As a Forest fan I never thought I would see the day we are in a Champion League slot in the table. I wasn’t a fan of Nuno but give him credit, a few astute signings this season and the unbeaten start has been amazing. Perhaps a top 10 finish this season rather than a relegation battle is possible.

I am ready for another season of disappointment by being a Raiders fan. At least they are consistent in being under achievers each season. Chiefs are are already looking impressive, they should just hand the AFC West title to them at each season opener  and not bother waiting until December :-)

Bad Monkey on Apple TV is enjoyable. It’s Vince Vaughan pretty much playing Vince Vaughan as a disgraced detective in the Florida Keys.  Interesting plot and a few laughs along the way. Halfway through the series and it’s holding our interest.

Alpkit Qark. £40. Excellent head torch, I have used it for years now for winter trail running in the forests, performance is top notch.

Lower Decks has been a breath if fresh air into the ST Universe. It has been a fun watch, and has consistently improved over the four seasons. Sadly S5 is the final season, it will be missed. Lower Decks and SNW have certainly made Star Trek engaging to watch again.

I haven’t watch ST Prodigy yet, any good?

Strange New Worlds is well worth watching. It feels different from the other recent ST shows, it certainly is more fun to watch. And for me Ethan Peck is proving to be the best Spock.

Picard S2 was terrible. S3 was a buge improvement as it was essentially pleasing all the fans by bringing the gang back together.

I gave up on Discovery during S4 (I think). It just got so self important and the future timeline plot was just boring.

Well that was an expensive visit to STW this afternoon ?.

Ordered the Epix, replacing my aging Forerunner 645. Thanks OP!

Is anyone that is doing solos planning to leave thier box containing food, drinks etc in the pit area overnight on the Friday?

I was thinking of doing it after registration on the Friday and then just riding to GT on the Saturday morning.

The best Grand Tour of the season! Team Higgo entered as well. Adds an extra bit of spice to viewing each stage as you look out for riders in your team.

I rode the majority of the loop yesterday evening. I ride Turn&Burn though to finish the loop.

It was a glorious evening to be at GT. Lots of fireoad climbing, so there will be time to regroup between the descents. Though the fireroad climb from the walkers path to Hit Squad Hill is quite the slog.

The walkers path section is short but it a bit tricky. I can see bottlenecks occuring in that section.

I timed my second loop, 50mins for me at a comfortable pace. So target of 7 laps for me.

Hands down the best Millionaire shortbread I have ever eaten was back in the day at The Hub at Glentress. Tasted amazing. Big portion as well.

On Cloudmonsters 2. They are pricey and look a bit silly… However they are the most comfortable road shoe I have run in and the support they give is amazing.

Saffron for a great curry. It’s tiny inside but the food is excellent.

Montane Gecko VP 12L. Very comfortable, lots of handy pockets. I use it on runs of 15 miles plus down here in the Tweed Valley and it does the job perfectly. It’s on Amazon for £90 which is a good price.

Green Tree for the win in Peebles for a tasty lunch with huge portions.

And I have to agree with an earlier post, Cocoa Blacks serve terrible coffee. Milkman is the best tasting coffee in town, tiny cups though 😋

Agree with The Milkman and Louabelles as the go to coffee shops in the Valley. Also Caberston Cafe at Walkerburn is worth a trip to.

Best curry house is Saffron at Inners. Tempest Brewery Tap Room for a pint.

A good Vuelta for me, Team Higgo won the STW league. And as Bunnyhop mentioned I also manged to finish in the top 100 overall out of 18,885 teams. I now await my call up as Team DS to one of the pro teams 😂😂😂

Alpkit Quark is the head torch I have been using for the past three years, good performance for the cost.

I always use KT tape to cover the blister area on my foot. Much cheaper in the long run that Compeed plasters.

Also anti blister running socks from Runnderwear are amazing. And very comfy.

HDMI cable, 90cm length

KT tape.

I have been using it for a year on my nips for all runs and have had no issues.

Top tip, remove the tape when you are still sweaty after the run 😝😝

New paying entry/exit barriers have been installed at GT this week, they were being tested last night. They are installed just before the lower carpark. That’s why the road was widened at that spot.

I trapped a nerve in my neckn in Feb. It was agony and I couldn’t work for 4 weeks. Zwifting was ok as it didn’t cause any additional pain. Outside biking took a couple of months and then it was a very slow build up over spring and summer. Returning to running was more straightforward but again it was a slow build up.

I had physio, did my stretches and was patient. I was also on some strong painkillers for weeks, it was a releief to stop taking them.

Even now months later I still have to move my head to “unclick” my neck several times a day.

Worth getting a MRI if you can, juat to make sure it is a trapped nerve.

Good luck with the recovery.

The bench up at the Mast at Glentress. Never tire of that view.

From my hometown 😀. As everyone has said VC is good quality and cool designs. Very much whippet roadie sizing so best to be generous with your sizing requests. T shirts are super cool.

Sushi, slippers and 29ers

I also use Alpkit Qark. Good price and great illumination. Used them for two winters now for trail running in forests. Can’t be faulted.

I did the DR on 38c Gravelkings, no issues with them as it’s really just fireroad, fireroad and more fireroad. I was 1×11, 11-42 gearing. There are no killer climbs, just very long draggy climbs.

I’ll echo what others have said already, keep your bottles secure and unless you are a superfit racer don’t go off too fast. Watch out on the first bumpy descent as that seemed to catch alot of folk out. And that bit at 100 milesish around the lake seems to go on forever.

Have fun!

Another vote for Endura pro sl gilet, it’s my go to piece of kit. Paired with arm warmers that’s seems to be my standard kit for any type of cycling.

@curto80 I would rather lose both games to the Chiefs and win the other 14, that would be perfect :-)

I know one player doesn’t make a team but it’s unreal what Mahomes can do on the football field. And the plays that Reid runs, a match made in NFL heaven.

For the Raiders, if only we could get a pass rusher. Oh yeah we had one of the best and traded him away….

Just to reiterate what most have said already, Redzone is a great way of watching the Sunday games, though I haven’t managed a 7 hour sitting yet. I also enjoyed the BBC coverage but again dropping the second show has weakened the coverage they provide. Having to wait until Sunday morning to watch highlights from the previous weekends makes it less topical. When Osi produced his two Superbowl rings to trump JBell was very funny.

For my sins I am a Raiders fan. Another under performing year, our defence is woeful. We beat the Saints and the Chiefs yet got humped by lesser teams. Not convinced by Gruden since he took over.

In the bottom left of the screen you should get a button to the join the event. Usually appears up to 30mins before the event starts.

So I rode my third Zwift race this morning, first as Cat C after getting bumped up in Zwiftpower after my last race. Quite a step up for me so I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near a good result.

The race was the Yorkshire Classic. The main group quickly dropped me and I then got passed by a few more riders. I suppose the good thing is I didn’t come last but still was a humbling experience :-)

I will race all the Zwift classics so hopefully by the end I will be more comfortable in Cat C. It’s a lot different from riding hilly sportives in real life!

Both dogs put to sleep.

Thanks for all the advice. I fancied the look of the Montane Fang 5 so I have ordered one, Wriggle had it discounted a bit. The Decathlon one also looks pretty good as well.

Cheers guys, total fail on my planning, usually I am. Much better at this!

I got a pair of Speedcross 4s last year. I find they are excellent, slightly narrow fit but grip is amazing in all conditions.

Cheers guys, I have ordered up some Uberbike pads.

12/12 oh the shame :lol:

I just bought a Whyte Gisburn, £500 off RRP at Cycle Surgery. I was looking at several cross and gravel bikes but once I saw the price drop on the Gisburn it was a no brainer.

I have no intention to race the bike, or use it as a commuter. This bike is for fun up on the hills of the Tweed Valley :-)