Come on, let’s see some love for the other corners of the Peak District. Good ones that spring to mind that aren’t Derwent and Hope Valley:

– Charity Lane (Macclesfield Forest) – it may be a typical straight liner, but it’s in a great situation
– Cumberland Brook – ride smoothly or get a flat. Like Potato Alley but with at least a couple of corners and entertainingly like riding in a stream after rain
– Hollinsclough – not ridden there for a while but my memory is of the descents being some of the toughest non-cheeky ones in the Peak District

Top 5? Wow, that’s a tricky one 😕

If I had to pick one it would be the descent down Macclesfield Old Road into Buxton. Objectively it may not be the best, but back in the late 80s when I first started MTBing this was the finale of the first guidebook route I ever did as well as being local, so holds a place in my heart. It’s still very rocky, as fast as you dare and can no doubt catch you out if you’re not concentrating. It’s also a good challenge to climb.

+1 for “what people think” being a pointless metric – what we think and the facts are not terribly familiar with each other

What people think is a useful metric exactly because what we think and the facts are so disparate.

I pay £2.99 a month for 200Gb, which is more than adequate for my photo library and is a small price to pay for another level of backup (although Apple will insist it is not a backup service). The editing/sorting is not done “in the cloud” so I can do it when not online, syncing the changes (automatically) when I’m back online. It’s not without its downside and frustrations, but it suits me.

Anyway, it’s irrelevant since you’re not, as you say, on Apple stuff.

I’ve asked myself this a few times and this is what I do:

– I use Apple’s iPhoto and iCloud Photo Library. This means I can be sorting photos on any of my devices and they will all update to one central library. This has made a big difference since I can be sorting through photos on my phone, MacBook or iMac any time I have the inclination. Previously sorting photos was something I sat down at the “big computer” to do and it often felt like a chore. It just makes the whole task less daunting.

– If I have an immediate reaction to a photo and think “that’s a good one” I mark it as a favourite. Not stars or keywords, just simply “favourite”.

– Others that are good but perhaps not impactful I *may* use star ratings for, but I find that I mark everything with 3 out of 5 stars 😆

– I definitely (try to) delete similar shots. It’s so easy with burst photography to have a dozen shots of more or less the same thing. I don’t make taking a few minutes to pick the best one

– I use keywords for things like “biking” or “family” so I can easily find specific photos in future

– I ask “will anyone find this photo interesting to look at?” if I’m in doubt. If the answer is no, it gets binned (mostly)

– I don’t fret about leaving a few behind for another sorting session another day 🙂

My photos get displayed on my TV as a screen saver so if a crap one pops up I go and delete it.

My nail clippers had a nail file on. Rather than confiscate the clippers the security dude just snapped the nail file off and let me keep the clippers. I never used the file anyway 🙂

lunchtime bump

I’d echo all the above. I initially bought a cheap Cree light which was pretty good except for the fact the battery cable would rattle loose from the light unit when riding, plunging me into sudden darkness. These are the risks of buying cheap.

A hugely important benefit of Exposure lights is the self-contained nature, turning an expensive bike-light into an expensive bike-light and torch. My Diablo gets used as much for a general purpose torch as it does atop my head on night rides.

I’d have a MaxxD too if I had the cash

OP’s story sounds similar to mine. A lowly 12 mile move meant doorstep mountain biking was nowhere near as convenient as it used to be. Net result was much more road biking.

I prefer road riding to mountain biking

Occasionally I tell myself that 30 minutes on the road to some cracking off-road riding is a bit of a first world problem.

Would Spain be a better bet? Sadly I don’t think the budget airlines fly to Granada any more, but when they did it was 30 minute transfer to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. You might find one of the outfits near Malaga would work for a weekend.

Buxton may technically be a market town but the market has been in steady decline for years. It’s not worth going to now UNLESS you happen to be there when they have one of their speciality markets on…which aren’t held on the market place 🙂

Had it been this Sunday just gone Leek would have been a very good shout. Lots of interesting stalls and live music going on as well as a beautiful sunny day. Leek is a better market town than Buxton (having lived in both) but Buxton will probably keep you occupied for the whole day a little better.

Is it the market you want to see specifically? Do the traditional markets even open on Sundays? These places can be great if stuff is open and happening, but if things are closed you may get bored easily.

Like many I was often riding off-road before I had an MTB. As a kid I had a BMX and it was my “mountain bike”, riding it wherever and whenever I could. If we’re talking proper 26″ wheels and lots of gears, that was probably around ’88/89 when it was really taking off. My folks treated me to a Spesh Hard Rock (I still have it).

The first time I actually rode a “route” on that bike was the Buxton circuit in the old Tim Banton guide. I can’t remember when it was nor much about it to be honest. I do, however, have fond memories of riding down from Edale Cross to Hayfield with my Dad when he bought a Hard Rock as well. That must have been 25 years ago.

Thanks Sam. I think I knew that was the answer and is at least something I can do whilst the kids are in bed and the wife is out.

I surprised myself at enjoying the couple of TTs I did, but felt a little disappointed finishing with plenty left in the tank.

Had my first “season” – in the loosest possible sense – this year, with the grand total of one club TT and one club hill climb. Not sure it counts in the context of this thread, but I achieved my lofty goals of not being last in either 🙂

Serious question though. I have NO IDEA how to pace myself in even the shortest of TTs. I’m not currently that fit but can churn out the miles, more so on the hilly stuff (where I get a downhill rest) than the flat. Earlier in the Summer I did some roller races and managed to do OK suggesting I have some power but anything more than a minute or so of effort and I’ve had it. I don’t really know where to start to build up the stamina when working harder, how much to back off etc. I don’t get that many opportunities to ride due to family and feel like the cobwebbed turbo is my first port of call if I want to be a bit more competitive next year (which I do).

Thoughts, or have I wondered into the wrong thread? 🙂

Anyone else lost the ability to post to Facebook and Twitter from the Notifications thingummy?

I played a blinder on my Friday ride and managed to cherry-pick several trails that were still quite gloopy even before this rain came. My bike came home in winter garb of mud and cow poo (and is still unwashed in the shed!)

I’ll be thinking of you all when I’m riding in the Perth hills in a couple of weeks, and I’m not talking about our Scottish friends 😉

On a more pragmatic note:

There is no doubt a good road bike will improve your enjoyment of road riding over the CdF. I went from a heavy steel road bike to a low-to-mid range carbon number and noticed a huge difference. With a bigger budget I’m sure the difference would be even greater. Only you (and your dependents) can decide whether your enjoyment justifies the outlay on another bike.

I was in a similar position as you i.e. it was when I started riding with others on club rides that I felt I “needed” a new road bike.

It’s a slippery slope though. Road riding can be as addictive as mountain biking. You’ll soon be torn over which bike to take out and when and in 2 years you’ll be flicking through the magazines looking at upgrades 🙂

You came on a cycling forum asking if you should buy a new bike?? 😯

Sounds like your mind is already made up 😉

That’s a pish argument

Yes, yes it is, but it wasn’t meant to be an argument. I was just responding to JoeFM’s question “where’s the speed and excitement?” in relation to road cycling. I’m not naive enough to try and argue that road is better than MTB or vice versa. I love them both and my circumstances mean I lean to one more often than the other. I do struggle to comprehend roadies who hate MTB and MTBers who hate road though. Some of the reasons I’ve heard given from people who don’t like road riding suggest they’ve never had the opportunity to ride somewhere good.

This thread isn’t the first (and probably won’t be the last 😆 ) road vs MTB thread I’ve contributed to, but I’ve always maintained that (my) locality is a huge influence on the riding I choose and prefer to do. Even moving 12 miles south from Buxton (my home town) to Leek changed the the riding I choose to do. This is down to a number of factors but way up near the top was the quality of what was on my doorstep.

If you lived somewhere that had better mountain biking, would you feel the same?.

Nope, as I admitted further up the thread.

…it is a **** boring way to get fitness. Where’s the feeling of speed and excitement?

This could apply either way. Let’s face it, it’s not just the type of bike you’re on that makes a ride good, bad or indifferent. The weather, the terrain, the company and what you had for dinner the night before can all make a difference to how enjoyable the ride is. A fast and twisty road descent is considerably more exciting for me than plodding along the side of a flat and muddy field.

I’ve rarely if ever been disappointed by a road ride; they’re all good. I have had quite a few MTB rides that haven’t met expectations though. So back to my OP, I guess I’ve realised that if I want a guaranteed enjoyable ride, road is the best bet.

I think the OP lives near Leek

Argh! I’m being stalked 🙂 You are of course correct.

I can report that I did, in fact, get out on the MTB tonight. It could not have been further removed from a road ride with plenty of hike-a-bike and techy riding/walking. It were grand 🙂

That was a nasty crash by stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr

Cheeky by stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr

why not put bike in car, drive there and back and get an extra 40 mins or so off road riding within the same overall time window ?

OK, so this is where we came in at the beginning. I could do that, of course I could, but as a spoilt brat who expects quality experiences from his doorstep, I’d feel like I was short-changing myself by losing ANY riding time in the car as the Sun goes down. If it was light until 11pm that’s probably what I’d be doing though.

PS getting bike rack on the car and other bike/car related faffing also loses me valuable daylight riding hours.

Oh my God I’m so demanding!!! 😆

It isn’t semantics though, is it?

<puts on best panto voice>

“Oh yes it is!”

OK, I’ll do it. I’ll forego the road ride tonight. I will ride my squidger 30 minutes on (admittedly pretty) roads to get to some good off-road. I’ll let you know how I get on 🙂

Not liking split screen, seems very un-intuitive and doesn’t appear to work with mail which remains hidden behind safari for example

Agreed…until I actually worked out what to do and now I find it quite good, even with mail.

It sounds like you prefer convenient/accessible riding, not road riding per se.

semantics 🙂

I prefer road riding because it is more convenient/accessible. I like driving up and down the country if there’s good riding at the end of the journey, if only I had the opportunity to do it more often. If I had no other responsibilities I’d be boring all of you on here about my latest weekend away mountain biking up and down this beautiful land.

Conversely I’ve rarely driven anywhere to road ride. The road riding on my doorstep is so good.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not me falling out of love with mountain biking. This is me choosing to spend my rare 2 hours of riding opportunity by riding 2 hours on my road bike instead of 1 hour off-road on my mountain bike and 1 hour getting to and from the good stuff. Anyway, it’s all been said before blah blah blah 😆

£1500 in 1998

in 1998??!! 😯

Or a CX bike?

Probably a good choice for “one bike to rule them all”. The fact is my mountain biking and road riding has diverged more and more, with my mountain biking in the last year or so more focused on the more technical end of the spectrum than “old skool” XC; “one bike” isn’t as practical an option as it once was.

The most I have spent is £150 ish on a Ragley MmmBop when CRC when flogging them cheap a few years ago. I can’t see myself ever building my own hardtail again unless it was a custom-made frame, in which case I’d pay whatever the market price was…assuming it doesn’t go above 3 figures 🙂

If money was no object however…

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong type of clothes tyres”

FTFY

Get a fast hardtail (xc 29er)

Funnily enough this has crossed my mind. A few years back I had a light, rigid, geared MTB alongside a road bike and a full susser. I always said to myself that if I could only keep one bike, that would have been it. I took it everywhere and it was fun everywhere. Granted I was very much a wheels on the ground rider then 😉

Who cares ride bikes and enjoy it

This week I have ridden a road bike, a cross bike a SS and now off out on the FS Not sure what I will ride at the weekend.

I care because I simply don’t have the opportunities to ride as much as you have this week, so I put a lot more pressure on myself to make those rare rides count.

MTBing is much, much harder to fit in around kids.

This. If I lived on Whistler Mountain I’m quite sure I’d be mountain biking as much if not more than road riding, but location and circumstance mean road riding gets the nod most of the time.

get out *points to the door* you’re not welcome here, leave your baggies & peaked helmet at the door.

*ahem* says the man who prompted this thought process in my head by giving me a choice tonight 😉 😆

^wot he said

5, but will be a 9.5 when I finish work and STILL can’t get out for a ride

Some people on here saying you “need” a bar and helmet light for riding where it will be “rocky and dark”. My advice would be to get a good helmet light – I definitely agree that is more important than a bar light – and then see how you get on.

I drive an Audi a VW which has the added annoyance of there being no visible indicator of the lights’ status on the dashboard.

+2

Both daft and annoying

anyone using this full time?

Not quite full time, but certainly regularly (and now in fact). I love it. The trackpad, with Force Touch, is brill, but I am a huge fan of how well Apple have implemented multi-touch trackpads on their MacBooks. The force touch is the cherry on the cake.

doesn’t seem to have a click trackpad

It does have a click, it’s just not a mechanical click. It’s just haptic feedback. It feels just like a real mechanical click.

iPhoto is not long for this Earth, having been replaced by Photos. I believe Photos does support RAW format though.

And as for overtaking slowly being more dangerous, the real way to mitigate that risk isn’t to overtake more quickly, it is to wait patiently until you can overtake safely, or just chill and accept that getting there alive is better than getting there dead on time.

I read this and picture the “slowvertaking” that speed-limited lorries do on dual carriageways and motorways the length and breadth of the UK. It’d be interesting to model what happens if all vehicles are limited to the same speed. I remember being quite impressed with how the traffic flowed better when the M42 introduced variable speed limits. There may be mileage (pun intended) in both those approaches, but as many have written above, it will only help prevent a relatively small percentage of accidents.

there’s no touch screen Mac is there?

No, but the Magic Trackpad is very effective with multi-touch gestures.