I used to struggle with communication, but then i learnt to talk and it became easier.

also Gower – some classic xc routes, wonderful on a sunny day.

I do have a lovely pair of Vulpine jeans that I can wear in the office and are also great on the bike.

My choice of cycle commute attire depends very much on the weather. If it’s hot or cold/wet, I’ll need cycle kit. But i can just about get away with normal clothing if it’s mild and dry.

Wild back country – Doethie valley and around
Urban adventure in Swansea – Kilvey and Clyne trails.

Lose It!
is good.
Full integrations and better tracking than myfp

Actually the bike bit is great – Paddington, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Parliament Sq, Embankment, East London. #scenic.

I regularly get the first off peak train to Paddington, then cycle to east London for 11am. Generally stay 1 night, then get last offpeak train the following day, 1615. Works a treat. Hotel options can be challegning, but I do have a pal i stay with sometimes.

Cycle up the mountain stage bit of the route, until you find the van selling food and drinks. We spent a lovely afternoon in a Pyrenean meadow doing just this.

Easy option is to find a campsite relatively near to the route and make a day of it. Take a picnic or buy food nearby. the bit where the riders go past often doesnt last long but it’s a great experience. Mountain stages a bit more atmospheric perhaps. But race starts and finishes also great.

I just wanted to
(i) give this good thread a bump
and
(ii) say how good the the Hope MTB Marathon at Builth Well was yesterday (and over the weekend). Classic, tough route with some super sweet singletrack over big hills. the tops of the hills were running surprisingly well.

My pal is very proud to have beaten Tarling in a TT. Mind you it was a 100 mile TT, the difference was just a couple of minutes and Tarling was only 12 ! #beast

Waterloo to Kings Cross easy on a bike. Aim for quiet streets to Blackfriars Bridge, then straight up Farringdon Road (which is segregated for bikes), then eventually cut left onto Greys Inn Road and arrive at KX.

Yes, I bought what have turned out to be a very nice pair of wheels from Pacenti in Devon and they use Bitex. Decent freehub, easy to swap from QR to bolt through etc. I prefer them to the hope pro 4s.I have on another bike.

It’s great Lame-O is down to just one night a week. A lovely compromise, as it’s obviously written in the BBC 6music runes that he shall broadcast.

Cerys’s show is superb IMHO.

Speaking as an owner of a Spur, that Izzo Uncaged 11 looks nice!

Couple of options on sportspursuit (great website, a bit like the online version of tk maxx for outdoors kit):

https://www.sportpursuit.com/clothing/jackets-tops-jerseys?sp_nav=ct-4.bp-clothing.pc-jackets.pt-waterproof_jackets.&clothing_features=Waterproof&upper_body_type=Jackets&gender=Male&sport=Mountain_Biking%2CRoad_Cycling&order=special_price&dir=asc

Yup usually 20 mins around 2pm depending on the wfh meeting schedule on teams.

Lose it.

Is an alternative to MFP.  A bit nicer to use, but still a pain.

Taking my 9 month old on the bike seat to the pub for beer and chips later.  She’s rubbish at carrying pints though.

Loves it over short distances and we did some nice stuff in France a few weeks back.

FUSE is the big techno belter place.

Yeah Cascais is said to be the Riveria of Portugal, just 20min on train from Portugal (and the station is just outside the timeout food market in Lisbon.)

Also the town of Ericeira is great. Lots of amazing places to eat & drink and nice beaches to chill. Surf lessons and nice local hiking if you want to do something active. We stayed at Hotel Villa Gale which was a bit elderly coach party, but worked really well as a base for a few days.

Thanks Bruce and especially John. Just what i needed.

Very happy to pay for campsites as well. I just don’t want to stay in the same place, smaller more rural campsites be good.

“This non-competitive event kinda replaces ye olde Dyfi Enduro with a more modern format”

Bit of a shame as the original Dyfi Enduro is/was one of the best event around. Especially when combined with the Mach Comedy Festival weekends. Since when did doing a big day out in the hills become old fashioned?

Think this was in the TransWales back in the day. And it was a glorious sunny day at that, back in 2013 i think.

@ld showed me around as well.

Bakery for lunch is a top tip. So good.

Yeah I miss lockdowns. My work and social schedules are packed. All i want to do is sit about at home reading books then go out sometimes to ride the bike.

Nice routes, pub and bivvy recommendations, and even a bed if needed, all available here in Gower if you’re passing. Plus we have a mini ghetto of 3 middle aged scottish bikers, so you’ll fit right in.

Yeah local spots in Swansea are pretty busy with the yoof building stuff I won’t ride as it’s too scary with gaps and big jumps etc. My 40yr old mates either ride XC locally on Gower, do lots of gravel, or just do BPW – 3 different groups there, and none ride Afan MTB regularly.

Odlo do a some very nice relaxed fit xc jerseys. Love mine even if is a bit “euro-spank”

Superb trails and nice set up. Went for first time last night.

If you look closely at that first pic you can see he is demo-ing the new slick coat fur treatment from mucoff

Cambrian Inn – proper freehouse independent pub. Run by a mate of mine who has previously run good pubs in Cornwall and Bristol. Has a giant octopus painted on the outside, you can’t miss it.

Also Gower here. Shed roof gone.

Cambrian Inn in Fishguard. Proper little freehouse doing nice drinks and not much in the way of food.

https://www.instagram.com/cambrian_inn/

Somos on netflix is the most powerful and intense thing I’ve seen in a few years. I’m still processing it a week later. Not cheerful but weirdly beautiful.

Now onto the tourist, which is light hearted spraff in comparison, only made bearable by occasional laughs and lead actors chemistry.

Both of them heavily influenced by Fargo. Somos nailing it in terms of horror and epic scenery, while The Tourist doesn’t measure up.

Im with you on this rockhopoer. Guardian review said new album has lost psb’s USB which hit the nail on the head for me.

However, I’ve always found PSB to be more about the live show that the home listening. There’s a lot of imagery that they’ll be exploring – and I’ve got tickets for Sunday 24th in Cardiff…. :)

Just this week they’ve released the first tracks from a new album. Germanic. Snippets in SoundCloud and bamdcamp

There was some discussion about whether using the KAW as a long distance time trial route is appropriate for what is a multiuser, family trail.