Tankslapper

Thanks for the link but I think what is needed is a ready made bike. Maybe in the £300 – £500 price bracket.

Si

Sierra Cycling maybe what you are after as it is in a good location and will have a lot of varied rides – Mijas, El Chorro and Montes de Malaga

http://www.sierracycling.com

Joyriders are in Estepona which is local to me and is a more chilled town for clubbing etc

http://www.joy-riders.com/estepona/

I checked with a colleague who rode it last year and he said that it was probably 25% on mountain bikes with slicks, and 75% on road bikes. Yeah – I guess pretty much any bike goes.

He is best mates, and used to share a house with, Dick and Dom – Dick was his best man. Last year Dick rode it too, and managed to borrow two v amazing road bikes claiming he could get publicity via appearing on Newsround or some other shows and tabloids : )

Well that’s today’s photo done via blackberry camera. I will have to really think after just a few weeks as to how to vary the pics each day!

Oh and 7 members so we are really motoring.

Maybe some STW fat club members could join and post a photo a week say of their leaner meaner bodies : 0

Great stuff folks – up to 6 people now in our group. I’ll look fordward to looking at the pics and seeing what is happening with everyone!

Well now we are up to 4 members!!!! So I reckon that at least every week or so there will be something interesting happening with one of us don’t you think? I am going to enjoy the project anyway :D

Amazing – 3 people already! Well this will be a bit of a slow burner I feel – sure there will be quiet periods but i am sure there will be times in the year when the photos and stories get really interesting. We shall see huh?

I am reading “The Spell of the Sensuous” by David Abram.

It is quite hard to describe what it is about. It is a philosphical work about how changes in how we think and use language have led to our disconnection from nature and our environment.

That looks like one fantastic ride.

Clarey – I was watching Wainwright Walks on BBC too over Christmas and saw this walk – I knew it would make a great ride. But there seemed to be a few scrambles – can you ride all the way or is there any carrying?

I am deffo going to be doing some ride like this when I am next up at my folks and have a bike there too.

Reluctant

Basically this cost me £290 from my local bike shop in Gibraltar. I bought it as much of my “ride from my house” rides are maybe 80% road and 20% farmtrack rides, i.e. that is the mix on a single ride. As far as i know it is the latest model.

I also bought it for pootling around locally as I wouldn’t wwant to leave my Kona locked up somewhere. I did buy a road bike but didn’t really enjoy it so I sold it and got this instead.

Yes – it is very good I have to say for the money. Nothing special, but seems to be quite a good spec for the money and I can’t fault it for what it is. In Gibraltar the choice is obviously limited, and it was either this, or a Raleigh.

Well folks I have just started a new Flickr Group if anyone wants to join in the fun!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/onephotoeveryday/

It was surprisingly nippy today! I think we are getting the arctic blast too.

Just a local ride as I am recovering from a bug over Christmas and just wanted to see how bad I would feel out riding, which was a little bit bad but nothing too bad so should be ok by next weekend.

I am vaguely thinking about buying a full susser.

What’s a horst link and which current bikes have them? Why are they so good?

djglover

Hi – when we went out with SeasonallyUnadjusted Jim he pointed out the author’s house which was in the El Chorro region.

It’s not a bad book but it doesn’t have any maps. I did buy a GPS unit but I’ll be damned if i have worked out how to use it as I think the Euro system is different to the Uk system map wise and I probably bought too complex a unit – I should have bought a really basic garmin insteasd of the Garmin that got the gadget freak in me all excited.

When I went to Sierra Nevada last year without my bike i had a very magical experience, and so really, I have had a rethink and should really trust the force and all that. Hey, I’ll be up in the mountains, just not on the actual routes!

Sparky

Hi – I have the 1: 40 000 Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada map. So yeah, I guess that combined with the Bikefax book maps should mean I am ok. I will probably ride the Istan/ Sierra de las Nieves route as a taster. I also want to do the Montes de malaga rides but to be honest I can’t see how to get to the start – my roadmap doesnt seem to show how to get off and on to the minor roads.

I think i will just drive up there and go for it – even if I have one or two duff days not finding trails at least I’ll be up in the mountains.

Rocketdog

You may want to check this group out which I have just discovered. It is more about creativity than diary type stuff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33436829@N00/3088053230/

This one is the more mundane photo a day group

http://www.flickr.com/groups/960718@N20/

Last year Roper set up a ride along the Straights of Gibraltar in June/July. The idea was to set off early, so as to avoid the mid day sun. Well it turned into a 6 hour epic in 33c heat and I was an absolute wreck at the end of it but I made it. I was woefully under provisioned in the food side of things but ended up with two of JanetStreetPorter’s chicken, cheese and coleslaw rolls.

My year so far and I have to admit there is a lot of scope for things to get a tad more exciting really, if I am honest.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonralli/sets/72157612015799085/detail/

I still have a few days to take off work before April and am thinking of a few days in the Sierra Nevada. As I will be on my own I may well not find the sweetest of the rides up there, but it should be fun.

What are these “bikes” you talk of??

Folks

Dim question, but with something like the Alpkit – does that go over a regular sleeping bag? Which then begs the question – which sleeping bag for fitting into an Alpkit!

Still not decided yet, but it could well be this!

Also considering the 08 Meta 5.5.2 and 08 Kona Dawg Delux. Not yet got any budget for a new bike so it could just mean putting some Maxxis on my Caldera next year.

I could have sworn blind I posted this in Off Topic!!! One of the reasons I got into biking was to be able to get and visit cairns and other sites of interest in the countryside. It’s not all about DH this and full suss that and what cranks you got and can you berm the bunny hop doing an ollie and all heh.

And a happy new year to you too! :D

Fair dos! I probably wont be on line new years eve mind if i can get ride of this sickly virus thing I’ve got : (

Surely a New Year’s Eve 2008 best of roundup A&A is called for good captain??

Facebook has its moments and is great for me while I am away from the UK.

I find if used in moderation it’s fantastic.

And yeah, there are certain creative uses of the “groups” that are excellent.

For some reason I felt compelled to add a 2 to mine in case it meant I couldnt be simonralli when we get the main forum back again.

But I feel I have missed the opportunity to pretend to be other people! Oh well.

Julia Bradbury?

She was presenting this show about walking in the Lakes this morning!

Wainwright Walks[/url]

I am getting a lot of satisfaction from my camelback bottle – love it!

Well I have decided it is the best mtb photo I took all year, and was on the best ride of the year, so I’ll keep posting it as long as people keep asking what your fave photo of 2008 was : ) There may have been one better than that but I am banned from posting it now.

Most of my rides in 2008 have been on my tod, and these even in the sunniest of weather dont produce great pics.

This one!