Nope, strained a muscle in my thigh so going to have to sit it out. Going to see if they still need marshals as I don’t want to miss out on the Beerstalker afterwards, a great night! 🙂

Go out on Tuesday or Wednesday night and flog yourself then don’t do anything. I think the theory is that your body will over-recover, leaving you primed for the run on Saturday. Although I had no motivation to run this year and had done very little before injuring myself, was just getting into it again too, so planning to get going once thigh is better and keep it going throughout the year.

How did it go?

I’ve been thinking of losing my mop and can’t decide on a professional or the clippers…

Loddrik – would a Klein with the Maverick rear end be of interest? A mate has one and I could see if he wants to sell it…

Fair enough Teej I was just feeling a bit contrary and liked my opening line, so much so I’ll repeat it 😀

hope I’m not putting words in his mouth, although nobody else seems to worry about that around here

Oh dear, I must be bored!

A friend and I once had three MXers behind us on the Black, on one of the first sections after the top carpark. We rode it as slow as possible so they couldnt get a good run at it. Partly to annoy them and partly so that we kept in their line of sight so they didn’t collect us as they came round a corner at speed. Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not but felt like the best course of action at the time.

TJ – I hope I’m not putting words in his mouth, although nobody else seems to worry about that around here, but I can’t see where

northwind pointed out earlier tho singletrack have previous on this

It looks to me more like he’s pointing out previous form from other mags;

it’s not just STW

As to the OP; I don’t think that is going to encourage many more mountainbikers to ride up there than would do it anyway, probably after coming on here to get some info on a route!

As I read it, it was locals (Scots) who rode the route and wrote the article, not

folk south of the border

Podge – YGM

Cairngorm being closed when we went up last Sat has me thinking of flexing the plastic on a late season week in St Foy where a friend is working for the season.

Trying to do winter sports in Scotland is getting tiring; never seem to be free on the days there is snow and the roads and lifts are open 🙁

I don’t use cages or a camelback for water with my frame bag. Bladder in the frame bag* to keep the weight low and a normal bike bottle at the front of the frame bag. A light tug of the zip and the bottle is in your hand, no more challenging than getting it out of a bottle cage.

*or in the case of the hottest days of my trip through Spain that would be bladder plus extra two litre bottle in the frame bag and another two litres strapped on the back!

nah, scrub that can’t be arsed…

A friend in work got a bunch of scaffold boards from a bloke on Seafield Ind Est to make his raised beds but he’s not in at the mo to check what it’s called. Pretty sure they were cheap as chips too.

This video has either been removed from Facebook or is not visible due to privacy settings.

Dunno other than to find your train on the trainline website then check which companies it is and book through their own websites to save a couple more quid.

You can also sometimes save money breaking it into several smaller sections which are all the same train but I’ve never managed to save anything with it. Try teh moneysavingexpert site for tips.

Ah ha! extra 25% off is now being added automatically! Although it is worth having a scan through the non-seconds too as there are some real bargains in there too.

Damn it! waited until after watching a film to look, was going to get three pairs, two for me and one for the gf – unfortunatly the last chance code ended at midnight, so on the 6th not after the 6th 🙁 – doh! That’ll teach me not to procrastinate so much!

Now have to decide if I should get the two pairs anyway or just the one…

Slugwash-
1 -make a cardboard template to fit your frame
2 -make two triangles slightly bigger than said card from your material
3 -make 3 rectangles the length of the sides of your triangle and as wide as you want the bag to be
4 -sew it all together adding a zip on one side and not forgetting to put some velcro in there to attach it to the bike.
5 -fill it with goodies and go bikepacking/touring (depending on what you prefer to call it)

The zip is the most awkward bit to do but a bit of patience and you’ll get there. Look at some MYOG backpacking sites for more sewing tips.

HTH 😀 – It’s not up to Eric’s standards but worked well for me as long as you’ve got the time to spend being patient making it.

Oh, and if anyone has any tips for a seatpack, or a template, it would be much appreciated.

you can get a free energy saving plug via cyclescheme at the mo, no need to have used them before.

standby killer

iDump worked for me

Just before christmas 2009 I hit a woman on Waverly Bridge. I was coming from the east end of Princes St and had been waiting at the lights, they turned green and I rode round the corner in the middle of the lane, to a road full of people, being closley followed by a Sprinter van. After some loud shouting and maybe a little swearing (a lot of volume was required due to teh funfair in the Gardens), most people either dashed on or stepped back except this lady who paused, stepped back then scuttled forward directly into where I had moved to try and avoid her. Even though I was going very slowly I still collected her and went over the bars. Luckily for us both the van stopped short of my back.

I threw my bike off me, got up, asked if she was ok and offered a hand to help her up. She didn’t utter a word, just got up and walked off. I got to chat two of Lothian and Borders finest, who had sort of seen what had happened from the roof of teh Princes Mall. They were actually very good and only took a statement in case she later tried to accuse me of anything. While I was talking to them at least two other people that had seen it came up to ask if I was ok and tell the cops that it was definatly not my fault, which was nice!

Oh dear – I really need to get better at being more succinct with my postings! 😀

Oh, and I’ve never bothered with any sealant between the two sections of can and I haven’t died yet 🙂

Al – they’re really easy, even I managed it. Instruction for several variants here:Zen Stoves . The best one I have made is a side burner (like the Coke one above) Red Bull can one. The side burner means you can just set your pot on to when it is going and don’t need a seperate pot stand.

The lightweight backpacking sites have loads of people experimenting with variations on the design.

I can also recommend making a pot cosy out of the foil bubble wrap stuff you get for behind radiators. Instead of boiling your food, just boil the water then put the pot into the cosy and the food in the water and it cooks really well as well as not sticking to the pot – makes especially good porridge.

Ahem! – I’ll just try that again as the forum maintenance started while I was trying to fix the links 😳

That’s my lunch trying to escape off the back.

And if they haven’t worked I give up, they’re

here!

Since someone else started it… a couple of pics from my trip across Spain, I think it was 14 nights, only 3 of which weren’t outdoors 😀

No issues with the one on my Swift, apparently Phil Woods are the best but I wouldn’t know.

In fact I think I was supposed to get mine replaced when Sam got more in as he sent me one from a demo bike to get me going until they arrived, but I never saw the point as I couldn’t see what difference it would have made…

Swift is an ace bike too – fact!

Wot you done Mark? Was wandering why there weren’t any TBC rides so far this year.

I’ve been de-motivated for a bit and am feeling unfit, but I know it’s temporary and I’m making the most of the snow while it’s on t hills.

An enforced lay off for about a year due to injury about 4 years ago made me realise how much I love being on a bike of any sort.

Always up for some epic bivy bike action if anyone needs some company and I’m having bad thoughts about buying a DH bike too. I should have learnt the same lesson as Mark by now, but I’m a dreamer! 😀

Pretty much what everyone else has said. Just built up my hardtail again to work on some skillz, may even put a 24″ back wheel into it to see if that’ll help with manualing.

I’m a microbiologist but never done any typing on mould, just general yeast and mould tests. The English water companies have bigger labs that do a wider range of tests (not just on water) than we did.

P.S. we had a minimum charge of £250/month and that was over 5 years ago.

Try your local water companies labs, if they won’t do it they’ll probably be able to point you in the right direction. Won’t be cheap though…

Pretty sure she’d eat Sharks for brekkie too! 🙂

Hi AJ

We took the train to Mallaig then the ferry across to Armadale in the afternoon. A short ride across to near Tarsknavaig where we bivied the first night.

Day two we rode round to Elgol via a cracking wee tea shop on the road between Broadford and Elgol.

Day three we headed across the bridge to the mainland, stopping for fish and chips in Kyle before riding round the coast to Plockton, in all imaginable wearthers! Decided to push on a bit so rode on to Strathcarron where we spent an enjoyable evening in the hotel bar before retiring for the night to our bivy bags under a bridge.

Day four was a short ride over the Bealach to Applecross and two great meals in the Applecross Inn.

Day five we took the long way out of Applecoss to our only night in a real bed at the YHA in Torridon.

The last day we woke to heavy rain and the shortish ride to the station at Achnasheen via another tea shop in Kinlochewe, I think, where the owner totally mothered us getting us sorted out and drying by the stove before trying to get us to order anything 🙂

It was both of our first tour and we found that we had totally underestimated the mileages we could do in a day. However, we also found lots of great wee tea shops in which to spend the extra time we had. Commendations have to go to: the Blue one, possibly called the Wee Blue …. on the road from Broadford to Elgol, near Torrin I think. The little hut in Sheildaig and the old scout hut in Kinlochewe.

It would be a crime to pass through Applecross and not have seafood in the Inn. The tea shop in the walled garden was pretty good too 🙂

Any more info just shout!

My Singular Swift with my own frame bag

If that has worked, I’m getting a red x but that often happens when I’m on here at work 😳

If not it’s here: Swift
This was atop the Bealach na ba, some changes were made for an off road Spanish tour in September but I don’t have pictures of that anywhere I can link to from here. I’ll maybe add them later on.

Local boys done good innit – I (just) remember when it was a wee LBS in Ballyclaire.

Personally I like one or two of the other shop chains much less.

On Opera here too- although I don’t think it’s officially supported – and not noticed any issues. None on my Blackberry either.

I totally agree with Northwind except i’ve a Joplin 3. Just got it back after a wee visit to 2pure (excellent service) and totally missed it on the last ride with a normal post.

Great for those short technical sections you wouldn’t normally bother adjusting it for and as NW says, the wee climbs in a descent where you’d usually just stand and knacker yourself or sit and kill your knees.

I find that, even though it’s probably less than I would have previously dropped the saddle, 3 inches is enough although 4 would be nice 😉

NZCol – You’re in Christchurch aren’t you?

Are the two pubs the one with all teh German beers and the Dux Deluxe? I managed to find them both on my one full day there a couple of years ago 😀

Oh and I’d say some sort of mirrored lens.

Why?[\quote]

‘Cos they look cool? 🙂

Actually, I thought it helped reduce glare for lighter tints.

For goggles try them on, I found most of the big names are too narrow for my face. Spy and Anon work for me.

Do you have goggles for biking? Check out what snow lenses are available to fit the frames you have…

Oh and I’d say some sort of mirrored lens.

Never been out in Leeds 🙁

This may be of use: employee rights kinda stuff for in the snow and that ken?

This being the important bit, for me anyway, different if your work is still open…

“Workplace closures
If no work is available to you (eg the office has closed and you do not work at home) then your employer cannot dock your pay or require you to take annual leave.”

Got a good laugh a Stevenson on Newsnight Scotland last night; what an ass!

I’ve another snow day so heading north for boarding falling on my ass – soz fellas you’ll just have to manage to finish your pints without me 😆