Cheers. I does restore your faith in people, some of which helped my wife pack up  back in Ruthin as well. 

Cheers, at least we’ve done it now weather has turned. Winter for rehab and new bike research then. Never one to put someone off getting a new bike. Healing is never easy but do it right and you’ll be back to it sooner than you think. 

Open wrist fracture and broken hip here from 2 wks ago, I feel your pain. Don’t rush any decisions, this will pass. Do the physio now and later, it will come back. I know I’ll be back racing next year. Good luck in your healing.

When servicing them some fluid does come out of the air valve, states that this is normal in the service manual. I’ve serviced 2 a few times now and had this everytime. Hopefully you’ve not released any more than normal as it was under more pressure being down.

Shouldn’t need to remove crankset to get at pivot, unless yours is a 2020 model with the shock direct to frame, loosening it is not going to make any difference I am afraid. May just be a really tight interference fit..

Undo the bolt on the main pivot, it will take tension out of the rocker. If uses same style as my Top Fuel of similar vintage

If its a boa, get in touch with them and they will send a repair kit out for free. Easy to fit.

Parking not prebooked, £9. Reds running well but might have some diversions on it. Suggestion for cutting across is a good one and then could do the Blue, which uses part of Red but is fun. Cant comment on timings as I know it well and everyone is different. Enjoy

Done

All the best to the family

Peter and Jane

A smart turbo, kickr in my case, kept me going a few years ago when I dislocated and fractured shoulder. Having the resitance altered and the availability of programs that take all the thinking away was perfect for me. Ended up giving me motivation to hit figures.

Good luck with rehab, do the exercises given. I still do mine, not as often as should but helps.

I remember seeing your Open, as I really want an Open Up, can’t remember where it was though but was later on. I was getting it handed to me on most of the descents, I really wouldn’t have wanted to do it on a hardtail. Was even thinking I would to it next year on my old 160mm 26 and sod going quickly on the climbs. I enjoyed it this year having a few people around, been times on marathons that been a bit Billy no mates.

Dirtyrider think we rode together a bit, I was on an orange trek and finished in 4:16. It was a good big day out but I had a daft fast front and rear wheel wash out on a completely non techy bit, gave me a stiff knee for a bit and slowed me down on the gravel descents. Lost bottle..
Everyone I spoke to seemed to enjoy it, hard to link in sections without the road to be honest I needed the rest sometimes !

Dalby always gets a bit of a slating but it has it’s good points, the Red rewards pedalling and a bit of effort. The blue has had plenty of work done to it recently and added plenty of fun berms in the middle, bit of a climb to start but a good fun blue that can be harder the faster you ride it, or not.
Black sections are spread about,not that black, and more like little sections added in to the red. They are mainly nr and part of the old world xc course up at the top car car park, adderstone field. I enjoy the place. The two local bike shops are worth a look and chat with. Enjoy.

Wife and I did the monster 100k, I was hoping she had decided to cut short on to the 75k as the top part was brutal with some crazy rocky descents, but she carried on. I managed a 5:36 and Jane a 7:55. Saw a lot of crashes and punctures in the front of the field but managed to avoid any issues as didn’t go mad on descents. Would have been a very different course in the dry but fair play to the organisers for linking bits together that can cope with the volume and differing abilities of riders. Sitting at 40mph on a wet muddy downhill fireroad has it’s own stupid appeal..

Hi Two Dogs, yep we were in the black vivaro. It’s even windier here today !

Campsites a bit quieter tonight ☺ well done big yim, sounds eventful.. it’s a great mix with loads of kids having a go as well.

Was a great day out, wife and I did the full. She managed a 4:12, really chuffed as it’s her 50th this year. Stupidly I and one other, we were chatting, managed to take a wrong turning and did the b4567 climb and chocks away Strava segments twice adding over 3 miles and 500 ft of climbing.. 3:39 for me. Anyone doing the 100k in 6 wks ?

Just looked at the results for the Midlands, the fastest Vet was faster than the first placed Elite !

We raced in the morning at the Midlands in vets so didn’t get the rain but it was still very muddy. In comparison to r8jimbob88 I had a right laugh, yes there was a lot of mud and couldn’t really ‘race’ parts of it but some of the course was great fun fast and flowing. Helps the mood of the day that my wife got 2nd in Vets !

However smacked my rear derailleur on a stump in a off piste overtake on the third lap, and then spent the next few minutes trying to remember how to reset di2 but apart from that not a missed shift in all that mud, lost the group I was with and then became a bit Billy on the last lap.

Legs were still a bit battered from doing the Scott Marathon last weekend and with Dalby this weekend hope can recover in time, might have to take the train rather than ride in to work. Typical as its going to be sunny…

Times are up. I managed a 3:35 and my wife a 4:30 for the full, that was a muddy ride out which made it a proper laugh. The number of times got both wheels drifting was ridiculous and the rooty woods sections were great fun.

Thought I paced myself really well, anticipating picking the pace up, until 20 miles in got huge cramp that kept coming and going for the rest of it, biggest and hardest ride out this year more work needed.

Paul Oldham with a 2:42…

Rollindoughnut, well done on your result. Good to see you on the start line. I bottled it after seeing the crash right in front of us, want to get bit more strength in shoulder before testing it, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the race for me. Didn’t enjoy the really tight woods as couldn’t seem to find any rhythm at all and lost the plot a bit and finished 56th. Was glad when got lapped just before the end of lap 4 as was just waiting for it to finish, but glad to get a race in as forgot just how hard need to push yourself. Roll on Dalby and Builth Wells marathon.

That expert crash looked shocking and we were the other side of the course, glad all unhurt.

Rollindoughnut, I might try and hang on to you then as sounds like we are in a similar position. I’m on a bright orange top fuel on the back row. However I did dislocate and fracture shoulder last year so may be a bit cautious re overtaking..

Gridded 64th out of 70 in the vets.. first year racing with a licence as normally just done a few regional ones or open, people I normally place with are gridded top 20 so will struggle to get to them. Takes the pressure off, excuses prepared already.

Just looking forward to a good day out as wife is racing in the afternoon and be good to watch and support as normally have same start times.

Be our first race since Sept as made it to the Elan Valley event the day before only for the snow to hit, nice walk out in the lakes instead.

Good luck to all racing at the weekend.

Well that was an impulse Christmas present for both of us, wife picked one up from Argos today thanks to this thread. We don’t normally spend much at all on Christmas for us but this will be great away in the camper for the bikes. Thanks for the heads up 🙂

If you have a watch lab local, worth a look. Omega wanted 6 week turnaround, the jeweller couldn’t do in house and recommended them. Done in a couple of hours, with an clean up for the same price that omega charges. Omega dealers in the past have done them before for me but think omega stopped that and not sure independents can do the pressure testing needed.

Wife and I did it, great day out and really good to see so many there. Big rocks and big hills 🙂

Mate had this issue with a Bosch motor and after new chain, new sprocket and trying diff lubes put a clutch mech on. Sorted, not had an issue since and done fair few miles in some very muddy conditions.

I use Velcro, just get from e bay. Any width you fancy.

Dcl, sorry to hear about your daughters wrist but glad wasn’t worse. Jane passes on her best.

Not good kryton, hope not too badly damaged. Good course but the road start was badly ridden again by some, my wife helped a young girl that had been taken out less than half a mile from the start… I was more than happy with a 3:50 for the full considering a dislocated shoulder less than 3 weeks ago, the long rocky descent was interesting. Bit frustrating as would have enjoyed the descents normally and was a good course. 3 hrs for the fast guys :-0

Cheers all, frustrating now as no pain just aches and could easily get carried away. I can’t imagine having it coming it out again, such a weird feeling. Going to do all the right things with this, didn’t with a badly sprained ankle over 10 yrs ago and that still occasionally lets go. No more surfing about it, going to speak to a physio about timings for a consult and get it sorted.

Cheers all, resting and now started exercises. Really didn’t feel loose putting back in, went back in with a fair old snap and was not easy putting it back. Dad had a recurring shoulder dislocation when I was younger so remembered his technique to a degree. Was a stupid second pop out as had carried on down trail and got a bit too carried away. Will see a physio before doing any racing just to make sure but even just two days later feels much better and more and more movement with no pain.
Glad that you sorted bforbertie as reading more and more stuff on the net does not always help, but sure just a partial as what I felt in the shoulder before popping it back reads right. No further pop outs or even feeling like it will doing the shoulder exercises, so hopefully it will not be an issue.
Not had more than 2 days off a bike for a good number of years, feels odd. Turbo time methinks.

Thanks, posted before finished. Did go to a and e. It’s the long term that worries…

Back from a long weekend in Oxford, wife and I enjoyed a fast and hot Scott Marathon in Wantage. Finished in 3:08 after stopping briefly to help a crashed rider so lost touch, but enjoyed playing catch up and had a strong finish but I too suffered from cramp.
May have seen you on course adsh, plenty of mechanicals happening. Wife took 3:54 so very strong ride from her, not bad at 47 🙂 I am more than happy to be only 20 minutes back from the likes of Paul Oldham and Nick Craig…

I use a left hand shifter as a two position, takes experimenting with cable tension to get it right and I don’t get full rigid lock out (but I don’t want that). Find I use it a lot more when racing than I ever did when if was a lever.

Ianpv, riding a black fs trek with a red top on, you? Chatted to a few people out there, was a good day out. Been used to a dropper and grippier tyres so was a bit clueless in the woods and edgier sections with seat right up, but the fast tyres came in everywhere else. Official time 3:27 just need to lose a bit of winter chub for the next one.

Builth Wells at the weekend, that was hot. Next time carry more than one bottle, fair bit of cramp. A few numpties on the road section, can see why they have a safety car. Just under 3:30 for me and 4:45 for my wife for the full. Well organised and signed event, even I didn’t get lost.

Cheers all, really looking forward to it. We’ve been racing xc for a good few years and will have to temper the initial rush to singletrack urge 🙂
Kryton57, starting further back means more fun ie overtaking rather than been overtaken..

Wife and I are doing the Scott Marathon this weekend and not sure what to expect. Done the Northumberland Collossus and Behemouth, presume these run on a similar format ie mass start and a big first climb to sort it out. Good luck to all doing it, looks good weather wise 🙂

Clennal Collussus and Breamish Behemouth, if I’ve spelt them right. Couple of Mtb marathon style events in Norhumberland, great scenery and good atmosphere. More a challenge than a race, fair few don’t finish..