Vitamin C, or should that be 650C, making your yeast feel more alive.

Looks mental, though they should count themselves lucky its mud not ruddy pea gravel! The devils surface that stuff.

I have one of the 17.5 or ‘medium’ Fuel Ex at 5,11 and a bit.. Was a really good deal and I always thought I liked small, chuckable bikes… It is fun but more and more i’m thinking its actually too small for me, especially as i prefer wide bars and a short stem. Although i have always struggled with bike fit, seemingly between sizes a lot of the time grrr.

I have learned that I like small hardtails but not small full sus, odd maybe .

Enya followed by Glen Campbell, followed by Little Boots followed by Lamb of God. My girlfriend was baffled that that was even possible on one playlist.

Lunchtime, there is a place in the St Nicks market that does ruddy amazing falafel, otherwise goat curry or a pieminster pie.

Selle san marco Rolls, got one on my beloved galaxy and its crazy comfy over long distance. Not to shabby looking either.

5 years,still living in the UK and most likely killing myself commuting to and working in East London, yuck. Doing loads of riding though, swinley and the chilterns and pretty regular trips down to bristol. I think thats when my mates discovered rowberrow and the tracks there.

Now out in WA, working less, for more money bur riding less and probably not as fit. As trade off’s go it could be worse ha.

What size frame are you guys around / over 6ft using? I’m tempted by one of these but not sure if at 5,11 im annoyingly between sizes.

For me its less a philosophical stop and more a “dear god, my lungs!”

Anecdotal evidence: Took a mate out awhile back, me on 26″ Trek Fuel, him on 29″ Giant. On trails i was much faster but on the tarmac climb back to the car he utterly destroyed me. Was a hardtail so that might have had a wee bit to do with it but i certainly got the impression on the 29er was faster.

I’m still not changing from 26″ until the current bikes need replacing but i would consider a solaris i think.

Climbing, mostly indoors but the occasional foray into the real world when its a bit cooler. Rubbish at it though! Also getting back into the running, i’m still not sure if I actually enjoy it but it seems to improve my fitness faster than cycling ever has.

Also a bit of photography, cooking, Warhammer 40k thought the cost of that is putting me off. I might get a cheap fishing rod soon, make the most of living near the sea.

For the Chilterns crowd, the Cherry Tree in Stoke Row takes a bit of beating in the summer, King William at Hailey for the view as well though thats more mid-ride.

Ah the pub in Long Ashton, fond memories of nursing injuries gained riding the legendary Still Woods DH tracks, pretty much opposite the pub. RIP Still Woods.

Perth doesnt really have post ride pubs :( And as most rides finish by 10am… doesnt really feel quite right walking down to the Queens for a pint.

Living in Perth its our ‘weekend’ destination, well with singapore. KL is alright, the Islamic art museum is def worth it, also Batu Caves about 40 mins outside the city. Just watch the monkeys. Also what the above said about the Petronas at night, the Mall next to it is air con relief and has an ok foodcourt.

Outside of KL, Melaka is nice, The cameron highlands I really liked, some good walks through the jungle and tea plantations etc. Taman Negara National park as well, though its utterly huge and I think requires a bit of planning to get the most from.

Penang is awesome, top notch food, interesting town and actually a pretty big bike scene. Weirdly ran into a guy in one of the bike shops who was in my uni bike club a few years after me.

General advice: The food is amazing and incredibly cheap, the beer is average and the opposite. Its pretty conservative in places so zip of trousers are pretty handy unless you fancy doing a david beckham impression at every temple or mosque.

If you have time Langkawi is supposed to be lovely as are the Perhentian Islands, though check the weather for these, monsoon is an issue.

Currently an emigree (sp?) Just under 3 years in western australia. Moved for a change of scenery and for the money (geologist). Definatly good and bad point. I still miss the UK, specifically the countryside,family, the beer and believe it or not the weather. Oz is a pretty awesome place to live though and the lack of a language barrier has made things easier.

It looks like we will move back to the UK in a few year as the australian gf wants to work in london, live in europe. I suspect we will see how that goes and then make a decison about either staying in europe (We both would liek to live in germany) or back to Oz, but not WA)

If you get the chance def take it, the worlds a big place and living in different places gives you a whole new perspective.

The KING Brown? Hmmm thats a pretty scary though. Maybe Snakenado…. Given the kind of snakes we get down here thats ruddy terrifying.

Given its Perth, I reckon its that gurt big Dreamtime snake the local chaps reckon created the Swan River, Wagyl? Setting up for a big battle between the Decepticon (The Arena) and the denizens of the BHP Dark Tower.

Perth had some rain this morning! About 10 mins worth admittedly but it does exist. As someone who has been fairly critical of Perth in the past, and still not totally convinced its for me in the long term at the moment its awesome.

Bits of WA might be a bit mired in the past but with the fringe and Perth festivals on at the moment, beer gardens and hawkers markets and lovely warm nights it doesn’t seem so bad.

Trails are actually a bit too dry though, jumps and bumps just crumbling away in places.

Been riding bikes since I was a wee lad but was more interested in touring and longer road rides. First week of university I decided to take my Scott hybrid around Leigh woods for an explore. Ran into a guy I recognised from my course and spent the next 3 hours scaring ourselves witless (The picnic bench trail on a hybrid was a bit lethal. The next week my first loan cheque came and i became the owner of a shiny marin hardtail. Been crazy about it ever since.

Still cant clean that picnic bench trail though grrr

I just put some x-lite carbon things with a 15mm axle on my ss charge duster. Think there 445 a-c and they feel pretty good. Stupid amounts of space for huge tires, I initially thought i had somehow managed to order 27.5 forks or something daft.

Only been riding it on the smoother trails in perth but feels awesome kinda like that first bike feeling when you where a kid with a piece of crap but spend hours bouncing or rocks and trees and generally ragging it sill… but actually a nice bike. If that makes sense ha.

Work as a site investigation / engineering geologist here. Spent 3 years doing it in the UK and coming up to 3 years in Western Australia now. Money in the UK was pretty terrible and be prepared to work really, really long hours, loads of driving, and in any weather. I enjoyed it but it has its low points. Massively contaminated sites in mid summer wearing haz suits.

Working in WA the moneys much better but pretty much all the work involves working away for sometimes long periods of time. Pretty tough on partners. I would say look at a global climate map, find the countries with tough weather and thats where the jobs are dammit.

To be honest im considering getting out of it.

Perths 360 deg headwind has caught me out/broken me utterly on more than a few occasions. You think ” aaah a beautiful sunset ride down the indian ocean” but actually its a head down, gear dropping death slog!

Having grown up not far from Reading, and hating it (School in Henley, so obviously reading was full of rough as chavs according to us) and then moving there in my mids 20s to work in wokingham/finchampstead. I reckon for kids its got a lot to offer, mentioned the climbing wall but you have some pretty damn good swimming pool/leisure center things with slides n stuff.

Also a great little bmx track thing near the canal 5 min from the oracle.

The oxford road is pretty crap and there’s are definatly some properly horrible areas but thats pretty much the same for any decent sized english town.

Oh and SWEENEY TODDS pie shop

I should mention i’m now living in Perth Australia and believe it or not there are some things i miss about reading…..

As TiRed says: Really good climbing wall, at least 1 half decent bike shop (though technically its caversham for the snobs). Theres some amazing road riding really not very far from town i.e north towards henley, stokenchurch and the chilterns. Ditto some great riding straight from town (Across the caversham bridge and head along the river towards mapledurham) or a short drive (Swinley, and the aformentioned chilterns)

A few pretty nice pubs as well plus the usual selection of foods. Theres a great takeaway indian up near the shinfield road.

For those who complain about the roads…. people love bristol and that place has roads akin to the 7th circle of hell!

The weathers perfect for any kind of riding at the moment to be honest. Roads a lot easier, I think the only offroad you can really do without a car is the Goat Farm which is more DH and 4x. Skill section is fun though.

But… totally worth hiring a car and hitting up the kalamunda trails. Loads of new stuff and its riding brilliantly at the moment. Really really green and the flowers are still out in force.

Geotechnical Pretengineer or Engineering Geologist depending on how clever i’m feeling. Used to be mostly based out of Reading/London but now Perth Australia. Hate the office work, love the site work, even though its often stupidly hot, dusty and miserable. Probably liked doing it in the UK more but am paid about triple out here for nearly the same job. By Perth standards the wage isnt amazing but i’m pretty damn happy with it to be honest.
Always fancied teaching one day, I think if we come back to the UK I might try science teaching. Kids cant be harder than some of the people you find working in the mines!

Me and the girlfriend manage on 1 car between the two of us and we live somewhere pretty damn car-centric (Perth Australia, I’m lucky enough to be able to walk/cycle to the office and when i’m on site its a taxi to the airport. It pretty much only gets used for the big weekly shop, driving to the trails at weekends and weekends away. I dont think I could go carless here, outside of the city public transport is utterly non existant and inside its a bit average.

I would like a 4wd drive though……

I did course last year and have just started up again, going with my gf to an ashtanga i think beginners course. I massively underestimated quite how much of a work out it can be, i usually finish the class feeling like iv been beaten up by some kind of really soft handed kind ninja. Definatly felt like it improved my flexibility, i climb as well as ride and noticed improvements in both.

Another one of the Perth contingent here, just over 2 years in. Currently really loving it here, weathers great, the riding seems to get better every month, i’m even getting the hang of the dreaded pea gravel. My girlfriend is a local which has really helped with meeting people. I go through phases of really missing home, currently all of my friends seem to be getting engaged and married and it does feel like your missing out being so far away.
I think we will probably stay here for a few more years to build a sizeable nest egg then try the uk for a few years to see how she likes it.
On a random note, how much fun are the new gungin trails!

Also….. on a tangent, the Bird in Hand does some of the best beer anywhere in the area and has a lovely dog. Best pub in Henley, though the Angel on a sunny day is alright….

I do miss the trails around there, nothing very technical but brilliant for long long days out on the bike in gorgeous countryside.

If you drive over the bridge the town hall is the big building on the square ahead of you. Pub called the Argyll on the left, Loch Fyne on the right hand side.

I lived out in Stoke Row so unfortunatly most of my routes are based on the descents into Henley and then looping back or bypassing Henley but in the surrounding Hills.

On google maps/OS map, look up Greatbottom and Coldbottom woods, some nice trails link up from the road through them into stoke row.

If from Stoke row you ride towards Highmoor theres some bridleways that go down near where the closed Dog and Duck pub is, you can probably follow your nose, follow any trail you feel like heading towards the fairmile ish. If you can end up near Lambridge woods theres some really fun singletrack and a fast descent into henley from there.

Erm neither of them, hill that climbs up past the town hall, Gravel Hill i think its called.
When i figure out how to draw on a map I might post a few suggestions.

If you cycle up the Gteepish hill past george harrisons on old (Friar park?) and take the left signposted Pack and Prime Lane, thats turns into a bridleway with some fun steps on the way down then follows the valley and up to cross the Stoke Row Road. If you turn right onto the road then left about 50m or so onto a pretty crappy looking road (This turns into Dog Lane), can be a bit wet this and runs past the golf course to what used to be the dog pub.

Right onto the B481 and then somewhere on the lft is another bridleway which will drop you down into the hidden valley between the villages. Up the other side and follow your nsoe into Stoke Row for a pint.

Hmm takes ages describing routes, might try and draw a wee map

The SE isnt all that bad…. Admittedly this is about 2 years ago as i’m now living in oz. 20 to 25k a year job living in Reading, Rent plus bills was about 450 ish a month in a pretty nice sharehouse in a pretty nice bit of town. Ran about 2 bikes, well 1 singlespeed and 1 indestructable dawes touring bike and averaged at least 2 foreign hols a year plus out on the beers every fri and most saturdays.

I didnt always save much more than a few hundred quid or so a month but it was pretty damned fun and really not that hard.

I think its about expectations, my car was a clapped out corsa which cost me 450 quid and i mostly cycled to work or used the company vans when on site.

Moved to Perth just over 2 years ago for work on a 457 visa. Id like to apply for PR but my employer has lost the ability to sponsor further visas dammit. I would agree with the comments about how long it takes to really settle in, i’m only just getting to that stage now. Also ‘its not a sunnier version of the UK’ like a 1000 fold. I came here thinking that and have been proved so wrong.

Cost wise, once you stop thinking it pounds it doesnt seem so bad, my standard of living has increased dramatically from the UK, though as various posters have said bike bits can be extortionate and eating out can be scarily expensive sometimes.

I still do miss home regularly and i’m still not convinced i could spend the rest of my life here, its a very very long way from friends and family which despite skype etc can be hard. Australians do have some funny attitudes, can be very macho and competetive sometimes and racism is if not more prevalent, definatly more outspoken. Iv also seen more fights and random violence in 2 years here than I ever saw back home.

God thats an essay! All in all though if you get the chance come over, if only for a few years its a brilliant place to live and work.

Weekend down to Dunsborough, some wine and beer tasting and testing my new climbing rope out at Wilyabrup. Very little actual climbing, loads of faffing and dolphins = a pretty good day. Then Lions and a pretty big night out. Only downside was being told no riding was likely and turning up to a guy unpacking his new heckler dammit.

To the chap riding around Stoke Row, mucho jealous! Thats my old stomping grounds, I grew up exploring the woods around there and I do miss them sometimes! Pint at the Cherry Tree was it?

I just bought my gf one of there super cheap city bike things so she can ride to work occasionally/survive the carnage of next weeks freo line shutdown. Pleasantly surprised by how good it is, few cheap nasty bits but for the money mad value.

I had a wee look at the road bikes as well and they looked quite nice. Not sure it was full 105 though, Vaguely remember the brakes being crappier stuff and maybe the shifters??? Might be wrong there.

I think about 6 to 8ish quid over here in sunny Perth, depending on how nice a pub/bar….. And thats not always for a pint booo. Bloody schooners!

Perth (Oz) winters are rather lovely, more daylight would be nice. The long summer evenings are probably one of the things i miss most about home!

Yeah oops. A slightly enthusiastic night sampling belgium beer in Mt lawley led to extreme pain on saturday morning. I think i might have been ok to ride but certainly not to drive!

Made it up on sunday morning though, what a beautiful weekend for riding! First ride this year where iv felt remotely flowy or skillful. Kamakaze is good fun though i find it pretty frustrating sometimes, if your having a slightly bad day it punishes line choice horribly. Metasoma is good fun and i love the last section coming towards the pump track car park.

Off back home wed so riding old haunts if i gte lucky!