Spesh epic evo. Way less twitchy than a scalpel, and actually pretty fun on the downs. Good technical climber, stays nice and planted and doesn’t wander.

Handyside car park / not sure why closed in December but call them to see what rates are

https://www.kingscross.co.uk/kings-cross-car-park

High rollers always ok for me on the greensand side.

Stay south of the A25! Wet leaves on mud on chalk to the north.

Caroline Alexander in the last pic?

Hello jx2a

I have the same issue. Moved to modern long geo bikes (from classic geo from 10 years ago) and get dead / v painful hands within 30mins of riding.

Handlebar height and saddle height relative to ground are same as the old bike but the reach is materially longer.

Presently going through trial and error process of changing one variable at a time: bar height (even tried one of those fork steerer extenders), rotating bars back and forth, saddle back and forth, saddle tilt back and forth. None of which has worked. Next is new shorter stem , new bar, Ergon paddle grips, and if none of that works then frankly a new frame but maybe a bike fit just to see what else I may be missing.

I think steeper seat angles may be playing a part as much as the new norms on reach but I’m definitely no expert. There are a few scholarly articles on the web regarding seat angle and it’s relation to power transfer but nothing I’ve found which really helps or is definitive on the issue you and I seem to be having.

Pictures?

Most places have a bit of damp but it can quite easily be something that affects your use and enjoyment of the place.

Does it feel cold n clammy to touch ? Any evidence the area has been redecorated recently to cover it up? Are you only let in to view after owner/agent has opened the windows before you go in to air the room? Wallpaper or plaster bubbled or feel hollow when tapped? Any mildew spores tucked away in a corner? Any of these telltales and it’s probably an issue.

22 years kayaking here – whitewater, sprint, surf

definitely get some BCU approved courses and skills under your belt if planning on anything more than a splash about somewhere with plenty of surveillance

Canoe safety test , bcu level 2, safety and rescue etc

Join a club if you can , as others have said

And personally I’d avoid inflatables on moving water or sea: In biking if you crash you’ll come to a stop soon enough. In a river or sea , if you get into difficulty you will keep going and have to self rescue unless with competent others who can assist.

Get tuition, learn the safety features of your kit, and what kit you should always have on you.

Too many bad experiences and some absent friends. That’s whitewater tho.

Lots of amazing experiences and travelling to remote beautiful parts of the world too though !

Good to see the Ktm here. Definitely true they increasingly look better value for money than mtbs these days albeit less and less places off road to legally go esp here in the south. Used to run a husky two stroke, always have my eye on the te150s now…. Post more!

Good if singletrack are ‘getting behind the idea’ of more xc coverage. The Skinny dipping series didn’t really work out too well the other year – the approach to coverage just seemed a bit prosaic (with apologies to Rachel, I get the impression sourcing / capturing creative content wasn’t the easiest) – but it would be good to see some more long term coverage of non-gravity disciplines on here.

From my own experience of (regional) xc racing I’d echo some points. This has got a bit long, sorry.

One underlying ‘Problem’ with xc i found is that you actually have to be pretty keen and fit to get anywhere in the more serious categories (sport, expert , vets etc). There were also always a few in Open who I am sure could readily have been in Sport – and seemed to take Open way too seriously – but preferred the reassurance of knowing they would place well in the lower category race. (I know there are some rules over getting bumped up a category but anyway , this is just how it appeared to me).

So you have to consider what are the reasons for turning up – personal challenge, personal improvement, doing max effort as I never would on a trail ride, riding some trails different to the ordinary. Those are mine. Would I call it a fun experience / vibe? Not so much. Even in marathon events (the uk ones, that aren’t competitive but are timed) I’m never going to be quick but it’s a nice day out, with other riders who you can chat to en-route, on new trails and for longer than 1.5h.

So putting a bit more emphasis on making it fun is a good thing to think about. When Dirt Rag was still going one of the writers used to talk about the ‘Party Wave’. Ie. The group who would congregate near the back of the grid and who were there to have fun, take part, ride some different terrain to normal, banter and hustle with each other etc and generally have a blast (and maybe a beer).

Maybe there could be a ‘class within a class’ for this sort of rider. and liven it up by introducing some CX-esque fun things to do . How about throw in a few simple rollable-at-pace trialsy obstacles maybe (didn’t the old singletrack weekender have some basic trials stuff- sure you could do something that would be fun , add interest, and wouldn’t get vetoed by BC? The Pallets of doom etc). Something just to make it a bit different than battle of the fitties .

Or some bonus points for taking a certain line / style points on a feature / segment or two. Longest wheelie, most sketchy landing , flowiest rider etc. bottle of JD to the winner. Heck, I’d sponsor that one myself. Prize for best beginner ? Prize for best mechanical of the day? It’s not hard to think up some stuff that might up the engagement factor amongst entrants and create some more interesting talking points / memorable moments.

Timing of races. Organisers tend (I think) to get the less competitive races out the way in the morning. A 10am start time (for me) means leaving the house at 6/6.30am [Sunday] morning. Typically a 1.5-2hr drive to a venue, sign on, practice lap, take a break then line up 9.45. 1.5hr (ish) race. Done by 11.30. On the one hand it means I can be home for a late lunch and a ‘free’ afternoon. On the other hand I have kids and Sunday is the one day of the week I might have a chance of staying in bed beyond 7am. Maybe if they put the keen-bean races in the morning and let the fun categories have a more leisurely arrival experience that might help entice entrants to come along. And maybe even bring their families to see mummy or daddy race.

Facilities and audience interest. Once my race is done what is there for me to hang around for? Open question. Cheering on the expert riders? Not me. Not enough celebs for that. Bring back the old killer hill climb events?! Or something else to participate in. Also, it has been a long time since I saw a demo day also rock up at an xc event. Does that happen anymore (obv. not right now- no one has any bikes I figure)?

Maybe after my race is done i should volunteer as a marshal, that would be helpful wouldn’t it. Maybe that could become a condition of entry (it is in some grass root sports) . Or if that’s too prescriptive how about when entering, you are invited to volunteer for something on the day and there are a few options you can choose. Maybe that’d help with fostering some community spirit too. I’ll sponsor that with JD too myself.

The racing season. It’s too short/ races spaced too close together. My local series starts typically in late March/early April but is done by July. Maybe it is 4-5 rounds. One a month, say (Facebook not working so I cannot check). Cx season an issue. Given it is hard enough to sort venues, insurance etc for organisers the number of races is probably realistic but space them out more. I found they were too frequent for me to justify getting to more than a couple (given all the various competing demands I find I have to balance at weekends), and then for two rounds it felt a bit pointless/tenuous and why don’t I just go for a trail ride instead.

Media coverage. From time to time I get Trial Magazine from the newsagent. It for a large part consists of coverage of various trials events that have gone on. The interviews are of trials riders from local and national series (not the red bull ones ) . It’s a bit niche to make a whole mag out of that (not even gone-but-sadly-missed Shred did that I think) but shows some ideas of how you could go about it. Dirt used to do good race write ups too. Also on the trials front, go listen to The Shin Dig podcast – that has been good at knitting together the uk trials community.

I used to like Making Up The Numbers when it was a written thing , the personal take on competing and balancing that with the daily-life and work challenges many of us face was refreshingly different (award winning no less! Take note). Cameraderie with both the riders and the reader was the name of the game there and the secret to its success I’d say. Could there be someone up for doing an xc version – I’m no creative writer that’s for sure. I’d love to hear what Charlie H or the other staffers would write following competing in various xc events. I’ll cover your petrol if that’s an issue.

Media coverage (again). Gives sponsors a reason to invest in supporting races. Sponsors give organisers support and boy do organisers need it. (Bit circular as you also need numbers of punters to turn up for sponsors to see the point, but positive sustained media coverage / internet will help with that ).

Gives the media some new content to diversify the number of press and video releases that echo around everyone’s websites, and diversifies away from yet another ‘international adventure’ article or classic ride article that happens, likely as not, to be located in the northern half of the uk.

Also long termers like Chipps will be sentimental over xc and surely will feel like they are supporting a grass roots side of the sport. (Maybe even Tym Manley would be sentimental, but maybe not). Win win all around?

I’m sorry to hear Lauren will be off – she managed to bolster the website up with a lot of good stuff. Good luck to you in your next role. I hope someone as prolific gets mandated with following up the race and xc / xc culture side of the sport here (the main thing I follow on here really…). Maybe it’s back to Hannah! All the best to you and the team.

I heard the weather in Spain’s pretty good right now for a 3 week getaway…

No Fraser it seems.

OP I’ve been thinking similarly but my kids younger still. I looked at the options but landed on a Wayfarer being the best bet- but only wanting a picnic type boat to saunter about in with enough cockpit space, no expectations of racing.

On a related point does anyone know if any of the Garmin watches are any good for navigation? Or too small and fiddly.

If digging deeper on rider stats and results is interesting to you, Brujula bike put up this good article for what appears to be a relatively recent database (mtbdata.com):

https://www.brujulabike.com/analysis-results-mountainbike-mtbdata/

Tom P is first GB rider to win a men’s elite race in 25 years and I can see no substantive coverage of that on UK mtb websites – even STW bills it as one step below raphas new clothing in their dropping in article. Seems to be this should be more of a cause celebre! Suprising how little passion seems to exist. Or have I missed something?? Maybe Hannah is working on an exclusive interview as we speak.

@masterdabber I was at royal cc too but not since 2012 or so.

For the OP I recommend getting in touch with Battersea Canoe Club if rowing doesn’t work out and it’s canoeing (kayaking) he would like to try. They don’t do K1 racing (Royal and Richmond cc’s do) as focus on flat water, whitewater, touring, pool sessions and canoe polo and it’s potentially a bit more accessible than the racing clubs.

There’s also Chelsea kayak club but it’s not set up for beginners.

Good to see some fellow southern racers on here – haven’t entered this season yet though. Enjoy!

Looking at their groupco accounts yes I think you are right reluctant jumper – expect to see lots more ‘brand partnerships’ – also note the effective controlling stake now from Discovery. Singletrack it ain’t

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10605512/filing-history

Yep mostly just noise. Watched one of those ‘should i upgrade stuff on my current bike or buy a new one’ videos from them last year. Guess what side they leant toward, reasoning being you get new school geometry and latest standards. No mention of the fact that if you do invest in a new bike in two years time it’s not worth much and itself starts getting obsolete. Preferred the dirt shed show days when Warner was still on it.

Have done it in 12 hrs. I initially did a few recce trips , as in a few weekends to just do a segment of it at a time to familiarise self with the route (point to point between train stations ) , then did whole thing as I sussed out where I was going a d where the shops/stand pipes were . I’ve never used a gps – always OS print outs . Like others I recommend west to east. Avoid bad weather as it’s grim and avoid anytime it’s muddy as the claggy chalkmud is impossible to ride in – just accumulates and doesn’t shed. British heart foundation used to do an annual ride in a day.

Waiting for my Yo Eddy to arrive with matching yo fork- can I submit that for the list?!

Been playing since the mid 90s. Is Scott less long winded / waffly in the subscription vids than the free ones?

My Orange C16 with rigid forms and STX RC groupset cost me £600 in 1995 from wild side cycles in Tunbridge Wells.

In 1993 my Univega Alpina with Acera gears was £360 new.

My wife was a teacher. Got made redundant on mat leave no less. Got an employment lawyer to help draft a letter and consult. Realised they had messed up the consultation so got a settlement . Different to your circumstance but worth a chat with a lawyer. PM me if you want deets of who we used.

I bought an ion one for that sort of money but not great sound

go for the audio technica I suggest

I’ve still got a partially built Dark Vengeance… Like others here I was early teens when 40k came out and got sucked in again by the memories/ no riding for a bit due to injury! Anyone in Surrey area fancy a game then shout!

Thanks chaps, gut feel from that is something in the assembly is loose, but will have a poke with the bb tool in first instance.

I had an Astra estate for 5 years, then somehow got dazzled by marketing hype and switched to an SUV (stupid…), which lasted a year, then plucked up the courage to buy a van a bit over a year ago on the basis of similar logic to you.

Got a white 07 plate LWB trafic, 40k for a bit over £7k. Turned out to have a dodgy alarm contact but a gaffer tape bodge put that fire out. It’s been great and no issues otherwise. Put a removable bed shelf in the back for camping, and it’s my weekend biking / kayaking vehicle ( I ride to work).

I stumped up that much since all the cheap vans looked like they blow up in my hands… And the van forums tend to put the fear of god into you with tales of problems…

MM

Been thinking along similar lines recently although I’m not overly fussed about heart rate though, personally. Anyone tried the memory map equipment?

We’ve a Fiat Panda – happily bombs along the motorway and zips through the rat runs a treat!