Unfortunately it had to end eventually but it’s been a good run of weather this year – not had to properly wash my mtb since May. Local trails were running great, going to miss being able to pop out for an hour without needing another 30 to 40 minutes extra faff cleaning and sorting kit.

The Farm at number 12 is a good shout, not much of a detour off the motorway and plenty of parking.

If you are coming over the Erskine bridge then Ingliston equestrian centre in Bishopton is close by and that has a restaurant and cafe with some outdoor seating.

Some great riding over there – a nice relatively short loop from Ardentinny would be head up the Whistlefield climb then once over the top of that (but before the steep part of the descent) there is a gravel road you can take and head up north then to the top of Loch Eck (stunning view from the top looking down over the Loch before descending) then you cross the road to Glenbranter and head down the loch side to Benmore and Pucks Glen, then can head back to Ardentinny – via some singletrack and gravel to the top of the whistlefield climb again. About 30 miles all rideable with a gravel bike and pretty descent surface.

+1 for the Clachan of Glendaruel to Otter Ferry road, one of very few C roads in Britain. Nice pub/restaurant at the bottom called the Oyster Catcher

Is that meant as a parody like the Colbert Report? Or is he just shit…hard to tell these days

Rapha Core bibs are pretty reasonably priced @ £85 (of course £85 for a bit of lycra and a pad is still pretty expensive however compared to a lot of options its decent value for money)

Sad news 🙁

Didn’t really know him as such but raced against him a couple of times. I was in complete awe of his wheelie skills, such a strong rider but never lost the fact that fundamentally bikes are fun.

The lack of a leaderboard this year is a bit annoying – not being able to keep track of how friends are getting on with the same challenge is proving to be quite a disincentive for me getting out in the bad weather!

Bannon’s been booted off Twitter and YouTube today. Not been following what he’s been up to, assume related to Trump’s outbursts?

Calling for the beheading of Dr Fauci and the director of the FBI

Aftershokz work well for me, fit fine with specialized and giro helmet straps and oakley jawbreaker sunglasses. Only time that wind noise is an issue is when descending, other than that its fine.

Been following her progress for a few years now on her youtube channel – been some adventure she has been on!

Western Ferry from Gourock to Dunoon (its every 20 minutes and won’t be an issue getting on with a bike) then cycle to Tighnabruaich – head around the wee penisula bit to Ardlamont brings you back out to Millhouse head north from there past Otter Ferry up Loch Fyne past Strachur – take Hells Glen which brings you out to the top of the Rest and Be Thankful, loop back round to Loch Fyne and back to Strachur and take the road past Loch Eck…near the end Whistlefield climb to Ardentinny round there then back to the Ferry. Will be about 100 – 110 miles, quiet roads (most of which are in good condition), great scenery and generally will feel like an epic day out.

Was over in Arran last week and that was good, however the availability on the ferries wasnt great – need to book in advance and the only sailings that i could get (passenger with a bike) was 7am out and 1.55 return. That was midweek too nothing at the weekend.

Alrighty there – yeah as Nobeer says you can almost get there off-road from the cyclepath into Lochwinnoch via Muirshiel Park, unfortunately the mine track turns into a walking (trudging?) path once past the mine that’s not the most pleasant on 2 feet at times never mind 2 wheels, however you can take the other Muirshiel path which goes over the old grouse moor & along a farm road then drops you out at the B788 (via Gateside road) – about a mile from there is an access road just after Auchenfoyle that takes you up to the Gryffe Reservoir & onto Loch Thom.

I’ve done various bits of this route on different bikes but never linked it all up like this – looks not bad now I think of it!

The other Muirshiel path is prone to flooding in places – it makes for slow progress with the long climb then that. It would make a for a nice little loop and i do it every couple of years hoping the drainage has improved since the last time – but it’s as bad as ever unfortunately!

+1 for Three Colours, Dollars and Back to the Future. Don’t care what anyone says the 2nd and 3rd were both great films and i’ll watch them any time they are on TV!

Not sure if i’d class it as best but my favourite is Before Sunrise / Sunset / Midnight. The first two films are just about perfect and the third very good.

I don’t have an issue with swearing but it comes across as a bit affected and try hard – just doesn’t sound natural and different to how it was in his older videos. Presumably a lot of his viewers like the persona he is playing up to though so fair enough

As for snowflakes – he made a sexist joke in a video (made worse because he encouraged his viewers to comment on it) then soon as he got a bit of criticism on twitter about it he deletes his account there and posts another video causing his fanboys to then pile in attacking the woman on his behalf. Who is the snowflake here?

The physics do overly favour light riders on the flat.

Although it might be the other way about in that it over penalises heavier riders – you see it in the TT races on tempus fugit (flat, everyone on a tt bike, no drafting) there are riders on similar time with a huge spread in power. The last TT i did there was someone who did over 460w and he finished a few seconds ahead of someone who was under 300. Both took about 23 minutes…even if someone has a poor aero position in real life on their TT bike then 460w will be significantly quicker than 23 minutes for a 10 mile TT.

To be fair the 460w is probably a miscalibrated turbo anyway, but just using that as an example.

Perhaps you could paint the star of David on their front doors. The local Gestapo will be round in no time and you’ll be rewarded for your service to Reich….

Yeah, wanting to report a selfish, arrogant c*** who is putting others health and wellbeing at risk against the medical advice he has been told to follow is exactly the same as being a Nazi in the Third Reich.

Later today i’ll be watching a funeral by live stream – an empty church for the service and only 4 members of family represented at the burial, so i really dont have much patience for people acting like irresponsible knobs because the symptoms they have (after testing positive on Friday) aren’t bad enough to stop them going out for a bike ride on a busy cyclepath.

My clubs being doing it and its been pretty successful – about 20 – 30 riders using the meetup function.

The sticky draft option is good it allows different abilities to keep up and also a lot of the zwift roads are so busy at the moment it’s easy to lose track of riders in the group.

The functionality could be better though – like allowing the meetup leader to be able to do things like turn off the sticky draft for a sprint or kom segment then turn it back on after that and also allow riders to join the meetup group late. If they miss the start they cant join at all unfortunately.

I went through a phase of being a digital hardcore fan, quite a few unlistenable records from those years but Atari Teenage Riot – Live from Brixton Academy probably tops the lot. Strangely one of the best gigs ive ever attended was by the same band 😀

Caad 13 has hidden mudguard mounts and will fit 28s. Its almost my ideal winter bike and would have got one however nowhere had my size in stock when i was looking a couple months back.

It’s been a few years since i last rode it (and the route and format is now a bit different) but the Drumlanrig Tearfund is a really good event – starts and finishes at the castle, the roads are very quiet, great scenery and unlike most events all the entry fees go to charity.

The short route would be an ideal introduction for someones first cycling event, great cakes at the finish too.

http://www.drumlanrigchallenge.btck.co.uk/

Meeeeeehhhh

I simply cannot go up hills at the same speed as some.
In lead group coming to what’s only a 1 minute climb, my HR sitting at a lively easy 162, then wham they go, 6w/kg and the group shatters.
Down the other side and flying towards the end of lap we close in on half of the lead group that’s split, reeling them in nicely, the hit the hill again and wham, off they go again, I’ve got 4.5w/kg maybe more but I’m dumped out along with a few others. Again on the flat we close a few down and for the 3rd and final time we hit the hill and the group explodes as usual and I’m floundering.

I just don’t have that sort of power in me, I have no idea how they do!

https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=271614

Just a small margin – i was about 4.6w/kg for the climb. Gapped slightly but managed to get back by keeping the power on over the top and into into the descent.

Lots riding in the wrong category tonight though. Only 6 in the top 20 in race (rather than zwiftpower) in the limits

That is excellent

I usually only use the 11 on the local chaingang where there is a pedally downhill section that will have the group sitting above 40mph – but having it also means if i am sprinting on the 12 or 13 then the chainline feels better than if those were the bottom gears.

Its not much and i suspect very, very marginal (if at all) in terms of saved watts but it feels better and that is important too.

Looks like the perfect bike for highland game grass track with the tyre clearance!

It’s got the UCI sticker on it so presumably already been approved

I got sized up on a specialized Diverge (size 54), but have also been looking at the cannondale Topstone. Although I hear the ‘dale size up larger than most brands?!

I’m on a small topstone – my other bikes are all mediums or 54s. I originally ordered the medium topstone but when it arrived i took it for a test ride it felt way too big for me. Managed to swop it for a small and that fits much better.

Been loving it so far – my most ridden bike this year.

I’m so out of touch…i thought it was going to be like £5 cheap 😀

Maybe take some inspiration from the GBduro route? Cant find the route on the website but this was Lachlan Mortons ride from the borders to Stirling https://www.strava.com/activities/2484801967

Some great road cycling there. Roads are quiet, some challenging climbs, great scenery and also large sections of really good quality tarmac….there are a few gravel / haul roads but those might be a bit boring on a mountain bike, not much flow to them.

One of the best 25 mile loops in Scotland sounds close to where you will be staying- basically if you were to start Tighnabruich then head north up and over that climb, then take a left at the road end go along a mile or so and take another left over the C11 road (easy to miss the turn for this – i think the name of the climb is Bealach Maim) over that climb to Otter Ferry then head south over rolling roads.

The big benefit that Strava has over the others is the social aspects. For performance metrics then it isnt too bad either although not as good as the likes of Training Peaks

Not quite sure what Map My Rides niche is these days. Last time i used it (years ago now) the ads were pretty intrusive on the free version.

Could always use both and if you use a garmin or wahoo you can sync to both accounts. Some phone apps will allow that too – the free wahoo fitness one will work.

At the moment yes…not missed a day this year yet. Admittedly some of that is 2 mile rides down to the shops, i wouldnt normally log that sort of thing but have been due to trying to keep my consecutive streak going. I realise i am a sad bastard 😀

First time back on zwift this winter – did a couple of race on the new york course – the wbr 1 lap, don’t know the course name but it was through the park and short. Enjoyed it and seemed to flow pretty well from a racing perspective.

The other one was 2 laps of the Highline with the finish line under the KOM banner…maybe its because ive been slacking off from training but i found it brutally hard. The run in is very long and the race doesnt actually start properly until  already gone up the KOM once. Not much fun at all!

First year TTing – actually today is going to be the first time ive taken the bike outdoors for a ride rather than it on the turbo.  Power a bit down on road position but not hugely so. Not happy with the saddle options ive tried so far – a little frustrating as everything else feels comfortable (and looks pretty aero too)

Depends how you are wired – trainer road has more structure and is more ‘serious’ but i need a competitive element to push myself and zwift helps with that. Doesnt need to be a race, just chasing down a rider in front or trying to get a good position on the KOM leaderboard will do For longer intervals (anything over 10 minutes) then it is about 10-15% difference so not insignificant.

Well done. In some respects it is reassuring to hear so many failed, one of my issues with Glasgow is virtually everyone passes first time.

At the nationals i wonder if there will be a few DNS for the mens individual pursuit with BC squad members not wanting to be shown up by guys like Charlie Tanfield (who got the 4th fastest time ever at the weekend over in Minsk). Team KGF will have an A and B team for the team pursuit too, that could be 1st and 2nd on the podium and none of them on squad.

will give it a go then, was a bit worried i’d have to actually have to communicate with some of the people on my phone book that use it if they see me online on it!

I was able to order stuff to be delivered to the store. pretty good discount as it was on top of the existing sale price

Managed to finish – when i was getting ready to go out this morning i thought it may be a bit reckless going out with the wind so strong, but it was ok for the most part – largely because the lack of ice meant i could use some quiet roads again. Total grind into the headwind on the way out much more fun on the way back.

Distance 11,842.0 mi
Time 681h 0m
Elev Gain 551,224 ft
Rides 530

I think thats my biggest year ive had – not just in terms of distance (which is inflated by zwift compared to previous years – about 2000 zwift miles) but in terms of hours too.

managed to do a little today on the mtb, a lot of fun but going to need to be the road to finish things off. Only 110km to go so definitely doable but with the snow, slush and heavy rain and wind forecast the biggest problem is going to being able to persuade anyone to go out for a ride. I enjoy solo rides, but when the weather is so shit its nice to have someone to share the misery with!

Up to 370km now.

Ive done this the last few years and finding this one the toughest yet. The rain on the 24th and 25th wasnt great to start things off but then the freezing temperatures after that when the roads were wet just made it worse. So its meant having to use the same route on main roads and its becoming a bit of a slog as a result. Now snow forecast for tomorrow…think it will be mountain bike and out for a play on that forget the distance just try and enjoy it then finish things off on sunday