For those struggling to rate BOD, despite being the best player in this year’s 6 Nations and being instrumental in leading Leinster to the Heineken Cup…

On Wednesday he had the most carries, passed the most of the 3/4’s and made the most metres of any of the side. He made an unreal 131 metres in carries, next best in the team was Byrne with 87, Roberts with 59. And he made the most assists. He also made the most tackles in the backline with none missed. Made the most offloads and forced the most turnovers…

O’Connell has whipped AWJ consistently over the last couple of years. In fact Scrum V did a feature on POC and AWJ entitled “Master and Apprentice”. He does a lot of hard work and has made the right decisions as captain. Hines is in good nick but doesn’t quite deserve to start the Tests, Shaw is just past it.

IdleJon thinks Monye lacks pace – his PB for the hundred is 10.6 seconds 😆

Massive thanks peasnotwar! Plenty to be getting on with there. Mugsys its like any “extreme” place, there are people there to get into the hills and people there who just like the lifestyle and mincing around in bars where they know everyone.

I know what you mean twohats. I used to do a fair bit of running on the Petit Balcon thats the main area I have explored without snow cover, and I’d still struggle to follow directions.

On the plus side, my missus has announced that she knows this Tom fella who did the guide book and will give him a shout when we are out there!

I did the Midi back to town on skis 3 times in a day a couple of years back, awesome!!

Everyone has gone a bit schtum on the location of trails. I reckon the following are worth a look for the uninitiated.

Brevent – Over the back towards Servoz (popular walking trails though), Traverse to Flegere, switchback trail skier/riders right of the new gondola.

Flegere – Over the back into Vallorcine (sketchy cols but Floria should be rideable after a push up), up and round via Lac Blanc, through the “tits” and down to Col de Montets.

Le Tour – Bike Trails or over the back to Trient

Grands Montets – Levancher would be a long run. Bit sketchier than the Aiguille Rouge side.

Bike Trails at Le Tour and rumours of Les Houches, although the lift operators at Les Houces have fallen out so who knows what is going on there?

If you need repairs be very careful leaving your bike with Zero G without agreeing the amount of work required. I have heard of a few bad experiences with them.

Best – Impreza STI with some Prodrive gubbins.

Worst – Flat worst probably the 91 Mitsubishi Delica I had in New Zealand. Most over-rated was an Audi A6 Avant 1.8T that my old man used to have, underpowered, handled like a dog, stupid CVT gearbox.

I think Strokosh picked up an injury, looks good though. Jason White was absolutely robbed by that bell end Woodward in 2005 but is getting on abit these days.

Donncha O’Callaghan gives a good interview, told a fella once he had a pet lobster called Mr Pinchy or something, managed to keep a straight face throughout.

It will all hinge on the way the back row and halfbacks come together. I would probably go for Ferris, Heaslip and Croft/Wallace, and Phillips and Jones. The front five and outside backs will hold their own as long as there aren’t any injuries.

With all their players I think it could go 2-1 Lions. I am in optomistic form though after the Grand Slam and HEC.

Lads I have done three winters in Cham so I know all the lifts and hills very well. I am going back in August, staying with my wife’s folks up on the Savoy. My mountain biking enlightenment came late in life when I was looking for something worthwhile to do with my time in the UK, would any of you care to spill the beans on some good riding in Cham or email to andrewsteen at g mail dot com?

Cheers!

Its not his first is it? He must have been injured in 2005. I presumed he toured in New Zealand, Woodward brought every man and his goat.

Ackford is one of the most negative rugby writers around. He seems to see himself as some kind of maverick but he just comes across as a very bitter man with a skewed understanding of the modern game.

Powell – One trick pony, doesn’t make enough tackles or hit enough rucks. The way he charges into contact compromises his balance and limits his ability to offload. He goes off his feet far too easily which makes him harder to support. Tends to show up for first phase ball then do a disappearing act.

Worsley – Brilliant physical player who has lost some of his ability with the passage of time. Good tackler but looks terrible against groundhog flankers like Broussow yesterday. Not a great link man going forward. Limited player who has been lucky to be part of some great squads.

I can’t see beyond Ferris at 6, the Springbok back row is massive and Croft is just a bit too lightweight at that level. We need one guy who can smash absolutely anybody in the opposition side.

Vickery, Halfpenny, Fitzgerald and maybe Ellis aren’t out of the running just yet.

Hook didn’t really grab the game by the scruff yesterday, although he had no ball and kicked pretty well. Bench backs is likely to be from Ellis, ROG, Hook, Fitzgerald, Halfpenny, Monye. My bet would be Ellis, ROG, Fitzgerald. Place kicking is a big consideration and I don’t know they want to risk playing 65 minutes with Hook at 10.

My highly technical method involves bouncing the bike on its back wheel in the vertical position to get all the bubbles up to the reservoir. Then wind out the levers and tap the caliper with an allen key to make sure any bubbles can escape. Takes a couple of minutes and seems to do the job.

Growing your own is much more socially responsible then…

I’ve migrated to Atomlab GIs from the DMRs, I won’t be going back. They’ve more surface area and are dished which feels great under your foot.

George is quite a character. I remember him doing some impressive pole dancing in a club one night, he is very agile for a big lad!

I wouldn’t have fancied Courchevel much either, its a wee bit like Val d’Isere but without the riding to make it worthwhile. I traveled about a fiar bit doing accounts. I remember going over to the Totem to teach 100 nannies how to do their accounts. They were hopeless. The 10 guys who were staffing the kitchen seemed to be enjoying the training course, they are very accommodating those nannies.

Creg what did you do in the Totem? I worked in the Crystal office in Chamonix, we used to come over to Flaine when it was snowing heavily as a lot of our lifts closed and the off-piste in Flaine lasts all day!

John what the hell are you driving to do that?! Its 600 miles from Calais, I used to sit at 80-90 in my truck and minimise stops, still would’ve taken me 8/9 hours to do 600 miles.

Les Arcs/La Plagne, cheaper parts of 3 Valleys (Les Menuires, Mottaret). Flaine is also very good.

All of those are reasonably snow sure and have nice blues and reds that link well into wee days/afternoons out. Some treeline skiing is nice at that time of year as it helps with visibility in a white-out. And ski-in-ski out accommodation is great for minimising parental hassle.

Book your ski hire online in advance, you should get a great deal, at least 40% off.

My all time favourite bike review picture was of the 09 SX Trail. Classic MBUK/WMB close up action shot, “game face” grimace, seatpost sticking about 4 foot out of the frame.

“A spliff” can’t be compared to a set amount of booze because spliffs can contain varying amounts of cannabis.

Weed will affect your reaction time but it can also help you tune in to an activity, climbing, biking etc. You would be wanting to take it easy though.

In moderation cannabis isn’t necessarily a dangerous drug.

The increase in potency in recent years has been the worst thing that could have happened for attempts to “free the weed”. I used to enjoy it as a way to relax and have a laugh, I knocked it on the head because the only stuff I could get was like tranquilisers.

Weed is like drink or any other drug. If you can keep perspective and control your usage it can be enjoyable and add to your quality of life. If you can’t it will start to have negative effects.

Insurance is a very good idea for springers, they can get into some scrapes. Ours used to go under barbed wire fences at a full gallop and take chunks out of her back. If you’re looking for a similar dog which is slightly less mental, cocker spaniels are very good too.

The cat will whip it into shape pretty quick, especially if you get a bitch. Springers are great dogs, very energetic, easy to train, good with kids.

I think you can go too far. Anything over 700mm feels wrong to me, when your arms are too outstretched you lose power and the ability to make small readjustments. At 700 I can still get my elbows wider than my hands. Coming from snowboarding it also feels wierd having my feet fixed close together and my arms fixed wide apart.

I’m fed up with all the hand wringing.

My Mark V hasn’t given me any difficulties, its petrol mind. Apparantly they’re a lot better when they’re serviced at least once a year.

I only go up the inside of traffic that ain’t moving and once it starts moving I tend to try and get my own spot in the middle of a lane. Nothing winds car drivers up more than being overtaken by a bike.

I ran a red light the other day, a quick sprint gets me off the dual carriageway before the traffic catches up. I wasn’t counting on the guy who pulled off the dual carriageway so his wife could give me a lecture, and narrowly missed crashing into me AND getting rear-ended by the car behind him.

I’m just about to stick some Rampage’s on my hardtail, tried them on my SX Trail and the performace was less than rampant. They are pretty narrow too. Larssen’s roll very well and can handle a bit of mud.

The trails of Britain are going to witness some ugly scenes this weekend…but then, probably not…

Just for general knowledge purposes, if you are trying to restrain a dog or drag it off somebody/something, nip or grab it around the hips at the back or under the stomach. Its the vulnerable part of the dog so it gets distracted. My mum found this out after one of her springers was mauled by a couple of chav’s fighting dogs.

I am not entirely certain that pepper spray would deter 100% of dogs, it might just make them worse.

Time the journey so you avoid rush hour, ideally outside working hours. It is a lot more efficient covering distance at 80mph on quiet roads than getting ratty at 50 in traffic.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/upgradeitis-whywhywhy

Because the other ones are shinier. How much are the gamuts? Their stuff is pretty light isn’t it?

I think all this “calling dibs” is a load of boll*cks. Hardly any of the threads get past 5 posts and hardly any contain straight offers like druidh’s, that is all done on email. Somebody posts an item and 3 minutes later its effectively off the market because somebody calls dibs and we’re all friends here. It favours the buyer because they can then offer less money by email knowing the seller will have less interested parties.

The whole thing would run better if interested buyers posted their current offers on the thread instead of this constant low-balling by email.

Druidh I’ve £2 I could lend you…?

I’m not sure about the bike storage but if you’re there in a couple of weeks I’d say it’ll be pretty quiet, thats still well short of the summer rush. Its basically a hostel with a decent friendly bar. You couldn’t rule out some of the locals having a bit of a session in the bar but I very much doubt it’ll be enough to keep you awake at night.

They had a very big winter for snowfall and I know some old mates were still getting fresh snow in early May.

Its an 08. It feels alright, just different I suppose. I probably just need a few consecutive days on it now I’m injury free. I got a great deal on the frame so if we don’t make friends I can always ship it on.

I am having a few issues getting used to my SX Trail. Its got 424mm chainstays and a horizontal top tube length of 606mm. I am very long in the legs, short in the back, and I’m having a lot of trouble finding the balance between under and oversteer.

I’ve been off the big bike for 6 months and come back to a new bike. I still haven’t felt the flow on the new one so I have been trying to decide whether I’ve lost it, or I never had it, or there was some kind of technical explanation. I’d say a combo of all three is to blame.

I love my On-One. You could buy a new one and get it sprayed whatever way you like and still have change from £250

Twohats, any suggestions you’d care to share for guides and/or trails in Chamonix? I did 3 winters there but apart from a bit of hiking and hill running in the interseason my knowledge of the hiking/biking trails ain’t good. There must be loads of good descents all over the Aiguille Rouges and Col de Balme.

Col de Balme at the top of the valley has some proper biking trails now. I’m out there for a couple of weeks in August – cannot wait!!