Commercial electric prices in New Zealand apparently going through the roof as the hydro reservoirs are running very low due to lack of rain. Lots of electric heating is used. Having to import fossil fuels as an “alternative” fuel.

I ride my spur on steep techy trails. I’m not the fastest rider or one who does big jumps. But it’s super capable.
Would happily ride it on the reds and the techy blacks at bpw.

I’m using maxxis dissector front and reckon rear. Pretty tough and pretty fast. dissector is a bit like other maxxis tyres (high roller etc) but with a more continuous central strip.

Has been fine for my typical mix of old school xc, trail centres, bike park Wales and steep stuff the kids have built.

Dishoom for breakfast is good though!

Think the haibike mini enduro was last weekend at Afan

In’m in
Swansea
Depends on running repairs
Maxxis Rambler
Hopefully what is available in the local pub
Have been scoping the local rivers for bathing spots

Final descent of the Climax trail is just by Corris and the locals have been making various steeper lines of the side of it.

I was up there 3 weeks ago and we rode across to the Dyfi trails, “world cup descent” etc. Good day out but quite a ride from Corris.

There is also a local guide called Dave who is really good.

So sorry to read this TJ.

Remember lots of people on here ready to go for a bike ride with you.

Tyre choice is increasingly bewildering. Here is a bit of guide i recently found (sort of) useful for similar research: https://enduro-mtb.com/en/the-best-mtb-tire-in-review/

Barzos and Shortys are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of grip and gnarliness. And there’s lots of choice in the middle. Something like a nobby nic or the maxxix or vitoria or specialized equivalent would probably do the job.

Also +1 what Yak said.

Not heard of Loam World – is this a set of trails ?

Yeah, open, steep and jumpy. Just north of Pontardawe

What is the riding like at Pippingford Park? I’m tempted by the marathon event in July.

Barry Sidings, Loam World, Risca, Caerphilly, the Masts, Kilvey Hill – all good spots in S Wales. Loads more as well.

Further north the trail pixies have been doing good work alongside the final Climax descent next to Corris. Lots of steeper more techy stuff to complement the main singletrack flowy descent.

I lived in Meva for a couple of years and if you’re just looking to do a ride it would be much better to do what he suggested rather than drive an hour to somewhere past Truro. The woods off the Camel trail south of Wadebridge are also decent.

Just go a bit smarter than you’d usually wear when working at home. Make a bit of effort without going off the top. Much like what Lunge said above.

Remember to wear a bowtie

Feeling crap after drinking beer is often nothing to do with alcohol – obviously within reason, but more likely to do with the chemicals and preservatives and all manner of artificial additives that they put into commercial mass produced beer and other alcoholic products.

That Punk AF stuff makes me feel rough as a dog.

Struggle to get past Becks Blue, must try to be more adventurous.

Early one for me. 1997 or 98 my mates Dad had taken us over to watch the DH racing at Inners. Think we must have rode in the morning as we had our bikes. As it was a really hot day i was worried about leaving my helmet inside the car, mistakenly thinking it might melt or be damaged by the heat somehow. So instead I stashed it on the ground behind one of the car wheels! The inevitable happened and i was pretty gutted. The potential for crackhanded mistakes hasn’t left me.

On the flip side we saw mad skills from Will Longdon to beat Steve Peat, and also got Peattie’s autograph.

Had the Pfizer last week (aged 39 in Wales) at lunchtime.
First evening i felt really quite pleasantly stoned it was great.
Next day felt fine, but that night had a bit of a fever when dropping off to sleep.
Following day felt normal again.

The new Propain on the front page of this website looks very Spur like to me, even down to the colour and styling. Slightly longer travel but same sort of idea. Better spec for less money as well.

Looks marvellous. Unstated yet bling.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s7hd/darren-mcgarveys-class-wars-series-1-1-identity-crisis

Apparently a lot of middle class people still refer to themselves as working class. So says this guy who’s made a series about it
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s7hd/darren-mcgarveys-class-wars-series-1-1-identity-crisis

Yeah he is good. I’ve seen him come out of the disabled toilets with a group of mates at 2am on a Saturday night in a dodgy Cardiff nightclub, looking shall we say, a little bit lit up! But to then be on live telly the following Sunday evening, what a pro!

Got new job!

No Friday Kylie?

Engineering workshop and offices in South Wales.

Cleaners put up a message on back of the toilet cubicle door saying “whoever keeps smearing yakult inside this toilet, please stop!”.

I haven’t had yakult since.

Aside from cats decimating the small creature wildlife ecosystem you mean?

Cats should be banned. Dogs are awesome.

Yeah i was going to use the word decimate, then realised that would be an underestimate. Maybe time to get a bell.

My cat has destroyed the local vole population (we live at the side of a big field) and has had a few birds – although we try to get them off her before she kills them.
Natural born killer sadly.

I have a cat and a dog. The amount of packaging I throw out from their food is a miniscule fraction of what I throw out for myself.

The environmental impacts come from the contents, not so much the packaging. It’s the same for your food.

I used to enjoy lunchtime power naps at my desk, that probably counts as odd. These days i just go back to bed if i feel a bit woozy after lunch – 20 mins later I’m a new man.

Angus- huge guy who looked like a prop forward. Liked to make jam, bake cakes and go cycling on the weekend. Would get very angry at bicycles as he kept pringling rear wheels. Hated mobile phones and didnt’ have one until smart phones came along and you could have a computer in your pocket. Lovely fella, if quite odd.

Ian – extremely well spoken and well educated legal counsel in a glasgow based demolition business. Obviously got them out of a lot of scrapes as he was worshipped. Very english and pompous, especially given the general surroundings. Annually would do a Christmas lunch for the whole office which was actually a curry and was delicious. Good times.

Blimey Didnthurt, did it hurt? I got to 189 the other day and it did hurt a bit!

Having just driven anew model 3, I’d say it’s still crap. The interior is low rent, cheap plastics. The panel gaps on the bonnet and wing are appalling compared to my 17y old 3 series, never mind my I3 and the paint thickness on the door lower edges beggars belief. It drives well, but I wouldn’t want to own one.

Really? The i3 dash is made out of recycled chopsticks and the gear stick is an unintuitive abomination. Then after a few miles it starts burning hydrocarbons. Half baked greenwashed POS.
The p100d model X I piloted for a few minutes was a proper car!

Training going pretty well. Consistently getting my hours in, at sensible HR/RPE and have enough variety to make it interesting. Mainly solo rides but the odd joint ride with a mate, which is the only social contact i have at the moment. Rest week this week. Am following self made Joe Friel style plan.

Have also gone back to using myfitnesspal to count the calories – have lost a few pounds as a result. I find that even when I think I’m eating healthily it’s all too easy for the calorie count to creep ever upwards (eg wife’s wonderful home baking efforts). Looking for a nice weight loss of 1 or 2 pounds a week based on daily calorie target of 1900, more if doing volume and/or intensity.

Doing some weights too although limited by 10kg dumbells. Bigger squats etc would be useful.

And yoga most mornings which seems to risk injury as much as build strength.

The Courtyard Diary in Yorkshire just received an order from south wales to be delivered to the Scottish Borders.

Post surgery (L5/S1 disk tuck and associated vertebrae trim) the following has helped:
-Time
-Stretching – yoga etc
-Core exercise
-Mackenzie stretch
-Hydration (bulging disks are often dried out disks)
-Posture (both sitting and standing)
-Voltarol muscle relaxant for occasional flare ups
-Pedalling from the glute, not just from the quad. helps with the knees as well.

hope he’s joking about the house being knocked down!

Did the festive500 on the road on my gravel bike with 38mm g-ones, and have done some gentle road club rides with them on as well. Really good for my local lanes, cyclepaths and crappy roads. Lots of comfort at 65psi tubeless, any harder would risk blowing off the rim. Do a lot of old school xc type riding as well just at 40psi, everything else stays the same. Does feel a bit slower than my proper road bike which sits unused in the shed with it’s 25mm Michelins.

i think 35mm might provide a sensible limit for comfort loving roadies, or people on road slanted gravel bikes.

I got a deal on a Udemy course at the start of lockdown 1. Was reduced to £10 from +£130.

What i did of the course seemed well structured, but i didn’t complete it.

best thread in years. bookmarked.

As per Drac above, the Doddington is superb.