Sod that boring stuff – only live once!

I think trail centres just make it very easy for people with little natural navigation, mountain or other outdoor skills to still get out and enjoy some mountain biking in a fairly controlled environment. That’s not a bad thing by they way – it just makes MTB more accessible for all which can only be good for the sport.

I much prefer natural trails and remote locations but still enjoy a good trail centre from time to time. Best of both worlds.

Booked broadband through Sky. Sky were okay, it’s just the BT lot who installed the lines were a complete joke.

Placed my order and BT engineer booked to install 2 weeks later. Take half day holiday off work and BT man does not show up? Phone BT to complain and told it’s another 2 weeks to wait to book a second visit. No priority considering the engineer didn’t show up – back on the waiting list.

Receive another appointment slot. Book half a days holiday, wait in all afternoon, and again no BT man shows up. Phoned BT at 17:45 to say that he hadn’t shown. BT say he’s on his way and just to wait. 18:10 and still no show. Phone BT again and they said that he couldn’t make it and I would need to wait another two weeks for an appointment.

Finally on the 3rd attempt, 6 weeks later and another half days holiday lighter the BT engineer finally turns up.

Asked about some compensation for my holiday wasted, and BT said my contract was with Sky so they couldn’t do anything. Sky say that it was BT’s fault so the couldn’t do anything either. Bangs head against wall! The sad thing is, is that BT I believe charge £130 if you’re not in when their engineer calls.

Complete shower of bas**rds – the whole company, and the sooner they get broken up by the competition committee the better.

I don’t ever remember pressure washers at the Marin Trail? Then again I normally start not from the main carpark but from further up the hill. Maybe I’ve missed something?

fireroad descents But I don’t understand, what’s not to like about these?

It’s a criminal waste of trail, I can get fireroad descending anywhere. Singletrack is what I travel 2.5 hours to ride.

Best get yourself up to the woods above Betws y Coed with a spade then 😉

Ive heard it described thus…Instead of technical bits linked by fireroad as most trail centres are ,the Marin trail is fireroad linked by technical bits….ridden it and tend to agree with this.Sorry.

You’re probably right on this one, but that’s partly why I love it – it’s a little different, and why does everything have to be technical all of the time anyway?

As a teenager I spent a lot of time riding round the Gwydir Forest on a fully rigid MTB a couple of years before the Marin Trail was even in existence. Back then it was almost all fireroad with the odd cheeky footpath here and there.

But it was still a great ride even then, more about the joy of being out on the bike, thinking about navigation, in a great location with great views than pure technical skill.

Hell sometimes I go out on my MTB for a mostly country lane based ride, linked with a couple of muddy sections and I still love it.

I guess at the end of the day, if you’ve been brought up on a diet of newer more Gnarr trail centres with cafes, bike shops and perfectly manicured trails then you probably won’t get the Marin Trail.

I’m getting to the stage however when I tend to ride natural stuff more of the time. Trail centres are fine occasionally but these days I find them all a bit ‘samey’. I much prefer the challenge of exploring natural terrain with an OS map. Finding a new ‘off piste’ line down a mountain, or some cheeky singletrack that no one else has ridden. Usually involves a bit of ‘hike a bike’ or road/fireroad climbing/descending though – Heaven forbid 😉

It’s the fire road descents that bug me rebel.

There’s only two significant fireroad descents I can think of, just in the valley above Betws, plus a couple of other very short sections. But I don’t understand, what’s not to like about these? There is plenty of other descent on singletrack, plus the fast (and sometimes loose) fireroad descents are a good chance to ‘open her up’ and try to achieve terminal velocity. A good mix of both I’d say.

Shame really. Wouldn’t take much to turn the Marin into a really good trail, just need to add a few features and cut out some of the endless fireroad

Or how about just leave it as is and if you want everything laid on a plate just go to another trail centre.

The Marin trail is a very good route, lovely forest and mountain scenery, some fast and flowing sections. Yes it’s not full on Knarrr but so what – it’s still a good ride with plenty of natural stuff to link to if you know where to look.

Never understand people who slate the Marin Trail. The Marin Trail was one of the first so it’s a part of all our heritage as mountain bikers. At the time it was built, The Marin Trail (and Coed y Brenin) were the best trails out there. If you want drops and table tops then there’s plenty of other newer centres out there for you to get your thrills without the frequent complaint of ‘long fireroad climbs’.

If you want drops, berms, table tops etc then go to Llandegla, but then you’ll have to suffer sharing the trails with hundreds of other bikers on a weekend, queue for jumps, and pay handsomely for the privilege. If you want a good old school trail where you have to work for your rewards, and which feels remote, unspoilt and not full of teenagers in full face helmets then it’s the Marin trail every time.

That’s interesting – whereabouts are you?

Greater Manchester and about 2 years ago. We did chase the police up but was told that there had been no progress. Not really into the whole claims culture so we didn’t follow this route up. Only a minor injury – no lasting damage.

Phoned up the police with the reg and they actually took it very seriously (or at least appeared to) and said they would be having a word with the driver.

Yes the Police have to be seen to be taking everyone seriously, but do you think for a minute that they actually followed this up?

They didn’t in my girlfriends case when she was actually knocked off her bike and injured her elbow. She had the registration of the driver (who didn’t stop), a witness, and the police said that they would speak to the driver. Three weeks later they still hadn’t managed to. Too busy catching people speeding I suppose.

i believe the driver could be done for driving without due care and attention at the very least

Again how? Your word v theirs? Not a chance I’m afraid. To secure a conviction you’d need to show proof beyond reasonable doubt.

I understand that But would the Police not be interested that the Driver didn’t stop, so how would the Driver know there’s no Damage or Injury ?

Yes of course the driver should have stopped, but without injury or damage to property then in my experience the Police would not even be remotely interested.

If you got the reg its leaving the scene of an accident and the police will look into it.

Only if there’s injury or damage to property will they look into it, and then without witnesses it’s only ever going to be a ‘your word v their word’ and very unlikely to get anywhere.

Question – If there is a cycle lane available to use am I legally supposed to use it?

Nope, also entitled to be on the road too. Whether I’d personally want to mix with 60mph HGV’s is another story though. That’s part of the reason why I gave up road biking and took up MTB. Not only is it more fun, but also I’m now totally in control of my own accidents.

Another case of public money totally wasted on poorly thought out cycle lane design if you’d rather mix with the heavy traffic than use the cycle lane I’d say.

This may sound counterproductive at first, but why not book yourself onto an hours trial flight in a 2 seater at your local aerodrome or flying school?

That’s what my Uncle did and it seemed to work for him (well my Aunty actually booked it). In a very small plane all sensations are heightened. There’s way more noises, the turbulence is much more noticeable and the sensation of height and speed seem greater.

I think he said that his fear of flying stemmed from his lack of knowledge and the fear of not being in control. Having learned a bit about the theory of flight on his trial lesson and had a go at taking control of the aircraft himself then he said his previous fear has left him and he can now relax and enjoy the ride on a commercial jet. I think my Aunty is delighted as they can now fly to all the places she’s been wanting to go to for years.

As a holiday to learn kitesurf then it has to be Borocay. Can’t think of a better place to learn in the world to be honest.

Cheap (once you’re there), consistent onshore trade winds, safe and very large lagoon that is mostly chest deep maximum, flat water, never too crowded, good schools and plenty of other stuff to do. Only downsides are the long flights and transfers but hey no pain, no gain.

I spent 2 weeks there last Nov and had some excellent 1 to 1 tuition from Ocean Republic.

Ocean Republic[/url]

On the second day I was up on the board, and at the end of the first week I was riding all over the lagoon and popping small jumps off waves. Best season to go is October to March I think.

Egypt could be another option that’s a bit nearer perhaps?

Going for a test drive in one next weekend. Can’t wait and will report back.

wasn’t it based on 15% for 1 child, 20% for two, that’s what my mates paper work said years ago, could well have changed now

Before then it used to be based on a complicated system that no one person could fully understand whereby they seemed to take your salary, deduct your mortgage payments or rent and then pretty much half of the remainder went to the CSA. Seriously it was that bad.

At the time I started paying maintainence I earnt £960 a month after tax. My rent in a shared house was £290/month. Bills around £100. Food around £150. To run a basic small car (to travel to see my daughter and to get to work) cost around £300 per month. Yet the CSA still wanted £280 per month? So all in all, without going out, without buying clothes and without having a life I was down to the tune of £160 every month, and continued to get more and more into debt each and every month until I managed eventually to get a better paid job.

I tried the appeals process but with no success. Rules are rules eh?

The CSA closed down last year

Wow I didn’t realise! That’s made my day. Good riddence I say and may the fleas of 1000 camels infest the crotches of anyone who worked for them.

Regardless, whatever government agency has taken up the reigns now though then private arrangements are the way forward. Whatever your feelings right now, it’s better for everyone involved in the long term.

Does anyone have any recent experience? Are they still a bunch of plague-ridden demons to be avoided at all costs?

Yep, hit the nail on the head. Whatever you do, don’t get the CSA involved if at all possible, even if it means paying more through a private arrangement. The CSA don’t care about you, your ex or your kids – they are just a shambolic, unfit for purpose government agency designed to claw back as much money as possible into the treasury whilst at the same time shafting all and sundry in the process, all disguised under a thinly veiled lie – ‘we’re doing it for the kids’.

Perhaps do the CSA calculator thingy and offer to pay your ex a bit more that the calculator shows in the hopes of keeping them off your back. I had almost 10 years dealing with the CSA before finally coming to a private maintainence arrangement with my ex. So glad to finally get shot of the money grabbing b***ards.

Good luck 🙂

Did most of the Grizedale bridleways a couple of weeks back. Soaking wet and except for parts of Lawsons Park, the descents were all like streams. All perfectly rideable though and the plus side was that the bike ended up fairly clean due to all the water. Probably similar now I guess.

Real shame they are removing the boardwalks from the North Face trail – they were the best bits in my opinion 🙁

Best post in a long time – amazing photo

Check out this kitesurf video – awesome

AntandRoy

Forgot to add, if you do buy a small kite to practise on first, get some lessons when progressing to big kites. There’s a lot of safety stuff to be aware of. Have fun 🙂

Surfed at Suanton but always been meaning to take the kites down there. Kiting is possibly one of the most fun sports known to man. Windsurfing on the other hand can be bloody frustrating and ut often takes years to get to the stage where you’re good enough to have fun.

Book a couple of lessons with your local school and within a few sessions you could be up on the board. Or buy a small 2m trainer kite (Flexifoil or similar) and get to learn your kite control skills by yourself first. The principles are the same – just the bigger kites move slower but have lots more power. If you snowboard or wakeboard then both will help a little to get used to a kiteboard.

Kiting is a full body workout. After a few hours on the water then there probably won’t be a muscle in your body that’s not sore. Not as bad on the arms as you’d thing though as most of the kites pull will be transferred through your waist harness. I know quite a few kitesurfers with dodgy knees. One wears a knee brace and still manages to compete at world class level. Give it a go – it’s very addictive – especially when you start to surf the waves and pop effortless floaty jumps off the wave crests 🙂

You’d have to be very lucky to get a good return with premium binds. On the plus side, about as safe as investing gets though.

Teva Links – very impressed with mine and they don’t absorb water.

Had similar and cycling seemed to make the random leg pains worse. Awful, awful thing and I thought at the time that my days on the bike were over. Sitting down is really, bad for backs so go out for lots of short walks if you can. Check your posture and use a lumbar roll when seated if necessary. Seek out a McKenzie Institute trained therapist or physio – they specialise in exactly this problem and will let you know pretty quickly if it’s something they can treat or whether a visit to your (non specialist) GP is required. I suffered for over a year and tried everything else bar surgery – which should be absolute last resort for this kind of thing. McKenzie also has a book, treat your own back, which helped me but seeing one of their trained physio’s was much more beneficial. Thanks to McKenzie now completely pain free and back on the bike. Happy days 🙂

Hmm, yes it can’t be easy for the Tories to implement a solid and robust policy when their little pet Terrier (the Lib Dems) seems to be constantly snapping at their heels, demanding attention and pooing on the carpet.

That said I’d like to see more support for small and growing businesses, funding for research and innovation and investment in high tech business made a priority. Investment and innovation (and looking a bit further ahead than the next election) is the only way that UKPLC can stay ahead of the rest of the world.

This was one of the reasons why I voted for the Tories this time, but I’m not quite sure that they have delivered on this one yet? Time will tell.

Binners, I’m not defending Osbourne – I’m just saying that what’s the alternative? It’s very easy for Labour to snipe from the opposition bench but as yet they have not put forward one credible alternative from what I can see. At least Osbourne has the IMF on his side, the UK still has a good credit rating, and we don’t yet seem to be going the way of Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Greece etc.

Whether Labour would have done better is debatable, maybe they would, or maybe we’d be in a far worst mess now. Regardless I can’t respect a party or a leader who just critizes someone else without putting forward any constructive ideas themselves. That about sums up Labour at the moment I’m afraid.

And of course the Tories inherited a growing economy which was slowly recovering before plunging it straight back into recession. Which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in Double-Dip Osborne.

Hmm, not exactly. Despite my post I’m no Tory fan. I voted for them at the last election because they seemed to have the most credible plan to pull us out of the mire. In the past I have voted for Labour, and would do so again if I thought that they would be the best option. At the moment all I see from Labour though is a load of hot air.

Going back to your point, given the apparent depth of this financial crisis I don’t think that this is possible to solve by 2015, not by the Tories, Labour or anyone else. Yes we are very nearly back in recession but then what did you expect?

Would you rather continue the way of the last 10 years – more artificial growth created by another debt fueled credit binge? You can’t expect to solve this overnight and a recession is just a natural course of events in any boom-bust cycle. And we’ve had one almightly credit fueled boom, and now comes the bust both for the UK and almost every other western nation.

Honestly if you expected everything to be rosy by now either under Labour or the Conservatives then you’re living in cloud cuckoo land.

Shame that they can’t just pull together and concentrate on sorting out the big mess left by Labour rather than bickering and infighting.

Heaven help us if we ever get Miliband into power. He looks and acts like he’s barely out of school – no doubt a school where surely he must have been severely bullied. As a nation we’d be a laughing stock if he ever gets into the PM’s office.

There will be no instant fix to this financial crisis and whoever got into power at the last election was bound to end up being very unpopular. It’s just a shame that all Labour seem to do is snipe and complain, without seeming to have any credible plans of their own.

I know it’s the oppositions job to be critical but it would be far nicer to see everyone dropping the power struggle and actually pulling together to do something good for this country.

If a high list price, numb steering, crashy ride and zero driver enjoyment are your thing then the A1 should be right up your street. If you want to save money and actually enjoy driving a small car then I’d look elsewhere. I’ve driven one for a week and didn’t like it. Two friends also have them as company cars. One had just got shot, the other misses their previous Mini. Afraid A1 is for badge snobs only. Sorry – you wanted an honest opinion 🙂

Rhino make some good boot covers. I got one for the Clio which covers the seats when folded down. Leave it permanently in the car and when the bike goes in it’s about a 1min job to unfold and secure around the headrests.

Rhino

Review Here

The other option is to go to the first cross over point, and drop back down to the road, as on Loweys return leg and try a few of the trails around the mountain next to the A55, loads to do and ride around there.

Hi Vortex, that’s a good suggestion. Do you mean the trails over on Conwy Mountain and Penmaen Bach? Also, the trail from the standing stones to the top of the road above the Rowen YHA – is that all rideable or is it likely to be an absolute bog fest after all this recent rain?

Binners, how much time would you estimate that cutting out the Drum climb/descent would save?

Lowey, that also looks ace. Trying to look at doing the Conwy Mountain section plus the section to the farm at Tyddyn Grasod. Would like to carry on to do the Parc Mawr descent but the only way back up to Tyddyn Grasod I can see on the map involves either cutting left on the fireroad in the middle of the woods (missing some of the descent), or following the road all the way back round from the bottom of the descent and loosing a lot of height in the process. Is the Parc Mawr descent worth it?

That looks great Binners, but a bit more than the 2-3hrs we have free on the Sat. One for another day though certainly. If we omitted the Drum climb/descent (possibly the best bit but we can come back and do this again) would the ride still be worth doing?

The Mckenzie method is the only way to go. Has helped me no end and my back was so bad I couldn’t walk at one point. Now pretty much pain free. Self treatment so no need for expensive physio, osteo etc. You can buy Robert Mckenzie’s ‘Treat your own back’ book from Amazon for about £15, or just go and see one of their specialist practitioners if you prefer to get some professional advice first. Mckenzie Institute[/url]

Also consider splitting the bar – perhaps a more rough and ready area (but still warm and cosy) area for bikers, and perhaps a more family orientated area for day to day traffic. That way you can cater to both markets. The bikers get their den of sin, filled with bike porn (magazines and inspirational photos) and the tourists are not put off by smelly, muddy bikers.