Centre

Sorry – p1sses me off.

Glenlivit? (might not be open yet but worth checking)

As far as I’m concerned I intend to be riding bikes until I drop dead. If that means hopping on one of these things to get into the hills then hell yes, I’ll take it.

I get far more animated at “standards” (Headtubes, Steerers, BB’s, bloody wheel sizes) which deliver bugger all benefit to the riding public than I’ll ever do over a bike with a wee motor.

29 HT might be a good compromise / cheating 😉

>i.e. you could place very highly just trundling round on a big AM bike a smashing the three downhills.<

Not sure about that. Doubt there was anyone inside the top 30 or 40 who “trundled” the course on a big bike and placed by smashing the DH’s alone.

For example Stage 2 is the climb UP from Kinlochleven and stage 5 is the whole course.

http://airds-hotel.com/
http://www.crinanhotel.com/
http://www.cnoc-na-faire.co.uk/
http://www.theoldforge.co.uk/
http://plocktoninn.co.uk/the-plockton-inn-plockton/
http://www.badachroinn.com/ (no accom but they will point you in the right direction)

The Summer Isles Hotel

Something silly like 110 x water crossings on that circuit (incl the straight lines thro the river meanders)

Whoever built the new track wasn’t a fan of piped culverts.

Summer or hard frost type of route – bleak in bad weather. Rather sad the ruins of Duncan Ban MacIntyres house in Auch Glen is an unmarked / crumbling sheep fank.

>and when I see an attrctive young woman in one of their frumpy uniforms I think “What a waste…”.<

I’ve got good news for you – they don’t practice celibacy.

>Can’t decide on the aesthetic of that fork and the frame.<

I can.

Fugly.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Glenmore Lodge. Good value food too & huge portions.

Bit more off pitch but “The Boat” is also good also for eating plus you get to build up an appetite riding out there.

http://www.boathotel.co.uk

Lochinsh another place that’s a wee bit different:

http://www.lochinsh.com/sleep.asp

Mountain cafe is v’ good but you need to be a queue tolerant type of Diner.

I wish they’d go on tour again / get Vipond aff the Adventure Show

>Yamazaki 10<

Aye but he asked for a great whisky…

Assuming the OP meant Scotch Whisky another vote here for Caol Isla.

Daft question perhaps – you did fit the new chain on the new drive train?

>mt – im not kidding, the descent on the north side of Mount Keen was ace, but that was it. Yes it was a longish ride (30 Miles) but where is the payoff?<

Wasn’t always like that and probably not when that book was written. But this is what happens when thoosands of folk buy books and converge on the same popular hills / same routes. The erosion gets wider and wider and sooner or later the paths need repaired or rebuilt. Lochnagar, Loch Muick,Lomond,Schiehallion – there’s a big old list…

Carn Liath is an eroded mess which is clearly visible from outer space never mind 5km.

Don’t think that much ‘fund’ can be found anywhere except GT 😉

Whoa…. it’s a brave man that dares criticise the Glen Tilt classic.

Actually you are right and I don’t know why I clicked on this as I usually file it away mentally with Carn Ban Mor.

Still, it’s a day out in the hills and that’s worth it in itself.

http://www.flotecsuspension.co.uk/

Used them 3 times now. Knowledgeable, reliable, quick and £keen.

Perhaps your wife has done something to p1ss them off.

Just a thought like 😉

Wouldn’t be bothering my ass over a 40th birthday tbh I was quite happy to skulk over that particular threshold.

What’s stopping water ingress where the roof tiles abut the gable of the house?

Re Accom:

Can’t imagine the Torridon Inn would be an economic prospect if its a b&b you are looking for. As mentioned Torridon YH is fine.

Sheildaig has some nice b&b’s (don’t think you could go wrong tbh)and a good pub.

Bunkhouse @ the Kinlochewe Hotel is (or was) another option and the pub / food was rather good the last time I stayed (April 2012)

>Any advice from mountaineers and Torridon veterans would be much appreciated.<

It’s still August so there would have to be a very cold snap for weather to pose you any issues. Nor would I be getting too hung up on a mountain forecast for that specific area 7 days out. Navigation is very straightforward – hell there was even a push track forming the last time I was up 😉 Goes to show just how popular these routes have become in the last 4 or 5 years.

Go for it.

Just clean it – no difference to washing a glass out.

As mentioned above day trip to Raasay – and do Dun Caan. Ascend by the Inverarish track then back down through the deserted settlement of Hallaig. The North end also looks very interesting. If you take bikes and get your skates on you could probably see a little of that in a day as well.

>Definitely 6 eagles.<

I would say definitely not 6 Eagles – not in the UK anyway.

They have massive territories – the most you’d see in one place would be 2

http://www.ultimateoutdoors.co.uk/item/Brand_OMMKamleikaRaceJacket_0_0_29091_2.html?ref=PLA&#038;?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product%2BListing%2BAds&utm_campaign=Google%2BShopping&gclid=CLepkY6F5rgCFXMgtAodOmsAqg

LOL. A flock of Eagles?

We are talking Golden Eagles are we?

Another Zermatt aficionado here.

Check out the wee hamlet of Findeln for lunch – two fantastic restaurants there serving up the best food / view combo in the alps

Skin so Soft only worked (partially) by drowning the wee fcukers. A rather limited deterrent.

Smidge I’ve found very good.

Cleg’s are really bad this year – taking 3 x ‘one a day’ antihistamines daily and find this limits the after effects of any bites I do get.

I laterally ran the same frame (Rift Zone) with MZ 130’s 😉 They can take a surprising amount of beating.

>Includes a crown but that is included in the price of the device anyhow. After having recently had to spend £900 on a new turbo for the car and now this, the worst kind of things to have to spend money on.<

Aha… fur coat and nae knickers.

Kelvingrove Museum (within spitting distance of the Science Centre and Transport Museum)Also the Imax cinema and Tall ship adjacent to both of these)Botanic Gardens near also…

The Waverley’s a far better shout than the Inchcolm gig tbh.

Blairdrummond / Go Ape @ Aberfoyle. And sticking with the boat theme you could add the Sir Walter Scott @ Loch Katrine.

Stu’s leg wins – end of thread.

Bosch.

Unlike many of the others your common or garden repair guys can fix these / get parts.

Was coming down the Lairig Ghru when you were quaffing your wine;-) Brilliant day out in the big hills. Glenmore campsite looked rammed when we passed @ 08:00

On open mountain tops and exposed ridges – yup.

E.g:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3702389.stm

Been there.

Basically warm(er) air condensing on the cold bitumen sheeting behind it then dripping down on to the boards. You only get them popping on one side as the weight of the roof tiles is basically pressing down on the boards at the joints (each board is butt jointed to its neighbour behind the joists)

Very little you can do once they are bent aside from pushing them back up and screwing short pieces of timber strapping on to the side of the Joists. Try taping over any curved horizontal joints to avoid air getting in that way. Its a b1tch of job to get in at where the roof slopes @ the Eaves.

You need to stop the flow of warm / moisture laden air into the loft and increase the ventilation of colder “outside” air into the space. Increasing the number of Soffit vents is a cheap and easy fix. Also double insulate the loft hatch and plug up all sources of heat escape with loft insulation @ pipe cut outs etc. You can buy “Loft Caps” to fit over halogen light fittings if you have any and they in turn can be insulated over. Lastly don’t dry wet clothes (or drape them over warm radiators) in the house.

>In the 2nd week though (Harris) the place was heaving with Motorhomes, and they took up the campsites and the wild camping places too. hard to find anywhere without crowds of motorhomes.
most places were full and to be honest was not impressed with the Harris campsites which could not seem to cope.<

Interesting when I was last there c 15 years ago I cant recollect seeing any. This became a bit of an issue on Tiree. Place became besieged by Campers turning up loaded to the gunwhales with fuel and food / driving all over the machair to wild camping spots / basically contributing very little to the local economy. Far more controlled now, they have to register and pay on arrival and the camp spots are controlled.

>OK the beaches are nice but then again there are good beaches on the mainland. <

Each to his own I guess.

Can’t think of any beaches on the mainland to rival Luskintyre and Huisinis. And when the sun comes out there is something about the light / seascape that is simply untouchable. Some rather good mtb and road riding too. Lewis I wouldn’t disagree with you on. Mixed views on Skye – fantastic mountains obviously but crap beaches (mostly)and some very depressing wee villages.

Aye, MacGregors dulcit tones were really getting on my t1ts second time around and they went a bit overboard on the Seabirds.

Bathgate Alps for a good workout 😉

Depends on the mounting plate obviously but timber battens are way ott these days given the range of specialist fixings available

This is what you want:

http://www.fischer.co.uk/Home/tabid-1429/tabid-1434.aspx/cpage-details/pcategory-1001002001/usetemplate-productdetails/

Probably just unlucky / a one off. However alu is much softer obviously than HT steel / SS so very much easier to round out Allen bolts if they are over tightened or seized.