 Poster: A snowHead
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I'd be up for a meeting in either the Peak District or Yorkshire.
Liam, Where did you go around Ladybower? I can think of two possibilities, either the trail that follows around the lake edge and is generally pretty flat, or up the hills on either side of Ladybower and onto the moor tops - those have some great trails such as the one from Hope Cross down to Hagg Farm on the A57 Snake Pass. There are a couple of seriously steep and gnarly climbs (or descents) through the woods on the western side of Ladybower in particular.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Last Friday in La Grave they were mountain biking on the piste. Not sure how they stopped! 
Re summer mountain biking, some advice - make sure your brakes are OK before you leave the cable car station at the top of the mountain. You need both for a mountain descent - or else shoes with a good tread. It can be a long walk down with a bike!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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gilly, Welcome to  's
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I BMX alot, its the other half of my life after skiing, though i do find time to squeeze about 100miles a week on my road bike and I used to mountain bike, but got my kona stolen and now have no money to reinvest.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Liam, did the marin trail two weeks ago, great fun. wasmy first time clipped into my pedals which was very scary on some of the downhill sections. would definitely recommend it
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| abc, The French lift assisted downhills are too hardcore for me and they beat your bike to a pulp. I much prefer the Welsh man-made singletrack, with plenty of ups and downs. |
I inquired in the ski hire shop in Wengen (there's a tiny sign indicating they hire out mountain bikes in the summer). One can take bikes on the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and ride back down.
Given the general terrain isn't terribly steep overall, it could potentially be enjoyable for the casual CX riders.
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Mountain biking is one of my 2 summer hobby/interests. Clocked up 26km on Friday, and 36km on Monday, all on trails.
Looking to replace my 10yr old Scott Vail squeeky creaky alu bike with something a bit newer and more robust. Not sure what to get, but willing to spend around £1000 on a new hardtail.
Tempted to do a bit more roadbiking too, and also feel the urge to do a few days off-road on a mountain that I have skiied before (maybe LesGets/Morzine or Mayrhofen).
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jmdohanlon, hubby and friends used to do some night riding. He would still do it, but his mates are all getting sensible now.
I need to strengthen up my quads for the sake of my knees, so I am going to try and get out more this summer.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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andy, You could do worse than look at Marin's 2007 Nail Trail. I've just bought one and am very happy with it.
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Helen Beaumont, I'm not quite sure why you classify night riding as not sensible, or is it that your hubby wants the company and the others are dropping by the wayside?
I got the lights mostly so I could go out road training during winter (on very minor country rods with little traffic) but have discovered that night time trail riding is a blast. A trail that you know well sems quite different when all you can see is the part in your lights.
I got a pair of thse HID lights from Lumicycle, one spot and one flood pattern. Not cheap, but an absolutely amazing amount of light.
Good plan to improve your quads with more riding. Try and hols your upper body steady as you climb hills to give the legs a solid platform to drive against, it's what the pros do and it will really help your quads.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My new Trek fuel EX9 (2006 model - just above half price and spec nearer this years 9.0) just arrived this am. So what do I call it?
My wife says Trevor...
there must be a better name.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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stoatsbrother, you can't give it a man's name, you wouldn't want to be accused of riding a bloke would you
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stoatsbrother,
"Tracy" or "Debbie does Dallas".
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm not sure I like the model name of my new Orbea: "Max Flow". It makes me think of an altogether different product type, for some reason. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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you got a PAIR of HID lights? I guess you mean halogen as a single HID lamp is more than enough
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| [hubby and friends used to do some night riding. He would still do it, but his mates are all getting sensible now. |
Night riding in trails are safer than it appears (just as mountain biking is safer than it sounds to the non-riders) 
Remember mountain biking rule number 1? Look where you want to go, not what you want to avoid (say, a tree you DON'T want to hit).
When riding at night by the headlight, you only see where the light shines.
You wouldn't be shining your lights at a tree, would you? No, that wouldn't be sensible.
You would simply sweep your light to find the openning you want to go through and point your head light at that openning. So in effect, you're not distracted by the tree (nor the drop-off nearby) at night because of the limited light coverage. You end up riding through the maze as though the other "stuff" wasn't there, because you couldn't "see" it!
Like skiing, a lot of mountain biking skills are somewhat counter-inuitive (e.g. use more front brake than rear). But once you figure it out, it's surprisingly easy.
| Quote: |
| I need to strengthen up my quads for the sake of my knees, so I am going to try and get out more this summer. |
For general conditioning, I find riding on pavement works better. But for fun and excitement, a little technical singletracks hold my interest for quite a long time. Best is to mix the two.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
My new Trek fuel EX9 (2006 model - just above half price and spec nearer this years 9.0) just arrived this am. So what do I call it?
My wife says Trevor...
there must be a better name. |
The Trek?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Night riding is great fun, the better lights make it easy to see.
Also, if you have nobbly tyres you are only allowed 5% of the ride to be on tarmac (day or night), it's the law.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| nbt wrote: |
| you got a PAIR of HID lights? I guess you mean halogen as a single HID lamp is more than enough |
Nope, pair of HID lights - one spot and one flood. As I said the amount of light with both on is awesome 
For pure road training I only use the spot, and even then can turn in times and speeds that are pretty much the same as I do on the same ride in daylight.
Witha 6.6Ah Li-Ion battery the run time is 3.7 hours with both on and over 7 hours for one light. The whole lot weighs a shade over 1kg. Stunning bit of kit.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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saxabar, not really done much trail riding and not done Port Talbot trail but I do have a buzz around Clyne valley just off the sea front, both on the path and off the path. Saxabar, it is good to ride to a beach in Gower and have a dip, the water is really clear and the sand is great, I sometimes pop down and it only takes 30 mins to get to a decent beach for me.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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saxabar, was looking at the Nail Trail. Also was looking at Cotic, and Commencal, and briefly looked at Orange (still not sure why I bought Scott instead of Orange or Marin 10yrs ago)
Nearest recommended Marin dealer is a bit of a trek from here, but must be others more local.
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rayscoops, nice part of the world. My parents-in-law live in Sketty and aunt-in-law at West Cross.
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stoatsbrother, andy, DO NOT NAME YOUR BIKE. Only girls name objects.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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petemillis, you don't name your car?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rayscoops, I live in Cardiff so put an hour on top for me although I have a job interview at Swansea Uni' on Tuesday so that may change somewhat!
Sharkymark, any top tips on trails your way?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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skinutter, read "French Revolutions" by Tim Moore - did much the same and a bit more. Good read.
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You know it makes sense.
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was the driving force behind wanting to get off my lazy behind and do it One of the best books i have ever read
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Have been planning a cycling trip to the Hebrides for next month
Planning to go with some folk I climb with but it its getting as bad as trying to organise a ski trip for a group
We can’t all go on same date and different travel and accommodation ideas keep popping up. After four weeks we are still not organised
Only thing that’s ready to go is my bike which has had new crank bearings, chain, rear cassette fitted and a new tyre.
I’ve managed a few spins after work so far
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Poster: A snowHead
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| abc wrote: |
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| [hubby and friends used to do some night riding. He would still do it, but his mates are all getting sensible now. |
Night riding in trails are safer than it appears (just as mountain biking is safer than it sounds to the non-riders)
Remember mountain biking rule number 1? Look where you want to go, not what you want to avoid (say, a tree you DON'T want to hit).
When riding at night by the headlight, you only see where the light shines.
You wouldn't be shining your lights at a tree, would you? No, that wouldn't be sensible.
You would simply sweep your light to find the openning you want to go through and point your head light at that openning. So in effect, you're not distracted by the tree (nor the drop-off nearby) at night because of the limited light coverage. You end up riding through the maze as though the other "stuff" wasn't there, because you couldn't "see" it! |
And Jules would agree with you, but his mates percieve it as dangerous, although that maybe more to do with a previous ride that ended with a broken scapula.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
| petemillis, you don't name your car? |
no mate, I don't name the car, and neither does the MrsPeteMillis. Although youngest did call a car I got "noo noo car" meaning "new car", when he was younger. Then when we got another car, he named that "new noo noo car" because by then he could say "new" and he knew it was a new new car! Even though the first was second hand so he could have called that "noo old car" and the new one could then have just been "new car".
An ex a few years ago named her car after my man part!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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petemillis, her car was called "tiny" ???? 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Living most of the year in Les Gets i get the same buzz from mountain biking as i do from skiing we have one of the worlds best mountain bike areas here and am now looking forward to some biking after a patchy winter season.
Skinutter try the col du joux plane its a top climb done it on my hardtail took 1 hour 40 got to the top chuffed as nuts then realised that armstrong does it in 38 mins, think ill stick to driving up it in the car
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Fat-Russ, shortly after buying a road bike I cycled up to the Lake District to meet the family for a weekend.
It's about 75 miles, there was a bit of a head wind and it's a rolling ride but no real testing climbs. I pushed myself to see what average speed I could get, but had to back off a bit for the last 15/20 miles as I could feel myself running out of energy and didn't want to bonk as I was on my own. Even so I averaged about 17 miles per hour which I thought was OK for a first go.
In the tour that year they averaged a faster speed than that in the time trial up to (I think) Alpe d'Huez
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| Fat-Russ wrote: |
| Skinutter try the col du joux plane its a top climb done it on my hardtail took 1 hour 40 got to the top chuffed as nuts then realised that armstrong does it in 38 mins, think ill stick to driving up it in the car |
But Armstrong wasn't riding a hartail that weights 15kg though.
Give yourself a pad on the shoulder for making it at all. And go buy a road bike!
You probably won't break Armstrong's time. But you might be able to make it in an hour.
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| abc wrote: |
You probably won't break Armstrong's time |
quite probably not, I'd say However if you do happen to whoop his time, you might want to consider a new day job
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Mosha Marc, 17 mph is a very good average over 75 miles. Never compare yourself to those pro tour guys, they're complete freaks of nature!
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stoatsbrother, jmdohanlon,  missed your witty remarks yesterday! It was "Wilf".
Can anyone here get up Ditchling Beacon in one go? I haven't tried it for years - but will give it a go over the weekend.
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FAQ
). Loadsa trails around Brizzle and the Mendips 
