Bug Club were absolutely ace in Manc last night. Missed them last time around and been looking forward to this one for ages – they didn’t disappoint!

Clean it. And then clean it again. Inside steerer tube, back of fork brace, the lot. Tyres in particular need to be spotless. They are really strict and pretty thorough. Same goes for any riding or walking shoes as we were checked both times we’ve been.

I flew with Emirates taking two bikes to NZ a couple of years back without any problems. I seem to think thee was a bit of a surcharge but not much. Took them in Evoc bike bags. No problem with the size

Course is holding up really well. It avoids trails which get really claggy and uses some forest road too. There will definitely be some mud though, there has to be, it’s the law in a ‘cross race. And it wouldn’t be Delamere without some mud now would it ;-)

I’d give it a miss at the minute. Half of the forest (the side with the 4X track, No Brains etc) is closed due to logging operations. Apparently this is ongoing for a few more weeks yet. There’s also work going on around the main lake which has meant closures in the last couple of weeks. This may be finished now though.

+1 for the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. Neat, no mixers, it’s absolute bloody nectar.

Quick update to this thread. We’ve been up to the forest this morning and had a walk up the track in question with a Forestry Commission Ranger.
This particular section of trail is not heavily used but was just off from one of the main tracks down the Old Pale. If it looks a bit underused in the picture it’s because it’s a Larch forest (deciduous) and there is a covering of needles everywhere – even tracks which were ridden this morning have a fine dusting of them so things get covered pretty quickly. There’s a slightly bermed corner about 20ft after the jump which you can’t even make out in the photo as it’s so gloomy in there.
The offending posts have been removed. They were originally taken from a jump which is now unsafe. This jump will be removed totally today to make it safe for everybody. Not because the forestry don’t want people to have fun but because ultimately, if somebody hurts themselves on it, it’s on their head.
Hopefully this is an isolated incident but if anyone does see anything dodgy going on then please report it.
Thanks, Rick

Good LBS in Frodsham too ;-)

Big end of season sale on Nukeproof Mega bikes and frames at Twelve50 if you’re looking for one.
https://twelve50bikes.com/shop/search/mega

Arden Arms is a short walk across town and a nice pub. Other than that you’re, er, limited…

It’s £48 over budget, but we have these –
https://twelve50bikes.com/shop/Road-Bikes/973

Just stuck a beer can chicken on the Weber. Bloody delicious.
BBQ’s are amazing when done right

a good shop

I’d like to think that we count, but you never know ;-)
Yes, we’ll be slightly biased to the products we sell but we can also give you a good idea as to what else you’ll need to get going.
Also, as mentioned previously, there are plenty of regular group rides going on in Delamere Forest pretty much every night. Ours is a Wednesday and caters for all including those starting out.

Missed out on the actual premiere but manged to get tickets to the Cornerhouse screening with live link up instead.
Can’t wait.

Will keep our eyes open in the shop and stick another warning to folks that use the forest to be vigilant. Scumbags

It’s dried out a hell of a lot in there and has been riding really well for the last couple of weeks. Mainly ridden around the Old Pale, Nettleford Wood, Primrose wood area (Primrose was ace last week). Sure, there’s a few boggy bits and haven’t ventured over to the far side of the forest for a while (near the old hospital etc), but on the whole it’s about as good as it’s been in the last 6 months.
We’re out tonight if you fancy tagging on?

George Lamb? Please god no!
Beth Orton playing now, surely a good thing, no?

Stick with it. As pointed out above, everything else is terrible by comparison! Evening shows are definately better, more emphasis on music than chatter certainly, Marc Riley is a favourite in our household. By “interviews with people barely mentioning music” I presume you were referring to Devendra Banhart (sp?) on Lauren Lavernes show this morning which was excruciating to listen to.

Yup, we’re still doing regular Wednesday rides if that’s your chosen night, though as you can see from above you’re not spoilt for decent rides around here! Give the shop a shout on 01928 898011 if you want to know where and when we meet. Rick

Righto, it’s the last week of our Treasure Hunt and the “Grand Finale”!
We’ve hidden four prize tickets around Delamere Forest with some ace prizes from Hope, Osprey, Shimano, Urge, O’neal, Booicore, Nuke Proof and more.
Clues will be posted on the blog and Facebook late tonight.
Happy Hunting…
http://blog.twelve50bikes.com/2011/12/twelve50-christmas-treasure-hunt-grand.html

Treasure hunt time again folks.
Here’s this weeks clues…
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twelve50-Bikes-Frodsham/311091151303

Well, nobody has found either prize yet, we didn’t think the clues were that hard!
There’s still treasure in them thar hills…

Don’t worry fivespot, you don’t need to be a Facebook member to see our page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twelve50-Bikes-Frodsham/311091151303

Yup, both of us ran 1×10 this year. I ran 34/34 and ran out of gears only a few times really, mainly on steeper, natural stuff in the Peaks and Lakes. Trail centre climbs and lower level trails were fine, you just have to be prepared to muscle up stuff from time to time.
An 11-36 cassette with between a 32-34t front would be ideal for most stuff I reckon and occasionally having to push is a very small price to pay for not shipping your chain on rocky downhills!
Oh, and Steve, weren’t you pushing too – with a full quota of gears ;-)

The offending bit of wire has been removed from the trail. Hopefully we won’t see one back in its place. In the mean time it’s probaly worth taking it easy on the entrance to the trail just in case.
Looks like a bit more work has gone on shoring up the rock garden too. Needs a strimmer down it though – got nettled to death the other night!

Chakaping, that will have been Matt (the other co-owner of the shop) you spoke to. Was he with a chap on a Yeti? The vid turned out pretty well, though it would have been better with me riding ;-)
Never been a fan of shock boots and the like – I’ve seen a number of wrecked shocks because of dirt and moisture trapped in the boot. Better to let the wiper seal do it’s thang and most shocks are orientated in such a way that the dirt and water are pushed away from the seal anyway.

Another Stereo Race owner here. Had mine for five months and still running nicely with no play in any of the bearings or bushes. It’s had a winter of Delamere mud and long rides in the peaks. I must admit to being a little sceptical beforehand with regard to shock/linkage position and mud but it hasn’t been a problem at all.
Ace bike too!
(Cheeky PSA: We (Twelve50 Bikes) have a demo day next Sunday 27th March in Delamere Forest in Cheshire. We will have Stereo’s there to try as well as the Lapierre range. Drop us a line at info@twelve50bikes.com if you’re interested.)

Great event, big thanks to everyone involved. Nice chilled vibe – until you dibbed your dibber that is ;-)
Good mix of riding, stages were really varied and the climb to the top wasn’t that bad.
Got a flat on the last stage and just missed out on a top 20 but didn’t take the fun out of it.
Heard a rumour about iCycles putting some more of these on, certainly hope so.

Ah, that was you then! We saw some cars with racks on whan we got back.
We usually aim to start for 6.30ish but we can be flexible and push it back a bit. It was that early as we used to aim to get the most out of the daylight, I guess that’s less of an issue at the minute :-) We’ve had a couple of new faces recently, always good.

Divagirl, we have a regular Wednesday night ride in Delamere. There’s a range of abilities and usually a good selection of cake on offer too!
We usually post up on our facebook page (though we don’t put the start point up there) or give the shop a bell on 01928 898011.
The more the merrier, especially with the offer of cake :-)

If you ever can’t make the Monday night ride, we (Twelve50 bikes) do a regular ride on Wednesdays. Usually starts at 6.30 at the usual, though worth checking with the shop as it can change.

Thanks, I’d seen that place. May give them a shout.

Project, you mean Twelve50 bikes? ;-)

Good luck Nick with your new venture.

Glad you like your new toy Steve. One gear certainly didn't seem to be slowing you down too much!