Had an 07 TDI 170 sport estate for four years. Similar mpg (45-50) to the person who had a saloon on page 1. Electronic handbrake went wrong twice, once wouldn’t engage which was fixed under warranty and once wouldn’t disengage which was fixed under extended warranty (youll see why i took that and it definitely was worth it!) handbrake control units are it’s about £1,000 job apparently. It had a bit of an appetite for tyres and the lambda sensor went twice which put it into limp mode as well, and a couple of unexplained limps too. Overall not the most reliable (!) plus there was an annoying trim squeak from the dashboard that dealer couldn’t permanently cure.

Was good for load carrying – 2-up would take 2MTBs upright with front wheel off and two road bikes on their side on top of luggage – three weeks kit and ten cases of wine. Not great to drive compared to Focus before it and A6 I have now but jot dreadful. Mine didn’t have cruise control which was a bit tedious but otherwise well equipped and as some have said the side touches good – eg console lights which you can also use to do an ET impression with your finger and lots of cubbyholes and storage. Not sure I would buy another B6 but I think mine was a bad’un.

I badly monged myself in Feb ’12 (totally ruptured my patellar tendon, so dealing with that plus leg strength rebuild from approximately nil since then) so have been balancing strength training and riding for 18 months under close supervision from physio – thank **** for work PMI…

Seems a gentle ride a day after a heavy gym session is a good thing – basically been working my quads to fail then repeating three times in a session once or twice a week. Mix of exentric and eccentric loading in fhe gym and a gentle 45-60min spin the day after seems to help with the DOMS and general conditioning.

Stretching and sports massage work is also really helpful, plus don’t forget core work too, got to have something to hang all your leg strength off.

“If I’m going to have to gargle the holy water I want to do it before Sister Assumpta sticks her arse in it”

I’d say go.

When I was a kid I sprained my ankle really badly the day before we went to France for a couple of weeks – must have been about ten or twelve. Was playing tennis and somehow stepped on the ball as it bounced, went arse over tit and popped my ankle. Swole up to the size of football.

Still had a good time. If its an ankle he will still fit in the car fine and should manage a bit of hobbling around at first and by rhe end will not be held back much at all.

Plus being injured on holiday beats being injured at home.

Saw the tour in ’09 in the Alps. The road generally closes to vehicles an hour or two before the first listed time in the program (I think this is the first commissar’s pass). L’equipe do a race paper (free) and souvenir packs (not free) then after a bit race caravan comes through an hour or so ahead of the first riders; that’s the sponsors vehicles. Ranges from flat-back trucks with people throwing stuff off them to modified vehicles – the year we saw it was Skoda Yeti launch so had cars with 15 foot high Yetis on the roof. That’s the time you get the booty – I got a KOM hat, some Skoda stuff, various bits of preserved food.

TT might be different but the peleton was through pretty fast even on a climb, but the excitement builds with more cars and the helicopters coming through, then the bunches of riders. All over pretty fast then the broom wagon, a police car and road is open again.

Top tips – prepare to be outside for many hours, prepare to take ages to get out. Cycle or walk for a bit if you can, the gendarmes will wave you through unless something is actually about to happen on the road, and enjoy it – it’s an amazing experience! A smartphone will help you keep tabs on what is actually going on as well.

Oh, and get out the way of the vehicles behind the riders if it’s not barriered off. They are very close behind the riders, the guy next to me got clipped by one of the cars as he was too busy taking pics and not fast enough to jump back.

Why bother with the bar tips? Just move everything out half an inch so the grips hang off the edge. Save a bit of weight too???

Very good for me; main pivot went wobbly in my Nickel – they sent me new bits out same day I spoke to them to fix it as needed it sorted in a hurry.

I just had to send them old bits and anything unused back, whihc I did a few days later.

Top service.

Well one week on it’s stopped oozing – almost. The bit on my shin has sorted itself, just a gouge out my knee. The hyrdocolloids wouldn’t stick; the worst bit is over my patella so the stretchinest bit of skin and the plasters just came undone. Just kept it covered with melonin dressings at work and left it open when I could wear gym shorts and at night. Bed doesn’t look too much like red flag week. Taking dressings off in the shower seems to have sorted the sticking issue, so that’s good.

Bit of bio oil has helped keep it hydrated so it’s not too bad, all at the itchy scab stage now. Quite chunky haematoma on my thigh and calf from getting tangled up in the bike but overall not too bad. Nowt upper body either, wierdly.

Reckon I’ve got away OK from crashing a road bike at 40kph all told.

It is all cleaned out, had that pleasure on Saturday. A sponge and soap then savlon and pan scrub topped off with a layer of wonderful Germolene. And then a large gin. Various degrees of pain. Gave it a trim too as matted hair in there surely wasn’t helping. It’s not infected and doubt it’s worth an A&E trip and the edges have healed pretty well.

E45 on the edges and middle bit has had another layer of Germolene on it, will see if that helps. Anyone tried those goo-filled plasters – hyrdocolloid dressings they seem to be. As long as it will actually stick, could be just the job.

There was a thread on this from 9 months ago; search for Blois for all dates and it should come up. Some good stuff around St Nicholas de Bourgueil i posted up and further west plus a few leads for Blois area IIRC.

EDIT
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/loire-valley-mtb

/pricks ears

I found a bottle of Glenmorangie Port Wood finish with a couple of nips left in it. I thought I’d just kept the cylinder it came in just in case that came in handy for something, but apparently not.

Suffice to say they aren’t there any more.

BIG AND CLEVER :-)

Yesterday I did. 25k in, 45k home. Best evening of the year so far.

Metalheart – just went up and down the main road into Avoriaz, didn’t think to try the Joux Verte.

And in the above I have mixed up Colombiere (which i have ridden) and Aravais (which I haven’t). Colombiere is lovely and can do on quiet roads, the Aravais puts you on the Chamomix – Albertville N road for a bit which put me off.

The hardest day I have ever done on a bike was Samoens – Joux Plan – Morzine – Avoriaz – Morzine – Encrinaz – Taninges – Samoens. Only about 100km but with 2,500m of climbing and apart from the last pull up the valley (which was into a strong Fohn wind) there was no flat whatsoever. You could add another dimension to that by going up to Samoens 1600 before the Joux Plan if that sounds too easy. :-)

Another possibility for pain is the “small” climbs around Cluses; there was a stage in (I think) 2010 that used the loop of road through Arache, down to Cluses then up through Romme; from there you can drop back into Cluses or go over the Col d’Aravais proper. Once you’re over that there is a massive descent back down through Grand Bornard and Petit Bornard to Bonneville that is about 30k of downhill with a couple of small climbs.

Other tips
– there is a minor road from Pont des Gets heading S on the opposite side of the gorge to the main road that is really nice as a descent and much more pleasant than the main road as a climb.
– the Vallee Verte, lovely as it is, is really quite undeveloped – you can struggle to find things open for food/ drink even in peak season.

I’d say the road riding is as good as the MTB for variety; not been far south but central alps seems to be big, committing loops whereas Morzine area you can to a degree at least mix and match.

Morzine is a good location for road stuff. The main D902 is pretty busy but you dont need to use that much. You have Avoriaz (Cat1), the col between Morzine and Abondance (Cat 1), the Encrinaz (probably a 2 but neve been used in a big tour AFAIK), Joux Plan (HC from Samoens end, a true Big Col), the climb through Sommand (Cat 1) very loval. There’s lots of lovely riding in the Vallee Verte too (area W of Morzine between Lake Geneva and the main valley to Chamomix); not massive climbs by alpine standards but plenty of them. If you want to go firther afield the Aravais is doable too and the road to Flaine. That should work you over for a week without too much repetition.

Don’t think anyone does specific “road”trips but Carl and Sian who work for Flow will set you straight for route ideas if you go with them.

It’s a beaut, just been for a stroll too and delighted by the moonrise I saw.

We do have the same moon out here don’t we? I mean, Edinburgh doesn’t have a fancier moon than West Lothian’s?

I have 561s; they definitely come with square bar fittings.

The Thule 20mm adaptor involves removing the QR clamp and replacing it with a 20mm tube which is a bit of a faff if you ever want to go back. Fork-Up adaptors are a better solution I think – they clamp into the existing QR on the mount and then the bike goes onto the adaptor; seem very secure and means you can use for road bikes with QRs, 15 or 20mm forks without taking the carrier to bits.

This is the 20mm one:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18596

Main downside is that the bike doesn’t lock on any more, but the Thule locks are so flimsy I always put a cable lock on anyway if the bike is out of sight on the car.

Supermarket wine is rarely great, give a decent specialist something to aim off and you’ll do well. Never been patronised or short changed since I swallowed my pride and asked what the staff would suggest. Tonight’s 5.49 Rose is a testament to that (from Majestic).

Wine is a mix of Wine Society, Majestic and French bought stuff, supplemented with local Edinburgh merchants (Drinkmonger and Woodwinters). If you can store good wine for a few years it will repay massively, plus a decanter for half decent reds.

Beer – Sainsburys, Drinkmonger and Great Grog. Plus Brewdog shop occasionally.

Seriously, I wish booze wasn’t bad for me as it is so amazing!

Cracking bikes, one of the first to crack the slack head/ steep seat angle geometry to give you something that climbed well and descended well.

I’ve just sold my MX, various minor reasons. I’d not have changed but I picked up an ex demo Cotic Rocket frame that is an amazing ride. I was looking elsewhere as I am slightly between sizes on ‘dales so the med I had was a fraction small but large was well too big. That, plus the Prophet was never going to be RS Reverb compatibile and dropper seatposts are very much in my future, made me Rocket-curious and now I have it there is no room for Prophet as well.

I’d urge you to try one – if you don’t like it then you can almost certainly move it on for what it cost you – but they are great bikes. I’ve had a lot of good times on mine.

Aye, Shimano ring was kicking around the house. It’ll do me for time being; the CR7732 for old XT cranks seems to have been discontinued so need to review options.

I reckon that Middleburn ring has done about 10,000 miles and outlived a dozen chains and half a dozen cassettes. It slipped on a half-worn chain from another bike when I tried it about 9 months ago so went back to old fully worn chain until that snapped, which it did last week.

The Planet X ones are really tidy, they will take a 26″ MTB wheel or a road bike wheel and give good level of protection, used them in last car when you could squeeze them in between back doors and folded down seats but it was a bit of a slam-the-door job.

The Mavic ones I have will take a 29er wheel but have no padding whatsoever – these things:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=33405

Three quid to send a 28 gram envelope containing a exposure flare, it has to fit through the guide “easily” – I didn’t think it was that hard. Had it fitted would have been about 70p

CaptainSlow – yes, The Wine Society are very good. They do everything from everyday drinking wines at a fiver to finest Bordeaux and Burgundy. You have to be a member – a lifetime share is £40 or thereabouts – but once you are in, you’ll get it back quick enough, especially as they seem to be maybe 10%-20% cheaper than most other sources where you can compare.

They have a vast list of wines – which can be a bit daunting – but also do themed offers – mix of regional ones and varietals as you might expect but they do other themes too – e.g. try something different, benchmark bottles – typical wines from their region – and other more imaginative stuff like that. Best thing they do is mixed cases at all price points (from the £70 mixed dozens upwards), and all the offers have a few mixed cases in there so you have an easy way in.

They also do cellar plans (pay £25/£50 a month and get a 4 x half cases a year laid down for you) and wine without fuss, which is similar idea but for drinking now.

Other big benefit is they have a good selection of mature wines, not just recent vintages, at reasonable prices, which is hard to get elsewhere as most fine wine sold in the UK is too young to drink at its best.

Can honestly say I’ve never had a bad bottle from them.

When will this appear on the front page when you google Safariquip Ltd?

I’m thinking one of these for dual carriageway side-by-side lorries, caravanners and pensioners.

A fraction of the price of an Apache and heli-bike compatible for the weekends.

By day I’d arrest people for towing caravans on the A82 and A9, and probably crush the caravan with their loved ones in it just so they got the message.

Then in the evening I’d patrol the M8 and M74 through Glasgow nicking people who sit in the middle lane.

I’d finish my shift nicking taxi drivers who speed and do all sorts of illegal manoeuvres after about 8pm because they think they are above the law and can get away with it.

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IMG_1384[/url] by Stu_N[/url], on Flickr

Was a couple of days ago a year ago but I was laid up with a ruptured patellar tendon after a stupid slip on ice 8 weeks earlier. This was an excursion to Aberdour.

This year is, despite the weather, far better. Leg still isn’t 100% though.

Surveyed the course very carefully from the Bow Bar this afternoon with a pint of Tyne Bank Heavenly Porter a half of of Tempest World of Pain in hand.

Can confirm it is both steep and cobbled and uneven from my observation of the steady procession of bicyclists making their way up the hill.

Watch out for puddles and streams. There’s that whole ‘creme brûlée’ thing going on.

It’s a sh!t business.

Both are cobbled streets.

Yeah, it’s been a while since I fell for that one.

Leaks like Mel Gibson in that Jesus film with or without the sticker.

Pushed on through with a bottle of VDP d’Oc. Way better than the £6 price tag and cheesy label with a grinning Frenchie on it would suggest.

EDIT – always a concern when the label tells you more about the other wines they make…but it’s a goodie.

bump for the evening massive

Sheet ice and mountain bikes don’t mix for me.

Sad to see TBC close and all the best to Mark and the team in their new ventures. Only bought a few things from them (admittedly two were quite big) but hugely appreciate the service I got from them. Hope the new role gives them more time to ride more and do more of the stuff you enjoy doing outside of work.

Let’s hope the bike Coop hang onto tbc ethos too.

From experience, going to great biking areas when you can’t bike is most frustrating. Did it when injured last year, didn’t enjoy looking at lines and start points for great rides from the car.

I’d go to another area I wouldn’t normally go to because it had no decent biking opportunities, and save the Lakes for when I could go biking.

boxelder – Member

Laissez Faire, a la Ecosse innit?

I think it is, unless explicit “no cycling” signs.

Don’t have any specific info but everywhere we have been in France has some signed waymarked offroad routes (includes near Avignon, central Loire, Burgundy and Alsace) – just keep an eye out for information boards and the wee VTT markers.

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Wed 5 – MTB Loire[/url] by Stu_N[/url], on Flickr

Can be any colour and are either painted on things or on small 6 inch square signs.

The local tourist office in the main town in the area generally have maps and route info, either free or a few Euros. An IGN map has come in handy a few times as well.

If the hire car is going to just sit there for the weekend a transfer would probably work out cheaper (though depends where – Geneva to Morzine isnt far, obviously futher will cost more.

Not sure you’d get 4+4 bags in a Galaxy, they are big but 4 bike bags are an awkward shape. And you may get anything of that class – some frenchie equivalent most likely which might not be as big

He is a genuinely nice guy as well, met him a few times in Edinburgh Fringe stuff. I was chosen to keep score at one of his shows and he didn’t seem too bothered when I screwed it up and the win went to the wrong team. Oops. He still thanked me for helping out. :-)

EDIT – if you ever get a chance see him on a Sunday at the Fringe when he does his show with a sign language interpreter.