I like this video. Mostly because I’m the pathetic trudging figure that appears at about 4:20 in a bright orange top as far as I can tell.

Nothing anyone says can prepare you for Simon’s Fell, it’s just something else. To add to the conflicting advice I find that baring incidents your position at the bottom of Simon’s Fell is more or less were you’ll finish.

Coming down Ingleborough don’t make the mistake I did my first time, any muddy patch without tyre tracks is actually a bottomless hole which will send you over the bars!

Past 3 times I ran Panaracer Cinder Cross tyres. Plenty of grip and tough enough to cope with my less than elegant descending. Just pump them up as hard as you dare and try not to pinch flat coming down Whernside.

I’m personally not convinced by tubeless for this race. The one person I know who tried it blew the tyre of the rim 10 minutes before the start – panicked switch to tubes right then!

A spare set of wheels, or someone with a track pump, at Ribblehead if you can, that’s the descent your most likely to have problems with.

The advice I was given when I first started was to run the tyres at 100psi, snake bites is the issue and if you do puncture then remember your not going to get 100psi back at the side of the trail so take it easy until you change wheels or get the pressure back!

Have fun and remember Simon’s Fell will eventually end…

If you definitely want to do the race next year then get in touch with the organisers and arrange to marshall this year. The new organisers seem fine, I didn’t notice any difference when I did it last year.

If you want to try the lottery then entries are open for two weeks after which the organisers assign some places and it’s a lottery for what’s left.

I’m thinking about investing in one of these. Anyone know anything about them?

Just back from watching the start in Eymet.Happened to be in the area so it seemed ride not to go.

When I’ve had a creak like this and it isn’t the BB it’s always been the rear dropouts. Taking the wheel out, cleaning the dropout and the end if the axle and reassembly with a dab of grease sorts it out. Another cheap and easy thing to check if nothing else.

The simplest explanation is just plain bad luck. I point you in the direction of the Clustering Illusion.

I’d recomend you read The Mismeasure of Man by Jay Gould before taking any notice of IQ tests.

Slightly different but a favourite of mine is Dinner at Devient’s Palace by Tim Powers.

The girl with all the parts

Might be Girl with all the Gifts, I think most of them come with all the parts…..

Another one is Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm. Also try the SF Encyclopedia entry here http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/post-holocaust

Mind you if you read all of these in a row it might be a bit bleak. I’d suggest some Pratchett or PG Wodehouse in between.

Lucifer’s Hammer by Pournelle and Niven or The Forge of God by Greg Bear.

There’s bread and there’s bread, most supermarket bread is made using the Chorleywood Process, this results in a very different product to what you get if you make bread with just flour, yeast, salt, water and time. Have a look at the Real Bread Campaign web site.

There’s a little rock step between Dick and Harry,I tried to change my line way to late, failed to lift the front wheel, over the bars, wacked my head into a tree, dislocated my right shoulder. Thing is I’ve ridden this loads of times, I know what line works. I’m in the market for a new helmet as well, the Troy Lee did its job but it’s headed for the bin (after I cut the straps out of it)

Took two weeks for me to get over the withdrawal symptoms. The worst thing now is if I have a ‘real’ coffee I’m awake all night.

Z1ppy has covered the highlights, although the track through the Millions is a proper bridleway, it’s the west side of Kinver Edge that has a permissive path along it.

If you want some company Stourbridge CC run a number of regular off road rides starting from the Bonded Warehouse by the canal in Stourbridge, you could try the Saturday 9am ride – this usually cover between 40 and 60km and you’ll soon discover most of what the area has to offer.

I have a spun iron pan from here[/url].

If your riding yourself not driving then rather than trying to get to the bottom of Ingleborough I’d consider going to the start of Whernside at Chapel-le-dale. It’s quieter there with and a good spot to wait. From there it’s an easy spin for you back to Ribblehead and then onto Penyghent.

Otherwise just remember to bring enough food and clothes for you as well. If the weather’s bad you’ll get cold and hungry standing around waiting. If you can access it the live tracking that shows when riders dib at the summits is really useful, gives you some clue as to when they will appear.

As the race goes on be prepared to shout really loudly and wave madly to attract your riders attention. The not falling over focus and 1000 yard stare of a rider coming of Whernside will make them ride right past you – and don’t expect anything more than grunts by way of communication. Agree what to do if they do have a mechanical issue before the race, you won’t get a sensible decision from them during it, I’ve known people ride of on a soft tyre rather than stop for 30 seconds at Ribblehead and swap a wheel.

The bottom of PyG is a place to be wary, it feels like you’ve survived the descent but there are a couple of water bars that always catch someone. It’s a very annoying place to puncture!

The big danger of supporting someone is of course that you’ll get hooked and next year find yourself lined up at the start. Then you too can find out the mystery of Simon’s Fell…..

You could look at Stourbridge, 30 minutes from Birmingham by train plus direct line into London Marylebone. Plenty of local riding at Clent and Kinver plus the Wyre forest and an hour in the car will take you to Cannock, Church Stretton or Ludlow (for Mortimer forest).

It’s where I’ve lived for the past 25 years and it’s always seemed a good compromise between access to riding and access to facilities.

Another vote for the Bliss ARG Minimalist pads, I bought a pair a few weeks ago for the exact same reason as you give for wanting some and have found them very comfortable and almost unnoticeable when riding. How they will feel when/if summer rolls round is another matter but then that’s going to be true of any pads.

My brother in law and family moved to France last year and there’s lots of information about the whole process, including learning the language, on his blog[/url]

My tip is that there aren’t any tips that will prepare you for how tough this will be :-) However Dean Barnett has some more useful tips here.

Another vote for Glympse here. It works well on my androud phone.

This is still sort of on your own but also sort of with other people, the 2nd round of the Midlands moutain bike Orienteering summer league is taking place near Church Stretton. You can enter on the day for 3 hours of trying to find control points. See BMBO Website

As z1ppy said Stourbridge CC have a number of regular road/off-road rides, the main off-road rides start from here at 9:00, 9:15 and 9:30 each Saturday. New faces always wellcome and it’s a good way to find the local trails and local riders. Let me know if you want more info.

You could look at these from Blue Flow: Blue Flow Carbon Wheels

Yet another very happy El Mariachi owner here – running it 1 by 10 at the minute but going to SS now the winter is coming.

I’ve used the Knights Stainforth camping site which does allow dogs, it’s a pleasant site right by the river.

Knights Stainforth[/url]

It’s a short (uphill) walk to Stainforth itself which has a pub, the Craven Heifer, it did close down but I think has re-opened so check before booking if that’s importtant!

Sandy Balls.

What about one of these. Put some knobbly tires on it and its very capable off road as well.

Paul Brady and Andy Irving every time:

This page shows a picture of the top hats and bushings. You need a tool to remove the bushing although I have done this using a pair of sockets and a vice. One socket the same or slightly smaller that the bushing to push it out and another larger socket to push it into and stop the vice holding it in place. With the right tools its a pretty straightforward job.

If I’d £400 to spend on a bike I’d go for the Islabikes Beinn 29, see here. I had a loan one for 2 months and really enjoyed riding it, it went round the Wyre Forest several times, I did a duathalon on it and it worked well on the road.

We don’t ride in one big group of 50 odd riders :-) , that would completely unworkable at gates and at the cafe stop half way round. There are 3 main groups, a smallish 9am group, this is the longest and fastest of the rides; one or more 9:15 groups, we try and keep the number of riders to a maximum of 15 so when we have a big turnout we will split this group into multiple rides; a 9:30 ride aimed at anyone who wants to turn up and get out on there bike, this ride has the most fixed format and is the easiest of the rides we lead.

The guidance on passing the leader from the website is:

It is courteous to stay behind the leader.

in practice what this means is don’t charge past the person who knows the route and miss a turn, we like to return to Stourbridge with the same number of riders we set out with! There are lots of places however where the route and re-group point are obvious and people are welcome to pass the ride leader if they can catch them.

In short we try and have the minimum amount of structure in place to make these rides work for everyone who comes along.

Jackson.

Hi,

Prospective new members are always welcome to come along to any of the clubs rides to see how they get on with us. We currently run a number of XC rides on Saturday mornings starting from the Bonded Warehouse by the canal, there are also some evening rides, usually Wednesday nights. Details of all of these can be found on our website here.[/url]

We are currently arranging a series of rides outside of the locally area once a month. Next one is on the 28th when the plan is to head up to the Peaks for a days riding, again details are on the forum.

As of the AGM last month we had around 160 paid up members and this will probably grow back to around 200 as people remember to pay there subs. We regularly get 50 plus riders out off-road on a Saturday and routes cover Kinver, Clent, Enville and Dudley. Turn up for one of the 9:15 rides on Saturday and see what you think, we will try and make you welcome.

Jackson

If your budget can strech to the £399 mark you could look at the Isla Bikes Beinn 29 here. Makes a good commuter but is also suprisingly capable off road with the right tyres.

Just had some more information on this back from the council.

the proposed route of the bridleway actually runs across the middle of the field. Apologies, the route shown on our website was incorrect – I have amended this now.

The route across the field will be clearly defined by an unenclosed 3 metre wide grass path (the surface preferred by the representative of the British Horse Society). There will not be any gates.

Not sure if it’s worth objecting, the new route might be more interesting than the current farm track anyway.

Kool Stop dual compound (salmon & black), again not cheap but I find that they last really well and seem to provide better braking than anything else I’ve tried. Some other people I ride with swear by the BBB pads for their CX bike but I haven’t tried them myself.

Sanderson Breath possibly – not sure if it will take the 130mm forks though and the Sanderson Web site dosn't seem to say; but you can get one for £199 from here

Another alternative is hugin from here[/url]