OP – will your fork from the s456 fit the tapered headtube of the carbon 456?

And the answer is… Busier than expected. About 20 cars in the parking at 1900 tonight even though it was very windy and a little damp. I counted three groups with a total of 16 riders through Buzzards at 1930ish before going off on my own to explore the red and blue routes. Great fun. I’ll definately be doing it more often even though solo night riding is probably not to be or clever.

I use the Sealskinz trekking socks for running and cycling in the winter. They’re great for dealing with puddles, shallow streams and wet grass – until the rain runs down you leg and the sock fills with water. I might try druidh’s suggestion and get a longer pair in the hope that less water will find its way in.

Op – I’m more concerned that Iran is in fact setting a trap for the US and its allies. Luring carrier battle groups into the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf might be a perfect way to stack the odds in Iran’s favour. Carriers are designed to hide in the wide expanses of deep oceans. Iran has an impressive navy with really scary weapons. According to wikkipedia they have 26 submarines, supersonic anti ship missiles and supercavitating torpedoes that can travel over 300km/h!!! Let’s not forget that they are the heirs of the Persian empire who were masters at intrigue and deception.

It’s far too cold for solo nude riding. Basically, I’d like to know that someone might be along shortly to call the emergency services should I wipe out in the woods. I’ve got a GTU 10 tracker which Mrs R can use to follow my solo adventures, but she can’t be relied upon to check it until I’m well over due…

Any more info on Wednesday night rides?

Mountain Bikers and Axes…who would’ve thought?

Clearly the research is trying to identify a correlation between personality types with attitude to risk and self-confidence in a sporting context- hence, the MBTI/Jung typology questions.

It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between personality types and MTB disciplines e.g. XC, XC endurance, Enduro, AM, Trail, DH etc…

+1 for the Gransfors Bruks axes. I’ve got the wildlife Hatchet which is excellent for camping, but not big enough for tackling logs.

Have a look at what Ray Mears has to say http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/68-Gransfors-Wildlife-Hatchet-Axe/

I also have a Fiskars axe – good quality and light. However, I just love the feel of the Gransfors.

Here is an interesting comparison for calories burnt per type of sport. http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm

Obviously, cycling is more efficient than running i.e you can get further per calorie burnt. Therefore a direct comparison is not useful. Using the table in the link above you can see that ‘Cycling, Vigourous 14 – 15.9 mph’ for a 155lb person consumes about 704 calories. This is the same for ‘Running, 6 mph’. Thefore, cycling is about 2.5 time more efficent. Thus, a cycling marathon should be about 105 miles.

I’ve been using the Rocket Rons up front, but in 29er flavour. They are the Pacestar compound and provide all the grip I need in virtually all conditions. Nobby Nics offer more grip. The is also a 26″ Trailstar compound version for more grip. I tend to use a combination of Racing Ralphs, Rocket Rons, Nobbby Nics to suit the conditions. I’ve got some Furious Freds, but have not had the courage to try them out yet!

The US has about 27 000 military types in South Korea and 35 000 in Japan to deal with any attack from the North Korea. The US and its allies in the region have little to fear from a conventional force. North Korea is happy with the status quo and will do nothing to risk losing it. There is little chance of the South provoking an attack without the backing of the US. I also have my own doubts about the viability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

90 min of hard cycling? Distance is difficult as terrain can be varied. It takes far less effort to cycle down a hill than to run it. Perhaps comparing calories burnt is useful.

OP – Invasion by conventional land forces? No. The terrain is suited to gravity type DH/AM type adventures. Definately not and XC course like Iraq in 1991 or 2003. More likely there will be rerun of the 1981 Operation Opera by the Israelis. Of course this will need to be supported by the US, Saudi Arabia and Iraq to ensure refuelling, a clear airspace and recovery should it all go the wrong. This is assuming that the Iranians have not aquired some effective anti-aircraft missiles like the S300 from Viktor Bout’s mates. There could be some special forces action on the ground. However, the US have not forgotten the shame of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 – very embarrassing. The Iranians may use their rather effective naval forces to disrupt shipping through the 54 km wide Strait of Hormuz. The problem with this is that they need to sell their own oil to the far east via the same shipping route. With some luck the Iranians will see sense and negotiate a transparent, but robust inspection regime to verify their peaceful intentions. At least, let’s hope so…otherwise Israel may have to settle it with a few well aimed Jericho IIs…

Anything deep fried in cooking oil.

julioflo – my calves were also pretty sore after a few early attempts at forefoot running. However, the results have been fantastic. I now regret the wasted decades I spent running on my heels!

I got one of these from Edinburgh Bike Coop for £49.99 http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-tune-up-workstand?bct=categories%2faccessories%2fworkstands-bike-storage%2fworkstands-truing-jigs

Does everything, it’s light and I can take it to races if needed.

MSP – I avoided running longer distances for years until I read about barefoot/natural running – it has completely changed the way I run. I now run in vibram 5 finger, Newtons, and Innov8 baregrips.

I used to think that everyone instinctively knows how to run, but I was so wrong…

I’ve just done the Short Glentress Duathlon. Pretty pleased with my placing in the mid 30s – made up 13 places (I think) on the bike stage after having finished about 50ish in the run. For me, cycling improves my running, but my running doesn’t seem to improve my cycling. I think it’s much easier to spend hours on a bike at a steady state HR than to run for the same length of time. I can cycle for 2 hrs a day, every day, but can barely walk the day after a 2hr run. It’s much harder to recover from a hard run. However, running is still important to keep the right muscles in condition – If you need to run. Also remember that cycling makes your muscles tighter so don’t forget to stretch.

.

Crates are meant to be safe, happy places. Not places for punishment as this becomes a trigger for stress.

My 29er rocket rons wobble alarmingly even though the rims are true. I’ve had no problems fitting them to ZTR rims.

Yelp every time your puppy bites you! This lets the puppy know that it’s causing pain just like its litter mates would do. Keep doing it until it knows not to bite or uses less bit pressure. Our Cocker responded really well when everything else failed.

I love dogs. However, I don’t believe that any breed has an inherent right to exist. After all, all dogs are the same species – we don’t need to protect genetic diversity unless the breed is truely wild. Pit bulls are essentially poodles with powerful jaws and necks which have been optimised by man for fighting. Why retain these traits if they are no longer needed? It is possible to breed a dog that logs like a pit bull but with the docile personality of a Labrador. Bad dog owners undoubtedly contribute to the aggressive nature of any dog of any breed through neglect. In Germany dog owners need to do a practical test and get a licence to own dogs. I don’t want this to be imposed in the UK because of a small minority of people with a fetish for niche breed.

What about one of these http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-51-c2-2011-id_8167190.html in a small? £149.99, 21speed gripshift and be upgraded.

So your’re looking for a 26″ bike?

Decathlon have a good bike http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rr-5-junior-id_8151094.html fits up to 5’1″. £109.99 online price. Only 6 speed though.

Islabike http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn24.html . I recently made the mistake of buying a 24″ bike for my medium height 8 year old niece in the hope that she will grow into it. It’s still too big as she has little stand over height that causes her to lack confidence off-road. A 20″ bike would’ve been much better even though she would need another in 2 years time. Bikes that are too big put kids off riding.

Pigface – you can’t be referring to me as I had to look the word up! Agree.

Dog poo
Litter
Not queuing
Talking loudly on a mobile in lifts, trains, busses etc
Texting during presentations, interviews and meetings
Hoodies worn to make people appear intimidating

Basically, bad manners and being inconsiderate.

Stans lasts about three months. Valves with removable cores make it easy to top up the sealant without to much fuss.

computer says 1:24, 1:20, 1:15 back to back last September. I might have a go tomorrow. Should we start a top gear style board?

+1 for light wheels. I’m considerably faster on my ZTR 29er Race Golds 1345 g, tubeless RR and RRon, XTR cassette, ti skewers, and than my Shimano MT75 UST wheelset 1900 g with 2 x NN I use for training.

+1 for spending slightly more on a light cassette – best bang for your bike. Bikeradar ran an article saying that it costs about £2.48 to lose one gram http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/bike-weight-saving-more-costly-than-silver-32960
Tyres and tubes also offer economical weight savings.

OOM Rocket Smock -ultralight and warm.

These guys are good as well http://www.bike-components.de/shop/language/en

On-one Scandal 29er X9 with the optional 100mm Reba fork will leave some change in your pocket. I reckon the taller/bigger you are the less the weight of the bike matters. The fit becomes more important to ensure comfort and to avoid back problems later on. You’ve nothing to lose going the down the 29er route. Shorter riders may feel disadvantaged by the extra weight and toe overlap issues.

arrpee – thanks! Fell Runners!!! 😯 What have I let myself in for?

Oops. It’s on Sunday.

Apparently the trails will still be open – according to the email from the race organisers.

I can manage that.