Yes, I’ve stopped sugar, carbs and alcohol

Thank goodness for Stevia and related products. Panda flour is also amazing stuff as well.

Stopping the carbs becomes a little bit of a struggle on 6-hour plus cycle rides, but it is possible. You just need to get your body used to converting fat and protein – and then consume large amounts of fat and protein

Best thing I ever did and to be honest I wish I’d done it years ago

Hopefully this link works

https://results.sporthive.com/events/7231225403057345792/races/490467?utm_campaign=2700563_OE_PE_3DAYS&utm_medium=email&utm_source=British%20Heart%20Foundation%20(BHF)%20&mi_u=&dm_i=4P3Q,1LVRN,8KW14E,7JITZ,1

Download to excel /sheets as the web interface is terrible

Actually been giving this some thought over the last few days. And apart from a very small section through the Surrey hills, I actually think that a gravel bike probably was the fastest bike to take. It’s easy for me to focus on the bit I couldn’t do whilst forgetting that 3/4 of the ride was on gravel paths where I was incredibly fast

I just checked the official results and I was quite amused to find that I came in in position number 50! Given that I wasn’t pushing it really hard (I stopped several times to get food and go for a wee), and if the mud on top of that hill hadn’t been like peanut butter…. I wonder where I would have come. Then again, perhaps no one else was racing :)

I was surprised to see that the person who came in first did it in just over 4 hours which is absolutely amazing!

Oops yes beeding hill would be the one

One of the guys on the coach described people absolutely flying to the finish from that hill onwards – when it was dry

Overall I still enjoyed it but if it’s wet next year I will be on the mountain bike

Hat’s off for doing that last climb, by thr time I got there the chalk was like ice and not only did I struggle to cycle up thr chalk bit I also struggled to walk it. I just had no grip underfoot. As soon as I got off the chalk I cycled from there to the top of the beacon

The major issue I had over the beacon was the claggy mud, on the gravel bike there just wasn’t the clearance front or back. At one point I had to clear the mud every 5-10 yds

The challenging technical section was just as you got to the top of the end of climb 2 as you exited the forest to make a sharp left turn down a ravine- in the dry it would have been fun. In the wet it was lethal and everyone I saw walked it ( and people fell walking).

There was a bit in the Surrey hills that went on for about a kilometre where I fell off two or three times which had this massive almost ravine that we were cycling down…. It had jumps at various points which became choke points. I don’t think that that section really was doable in the wet on a gravel bike

I too bought one of the rx9s when they were going cheap. Also in fizzy orange.. it’s made up with grx400 and some other parts and I’ve been happy with it so far. I just did back-to-back 160 km rides on the weekend and with continental GP 5000 tires it was absolutely fine. One of the days we managed to average 26 km an hour with several of the segments being 30 to 32 km an hour…..

The only thing I’ve really done to mine is I changed the wheels to hope gravel wheels, and it got a new chain after 3500km

Overall I’m really happy with the bike as it just goes anywhere I want it to go. I’m really impressed with the continental GP tires, unless it’s muddy. You can ride them on gravel or anything really..

Q

are there any e leclerc shops near by ? it always amazed me what you could buy in those

Once this year on my gravel bike. The puncture was massive and perhaps someone with more skill could have plugged it

I was cold and tired and had a long way to go so just shoved a tube in and rode the last 90km with a tube in the tyre

For me probably around 20 years ago on a group ride. Then again the one I have is so small. It fits in my headset so I wouldn’t bother not having it. It’s the kind of tool that if you need, you need. It’s unlikely that anybody other than a cyclist would have one so if something goes wrong you are stuck

I was thinking about doing this and eventually just bought a pair of sports glasses with prescription lenses from my local optician. They are fitted into Oakley wrap around frames so they fit perfectly and seal against your face. I was going to buy a pair of sunglasses to match this year as these are clear but the weather was so bad I never ever ended up needing sunglasses

My prescription is quite significant so I would suggest that this will probably work for anybody

I think i paid £400 all in and most all that was my prescription lenses (mine are normally so expensive. I get the frames for free). The lenses are in some kind of ballistic plastic and claim to be quite tough. Given the cost of my normal glasses, they seem relatively cheap

Another recommendation for the craft cadence

I would get on that pinarello website this evening and start specifying….

We have a few of these in the house and I would definitely say get thr oled version as the screen is bigger and better

Game wise – go Mario- it’s the exclusive franchise and almost all of the games are amazing- the ones the flyingox reccomeded are a great start

Re sd card, you don’t need genuine just a good quality one is fine

you could always go with

https://x.com/cyclegaz/status/1824857304774127669/photo/1

The old airfield – part of the Harry’s field campsite group is good

Another vote for tailfin

I have the e4’s and I have never felt I needed more and once the pads bedded in the modulation is amazing – 1 finger braking and precision

I don’t think you need the v4’s

I would have a look at some of the new canon (or Nikon etc equivalents) mirrorless offerings combined with an f 1.4 or f 2.8 lens and this should be roughly what you want

Remember, if you’re going to get into photography, invest in glass, not the body. I have lenses that are over 20 years old.

I have a garm in 1030 plus (from a PSA here) and combined with a Strava subscription, I find that I can pretty much navigate wherever I want to go to with ease.  Plot the route in Strava 1st – save it – and then synchronise it onto your device. You can even do this with your phone if you need to.

I would say that Stravas routing  perfect – but I’m out in Ibiza at the moment and some  running routes have been a little bit dodgy – paths that don’t exist or have a house built over them! In the UK it seems spot on.

I have some challenge gravel grinders on my bike and I’m very happy with them

I’m not sure about biking but for fishing the recommended action is to bring brand new line.and spool it up once you get there

I suppose the similar approach would be brand new tyres ?

Tell them you won’t be satisfied until they hammer frozen sausages into the packers lawn. Demand photographic proof

An old cd / dvd is quite impressive

Yes, I tried that… Without a pair of mole grips it wasn’t coming off. I have no idea how someone ended it up that tight. I wonder if the valve was leaking and someone just kept on tightening until it stopped?

During lockdown I heard many people having success with baby oil – YMMV

Starlink might be your best bet?

Another vote for tony the jedi

I couldn’t jump – after a day with him on his track I now can. Really nice guy and a great coach

Rapha have a sale

Le col have a sale

Kostume don’t have a sale but they are some of the best shorts I’ve ever used

Castelli have a sale

Challenge gravel grinders for me – set up tubeless at 45 psi and just work

I had the same dilemma and went hope on both my gravel and enduro bikes

They just work and they are both orange :)

I have a oneup EDC in my steerer of my mountain Mike and the same in the pump attached to my gravel bike.

I really like them and they’re pretty much the only tool they carry apart from a spare tube (if I can’t get the tubeless to seal

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will be taking some pressure out of them tonight. I am not a heavy rider and I just set them at the highest pressure as I thought that would give me the lowest rolling resistance

It seems I was wrong so I will try and set them to the correct weight for me. I’m only 62 kilos so perhaps I can take them down to 50 psi or so (I don’t have the chart to hand)

Q

I find it depends on the time of day, if I’m out of my gravel bike and it’s before 8:00 a.m. I always say hi to mountain bikers and roadies and get a reply

Later in the day I’ve noticed that many people don’t return the greeting

Perhaps one of the undertops from lecol ?

The sleeveless base layers are really good

Mens Cycling Base Layers

Speaking of searches at the NEC, I go to the shooting show each year. I really do wonder what they’re looking for when they search people? Because you can buy guns at the shooting show and ammunition as well as knives and I have over the years bought all three!

Almost forgot

Schiphol the other week, bloke in front of me’s bag on the scanning queue. Sudden massive interest in the bag. The scanning stops and we all have to wait 45 mins for the military police to turn up to search his bag. They pulled out a toy gun that was suitable for an action man….

We all had to wait for an hour whilst this went on as no one could touch any bag till he had been fully processed. And the to cap it all the guy with the toy gun got out and to passport control before the rest of us !

A very expensive thing taken was a green laser pointer when green laser pointers were very rare (I think 2002) – their justification was that on the front it said danger….

Most amusing things had in my bag and not realised was a Phillips number 2 screwdriver that I carried through New York twice and Amsterdam about three times before I found it in the bottom of my bag…..

Thank you !

Denture cleaning tablets will deodorise them – you can get fancy bottle cleaning tablets but I believe that denture cleaning tablets are the same stuff