“Blondie meets U2”

Think he made it up on the spot? No! https://twitter.com/campersandband

The Inbetweeners
Misfits
Gavin and Stacey
The Killing (US version is good too)

We couldn’t get on with Mad Men at all – seems you love it or hate it.

This doesn’t make pretty reading:

Even Thrunton was dry this week. Dust and everything!

Ragley Piglet might be worth checking out as an alternative to the BFe. Takes a 130mm or 140mm fork depending on internal or external bottom headset cup.
Just built one up (in large) and the fore-aft balance is spot-on.

A bit of Stan’s fluid squirted into a tube with a removable valve core works great as a puncture deterrent if you don’t have tubeless.

I often ride with long sleeves there to keep the sun off my pasty anglo-saxon skin. The sun will be pretty intense this time of year!

Has anyone said knee and elbow pads yet?

Knee and elbow pads.

I got my LEV from here: purebike.fr

You could order a LEV direct from Germany or France.

Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast

Britax Two-Way Elite here. Fits well in a Mondeo Estate and Honda Jazz. Can be used either-way round.

I were right about that saddle though…

Very happy LEV owner. I much prefer the LEV lever to the pig-ugly and vulnerable Reverb one – mine replaces the inner clamp on an On-One lock-on grip and is as neat as.
If you’ve got two bikes with the same seat-tube diameter, you can easily swap between them using an extra remote kit.

I should probably add that those Monoprices really are very good.
I have some lower-end Sennheisers that they knock into a cocked hat, and they give my home-studio Audio-Technica ones a run for their money.

These:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monoprice-Premium-Hi-Fi-Style-Headphone/dp/B007SP2CO2/

£17. Marvellous!

Halifax Clarity credit card. No fees on cash withdrawal or foreign transactions, proper bank exchange rate. Pay it off asap via internet bank transfer.

Beware AA is not new for old, and theft from a vehicle is limited to £1000 minus excess.

Hi duner,
Jacky offers a wash service for a few euros.

Forecast looks pretty good…starting cool with a few showers on Saturday but then dry and warming up through the week.

Evenings might still be a bit chilly so a fleece or something for the walk up to the bar (if you’ve got the energy!). Some rides go quite high so deffo a shower/windproof. I’ll sometimes take a mid layer of some sort too (Endura jacket thing) if it’s on the cooler side.

I don’t use dual-plys myself, but it’s pretty tough on tyres so probably wise.

Hi duner, see you out there… I’m heading over there on Thursday and some friends of mine will be joining your group on Saturday by the sounds of it.
Any questions fire away…I’ve been going regularly for more years than I care to remember including the odd stint of helping out with the guiding.

Definitely bring pads. Most wear elbows and knees, strapped to bike or pack when not in use. The terrain tends to be rather unforgiving in the event of serious pilot error.

Jez

Beware AA – total liability for theft from a car is £1000 minus £200 excess (can be reduced to £100 – cost to me was extra £20 premium), plus your bike is not new for old – wear and tear is taken into account.

With M&S my renewal went up £80 when I specified a £2500 bike. Then realised excess was £0 – made it £100 and quote came down £100.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/babies-on-bikes

Junior MtbRoutes started on a http://www.safe-t-seat.co.uk/ from about 9 months. She absolutely loves it and is far too excited to contemplate sleeping.
I found a Giro Me2 gave sufficient adjustment for a good fit at that age, and she’s still wearing it now at 17 months. In fact she’ll often ask to wear it about the house!

Confirmed that AA total liability for theft from a car is £1000 minus £200 excess (can be reduced to £100 – cost to me was extra £20 premium), plus your bike is not new for old – wear and tear is taken into account. Cheaper than M&S renewal for me.

M&S my renewal went up £80 when I specified a £2500 bike.

HSBC charged £238 for the bike(!) and not insured in a car unless totally out of sight in the boot (but curiously covered if locked to a rack).

Sat at work wondering when it’ll be worth attempting to cross Newcastle.

We stayed here once – not the cheapest but very comfortable, 10 min walk to Whistler Village. Owner is an mtb guide / instructor (and bob-sleigher!).

http://www.whistlermountainhouse.com

Look out for bears!!

Woo!

Crossed posts – Yes Whole Enchillada includes most of the downhill bit of Porcupine Rim (though the climb at the start of Porc Rim has some nice little tech challenges too!)

Don’t forget Porcupine Rim – classic. You might want to arrange a shuttle in town to cut out some initial road/track to get there.

In September it’ll still be pretty damn hot, so I’d recommend an early start and be off the trail before the full heat of the day. Take loads of water with you and don’t ride alone.

Amasa back works great as an evening ride.

Never had a problem with shops swapping brakes over, just remind them when you take it back.

I would contest that, perhaps apart from Slickrock, the rides on the whole are not that well-marked. +1 for the MTBR forums – it’ll be a whole lot more fun with some locals.

My mate wanted an XL Soul aswell – ended up getting a Sanderson.

Loads of *great* riding in the hills above Orgiva.

My local ASDA does some ‘Bell’ full-fingered gloves for around a fiver which are absolutely fine.

Doogy rev!

Just outside Breckenridge in May.

If you happen to make it to Moab…

Poison Spider, Moab

leading to The Portal

You’ll be spending too much time in the car with that itinerary!

Breckenridge is just 2-3 hours drive from the airport and has some good riding if you can handle the altitude. It’s a ski town in winter so lots of restaurants and touristy stuff. Haven’t been back in a while, but they used to keep some of the lifts open in summer for hikers and bikers. Boulder has a great vibe with lots going on. Fruita is a bit of a one-horse town – worth a visit for the riding but you wouldn’t want to stay there long. We used to ride it in summer but an early morning or evening ride would be recommended.

^ me too!

You may need to slide forward onto the nose of the saddle too.

In 1998 I bought a Klein Mantra. It was the most lethal machine to ride! It used to jack you up and out the front door at the first sign of trouble.
Nevertheless I stuck with it (big investment!) and we did some fairly epic stuff together.