Some good advice here, thanks folks. I think if significant rain is likely I’ll give it a miss. I think there is a fair bit of snow in the ‘Gorms currently too so snow melt might be an issue perhaps. I was unable to make the Fords of Avon crossing once in May because of run off from the plateau.

Is there more height gain/pushing on the Tilt-Braemar stretch than the Gaick-Tromie then? I’ve ridden the Tromie side and that’s pretty fast, unless the wind is against you. I was also thinking that, if the Lon an Duin outflow is impassable, arriving from the north would be better as you could traverse the loch down the east side (is this remote possible?!), rather than arriving from the south and have to reverse etc?

Ah, the shoot ’em or give then a nice friendly chat dilemma.
No idea about the no doubt complex sociology issues, but if I catch someone nicking my bike I feel fairly certain I would use (reasonable) force to prevent the theft and detain the criminal.

This is all good advice, cheers gents. I will go forth and get my gusset measured.

And whilst we are at it, what happened to spring saddles? Did they die a death for some real reason, or just fashion? And are they any better?

Have mucked about with saddle a lot, back, forwards, up, down etc but doesn’t seem to help. Going to try my misses saddle which is wider (Specialized I think) to see if that helps – I do have quite a wide arse.

Shit all this sounds complicated. I just ride up and down hills and when I feel like i’m going to gag I get off and push. But then I am not serious about fitness, just enjoy riding. Is it not possible to use your body’s feedback to gauge these HR zones? Like fat burning is just chugging along, top end is sweating, straining, feeling sick etc. Do we really need another gadget?

Saw a Ferrari arrive at Dalby…with a bike rack. Hysterical.

Perhaps I got spoiled by a long weekend in Church Stretton. Admittedly it was gloriously sunny but the Long Mynd was a revelation. Half a dozen descents, all good, some technical(ish), some stupidly fast, great views, MTB-friendly locals…loved it.

Err, more than I got. Compared to Glentress, Afan etc it just seemed below par.

What mt said. DBC is brilliant, will supply ideas for routes – and good coffee/cake. Swaledale has *loads* of excellent biking.

Granted it’s not the best video I have ever seen. But, I am now sat her staring at my laptop thinking I want to ride it. So well done. Which way is best? descent to Cwellyn or ‘beris?

‘r ‘n gysefin a ‘r anifail

OK, well probably not true any more, post rebuild (I much preferred the good old days of DD’s portakabin cafe and wildly unexpected drop offs but that’s cos i’m an old git).

I bought a Marin Wolf Ridge several years back. Test rode and was overcome by the joy of full suss. Months later I was permanently getting a sore back sue to riding like a begging dog. No amount of dicking about with the saddle/stem would solve it. Sold to a mate (who liked it!) and bought a 2nd hand Mount Vision. Loved it and rode it for 7 years until it snapped. Great XC bike. Now bought a second hand Superlight which may just be the best bike ever – fairly light, pretty tough, lots of fun 🙂

Whyte1 – that’s a fair comment I guess, it is quite modern with lots of *potential* for jumps rather than unavoidable obstacles.

Frankers – yes. You not familiar with Inners, GT, Dullbeattie etc? Get with it dude.

To wrap this up – UKBikeStore delivered as promised. Won’t use Rutland again. Will be more careful at reading small print.

Brill, ta!

Cheers both. When you say independent hostels you mean as in not SYHA? Any more details?

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=alfie&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&biw=1138&bih=544&tbm=isch&tbnid=NKJe1xn3a6UZJM:&imgrefurl=http://thecia.com.au/reviews/w/what-s-it-all-about-alfie.shtml&docid=FcX0cZVlQGs1uM&imgurl=http://thecia.com.au/reviews/a/images/alfie-0.jpg&w=600&h=400&ei=OQRET9b6Icil8gPPrNW-Dw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=452&sig=102627730929856385980&page=2&tbnh=170&tbnw=249&start=14&ndsp=15&ved=0CIwBEK0DMA8&tx=116&ty=14%5B/img%5D%5DSorry, dyslexic.

Half way down Snowdon my mate gets a puncture. And he’s forgotten his inner tubes. And he’s the only one of us with Presta rims. So, we enlarged his orifices with small pieces of slate. Worked quite well.

Did I fail to mention I was 18st..?

Presume you have tried pissing about with your saddle height? I find too low and my knees rapidly ache.

Want to recommend a 120mm XC type fork? Light-ish, lockout, nothing fancy.

Ha ha!
Time for a RockShox?

Train to Skipton, ride to Kettlewell via Flasby, Malham, Arncliff. Camp/pub. Ride up Ooutershaw down to Bainbridge, up Dale to Hawes push up Cam Fell, down to Helwith Bridge. Camp/pub. Ride to Skipton via Malham, Weets Top and Bell Busk.
Best of the southern Dales and nothing too technical. Best early summer for the song birds.

I used to get pissed with cyclists riding two abreast when driving. Then I started thinking. If you give a cyclist a proper berth you pretty much have to overtake properly – like use the other carriageway as if you were passing a car. Which means that one or two abreast makes little difference. Cyclists that pull back to single file when cars are waiting behind and where it might make safe overtaking easier send a courteous message. Let them pass, give the driver a wave. Maybe he/she will be courteous back again. Give and take. We are all road users and most of us get it about right.

What a classic forum thread. Bonkers.
Apparently you can get a turbo trainer with ‘ice effect’ rollers, just to train for the real thing.

I had a similar problem with a Pro II rear hub. It would seize after only 2 – 3 rides. Each time I would replace the bearings and it’s be fine…for 2-3 rides. Drove me mad. I spoke to Hope (Lancashire not Yorkshire – how very dare you!) and they suggested I sent it in. Which I did and they replaced the hub free of charge. I think the suggestion was that a small % of hubs are marginally too wide and this allows water ingress. Either way, I trust Hope kit and the aftersales was excellent. I have lots of other Hope hubs with no bother. One piece of advice I was given: how far can you push the bearings in by hand? If significantly then the hub may be a problem.

That’s it, the Gisburn Towers. Cover the lot in rides, dodgems, tunnel of love…fun for all the family. Never like biking anyway. Dirty.

+1 richieokeefe.
People ride hard tails with 140+ up front. No need for balance just for the sake of numbers.

Deggles is most definitely NOT w&nk!
PM is classic XC, Deggles is more technical. Do both and decide for yourself. Also, deggles is more protected from kak weather. PM can get a bit blowy in the top cwm.

Ah a metro, possibly the worst car I ever drove, even in a nicer colour than diarrhoea.

Retractable roof? Now you’re talking – like Wimbledon. I think with an entrance fee of say £50 per circuit it might be viable. Maybe extend the motorway from Blackburn. Let’s get some lottery funding for a Gisburn Eye so the family can enjoy an ice cream with a view of the Forest of Bowland. And perhaps enlarge the reservoir, an artificial island…

I don’t know you from Adam but you are inspirational. Great news and well done for the positive attitude.

Grit the trails.
I can see it now. Centre Parc MTB Paradise, featuring 10 km of indoor technical trails including ‘the freezer’ – a section kept frozen to give you that real winter experience. Just £599 for a faux wooden chalet for a weekend. Where do I sign up?

OK, well Rutland order cancelled (still delays, and frankly unimpressive interpersonal skills), now trying UK Bike Store who clime to have it ‘in stock’. We’ll see…

One word: POLAND!
There’s a guy out in the freezing steppes that makes brilliant kit for reasonable money.
Cannot remember the URL but have a read through the bikeandbivi forum, he has photos on there.
I have a saddlebag and bar bag, plus a small bag thingy on the top tube. Have yet to use in anger but they have the feel of very well throught out and long lasting kit.

There’s the law, and then there is being nice.
What is a shop? A room full of stuff with price tags, or an empty room with a guy in the back internet shopping on your behalf?

I reckon the final blue descent is the best bit of modern style trail centre riding in the UK. There. That’s provocative.