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  • Issue 157 – Norway Hans Rey
  • WillC9999
    Free Member

    What do speeding folk do with the extra 10-20 mins though? Seriously.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    What’s a lake? Is there a size limit? All a bit arbitrary I would have thought. I camped at the (allegedly) highest lake in Wales just below the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn. No doubt someone can find a higher pool somewhere.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Exactly the same thing happened to me on the A65. Bit north of Settle heading south where you get a 3 lane bit. I’d been stuck behind a 40mph chap for a while and overtook. It was straight, road clear, so I nipped past. When I saw the copper with his hand camera I was doing nearly 70mph. My fault for letting go a bit, I needn’t have, but I wanted to get the manoeuvre done. I spent the next 2 weeks on tenterhooks having never had a conviction of any kind. Guess the copper used his discretion. Made me think though – just how much of a hurry am I in?

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Grizedale might be worth a crack – loads of great XC loops. Knock one off before the crowds arrive..?

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Thank for the comments. I think I may be overcooking it but don’t want the whole trip to get mullered because of not having some peculiar bearing. As for wheel building, I still plan to learn this but thus far spoke replacement is my limit!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    For a pleasant roll ride down Glen Avon from Tommy, turn left at the Sultan’s pad and cruise down Glen Bruin (I think?) to Cock Bridge. Have a coffee then vomit on the hideous climb north and then freewheel back to Tommy.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Never ask that!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Left hand rear, right hand front – yeah, that’s normal (in the UK)!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Can’t find a smiley that is yawning.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Binners – you need a TV show 🙂

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    +1 grum
    You ride it and you no like? Get involved with it or ride somewhere else that you do like. Job done.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    No it’s not – I posted something similar a while back! I ride flatties. I want a winter book, stiff, neoprene outer/lace cover, ankle cuff etc. But there ain’t one. It’s either ‘whoah dude!’ 5 10s with the associated 10kg when wet weight penalty or a pair of approach shoe things. A niche in the market I think.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Someone once described trying to organise cyclists like herding cats.
    The road bikers seem to have the whole sunday ride team strip cafe thing well sorted. MTBers seem more of the small group brigade – and maybe no bad thing given trail congestion.
    Bottom line is that organising something takes time and can be a thankless task. Until you have done it you don’t realise the effort it takes to keep running rides, dealing with membership, legal kak, formal meetings etc. As a member of the Leeds Cycle group (road mainly and local lobbying) it’s amazing to see so many people giving up their free time to actually *do* something. I have also managed to join the Local Access Forum (group dealing with footpaths, bridleways, local strategy etc). There was no cycling representation so I thought, why not get involved? Clearly I am not going to be able to convert Leeds into a massive off-road velodrome in a couple of months but I might be able to chip away at improving and increasing bridleways etc. If you look at where cyclists have got more organised, sadly often as a direct result of a tragedy, it has had an effect, viz London, and the Times’ campaign. Basically, it won’t happen on it’s own – change is up to us.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    I am not a massive fan of Gisburn either but (a) it exists and (b) trail building appears to be difficult and hard work. Every time I ride at a centre – usually because it’s been very wet and the Dales grass has boggified – and I think, ‘this is a bit shit’ I also think, ‘why don’t you turn up for one of the weekend trail building sessions then you whining git’. If I was paying proper money for a trail I would expect more, but for free/cheap parking I think we do pretty well.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    I have thought about using a single chainring. I already reduced to a double after deciding that £40 was a lot to spend on a ring I rarely used and spent most of its time acting as a circular saw for logs.
    Now I run 22/36 with a 11-32 cassette. Not sure I could bin another one though, at least not without ruining my knees/walking, or spinning out.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Another towpath issue. I am riding towards 4 walkers with 2 dogs, neither on leads. They are blocking the whole towpath. They are walking towards me, maybe 50 metres off and there is clear eye contact. As I approach I slow down to maybe 7mph. There is ample room for them to move to one side, or two change to single file. What they actually do is ignore me until I am quite close, then move 2 to each side, one dog on each. I slow down to walking pace and ride between them. The entirely predictable even of dog crossing to other dog occurs and I have to swerve violently to avoid a collision. One of the walkers shouts at me.

    Some mentioned earlier about groups of people becoming unwilling to split up for fear of feeling lost from the conversation or whatever. I think there is some truth in this. Regularly I observe that when walking on my own along a pavement and meeting a group of 3-4 people coming the other way there seems a strong tendency for them to want me to step off the pavement to let them pass without having to change their position. When I hold my position I get looked at like I have transgressed some kind of serious society rule.
    Quite strange. I wonder if I do the same when walking with friends?

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Cobrakai – I know exactly what you mean. It amazes me how fast some riders hurtle under the zero visibility bridges. I saw a wonderful crash once. Guy goes under at about 20mph, total suicide, no bell or shout. He meets another guy coming the other way, skids left and superman’s into the water. The other guy was completely flabbergasted at the monumental stupidity of the, now swimming, rider. We pulled him out, then he had to get back in to fetch his sunken bike. Eventually rider and bike were reunited and he rode off, bike pissing water out of a drainage hole. I really don’t think he saw it coming, or even afterwards had learned anything. Just a proper dollard.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    And zipped my foreskin into my school trousers at the swimming pool once.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Oh, and broke left arm failing to jump a pathetic stream. Got a bit mullered on the pain and decided nurse was gorgeous. Saw her leaving hospital later on when in less pain and crucially she without uniform and she was, sadly, quite grotesque. Anyway, a couple of months did it. The arm that is.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Slid on ice and put right foot down. Right foot stuck, rest of body and bike didn’t. Completely torn MCL, badly torn PCL, badly bruised femur, quads all torn, and some mention of a small fracture. Walking in 2 months, cycling in 3, sort of OK again in 9. Still not as good as the other knee but I’m not complaining – I can make pedals go round fine. Brilliant physio (private).

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Some girls’ mothers are bigger than other girls’ mothers.

    There seems to be a reasonable correlation between busy-ness and angry-ness.

    As others have noted already it is sometimes a case of just not liking ‘people not like me’ – they should be somewhere else.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    That means a wasted da driving into Malaga etc!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Kind of where I am at, but I did start to think I was getting a bit OCDI. Could take a spare misses too? 🙂

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Nice curves. Like a ‘lady’.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Shizer! Looks like a winter ride on Kinder!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    That’s disgraceful, such lack of effort. When a stag group I was with stayed in a YHA we hoovered the ceiling, dusted the inside of the cooker and left a freshly made lemon drizzle cake.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    This argument takes us to a singlespeed which is not sane!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    KSBs still have laces and a fabric outer, and no cuff. But granted, it’s a step in the right direction. What I don’t get is why no one makes something – are no-SPD types (like me), such a minority?!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Would love to be able to deal with a single front ring and big block on the back, but fear I am simply not fit enough. I run a double and bash on front (22, 36) and 11-34 rear. Don’t miss the big ring, if I spin out I am already going fast enough. But a 30ish single on the front..?

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Never a truer word said. The apparent dullness of other road users (of all type!) never ceases to amaze and appal. Some folk will seem to look right at you, then pull out anyway. Cars seem to have the ability to turn normal people into stupid and selfish c*nts.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Oh and when wet, 5 10’s weight 50 kilos, plus they take over a year to dry.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    +1 for approach shoes being generally too soft, plus all the laces, and lack of mud-shedding outer. And why should I put up with the PITA of overboots?! I do use SealSkinz socks but find them heavy and wet, marginally better than being cold and wet admittedly, but far crapper than a normal sock inside a decent dry boot!

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    I thought the helmet thing was largely done now. They might reduce minor injuries (like a lot of low speed mountain biking falls) but do almost nothing in the case of serious injuries and death.
    Really, we should be advising car drivers to wear helmets if we want to save lives.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Brilliant effort 🙂
    The best of nights, the worst of nights – as Turnbull put it so well.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Morrissey is just expressing his *opinion* which he is entitled to, as are others to disagree. I think there is some truth in what he says although I think he overcooks it.

    +1 for clubber

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    I had to shit whilst climbing on Tryfan once. I scrambled off the route and found a suitable ledge. Post deposit the climb continued to the summit. A little later 2 Auzzies summited on an adjacent climb. Typically they were loudly praising the wonderful route and rock, but then added ‘only problem was that some bastard had shat on our belay ledge!’. Oh dear. Clearly this wasn’t my finest hour but it still cracks me up.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    I think, us being intransigent humans and all that, it will take something utterly appalling for us to stop and fundamentally change our thinking about cycling. Like the Omagh bombing. Too awful even those who condoned that sort of thing to not feel bad about. Why do we always have to wait for something like this before we act. It’s always the same.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Good Christ that is one ugly bike.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Hybrid for me. Tried a road bike, didn’t like…
    – drops (uncomfortable braking)
    – brakes (shit)
    – twitchiness
    – silly foot hitting front wheel thing
    – crap gears
    – no load carrying
    Now I have an Uncle John with MTB cassette and mid range middle, flat bars, disk brakes, rack and 32 tyres.
    Happy – but each to their own.

    WillC9999
    Free Member

    Dunno exactly how fast but descending Ventoux I overtook an Audi I estimated doing 30+ mph fairly rapidly so maybe high forties? More excitingly I also overtook a roadie who very nearly shat himself on hearing the ridiculous roaring of my knobblies up his rear. He actually pulled over to let my only vaguely in control vibrating 26″ mess hurtle past. I love disk brakes 🙂

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 185 total)