I thought all of them were in Kielder last weekend!! Felt like it anyway!

There are 2 race links I know of – a short one that cuts you onto the first red descent from the end of the blue just before the fireroad prior to blue velvet. Think this is an old walkers path.

The other is taking a right at the first left hand hairpin on the same red descent. This ends in a steep chute and takes you onto the fireroad the blue runs on from the Buzzards nest car park.

You have also forgotten about Andy's Flume, the steep rooty chute that takes you off the fireroad prior to the spooky climb, onto the blue below.

Newcastleton was fine, apart from the few bits they had quickly repaired after logging. It was the rough, sandy, energy sapping climbs round Kielder I'm talking about. Oh and while I'm on a roll whats with the random piles of rock on the trail after the boardwalk on the bloody bush trail? I take it they are supposed to be jumps?!

Alek – you talked a lot of mince to me – but not on the course! :wink: You were definately a bit more efficent at the food stops too!

Happy to have finished, 10 hours 41 mins, not sure I could face it again, some of the singletrack sections could be used as a form of torture (and that was on a fuss sus!)

Annoyingly I keep thinking about how to get under 10 hours though. Will see how I feel about it in a couple of months. Have to say thanks to all the amazing marshals, particularly given the midges! As has been said the organisation was superb and a burger and a pint has to be the best way to finish a race!

Just got to recover for the Tour de Ben Nevis now! 8O

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/aug/27/oil-slick-climate-camp-smear?CMP=twt_gu

Err, I don't think they intend to build any more trails, just spend more money to make a new road to the swanky new £9 million visitor centre. :roll:

You can use the 355's without a rim strip too, just the yellow tape. I do anyway!

Lovely and sunny here! (Edinburgh!) :lol:

I'm getting one of these:

One a month according to the report last year! Impressive stupidity… :roll:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8161185.stm

MTFU and just ride it!

Red and white works well – though its a bit dirty at the moment after an epic Pentlands ride today. Very fun bike! 8)

Any recommendations for competitive riding? Who do folk use for the mega?

Yeah, was a good crowd out!

For inners I was thinking of the track just for the start on the first lap, with course something like along the track, up the first bit of singletrack to the 1st rock step, left onto the push up track then down to the arena somehow. Subsequent laps could include the 'bus stop' bit at the top of the switchbacks as used at the British champs. Finish at the bottom of the arena as usual. Would be hard work but fun!

Inners would be fun for sure – could you not just start it on the track at the top of the switchbacks?

That was superb – thanks to Hels and the other organisers for such putting on such a fun event.

Hmm, search fail:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-glentress-visitor-centre

The Hub at Glentress:

http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/Tuition/kids_10.html

Do you look like this?!

If so I wouldn't be insulted…

I take it you mean the pilots trail? Cool, will check it out tomorrow! Thanks! :D

There is some pish talked on here about weights. Last years stock five pro was 28.4 lb (http://www.orangemountainbikes.com/reviews/pdf/Five_Pro_Trail_Bike_of_the_Year_2010.pdf – if you don't believe me)

Frame weight is somewhere around 6.7 lb there or thereabouts with RP23.

YHA

Good effort! Well done – looking forward to the reading the write up! :lol:

Just seen this thread – Lochnagar maps here:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lochnagar-ride-today-pics-to-follow

Other ride you shold try Luke is the Meall a' Bhuachaille ridge behind Badaguish/Loch Morlich if you've not done it – can then finish off on the SXC trails.

That looks ace – love the we kid at the end! :lol:

Are they running it again?

Pippa – vaguely remember that – obviously just after I'd done it as I wasn't looking properly – mech hanger was still there it was the stupidly designed XT shadow mech that broke!

Distance wise if you look at the profile they gave out it looked to be just under 80km.

Cake eater – yep that was me – thanks again! Typically the one day I forgot to bring my own.

Pippa – cheers – would definately have given up had the guy at the feed station not had a rear mech – singlespeeding that course would be mental!

Great course – it just gets better every year! Tough day though!

Managed to snap my mech clean off at the top of the enduro track before the climb up the SUW to the 3 brethren. Have to say a massive thanks to the guy who gave me a powerlink – much appreciated! If your on here drop me an email (address in profile) and I'll pop one back in the post.

Bodged the chain back on and singlespeeded through Yair forest to the next feed station where amazingly the mechanic had a rear mech and was able to straighten the hanger out. Just about managed to ride the rest of the course despite my legs being knackered from the earlier singlespeeding. Finished in just over 6 hours and am definately feeling it today! Cheers to all the folk I chatted to along the way – great atmosphere as ever. :-)

In case folks missed this the blogs (written in Mark's trademark entertaining style) are here:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/blogs/2010/07/numero-uno/

http://www.singletrackworld.com/blogs/2010/07/the-bullheart-jogle-from-petesgaf/

Good luck Mark! :-)

On tonight at 7pm BBC2

Yep, but nobody does it as much or as blatently as Ferrari. For the record in Germany 2 years ago Hamilton then passed 2 more cars to take the win finishing more than 12 seconds ahead of Heikki. Not quite the same as Alonso being gifted a win when he clearly wasn't any faster:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8109556.stm

Darren Heath's BBC F1 Big picture says it all:

"When Alonso pulled this cheeky grin, seemingly giving away his inner thoughts, it was just the moment I had hoped for.

"The press can hound him as much as they like, Alonso will go on denying any intra-team collusion because Ferrari's numero uno doesn't care – he's back in the hunt, team on his side with his team-mate in his pocket.

"As is so often the case in life – and certainly on the German podium – actions speak louder than words."

Maybe your 'friends' are pretending not to notice whilst sniggering behind your back that you've pissed yourself! Incontinence matters surely…

42

Cavendish won't get any points tomorrow and I doubt Petacchi will finish out of the 5 in Paris. I'm guessing Cav will be 2nd in the points again.
Would love to be proved wrong though..

Did you see todays sprint?? No proper lead out, Cav jumped from back wheel to back wheel of his rivals and then left everyone for dead – he was still pulling away from them whilst celebrating crossing the line!

Stay here – its ace: http://www.marthrownofmabie.com/

Then ride Mabie Saturday, ride Drumlanrig Sunday – job done! Last thing you want to do with a big group is travel any more than you have too! :lol:

bump for evening folk

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-orange-bike-is-this-and-where-do-i-get-one

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2011-orange-5-evo