The thing with the Golfie is it changes quite a bit over time. The easier trails were always NY NY , Flat White and repeat offender . Flat White is closed just Now , NY NY has a new ending which is brilliant but trickier than It used to be . Repeat was sanitised and has a new mid section that gets rid of the tricky rocky part. Same goes for Right side Clyde the little drops have got more exposed and some corners are down to the bedrock. For fun the lower stuff on the climb is all fairly tame apart from Trevor . So lower Wardells way , 3g , repeat and final fling.

I tried to ride down Hangover last sunday and It was a humbling experience so Im certainly no riding god.

All the hills in the valley have their own individual highlights and no two are the same . Enjoy where ever you head and just stay to withing your limits . Nothing wrong with getting of the bike rather than a visit to the borders general .

Yeah really sad news indeed , He was fairly pivotal in the early Waterboys stuff and World Party are so underated . Hopefully Robbie Williams murdering ‘She’s the one ‘ made him comfortable. Rest in Peace karl

Second hand for sure , for a bit of perspective Im selling a Commencal Meta HT AM thats fairly well specc’d . Its a 2021 in good condition  and have it on Marketplace for £975 ono . I dont actually expect to get that but try buying a Hardtail with good components for that even with the c2w discount. The arse has dropped out the market on both Bikes and Ebikes, It had to happen after the inflated prices of covid , from bike shop owners I regualrly use they say they are reasonably busy with repairs but not selling any nikes.

I knocked up a wee mix on my sons decks whilst he was at work today . See what you think , It goes a bit south towards the end. :D https://www.mixcloud.com/sweeney1903/music-is-the-answer/

I’d bet even after 44 trails and close on a 100 miles in the wet and the dark his ‘Final Fling’ time was still about 30 seconds faster than my best ever time. He’s a very talented rider.

I was there last sunday managed to ride Zorro, Trailfairy Plan , Hush Hush , Mild peril then back uo for Ho Chi Min and Careless whisper. Only the wet weather ruled out a couple of old favourites . I noticed the uplift was running which might be handy for the kids.

I’ve read the first few pages and the last , my take for what it’s worth . Brand is a horrible unfunny predator. I know humour was different back in the noughties and comedians could get away with more misogyny. It’s been said that at the height of his fame girls were literally throwing themselves at him . Add to that the drink and the drugs and being surrounded by yes men. That said It can never excuse the stuff he got up to , The Andrew Sachs incident , grovelling to Jimmy Saville , exposing himself to female assistants and worse still the dispatches rape allegations.

Whats almost worse is the way the BBC , Jonathan Ross and his Assistant lapped up the whole thing up like it was normal .

If his only redeeming factor is that he is highlighting a corrupt government , a dubious COVID campaign and energy companies exploiting the poor and It’s a conspuracy to expose him he is hardly Julian Assange. I hope he gets whats coming to him as a father to two daughters he is your worse nightmare not to mention being an annoying fud.

Still good to see Edukator is still an unfunny troll like a home bargains version of GW who could at least talk the talk and was kinda funny.

I’ve had both , The first Vitus went theough two shimano motors in just over 235 miles so I got a refund. Then I bought a cube stereo with the bosch gen 4 motor . The only problems I’ve had are a Battery holder coming loose , that said its only down about 350 miles. The Bosch motor has cut out twice but both times its been on the steepest hills I could find and the motor must have reached a temperature that prompted a shut down.

The Eco mode in shimano seems to have more power than its Bosch equivalent and the motor is silent. The Bosch certainly seems to have more initial power and a reassuring kind of ratchet sound when back pedaling. Ebikes are great and you will get a decent range for your typical winch and plummet type Tweed valley rides. That said I still use my other bikes for regular biking as It seems pointless charging a bike when Im still fit enough to do decent rides.

The last thing I would say is that when the warranty goes the depriciation of the bike is massive and they will be hard to sell. I wont rush into buying another until they are more reliable.

@minichops quite a lot of good day clubs popping up in Scotland . Check out MFSB in edinburgh Disciples of disco in Bathgate and Afro boogie in Uddingston . Also a friend does ‘The Get down as part of Luvinleith events. He did one last week with Bert Bevans from studio 54 and the ministry which was excellent.

As for Boiler rooms my favourites are still Frankie Knuckles and Optimo .

Mark Archer is immense , being a 52 year old house head with grown up kids I’ve got right back into going out (out). Not so much Rave but old house and disco . Check out Seamus Haji and Dj Spen for great mixes on mixcloud. My son has got fairly good and makes a decent wee side hustle so I use his decks quite a bit.

House music all night long….

Its a crap situation for sure , I’ve had fairly similiar a couple of times . I hit a teenager at about 25 mph who had just came off a bus with ear phones in , then a network rail van hit me as he couldn’t see me for low winter sun. On both occasions I was shook up but didn’t pursue it as I had only minor scratches on the bike and my body.

Regarding dogs and X rays I was quoted £900 for an xray on my pug so they wont want to go down that route. If you want to still go after them I’d maybe try a tactful letter saying to meet you half way on the helmet and Gps . Im in east lothian but I know where this happened and Its very similiar to both the bonnyrigg to penicuil old railway line and closer to me the pencaitland old railway where I wouldn’t have my dogs on a lead but are busy with bikes. A dog can bolt after anything at the drop of a hat and you have been unlucky . Substitute the dog for a fox or deer and there is no claim but the same result. Anyhoo good luck and I hope you both come to an amical resolution.

I spent a week in marseille a few years back . I really liked the place and never felt in danger. Highlights were a trip out to the islands Friuol and If (the inspiration for the man in the iron mask). Take the train or cycle the BSO to cassis and visit the Calanques. Cassis is beautiful but being the south of france pricey.

The ebach in Marseille isn’t bad and worth a walk through the african market . Marseille reminded me a lot of Barcelona and I’d definately go back .

Not long back , I really enjoyed it to be honest . I liked the changes to the course and If you thought it was sanitised look at the times they weren’t the fastest ever down Fort William . All in all a great weekend and great result , the whole event wqs really well organised and It was my first time at the wildcamp which was brilliant. The weather was typically highland and I’ve never felt so cold and soaked watching the final 10 .

The Golfie bit is NY NY then middle repeat to the bottom. We rode mid and lower repeat at the end of our ride on saturday and  both said how rough that would be on 120mm and a seatpost rammed up yer jacksy .

Should be good though and It does make me wonder if this is the reason for the new end of NY NY.

Up at Nevis range thursday evening and will leave after the race on saturday . Staying at the wild camp for the first time . Looking forward to it and the weather looks Ok . Gonna just cycle back and forth to Nevis as the shuttle buses can be a pain . Didn’t bother with the gondola access this time as we will just slowly wonder up .

Previously had a Pixel which died and bought a redmi Note for around £150 . It does everything I need with a decent spec.

Not that im Biased but the cube stereo stereo hybrid 160 SL can be had for around £4200 . It has big battery , bosch motor , zebs and a decent drivetrain . I previously had the vitus sommet vrx for about £4800 which had an amazing spec but unfortunately a shimano motor which died twice in 235 miles so was refunded. The cube is unbeleivable , I ride the tweed valley and did about 5000 feet on climbing and 27 miles today and still had 20% left today .

I used to do about 4 – 5 k miles a year but have pretty much given up road riding in ht elast few years. I do a bit of bike packing and gravel riding along with ebike DH in the tweed valley . Last year to get a catch up with my roadie pals I did a 3 day Mallorcan trip on decent trek Domane’s . what I noticed was that the bike was dull and felt like my trek checkpoint . I think for value road bikes are crazy for being overpriced . I can justify 5k on a ebike but a mate has just spent the same on a top of the range Domane and whilst its lovely I cant see where the money goes.

I think the problem is a second hand Ebike usually wont come with a transferable warranty . I had problems with my vitus and actually had it refunded after the motor went twice in 235 miles. Had I not had it refunded I was going to sell it after it was fully paid up . The thought of selling it with a new motor then a few weeks later the motor going and having to deal with the hassle from the buyer seemed a nightmare. Obviously seome motors seem more durable than others. For a wee bit more than 3k you are starting to see new bikes discounted thats the route I would go for to be honest . I got a fairly well specc’d Cube stereo in the sale for £3999

EYRA ones are great , they are also on sale just now . Added to that the owners are two young fellas who ride themselves and they are from Edinburgh

I did Heartbreak ridge yesterday morning and Tarland in the afternoon. Two great rides with polar opposite riding. Tarland was great , the only trail I missed out was the black jump line as I haven’t got the skills to pay the bills. Like others have said the top is good but in all honesty I would probably miss it out next time as It’s not worth the climb. The Bermuda , Spline main red is great fun as Is the blue. Its a lovely forest to climb through as well. It will be interesting to see what they do next as all though it’s small there is romm for other trails there. The mega berm on the blue would have even Victor Meldrew grinning.
On hertbreak ridge , I had wanted to ride this for years but everytime I’ve stayed in Ballater I’ve always either done some walking or taken the gravel bike. It was superb and got quite hairy on the rock slab before you pop into the forest . I’d ride it again in a moment , It’s a bit like top cheif at fort bill buy more enjoyable. Deeside really is lovely though great bakers next to the coop .

I’ve been forced to watch it , but Belgium sounds like an auld house track so thats my vote.

Torridon YHA is good , the fella that run it not so much but that was a few years back. Torridon Inn was agreat wee place not cheap but good food and drink and about 25 minutes walk from the youth hostel.
It really is a beautiful area , as is Gairloch to the north.

Good on him Weeksy , thats a big race and he deserves some kudos for it . As do you for Dad duties.

Weeksy do you know if the qualifying is online to see. Would be interesting to see how some local borders guys did.?

Good luck to you both , fair play thats racing at the top level . It will give you both a great idea of where hes at . Though he looks brilliant and not out of place there in that video .

As above , as someone who has just had a full refund on the model above this I wouldn’t go near this. The bike is great but as said above the motor is absolute crap. Shimano has a one in three fail rate and whilst CRC were brilliant to deal with I had 2 motor fails in 235 miles. They just dont seem to be able to cope with a UK winter though im sure the fail rates in southern california are way less. I managed to get a refund and Im away to pick up a cube stereo 160 with the bosch motor. Had i not got a refund I was going to sell the bike after a year but obviously the remaining warranty wouldnt have been transferable. I wouldn’t be surprised If Vitus change motors for the next batch of bikes.

A good set of Pioneer headphones , USB’s are a good idea but unless Its expensive CDJ’s she will still just plug her laptop into the unit. Maybe also think of a wee carry case or a skin to put over the top for when she isnt using them .

The state of those bikes , Its hard to find anything being a bargain. Still each to their own .

I remember seeing the Texas chainsaw massacre on an old betamax at 11 , they will be fine .

I’ve got one with Yari’s and Spank race wheelset . It’s a great bike and I’ve actually not used my gravel bike since I bought It as I do everything on it. My E bike is knackered so in the last month I’ve done GT , Gypsy Glen and also bits of Yair and Inners XC . Its surprisingly light in my opinion. The only thing I will upgrade is the brakes which are shite as guide T’s. Im planning using It for bike packing so I will probably stick the 2.8 Maxxis reckons back on It. I previously had an Orange crush which was fairly similiar .

Just watched this on youtube , I must admit I’d never heard of the club or the promoter. What a soundtrack in this Joey Beltram , Capricorn and Drum club at the end. First class.

Mensa – Lord of the Rave

React to Rythm – Intoxication

Guerilla records had some quality releases , still play this when on the sons decks.

Eyra Aquatrails , Eyra are a new scottish company based around Edinburgh . I’ve bought a few of their bits and the quality is excellent as well as the customer service. They were £95 but head and shoulders better than anything else I’ve had.

I think Glentress has changed massively over the last 10 or so years. Most of the popular trails are now on the west side compared to the traditional Black on the east (Inners) side. I think if you look at popularity Trailfairy , Zorro , Thunderstruck and careless are ridden way more than the traditional Red / Black. Remember a couple of years ago when they carved up the valley to walkers trails, bike trails and horse trails , the likes of careless and Jailbreak was sposed to go as it wasnt sposed to be built on. This seems to have went by the way side which makes you think that If they are now making less new trails than originally agreed they will turn a blind eye to careless etc. The freeride side going to the bottom of the hill makes prefect sense and I doubt the huts will put anyone I know off riding there as you will only really bypass the buzzards to head up the hill. I dont ht++think its the disaster some have mentioned to be honest but thats only my opinion.

I missed out as well , this is only the pre sale though . Any idea when the normal sale goes ahead. ?

Two pics in the last 5 posts proove me right. Both the Marin and the Ibis Ebike are truly awful. There has been a fella on marketplace trying to shift the Marin for nearly 6 months and he has to add in the post ‘NOT AN EBIKE’ It’s that bad. I think the the Ibis Mojo HD3’s were nice then when The AF came out everything went south. The old Marin wolf ridge were a funky looking thing as well.

Sounds like they weren’t really very good friends in the fist place. I ride in a group of 6 ro 7 guys with ebikes down the borders most weeks. I was the last one to get an ebike so the months leading up to me getting one I just did my own thing as Its nice of people to wait for you ultimately a mixed group dosent really work. Getting back to your point If your mates were being nasty it genuinley sounds like they are knobends Im sorry to say and probably just a bit jealous.

Just ride with the nice ones.

For anyone in the central belt , MFSB are doing an afternoon club with guest DJ and PA Robert Owens on March the 4th. Great wee venue and a friendly older crowd. Robert Owens

Tears

I was at the Afternoon club ‘MFSB’ on saturday afternoon / evening. It’s excellent and the DJ’s Yogi Haughton and Dave Elders play everything from Acid , funk , house ,soul and hip hop. Highlights towards the end were De La Soul ‘Me myself and I’ , King Bee ‘ Back by dope demand’ and the jungle Bros. Then got home to find the History of Hip Hop on BBC2 .
‘Quality’ as the young yins say .