Prince. One good track about alphabeti spaghetti, and the rest is tiresome 80s soft rock. Clearly talented at what he did, just a shame what he did was so crap.

Prince. He did one good song about alphabet soup or something. The rest is awful 80s soft rock.

I replaceed my 25 year old rab bag with a ME Helium 400 in long, and have to say its a great bag. I originally bought the alpkit PD 400 and ended up sending it back as the baffles were crap – particularly the neck one. The ME is so much better in terms of quality for (at the time) £20 more. Also, the lining is really comfy – I never thought that would make a difference but it does. Agree its not a true 3 season – I’d use it in the UK hills April to October, down to about 4 degrees. Kind of wish I’d got the 600 for versatility, but at the time low weight seemed more important [rolls eyes]

Oh, I’m 6’2 and the long version is plenty long enough

How tall are you? 6’2 (what I’d call moderately tall) or are you proper tall? Heard good things about MSR hubba and the cheaper elixir (1 or 2 person versions) in terms of useable space lengthwise. Some of ones that quote long internal length taper at each end meaning you have the inner in your face / feet. The MSRs have near vertical walls at the bottom of each end which address this.

I have wild country zephyros 2 (cheap version of tera Nova you mentioned) which you can pick up cheap on eBay. Good probably up to 6’3ish, but inner does end up close to your face if that might bother you.

Before last Sunday: As well as working from home full time and seeing more of the kids, I was enjoying more (road) riding, running, getting a bit fitter, making music, and baking more.

After last Sunday: Slobbing about wondering when my fractured wrist and ankle will repair so I can get back to any of the above, and cursing Cambridges potholes. Also avoiding death stares and general snarkiness from my other half 🙁

I bought the PD400 and ended up sending it back. Didn’t like the neck baffle (just a flap of material rather than drawstring) and the skinny zip baffle. Bought a Mountain Equipment Helium which was slightly cheaper but seems much better made, and has served me well so far. 6’2 and went XL which I’m happy with, but think you’d be fine with regular.

Time of day? Pretty sure there are restrictions on trains in to and out of London during weekday rush hours, so might affect Ely and Saffron Walden. Otherwise it’s turn up and first come first served so you should be fine.

The straightforward answer sub 200 is a boss katana 50. You won’t go wrong with any of the others mentioned (I have a fender mustang 1 and it’s really good  Cost less than 50 second hand. It does fender amps very well as you’d imagine, and I get good vox tones from it as well by downloading the community made patches). I hear really good things about the Yamaha, and it’s small, but in my eyes the boss is the most versatile. Loud enough to gig (although you didn’t mention if that was something you were after) and with the power selector you can get good sounds on the quiet as well. Lots of tone options and slightly more intuitive than the mustang. They come up on ebay but not much less than retail. Seen them for 165 new. I’m on the lookout for a gigging amp at the mo and it’s between a louder mustang (3) and the katana 100.  It a good time to be buying amps!

All I’ll add to this is I recently bought an acoustic. started with £350 budget that crept to £500 on the end (see point earlier about not trying guitars outside your budget). Tried fenders, faith, tanglewood, budget Martin and others but settled on Yamaha A1M mk2 for tone and playability. They offered free set up but when the one I wanted (different finish) arrived in store it sounded and played perfect straight from the box. Will take it in for a check up soon now I’ve had it 6 months but doubt they’ll need to do much to it . So I guess I’m saying whichever Yamaha is just outside your budget if buying new. Do look at s/h too though .

Not seen the film Victoria mentioned yet. Shot in one take and very compelling. Just started season 3 of Line of Duty which is worth a go if you haven’t already.

As a Cambridge roadie and bike commuter, I just read their statement as ‘hey mr aggressive taxi / Audi / van driver, go ahead and scare the shit out of cyclists – you now have our express permission’. Utter ****.

Did it this year as well. Fantastic day out. There was one particular climb near the end that nearly had me walking – think it was Limber Hill. Echo the comments about how well it was organised, and food stops were surprisingly good – reckon I put on weight on the day! Real mix of people riding, and a great atmosphere. Being a Cambridge local the climbing was hard to prepare for. I liked that it gave my riding some real focus for 2 or 3 months beforehand. I say do it, and start thinking about proper training in the new year.

[not very stealth ad] if anyone wants a pc code for the full Commander deluxe game i.e. base game and horizons then drop me a mail. £25 rather than £40 [/not very stealth ad]

Yeah, Woburn, Chicksands and Thetford are the obvious choices. All about 45 mins drive. Night riding round Thetford can make it a bit more interesting. I’ve been riding a few bridleways to the south east of Cambridge (towards Bourn) on my cross bike and it’s made me realise there’s quite a bit of bridleways around, but haven’t found anything where I’d rather be on the MTB. I moved here from Bristol a good few years ago and ended up embracing the dark side.

Where you moving to?

I’m doing this next week on my old Cannondale CAAD10. I’ve managed to squeeze a 28mm tyre in the back and whack a 32t cassette on which I hope should help. I’m a bit nervous about the hills as my training (if you can call it that) has been entirely based around the flat lands of Cambridge 😯 I’ll let you know if I die or not… I do have an Arkose as well but prefer faster and lighter for distance on the road. So, being brand loyal, my suggestion is a Cannondale Synapse in the forth coming sales. Should tick all the boxes.

Sounds like your best off out of there op – this is a new beginning for you.

Unfortunately been in this situation a couple of times over the last year. The first time I put down to bad luck and a shitty company. When it happened again it hit me pretty hard. Some thoughts from my experience;

Keep structure in your day. Get out of bed the same time you would, and set a time you will start ‘work’ and stick to it.
This is the time for job searching – i found linked in jobs good. Sign up with relevant agencies early on. Think about temping or contracting for a bit if you can. I’m actually temping now (chance of perm down the line). It’s a great way to keep money coming in, and experience different environments and industries. I’ve realised the industry I was in might seem attractive from the outside (video games) but is pretty **** up. Make sure your CV is top notch before sending it out, and be able to talk through everything on it confidently. Make sure you have a positive narrative for how you are in the situation you’re in now, even if it means bending the truth a little. It took me a good few weeks of putting the effort in before things started to happen, but it did eventually? – stick with it even when it seems things aren’t happening. If you’ve got a partner or family it can put a lot of stress on home life – be sensitive to this. I wasn’t very good at talking about it as I was ashamed of my situation, bit when I did people were great. Make sure you enjoy some of your free time aswell – do the school run, meet friends for coffee, go for walks etc. And ride your bike! I set one week day a week where I would be out on the bike all day from dropping kids at school to pick up. Managed a few 100 mile+ road rides in preparation for a coast to coast next month.

Good luck, and feel free to drop me a message if I can help. Like I say I have some experience here!

Can’t make it I’m afraid, but have bookmarked that campsite – looks sweet! Cheers scud – hope the sun shines for you 🙂

Oh and Steak and Honour have just opened a restaurant – built up a loyal following with their food van, but doesn’t appeal to me being veggie n’all.

Cambridge is improving for places to ear out. SmokeWorks or Mill Works worth a look. Cambridge Brew House? Pint Shop a good call as well. Friend runs Novi on Regent Street which is also worth looking at. Or head to Thirsty (my local) and do whichever food van is parked outside that evening. If you want formal Allimentum is meant to be good but might be pushing it price wise. Six at the Varsity worth looking at as well – good views and food. Midsomer House is out of your price range and up its own arse so no great loss for you.

I’d be surprised if that Tesco van’s every movement isn’t tracked

Yeah, me too. Latest i had from the case handler was asking for more details as they couldn’t identify a vehicle in the area at the time. Will be following up with them on Monday.

Love this forum! I have exactly same job to do (Tesco delivery driver, now denying he was in area despite witnesses). Seen complete units for mk2 focus on Amazon for around £40. That video will be very useful – cheers Jamie.

Oh jeez, this is devastating news. So so sad for him and those he has left behind. Shocked. He was a true legend and will leave a gapping hole in the sport.

I think he’s just said he has used it 😉

Hope you had a fantastic time OP. Jealous? Moi?

Five hour drive.
Hour on bike.
Crash, broken leg!

Ouch 🙁

100 sunny miles
Double puncture, fixed.
Can’t stop eating!

Yep, getting the same. Annoying.

(Or we may just be visiting the same nudie lady sites…)

Never get bored of seeing cheers drives Rourke. A thing of beauty. I’d go for one of them for sure.

Dad or daddy. Friends kids (7 and 10) call them by their first names, which I think is a bit weird tbh.

Love my new Cateye volt 800. <£70 from wiggle. Used for night road riding (as opposed to my short urban commute), and not been flashed by cars on low or medium power, and not needed high power yet.

Those pro viz are amazing when it’s dark and you shine a light on them. Pretty crap rest of the time though as they are grey.

Just about to fit P45s and vittoria hyper 35mm’s and hoping they’ll play nicely together. As above, I reckon you’ll need 50’s if you want to keep the 40mm nano’s on.

Glad this thread popped up again – I got one (an XL 4) on BTW when they dropped in price in August. Awesome bike. Manages well on the roads with 28mm tyres, and the stock small block 8’s are fine off road (although I might well try some of the larger nano’s).

Here’s a pick on day 2 of a recent Peaks bikepacking trip on which it performed flawlessly;

I looked at GT Grade and the CdF when in a similar position. Ended up with Pinnacle Arkose from Evans. Ticks all your boxes (ok it’s designed in the UK not made, and it’s not exactly a boutique brand, but it is British). Great bikes – just pick your price point.

Sorry for late reply – thanks so much folks. Some really useful info here. I’ve put together a route based on the Peak Prowler Jamiep linked to (which in turn is similar to Scaleds route). I wanted to pass by Ladybower as I remember wild camping there over 20 years ago when I finished my exams at school. Anyway, here it is – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16440448 – feel free to pass comment. We’ll probably do it over 2 nights – 2 half days with a full day in between. Weather not looking great for Friday night so probably take a tent rather than bivvy. Thanks again!

That looks purposeful – nice. Do all your bikes have to be red? Do you go ‘nee nah nee nah’ when riding? Sorry, IGMC 🙂

I just got an Arkose 4 in the same colour. Was in 2 minds aabout it at first, especially as a City fan, but its really grown on me.

Firstly I would say going from 15mph to 20mph avg (door to door is how i think of it, not specific segments) is not ‘that next step up’ – its actually several steps up from where you are right now. Thats not being negative about where you are, more highlighting the difference between these 2 avg speeds is quite big in real world terms. Set yourself a first goal of avg 17 mph, then 18 etc

You can spend a few quid and make 1 or even 2 mph difference without any extra effort straight away – 28mm or less road tyres and going clipless (pref. roadie style rather than mtb). Also wearing ‘road’ clothing will help a little (even if its just improved comfort on the bike)

Make yourself a bit more streamlined when it matters – hit the drops when you’re 18mph + etc.

Ride in flatter areas 🙂 Where I ride normally (round Cambridge) I’m 2 or 3 mph faster than when I ride in the hills.

But most importantly its sorting out the engine. If you want to get faster, you’re going to have to ride harder. Intervals, tempo rides etc. I found a heart rate monitor helped me structure some of my rides.

Good luck!

Just bought this years Arkose 4 (again, would recommend) for £1,100 and they let me pay the extra £100 on top of my Cyclescheme voucher.

No country for old men. Just brutal.

In a similar position at the mo. As an interim have plumped for some cheap pro 4 28s, but interested in what responses you get. Be aware, (I think) the 32mm gravel kings are more knobbly than the smaller versions.

I have an apendage the size of a …
I’m fast as a …
Irony

Might be useful for us as a spare family phone. Any one any idea how it charges? If its mini / micro USB that would put it ahead of Nokias

Bregante – Member
Depeche Mode, Manchester Apollo, 1983

Me too!