Has your mate noticed a lot of moths around the house? Generally that size they will be insect larve. Does the house have a hollow floor they might be living under?

Bad luck on your trip and experience – just to say that I had a good time with Biking Adalucia, based in Orgiva, last year. I was the only client that week which possibly helped, but would definately encourage people who have not been to explore the region. I would go back myself if there weren’t so many other places in the world to explore.

Hope your next trip is more positive & that SC post a reply on here

This lady (Kim) was a friend of a female friend of mine. She was an experienced rider both on road and off road. I understand that she was wearing a helemt.

The road conditions were atrocious at the time, but nothing that she would not have been used to. There is an indication that her brakes may have failed – but I cannot verify that.

Whatever the result the quote from her parents ‘she died in a beautiful area doing something she loved’ – is a fitting epitath

Another couple of options are Spain & Morroco

Went to the Sierra Nevadas last year with Bike Andaluccia, & excellent riding there, plus based in Orgeva (the Biking over Lemons town) which is a decent place to stay
Both the Anti-Atlas & High Atlas in Morroco are worth doing if you fancy something slightly more exotic

Thanks to Fuzzy for pointing out my thread had caused some heated debate and variety of views (both on and off this forum). I am not sure of the exact legal situation myself, altho my sister works in trading standards so could check if I wanted but out of interest I think I should tell you what I actually did.

Of course I phoned Merlin, about 20 minutes after opening the box and checking to make sure they hadn’t charged me for two frames. There was no manager available so I had said I would ring back to find out what sort of deal they would do me for being honest and sending the frame back.
We finally got in touch last week, the mistake was down to a ‘warehouse shipping error’ and the offer was ‘choose something off the website and we will do you a deal on it’ which sounded fair enough to me. Which I narrowed down to a set of Nobby Nics or a set of Hayes Stroker Ryde (I still had the orignal Magura Julies on the ‘old’ Merlin & before anyone knocks them too much they did 3 weeks in the Himalays – and have the Hayes on my Anthem). Merlin offered to do the Nics at £30 for the pair or the brake kit at £75.
I would have given you the next dilema – which one do I go for – but as FuzzyFelt has already told you the answer (I did try for both of course), if anyone gets a set of Hayes brakes they hadn’t ordered in the post this week, they’re mine!

You dont need the canal permit anymore drain, they stopped that on the K&A about 5 years ago. Although they are working on the locks at Caen Hill the towpath is still open, although there might be a couple of minutes diversion depending on what they are doing at any particular lock. There is a towpath all the way along although as Andy says the signed NCN4 diverts off in places. It is also worthwhile looking out for the K&A’s own leaflet which gives you loads of information about the route, why Monkey Marsh Lock is so called, Crofton pumping engine, that sort of thing. The Barge Inn at Seend and Cross Guns at Avoncliffe are both cracking pubs (and local too me).

Another vote for ay-ups, had mine 3 years, narrow on helmet and wide on bars and they have survived the Bonty 24-12, CLIC24 and Set2Rise along with the weekly night ride and winter commuting. So had some hammer including me landing on them at least twice with no problems.

Lucky you! Another prize for next weekends raffle at the SPAM (late)Christmas shin-dig may-be!!

Good shout Fuzzy – I could offer it up for the winner of the best muffin competition, then again the old frame would be an improvement on the empty box of lights that someone won at one of the SPAM does!

Wonder how many Malts they sold this week…wonder if any Merlin employee’s trawl this forum….

If the shop manager does maybe he would like to return my call…

I went with David at Biking Andalucia earlier this year and had a great (if wet) time. He is based in Orgiva, the Driving over Lemons town so it is quite social as well. He tailors the riding to the group/individual so most of what we did was local trail riding – but as Steve Peat has been out with him I guess he can give you plenty of big DH’s. Extremly cheap too

46, 5ft 10 1/2in, 10 & 1/2 stone, can i have that extra cake if you dont want it?

mine is a 09 X2 medium also – would have replied earlier but I have been out in Wales doing a marathon on it….

Think positive folks, there's no one better equipped to look after themselves in the wilds of errr Somerset and Devon than Sharki, in fact it is so wild there are places out there that dont have internet access. No news is good news and he has not surfaced cos he doesn't want too and has no idea that all this fuss is going on.

BTW did a week in the Sierra Nevadas in March and you can't fly to Spain without giving your pasport number, new security regulations that came in this year. I think it is intended to make them Europe wide eventually. Do believe you can still get the ferry on an ID card though.

If you are ever in the south west then Haldon Forest near Exeter is good. My 11 yo nephew found the blue trail 'too easy' so probably right for a 6 yo.

I had a go at this after advice from the forum a few weeks ago, muck, crap, oil and grease everywhere – get a new one and save the hassle!

100 years ago you got a free trip to Australia for doing that – now you get people on the internet going aaaawww!

Well done – but 15 orphaned lambs does seem an awfull lot to find?

iain1775 – Member

BTW Im from Derbyshire so have more claim to the PeakS than those of you with a Yorkshire postcode – f*ck off back to your own county why don't you

Being originally from a village on the Lincolnshire/Yorkshire border and frequenting the Peaks (as we refer to The Peak District colloquially) whenever I get home to visit my relatives, my only answer to yourself and the other good burghers of Derbyshire has to be….

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I thank you

My next door neighbour is in the climbing fraternity (he is the nutter who spent a week living on a cradle above Cheddar Gorge 2 or 3 years back if anyone remembers that) and have passed on the details and asked him to put something on the climbing forums.

I have only met Sharki a couple of times when out in the Quantocks, not ridden with him but he did show us some secret squirrel routes and he did seem a sound guy. I hope that he hasn't been found because he doesnt want to be found – yet.

Yes West Woods are superb, although avoid going on the weekends when the tracks are fully open to vehicles in early May, they get hundreds there and its rubbish for riding. Plenty of orchids in the woods as well.

Another couple of sites in Wiltshire are the woods at Great Ridge near Salisbury and Cranbourne Chase near Shaftesbury, Wilts/Dorset border, decent riding in both places along with good pubs and tea shops!

Thanks for that bocw, I will have a go at the home service and then buy another one when I loose all the bits….

btw should have mentioned that the WD40 solution was to free it up after I discovered it siezed, so about 30 minutes before my post, rather than routine maintainance – the point of the post then being was there anything I could do to sort it properly or get a new one

its a shimano 9 speed freewheel on a shimano hub

the bike is a 2009 Giant Anthem by the way with around 800 miles on the clock

As a legacy of 13 years of bricklaying (now almost 20 years ago hmm) I have to be careful with my posture whatever I am doing. I find that placing the bars so they are slightly higher than the seat and with short reach – riser bar/stem/longer stem was a huge help and I can get out for 12hrs no problem. Still pack the Ibuprofen tho