deep-river,

Result,

We are staying at the Church Inn and storing the bikes at the Charlton Arms, all booked. Owner is happy with that arrangements and I am sure between 9 of us he will be happy with the bar takings.

Thanks, Singletrack comes up with the answer yet again.

Thanks for that info.

It looks like the same person owns / runs both the Church Inn and The Charlton Arms, so you may just have hit on the solution.

I'll get on the phone shortly.

deep_river

Starting from Church Stretton, via Long Mynd to Clun – day 1.

Clun to Ludlow – day 2.

Ludlow to Church Stretton – day 3.

Very mixed group so this is more a country lanes and pub ride, since you live in Ludlow what's the Church Inn like?
They have rooms and suggest we chain up the bikes in the churchyard. I can't see those with expensive bikes going for that one !

Does depend how big the fuel tank is of course.

My recent experience ( over the last 12 months ) is that I have achieved about 25% better mpg by driving more smoothly, not accelerating fast, predicting traffic flow to avoid braking and travelling a bit slower.

This is on a petrol car, but I cannot see why the same should not apply to a diesel.

Smooth / slower driving approx 400 miles per tank.
Previously approx 320 miles per tank.

You may find this makes the difference between th enew and older car.

I bought a cabin from Dunster House 18 months ago to use as a shed.

This may sound like an expensive option but compared to the brick built option it was less than half the price and no planning permission involved.

Decision making factors for me were wall thickness, I went for the 45mm option but they do a double skin insulated version which would be a good idea if you are going to use it as an office.

Double Glazing, good security feature.

Door / Windows position options, useful if you have an awkward site.

Mine arrived in hundreds of parts on the back of a lorry, very well packaged but the delivery was only "kerb side". I can understand their drivers are not there as labourers but do look out for this if you have to transport hundreds of wood sections somewhere else.

Another thing to consider is pressure treatment / surface finish.
Dunster House kits come untreated which means the sections are perfectly straight and the machined grooves fit really well, just a rubber mallet required for a tight interlocked fit.

The downside of this is that I spent about four days treating every single piece with wood preservative – two coats as I want this to last.
Then once built another layer of Cuprinol – it is definately going to last.

Build time for this "shed" was one day with two people. http://dhlogcabins.co.uk/uk/product/185/5122/35m-x-25m-carsaresup-sup-250-28mm-walls-double-glazed

You do need two people to lift and fit the larger sections and roof beams, also when you get on the roof having someone to pass things up save a lot of time.

18 months later, my shed is perfect and I would recommend the company.

USE Shokpost, I have used these on (almost)every ride for about the last three years, you only realise how good these things are when you dont't use one.

On tracks like bridleways which are rapid impact bumps the suspension seat post allows you to sit down and peddle without constant jarring.
Same on rocky trails.

As I am unlikely to ever ride full suspension a suspension seat post is brilliant, not cheap but worth every penny.

It is easy to set up but you do need a wireless router to connect to.
Once you put in the password it all clicks through.

You can also download an internet channel that allows you to look at websites via the wii and TV.

The Jack Mytton route over the Long Mynd goes down past the gliding club, which I seem to remember as being a long steady downhill.

Some of our group are not exactly comfortable with fast descents and I could see a few sense of humour failures at Minton Batch.

Can only comment for Shimano XT hubs.

Freehub is secured by an allen key screw down the middle.

Quite large, 12mm from memory, if you hold it up to the light or use a torch you will be able to tell if yours is secured the same way.

Hope this helps.

Are "was" and "was8v" the same person ?

Tiger's car is a post facelift model with improved boot hinges that open wider.

The facelift was around 98 / 99 but there was no distinct cut off point so every car is a bit different.

The boot lid is easily detached so if you go for your spare boot idea all you need to do is find one with the same fixing points, there were at least three variations of hinge arrangements that I know about so it would be a matter of physically checking interchangeability.

Original Poster.

I have a Chimaera and have never tried carrying a bike although the boot is certainly big enough to take the component parts.

Wheels would definately need to come off. Length of the forks may be an issue, although the boot is deep a long travel fork is questionable.
I can measure it if you are really interested.

Overall width of the boot is long enough to take the frame, again height could be an issue, so seatpost removed. The spare wheel sits in the boot but it's a space saver tucked in the right hand side, can be taken out for more space. Many people carry tyre repair / inflator in a pressurised container instead of the spare.

You will end up dismantling a lot of the bike but it could be done.

Re: Bike Rack. The boot / bumper construction is all rounded edges, so finding a fixing point would be difficult.

Drilling fixing holes would be difficult without damaging the paintwork or causing cracking in the fibreglass. The boot lid is very strong and a fibreglass specialist would advise you but I would never consider drilling holes in the boot lid.

Re: Towbar.
I have never seem one.

I seem to remember that this question has come up on the Pistonheads TVR Chimarea forum, you could try a search there or post the question.

I'm impressed by anyone that can give their dog a bath.

I would not even attempt it with our springer !

We have a "cat tunnel" through the wall of the porch.

The builders though it was a little odd but warmed to the idea and ended up building a couple of steps outside from matching stone to make up for the height difference.

Cats soon get used to it,

Agree with trail rat, one month practising every day should get you riding.
The hallway techique is a good one, I started with a doorframe to get used to sitting on the unicycle with the peddles in the 3o'clock / 9 o'clock position to get the feel of it.

I found that when riding you look straight ahead and almost go on auto-pilot when you have the balance point sorted.

Juggling is a whole different matter whilst unicycling as you tend to look at the arc of the balls and you are using your arms to juggle rather than balance.

If you can keep the juggling really tight, so that you know where the balls are going by the top of the arc that helps. I found that cycling along doing a short burst of juggling, hold the balls and then repeat the best technique.

If you have someone to pass you the balls that helps as its difficult mounting otherwise, also takes time picking them up and re-starting again.

Second vote for the Warmup system.

We have this in a porch under fairly thick tiles.
The controller has different settings for the type of flooring and over the last year has worked brilliantly. Particularly good for wet outdoor gear, which we spread over the floor to dry it out.

Can't comment on all the technical details however their technical support people were brilliant when I called them, so may be worth a try.

STW Cotswold Massiv.

Thanks for letting me tag along, excellent ride and good to meet some other people who will go out no matter what the weather is doing.

Sheldon, thanks for route planning, hope I can join you all again some time.

Weather Update.

Just been outside and if feels warm, certainly above freezing.

No rain and reasonably clear at the moment.

Met office predict +3 degrees and possibly damp.

Sounds ideal.

PeterPoddy,

Local weather report is all roads round the area are snow free at the moment, the ealier stuff has melted and it's raining now, so tempertaure is above zero. Met office forecast for tomorrow is +3 and rain. You should be OK on travel to Kilkenny.

The ground round here is saturated at best, suggest mud tyres and prepare for a messy ride, I've no idea of the route but dry dusty trails are most unlikely.

I'll post an update tomorrow morning.

Never managed to make one of these rides before, which is a shame as I live in the area, however I will be around on the 30th so plan to come along.

Any clues on the route ? I may get dropped off at Kilkenny but live in Nailsworth, so if the route heads over that way I could save 20 miles.

Last week I broke the rear mech hanger whilst out on a ride, to keep mobile I shortened the chain, detached the derailleur and made a stab at the best gear to choose for a single speed.

It took a while to replace the hanger so I did three rides singlespeed.

My observations would be that I spent a lot of time free wheeling, on sections where I could not pedal fast enough to "drive".

I discovered that you can get up most hills by going slowly and steadily and by standing up on the pedals, something I never normally do.

Finding the right gear ratio for where you ride would be important and I would imagine if you stick with it for a while you would want to change to a higher gear ratio at some time.

Conclusion, it was an interesting experiment that I would not have tried otherwise and I can see the advantages in less mechaical breakdowns and lighter weight.

Paulio,

I can highly recommend a company called motorsports events, link below.
They do an Aston Martin drive, which earlier this year we gave to a friend as a thank you for helping us out.

I have done a couple of events with this company and the aspect of their company I can best recommend is that the instructors are all race and or rally drivers, so that you get real tuition.

They have worked with Aston Martin and Ed, who runs the company trained Daniel Craig for the current Bond films on how to drive a DB9.
How much more of a recommendation do you want.

As part of the experience they also give you a full rundown of how the car is built, bonnet up and explain the engineering, great guys and no, I have no financial interest in the company but I do like to get good value for money.

https://orders.motorsport-events.com/DrivingGifts.aspx

Most of their events are in Wiltshire, not too far for you.

Garmin Legend C and tracklogs.

Not used anything else to compare this against but works fine for me.

Everything on the escarpment is boggin, totally agree with th ecomments above, best left for a while.

Checked out Hazel Wood near Nailsworth last weekend, no one had ridden the trails but the water / mud / leaf mush was difficult enough to walk in and would have been no fun to ride.

Leave it a while to drain.

45mm thick, double glazed throughout.
This was taken just as construction was completed last year.

Donk,

Is that the refurbishment side of Stannah that you have spoken to ?
I seem to remember they are a seperate division when we dealt with them.

Having gone through this recently it's really difficult to pass stair lifts on so that they can be used again.

The manufacturer would only take it back for refurbishment if it was installed by them, which it was, so in they end they removed it at no cost and took it back for refurbishment and resale.

Basically the second hand value of these lifts is next to zero, so as long as you are prepared to give it away I would try the manufacturer first.

140 ish, but then my start point is low, at rest it's below 40.

£25 delivered for 200.

Decent weight card and accurate printing is important.
You can get cards cheaply but they can be literally paper thin and low quality.

I agree with Stoner,

I do 40 miles each way, mostly motorway,= 1 hour each way.

It's OK to start with and then you start to think what would I rather be doing with 10 hours of my life each week.

I most cases I doubt the answer would be "sitting in my car".

However and this is a big however…. if the job comes with a massive salary / career benefit that will improve your life in the short and medium term then you may suddenly come to love commuting.

Shandy,

Agree with you totally on the train to return point.
We went through the basic training and ours will return on command to my feet 99.9% of the time. For the other .1% we have a dog whistle.

Don't know how you get awat with half an hours run a day, we are on a two walk a day regime, no set times but a short day is an hours exercise and a long day …………..well that can be all day, without exaggeration.

Nog,

Have you had dogs / a springer before ?

I know this is easier said than done but if you could borrow one for a weekend or invite friends over that have one you would learn a lot.

I remember a quote from our dog training teacher, "having a springer as your first dog is like learning to drive in a ferrari"

They are not mad, just enthusiastic, energetic, intelligent and very happy. Keep them execised, mentally stimulated and trained in the essential commands and you have a great friend. In fact you will have lots of new friends as strangers will want to talk to you about your dog.

You are clearly going into this with your eyes open by asking other people's opinion and you will get plenty here, mountain biking and springer ownership appear to go together.

When I looked for a sturdy shed I ended up with one of these,

http://dhlogcabins.co.uk/uk/product/185/5122/carsare-z

45mm thick walls, double glazed, no way its blowing over.

OK, so it's not cheap but the quality was excellent and everything slotted together easily. ( with two people ).
You need to add in wood preservative / coating of your preference as when I bought this the wood was untreated.

Any informed people out there know how you stand re: TV licence watching live streaming on your PC ?

Here are a few shots from the field archery course I go to.
36 life size 3D targets which makes a great archery session.

Near to Chepstow, if anyone is interested google Wye Valley Archers.

The campsite on the river bank at Symonds Yat is part of Wyedean Canoe Centre http://www.wyedean.co.uk 01594 833238.

There are not many campsites in that area, There is a Forestry Commission site at Bracelands which is within walking distance of Symonds Yat. If you are walking back in the dark do make sure you know where you are going as it is very easy to get lost going through the trees, especially if you have been to the Saracens Head and enjoyed their Old Peculier.

Re: Daily mileage down the Wye. Really depends on what craft you are using, height / flow of the river and how much effort you want to put in.
If you call the guys at Wyedean Canoe Centre they will give you distances and times and can arrange travel / pick up, for a fee of course.

Thanks everyone, confirms what I was thinking that 10% ish would be achievable especially as we are not trading in.

Over to Autotrader then………….