“rode” this on Saturday. Climb from Invercauld is fairly rideable to above pony shelter at about 700m, beyond that about 50:50 to plateau on a good day. On Sat the wind was horrendous even on lee side so nipped over t-Saigart Mor and down to Callater. So windy we could hardly stand and my bike got blown off the ground a couple of times and I got blown over too. Top of descent is quite steppy/slabby, unrideable in conditions as couldn’t control the bike at all. Lower down its narrow bouldery singletrack, quite trialsy in spots but mostly rideable on a goood day then opens out and speeds up down to the loch. I reckon could ride 75% up and 75% down without gale force winds. Lochnagar is fairly good going until final pull up to summit; quite rocky there but only short carry.

Would think very very seriously about doing such a big committing loop this time of year – was 60-70mph winds and 1°C on summit and you only have daylight until about 4.15. Also nav isn’t straightforward especially if cloud is in and you’re a long way from base if you hurt yourself or break a bike.

Morrone is much easier proposition, good land rover track (if very steep in places and an entertaining descent – and your summit is 300m lower than Lochnagar.

Bit of a mixed bag from laithwaites – on other hand it is free wine. The everyday will be 6quid bottles, premium 10-12 quid I’d assume.

IMO Best use of Avios is either upgrades to Business (if available) or as currency via the main Avios scheme, you can book ferries, hotels, anything really. It’s about 10k Avios = £60.

Working now, it seems.

Me too (Edge 800). Big weekend ride, was worried a file was corrupted or something.

They are happy to answer general questions before your scheme goes live, well they did for me anyway when I was looking for my DayOne…

Collie’s Ledge bit had me shiteing it and I was sitting on a sofa.

(I’ve “walked” most of the Cuillin but that completely freaked me out, quite horrible watching for me…)

I’ve never had any bother on the canal, though tend only to use it at peak commuting times. It’s got a hard surface most of the way now – there’s a bit that’s still hardpacked dirt between Hermiston and Ratho. Wouldn’t ride it on skinny racing tyres but fine on touring rubber. It’s bone dry at the moment.

When you get to Ratho keep going out the canal for about a mile and there are steps up to the climbing centre from the towpath (there’s a barrier at the bottom of the steps so you really can’t miss it).

Website? Gastropub? !!

Not unless it’s happened in the last couple of months!

No idea South of Lancaster but A6 from Lancaster, probably OK as most traffic is on the motorway. Then M74 relief road? Parallel with M74 relief road from Gretna to Moffat/ then take the A701 to Leadburn junction – one moderate climb over Devil’s Beeftub then long generally downhill run to Leadburn junction (just of Penicuick). Take the b-road from there through Howgate and into Edinburgh on A703/A702. Job done.

Probably quickest route – the A70 is pretty hilly and A702 is busy with a lot of HGV traffic and pretty narrow. Don’t really know the A7 route.

Yep, still a pub. Still a bit strange. Still very Morningside. Probably hasn’t changed in the last 30 years.

I don’t go very often but I’m glad it exists.

It will eat tyres. I have same engine in an A6 and get about 15k out four tyres (they wear as a full set and Audi recommend you change them as a full set too as it’s allegedly better for the drivetrain). Mate got 8k out of four on his A4 but he drove like a dick when he first got it. Otherwise auto box is great, loads of torque, effortless speed once you’re moving (I got 200k out of mine on autobahn no probs, have to be very careful if you floor it on mway here). Test one and see if you like it.

For wine I’d recommend Louis Sipp and (especially) Trimbach in Ribeauville and the coop in Eguisheim. A bit of gateway French goes a long way. Be aware you won’t be able to carry much of what you want to buy though!

Beautiful area and really interesting. Done a bit of road riding from Ribeauville which was ace, stay off the N roads and there’s loads of quiet well surfaced roads up into the Vosges. Not really got any specifics as it’s all good. All the villages we have been to have been great, food is good and wine brilliant and really good value.

It’s not ideal, quite rough and has a scattering of sharp stones that have been thrown off the carriageway. I wouldn’t be too keen on doing it on 23mm tyres but wider ones or touring tyres would be OK if you keep your speed down on the bit down from Drumochter summit. Also take care on the bridges there are a few with quite cheeky turns on them and they are slippy if wet.

That said better than alternative of riding the A9 – could always go Lecht and Glenshee I suppose? :-)

Looks like you can but not recommended really…I’d go via Fersit if it was me.

http://blog.wheelism.co.uk/?page_id=20

Newark AirTrain is off at the moment I think (we were there a few weeks ago and it said it was closing May – July for maintenence).

Airport Express bus is quick and good – runs from Grand Central, Bryant Park and West 41st St under the Port Authority terminal so if you’re staying in Midtown it’s ideal. When we got it we were the only people on it and was $16 each, single.

Taxis from Manhattan to Newark are expensive as they cross a state line (New York/ New Jersey) – $70 plus tip and tolls so you’re looking at close to $100, we were told – the concierge in the hotel told us to get the bus.

(The fixed fare is JFK as that is still New York State.)

It’s more a state of mind than specific kit. I ride most days, either 6-7 miles or 15-17 miles each way. Best tip is to sort kit out in the evening – everything packed/ laid out. Saves time in the morning and less chance of, ahem, omissions.

Hate getting wet in the morning and then having wet kit to ride home in too, hence waterproofs. Evening, not so bothered.

Two tubes, definitely. I also carry a CO2 inflator, saves a lot of time if I get a puncture and I’m in a rush to get in or home (which, inevitably, I will be). And a waterproof. Also I run Exposure Flash/ Flare lights year-round and bigger lights on dark nights. Otherwise it’s just a short road ride really.

Beers
– Hanging Bat seconded, great place to try different beers. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from staff if you’re not familiar with the beers. Also excellent gins
– Bow Bar on West Bow. More traditional real ale pub
– Brewdog on Cowgate. Pub of the Aberdeenshire brewer, good own beers and decent guest ales
– Blue Blazer on Spittal Street. Another Old Man pub with well kept beers
– Ecco Vino on Cockburn Street is prob best wine bar in town and does good light bites – risottos, platters etc.

Food
– for Sat night it’s probably too late for anywhere “famous”. Try newly opened Blackfriars Restaurant (modern scottish), La Garrigue on Jeffery St for regional French, Centotre on George St for Italian; all fairly fancy places. Or pick up The List magazine, the current one has their food and drink guide.

Coffee – Lovecrumbs at the Westport is probably best bakeshop in town; Wellington on corner of George St/ Frederick St is also very good; fine scones as well

Breakfast/ Brunch – try Urban Angel, they have one on Hannover St and one at top of New Town/ Leith Walk end of town.

Walks – Calton Hill is a great viewpoint (but has a wee bit of a reputation at dusk/ night). Arthurs Seat and Salisbury Crags also good.

Tourist stuff – wouldn’t bother with the Castle really unless you’re into military history. Museums are all good, Portrait Gallery, NMS and the art gallery on the Mound. Stockbridge and Botanics worth a visit too, good pubs (Stockbridge Tap) and coffee (Ronde) and you can wander along Water of Leith from near Murrayfield.

Get 0%, save what you would have paid off, clear it at the end so you pay no interest. Takes a bit of willpower but you can actually make a bit from that. The last bike I financed it was about 5% of disposable income so entirely doable.

As long as you came out of the interview room feeling like you’d given a good account of yourself, that’s all that matters. Everything else is outside your control. No easy way of telling I don’t think, but you’ll know soon enough.

World of pain, especially when it siezes when you’re on holiday in the Alps.

[/url]
26 July – Tommy towtruck[/url] by Stu_N[/url], on Flickr

Seems eBay is the place to go, NOS 5600 brake ordered for £21 – disaster averted.

So new levers/ old brakes is OK, but new brakes/ old levers not so good?

Bollocks!

Awful news. Met him once in 2003 when we were schooled in what all mountain really was (before it was anything) on Lochnagar. Totally out our depths but the e Mountain Maniacs hung around and encouraged is on the way up before they went down Loch Muick and we retreated tails between legs back to Deeside. Still a great ride and bigger bikes soon followed having been shown what was possible. Clearly it wasn’t really about the bike, but every little helps!

Happy memories of the man and thoughts with friends and family at an untimely loss.

From experience in France, closure to motor traffic is about 2 hours ahead of caravan. The gendarmes are remarkably relaxed about people riding on the route after it’s “closed”, at least mid-stage. For bikes we were OK until about 20 mins ahead when they sweep the route. Once the caravan comes through there are a succession of vehicles so you wouldn’t want to be on the route anyway. Whether the Uk police will act in the same way is harder to say.

Edit – tour caravan is about 90mins ahead of the riders. There is a lot of hanging around, but it’s worth it.

Nearest kite is BA1464 coming into Edinburgh – a 767-336ER. The ER bit seems superfluous as it’s only come from Heathrow.

Lost most of Sunday morning to this last week. To be fair we were staying with friends in Putney who have a north-facing balcony giving a grandstand view of Heathrow inbound traffic.

Spot of the morning was probably an Iranian A300. Saw loads of modern stuff but legacy airframes, that’s where it’s at.

I’m struggling a bit to remember here but was there not an older Marzocchi 20mm setup in late 90s/ early 00s that was wider than the 20×110 that is now standard? That would have been around when Bulbs roamed the earth.

FWIW I ran a Bulb in Fox 36s and RS Psylos quite successfully for a long time so there must be some version that works with 110×20 axles

Pulls up chair.

Wild duck needs very different cooking to farmed duck. Farmed duck is very fatty and you need to manage the amount of fat that comes off it; true wild is extremely lean; there are shades of wild depending on how managed the shoot is. Have a look at the area between the spine and legs to see if there’s any fat under the skin; if none treat it very carefully.

Rub with butter, salt and pepper and shove a quarter orange or half a lemon in the cavity to help keep it moist. We usually brown in a heavy frying pan, cover breasts with bacon and roast hot and quick (like 10-12 mins at 240C) with then rest it under foil for 10 mins to actually do the cooking. Nibble on the bacon while you wait.

Sauce bigarade is a classic accompaniment, plus roast veg. Nom nom nom…

https://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/s/sauce_bigarade.html

(If you can’t get bitter seville oranges, blood oranges are the next best thing).

Could be not much, my Passat TDi had a “DPF failure” which turned out to be a faulty sensor. Cost <£50 to fix.

I’m amazed no-one has asked for pics yet

(of the car, naturally!)

Look for the wee VTT markers when you’re out and about. There are often route boards in villages they pass through and maps in the tourist info in the nearest largish town.

We saw some signs in the hills west of the Cote d’Or; were staying a night in Morey St Denis a couple of years ago cutting across from the A38 to avoid Dijon so didn’t follow up but there is clearly some stuff out there.

Perth to Blair Atholl it’s barely worth overtaking anything unless it’s really quiet; I’ll happily drive at speed limit and know it well enough to know where it _is_ safe to overtake and where it just looks like it might be. Speeds are high and sight lines often more limited than you might think. Wasn’t always the way but now I stick to speed limit, try to avoid ending up lead car in a queue, leave plenty space and if people want to pass let them get on with it. Having a quicker car makes it more relaxing as you can pop past things if required so don’t “need” to take chances.

Perth to Inverness is 112 miles so at 60 that’s 2 hours, at 40 three hours. Hopefully the average speed cameras will help but only if lorries are allowed to do 50 as well. Sooner it’s upgraded to dual the better really.

A65 always scared me too, used to live in Leeds and head up into the Dales or Lakes for riding, bad mix of people in a rush, pensioners and motorbikes.

Work pass. Rocked up to car park roller door, leant pocket against card reader, nothing happens. Sinking feeling. Waited for someone I knew for a few mins who could at least let me into car park, no one showed up.

So rode round to front of building – bum – remembered lock lives in car park. Wheeled bike into reception, got funny look, extracted a temp badge from receptionist, back round to car park, in through side door and lock bike up. Then realise temp badge doesn’t open car park door into building so walked back in via normal staff entrance and back down to locker room.

Great. Took 20 mins to do what normally takes two. Worse than forgetting rousers iME – have a suit that lives in coat cupboard by desk so it’s just a dash through building in baggies really.

Crossing the tram tracks at newly reopened Haymarket Junction – so no one really knows where they are going yet (self included) and there is either a shallow angle to cross or slow turn to get to ninety degrees. Not decided what best option is just yet.

I’m having exactly the same issues that the OP is describing. I’m using an Edge 800 and it seems to have started about a month ago.

EDIT: Seems we are not the only one – see discussion here:
https://getsatisfaction.com/endomondo/topics/ehqmz1efs7rol?utm_medium=widget&utm_source=widget_endomondo

Yep, will be fine.

Got 2 bikes, 2 bags and 2 people in a Chevy Equinox no problem at all – escape and equinox are alternatives in standard SUV list. Next size up is massive, sort of Audi Q7 or Disco size.

Ideally you’d get a truck though – next time we are getting a Ford F150 :-)

dazzlingboy, you’ve got yourself quoted in the local rag

LEGEND!

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/pentlands-mountain-bike-marathon-in-farm-land-row-1-3072847

The extended warranty one was a €1,200 bill – I had to pay that and claim it back as it happened in France. Both sides were replaced as one side had siezed in the on position and the other side had a cracked housing; crack was filthy and there was visible corrosion inside the unit so looked legit to me. There were other complications too as the brake warning light and ECU light wouldn’t go out after the fix.

Bit of a squeaky bum time while they processed that warranty claim but came through in the end…