The course runs past my house. There is a lot of tarmac which, if they are keeping the same route as previous years, has increased by the surfacing of the 5 mile section of Trans Pennine Trail from Dunford Bridge to Thurlstone. The off road isn’t that interesting or technical,you could definitely do it on a cross bike. Shame really as there are plenty of alternative routes they could use.

Was it this place?

No that’s Bron Y Aur which is North of Mach, this was right up at the top of Artists Valley, I subsequently found out that Robert Plant owned a place further down the valley so perhaps not so unusual. Was a bit strange at the time though.

I think mine trumps these. Out in the middle of nowhere near Machynlleth, came across a cottage with Jimmy Page sat in the garden, had a nice chat.

I can recommend Beili Neuadd which is on route about 3 miles out of Rhayader and the Blue Bell in Llangurig which is a 1 mile diversion. We started a bit further East of the usual start as we wanted to ride over the Long Mynd but Rhayader on the first day is a decent ride nevertheless.

Couple of possibilities. Is there a slotted ring between the top cap and the bearing? The top cap may be rubbing on the head tube. If so you will need shims to lift it.

Or Stans
Stan’s NoTubes – 202 Daniel Zenker Dr. Big Flats, NY 14814

Ashtray??

I realise it’s borderline heresy but I thought Led Zep was rubbish back in the day. I even met and had a chat with Jimmy Page whilst on a mountainbike ride up in the hills near Machynlleth, Robert Plant still had a house there AFAIK. I had no idea who he was until I saw him on the TV a couple of weeks later. Nice chap though.

[/quote]We were paying more for the two dogs than both of our cars together!! Had a policy for a while that you paid 30% excess on and eventually decided to knock it on the head completely.

Bit harsh??

To have plenty of company, 160 plus riders on the Senior start line at the last round, and to be lapped,possibly several times.

Re the mech hanger, try BETD in Stoke on Trent, I’m sure they’ll be able to help.

I live 100yds off the trail in Millhouse Green. The trail is surfaced from where it goes over the A628, locally called Bullhouse, to just past Cheesebottom Tunnel which is level with Thurgoland. It then gets quite muddy past the stables at Finkle Street and onto a gravel road through Wharncliffe. Your best bet is to get off the trail just after the tunnel and drop into Deepcar, then through Outibridge into Sheffield.

Blushes, tis me in Thurlstone (actually Millhouse Green) e mail in profile.

+1 for being based in Puerto Pollensa. We’re off on the 13th of April for a week staying in the Pollenca Park with Jet2. For a different option on bike hire try http://www.mallorcabikehire.com which is also based in Puerto Pollenca Availability may be limited during the Easter hols. If you want to tag along on a few rides, we’re a group of 9, you’re welcome.It’s my 8th trip to the island.Drop me an email.

Slightly off topic but relating to Americas favourite chat show host.
Steven Fry was on I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue recently and in the round about alternative word meanings described Countryside as “the killing of Piers Morgan” I nearly choked.

Andy Wilkinson’s mountain bike seems quite fast, 541 miles in 24 hours, 318 miles in 12 hours and countless other TT course records. After all it’s not about the bike Here

Being put on the boat train to Dover in central London, taking the Dover Calais ferry then by train to Wuppertal in the Ruhr area of Germany to live with a lady my parents had met once on holiday. Including going to school with her daughter, getting top marks in an English test, the teacher not knowing who the hell I was. I was 13.

The lack of interest in mountainbiking is one of many reasons I left Holme Valley Wheelers, I went to the Holmfirth CC open event last Saturday and they seem much more relaxed about MTB. It’s helped by one of the leading light’s daughter being a top junior Cross and MTB riders. I’m going to join HCC and am happy to get involved in setting up an off road section.

Erstwhile member of FM

80’s Indie Disco Classic………

Talking of Thorns here’s Tracey.

Argos definitely do aluminium frames, they did a great job on an old Giant XTC, I dropped the bike in on the way to a meeting in Bristol and picked it up on the way home.

Not at all. You can send it to Argos cycles in Bristol who do a helicoil insert which is more reliable than the original thread.

No this is

Just found out about this, he was a fellow Holme Valley Wheeler and regular Wednesday night time trialler. I’ve ridden many times with and against him, really sad.

I used mine to ride off road from the Med to the Atlantic across the Pyrenees last month.600miles and 24,000m of climbing. Bike was fully loaded with camping gear and was very low geared. Just a couple of crunches, mainly when the groove containing the gear cable on the hub got gunged up and affected the indexing. This was the second one I’ve had as the first one was on the way to breaking and replaced under warranty, light and shade.

Just got back from a lovely weekend in Lythe. There are numerous decent bridleways above Scaling Dam across to Beacon Hill, also the old railway line to Bloworth Crossing starting above Rosedale and looping back towards Gillamoor is perfect cross bike fare. Take the OS map and just pray it doesn’t rain.

There are 4 of us doing it E to W in May, self supported, it’s quite an undertaking, 600 miles and 23,000m of climbing. Our itinerary allows for 11-12 days of riding. There are several routes listed on Wikilocs, the whole route can be found by searching Zinaztli’s routes. There is a guide book written by Jordi Laparra but it’s only available in Spanish. The “official” route runs mainly on the Spanish side from Irun to Llanca but can be extended to Cap De Creus nr Cadaques. Our plan is to leave transport at the end and take the train through France to the start in Llanca.

My ex wife’s father was Ozzie Osbourne’s GP when he lived at Ranton nr Stafford, now that was a full time job.

Don’t know if you’re interested in 2.1 version at £20 from On One?

There were some good 80’s tunes, they were mainly to be found in the 70’s and 90’s.

Sublime

Anything owned by a bike mechanic will work on anything else, fact.

Bloody hell, I was at Hawkstone at the bomb hole as well in 84 what a small world. My most memorable event was the 1995 RAC Rally, Sainz vs McRae for the WRC. Drove up to Kielder in the middle of Sunday night then biked into a spot where the stage looped round to see the cars twice. There was only 3 or 4 spectators as it was so remote, together with a handful of marshals. McRae comes into sight with a puncture, pulls over and yours truly helps with the the wheel change with Colin and Derek Ringer. The car was stopped for less than 2 minutes and he then proceeded to reel Sainz back in stage by stage, winning the rally and WRC by 30 odd seconds, I was there on the last bend of the event as well.

these??Best I’ve had but may be a bit big for the new slimline Ton?

Is the actuating arm on the hub fouling on the frame? I had this on my Alfine 11, you need to make sure the lump of plastic at the end of the arm where the yellow marks are doesn’t catch on the seatstay or chainstay as this will buggewr up the shifting in 10th and 11th gear. The solution is to grind or file off the plastic bit or put a spacer on the axle to spread the axle and give you enough room.

The trails were bone dry yesterday on the NYMBO 100k Marathon, used most of the trails you mention. Anyones guess what they will be like in October, the trails around Lila Howe get very claggy in the wet.

You can get the plastic protectors that come with new bikes from most bike shops, FOC usually. Don’t forget to do forks and rear dropouts and remove the derailleur as that’s a prime vulnerable bit to get bent.

Have you tried searching on Wikiloc or Misrutas.net as there are hundreds of routes posted on there and it’s very Spanish orientated

Done quite a bit of riding around Barcelona, there’s absolutely loads. There are hills to the east and north, my favourite is around Montserrat and the area around Tibidabo try Wikiloc as this has literally hundreds of routes to choose from.