescheme invite you to request a new voucher when they email you to advise you of the “final deposit’ payment.

Oh look. The cycle to work pendants are in. Can we get this out of the way? Once and for all? Yes, the scheme was designed to get more people cycling to work. It has worked to some extent but the scheme is being widely exploited. This exploitation is no secret to anybody. Please, can we move on from it. Other cycling forums seem to have mostly let it drop.

Back to the original question. I would go for something with discs but no rack or guard mounts. It wouldn’t see a wet day on the road. At that price, I would purposefully cherish it and keep it for very best and prolong the fun of having something special.

Very helpful Garry, cheers. I can see a route coming together.

We went to see Eye In The Sky at the cinema in Marple on Wednesday evening. They have an interval and an ice cream selling person.
What an utterly depressing little hole it is.

I’d rather ride A roads than canal towpaths and I’ve done Sarn Helen a couple of times but thanks very much for the suggestions. The Sustrans suggestions might be a go’er. I’ll have a look, thanks.
I was looking for something more direct through Derbyshire and into the Midlands – Hereford kind of direction, I think.

East London, Leicester, Derby, Buxton, Manchester. Lots of places in between but I’ve buried them in the back of my mind. It was a death march :-).
Huge thanks as ever to the forum reprobates who came out on the day at different points to take the piss help out and of course, everybody who donated.
I’ve just googled Cubs HQ to Longford Park. 215 miles. Mine was 224. Took 14’ish hours. Got the train there the day before. Dumped the clothes I travelled down in. Rode back. Met a load of people waiting for me with flags and banners at the Velodrome, got a lift home with my wife. Easy! (as if).
Nobody is going to give you much money if it’s easy.
Do something, Go on.
Manchester to Sheffield on road and ride back off road. No logistics to worry about. I’ve done that as well.
Ride a daft bike doing laps of Longford Park. No stopping allowed..10p per lap. Each Sponsor has to commit to paying 10p each per lap, regardless of how many you do. 100 laps is a tenner. 100 sponsors….boom! Job done (how big is Longford Park?)

“Are there any rides before Sept?”
Depends if you do one! Not being an arse but I organised my own single day ride from London Olympic Park to Manchester Velodrome for St. Ann’s Hospice and I raised almost £1500. I reckon about £1200 of it was from the very lovely people on here.
Go on, DO something. Go on.

“If you want to use 35c cross tyres…” Not really what I was exploring but thanks anyway.

I have Specialized Ground Control 2bliss 2.1 front and rear. Hope Pro2 Evo hubs with Hope Tech XC rims and the spokes that they came with. Superlight Schwalbe tubes.
The wheels will be upgraded at a later date but they’ll have to do for now.
I’ll tubeless them this weekend on the current or replacement tyres.

I think I’m happy to concede that ‘cross tyres or anything super skinny is not going to be the revelation I was hooping it was going to be, so thank you.
I’ll have an investigation in to local availabilty of the recommendations for mtb tyres noted above.

Thank you. Any recdommendations for a 1.9 lightweight tyre? I’m just about stopping short of drilling holes in crank arms but the top cap is off and I’m pondering two bolts on the stem rather than four 🙂
Just exploring ideas to see what would work, or not.
I have super lightweight Schwalbe tubes at the moment and I wonder if they’d be lighter than a couple of lengths of insulation tape and a little bit of Stans sealant?