I’m on the 50/50. Riding my Stanton Sherpa this year. Looking forward to beer, goat, and cheese. Not looking forward to the hill forts.

Can’t wait! See you there.

Now… At the risk of being called a very modern gentleman, I’ve been wearing a pair of these. Big thighs, ample arse room, narrowish calves, lots of pockets etc.

Decathlon trousers

My IFA said there is no point stuffing it into to a pension as its too late to make much of a difference (I’m 45), I don’t have enough to stuff into it (I’m not a hr tax payer), and I’d pay the tax on it when i retire. He described pensions as tax deferred not tax free.

His advice to me was pay off the house and cash it in when required as an income after retirement. Perhaps not the nicest thought that I’d have to sell the family home to retire, but I’ve not got a lot of options!

FWIW, I do also have a pension plan.

I’ve done it on a short travel FS 26er, short travel HT 29er, very rigid carbon forked 29er, and rigid steel forked 27.5+. This year it’ll be short travel FS 29er.

It’s painful no matter what, but I no longer bash it out as quick as possible and tend to stop and look at the view or eat cake a fair bit. So I’m going comfort from now on.

Although I’d like to give it a go with a steel 29+…

Stick the Eels on Spotify. Make peace with the dog. Consider your navel for a while. Been there. Feel for you bud.

Thanks OP! Just ordered…

I’m just breaking down my rigid 29er…

It’s a chinese carbon frame (Flyxii 202 I think) with an On One carbon monocoque fork. QR front and back. I can even keep the internally routed Deaore brakes in-situ if you need. Seems a shame to pull them out as I’ve just bled them!

Drop me a PM of you want more details or pics.

Or I may be up for selling my Ramin 3+ frameset, but that’s not so light.

I heard a nightingale once too. It stopped 8 drunk blokes in their tracks on the way back from the pub. The most amazing sound I’ve ever heard.

It was like someome had cranked up the clearest sweetest sound system in the middle of the woods.

Actually… https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/wild-country-tents-zephyros-2-ep-tent-D1314001.html

I got one of these. Very good. Can be pitched without liner too for under 1kg if needed.

Just been looking on Sportshoes.com myself. Lots of Merrell’s on there with zero drop.

Chris Packham is sliding dangerously close to Bill Oddie territory in the smugness stakes.

Never been sure where Michaela Strachan’s charm is.

The other two are OK.

And the nature stuff is flipping awesome, as ever.

Wasn’t my best race either… Managed to stay on the despite some very sketchy moments. But it was just too slippy to really enjoy the technical stuff and too claggy to put the hammer down on the open grassy bits.

Still, it was better than the Bordon slopfest a couple of years back!

I completed 2 laps with 30 mins left and decided to call it a day as I needed to be in the pub at 1pm!

As ever it was a friendly and well organised bash. Well done Gorrick. Roll on summertime!

I’ve signed up. I’ll be near the back on my dodgy chinese carbon 29er with comedy decals. Say hi as you pass me on the second lap!

The course is great, you’ll get faster and more confident on each lap. Most of the crowd are friendly but there is the usual contingent of weekend warriors who take it way to seriously. Just get out of their way if you hear them coming. If you don’t hear them they’ll shout at you anyway :-)

Good luck!

“Use a sausage as a breakwater.”

Alan Partridge full English critique

I saw the actual car at the British Motor Museum on Sunday. But yes, an emotional show.

I’ve not found one I’d recommend but I’ve noticed that it helps to pre-warm them with boiling water and fill them to the top. Also stick them inside a coat. Mine are normally luke warm by lunch though…

Wild Country Zephyros 1 – you can pitch without the inner too so it is very light if you need.

Most ITB issues come from ‘too much too soon’.

Save yourself the physio costs and read this (for about £15), it is really worth it:

https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/iliotibial-band-syndrome.php

Best of luck.

Yes it is!

Another vote for here enduro fanny bum sacks. I’ve got one that will fit a 1 litre bladder in and a Mavic one with a bottle holder. I’ve barely used my lovely Osprey rucksack since :-(

No more sweaty backs and it helps you TLS (take less sh…).

I think it’s addictive?

P.S. I have all of the above….

I find spinning the water into a vortex is helped with the use of a whisk. Can normally crack two into  the resulting whirlpool before things slow down. Then off the heat, and for the time it takes the toast to pop.

I’m going to give the egg in water for 20 secs trick a go though!

Deore 4 pots for under £140? Where please!

Edit: found some!

I mix chainsaw oil with white spirit until i get a suitable consistency and wipe and apply.

Yes it gets grimy, but no more than Finish Line and is a fraction of the cost so i tend to reapply more regularly and generously.

Yeah… well I’m gonna be literally seeing Southampton’s best 80’s rock cover band in a couple of weeks and I can’t flippin’ wait!

The mighty Hairforce 5…

https://youtu.be/3PlXnqACWJQ

I like my Shimano XM9s. They’re very comfy.

These are the best winter gloves I’ve used. I suffer from cold finger amd these saw me through last winter fine. They’ve just come back on sale so i bought another pair as i use them normal gloves too. £14.99

https://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/1551821?click=eyJxdWVyeSI6MTQ5OTksInBhZ2UiOjEsInBhZ2VTaXplIjo0MiwicG9zIjoyOX0=

Mycoal foot warmers. They’ve transformed my winter riding over the last few years. Buy in bulk for the season and they’re about a pound a pack. They last 4-5 hours. Bloody marvellous.

Just down from the Devil’s Punch Bowl is the Devil’s Jumps near me:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Jumps,_Churt

The Devil’s Jumps are linked to a variety of local landmarks by folklore, including Mother Ludlam’s Cave near the ruins of Waverley Abbey, the Devil’s Punch Bowl at Hindhead, the village of Thursley and the parish church at Frensham. The folklore includes various tales. One states that the Devil used to amuse himself by leaping from the top of each hill to the next. This annoyed the god Thor who picked up a boulder and threw it at the Devil, causing him to flee and leaving the boulder at the Devil’s Jumps. This same story is told of the Devil’s Jumps near Treyford on the South Downs in West Sussex, but it is likely to have originated at the Devil’s Jumps in Surrey.

Definitely worth a go. I use an old On One carbon fork on my Ramin. It get used a lot more than the full suss durung the wetter months.

Dickies to some huge long bamboo ones. They hold on to the sweat though.

‘Babes never die’ by Honeyblood

Heard the single ‘Ready For The Magic’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04S6K1jlOkI

Which is still awesome but the rest of the album is seriously meh. Like a trusting fool I even bought the first album thinking I was missing something. Also meh.

On the back of this I signed the family up to Spotify and delete albums that don’t make the grade. The latest being Reef’s comeback. Really not great.

Ta! Wasn’t as good as I remember….

Love my Shimano XM9s.

Tinnies outside the Duke of York on a Friday evening.

I worked next door in the late 90’s. We were always in awe of you lot hanging about with your bikes!

Depressing really. Agree with @bear. Why can’t it just work? Even with a P I struggle. It’s the only site i pay for. Surely it can be better? This isn’t the 00’s…

How’s the build going @milfordvet?

I’ve got a Platypus 1l bladder that has the feed tube come out one corner so it works in my hip pack.

https://www.gaynors.co.uk/under-30-c271/platypus-hoser-1-0-litre-p222

I usually dig them out with a sowing needle. They pop out afyer 15 mins of poking about. It hurts but better out than in!

Probably not all that helpful but I had golfers elbow on the inside of my joint brought on from climbing. Cycling used to antagonise it bit the physio taught me a neat way of massaging the tendon which relieved the pain and I’ve not been troubled in about 4 years now. I gave up climbing!

I ride rigid with Jones bars too.

I hope it fixes itself, pm me of you want me to try to describe the massage.