I don’t think you are telling the truth on that one ninfan

Worryingly I am tempted by your offer Dovebiker, although I doubt I could keep up with you even on a motorcycle! Looking at suggestions it seems I need to be on the hunt for a single speed fatbike! Mrs40 won’t be happy! Let me get some fitness and we can sort a ride, you seem to come right past my house on some of your epic training rides!

The embarrassing thing is, I was chatting to her on Sunday at the race and said that I couldn’t see myself riding 12hr solo races! One FB message from pivot and I find myself signing up! I am such an impulse racer!

Yes any advice she could give would be great, she seems to have a bit of a knack for it 😀

Would love to do this next year! Fingers crossed for the 28th!

I have lived in big cities and I find them massively claustrophobic! I love living in NE Hampshire, but I do miss big hills!

Wild horses would not get me to live in London! I can manage a day or two visiting friends then I need to escape!

Not much really! I have two young children (7 and 3) who are both into biking and a dog that loves running through our local woods (which they are chopping down currently!). I hadn’t thought of Somerset!

We both want to get away from the frankly hectic pace of life and overcrowding of the SE and find somewhere with a more relaxed pace of life! I am not after promotions, and neither is my wife, so simply a local comp job would make me happy!

As i said, I reckon on at least 2 years worth of planning and procrastinating before I could do anything like this!

I am a science teacher, and my wife is a nursery nurse, so jobs are ok as long as there are children around, I have a job 🙂 it is a hypothetical question though………………. Although we are both feeling tempted, maybe in two years time, I would need that long to plan to my normal OCD levels!

Don’t worry about the children in Lycra, my son wears full Lycra for racing, but that is because he is in a club (pedal2pedal) and he thinks it is brilliant he can wear club kit and race, he is only 6, but has an absolute blast! In his mind he is racing Niño Schurter each race 🙂

I might be around for the next xc rampage, like yak says, keep an eye out for children (and a slightly portly dad) in pedal2pedal kit! If the adult in the kit looks trim and fast that is yak not me 🙂

Just sorted my payment for my october 1:1 day! Did it last year and it massively improved my riding. I went to BPW last weeekend and now I want to see Tony again for the next step forward 😀

Halfords/Evans/LBS/LBS Are the only times I have bought new! Of those purchases, I got by far the best customer service in Halfords and Evans.

My last bike was off ebay, and if I get another bike soon it will be direct from the company (either Bird or Cotic).

I did, but I always cycle in wed-fri! Sometimes I do the Tuesday as well but my legs are toast by the weekend! 13 miles each way through stunning bits of hampshire/surrey border, on days like today I count my blessings! In January, slightly less so!

Cheers all!

Already planning my next visit!

Was riding the blade trail at Afan and a Lorry came past us delivering one of the blades! It was bloomin huge! Kudos to the driver getting a load that big to the top of the mountain!

In that case, enjoy 😉

Buy two £1000 bikes, maybe the boardman CX jobbie, and a couple of sets of nice tub wheels!

It is a good idea if racing in mud and slop to either have a change of wheels or bike, and it looks really pro 😉

I went on a group day course with them a few years ago, they were ok, but it all felt a bit generic and didnt really move my riding on!

Depending on where you are based Hannah at pedal2pedal does women’s only mtb coaching, she coaches my son and my wife was impressed enough that she asked Hannah to do a 1:1 session with her! The price was very reasonable as well.

Hannah is very calm and friendly and my wife is looking forward to it!

Four4th scorpion!

It is quite pricey but IMHO worth every penny!

Suggest a game of cards against humanity, if they know what it is and say yes you will enjoy the party, if not RUN! We have mates round for dinner, not sure if that is a dinner party I always though that’s what grown ups did

I want that tool rack on the wall!

How long till you can get out on the bike again?

Cheap white bread, cheese, sliced pickled onions and salad cream sandwich! Don’t know what it is but the combination has me drooling! It has to be cheap bread though!

I have a similar length commute and ride flat bar! I chose it for much the same reason, I’ve I could have cheap hydros etc and replace them easily! I did get a set of grips that are ergonomic and have built in bar ends to give me a range of hand positions as occasionally my hands did ache a bit!

Like clipless pedals I think drop handlebars are more a carry over from seeing what the pros do rather than what actually might be the best tool for the job!

Harder to get into vet college than medical school!……just saying! 😀

A couple of really good shops near me, however they are both really road focused, which I understand as that is where the market is at the moment, but isn’t great for me as a mtb’er!

What does put me off, is when you say your budget for a bike / item and either they look at you with barely concealed contempt because you aren’t spending at least 3k, or they change their sales tactic from helpful friendly to ‘just get out you pauper’!

One shop I have been impressed with recently are the bike hub at Swinley!

It is lovely to be able to share with her a pursuit that I absolutely love doing! Going to cost me a fortune in bike bits though!

Quite well Anagallis 😀

We popped up to Swinley and picked up the demo bike, we rode the green lap a couple of times so she could get used to it and then set off on the blue! I followed everyones advice, and carried all of the drinks/ snacks with us. We took it nice and easy and stopped whenever she felt like it! She rode everything, and enjoyed it! We finished one lap, and still had some time left so she asked if we could go round again!

Two complete laps of the blue on her first try! I was far more nervous, than her! She really liked the hire bike……..so much so that when we took it back and they said they were selling off this years demo bikes we bought it on the spot! (£250 instead of 500) She did agree it was a much nicer bike than her BSO and much more fun to ride! I am now worried that between my 6yr old racing XC and her liking mountain biking, my bike budget is going to need adjusting!

Cheers for the advice all!

Following the better to seek forgiveness mantra, I booked a hire bike and explained it away with me wanting to treat her! We are riding the blue tomorrow, I am packing a little picnic for us to have on the way round, and I really hope she has a lovely time! I will report back 🙂

Just bought the download! Going to watch it this evening with my wife……she made me watch Dr Who yesterday so I have tv credit to my name 😀

Not really bigyinn, its about her having a bike that is light (as she is small a lighter bike makes a big difference to the effort required) and me wanting to make sure that her enjoyment of a new activity isn’t spoilt by a mechanical or the bike breaking.

But hey if that means I am thinking about myself then guilty as charged 🙄

Suggested a hire and she turned it down! To her logical mind, she has a bike so why on earth hire a bike!

They are Yak, but Jen is getting very savvy to my attempts to tempt her with a bike

Thanks for the advice!

Stupid question is it better to follow her down the trail giving her plenty of room, or lead (without trying to show off) so she can see how to roll down things?

Honestly not worried about my image I just want her to have fun!

I am 6’3 and she is just about 5′ so a bike swap could be interesting!

I like the idea of finding an issue with her bike but I reckon she might suss me as she knows I want to get her a decent bike!

I would be over the moon if she rips my legs off, both of our children love cycling off road so if she gets into it, even if they are all faster than me) would be fantastic 🙂

I have left race numbers on my bike, mainly due to being quite lazy! When I completed some ironman races I bought lots of IM branded kit, and I have an IM tattoo. All of which made me happy! Quite selfishly I did all of these things because of how they make me feel, I am not overly concerned if someone feels the need to judge me for it!

If anyone were to have a go at me to my face about these things I would simply think they are a little strange, if all they do is keep quiet and then go onto a forum to question it then it really isn’t my problem!

One of those times when you know it has to be, but you just can’t help yourself! If I am ever reincarnated as a moth I will be heading straight towards the light!

‘Also forgot to add I trane UFC, so the advice for the OP is to make his wife trane UFC.’

I can’t help myself; train not trane

Does it mean that you train UFC at something specific or that you train to compete at UFC?

I just couldn’t stop staring at it, I know I have just walked into a trap but still!

If you want advice get in touch with the 501st uk garrison! They don’t sell costumes but they can advise on making one, that will be screen accurate!

I think following the force awakens there is a us company selling replica storm trooper outfits from TFA or kits which you can then adjust to fit but afaik they are very very expensive! Due to marketing rights with Disney costumes tend to be cheap £50 jobs, homemade (501st screen accurate) or £1000+!

Don’t ask me how I know all this, just accept I am a sad sad man

Looks like a fairly strong breakaway forming! I can feel echoes of 2012! I thought Steve Cummings was there to get into breaks!

Uk bike skills : Tony Doyle aka Jedi!

He has an exceptional ability to critique your current riding and in a few really simple phrases explain what you need to do differently to improve! It is clear he isn’t following a formulaic British cycling accredited script! Iam a teacher, and without doubt Tony is one of the most naturally gifted teachers I have ever come across!

I am planning on racing enduro next year (as opposed to surviving this year :-), looking at the cost of upgrades that could make me faster a day with Tony is cheap and definitely will make me faster!

Good advice on the focus Jamba, last time I just wanted to leave the ground but this time I am after flow/speed!

I tried watching that chefs table episode to learn about cooking with fire……… I have to be honest it just came across as pretentious twaddle! High point was the scenery which was spectacular!

I have a charcoal BBQ and happily crack on with whatever charcoal B&Q have in stock! I would have gone for a gas BBQ but they were too pricey!