Speaking from experience, if you’ve never used a partitioner before, then backup any documents/files that you might want to keep to an extenal drive before you start mucking about.

It’s horribly easy to lose stuff even when you think it won’t be touched.

Then as Cougar says, run the installer and it’ll give you choices about how to set up new partitions and formats (at least it used to in the 13 versions of Ubuntu – I assume the latest releases do too)

So the girl must be Han and Leia’s daughter?

Insect repellent
Woolly hats (even in summer)
Umbrellas
If it’s a walk-in tent then shoes that are easy to get on/off and a folding crate to put shoes in inside the door
Headtorches – utterly essential unless you enjoy dribbling over the slightly odd-tasting handle of a torch whilst trying to do anything that requires two hands and more than ten seconds. Bring them for the kids too, or they’ll pinch yours.

I’ve inherited a HTC Desire S and it is running Android 2.3.5 and won’t let me install strava.

Last year I inherited an HTC Wildfire. It’s actually pretty easy to change the Android version if you’re a bit geeky, with lots of help and custom versions of Android (up to around 4.4.4) available on the XDA forums http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-desire

However, Strava isn’t officially supported on CyanogenMod or other non-official versions of Android. On the Wildfire (using CyanogenMod 10 or 11) I found that the latest Strava version doesn’t work, so I’m still using the previous version.

Not really near Beziers, but around Quillan in the Aude is nice – not too high up in the mountains, but hilly and interesting with lots of things to visit – caves, castles and I think there’s even a dinosaur museum somewhere nearby. About and hour and a half to the coast though.

Roquebrun is nice, but everything between there and Beziers is flatish vineyards, so you’d end up driving a fair bit.

The Orb valley just north is lovely – it’s the south side of the Caroux massif where there are some nice granite gorges (Gorges d’Heric is an easy walk and has some good river spots) and there’s canoe hire on the Orb itself, but the kids might need to be a bit bigger. http://www.ot-caroux.fr/en/

TBH there isn’t a huge amount round there that isn’t wine or hills. Lots of picturesque villages, not too far from the beach I suppose (although you’d have to go pretty much through Beziers to get there). Depends what kind of days out you do.

I ‘think’ the rule no longer applies in France, however it’s best especially through the more rural towns and villages to keep a wary eye out for old boys and dears in battered 2CV “coming in hot” from various side streets!

The rule still applies everywhere UNLESS there are road markings to indicate otherwise.

This puts the driver on main roads in the odd position of having to look for stop lines on every road to their right (and still look out for drunken octagenarian farmers, obviously).

In practice almost all main road have clear stop or give way lines on all joining roads, it’s just in towns and villages that things get nervy.

Bump : It was the chain. I finally put a new one on without changing cables, rear mech adjustment or rear hanger and it changes up and down flawlessly.

I didn’t realise that 10-speed could be quite so delicate, I’m sure I wore 9-speed chains well past the recommended change without getting problems.

Don’t really know that area, but there’s a FFC VTT area centered on Uzés:
http://www.location-velo-pontdugard.fr/Files/Other/plan-officiel-ffc-uzes-vtt-velo.pdf

It’s likely that the FFC circuits aren’t that technical (the “hardest” ones look like they’re just to longest), but it’s a start.

There are also a few GPS traces on
http://www.utagawavtt.com/gmap/carte-generale-topos-vtt including this one : http://www.utagawavtt.com/randonnee-vtt-gps.php?topo=7254 which is from an organised ride that a local club (http://uzesveloclub.fr/uzes-velo-club-organise-la-vttruffes-le-dimanche-26-janvier-2014/) do every year. If you can find a map or a GPS trace for the 50km loop, that will include the local techy bits, just be aware that Randos can sometimes use private land that is only accessible during the event.

Looks like most of the good stuff is in the hills to the east of Uzés.

Plateau de Beille is a dead end road up to a XC ski station – it’ll be closed to traffic for at least a few hours before and after the race goes up. To be on the roadside you either need to get there a few DAYS before the race in your campervan, or cycle up early.

It’ll be busy (and it’s steep). No idea about hitching but I imagine that most vehicles going up will be team buses and official cars.

Oh god. It crashes all the time.

Back around for a full reinstall.

This is great for me – Instagram isn’t compatible with the slightly shonky custom ROM that I’m using on an old phone, but I miss being able to link photos and see them on the ride map.

Downloading the update now. Will test and report back if I ever manage to actually get out riding again.

It comes back faster than it took to get it the first time round.

Just keep getting out and it’ll happen.

I recently did my first ever GXP replacement with that BB (GXP Team). It does have the splined washer.

If you haven’t replaced one before, then don’t be surprised if the driveside of the crank doesn’t sit flush against the driveside bearing cup – it in’t supposed to, even if the old cup looked like it did due to the plastic tophat moving out.

It won’t sit flush even if you persuade it gently with a mallet :oops:

Some more ideas here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/xc-riding-in-europe

When I went to a 29er, I thought that the 70mm stem might be too short!

After a few rides I realised that actually it was about right for the handlebar width on the bike (which now feels a bit narrow).

I love’em.

I didn’t think it possible for Strava to make their acheivements even more emphemeral and hollow, but they managed (and with a hollow crown symbol just to rub it in even more).

More seriously, it makes sense for natural trails – we’ve a few round our way that got nearly destroyed in heavy rain and flooding in December, so they are very different now.

Apart from putting on SPDs and changing the brakes from Draco things to Deore (and that was only because I had the Deores spare) yes – but I did have to up my budget to get a good enough spec (air fork, decent tyres, 2×10 drivetrain)

MussEd – if you can’t get anywhere with UK UPS offices I can help you write a note to Alltricks support in French if you like.

I’bve seen that before, but if you look at the time display for the slowest people on the segment linked to above, they really are just stopping to have a chat/lunch/something else!

Only got half way, but loved the “slightly on the edge of disaster bouncing all over the place” descents – reminds me of when mine were little and scared me.

Segment finish lines aren’t always right at the top/bottom – there’re a few round here that look like they obviously finish a couple of hundred metres further on or round a corner, just to catch out the people who stop or ease up!

Have you looked at the French FFC Grandes Traversées?

http://sitesvtt.ffc.fr/itinerance-a-vtt/

Longer distance mtb routes that go through some of the most scenic parts of France. All of them can be done in sections, but the difficulty is quite variable.

Should have mentioned that it’s full-length housing without any tight bends.

I’ll check the mech movement, the b-screw, the cable run (again) and change the chain anyway. I’ll have a squint at the mech hanger too. In fact I might try putting a spare hanger on and see if that changes anything.

Thanks all

If I back off the cable tension then I have problems shifting to bigger sprockets.

I’ve had forks, wheels and all sorts of other bits from them.

I went through them for a warranty issue on a (Magura) fork which was sorted out quickly, and I did get a BMX-specific component instead of MTB due to an incorrect description but correct image on the website, but the returns procedure was quick and easy.

Mine looks even more tightly packed than njee’s!

Must get away more.

If you can go over 300 pages then there’s Peter F Hamilton’s “Night’s Dawn” trilogy OK, all three books add up to about 3000 pages, and it’s more Space Opera with Horror tinges than pure SF or Horror writing, but I liked it.

First book is called “The Reality Dysfunction”

On the positive side, now you’ve got a proper diagnosis of the asthma your future training will be much more effective (instead of being constantly derailed by chest problems).

Assuming you’d planned more than one training cycle and peak then you haven’t lost a whole season and should be able to still have some good late-season performances.

If that doesn’t help then look at it as a test of your overall training plan – if you manage to get back to where you want to be later in the season (without thrashing yourself and getting injured obviously) then your training plan wasn’t as good as you thought and you can make a much better one for next year. On the other hand if you feel like you’re undertrained and underperforming all year then it’s a fantastic endorsement of your plan and you can do similar next year with a huge amount of confidence!

France is big. This means that

1) Any advice you get about “how things work in France” may not be applicable to the bit you end up in

2) It’s easy to end up in an isolated location. This is only a problem if health issues see you taking regular trips to the nearest large hospital/nearest city to visit specialists, or if that easy DIY job leads to you making an emergency 2 hour round trip to the nearest DIY store to buy the single, essential, tiny nut/bolt/tool that you don’t have

But it also means that there’s a fabulous range of places to experience and some amazing people to meet.

Yesterday I changed the BB.

Today it felt soo much easier to pedal that it was almost like cheating!

34

Or the Jura – could be wetter but it’s a bit quieter, and closer to Calais

Ardeche will be roasting (if you head for the rivers in the south)

Somewhere around Gap/Embrun/Briançon should be good for a range of riding, prettiness, towns and castles and a bit cooler. It’ll be busy though.

Oh yeah – for licences : if you want to do FFC-affiliated races than you’ll need a BC licence (or any UCI-affiliated federation licence), or a medical certificate stating that you have no contra-indications for “VTT en competition” plus you’ll have to pay for a day licence (8€ last year for Languedoc-Roussillon).

Non-FFC affliliated competitive events will require a licence or medical certificate.

Non-competitive events (randos) will just require a small payments and give you a good route with a couple of feed stations (and maybe a beer or wine at the end)

Oo, those are nice, not seen trailforks or wheresthepath before.

Trailforks doesn’t have many trails on it at the moment, but the IGN overlay is very nice.

For satellite/map comparisons I’m more in the habit of using the French GeoPortail website http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil – you can overlay IGN maps and satellite pictures then play with the transparency sliders to try and work out if the lines on the maps are really trails, or just conceptual lines through impassable vegetation. (and screen captures would be a practical way of printing off disposable map sections if one didn’t have the proper IGN map to photocopy…)

Local experience of OpenCycleMap suggests that at the moment it has less trails than are really there, but the ones that are marked are a safer bet than IGN “paths” – less likely to be blocked by fences, more likely to really exist.

Most of this is relevant: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/riding-in-the-parc-national-des-cevennes

For races in March, there are a couple of XC races:
Offroad Challenge at Caveirac (between Montpellier and Nimes) on the 15th – website’s not up yet but it’ll be a choice between 40km rando, 50km rando or 30km race. I did this last year and it was a great single loop with really good riding. http://www.offroad-bike.fr/ I can’t do it this year though (clash with a different event).

A round of the Regional Cup in Anduze on the 22nd (XCO format):
http://www.ffclr.fr/vtt/calendrier-vtt/

For Enduro, there’s supposed to be one on the 7th or 29th (also round Caveirac/Calvisson) but I don’t think it’s confirmed yet.

Haven’t seen any DH dates (but I don’t really know about that stuff)

There will be Randos each weekend round then as well – not races (non-timed) no licence required (usually), but organised by local clubs who try and show off all their best trails. At the moment I can only find one : http://www.vetete.com/rando_vtt/05pmdf/le_rallye_du_printemps but others should pop up on that website later on in the year.

Not just me, but we were putting the sides on this new section of climbing wall last night.

It is significantly steeper than it looks in the photo.

Ahh all is clearer. I was wondering why some ferrules have sizes.

Full-length housing on the bike, so the CRC xtr set won’t work. I think I’ll just buy a full SP41 set, then I’ll have enough of the right size ferrules for next time.

Thanks all.

E1 is roughly equivalent to French 6a, or American 5.10a

The hardest pitches on Dawn Wall are 5.14, which is roughly equivalent to E10 or above (or French 8b+ to 9a).

Johnny’s hardest routes are extremely classy E8s and E9s. Some of them are in the videos LemonySam posted of Jorgenson.