A map showing Sloppy Wood probably gives a fair idea what to expect at this time of year :(

Mud is a good point: my memories of hopwas as a kid are of vast bogs that swallowed your wellies. Barnt Green may need to wait for next time but looks like a plan for 2014. I think I’m remembering why childhood holidays were spent driving to the peak.

Thanks everyone, I figured that the chase was probably the best bet on the Lichfield side of Brum but thought I should ask.

Signed up as non resident supporter. I take the point about DCC listening to constituents but as someone who rides from home into the peak I feel I’ve more in common with residents than with those driving in. I’ll share the link with some genuine locals.

Its normal house plant
Of course it is Heisenberg…

In those circumstances I believe it is customary to refer to “a tomato plant” and then tap the side of your nose and wink theatrically

I’m 80kg and use crests in the Peak. They’ve a few scrapes on them but the only time I did any more damage was when I pinch flatted and then clattered a couple more rocks before stopping (there’s a small ding in the rim but they trued up OK and still run tubeless without problems). They’re not a race wheel, when I bought them they were bang in the middle of the Stans range between the weight-limited XC rims at one end and the full-on DH at the other.

I think we can tell from the general whippetry of the pro-full casing pie grumbles that this is a Northern thing, and ergo since all northerners are, without exception, usually wrong on everything we can conclude that a decent pie involves a puff lid on a hearty stew. Anything else is just working class hair – shirt cobblers.

I think you mean

…a southern puff lid on a hearty stew…

breakfast pie

another pie thread

drools onto keyboard…

I wish you’d not started me thinking of pies :cry:

I thought I’d read some strange things on this site but this thread beats the lot. A pie is a pastry container for something tasty, not just your dinner wearing a hat. The pork and black pudding pie I finished as post-ride nutrition today is a case in point: pig, blood sausage, and a bit of jelly contained on all sides by short-crust pastry. Excellent it was too.

2:30-3 shows Potato – good fun when ridden like that!

down the chicken run on the side, do you mean?

But then it’s “his back yard, also known as the Peak District”. I guess he can do what he likes if it’s his.

For those who don’t know it, Narnia is the one that used to have a door for a gate so it was (supposedly) like going through the back of the wardrobe. I realize that describing it as “the one that used to have a door for a gate” is unhelpful if you weren’t there 10 years ago. If you need a hint it’s before you get to hope cross but it may be crap as I’ve not ridden it in years.

Starship Troopers can be viewed (in a chin stroking style) as commenting on fascism and fascist imagery. On the other hand it’s got huge bugs and lots of beautiful people getting killed. I like it both ways.

not sure they were *that* bad but I did know someone who owned a tank (he was a farmer so he had somewhere to drive it) who claimed the fuel consumption was in gallons per mile. fortunately he could run it on red diesel…

I could post the real first mtb

like this but smaller

but i’d rather post my second

looked just like this

softshell is **** brilliant. I absolutely love it for climbing / mountaineering type stuff and would not go back to other systems. Having said that, I don’t use it on the bike: I think the level of exertion, heat output, sweating etc won’t work. Maybe I should try again when it’s really cold – it is very insulating once you get going.

if i remember it right, potato alley is just down to going fast enough that the bike floats over the baby’s heads (i have only ever ridden it on a HT with 80m forks and it was years ago)

I’ve ridden the beast on the same hardtail (crashed and still have the scars) and on a FS. It’s far more interesting and much more satisfying than potato alley, albeit far easier on a modern FS than on a late 90s HT.

Does this mean I’m agreeing with Hora :?

rocketdog (no, I’m not going to do the capitals) – those are fantastic

edit: probably the obvious question: how much photoshop jiggery pokery was involved?

OT I really really liked Alpine A610 when I was a kid, I wander how much they cost now…

I was just thinking similar. The answer is lots

goddamit too slow

that’s what I get for double checking

Alpine A310?

Unfortunately you won’t lose your driving licence for life – Muppet

Hello up there!

is that the sound of pitchforks being sharpened?

searching on trail addiction found it (even though the thread title was train addiction). Cheers, mikewsmith

that’s the one, there were lots of comments about how ludicrous it was. I’m struggling to find what search terms will dig it up. Combinations of peak, wales, difficulty etc aren’t working so far

I’m happy with this phono stage

isn’t it a bit irresponsible taking a small child with him?

Bike tour of NY? I did one with bike the big apple[/url] and it was excellent. They lend you a BSO, there’s a guide, lunch at a micro-brewery (at least there was on the Brooklyn tour), and you get to see all sorts of places you wouldn’t go on your own. Highly recommended and traffic wasn’t a problem because the guide took us on back streets or pavements. Next time I’m back there I’ll be doing another one.

Boston is also nice. Lots of historical stuff to see, and you might be late enough in the year for “New England in the fall”.

i can understand why he might not fancy biting them

I’d be interesting to hear what terms the Scottish use for the English that you would consider to be derogatory as well.

English b@stard was popular when I lived up there. Not directed at me personally, some (not all, obviously) people seemed to think that the word English would always be followed by b@stard(s).

Real? yes.

For real? don’t think so

Unleash a broadside against your flank thrn prepare to be boarded!

shouldn’t that be the other way round?? :?

I have 3 pairs of their shorts all in the same size and it’s like the 3 bears – one too small, one too big, one just right. I like the kit but the sizing is utterly random and it’s not just that they always come up big (or small).

If you want to work in academic research you need one (unless you aim to be some sort of assistant forever).

If you think you’ll be in industry then it *might* help career progression, depending on what you’re doing. Don’t assume you’ll automatically get paid shedloads more because you have letters in front of your name. You do a PhD because you really want to spend another 3-4 years learning an enormous amount about an incredibly specific subject.

I’m very glad I did mine but when I finished I went into a graduate entry level job in industry and it’s quite possible I’d have seen the same career progression without the additional qualification. You need to figure out what you want from it and financial impact. For me, 3 years of MRC funding meant I could maintain a basic lifestyle without building up much more debt. Not sure I’d have done it if I didn’t get that funding, despite how much I enjoyed pushing my intellectual limits a bit.

Edit: should have signed that Dr Nice :wink:

probably a pair of these for alpine climbing

£300ish

I think Ride Sheffield have a wider interest and the name is just where many of them live. John Horscroft who is active in their contacts with Eastern Moors Partnership etc and posts on here sometimes certainly seems to be interested in more than just Parkwood Springs or Lady Cannings.

don’t forget the special IT problems that allowed him to post reports of the cycling trips but not answer emails or make refunds

re the processed meat thing. Low GI doesn’t mean vast quantities of chorizo any more than not being teetotal means getting trollied on special brew every night.

I did the iDave/4HB thing for a while. I wouldn’t stick strictly with it forever but it’s far less painful than simply cutting calories and worked very well for me. I need to do it again but that’s because i’ve been eating too much junk food and not riding enough. Decreasing GI/GL is sustainable and my weakness for dirty carbs is not down to how I previously lost my lard.

Mind you, I might feel differently if I’d tried to buy a training plan…

that last one’s not ridiculous, it’s genius. I imagine the sub who thought it up immediately leaving his desk to go to the pub for the day: “my work here is done”…

Circuit round Ladybower – following the reservoir
Monsal/Tissington etc in White Peak
Loop of new bridleways round Big Moor/Totley Moss/Houndkirk
Longendale Trail

I’d be wary of trying the new bridleways if you want to avoid climbing – could easily find yourself at the bottom of a hill by accident. White peak would be my bet.