coffeeking – of course you have to know how local conditions affect the meta picture, but the fact is that the data is all there for you to interpret, including forecasts from all the main models.
Anyway, it's ride the board on saturday and ride the bike on sunday – predicted with a high degree on confidence 😆

btw, one thing that is really different now is the quality and availability of weather forcasts, and the number of real time weather sites online. Wasted trips to the beach are (almost) a thing of the past.
And the new learner kit makes the sport more accessible than it has ever been.

Interesting. It's funny how much MTB chat there is on the Boards forum. The sports are quite compatible and seem to attract the same sort of people, and there is a real youth swell now with a lot of effort going into training and racing. And it's another sport where the Brits are among the world elite but you hear nothing about it in the MSM.
If it's windy I windsurf, if it isn't (<F4) I bike. Simple. On average I sail at least once a week all year round. At the main spot I sail there are hundreds of active sailors, and I'd expect to see 50-100 tomorrow.
Windsurfing is alive and well, and done by real enthusiasts rather than fashionistas who are mostly dangling off kites this week.
And guess what we'll be doing tomorrow while there's a load of wingeing about how nasty it is biking when it's windy 🙂

Vaguely on topic. About 5pm today we were overflown at the top of Edge Hill by

It was just trundling along very sedately. Last time I saw it airborne (about 25 years ago) it was going vertical with flames coming out of the back 😛

It won't be as bad as for my daughter who had four wisdom teeth out yesterday. MTFU.

Take the bridleway up Cadair Idris from the SW. You can do an up and back from Gwastadfryn, prolonged 1st gear torture going up and a real hoot coming down. Or you can make a ride from the Delgellau side that could include the Mawddach trail, the NCN NR8 link, and a quiet road link in the Dysynni valley…it doesn't work as a complete loop without using the footpath bit of the Pony Path, and last time I was there it was a carry anyway – steep stone stairs. A little bit of map reading needed.

Yep. Get a reworked one off ebay. I've had a couple of Dells that way (depends what "half decent" is though !)

"I slow down for horses (but don't give a FF if you're on a bike)"

Will the postie that delivers the bits my LBS needs to get my bouncer back on the trails please get on with it ?!
I'm having to do an unfortunate amount of lycra clad road riding 😳
Mind you, the trails look like gloop after the rain we've had this week.

willy waving ?

Nanas as rocket fuel, malt loaf for when I feel hungry, High5 bars for when I feel tired. Car windows open on the way home 😳

Yep, plus my two regular riding mates. Done them all and keep coming back, but I think we’re on short course this year. We’ve been doing lots of uphill on grass to prepare 🙁

Whatever, acupuncture fixed mine. It was caused by a tear in the forearm muscle (windsurfing) which became a trigger point and put the muscle into spasm and inflamed the elbow. The trigger point was directly needled as well as other points in the arm, it took three sessions, and it’s as good as fixed. I ice the elbow after any heavy sessions (windsurfing, bike, gym) as a precaution and it’s fine.

I think it’s…take it round the big ring and the largest gear on the block, but not thru the rear mech, and allow a two link overlap. Works for me.

Third sheldona. We’ll be at one of them, probably Stanton, on Sunday. There’s a nice drop off the scarp straight into the pub car park.

Got one. Works for me. Really quick and easy to load/unload.

Warwick is particularly badly served, but head a few miles south and start riding around Edge Hill or Dasset and there’s loads of trails but it’s all a bit tame. Cotswolds aren’t too far, and up above Winchcombe is ok. Wales it isn’t !

I worked on the shuttle program between 1980 and 1983, and was there for the first flight. That was a very exciting time.

Bit too much hanging around at the start, but it was worth the wait. Very enjoyable.

And when you get bored of blobbing about in light winds when you should be riding, you can learn to windsurf and really start to enjoy your time on the water when it’s windy and riding is no fun 🙂

Sorry, don’t agree with this “MTB doesn’t exist” line. So how many places in the UK are good for “mountain” biking ?? Like most bits of the country, it’s ok for off road riding. I live about 10 miles NW, and have a whole load of 2-3 hour off road rides from my door, including a couple that go close to Banbury. Yes there’s some field edge involved on most, but if you know your way around there’s plenty of riding to do, and when mud conditions get bad there is no end of all weather stuff in the Cotswolds.
And re road riding, it’s also good in this area as traffic levels are low even on major roads. Still the normal count of dickheads though.
As for the town – avoid ! Live in one of the lovely surrounding villages and ride to work.

Nearest would be to hop over to the triangle between Hook Norton / Shipston / Tysoe. There’s loads of riding to be done there of reasonable quality, and it’s all dry as a bone. A few interesting bits around Edge Hill. And the Cotswolds are only 20 miles away – get over to Stow/Moreton/Blockley and ride for hours.

Map’s good for me – so long as I can see it in advance. I’m a local so I have the route memorised before I start.

….the shits !
Just back from a week windsurfing in Egypt and still suffering with the Dahab Dash.
Every uphill was a careful balancing act of how hard to push. Only one dock leaf moment.

Sit here suffering from man flu when I should be riding the HONC 🙁

ygm

One of my riding mates entered but is now going skiing next weekend. I’ll see if he still has it. How to contact you ?

I’ve been using them for about 5 years after a particularly bad day when I used all my spares. Generally positive experience with the odd green slimy gooey mess thrown in. Changing tyres in spring/autumn always interesting to see how many thorns etc are stuck in the tyre. Works for me.

I’m just about fixed five weeks after trashing my back for the nth time in my life. I’ve tried them all, and my approach now is to get anti-inflammatories from the doc in me asap, then physio within two-three days. Three physio treatments a week for a couple of weeks and do all the stretching exercises many times per day. Depending on your age, a back strain is going to take 3+ weeks to fix almost whatever you do to it, the trick is to make sure that you don’t get scar tissue messing up the repair – hence the physio and stretching.
The best treatment I ever got was from a vet 😆

You should have got a Moyles-pod[/url]

Today was a day to leave the bike in the garage and get the windsurf gear out. Lovely.

Yeah, done that. I cried like a girl for three days (we were on a skiing holiday when it started 😥 ). Got home and a doctor friend gave me something from her medicine cabinet. Coproxamol – serious shit, but did the job until I could get proper treatment. It was withdrawn, with an amount of publicity, a short time later due to dangers of overdosing and toxicity when mixed with alcohol. Still got some in the cupboard 👿

My mate just had his all replaced on a similar age frame under warranty (he also got a ridiculously cheap new rear shock that Marin seem to have got some sort of deal on – might be worth asking about)

As a family of windsurfers/sailors/bikers, we’d say Sunsail good, Neilson better. Biking is quite a new venture for Sunsail, but is a main activity with Neilson. But you’ll have a good time whatever. Just make the most of the wide range of stuff on offer.

Kelvin and some of his mates rode it today…pics and video

Smax. But then I need windsurf van, bike lugger, white van, and 7 seat use. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned.

Is it a Chain Reaction billboard ? Can’t quite make out the writing.

Touche 😀
Spent many happy years rowing from the boat club right by the castle.

Yebbut any picture of Warwick Castle has to be taken from the bridge and include the river – makes for great composition 😉
I do like that night stylee one though.

Me too. Gone from changing bb every 3 months or so, to a quick bearing swap every 12-15 months.