Well maybe it will be as bp is back Houns?

2 hours to get round Mabie red route, and I missed out the first climb and singletrack, and I also missed out the final rattle and hum section. So yeah, pretty slow and legs feeling like lead. Hopefully will begin to get some kind of fitness back soon. Anyway, hope you have many happy wok-orientated meals

The only pic I took

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Treated myself to a new bandana BTW, same pattern as the old one, but this one is red/purlple 🙂

Mini hijack

Trekster – I did Mabie today but only managed 75% of the red in around 2 hours. I’m pretty out of shape so was going to do a slow Dalbettie on Tuesday and then maybe Ae or Drumlanrig Thursday. My bike gets a service on Friday. I was so shamefully slow that I decided not to give anyone a shout for a couple of weeks as it would be too embarrassing have someone go at my speed. May drop you an email for Maybie if I am feeling like I am getting fit over the next week or so. Was going to go out tomorrow too but decided to climb Criffel instead.

Forge – glad you enjoyed Ae – I quite like it but not too sure when I’ll be tackling it as it is quite a long ride (for me anyway).

That better ton? 🙂

Gone a bit retro

Folks

Just out of interest could you define a hard climb? How much altitude, how long in terms of length of climb, and how technical?

A huge number of my local rides in Spain start with climbs of between 1 and 2 hours, although these are mainly on double track. Technical singletrack climbing is a different kettle of fish and I really struggle on them, but yeah, later on in the year, I am sure i’ll be up for joining the odd ride here and there.

I’m going to be running/jogging Mabie’s Darkside without my bike which I collect next Wednesday. I’ve always wanted to see how severe it really is, and figured if I did it on my bike I’d only be carrying it around, so I may as well run it without my bike hindering me.

Seems like you are not the only one to be winding people up today 🙂

City Swept by False "PM Resigns" Rumours

Edit – don’t think the link I posted is what you are after now I think about it

the rise of the “maybe” babies…

Humble apologies. I interpreted the title of the thread as asking for those who were interested, not for those who know this far in advance that they are free and totally definitely going to be there! Next time I express an interest in a ride you will have my 100% undying comitment to the cause which I will lay down my life for in order to be there. That good enough for you Mr Barnes? 😀

Or maybe I’ll just stay at home and ride Mabie.

I am a maybe for this. If Trekster is coming too I’ll see about sharing a lift from Dumfries. I am not too fit right now so will need a couple of weeks to build my fitness back up before I venture out with a big group.

My personal fave is Mabie but then it’s horses for courses and I’ve been impressed with all the Stanes I have ridden.

Well I emigrate back to Blighty on Saturday and I’m a Scot don’t forget and will be driving down from Dumfries.

And as of September you wont need to worry about me as I will be gracing my prescence on all the Dartmoor rides 😀

Is this open to any STW bods? I’ll be around with bike by end of the month.

Well if I were to offer an opinion, I would say the best book about crop cirles is this one for anyone wishing to read about the phenomena in depth

That is all I shall say 🙂

Not riding as my bike is now bagged up ready to be shipped home. Got one heck of a party lined up for Saturday and I wouldn’t be in a state to ride Sunday anyway.

Yeah, basically what those funsters at STW towers didn’t tell you is that it’s IWH aka Lee Anderson running this competition 😀

Well at my local Morrisons, not only are booze and fags duty free, but you’re allowed to light up and grab a pint after slogging round the aisles 🙂

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Go for I’s sake and don’t stress about G. Just try to keep away from her as best you can and enjoy the party.

Also seems to be a confusion here between good riding due to trails and good riding due to countryside / surroundings / remoteness.

Maybe but then something I find exciting, another more hardcore/expert rider may find lame. People want different things from their trails/routes and people ride in different ways.

Wow this is a good thread. I have just ordered myself a tick remover for a fiver.

Well to answer the OP, I have been in Gibraltar and had Andalucia as my playground.

The riding has been good, but I am really looking forward to having 3 weeks in Dumfries next month, and am also looking forward to Dartmoor in September.

It’s not just about Scotland. This pic is from an evening ride I went on with the Flashes and others just outside of Leeds

You shouldn’t underestimate just how brill the British countryside is.

It’s not just about the descents. I really miss greenery badly, and am really looking forward to coming home. Horses for courses really.

I guess also I don’t have fast and flowing singletrack nearby. Much of it is a bit too rocky and technical for my abilities.

That’s not my pic BTW, it was taken by Mr Flash.

Oh right – so now we are posting photos of getting married to our partners who also ride? Sheesh 🙂

Blimey – first it was partners, and now it’s weddings. Not too sure what single types can post up as a thread that marrieds/couples can’t! 😀

If you are steering with your handlebars you are doing it wrong

Err – sorry to be thick, but I always thought that one of the roles of handlebars was to steer, i.e. change direction.

Am I missing something here? Am I meant to be wheelie-ing and then shifting weight in order to steer or something? 🙂

The Barca fans are going nuts right now outside my house. Fireworks, screaming kids, car horns you name it!

This was my second most viewed. Don’t want to put my first

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I’m not going to tell you my most viewed 🙂

Yeah – I look at the stats. It’s interesting to see which photos from last year and various rides and parties etc people are looking at. Would love to know who’s looking at what mind, and often it seems to be friends get way more clicks than pics of me 🙂

Flickr only does 90 second video clips.

You could create a photo montage and put it on Vimeo.

I find vimeo has better video quality than youtube, and am migtating over to that for my better vids

Brant

Hi – I hear what you are saying, but if I am on my PC it’s hardly an issue logging in to upload to the sites is it?

And email means you can’t upload anything more than 10 meg (not on hotmail anyway) and you’d have to go to Flickr anyway to arrange the photos into sets etc.

But I can see how it is useful for a busy and worthwhile person such as yourself unlike me with way too much time on my hands to blog my insignificantly meaningless life and tawdry thoughts and musings.

I have joined but it doesnt really do much for me. I signed up to the STW twit to win a prize but even though they hit 1000 people yonks ago there’s still no sign of their prize draw.

Anyway, what with my blog, my youtube and flickr sites I am more than busy keeping my many subscribers enthralled with my writing, videos and pics 😀

Rudeboy

Yep – there’s a little story behind this photo so click on the pic for the story and the other photo which is part one!

And no, you don’t get one as you have spent way too much time on STW and havent been doing your homework have you?

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Another tick for the Decathlon ones, but I had to go back to the shop and get a demo of how the heck to get it back down again. I am worried that by the next time I go camping with it, which may well be a long time away, I will have forgotten how to do that final twisty thing to get it back in the bag.

a quick trip to wikipedia can often avoid unnecessary embaracement.

As will a quick trip to a dictionary 😀

Isreal has around 200 nukes, many at their site at Dimona.

The hypocracy of Israel is that they bang on about Iran who HAVE signed a nuclear treaty and are legally allowed to have nuclear power stations.

Amercia is funding Israel’s illegal nuclear programme. It is illegal to fund nuclear weaponary of a country who has not signed the nuclear treaties.

But hey ho.

Brazil have nukes I think but I could be wrong.

Bunnyhop

If it makes you feel any better, for the first time in my life I had not just the f word hurled at me but the c word too and it upset me quite a bit.

Here’s my daily photo with interactive notes to help explain the whole shebang. It’s one of those situations that needs a photo otherwise it’s all a bit complicated explaining why this abuse was hurled my way.

Hope you’re ok now

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonralli/3517477163/in/pool-onephotoeveryday

That’s what he told me. But don’t forget at the height of the property boom, city centre shoe box one bed flats were on the market for what, £200 – £250K?

The house at the height of the property boom would have been on the market for way more than what he paid for it, that is all I am saying 🙂