The Red still has a diversion, although last time I rode there the trail was passable. The reason for the diversion is that they are logging near the trail and machinery are using the forest roads.

I'd be happy to show you the best bits if you like. If your up for a longer ride then a combo of Red/Blue/Black is brilliant.

oxnop, really good to hear from someone who owns a Beagle and just what I was hoping to hear to be honest.

Having a good to ride is not the only reason to get one, but as I do so much riding it would be great to take a dog. If it didn't work out it wouldn't be the end of the world though.

We have a nice sized back garden which should be suitable, but how easy has your dog been to house train?
Your beagle is very cute, any other tips you have I'd be greatful.

Employ the best coaches and nutritionists.

off-road?

Wiggle/Focus do a 7-day test ride, so you can send it back if you don't get on with it.

Doubt you would have a problem though. Recommended one to a mate who rides at a high level and he is loving it. Not had a single problem.

Selle Italia SLR on the MTBs, Flites on the road bike.
No pain or saddle sores, even after 24hrs.

dhb Knowle shorts are superb. They feel invisible.
Udderly smooth chamois cream works well for me too.

I mean a traditional radio station, as I won't have access to a computer.

He has a massive power output, which was higher than just about anyone in the peleton.

Loosing 7kg while keeping almost all the power puts him around the same power to weight as the best climbers. Simple really. I wonder if his climbing ability has taken him a bit by surprise though, as I certainly never saw him as a world class climber.

I don't think he would be stupid enough to dope though. Just lots of hard work and a well thought out change of disapline.

Michelin bought Air-B a few years back I think, so they are not made any more.

Agree that they were great tubes, although I think the Michelin latex tubes are pretty good as well.

Dura ace has some Ti cogs and its on a spider. Both made it lighter.
Dura ace will shift better, but both should last about the same.

Memory map, sorry :)

Perhaps think of tubeless (not tubular) road wheels.

Shimano and Fulcrum make them, perhaps others as well now. It is the future for the standard clincher, although tubular tyres will always have thier place in races.

Matt, I wasn't aware you could plot a route on multimap.

How do you do that?

Just create a track, save as .gpx file and send to the 705.
Then select saved routes and it will guide you round your loop.

Never heard about the battery problem before. Had no problems with my unit despite plenty of use, no problems for friends who have them either.

The Edge is more of a GPS training tool than a mapping GPS.
The maps are OK at best, but if you plot a route in multimap or something similar then the Edge will follow the track pretty well.

If your after a mapping GPS then the Oregon would be more suitable.

Where do speedplay pedals come into the mix then?
Small platform, similar to MTBs I guess.

Used by loads of pros, so they can't be rubbish.
Personally I think its mostly rubbish and I will continue to use Crank bros candy pedals on my road bike no matter what rides/races I end up doing.

KMC X9.93 chain is brilliant value for money, lighter than top end SRAM and Shimano chains and shifts really well.

Top end KMC chains are just as good, but cost 2-3 times more and only slightly lighter.

I've had Shimano and SRAM in the past and I use KMC chains on all the bikes now. I find them far stronger, but there was a bad batch recently so maybe the breakages above were from that batch.

Used Assos before, which worked OK. But use Udderly Smooth these days and personally I find it better.

On current form it has to be said that Contador is the favourite.
Although the prolouge was only short, he took some time out of Lance and showed his good TT form. Now in the mountains he showed that he is still a great climber.

I'm not sure if Lance was strong enough to go with him, but even if he was he would not have followed. It would have been a foolish move. The most he was able to do was shadow other riders, which is exactly what he did.

It would be great to see Wiggins get a top finish. Given his current TT and climbing form a top 5 isn't impossible, although top 10 more likely.

As far as the leaders are concerned I can't see anything changing for the next week or so until the TT or maybe stage 16 in the alps.

Focus Super Bud Pro from Wiggle?
Reba fork, SLX & XT drivetrain and brakes.

Green is fairly timid, although even an experienced rider can have fun with some speed.
The blue follows mainly the same trails, with a few extra. One section in particular is superb. Rideable by anyone, as there are lines around anything that might seem too big, but lots of flow plus a few optional tabletops, jumps and berms for more adventurous riders. Easy to link into the black as well if you fancy a bit more.

Can’t wait to see what happens on Friday, first day in the Mountains :)

I’ve bought cheaper eze-ups in the past and they never last, infact they have all broken in the first use.
IMO your better off looking at a big tent, or tent shelters.

Depends on what big a shelter you want and how much you have to spend though.

I think we will find out for sure on the first mountain stage, but my money would be on Contador… but I wouldn’t bet against Lance doing it.

Armstrong is no longer dominating the Time trials like he used to, so it will all depend on his climbing.

Quite like the banana Rego. Using High5 these days and the summer fruits is great when mixed with water or milk.

Both much nicer than the 2 Torq flavours I have tried. Chocolate Orange nearly made me barf.
Everyone is different though.

The new Kiron is out in Wiggle. Well worth a look, at £800.

Do you change bikes between laps and do you therefore have more than one number booard?

I have 2 bikes, although I don’t swap them every lap, just when something needs doing, like oiling a chain, putting lights on, changing tyres. At events where it has been super muddy you are changing bikes every lap, but not at Mayhem this year.

At mayhem Soloists are given 2 number boards. Most events don’t do this, so a marker pen on the back of an old number is the easiest solution.

nick, were you one of the trio (or was it a quad?) or Mule bar guys going round? If so you all seemed to be having a good time going round :)
It pays to be patient and polite. Although seconds count, it is usually a case of more haste, less speed.

Yeh, very happy with the lap times.

All within a few minutes up till it got dark and then rained and from then on all around 1hr.
I think that is my most consistent 12/24hr race to date.

Matt, do you know what your average lap time and quickest lap was?

Wont know for sure until the results are out, but my first lap was ~45min including the run, then settled into 50-53 minute laps I think. Later in the race lap times were nearer 1hr, with the odd one a little over. I was able to take it easy on the last lap, which was my longest of the race, but not sure how long that was.

and what are you doing to recover now that it’s over? do you ache/do you feel tired/drained?

Been feeling OK today. Went out on the bike for 15min just to see how things are. Amazed to find everything still works as normal, including my rear which can still sit on a SLR saddle without any pain, the dhb Knowle shorts are simply amazing! My triceps are hurting the most, which I put down to the course being quite bumpy. I fully expect it all to catch up with me later in the week, usually the 2nd or 3rd day after.

Secondly, Matt I’m dieing to know if the pros were suffering as badly as I was on 12 year old tyres (which were rubbish when new!) in the muddy ruts. Any walking/running or did you stay clipped in and ride out the lot?

I slipped off and walked once or twice on the climb to the cottage, but rode it fine almost every lap even with a slick rear tyre. The only other bit I had problems with was the off-camber slippy/rooty bank towards the end of the race. Plus one rather funny 180 degree spin on the muddy descent to the pond, but every other lap was fine as long as I had a clear track in front. No crashes or falls though.

I guess every soloist will have a different approach, but your right that you burn a huge amount of calories and I don’t believe its possible to replace the amount used.

One of the hardest things when soloing is making yourself eat when perhaps you don’t want to. Luckily I didn’t feel like that at all during the race, which was a first for me.
Climbing the Kenda Climb wasn’t too bad to be honest. I climbed it in the same gear every lap in order to stay consistent and didn’t use the granny ring at all during the race.

I was also a little disapointed that the “mince” route was shorter. I did the steep descent 6 or 7 times before realising that I was passing people twice on a lap. I did the shorter route every time after that as seconds were getting quite precious.

I didn’t think the mud was that bad this year. Not as much of it and not as sticky as previous years. I stayed on the same tyres for the whole race, 2.25″ Rocket Ron on the front and 2.25″ Furious Fred on the back. No real problems other than the off-camber bank that no-one was riding.

A big thank you to everyone who was cheering me on during the race. The support I was getting from others racing and spectators was fantastic and made a massive difference.

I completed 26 laps in the end. Starting my final lap at 23hrs 40min into the race.

I do feel sorry for Ian Leitch though, would likely have had it in the bag, but broke his collar bone a couple of weeks ago.

Although you may not believe me, I was gutted when he told me as well as we were both looking forward to the showdown. But I can’t race against people who are not there and anything can happen in a 24hr race, so your comment is unjustified.

Hopefully Ian will mend soon and we can go head-to-head at another event in the year.

Love my Edge 705.
Nothing else out there that does so much, so well.

If your not going to use the mapping, then the 305 is more suitable and still has the same cycle computer/HRM features, just lacks the screen size and colour + mapping.

Really enjoyed the event on the day, but when I saw the results last night I didn’t think they were accurate and it seems like I might have been right.

Hope they sort it out before the December event.

Best – Legnum VR-4. I adore them and they do everything well. Plus, they’re stealthy but can beat virtually anything on the road

Everyone is different I guess, but I owned a Legum VR4 and it was the worst car I ever bought. Maybe my fault for buying a high mileage car though.
I found it rather boring to drive. A bit too much like playing a playstation… you just turned the wheel and the electronics did the rest. Quick, but dull.

Brechfa and Nant-yr-Arian are my favourites.

They are all good though, but for different reason the two above stand out for me.

Best:
Integra DC2. Loved it so much and the only car I really miss.

Worst:
Ford Fusion. Just rubbish. Handles like a boat and the clutch doesn’t seem to work properly.

Quite fond of the Mondeo ST TDCi estate we have now in a ‘do it all’ kind of way.

George beat me in a sprint by a tyres width :)
Rode around both laps together, really enjoyed it.

Amanda won the womens.

Fantastic weekend all round.

Good company, good racing, good course. Good haribo as well :D

2010 is down with us at Brechfa, S.Wales.
About 30 min past Afan.

Killer Bees and Vredestein tyres in general have much thicker sidewalls than Schwalbe. Might be a good choice if your in an area where slicing sidewalls might be a problem?
Downside of them is they are a bit heavier.