Of course they were wrong, they were making a political statement.

And this is where I end my involvement. Ernie’s entitled to a view, my view differs, and that’s not going to change.

If we don’t challenge, then things just stay the same. And although I’m not at all sure that people wearing T-shirts with political slogans at the Olympics would make much difference, it’s worth a shot if that’s the way you want to get your message across. It may not be in accordance with the Olympian ideals, but then the modern games (professional athletes, huge sponsorship) aren’t exactly what de Coubertin had in mind either.

If there is a “political” position to be taken by the Olympic Games, eg, the promotion of racial harmony, equality, etc, then that should be decided by the International Olympic Committee, not self-appointed individuals.

So Carlos and Smith were wrong, correct?

Only if you think that discriminating against people based on the colour of their skin is a legitimate political opinion. Most people don’t, and see it for it is – just discrimination.

So were Smith and Carlos right or wrong to use the world stage to make their protest in Mexico City? I believe they were absolutely justified; what’s your take?

If making a political statement is that important to you, then the obvious solution is that you trot off somewhere else to make it, rather than attend an Olympic event. You are very free to make that choice. The Olympic Games weren’t set up to act as your personal soap box you know.

Nothing was set up as my personal soap box. But if I want to demonstrate, the best place to do it is where it will get publicity. It’s not up to you or anyone else to tell me where I’m allowed to do this.

And although Carlos & Smith were banned from the 1968 Olympics (incidentally, the IOC president at the time was a well-known Nazi sympathiser – check this if you don’t believe me), they’re now mentioned slightly more warmly on the IOC’s own website: “Over and above winning medals, the black American athletes made names for themselves by an act of racial protest. During the medal presentation ceremony, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medal winners in the 200m, raised a black-gloved fist and hung their heads when their country’s national anthem was played. In doing this, they were protesting against racial segregation in the United States.”

I’m not saying that I want to wear a political T-shirt, I’m saying that it’s Britain, I’m a citizen, I might choose to. I have the right to paint my face blue and sing in Norwegian in the High Street. It doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, but it would be my right. And I can see no reason that I’m not allowed to wear clothing that some G4S drone might object to. How about a T-shirt saying “The Olympics are a spectacular waste of money” – what d’you think my chances of wearing that at the Games are? Slim to none, I’d say. But it’s not overtly political, and even if it were, it’s just my opinion. Why should I give that up?

So where do you draw the line? And why is it that you seem determined that we should give up our rights, for which people have died, to make sure there’s undemanding and safe TV?

Dennis Leary had it about right:” I’m into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. Okay? I want to smoke Cuban cigars the size of Cincinnati in the nonsmoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green Jell-O all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I might suddenly feel the need to. Okay, pal?”

Why would you need to make a partisan political statement at a sporting event ?

I don’t need to, but I might choose to. The whole point of a democracy is that we should be allowed to make our point whenever we wish to, peacefully, without restriction by the state.

And when did it become acceptable that democracy is partial – that it’s OK to say/do/wear something elsewhere in the UK, just not, God forbid, in front of the cameras in the Olympic stadium?

The comparison with China is entirely valid, and not in the least hysterical – China, the hosts of the last Olympics, was (rightly) criticised for clamping down very hard on any political messaging, particularly around the issue of Tibet, and especially in the stadium. But it’s OK for us to do the same, it appears.

In any case, the Olympics as a non-political spectacle? Really? Look back at the actions taken by governments over the years, and tell me the Olympics is in any way politics-free.

If you want to make a point concerning for example, the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, then you have plenty of platforms where that can be achieved. There is absolutely no need to use the Olympic Games.

So you support the view that the state should be able to censor freedom of speech just because it makes Britain look all nice and neat? I’m gobsmacked, I really am.

We don’t live in China, so let’s not adopt their human rights practices.

it would make no sense to allow someone to stroll into the venue with a “British Get Out Of Afghanistan” banner/tee shirt.

You’re taking the piss, right? Please say you are.

If a T-shirt is offensive, fair enough, ban it on the grounds of decency. But if I have the right to walk around the UK with a ‘British Get Out Of Afghanistan’ T-shirt – and I have – then why on earth shouldn’t I be able to do that at the Olympics?

If you are working there I have heard that using the wrong brands of phone can get you escorted from the venue.

That sounds a bit tinfoil-hat, even to my jaundiced ears.

You could start off with a few minutes of nice, sincere stuff, then segue into the embarrassing details:”before you run away with the idea that he’s Mr Goody Two-shoes, whose most fervent desire is to stay at home with a cup of milky tea, reading the Bible, I feel it’s only fair to give the other side of John. We were in this bar in Mombasa and………”[insert gory story]

I award you the award for talking the biggest load of tripe on STW this year!

You wanted to go so you applied for tickets, but because you didn’t get any now you’re glad you’re not going.

Right

I see.

I wanted to go. I support the Olympics.

I don’t think the security programme is anything other than window dressing, but I’d have put up with it (because I’d have no choice). That’s not the same as agreeing with it. As it is, I got no tickets, so at least I’m spared the charade of G4S ‘protecting’ me.

Tripe? If you say so.

Sorry Nick, i don’t really get the point of your post. You’re saying the counter terrorism measures don’t work, so what? We shouldn’t bother with them? Or that we should just carry on and let the deluded fools walk into Al Qaeda’s trap while the smart people aren’t bothering to go to the Olympics because they can see it’s all a sham?

My point is this – if you really think there’s a terrorist threat, spend the money on intelligence. Don’t spend millions on something that effectively makes the terrorists’ points for them (i.e that they have significant power and can affect the lives of everyone in Britain) when it’s not the case.

It’s not just the Olympics, it’s airports/stadia/ferries/museums(!)…you name it, there’s a security goon there ‘for your own protection’ who doesn’t actually deliver any real protection. I’m not saying that queuing up to prevent an attack is a waste of time because there won’t be an attack, it’s that if there were to be an attack, this sort of checking would almost certainly not have prevented it.

As I said before, there are a multiplicity of ways to get dangerous materials through, and if we think that queuing up will somehow prevent this, we’re at best astonishingly naive. And by acting as if the terrorists are a real, credible and daily threat, we’re giving them the oxygen of publicity, which is exactly what they want. Never thought I’d agree with Thatcher on anything, but she was right on this.

I wouldn’t trust a CB product on my bike anywhere much less a safety-critical places like bars

Agreed. Every single thing of theirs that I’ve tried has broken.

I destroy other stuff as well, but nowhere near to the same degree.

Mint Sauce key rings?

Rachel

Annoyed that you beat me to it!

I didn’t get any tickets, so I’m miffed anyway, but I’m exceptionally glad that I’m not going. For all of the show of security, don’t you think that any potential terrorist has already figured out a way of getting their weapons of destruction in?

After all, there’ll be literally hundreds of trucks delivering goods every day (to McDonalds and the like) – do you honestly think that every inch of every vehicle will be checked? All you need is collusion between a driver and a member of the receiving staff, and you can get stuff in. The major security screening areas at airports and the like are regularly bypassed by large numbers of people—maintenance staff, shop workers, airline staff, and security themselves. Almost all of those jobs are crappy, low-paid jobs with really high turnover. If you’re a serious plotter, don’t you think you could get one of those jobs? And look at the people G4S have hired – none of the people I saw yesterday on the TV filled me with any great confidence, and the only check that’s done is to see if they pass the standard police reconds review. Gosh, if only al-Qaeda had thought of using people without a criminal record, eh?

And then there’s the shoes. Taking off your shoes is next to useless. Saying that we all have to take our shoes off because they might contain explosives is almost as bad as saying that the terrorists wore red shirts last time, so we should probably ban all red shirts, and that’ll make us safer. If our beloved security services focus on shoes, it’s not beyond the wit of man to believe that terrorists will simply put their explosives elsewhere; the result is that a load of time is spent on the screening but there’s no reduction in the total threat.

What about those swabs they have, you know, the ones they rub over the keyboard of your laptop? This is a test for explosives, which would be excellent if you assume that terrorists are pig-thick. Apparently the idea is that al-Qaeda has never heard of latex gloves and wiping down with alcohol.

I absolutely understand that the purpose of terrorism is to terrorise, and nothing could be better for some bad guys than to disrupt the Olympics. But if terrorists really want to do this, and you lock down the Olympic Park that tightly, what’s to stop a committed terrorist from detonating something in, say, the Blackwall Tunnel? Certainly close enough to cause pandemonium, and it would inevitably be linked to the Games. Just fill a car with explosives, drive through it tomorrow, and job done. Total chaos, the Olympics is in panic, and your aims are achieved.

So what you’re left with in all of this security checking is a bit of pantomime. [Oh yes you are.] The message given is that we, the Government, are doing everything we can to protect you. Thing is, the actions that really make you safe – better intelligence mainly – don’t address public fears because they can’t be seen. But that’s OK, you can justify the pantomime because, to start with at least, a show of strength, no matter how pointless, has the effect of instilling that confidence. After a very short while, however, the message has changed. At first the additional security guard at Luton Airport reassures you, but after a while, you either continue to take it seriously, in which case you start to believe that air travel is really dangerous, or you become astonishingly cynical like me, and believe it’s a total and utter waste of time and money, a sop by a cynical government to pacify the gullible masses.

100ml bottles? An utterly pointless triviality. If you think it makes you safer, you’re deluded. You should be angry about this, not just nod your head and meekly accept this tripe. But instead we’ll all shuffle around, bleating about ‘the common good’ and ‘the need for security’. How utterly British of us.

I’m not surprised at the verdict – you have to give the benefit of the doubt.

But it remains my unshakable belief that John Terry is a racist. Sadly, this doesn’t lower my opinion of him, which was already at floor-level.

And just for you, CaptJon, proof that this forum’s pretty good.

I’ve had a quote to produce the required item, made from reclaimed oak (from a Brixton church, of all places) and fully finished, for less than just the labour cost quoted to me yesterday by the original bunch. Pays to shop around, doesn’t it?

Honda SP-2

A genuinely great bike, which combines all the fun of V-twin with the reliability of a Honda. Hugely charismatic as well, and sounded like thunder. All in all, the bike I most miss.

Can you not do it then?

Frankly, I could, though to get a good finish it’d take me ages

I don’t have the time or equipment, and wouldn’t be able to source wood at a decent price. So I’m absolutely happy to pay, but when you’re told that you have to buy a minimum 3m from a joiner, and that he then wants to charge £250 for shaping said wood, that starts to feel a bit pricey.

Bash on then.

Wow, turning work down? I’m impressed.

When I say it’s simple, I mean it’s a flat surface, there are no complex curves, and it won’t require anything other than standard machinery. It certainly shouldn’t take a skilled person the half-day I’ve been quoted.

So according to an article in the Sunday Times, 106,000 miles is the average at which a car is scrapped. Really? that is rubbish….!

That’s an average. Most cars do less than 15k per year (and small cars average much less, more like 8k per annum), so they’re saying that cars are scrapped, roughly, at around 10-12 years.

Look at the number of cars that are written off through accidents that are 5 years or less, consider the economic value of a 10-year old Clio or Mondeo (approximately sod-all) which just requires a dead clutch to scrap it, and you’ll see that the average 106k miles is probably accurate-ish.

Not that I support this – my 2 cars have a combined mileage of just under 300k and I’ve no intention of changing them for a good while yet. Then again, I’m prepared to pay the bills to maintain them to as-new standards. Most people are not.

I had my lovely new injectors done last month. There hadn’t been a hint of trouble from the previous ones in the previous 145k miles and five years.

Still, no point in turning down the replacement of something that might well go wrong eventually!

Oh. How is she these days? Hip any better?

Now than is funny.

There are Olympic lanes for the whole of my commute, which will, in practical terms, mean that I’ll travel rather faster than usual. No way am I staying out of them.

Yes – but in actual practice you do not get charged for evacuation off the mountain unless you have insurance.

There has been mutterings about charging people for evacuation off the mountains but it is not normal practice.

TJ, can I ask you to substantiate this claim? Additionally, can you tell the people who’ve been charged €2000 and upwards for helicopter rescue that they in fact didn’t need to pay, and that it must be some sort of admin error.

Mavic 819 or 823 are excellent, if narrow. Pretty much bombproof too.

Mountain biking got really quite big a few years back, and the demand for events grew.

Now that many of us have done Mayhem four or five times, we know the location and the course, and some of the fun has gone. Many of us also remember the truly appalling conditions and it’s hard to get people to come along to that a second or third time.

And I think mountain biking has had its Elvis year – people are moving on to other things.

I was at 24:12 this weekend, and enjoyed it, but the rain-shortened course was either cataclysmically dull or unrideable. Not sure I’d hurry back if it wasn’t for the blokes I did it with, and given it’s a 5-hour drive and we were camping in a waterlogged field, I’ll need some persuasion to do it even with them.

Sorry to hear of the injury and the aftermath, and pleased to hear of the recovery.

I have a chalet in Morzine, and at the height of the summer it’s not uncommon to hear the medical helicopter several times a day. It’s one of the reasons that I wear a pressure suit and full-face helmet if I’m doing any sort of even vaguely serious riding.

(1) The proper equipment is VITAL. My wife’s cousin came out to do PPdS with us last year on a Specialized FSR XC – a perfectly fine bike, but utterly unsuited to the conditions (size of brake rotors, type of tyres, suspension travel), which made things a lot more difficult. He didn’t have a great time as a result, and crashed out repeatedly as a result. On the other hand, I stuck a friend of mine on a stick-tyred 190mm travel DH bike the other week and trundled down some easier runs into town with now problems. The bike gave him the confidence to ride through braking bumps and the like, whereas I’ve seen any number of people crash out on these. Obviously there are those who can ride a penny farthing down Mont Blanc, but in the realm of mere mortals, something with a slackish head angles, large brake rotors, a decent amount of travel and high-volume strong-sidewalled tyres will make things a lot easier.

Body armour will probably not stop major injury, but it will reduce the severity. A full-face helmet will not prevent a broken neck, but will ensure you lose fewer teeth, probably don’t have a broken jaw, and will likely avoid concussion.

(2) Mountain biking in the Alps is NOT like riding in the UK – it’s a much higher-consequence environment, both in terms of likelihood of crashing, possible severity of injury and financial consequence.

(3) Insurance is massively useful, but will not cover everything at the time. Even if you can claim back later, make sure you can access a reasonable sum (think €1000) in the event that you’re delayed/need to buy tickets etc. Just make sure there’s space on your credit card and you’ll be fine.

(4) Learn to ride the terrain. Sounds condescending and obvious, but it’s not meant to be. If you ride mainly in the forests on mud, then big rocky sections in the Alps will be a massive shock. Either ride them in the UK (Peak District etc) and get used to them, or take it easy when you get out here. And even crashing on a gravel path can be horrific, as due to the gradient you’re often travelling faster and will slide further. It’s worth getting a guide (even at the €200 it will cost per day) to get you up to speed.

If you’re going to ride the higher-risk areas on an XC bike (and why not – it shouldn’t all be lift-assist) then ride well within both your and the bike’s capabilities.

And you’re on holiday, sure, but take it easy and build up. You can really injure yourself in the Alps (other mountain ranges are available, obviously), and a quick afternoon stroll through Morzine in summertime will reward you with the sight of many plastered/strapped arms/legs/shoulders, plus more gravel rash than you can shake a stick at.

Setting fire to tenners is a cheaper alternative…..

Just got some Hans Dampf – no idea if they’ll be suitable, but it’s just such a cool name.

He may have recorded it, he may even believe it, but if he’s that good he should be leading the WC series.

As he isn’t, I suspect he’s just plain wrong or telling porkies. Either way, hitting even 60kph in mud would take an exceptional rider; most mere mortals in proper mud on a slope steep enough to even approach that sort of speed would be crashing out well before that.

The VTOPO book is excellent – cost something like €15, and it’s paid for itself many times over in terms of fun new descents.

You’re so right weeksy, though it depends on the bike. Once I got myself a well-used (i.e. don’t care what happens to it) DH bike, it suddenly became a lot faster and a lot easier – momentum is your friend on this one, though I now have some significant dents in the downtube from flying rocks.

Carlos, this is probably what you’re looking for

This is such a load of crap, we rarely ran DH tubes on my brothers bike at races and nor did many other people. Ever so often we’d put a heavier tube on the rear but not often and not a full-on DH tube!

Are you always so charming?

It may have been the case that your brother was after ultimate speed, which would make sense as a racer. For me, however, I want to make sure I make it through that spiky rock garden without a puncture. Speed simply doesn’t enter the equation.

Don’t know what clearance you’d have on your 5 Spot – I managed to get 2.5 Diesels in but it was pretty tight at the rear, so not a lot of use if it’s muddy.

2.5 High Rollers don’t come up that big anyway so you might well be OK.

And definitely get the DH casings plus run DH tubes – since doing this I very rarely get punctures in the Alps. Adds a few pounds to the bike though.

Then stay away until you become a more competent rider instead of whinging and having tracks altered like we’re increasingly seeing?

Not an entirely constructive comment – the terrain in the Alps is very different to the UK, and the only way I’ve got better at riding in that area is to ride that area more. I’m still far from great – massive jumps and drops aren’t my sort of thing at all – but if I’d left all of the harder riding until I was better I’d still not be attempting them.

Agree with both of the above – definitely dual ply. I tend to use High Rollers almost all of the time, in 2.5 width.

Nickf – can’t wait to do the GR5 in a few weeks, and am I right it would be ok for my Wife, who is pretty inexperienced ie you can pootle along. Also the DH into Les Linerates – can she bypass this via a fire road?

You can certainly pootle much of it, but there are a couple of sections where a reasonable level of skill comes in handy – you have to know when to get right off the brakes and let momentum take you through a rock garden, or how to deal with lots of loose stones, stuff like that. Then again, there aren’t that many sections like that, so your wife could always walk those bits.

Everyone ends up progressing very fast in the Alsps – my kids have ridden there for the last four summers and are now better riders on rocky/rooty/steep terrain than any others I’ve seen, other obviously the locals, who are all mad – and you’ll probably find that your wife gets exponentially better in the course of just a day or so.

Take plenty of brake pads, ensure that you have body armour – it won’t prevent broken bones, but it’ll reduce cuts/bruises massively – and if your wife is prepared to give it a go, she’ll be fine.

As for the descent to Les Lindarets, yes, there’s a long (and very boring) fire-road, but be warned that it’s a pretty bumpy descent and hard on the brakes because there are no turns, so unless you’re prepared to let off the brakes and fly down at 40+mph (I’m guessing your wife won’t do this), it’s not a lot of fun.

Down from Les Lindarets towards Morzine there’s a very rocky rock garden which I’d not recommend to an inexperienced rider, but drop down a bit on the road and there’s a nice run to Morzine through the valley floor and past Lac Montriond. At the end of the lake there’s then another nice off-road descent to Morzine itself, bringing you in past the swimming pool. I’d imagine your wife would be fine with all of that; though there are still some steep and rocky sections, they’re all very doable.

I get the feeling some people spend more time reading and talking about music than they do listening to it.

I put Hooky in there to make the point that it’s not just about muso perfection; he makes all sorts of mistakes, but I just love the feel of what he does, and that matters much more to me. And I stick to my original point that although Mani’s a perfectly fine bass player, to call him one of the best in the world is just silly. There are others who are technically more proficient (if that’s what you’re looking for – personally that does little for me) and a load more who were way more influential.

What you can say is that he’s the best bass player for that band, and the Stone Roses without him would be unthinkable.

Glad you liked it Weeksy, and we were lucky with the weather on Fr/Sat; I’d not have wanted to do it yesterday.

There’s really all sorts out there in the Portes du Soleil area – there’s completely mad stuff in Chatel, which I can’t do, there are very long very rocky descents (Morzine switchbacks as a prime example – a real bike-breaker), but my absolute favourite is the 20-minute high-speed blast along the GR5 from the lake down to Les Lindarets, culminating with the full DH descent. If you’re not buzzing with adrenaline after that, you need to take up juggling with loaded shotguns or the like.

I was very proud of the fact that my 14 year old daughter took part on Saturday along with Mrs NickF and I, and other than being shattered at the end of the day (one of the lifts broke so we had a 3k uphill slog) acquitted herself brilliantly. I know that technically you’re meant to be 15 to take part, but it’s the sort of riding that we do as a family anyway, so none of it was totally new to her, and she’s a lot quicker and more technically proficient than a good number of the riders I saw on Saturday.