Noseclip. That’s a definite recommendation for Rotorua.

Terpsichorean ecdysiast. Not a commonly used business term, but I first heard it in one of the M*A*S*H books and thought it was a great term.

For bands not to search for, ‘Porno for Pyros’ comes write high on the list, but I seen to remember getting a bollocking at school for looking for Barenaked Ladies stuff as well.

The best I’ve heard was my very shy, very sheltered, very Christian, geologist ex-housemate who, while looking for papers to do with geology, googled ‘cleavage in dykes’…

One from the largest Kayak Freestyle event in the world, the National Student Rodeo:

Naimh Stack goes big in the Old School

I got a Cateye Stealth 50 from the Classifieds on here then just bought Decathlon’s cheapo speed/cadence and HRM sensors. Works well as a system, the Cateye Atlas site is a bit odd for logging but at least you can export your data to GPX to upload elsewhere, and it’ll sync to Strava and TrainingPeaks automatically.

From a Northern Off-Road Club event a few years ago:

The Simbugghini:

The “Looks like a Focus but definitely isn’t…”

And there has to be a Wildcat in this thread somewhere:

Not running, but I’ll be the sadistic sod shouting ‘encouragement’ at the top of the bloody great scree slope :)

My couple of miles from Headingley through Meanwood and out to Moortown is usually alright, but occasionally enlivened by some daft biddy in either a Chelsea Tractor or an A-Class trying to take me out as they turn in to Waitrose.

A mug and a large catering pack of teabags with a note saying “that should do you a couple of weeks” at one old job. Apparently, until I arrived, they’d never done tea breaks or ’rounds’ as such. I thinking converted the whole lab team into raving tea addicts.

The Meteor’s well rated, and a few of the Adventure Race teams use it. Never tried it myself, but I use an old multisport Salewa Helium on moving water (up to Grade 3, use my specific paddling lid for anything above that). The Kong Scarab and the Salewa Helium/Xenon (both rated for multi support stuff at one point, not sure now) shall had/have certification for multiple sports.

The problem with all of them, for biking is they’re not very well vented. I wouldn’t really use a bike lid for boating, the chances are a rock would slip through a vent are too high for my liking. I have the multisport lid, but to be honest, I use my seperate bike, kayak and climbing lids more often and keep the Helium for racing.

Carlisle (home town) doesn’t, Leeds does if I remember rightly.

Awesome track, just for the ‘Jerusalem on the Moors’ finish if nothing else.

Ride behind him panting and barking at him.

Worked for me, until someone who knew me crashed because he was laughing too hard at the panting, barking bearded loon on his back wheel.

A mate of mine on the Allt Mheuran

I was in B and Q the other day and this bloke asked if I wanted decking.

Luckily I got the first punch in…

Trampled by Turtles – Midnight on the Interstate.

Discovered them this year, seeing them at Celtic Connections in January.

Surfer, the OMM isn’t an Adventure Race, it’s a Mountain Marathon. And while I’d agree it’s less contrived, it certainly isn’t any less marketing-led any more, and hasn’t been since it ceased to be the KIMM.

OP – depends what you’re terming ‘Adventure Race’. Mud runs and the like aren’t really Adventure Races, AR is generally taken to be multisport and involves some element of navigation – Open Adventure and Tri Adventure are your best bets, I’d say. Questars might be worth a look as well.

If you’re after Mud Runs, take your pick. Everyone seems to be running them now, and they’re all much of a muchness.

Been sort-of involved twice.

First one was a shirty little temp getting asked to ‘leave and not come back’, for turning up at the office drunk one time too many. He took a swing at my boss, connected, then seemed surprised as he got grabbed round the neck from behind by me and dragged off the floor and into the lift. May have cranked the headlock in a little too tight as he was only half conscious by the time the lift got down to reception. Security sorted him out the rest of the way and we never heard anything from him, the company or his agency, so I guess I got away with it.

Second was two colleagues and good friends at a bar I worked in who, it turned out, had both between bonking the same girl – a case of her playing them both I think, rather than one going behind the other’s back. When they both found out there was the requisite snarling and bitching, and it came to butting heads and shoving. At one particular butting of heads, I decided I was sick of it and added two hands and a bit of momentum and banged their skulls together properly, aiming to knock a bit of sense in. The shock seemed to do the job and they both dumped the daft tart.

Kayaking in Scotland for a week over new year. I burn so many calories just trying to stay warm I’ve always lost a bit of weight doing it.

With a bit of chopping and changing from other bikes (mainly drivetrain stuff), I built my Trek Marlin up for sub-£500. Ether majority of the bits came from the classifieds on here – frame, fork (Manitou Tower Pro), wheels (WTB/Formula) and brakes (SLX) for £360 total then a few bits that I didn’t already have in the soares box.

Hehehe.. CountZero said ‘front bottom’… Hehehe…

Sorry, I genuinely have nothing but smut to add to this thread.

I’m absolutely* loving my Manitou Tower Pro at the moment. Stiff as you like (I’m on 20mm thru-axle), easy to tune, easy to set up and the damper adjustment goes from almost locked to “holy sheet that’s plush…” in about 12 clicks. Possibly the best fork I’ve ever ridden, though my selection probably isn’t as wide as some on here.

*See what I did there?

Tea stop, 30km into my first 80km Ultramarathon.

12hrs of Exposure 2012, Newcastleton.

MH Survival of the Fittest, Nottingham, 2009

Inflata-Cross, Argentiere-la-Bessee, 2013

My 170-odd track ‘Redneck’ playlist – currently Luther Wright and the Wrongs version of Comfortably Numb.

Had a vitamin C tablet? They turn my piss neon yellow.

My commuter was a cheap Fisher singlespeed bought off here. Frame was just a little small, so after changing bars, stem, wheels, forks, etc, I finally got round to buying a new frame.

I’m now commuting on a Cotic X.

UN55 has a metal NDS cup as well now.

I’ve got Shimano/Race Face on one bike, GXP on another and Taper on the other. Only ones I’ve ever had a problem with were an old Shimano HTII set that seized, a higher-spec external BB did it, never splashed out on Hope and never needed to.

I brought some stuff out of my shed to sell, and my own delusions of adequacy.

Sleeping.

Been saying I should do it for a while, might be the year!

Have a look and take your pick. ‘Best’ is partially dependent on budget. I run Ay-Ups and love them, until the Far East revolution (DX/Magicshine/SolarStorm etc) came along they were the best value on the market, plenty bright, and came as a pair (helmet and bar lights plus batteries) for the same price as a single Exposure unit did. I’ll be upgrading the LEDs this year, but even on the ‘old’ (c. 5 years) set, they’re still cracking lights.

Exposure are the best, there you go no need for the test!

There’s a few beam shots at Torchy’s site that put the lie to that statement. Exposure do some nice kit, but I certainly wouldn’t say they were “the best”, not by a long chalk.

Naked rodeo?

Mammut’s ‘Sleep Well’ document is your friend.

Part 1 (general info, measurement, history etc)
Part 2 (specifically around Down bags)

Its a god damn arms race

I always thought that was “it’s a golf cart, a**e-face”

Thegreatape – hear, hear.

Small bump for the evening crowd’s edification if I may.