What were you hoping to record it to?

Doh! *slaps head* – damned fine question… my laptop has plenty of capacity. Are TV USB sticks any good, i’m in a good reception area. No USB on the tv, unfortunately.

Not sure it’s quite the best area for MTBing btw, might need to drive a short way

True, it’s probably not a honeypot for die-hards, but then hopefully the anti-biking fraternity will be less prevelant (but i’m not counting on it! :lol:). This is simply a mini-break for some Teutonic culture/beer/scoff/relaxation with a bit of mtb’ing for good measure – i’m having a (hopefully) more full-on break in Saalbach/Ischgl/Garda later on.

I’m no geometry expert but that sounds just too much increase over the 36’s. Did the 36’s feel ok – if they did then i’d take those as a maximum, if you feel you need more travel for the area (and it’s easy to be lulled into that thinking out there with every man and his dog running triples) then i’d rent a bigger bike there.

Chamonix – quick to get to, get there before July and the trail restrictions…
Camp here[/url]
Simples…

these guys[/url]

Have a look at Russell Square, London – satellite view.

There’s an airliner parked on the north corner!
Bet it was a woman pilot that put it there…

In Google Maps.

1) Select ‘walking’.
2) Field A – ‘The Shire’.
3) Field B – ‘Mordor’.
4) Get directions.

Aha! So that’s where The Intrepid Fox went to, if it’s the Rock pub that used to be in Soho yonks ago 😀

The Owl was on a nightdive?… amazeballs indeed! 😀

On a Scuba nightdive was checking out some snoozing Parrotfish in a coral wall, when a sodding great (5-6 ft) Moray Eel decided to stick its nose in the torch beam looking for an easy meal, some inches from my mask – scared the Living Crap out of me i can tell you. But a truly memorable experience!

+1 for Coniston, and add the Tour of Coniston to that list – easily a weeks’ worth of top riding.
And Ambleside is a good base, too – with Garburn and up towards Haweswater on tap!

Was up there last Sunday, i saw no signs so is some sort of purge in operation? Conditions were excellent… until the last run of the day from Coldharbour down to South Holmwood down the Bridleways – a claggy morass!!

Makeshift tinfoil booster ariel.

With any leftovers you can make a hat too. 😀

A spot of South Downs (Steyning to Kithurst Hill) action tomorrow, i think – should be great with dry conditions!

Cracking ride, innit! Took me a smidge longer but then i was riding to/from Ambleside. Nan Bield was outrageous, what i go to the Alps for.

Normal Accompaniment… Just off the top of my head these things do not constitute a normal accompaniment.

An Inflatable Shark
Giant Hamster Ball (a la Wayne Coyne)
A Surf Board
Stilts
A stuffed Barn Owl
A 20″ canvas print of Paul Ross
A Wicker phallus
A Gimp

You get the idea, get some friends together, gather up some abnormal accompaniments, and put on a parade!!! (I’d suggest a sound system but that could give legitimate grounds for complaint, maybe you could all sing “bike” by pink floyd at a considerate and sensible volume.)
Made oi larf, it did…

Or a Spec Big Hit if you’re on a budget – they were cracking value for money over their production run and would be a better dh choice i suspect.

Are you looking use an ’06 5 for mainly downhill, then?

Had a naked sv (carb one) after a run of 1000/1100/1200 machines. You notice the power deficit 2-up but it made me re-appraise why i rode big bikes. An sv is awesome – 125mph/50+mpg/cheap ins and heaps around to choose from… what’s not to like? If i didn’t need a car to lug my bike(s) around i’d have another sv, no question! Enjoy…

Even if you go in the peak (bike-restricted) season the area up at Le Tour / Grand Balcon Nord (from Lognan down to Les Bois), and Les Houches (get into the trees around the main track halfway down… oh Matron) is all lift-accessed and should get your heartrate up. Awesome place!

Kitz will keep you happy for a week if you’re not after technical stuff (not including Gaisberg/Ehrenbach {they cover those bases he, he}), but Rob and Robin (or should that be Batman+Robin :D) are always game for sniffing out new trails. Not a heavily-biked place either, which is nice…

Marco Marco Marco

me too…

Although i concede that Stoner’s a hugely proficient rider, he’s just a bit, well, boring to watch race. Once he got over his crashing phase (some awesome high-speed getoff’s!) and he started to get consistent pole positions he’d just bugger off into the distance and avoid a scrap (Rossi would actively go looking for one…). On the odd occasion when he’d get into close racing i find he’d bottle it. Plus he’s not exactly charismatic… just my opinion.

Leith/Holmbury sweet as a nut today, even the expected blackmud gloopfest at the end of Summer Lightning was fine. Been a great day… 😀

I started mtb’ing properly in Kitz with Mountain Edge, and been going there for a week for the intervening 3 years. But now feel i need more challenging stuff so Ischgl seems the next step and it’s marketing itself as a bike-friendly place (Kitz is more elderly-rambler orientated imho).
Check out… Ischgl bikesite

One way of dealing with it all…

Pretty much always, another Billy No Mates 🙁 – but then again i relish the peace and quiet of Nature, and i can trundle around at my own pace so it balances out… (still no real excuse for being unpopular, though 😆 )

+1 for my Nano’s, much less hassle than my dmr v8’s which need frequent adjusting (there’s open bearings for you…)

Train to Staveley/Windermere, then knock yourself out (did it for a weeks’ hol recently). Nice…

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/575615_10150845971508115_695953114_11619882_92111853_n.jpg
…this pushed my button, too 😀

Non-plussed or plussed. I’m not sure our ovine philosopher-poet hero will be troubled.

No, just wondering why Summers’ visits are so fleeting these days (remember a month ago?)

Whimsical / philosophical / funny
…pick any two…

I’m seeing a pattern emerging… best avoid Switzerland! On an alpine roadtrip a couple of years ago i did find the Grindelwald area very anti-bike,and lift restrictions in Arosa. Was contemplating the PdS area away from Morzine (Samoens?) and the Dolomites – i’d expect the Italians being more relaxed in their attitude, had a fine time in Garda 🙂

Was thinking more mainland Euro-type stuff, the legalities here are pretty straightforward (even for me 😀 ).

Yup, no problem. Trained it from Euston to Oxenholme and then a different operator from Oxenholme to Windermere. Had to book a bike reservation with virgin for the first leg(free – just had to make booking at the station ticket office), and just turned up for the second leg (First TransPennine, again free). Bike fully assembled, no issues.

I’m sorted – eventually! Went into Town on the Tube as a testrun (no probs…), and the Virgin Desk at Euston was super-efficient. Reserved the bike on the train the phonebod said i couldn’t (?) and as a bonus the price was the same as the internet one!! Result (after a faff about)! 😀

Typical… can get a good fare on the train to Oxenholme, and bikespace BACK, but no space THERE. Nuts. Look for somewhere else now.

All good stuff, folks! Provisionally settled on Oxenholme to get to Staveley/W’mere, but the engineering being done on the mainline from London is really worrying me – a bus replacement service wouldn’t take my bike. So i need to get to the ticketoffice tomorrow to clarify things – here’s hoping…

Arosa sounded great on paper – free lifts etc, but the main lift up to the top of the ridge/DH run refused bikes (i suspect the cows were on the piste and they have priority…), and the lower lift only took you up a little way. But saying that there were some great natural runs down the valley and the campsite was excellent!

I’ve got an ’09 Dawg and the build is now equiv to the Supreme, but running Vans. Tough frames, pivot bearings easily sourced but the dropouts are hard to get. I measure the travel at 146mm(ish), so it’s fine for most uk-stuff and mild Alpine use. I love my Dawg…