Peter Knight

Alternative Vote

2011-04-14T19:05:00.004Z

(Please excuse me for being political)

What is it?

Want it even simpler than that?

Why vote for it?

This could be the most important opportunity to vote of your entire life, but because there is little political canvassing behind it however there is currently little awareness of the issues involved.

I genuinely believe AV is a good thing and will increase the fairness of voting in the UK. This referendum is likely to make more difference than any other vote you will ever make!

Spread the word on AV at a grass roots level and vote YES to AV on the 5th of May.

Listening to ...

2010-10-17T22:37:00.003Z

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Ben Folds - Gracie
Kingpins (The) - L'Aventurier
La Roux - Bulletproof
Madcon - Beggin'
Pete and the Pirates - Mr Understanding
White Lies - Farewell to the Fairground

The joy of Linux

2010-05-31T20:54:00.004Z

Everybody wants something for free. But as we all know, there is no such thing as a free lunch? Is there? Well the open-source software community may well provide you with a feast of resources to feed your digital appetite. And at the core of any electronic device, whether it is a mobile phone or a laptop, is an operating system. Software which organises all the other software.

After having dabbled with Puppy and Xandros Linux I could see the appeal. But Puppy was too rough round the edges for a single OS and Xandros was fine except for some blue-tooth issues. However, upon adding up some costs for a new build PC, a genuine copy of Windows 7 was a large outlay and once again the draw of Linux came about. I had played with Mac's on many occasions, and whilst I am aware that some people swear by them, I could never get along with them. So I played around with Ubuntu (by far the most popular Linux distribution) version 9.04 and then 9.10 and loved them. It was crisp and clean and a radical departure from the rigid Windows world. So I made the radical decision to run Ubuntu as my sole OS on my new Desktop with only open source software to support it. After doing this for over six months now I have come to the following conclusion. Why would anyone pay for software? There is an amazing amount of open-source software out there including a truly usable non-windows/mac OS in Ubuntu.

Here is a list of my favourite open source software so far...

QCAD - In many ways better than AutoCAD - I just wish it was compatible with ALL of the new file formats rather than just some of them. The community edition is free, but you need to think around the installation a bit if you are a long-time windows user.
Quantum GIS - I haven't found anything I can't do compared with ArcGIS. Georeference, create interpolated rasters, use ESRI vectors, etc. Top bit of free software and a good (legal) way to save yourself something like £3000.00
Open Office - Take a bit of getting used to after years of Microsoft Office, especially with spreadsheets - but again, all of the functionality is there.
KolourPaint - Like Microsoft paint, with a few handy additions.
Klavaro - I'm learing to touch-type (only two degrees later).
Audacity - Fully fledged audio editor for anyone up to very-keen amateur.
Kdenlive and Kino - Video editing. They both have their faults, but i've been able to produce some pretty decent videos.

Stuff I was surprised that would work...

Skype - A Lunux specfic version is available
Google Earth - Again, a linux version exists.
Spotify - Runs well under WINE.

My computer spec

Pentium 4 2.8Ghz Dual-core 2MB cache
4GB RAM
500GB Hard disk
DVDRW
Ubuntu 9.10 64-bit (Purchased from ebuyer.com)

What I'm listening to

Ben Folds (Feat. Regina Spektor) - You don't know me
Gnarles Barkley - Smiley Faces
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Nena - 99 Luftballons. (German Version)
Plastiscines - Barcelona
White Lies - Farewell to the fairground

Music

2010-05-24T18:38:00.004Z

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Belle and Sebastian - There's too much love
Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
Gramophonedzie - Why Don't You?
Stornoway - Zorbing

"Top 5 Records"

2010-02-05T18:04:00.005Z

Well, quite a lot has happened since I last posted something on this blog. I have finished university (again), got a career, and cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats. ... But frankly, I can't be bothered to write anything about those things.

So, like John Cusack, i'm onto top 5's. Today top five cars.

This basically consist of the 5 cars that would adorn my garage were I able to afford it. Before you start to expect 5 super-mega-hyper-cars, i'm an eco-hippie/petrol-head hybrid so its a bit of an odd lot.

1. Citroen Berlingo.

OK, this is cheating as I actually already own one of these.

When my family first brought a Berlingo Multispace I was at uni. When I passed my driving test back in 2004 my family had a white Citroen Xsara 1.6i that actually shifted a bit. I know this because my parents mercifully (but foolishly) put me on the car insurance and I spent the long evenings after a hard day dossing in sixth-form knocking the thing for six. I'm amazed it survived. I went to university in September 2004 only to return a few months later to find that the medium-small family hatchback I was so fond of had become a bloated invalid carriage. I hated it. For a start, compared to the previous car it handled like a boat and accelerated like a paraplegic in quick-sand. For an 18-year-old this was catastrophic.

It took some time, but eventually I found the joy that can be had with a windowed-van. For a start you can carry just about anything in it. This is handy if you're a cycling enthusiast or a university student with your mother intent upon you carrying at least 14 kitchen-sinks at all times. Its a cathedral of a car! Secondly, you can fit loads of your friends into it - i've done 8. Thirdly, because its designed to be both builder and child-proof it is ultra reliable and you can fix it with a hammer. Finally, its big enough to sleep in comfortably should you rock up somewhere late or if its too muddy and cold to pitch a tent.

So for these reasons and so many more the Citroen Berlingo makes the list.

2. Caterham 7

A slightly more interesting choice. This car was built from the ground up to handle well and even though the desing has been round for about half a century it is still considered one of the best drivers cars ever. It weighs about as much as a bulemic squrril yet is mid engined, and rear-wheel drive. Even though the base models have the same power as a family hatchback, the configuration was prefect. I also like the simplicity. From working in a bike shop I have come to learn from bitter experience that complex things usually create more problems than they are worth. This has all you need. A seat for you and one for a friend, four wheels, a throttle, a piece of fabric in case it rains, and a space for your picnic basket.

But the most appealing thing about this car is that it comes as a CKD kit. This isn't like a normal kit where you get a chassis and not much else - it is a flat-pack car with all the bits included and a friendly Caterham rep on the phone should you have any issues. Not only this but you can buy a basic one for about £10,000 - which is nothing for one of the best performing sports cars on the market today.

I'm definately having one some day.

3. Toyota Aygo / Peugeot 107 / Citroen C1

Don't be fooled - they are all the same car! The point of this one is what do you really need from a car? Lets face it - motoring is an expensive business. Once you've paied for the car (not to mention watched it depreciate daily) you've got to put fuel into it which at >£1 a liter isn't cheap. Then there's tax, insurance, servicing, tyres, MOT's, and washing the thing. And what for? So you can take hours out of your life sitting in traffic jams? Looking for a paring space? Worrying about running people over? Complaining about the state of the roads, other motorists, the government and just about everything else besides? What do you really want from a car? Electric windows? PlayStation 3's? Senually vibrating seats? Since when did cars become brothells? ... No! 99% of the time all you want is to take you and a small amount of luggage, with maybe one passenger, to anywhere else in the UK with minimum fuss and cost.

What if there were a car that could help with these things? Well there is, and its this plucky little Czech creation!

4. Audi S5 Coupé

OK, its fine to have a cheap-as-chips car every day. But what about the times when you don't want people to know that you're a cheap-skate. Something you can turn up at Downing Street in and not feel out of place*. Basically a car to suit your Armani suit and Rolex watch. A uniform. But hey - if you can choose your uniform then you don't pick one thats made of hessian sacking. I saw one of these in a car park a week or two in white and it instantly became my new favorite car aesthetically (replacing the new VW Scirocco). But its not just the looks. I've always liked Audi's. To me four-wheel-drive makes a lot of sense for cars that weigh more than say 1500kg and with their "quattro" system Audi led the way back on the 1980's rally circuit. That combined with some decent engines makes the the formula for the S5 a good-one!

5. Bowler Nemesis

Before explaining this choice I would like to make one thing perfectly clear. I do not like Land Rovers. Unlike most of the cars in this I have actually driven a couple of these and didn't like them. The Defender is the worst. For a start the seat isn't adjustable and are designed for midgets with rickets (which explains the unnecessary step). The build quality is an unwanted hangover from the British Leyland ere (a point proven by my uncle's Range Rover) and the hand break is by your feet to make room for an unnecessary middle seat. What is more is that the TD5 engine they put in most of them these days has no power and the transmission just causes you to rev the tits off the thing on the road. The reason I'm going on about this is that Land Rover is a sort of cult symbol for many of my friends. But not me. I like the idea. Bullet-proof simplicity, and ruthless practicality - but I just don't think that it works in the real world.

However, I do like the Bowler Nemesis. No, I haven't driven one of these, but the principle is to take a Land Rover and make it better. That isn't hard from the way I see it, but with a good few thousand pounds to spend they will have made something pretty special. Providing it all works then the Nemesis will be a pretty decent bit of kit.

* - Just for the record. This is not a way of thinking that I subscribe to. Substance will always be more important than style. But as a product of middle-class England, I can't always help myself.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Love Grenades - Young Lovers (Sam Sparro Remix)
Miss Li - Bourgeois Shangri-La
Owl City - Fireflies (Reminds me of the Postal Service)
Royksopp - Happy Up Here

A Triumph

2009-09-18T08:36:00.003Z

Last night, a group of us went to sandies to pretend we were dirt-jumpers. We messed around for too long and only got maybe 45 minutes of riding in before we were forced to abandon the mission due to bad light at about 19:30 (BST). Mind you, in that time Scully forced Matt and I into doing a new and scary (but in no way technical) step-up gap jump. However, for me the highlight of the evening was not the destination, but the journey*. Perhaps I should be more precise and say the vessel in which we conducted that journey, for it was a forty-year-old classic Triumph Herald saloon.

I am not a classic car enthusiast. I am a pretty typical man, and consequently that means I am certain to like at least four things: girls, beer, meat and anything with an engine. I just don't really see the point in classic cars. They are slow, inefficient, unreliable, awkward, and potentially dangerous. All of these points and more were proved last night by Stuart's Triumph. Surely the entire point of engineering is to make things faster, more frugal, reliable, convenient, and safe? If you can have these things then why look back without a hint of anger?

I can certainly think of more practical student cars, especially for a chap that spends his weekends throwing himself down Wales' most treacherous waterways. To strap a kayak to the roof involved some friction-mounting roof bars that look about as old as I am, and a long series of progressively more structurally unstable straps. Concerningly, the same method of attachment went for my bike!

In fact, there was any number of safety issues with the car. Inertia-reel seatbelts were not available in the front, and in the back there were no seatbelts at all. In fact there was not much of anything in the back, including leg room. Jim had to lie across the bench-seat like some desperate porn star. I became aware that safety features in the rear consisted of two pillows and a quilt. The front quarter lights were zip-tied shut (apparently as a theft-prevention measure), and perhaps most concerningly there was a potent and quite overwhelming smell of petrol when the vehicle was in motion meaning that both windows had to be constantly open. Not that this mattered as the cabin heater had to be run on full all the time to prevent the engine overheating.

The engine has as much power as Chad and the roof was as waterproof as the titanic. Yet, I didn't really care. I didn't care that there were places where you could see the prop-shaft spinning like a 10000 rpm death-trap. I wasn't bothered by the break-back seats or the fact that at over 40mph the entire car shook uncontrollably. I didn't even care about these things when I considered if I was lucky to have survived the journey. I loved that car. I loved the way that you could drive through town in the world’s most unsuitable cruiser with the windows wide open to avoid monoxide poisoning and the stereo belting out a pitiful half-decibel from an awkwardly tuned radio. And as you cruised through the countryside with a hand on your bike precariously leaning off the roof and gazed across the mammoth bonnet and formerly ostentatious headlamps you could not help but feel happy. A simple happiness. A happiness at the wonder of novelty.

*If the journey isn't as good as the destination, then you're doing something wrong.

Lunch Time

2009-08-17T12:41:00.003Z

... I like going to university here.

What i'm listening to...

The Libertines - Don't Look Back into the Sun
Quantic - Time is the Enemy
Stereophonics - Local Boy in the Photograph
The View - Wasted Little DJ's

Ode to my commuter bike.

2009-08-05T18:52:00.002Z

Just a brief note to express feelings over my commuter bike. This is the bike you are least likely to see me ride, yet strangely, the bike I ride the most miles on. It is my work-horse bike, my faithful friend.

Now anyone who knows me will tell you that I like to keep things simple. Computers, cooking, cars, and - of course - bikes. The subway is certainly simple. No suspension, cable-vee brakes, and base-end SRAM SX4 7-speed transmission. I think of this bike as what late 20th century soviet bicycles should have been. I can imaging going into a bicycle shop in Moscow during the 60's.

Communist: "Hello, I would like a bicycle please."
State appointed transport official: "Certainly sir. In what size would you like your Subway?"

Everything about this bike is practical. It has v brakes to stay out of the way of your paniers. The suspension is in the seatpost for comfort rather than performance. The stem is hideously ugly, but high to keep you looking ahead. The paint is the most boring shade of grey imagineable to keep the pikeys at bay. And I love all this stuff! It weaves in and out of traffic like a cat and cruises along at about 18mph like a ... well, whatever cruises along at 18mph? The frame is a massive 22" which is perfect of a lankey-sod like me. And when you feel like being a hooligan, it is (believe it or not) massively good fun on a sunny day around the bridleways of rural Northamptonshire*.

This is what 95% of people want from a bike and just don't know it yet. Insted they insist on spending half the money on a bike ten times as often. I see it all the time at work. The environmentalist, accountant, and cyclist within me hates this. Why are people so mind-numbingly shallow about shiney paint and useless, cheap suspension?

As an aside, I now have just seven more shifts to work at Halfords before I can be free of it forever. In some ways, I will miss it. In most ways, I won't.

So here's to you, my commutable colleague, my city cruiser, my 22" sub! Long may you're tyres grace the earth, and may all your transmission faults be small ones!

* - If you havn't tried slick tyres for XC yet, give it a go. Its surprisngly good fun!

Calendar

2009-08-04T15:15:00.005Z

Just a reminder - you can see what i'm up to at the moment using my google calander...

Disc

2009-08-03T15:18:00.003Z

I have finally caved in and put a disc brake back on the little bike. I have to say that the benefit is enormous! I didn't realise how hard I had to pull on the lever to get any power from the vee brake before hand.

In addition, I have been hiding my bikes from the wardens doing room inspections.

In conclusion, no real riding going on at the moment unfortunately. Don't worry though - South Wales this weekend!

What i'm listening to:

Ben Folds (feat. Regina Spektor) - You Don't Know Me

Injury to insult.

2009-07-23T20:43:00.002Z

The thing about mountain biking is that no matter how much you ride, there are always difficult things still to accheive. I went to Clarach with Nick and Dave SB today and it was no easier than previously. What had changed however was the frequency of walkers. I left my bag at the top of the hill - which is usually out of the way enough. However upon returning after a couple of runs, I found it was missing. After a few hours searching the hill for pikeys to attack and canceling my debit card the police station phoned me to tell me that it had been handed in.

On the one hand, it is nice to know that there are more public-spirited people out there than pikeys. But on the other, if they had just left well alone then it would have saved me considerable hassle. I suppose they did well and that its my own stupid fault, but it is a little vexing.

To add injury to insult for the day I cut my leg open on flying slate going down consti giving me a nice claret-coloured leg. Combined with assorted other scratches, upon arrival at the police station I think the officer expected me to report a mugging rather than collect a lost bag.

What i'm listening to:

Craig Armstrong - Hanging
The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
The Magic Numbers - This Love
Modest Mouse - The View

Ode to the eee.

2009-07-17T23:16:00.004Z

For those of you who are not in the know about the eee PC, it is a subnotebook manufactured by ASUS, I own one, and its officially awesome. I'm serious. Its so good, I find it difficult to begin.

Well for a start it is small. About the size of a book rather than a laptop and of about the same weight. Secondly, it is cheap. Mine cost me under £200 about a year ago. This is largely due to the free softwear including the very accessible Xandros Linux operating system. Thirdly, it has pretty much all the functionality of a full size PC. It is quick to stream youtube videos, and surf the internet. Plus with open office (which is a triumph of computer engineering in itself) it is easy to write essays, create presentations and manage spreadhseets. Fourthy, the battery life is excellent. I follow some simple guidelines on Li-ion batteries and even after a year of moderate use it still lasts for over 3 hours. Fifithly, the features are excellent. It comes with a 1.3 mega-pixel webcam as standard as well as an excellent microphone. In fact, I frquently use it for skype calls. Finally, the unit is very upgradeable. I have changed the OS to an nLitend version of Windows XP Professional, upgraded toe RAM from 512MB to 2024MB (which is too much - you only need 1000MB) and added a bluetooth dongle.

Only a few issues present themselves. Firstly, open office is at times slightly frustrating for the hardend Microsoft Office user and requires internet access to solve a few issues as I did not install any help files to save hard disc space. This brings me to my second point. Hard disc space is limited, but this is actually not a problem as I simplly use an 8GB SDHC card for file storage and my nLite installation of Windows XP has not only solved the problems of HD space, but removes the tedious and heavy elements of the operating system. Thirdly, the 7" screan can make viewing difficult and F11 becomes your friend for web browsers as well as several other full-screen/zoom application short-cuts. You really need an application such as MoveMe to get around some difficult window manouvers sometimes. I do feel that most people fould be happier with the 9" screen rather than the 7" that mine features. (But I like it as it preserves the battery life.) The other disadvantage is with the Linux OS. Whilst it is very useable and can be customised to a 'desktop' format, it dosn't feel intuitive to a hardend Windows user. I also had problems with the Linux bluetooth functionality so it had to go.

Dispite these minor issues though, it is an excellent macheine and I find it amazingly handy for commuting, campus, and conversations. I would recomend one to anyone who likes to have their PC with them wherever they go.

What i'm listening to:

Aberfeldy - Slow me Down
Air - Alpha Beta Gaga
Bach - Air
Strokes - Reptilia

... listening to.

2009-07-14T17:47:00.003Z

I have recently downloaded spotify. This has opened me back up to music I had forgotten about.

What i'm listening to:

* The Strokes - Trying Your Luck
* Interpol - Evil
* Muse - Citizen Erased
* Blondie - Sunday Girl
* Aberfeldy - Friend Like You
* Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #2 (Laïka)
* Club 8 - Everlasting Love
* Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
* Craig Armstrong - Escape
* Daft Punk - Aerodynamic

........... etc ...

A home from home

2009-05-16T21:51:00.004Z

The sea front in Aberystwyth must be one of the best places to live in the world. My study room is on the third floor of Alexandra halls overlooking Aberystwyth's North beach. When the sun comes out I can go and chill out on the sand outside, there are some fun trails all most literally on my doorstep, and there is always something to see from my window which I have taken to sitting in using a spread of pillows on my extended sill and staring for hours upon end. There is usually something to see from it too. The tide goes out and comes back with a reassuring predictability, and barbeque's from the shore give a beautiful smell on warm evenings. I even like looking out at the storms, but occasionally something new seems to spring up and please me too. For instance, on Friday morning I awoke early to finish an assignment and upon leaning out of my window for a breath of fresh air I spied a pair of dolphins in the bay piercing the waters surface with their distinctive profile. This evening as well I was procrastinating upon my sill and a light caught the upper part of my eye. Someone further down the beach had lit some fire-balloons and they were drifting steadily up the coast towards Borth with progressively increasing altitude.

I love living here! Despite the fact that my room is cramped for my many bicycles and work paraphernalia, I like the space too. The clutter forms a cosiness. I frequently think of the room it as a hidden storage cupboard that I secretly inhabit.

All this is wonderful and I will be sorry when I have to leave in a few weeks for a 1970's plastic block in the town. Were it not for my impending eviction and the lack of my closest friends from home, I am sure that I would never leave.

Easter Holidays

2009-04-18T20:01:00.002Z

... they are allmost over. But its been a good one.

* Sold the caravan.
* Bottle kicking at hallaton.
* Market Harborough to Northampton in under 57 minutes by bicycle.
* Plenty of beer.
* ... and a nice ride round Lyveden New Build way today.

Not to make my way back to stupid reality!

The Melt

2009-02-16T11:21:00.002Z

The snow has gone and the seasons are on the turn. There is a wiff of summer in the air. Its not quite there. Just hinting that its round the corner. I can't wait!

It's February. Time for my hair cut.

2009-02-03T14:07:00.003Z

Well, the snow has finally hit Aber, but because its actually never that cold here in comparison with most of the country, there is now no evidence whatsoever. So tomorrow its time to head for the hills and play.

Today however, I went for a hair cut. Now i'm pretty sure that I have not had haircut in at least 12 months, and probabbly more like 18. So my barnett was looking a little ragged. Most of the time, my hair status is controlled by my mum and my girlfriend. However, these two agents differ in their opinions somewhat as mum likes my hair short, where as Liz likes it long. And as Liz is the girlfried, she gets power of veto over my mother. Most of the time, this dosn't bother me. I never see my hair. However, when it gets to a state where I struggle to put my helmet on or my vision becomes furry upon leaving the shower, the I knwo its getting a bit out of hand. So I had a hair cut.

The only problem is that the barber I went to has some sort of filter on his ears. No matter what you say to him all he hears is "short back and sides". No, infact it's "very short back and sides". So 20 minutes later and I was £8 and 8lbs lighter. So if you see me in the next day or so, be prepared for a shock.

The Sentence

2009-02-02T21:16:00.000Z

Never in my life have I felt less fulfilled as I do now. I have so little and yet so much. The world is full of curious creatures. We go through our lives on this planet without one over-riding objective. Without a single goal. Instead, the 6.5 billion people on earth must content themselves by making the best of things. We all clamour to gain the most for prosperity in order to make ourselves more physically, intellectually and emotionally comfortable. Much like a terminally ill patient being intravenously fed painkillers. Mostly in the west we are pumped full of the opiates of commerce. Some seek solace in family, religion, drugs. But ultimately we are all looking out for number one. Even friends are there simply to make each other more 'at home' with our their own tedious human personalities. The world is like a sort of prison. The walls are our mental limitations and the guards are social intolerance. But at least the term of incarceration is fixed. At least the sentence is only ... life.

The source of filth.

2009-01-30T09:10:00.003Z

I have remembered why I don't ever buy new clothes. Yesterday I was cold so I put on my new hoodie. Within 15 minutes I had managed to get cooking oil, curry, bicycle grease and beer down it (in that order). I can have the capacity of a 2-year old at times.

In other news...

... i thought this looked nice. :)

Wounded.

2009-01-20T12:14:00.005Z

Sometimes I find bruises, cuts and graises that I can't remember getting. Yesterday I came off my bike infront of a car trying to manual behind the prom and got literally blown off from a gust of wind from the sea front. Picked myself up, appologised to the driver, checked my bike and went up the hill to campus.

Later whilst having a shower and notice stinging from my elbow, and then a pain from my hip and knee. Why don't I notice these things when they happen? This one wasn't too bad, but the most concerning times are when you get massive cuts that have obviously been bleeding quite badly (my shins usually), but I can't remember how they came about?

I'm sure this never used to happen. Maybe i've crashed too much and now just don't notice that much anymore?

Confused? ... me too.

What i'm listening to:

Belle and Sebastian - Sleep the Clock Around .... (live)

Peter of the Night.

2009-01-15T08:57:00.002Z

I went on a night ride to Nant Tuesday night and I have to say that it was an awakening in two respects.

Firstly, it has become apparrent that I have become a complete pie over Christmas! The summit loop was a bit of a slog and normally I can handle it fine even on my jump bike (which I was using). I know that on night riding you have to work twice as hard to go half as fast, but I really was hanging by the end!

Secondly, I have realised that my lights are naff! They are by a company that I don't think is in business any more (unsurprisingly) called "Knight Light". These cost me £35 on CRC and despite having two bulbs of 5 and 10w with a lithium-ion battery, they are about as powerful as the Swiss navy. Matt had his new Ayup's which produced cartoon levels of light and the others had similar set-ups.

I'm not sure that I will upgrade though based on the fact that this was my third ever night ride and expenditure would be high to obtain a half decent set. Also, I do find that night riding makes you more intuitive. You end up feeling for the trail more and relying less on your eyesight. A bit masochistic, but I like it like that. :)

Reflection-Section (My Gap)

2009-01-12T12:57:00.002Z

Until today I was of the distinct impression that the 12 months between 3rd year and my MSc had been wasted. I had been kicking about at Halfords for a year, not really doing the traveling, exploring and arsing-about that I wanted to do. However, in a period of reflection I was looking over some photos and have decided that the opposite is true. With one, very blatent, exception; that was a very good year.

(I was going to add pics but it would have than too long.)

The timeline

2nd June 2007. My father picks me up from university for the last time. We discuss my future on the drive home. I have no direction or money.

7th July 2007. Trip to Foxton Locks with Ben and Bethany.

8th July 2007. I begin my desk caprentry project.

10th July 2007. Lunch with the family at Kelmarsh.

11th July 2007. Ben and I go riding at Twywell Hill and Dales. Later Tom and I go the folly for more riding.

12th July 2007. Wet ride at Nant with Olly.

13th July 2008. I graduate.

14th July 2007. Back home for an arse about on bikes in the woods.

16th July 2007. Day out with Liz.

17th July 2007. Day out / bit of a drive with Ben and Tom. Later drinking.

18th July 2007. I complete the first part of my first dirt jump only to have it ploughed the next day. Pint with Ben and Ant at Mawsley.

19th July 2007. Ben's friend, Richie from the Royal Navy comes to visit. We have a summery pint. Ben and I are re-united with Swarfega the cat after about 4 years! Later we go for a mint and some pool at Thorpe Malsor.

20th July 2007. Day round at Liz's. We construct an epic dessert!

21st July 2007. Day trip to Leicester with Liz.

23rd July 2007. BM-XC ride to Kettering. Later Market Harborough with Tom and Ben and to Blend for a snack.

24th July 2007. I go to take pictures of the abandoned facory in the sunshine just before it is demolished.

25th July 2007. The world's finest fry-up is made. That night Liz, Ben, Bethand and I go for dinner at some Mexican place in Harborough.

26th July 2008. I'm in Kettering for some reason, lamenting on change. That night is Liz and James' 18th birthday party. Its "posh and punk" themed. I wear a black shirt, black tie and spray my hair green. On the way we see a cloud that is definately shaped like brests. There is much drinking and merry-making. A fine time was had by all.

27th July 2007. Hungover.

28th July 2007. I strip my XC bike down to its last bolt and bearing. Clean the lot, put it back together, then go for a dusty ride.

29th July 2007. Kassie, Justin, Rob and myself go for a ride around Rutland water. I win. [Not that its a race or anything! :) ] Rob and I meet ben for a pint at the Charter. Ben parks Bethanys car in a tree with Rob and I in it. It is a write-off, but we're all fine appart from whiplash. Justin and Bethany's uncle's neighbour's come to drag the car out of the tree and Ben and I get towed back to Desborough. Kassie and I get to go in the back of Justin's pickup like freedom fighters (all that was missing was some AK47's. We go back to the Charter for a follow-up pint. Ben gets out of going back to the Navy. Tom dances with some drunk woman in the pub.

31st July 2007. I go on a road-ride to Hannington.

1st August 2007. Tom and I go to Bethanys.

2nd August 2007. Liz and I go round to Dave Kellers for a Barbeque. The Bishop mafia are all around.

3rd August 2007. Liz and I go for a walk in the countryside. Its nice. :)

4th August 2007. I got to Andy Thompson's for a house party. Its good. :)

5th August 2007. The Harrington Beer festival is on. Its good. Liz, James, Ben, Justin, Kassie, Rob and Paul are in attendance. We play garden jenga until late.

6th August 2007. A sunny day in the garden.

10th August 2007. To Cottingham / Middleton to drink and see crazy Amy and Carrie.

11th August 2007. Sleepless in the saddle. Its awesome. Josie, Olly, Stu and I race XC. (Nearly sleepless!)

15th August 2007. Night walk with liz.

17th August 2007. Trip to the skate park with Ben. Katie and Andy's leaving party with the Bishop mafia.

19th August 2007. I visit the grand-parents with my father.

23rd August 2007. Ben, Paul and I go to the skate park in Market Harborough.

24th August 2007. Day in Harb with Liz.

27th August 2007. Ben, Tom and I go to Wellingborough, for some reason.

29th August 2007. Mum takes me to Leicester to buy me a new suit. How nice of her. Later Ben and I go to Corby and get some new windscreen wipers for his car. Shiny!

31st August 2007. Ben, Bethany, Liz and I go to Thorpe pub.

SUMMER ENDS

September 2007. I start working at Halfords as a bicycle mechanic. I ride 10 miles each day which keeps me in shape(ish). I meet Rachel, Jonny, Matt, Sam, Alan and countless others. I go for my comissioning board. with the RAF. It is an awakening.

20th October 2007. Ben and Bethanys engangement party.

23rd October 2007. BM-XC ride. I find my BMX.

27th October 2007. Ben, Bethany, Liz and I visit Salcey forest and vow to return for a winter picnic.

2nd November 2007. I go to chicksands with Ben. Its fun!

18th November 2007. It snows!!!

20th Dec 2007. I find the beauty in winter.

26th Dec 2007. Liz brings me a coconut for Christmas! Its fantastic!

31st Dec 2007. Liz and I have a nomadic New year. We visit a house party, the crew at a pub in Harb and Carrie for her house party.

1st Jan 2008. Ben and Bethany start a new year resolution to go swimming once a week. Liz and I are unaware how this will affect us at this point!

5th Jan 2008. Liz and I go for a lovely walk in winter. I look like a criminal. We meet Oskar the cat. :)

19th Jan 2008. Andy Parry and I go for a ride around Twywell.

20th - 21st Jan 2008. I go to visit Tom in Norwich to see British Sea Power. I loose my wallet and phone on the way there in Ely.

23rd Jan 2008. Father dies of cancer at 64.

16th Feb 2008. Liz and I have a day out together.

17th Feb 2008. I go to ride Thetford forest by myself.

1st March 2008. Liz and I ride Bradgate park.

7-8th March 2008. I go to South Wales for BUSA. I take the train to Newport and ride up to Cwm Carn. Its fun. I don't have a map but managed to find a national cycle trail and feel my way to the site. When there I ride the XC course for a bit of a giggle. On the 8th I marshall the DH. It was very cold and wet and as I wasn't racing, I decided to go home early.

15th March 2008. Liz and I go for a bike ride along the Brampton valley way.

21st March 2008. I build my first good wheel.

22nd - 23rd March 2008. Liz and I join Ben and Bethany in Bethany's uncle's caravan in Suffolk. We visit Sumerlayton hall on a snowy day and then go for Adnams in Southwold. Followed by tea and cakes, and then home.

26th March 2008. I meet Joe and Sarah from the MTB club at Cannoch chase to ride some XC. Its muddy. On the train coming back the conductor says simply "Good day at the office?" :)

5th April 2008. Steve lets Matt and I have a day off together and we head up to Llandegla to ride the loop there. Its fun!

12th April 2008. Liz and I go for a walk. Its warm enough for me to wear shorts! Summer is coming!

22nd April 2008. Liz and I go for an XC ride locally. Its nice. :)

22nd - 23rd April 2008. I go for a job interview at Halfords head office in Redditch. I go down the night before. The interview goes well, but I don't get the job. I do walk and explore redditch however for several hours. (Steve expects me back that day, but I milk it and tell him the train is delayed.) I find dirt-jumps, parks, and fire pits. I change out of my suit in the woods and into shorts and t-shirt then head for the town center and have lunch in Spoons. After a train ride back to Northampton and the bus back to Kettering I get to work just in time to do two hours work. But still get paied for the whole day! Winner. :)

26th April 2008. Ben, Bethany, Liz and I got for a spring walk in East Carlton country park.

May 2008. I get my new Carrera Subway 22" commuter bike. I go for a day out with my Uncle to watch the clay shooting contest.

5th May 2008. I go to ride the Dyfi enduro. Tim, Olly, Josie, Drew and myself take it easy. We sit and eat plety of cake, yet storm the descents.

8th May 2008. Barbeque at Bethany's Uncle's house whilst house sitting.

31st May 2008. Ben and I set off for Europe on a ferry from Dover taking the Eurostar from Calis to Paris. We stay in a hostel for the first time.

EUROPE - This would take too long to describe it. But it was awesome!

12th June 2008. Ben and I return from Europe.

June 2008. I get a new job as bike specialist / junior management at Halfords in Market Harborough. This puts my daily cycling milage up to 14.

July 2008. Josie, Olly, Drew and I race Hit the North. Its muddy, but strangely satisfying. Organised by Olly, the Aber MTB allumini go on holiday to North Wales riding and chilling. Olly, Josie, Drew, Tim, Nick, Rob and myself have an awesome time. We ride Nant, Betws-Y, Llandegla and walk Cnicht. It was an awesome holiday.

2nd August 2008. Liz, James and I go to the Caribbean carnival in Leicester.

16th August 2008. Liz, her parents and I go to the seaside. Later I go to one of Stirz' stag nights.

23rd August 2008. Striz and Liz (his liz, not mine) get married at Cranford.

29th - 31st August 2008. Liz and I go to Paris. It was wonderful.

September 2008. Liz takes her family and I to the photographers studio at which she has been working to be shot at.

I begin back at Aberystwyth for my MSc.

Ker-ching!!! (£££)

2009-01-10T15:44:00.005Z

My jump bike's transmission is worn out. To replace it...

e. thirteen guide ring. - £26.99
On-One groove armarda sprockets x2 (@ 15.56 each plus £2.00 postage) - £33.12
KMC Z610HX chain - £9.99

Total - £70.10 (!!!)

I never realised how much monew went into quality (disposible) components! When you consider it though, its no different to pretty much any other bike. My XC bike for instance...

Inner chain-ring (cheapest found) - £4.99
Middle chain-ring (cheapest found) - £7.99
Outer chian-ring (cheapest found) - £13.99
Cassette (SRAM 8-spd 11-28t) - £15.99 (I alternate sprockets on the SS you can count this twice. ie: I have to replace SS sprockets half as often). - £31.98
Chain (Sram 8-spd - cheapest) - £9.99

Total - £68.94

Rule the Trail

2008-12-08T20:21:00.003Z

OK, I know three bloggs in three days is going it a bit. But I need to share my new bike plans. Basically, at the moment I have a problem in the form of two aluminium hardtails. Aluminium is fine for a road bike, but really its not practical for anything bumpy and rocky...

...Wales is the epitome of bumpy and rocky.

So basically, the frames have to go. That is sad because I love both my mountain bikes and have become dearly attached to them. But you can't live in the past like a history student. The MsIsle (being already pretty much where I want it in terms of kit) is just being replaced with a hardcore 853 steel frame in the form of a 16" Cotic BFe. This will enahnce my jump / smooth-trail weapon. But the XC bike is a slightly more complex beast.

Basically, in its current encarnation the XC bike dosn't get much use. I ride the jump bike for trail centers because they are short enough and I have taken to using it for epics too because its fun and I can still keep up (just!) So the XC bike gets maybe two outings per year for the odd race here and there. The little bike does practically everything I want. But what it isn't much good for is the bumpy stuff. The really big steep technical sections that require a bit of give in the frame. So that will be replaced with a full-bouncer! My first ever at that.

The bike will cease to be an XC bike and become more of a technical-trail / alpine-light machine for conquoring all the stuff that the little rig can't and have bit more speed and range too for when I want to do the occasional race.

So to decrease the reading and make this more fun i've outlined what I want to do in pictures.

To start off, one of these in an 18" (which is a size
down from my 'textbook' size to help the handling but keep it usable
as a distance machine). Only maybe in a different colour.

Some of these plugged into the front. No, not from the little
bike. I like them so much I want another set.

Spinning on these. Zero dish for strong wheels, allmost instant pickup and just 5 sprockets to keep things simple.

36 spokes for uber strong wheels and the wide rims stop the
tyres from squirming under cornering.

a 32-26t setup with an e.13 bash-ring.

Short stem for snappy handling. As much rise as possible on the bars!

Finally, a short cage mech for a tight chain!.

Riding and Rallying

2008-12-06T22:02:00.002Z

A week ago last Wednesday, Jake was holding his real-ale social and the majority of the mountain bike club were getting steadily intoxicated. Including, it has to be said, your's truely. For some time now I have wanted to visit Afan forest in south wales to ride "the Wall" which is a well known trail that I have never had the opportunity to ride. So, in my merryment, I took the opportunity to gauge interest for a venture. My proposal was met with agreement from many members and at about 2am I posted a thread on the forum to see who was serious and not just drunk. To my surprise many agreed when sober and that is why at 6.45am this morning, I was waiting in Lidl carpark for the epic drive down to South Wales. Unsurprisingly, we didn't actually set off until 7.30am and arrived at Afan at around 10am with a lovely stop on a mountain pass through the Beacons. As Jake pointed out, the sat-nav had excelled itself. We had found what must be one of the finest driving roads in the country with beautiful scenery draped in early-morning misty temperature-inversions.

Upon arrival the seven of us had the usual WI meeting combined with a 'longest ice-skid' compotitioan and then set off for the Wall. Initial impressions were excellent with a quick warm-up section before a long track leading to the initial climb.

On the initial climb Stu powered ahead with myself in hot pursute unil we decided to waste some time waiting for the others playing 'longest gravel-skid'.

Before long the inevitable happened and Chuck snapped a chain ... twice. Jake was suffering from mechanicals too mashing his middle-ring. After a time we came upon a taped off area of the course with martials on patrol. It turned out that I had picked a day to go when the Welsh section of the World Rally Championships were being held in the forest. This presented a dilemma - stay and watch world-class rallying. Or do what we came to and pedal on to a second trail. Eventually, Stu and Sarah decided to go on and ride the second loop with the rest of us opting to stay and watch fast cars! Chuck, Jake and Ben were pretty shagged-out after the climbing and were happy of the rest. But Paul and I were impatient and went ahead to ride further in the hour preceding the sport. We came across an earth tip which we both agreed had immense dirt jump / freeride potential and then the most stunning view point.

Rides like this on clear days are awesome. After sending it down "the graveyard" for a bit we headded back to watch the rally - just comfortably in time to catch the first car.

After about 10 cars and some heckling, we pressed. Chucks chain snapped again and eventually we came to the final descent which eveyone liked, and Jake even praised as the best descent he had ever ridden! (But he was on a full-sus!) The ride was ended with a sossage sandwich at the cafe and a long wait for Stu and Sarah to finish. Back to Aber for a shower, bottle of wine, tea and sleep! (With this blog somwhere in between.)

They call me "Patch"

2008-12-05T18:53:00.002Z

You know that things have eased off work-wise in my life when I start posting stuff here. So, here goes.

Today I finally got around to repairing my waterproof which has been ripped for about two years after a crash at the Cwm Carn DH one wet uplift day. I think it worked quite well. I sewed the hole up using some needles and thread I had kicking about using a "herring bone" stitch. Now I don't profess to know anything about sewing. It just looked pretty good and I fancied having a stab at it. If anyone knows a better stitch for joining gore-tex then I'm all ears.

After doing that for about an hour I used some vinal tent patches that I got from Cheapey Charlies on both the inside and outside to create a good seal. I was impressed at the quality of the patches. I had expected something that would fall apart after 30 seconds for the £1.50 they cost, but these actually have a confidence inspiring adhesive to them!

So yeah, jobs a good un.

Tell the World.

2008-12-02T09:15:00.002Z

Whenever I hear some music that I really like, I just want to tell everyone. Even though i've got odd musical tastes and everyone else will probabbly hate it.

Never mind. Here goes.

Joe Echo - Where We Wanna Be
Los Campisinos - 2007 - The year that punk rock...
Luxenbourg - Single
Röyksopp - Poor Leno

Go write some poetry in the dark emo boy.

2008-11-07T19:59:00.004Z

I'm annoyed at everything.

It started today at the bus stop with some child winging to his mother about various things like the fact she ahd brought him the 'wrong' cake. Wrong cake?! How can cake be wrong? It was chocolate brownies too. F***ing spoilt brat. He was such a fat child too it really p***ed me off. But then I realised that I was even more p***ed off with the mother for letting him be a brat. And my mood went downhill from there. Anyway, eventually I was so cross that I had to leave the bus stop only to watch the bus pass me about 30 seconds later. When i'm annoyed at everything it doesn't stop at external factors, I get the most f***ing annoyed with myself. Like the fact I spent only 3 hours working today and that I can't spell for shit and that I annoy other people which in turn makes me sad and i've used too many "and's". I'm even annoyed that I can't write bus without always putting two S' and having to delete one. Then i'm annoyed that writing the plural of "S" looks unclear.

When emo kids go and write poetry in the dark they are not being weird and anti-social, they are being benevolent. When people are pissed off its contageous. Misery loves company and thats just a symptom of the disease that is depression. I'm no poet so I have to write this crap to make myself feel better. The only reason I can put this here is because no one reads it.

I can’t spend another sunday on the sofa crying as another opportunity passes me by

i wouldn’t wish my life upon anyone
so let’s abstain
i couldn’t share this life of grime
this doing time
so let’s refrain

my twenty-fifth birthday was melancholy but i wasn’t surprised because
my seventeenth birthday was melancholy but i wasn’t surprised because
my fifth birthday was… sad and lonely
oh, well don’t they start so early these days?
yes, they do!
i wouldn’t wish my life upon anyone
so let’s refrain
i couldn’t share this pantomime
this doing time
so let’s refrain

Luxembourg - Single (extract)

Indoors day on an outdoor day.

2008-11-01T12:26:00.003Z

I hate this. Yesterday whilst on a street ride I wounded my ankle side-hopping off a bench on the promanade. I'm pretty sure its just a bad sprain and it wasn't too bad to begin with but now I can barely walk to the kitchen without grimaceing like a complete girl. What is worse is that my flat-mate, Rachel's Boyfriend is up for the week and I promised to take him riding out to Nant today. The weather is perfect - no wind, glorious sunshine and not too warm. But insted i'm stuck inside feeling sorry for myself on the interness like a complete recluse. I can't even get over the hill to Clarach and take some pics of the Down-hillers. I'm not even doing any work, because i'm too pissed off. Mind you, the ride yesterday was pretty good. I finally got over the castle drop and managed to clear the table at the skate park too, so it wasn't all bad. Will probabbly wrap up and go to the beach to read. Thats the nice thing about living on the front.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Air - Alone in Kyoto
Last Shaddow Puppets (The) - Meeting Place

Return to Gorlech

2008-10-25T19:09:00.003Z

Its always nice to return to something after some time, whatever it may be, and realise that the practise has paied off.

It has been over eighteen months since I visited the Gorlech trail at Brchfa and the trail has become much easier both mentally and physically. I could power the climbs on a single speed and nail the descents. It was therefore much more fun. :)

Not me i'm afraid - but you get the idea.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Air - Talisman
Coldplay - Violet Hill
Gustav Holst - Jupiter (From the planets suite)
Hybrid - Hearts Desire
Jonny Cash - Hurt (cover)
Last Shaddow Puppets (The) - My mistakes were made for you
Rilo Kiley - Dreamworld

TUTORIAL: Fork Service (RockShox Pike 426 coil)

2008-09-30T19:47:00.009Z

Right, first of all, the best resource you can have for this job is the RockShox technical manual available from their website. This outlines how to do all the stuff i've outlined here - just without the comedy pics.

You will have to order a seal tool, replacement 32mm seal kit, 5wt oil and 15wt oil. I got mine from fisher outdoor via Halfords.

Make sure as you go that you clean everything (in fact, thats what most of the time taken by this job is doing) with meths or just a clean paper towel.

TOOLS:
Repair stand
24mm Deep Socket
Breaker bar/Ratchet handel
5mm Socket/allen key
2.5mm allen key
Grease
15wt fork oil (30ml's)
5wt fork oil (120ml's)
Replacement seal kit
RockShox 32mm seal tool
Plenty of clean rags/paper towels
Circlip pliars

OPTIONAL TOOLS
Small torque wrench
Meths
Alternative circlip pliars (You can manage with just one type of circlip plier but both internal and external would be best.)
Replacement o-rings
Zip Ties.

A WORD ABOUT BUSHINGS
First job is to check your forks for play in the bushings. If you lock the front brake and rock the bike backwards and fowards gently and feel play then it could be the bushings. But don't panic - there is a strong chance that the headset is loose or its bearings are knackered which is much easier to put right. It isn't even that benign sometimes as the tyre will move slightly and also the brake pads will often rock backwards and fowards inside the caliper (or the calipers will move slightly if you're kicking it old-skool with v's.) If the bushings are buggered, then its time to send it to Tim Flooks/Fisher Outdoor etc. If you're not sure if the bushings are worn then you probabbly shouldn't attempt this job and send the forks to a service center - even though you may have to fork-out (hehe) a bit of cash for it. If the bushings are worn, then I recomend sending them to a service centre too as tools to remove and reinstall bushings will set you back about £200. However, if you take care and service your forks reguarly then you should not need to do this for years.

REMOVING THE FORKS FROM THE BIKE
Next, remove the forks from the bike. Remove the front wheel and take off the front brake caliper from the two IS mount bolts (likely to require a 5mm allen key). Remove the top-cap from the steer tube above the stem and then loosen the pinch bolt(s) of the stem and remove the stem and handlebars. Tie the bars to the frame. At this point make sure you've got a firm hold on the forks as they can just drop out at this point, although mostly they don't and require a bit of persuasion from your tapping-stick (hammer). My headset is an FSA Pig which has a split-tapered ring which secures the top of the steer tube to the headset and to remove this I had to tap the steer down (quite hard, making sure to support the frame at the same time - don't make your repair stand take the force) then hold the forks up a little to separate the top cap from the bearings then tap the top cap down away from the silver tapered-ring. Your forks should now just drop out of the headset/frame.

Remove the bike from the repair stand and put the forks in.

LOWER LEG REMOVAL
First Job is to take off the lower legs. Make sure you've got a washing-up bowel or similar underneath the forks at this point.

Remove the rebound adjuster on the drive-side of the fork. Mine fell out ages ago and now I simply adjust my rebound with an allen key, but if you've got a red anodised knob at the bottom of one fork leg then you can just pull that streight out. Undo the bolts at the base of each fork leg by three of four turns and then tap each with your stick to separate the internals of the fork from the lower legs. At this point a load of oil fell out of the bolt holes into my bowel surprising me somewhat. (Glad I put that there.) Loosen off the bolts fully and remove. The lowers should now slide off the fork with some encouragement.

SEAL REPLACEMENT
Rockshox do a special tool for replacing seals on 32mm stantions (like Pikes) and trust me - you cannot make do without it. I suspect if you tried then you would seriously bugger your new seals or lowers or both. Remove the grey outer seal using a flat screwdriver. (All the seals are pretty tough to get out. Use a cloth to protect the lower and leaver against the opposite side of the opening from the side you are trying to prise off.) The yellow fome rings should just fall out. The black oil seals also need to come out - these were the hardest to get out of all for me.

Pop a tiny bit of 15wt oil in a small jug and chuck your new yellow foam rings in there to soak. Use the RockShox seal tool to force in the black oil seals. (They are quite a tight fit and require a bit of force.) Make your your foam rings are properly soaked and chuck them in above the oil seals. Finally use the other end of the tool to push in the new grey outer-seals.

MOTION CONTROL AND REBOUND DAMPENER SERVICE
Using external circlip pliars, remove the small circlip from the top of the compression adjuster. On newer models the compression adjuster is anodised blue, but on older ones it is black with blue symbols. Basically its your lockout. With the little circlip off you should be able to just pull the knob streight off over the gate adjuster. Now take a 24mm socket and breaker bar/ratchet handle and undo the motion control assembly. This is pretty stiff at first because of the o-rings in the system, but they are basically easy to take off and not really torqued tightly. I found that my 24mm socket would only just fit over the gate adjuster, so I would recomend an extra-deep socket if you can get one. With the assembly loosened you should be able to pull the unit out to reveal it in all its bright-red glory.

Take the forks out of the stand and chuck the old fluid in your waste bowel. Inspect the assembly's o-rings. Rock shox recomend replacing them applying some oil to the new ones, but I didn't bother because they seemed in good condition and I didn't want to get the wrong size so I just put a blob of the relevant suspension oil on all the existing ones. You can find loads of o-ring sized at Halfords in small blister packs for about £1 for a few of various sizes. At the bottom of the fork stantion there is a circlip recessed inside stantion. Use internal circlip pliars to remove it. (I only had external circlip plairs, which worked, but it was a bit trickey.) Pull down and remove the rebound dampener assembly, isnpect this as with the motion control assembly replacing o-rings where necessary, clean and apply a blob of 15wt to the o-rings.

Reinstall the rebound dampener assembly replacing the circlip. Make sure not to damage this - its a bit delicate. Using a syringe, put 120ml's of 5wt oil into the top of the stantion. Replace the cleaned motion control assembly and torque with your 24mm deep socket to about 8-10Nm. Replace the anodised cap and circlip.

SPRING SERVICE
Using a 2.5mm allen key, undo the top of the u-turn adjuster. Remove this cap to reveal 3 ball bearings.

Using your 24mm socket, undo the top of this stantion. Remove the spring...

...clean it, inspect the seals, regrese it all and pop it back in. Do the top up to about 8-10Nm as before. Put a blob of grease on each ball beaing and replace the top cap of the u-turn adjuster with your trusty 2.5mm allen key.

LOWER LEG INSTALLATION
Take your lowers with new seals attached and very carefully slide them onto the stantions. This was probabbly the most difficult bit for me as I found it hard to get them both on without the outer seal folding over. Try and bribe a mate to help.

Invert your forks (turn them upside down) with the lowers facing the sky.

You may want to lower your stand for this.

Don't make the same mistake as me and try to do your bolts up first. (You won't be able to put any oil in! Good to know that the seal here is good though.) Pop in 5ml's of 15wt fork oil into each leg. This is a seriously small ammount and it made me wonder if i'd done it right - but I actually used too much (my forks now won't come close to bottoming out!) [EDIT: I HAVE BEEN INFORMED TO USE 15ML'S NOW AS OPPOSED TO THE 5ML'S - PERSOANLLY I'D GO WITH 15ML'S AS 5ML'S JUST SEEMS LIKE NOT ENOUGH!] NOW re-install the bolts at the base of the fork lowers making sure the crush-washeres are not too broken. Again, torque with a 5mm allen key to about 7Nm. Replace your red anodised rebound adjuster.

REINSTALL
Now is probabbly a good time to change the bearings in your headset if they are loose (caged) ball bearings. I did this. Also a good idea to have your maxel appart, clean it and the wipe down with an oily rag. Reverse the procedure above to reinstall the forks. Make sure there is no fork oil about to contaminate your brakes!!!

AFTERMATH
Go for a bit of a street ride poping off some stuff to flat concrete to test the forks. Followed by beer. :)

Thanks to my flat-mate Adam for some of the pics.

Going Home

2008-09-15T19:08:00.002Z

I'm back in Aber on Saturday to continue my education after a years absence. This time I will be undertaking an MSc in Environmental Monitoring and Analysis. Basically this is the process of looking at the planet, then telling people how messed-up it is. I'm kinda scared, because I know it will be a much heavier workload than my degree with little old me at the bottom of the class probabbly. However, they took me (must be desperate) and my fate for the next year is sealed.

In many ways it feels like i'm going home however, which is some comfort. Aberystwyth is a much more chilled out place than Northamptonshire dispite the gloomy climate. So I am truely looking foward to living there again. But perhaps not looking foward to how much it will cost!

Repair Stand

2008-09-15T18:58:00.003Z

After 12 months of using professional repair stands, I felt I really needed a basic one. This 'Bike Tool' one is pretty good for the £65 it cost from CRC. The first thing that surprised me was the weight. It is really light and felt properly portable, which lead to personal speculation about the rigidity of the device. However, whilst not being any where near as good as its bigger brother in my workshop, I was pleasantly surprised. I was concerned by the lack of 'bite' the teeth on the locking mechanism altering the tilt of the bike seemed to have. But upon locating a beefy 6mm allen key bolt at the back this was soon rectified. My only real complaint would be that it dosn't go quite high enough. But, to be fair, its not exactly un-usable. I just like to work with the transmission in my face. So yes. Recomended.

TUTORIAL: Pedal Servicing (Loose Bearing)

2008-08-17T13:24:00.004Z

I'm pretty cheap about some things. Pedals for instnace. I would love a set of Shimano DX flats, but can't be bothered to splash out £50 for them. So insted I stick to my £10 wellgo flats. These are copies of the famous DMR V8 and work like a charm if you keep on top of the maintinance. Just thought i'd share with you the secret of cheap, long-lasting pedals.

COMPULSORY TOOLS
12mm Socket
15mm Socket
15mm open-ended spanner.
Small, flat screw-driver.
Replacement ball bearings
Grease (preferably water-repelant white lithium)
Tissues/old rags

PREFERABLE TOOLS
Work Bench
Bench vice
Degreaser
Pedal Spanner
Grease gun
Needle-nose pliars
Copper grease

Remove the pedal from the crank with an open-ended 15mm spanner or pedal spanner. Dont forget that the drive-side pedal has a reverse thread.

Pop the plastic cap of the outboard side of the pedal.

Place the pedal in a vice or use a spanner to hold the parallels on the in-board side of the axel.

Using a 12mm socket and ratchet handle/small breaker bar (etc) undo the outside locknut.

Using either a pair of needle-nose pliers or some screw drivers take off the washer that separates the locknuts. (This is important as it is designed not to spin and therefore to hold the inside locknut in place.)

Using a 15mm socket, undo the inner locknut/bearing cone and remove. (You should not need a handle for this - just finger pressure on the socket should be ample.)

Lift the pedal body off the axel.

Remove the plasic seal from the in-board side of the pedal body. (This will make it easier to extract and re-install bearings.)

Remove the old bearings gently with a screw driver. Measure for size and then disguard.

Using old rags and degreaser, clean the pedal body, axel and cone. Then dry it thorougherly with tissue. (The in-board bearing race is likely to be much more dirty than the out-board side.) Check the races for any piting, cracking or any damage whatsoever. If they are damaged it is likely that this is due to infrequent servicing or running the pedals too loose. The pedals will probabbly never spin to an optimal standard again.

Put the axel back in the vice.

Apply grease to the cups of the pedal body on both sides.

Install new ball bearings to the in-board side of the pedal body using the viscousity of the grease to hold them in place. Put some grease on the tops of the bearings, re-seat the in-board plasic seal and place the pedal body carefully onto the axel in the vice ensuring not to knock any bearings out of position. (My pedals took 11 5/32" bearings per race.)

Place new bearings into the out-board race and apply a small ammount of grease to the tops of these bearings. (A grease gun could be handy for this.)

Re-install the cone/inner-locknut with a 15mm socket doing it finger tight. Then UNDO the cone/inner-locknut by 1/4 to 1/8 of a turn. (Trust me, it will be too tight otherwise. You may have to play to get it right, but bear in mind that the bearings will feel a little tight and gritty to start with depending on how worn your races are.)

Re-install the washer to separate the locknuts. (It should only go on one way to prevent twisting of the locknuts.)

Re-install the outer-locknut. Do it up with a ratchet handle/small breaker bar to an ammount I would call, fairly tight. (Guess around 20Nm.)

Remove the pedal from the vice and check it for play and stiffness. If either of these symotms occur then experiment with different tightnesses of the cone/inner-locknut. If stiffness persists it is possible your races are damaged. Assess the cups and cones for piting, cracking or any damage.

Re install the plasic cap to the outboard side of the pedal body.

Apply a small ammount of grease (preferably copper-based) to the threads where the pedal interfaces with the crank (making sure these threads are clean and dry first) and re-install the pedal. Remember the reverse-thread on the drive-side (re-install by back-pedaling).

Thanks to Olly Roberts - bodge-tastic.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

Los Campesinos - Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)
Craig Armstrong - Rise
Sébastien Tellier - La Ritournelle
Luxembourg - What the Housewives don't Tell You
Rilo Kiley - Breakin' Up

Baby Laptop!

2008-07-11T21:28:00.003Z

Finally brought my new laptop. It is tiny, but at the same time just large enough to do everything I want. I'm very chuffed - definately recomended for the £200 it cost. Mine is the 4GB blue, I wanted the green one but there was no stock and I was impatient. The linux operating system is excellent - fully compatible with windows machines for networking and you can have full desktop once you've messed around with some script. Check out youtube for some videos.

My Euro-Vision

2008-05-29T08:29:00.004Z

If you haven't already heard, i'm going to be dropping off the radar for about two weeks to go and travel around Europe. First stop is Paris on Saturday and then Amsterdam on Monday followed by a gentle cruise through Germany via Köln, Nürnberg and eventually into the Czech republic to Praha. From here we will be going Down to Bertchesgaten to see Hitler's ledgendary Eagles Nest and then returning via Switzerland ... or wherever we like. I'm becoming a little apprehensive now as I have never done anything like this before, but such feelings are overwhelmed by excitement. Most of what i'm taking is books and literature on the various trains, youth hostles and attractions of the continent and I think it should be a pretty epic adventure. I just hope that I don't cock it up for Mr Ben. I've done pretty much all the planning for this venture and I hope I won't disappoint my traveling companion when we get to the experiance. All that remains is for me to go to work today, go to an interview tomorrow (yep, pretty bad planning), go to my CyTech signup (at last), pack and get drunk for the following day. See you on the other side!

Calendar

2008-03-28T19:24:00.003Z

Just so you peeps can keep a track of what i'm up to - here's my calendar! Enjoy.

Wheely Satisfying

2008-03-24T21:11:00.004Z

MY FIRST (GOOD) WHEEL!
Sorry, but this was the best photo I coult take with limited light and time!

This is my first wheel that i'm really happy with. It is a Mavic XM321disc rim built with 36 DT-swiss silver 2mm plain gauge spokes in a 3-cross pattern onto a Shimano Deore M525 hub. The dish is correct, the lateral allignment is bob-on the tension is good and the only flaw is about 1mm of egg in the wheel (but I think that much would vary in they tyre anyway!)

A key step in any cycle mechanics career. My boss has said to me that he's happy now for me to build wheels for customers too! Chuffed.

Many thanks to the late-great Sheldon Brown for his web-based posthumously help.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:

King Prawn - Loneliest Life
Röyksopp - So Easy
Matt Costa - These Arms
Muse - Unintended
Belle and Sebastian - To Be Myself Completely

Twenty-Four Hour Holiday

2008-03-24T20:47:00.003Z

I'm lazy with writing and generally quite boring so this weekends details are sumarised as follows...

Ben and Bethany had managed to blag a a free holiday in Bethany's Uncle's caravan on the Suffolk coast for the easter weekend and beyond. Liz and I had managed to blag Easter Sunday away from work. And so our mission became clear.

We departed at about 18:45 on Saturday arriving at the caravan at around 21:00 where I broke my lenten fast and drank an extremely tasty pint. We watched Anchorman and went to sleep.

The following day plans were hatched. So, we went to a place called Somerlayton Hall to have a generally plesent outing on a snowey and cold day. The place was plesent with some attractive gardens, plenty of cool trees an informative guided tour and hot-chocolate close to hand. Being easter the gift shop was laced with chocolate, some boy dressed as a rabbit and there was even some sort of troll handing out mini-eggs at then entrance (however, the others informed me that it was infact an eight-year-old girl). The maze was also quite cool, and it gave me plenty of ideas for future land projects!

After getting thorougherly wet and cold, we made a move to Southwold where I enjoyed a tasty pint of the local ale ... Adnams. From here it was time for tea and cakes, before ending our day at the seaside with a walk along the prom.

Many thanks to Ben and Bethany, not to mention Bethany's Anutie and Uncle.

Woburn Sands

2008-03-21T16:06:00.005Z

Went down to Woburn for the first time today. It is OK, some of the DH's are really fun and there are some fun trails about. I was hoping for some kind of table-top jump to learn on, but insted all I found was uber-steep rythem sections.I was also surprised by the ammount of lycra-clad weekend warrior XC riders about.

In conclusion, recomended. But not for a whole weekend.

Inter-railing!!! Go!

2008-03-20T10:42:00.003Z

The count-down has begun. Today I book my holiday from work and then we are full speed ahead for an inter-railing mission in early June 2008!

SUMMARY:
Northamptonshire (UK) to Dover (UK)
Dover (UK) to Calais (France)
Calais (France) to Paris (France)
Paris (France) to Amsterdam (Holland)
Amsterdam (Holland) to Prague (Czech Republic) via Germany
Prague (Czech Republic) to Berchtesgaden (Germany)
Berchtesgaden (Germany) to Switzerland
Switzerland to Southern France
Southern France to Calais (France)
Calais (France) to Dover (UK)
Dover (UK) to Northamptonshire (UK)

All of this should take about two weeks (we hope). My good friend Mr Ben Roberts and myself are currently partaking and all in all it should be pretty epic.

Customise!

2008-02-26T16:54:00.002Z

With every passing months my steeds become increasingly more personal. This month my project was to add a 'new' front brake to the Carrera. This took the form of a Shimano Saint caliper/lever that I no longer required from the little bike and a new 180mm shimano rotor/adaptor mount. My bikes are becoming increasingly 'patchwork' in their componentry, but more and more personal to me. I now have two different brake levers and two different shifter pods on the Carrera and I love it, because it is unique! I have also modified the front Deore M525 hub to a 9.5mm bolt-up hub using 15mm track nuts for an ultra-rigid front end and theft-proofing.

Its mine, and I like it.

New Brake

New saint lever

New Caliper and rotor - Notice the modified hub

Musik Gehort!

2008-02-14T23:01:00.002Z

I'm stuck in a rut with music. It seems like the only new music I hear is from radio 1 (and I use the phrase music there very loosely indeed). It seems like there is no truely original talent there. All the stuff I like is at least two years old. Am I so out of touch?

No, no; it is the children that are wrong.

What i'm listening to.

* Röyksopp - Eple
* Super Fury Animals - Ice Hockey Hair
* Zero 7 - Passing By

Penglephant

2008-02-13T09:31:00.002Z

Penglephant

This is Liz's Penglephant. A cross between an elephant and a penguin, its a pretty scary hybrid type animal.

Half art student, half mad scientist!

Get Karter!

2008-02-12T10:23:00.002Z

KMX ST-Class

How cool is this. This would be truely awesome for anything downhill on the roads. You are so low that it would feel like doing one million miles-per-hour! I want one, and for £550 I think its a pretty good buy.

Father

2008-02-12T10:14:00.000Z

Father

New Bits!

2008-01-08T20:28:00.000Z

New forks and headset arrived for the carrera on Friday and these are the first set that I have installed entirely myself, including pressing the headset and cutting the steer tube! The MX Pro forks I selected are lovely. Buttery smooth and brilliantly simple. Two positive air chambers, a rebound and some 30mm alloy stanchions all in a bomb-proof Marzocchi casing. What could be better?

And then there is the headset. Two sets of sealed cartridge bearings all encased in beautifully CNC machined alluminium and plenty of rubbery o-rings and seals.

It is an unashamed piece of bike jewellry - but I don't care. You have to look closely, but when you do the Hope lable just screams quality. I love these discrete little touches that set my bike appart from others.

... I am very sad.

What i'm listneing to.

Holloways - Fit for a Fortnight
Blur - Caravan
Blur - On the Way to the Club
Linken Park - Bleed it Out

Lovely Winter Wanders

2008-01-08T20:17:00.000Z

Are not winter stroles nice?

All I want for Christmas is...

2007-12-28T12:05:00.001Z

Most people who know me know my views on Christmas. You know, my sort of cynical scrooge-like mumbling along the lines of "capitalist-pigs!" and "gluttonous-pomp!". But despit my best efforts of sabbotage, it seems to happen every year with the same predictable lethargy.

But before you start to complain about what a miserable w***er I am, I am going to describe my best present this year. I had a few like the blackadder boxed-set, a mini mag-lite and some type of callander paperweight??? But my favourite of all was the present brought to me by my girlfriend. Now this isn't just because she's my girlfriend that I liked this present but due to the fact that I actually asked for this one and wasn't just laughed at as normally happens when I suggest what people suppose to be comedy gift ideas.

Yep, thats a coconut.

Now the good thing about a coconut for a present is that it isn't just an object, but a mini adventure! I have never had a coconut before and having been told about them I was intregiued as to how they tasted and were opened. So, armed with a garage full of tools, Liz and I began an experiment!

First we drilled into it to drain the milk.

Then we sawed into it.

Once I got bored with sawing it, we prised the top off with a billhook.

...And finally we made it!

Snow!

2007-11-19T10:53:00.000Z

First snow of the season. It is not even winter yet in my book. We could be in for a cold one!

Snowey Bins!

You may have noticed, as I have, that I only write on this blog when I actually have nothing to say.

Paddington!

2007-11-18T15:22:00.000Z

I've found Paddington. Hiding in Liz's house, and definately not eating marmite, but insted feasting on Mr Herricks marmalade.

A very brave bear.

What I am listening to...

Anything by The Go Team!

Damp Park

2007-11-16T17:17:00.000Z

Bored day off ... again, so it was a quick trip to the skate park now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Mind you - by the time I had got there via the "scenic" route I was covered in so much mud that the park residents would have just laughed.

I don't mind the occupants of my local park - they are pikeys. But cool pikeys. Just like with every social class, there are exceptions to the rules. These are the exception. Accomodating and willing to impart their extensive BMX knowledge. It is also quite nice to not be shuned for having 26" wheels. They simplly see MTB's for what they are in skate parks - not as good as a BMX or 24 incher.

Noth that any of this mattered, because no one was there on such a cold and damp day. The boxes were wet and the ramps sketchey. But i've always thought that difficult conditions are the best to learn in. Deep end styley.

The plan was to hone my technique. I did a little. I can now drop in from allmost all the ramps and can jump the fun-box a little. Not great, but I was never a BMX'er. This is juat to hone my skills out of season. With some practice, I should be closer to Grant 'Chopper' Fielder by the spring and hopefully it will show when I get back to proper riding.

Not quite to Chopper's standard yet!!!

Kit

2007-11-08T21:16:00.000Z

Right. After lots of kit abuse, lots of disacussion and plenty of comments I think it is time for a definitive list of whats hot and whats not in terms of bike kit manufacturers. So here goes.

NB: Most of this is based on personal experiance, but there is alot taken from popular opinion in the MTB community.

COMPONENT	XC	DJ/4X	ROAD-HYBRID/COMMUTER
Framesets	Carrera	Giant (STP)
Forks	Marzocchi	RockShox	Kinesis Rigid
Front Brakes	Shimano hydraulic	Avid Mechaical	Shimano 'Vee'
Rear Brakes	Shimano hydraulic or 'Vee'	Avid Mechaical or Shimano 'Vee'	Shimano 'Vee'
Stems	Hope	Hope
Hubs	Hope	Hope	Shimano
Rims	Mavic	Mavic
Tyres	Continental	DMR	Continental
Tubes	Nokin	Nokin
Pedals	Shimano	Shimano	Shimano
Cranks	Shimano Deore (HT1 Octalink)	Shimano HT2
Bottom Brackets	Shimano HT1 Octalink	Shimano
Saddles	WTB	SDG
Seat Posts	Thompson	Thompson
Headsets	Chris King or Hope(for internal)	Chris King of FSA(for budget)
Handlebars	Easton	Bikehut!
Grips	personal preference	lock-ons - personal preference
Chains	SRAM	KMC
Cassettes	SRAM	SRAM or On-One(for single-speed)
Front Mechs	Shimano Deore	none - e.thirteen chainguide
Rear Mechs	Shimano LX	Shimano
Shifters	SRAM Trigger	SRAM Trigger

Halfords Bikehut rant.

2007-11-05T22:49:00.000Z

As you may be aware by now. I have recently taken on a full time job working in my local Halfords Bikehut store as a bike mechanic / sales assistant and to be honest, i'm dissapointed by the way some people view me.

I'm always hearing things relating to how bikehut mechanics are monkeys with no sense of professional competance. Lots of the customer problems i've encountered are relating to poor products rather than poor staff and we just happen to be in the firing line. People simplly don't seem to understand that a £60 bike won't stand up to what the average kid has to offer it. A half decent BMX on the other hand - will (just by keeping it out of the rain and purchasing a bike care plan costing just £30 for three years!) Everyone moans about the Vibe's and Shockwave's but the kids bikes are the worst. Anything under a 20" wheel and the brakes are next-to-usesless and the rubbish that goes on them is unnecessary and pointless. Things like stabalisers just undermine axel security and don't actually allow children to learn as they rely on the stabalisers*; and things like chain guards make cleaning very difficult. In my opinion if a child can't be trusted to keep his fingers away from a moving chainring or attempt to learn balance then they shouldn't be allowed near a bike. But if they can do these things, they shouldn't need such stupid ancillary items. Which is why I tend to point the parents towards the above-'vibe'-quality BMX's. But that leads me to another point...

On a slight tangent, when I become King of the world (and it's going to happen) the first thing I shall do is outlaw semi-horizontal dropouts and gyros. Then I will make it law for all horizontal dropout frames to come with chain-tugs as standard.

Anyways, i'm not sure about my colleagues but whenever I serve a customer I just try and be as helpfull as possible. What more can you ask?! And it really bugs me when people think I don't know how to service a headset, tap a bottom bracket thread or bleed hydraulics. Mainly we are limited only by the lack of tools at our disposal, which is irritating in itself.

However, after just completely slagging-off childrens bikes. I was refeshed to see on the new 'Pingu' bike out there is a lovely 'seal of approval' stamped to the headtube. ... Well it amused me anyways. :) Check it out next time your near halfords.

Anyways, i've now convinced my manager to get me CyTech level 2 trained. So I should be able to rub that in the face of anyone who questions my professionalism once I get it.

* - I never had stabilisers on any of my childrens bikes. Right from 16" wheels at about 4 years old on my first bike.

--- RANT ENDS ---

Hybrid

2007-11-01T21:32:00.000Z

I have recently discovered a group called Hybrid. On the advice of Mr David Keller from some months ago now I eventually got round to procluring some material by this group and have to report it is rather pleasurable. I've also just rediscovered Air.

So... What i'm listening to...

Hybrid - Hearts Desire
Air - All I Need
Feist - 1 2 3 4

Four In One

2007-11-01T10:23:00.000Z

OK, you havn't had a blog in a while. So here they are all at once.

A fine desktop...

Mmmmmm ... pikey. :)

And so yet to another BMXC ride on bored days off.

I rekon I did about 20k in less than 4 hours on a single-speed jump bike, which I think is pretty good going on an improvised route of towns, skate-parks, suburbs, bridleways, footpaths, fields and country parks in and around Kettering. Twas a lovely day. Blue skies, pretty flowers, fun riding etc.

To sumarise my BMXC philosophy if you missed it, BMXC is a form of mountain biking with a jump bike - preferablly single-speed and very little pedaling up steep hills. The object is exploration and adventure riding anything you think (or don't think!) you can along the way styling it up. Basically, its about messing around with your bike in the sunshine. What more could you want??

Anyways, as asid a lovely ride. However, unique for me in that I left my house with one bike and came home with two. This was completely random for me as I was riding along by the river Ise down a footpath and after some serious Ms Isle thrashing I stopped for a rest by the river. I spied what I believed to be a childs bike in the river, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a Haro BMX with a 3-piece crank, 14mm axels, gyro and 'sun' rims. So, I retreived it from its watery haunt and upon being picked up from Twywell I returned post haste to collect the bike. Will probabbly see if I can repair it and sell it eBay styley. Will keep you updated anyways!

I am now seriously considerting 'downgrading' my saint brakes for Avid BB7's. I have come to the conclusion after maximum fettling with both hydraulic and cable disc breaks that cables are simpler and equally powerful if the overall design is good.

So, some of these bad boys for the Ms Isle...

...to replace the saints. On paper the saint brakes are awesome, however the rear has never been right due to the fact that I obviously can't bleed them properly. And if you can't make them work properly then whats the point???

So Avid BB7's - 185mm up front with the traditional 160mm out back. Should be good, if a little contraversial.

I built this beast some time ago now.

Yes, I know I should grow up. But, come on. It's pretty good, isn't it? :) However, before completion it was desatroyed by a rather annoying man in a tractor. And so it becomes clear. My mission is to find a suitable location for stealth-jumps. I miss dirt jumping. It may have just been down at sandy ramps or Trisnant and I couldn't do any tricks, but it was still a good giraffe. So I need a good reasonably local spot to build before the frost lays in for the winter. The story continues.

Its arrived! New wheel ahoy! My new wheel is a Hope Pro II Single-Speed hub built with 36 plain-gauge balck DT-Swiss spokes onto a Mavic EX721 rim with velux cloth rim tape. It is the sex.

The design is excellent and if you're against having 9 gears on your bike then this will run up to six sprockets (prob about five with normal 8-speed sprockets and a 3/32" chain) although I havn't worked out how to get round the issue of locking your rear mech out to just 5 sprockets yet, appart from using an old-school 5-speed SIS mech! Also, this hub has the added bonus of a steel cassette hub body as standard, which is a far more sensible idea than the aluminium on the standard ProII and comes here without the extra weight of a full-size 8/9spd shimano cassette hub set-up. Also, bolt-up axels are a good idea. 6mm allen key and you can whip them out really easily, yet its like having a bolt-through out back in terms of stiffness and general hub immobility. No less than five swiss-made sealed bearing units keep the hub spinning smoothly and four pawls in two offset pairs seem to make the hub a little quieter than the standard ProII. This is probabbly due to the distribution of sound through the hubs rotation creating an illusion of a quieter hub when infact the noise is just as loud, but closer to a 'buzz' and less of a 'clack'. The other benefit to this wheel over the standard ProII is the increased flange distance due to the shortened cassette hub. This means that there needent be as much tension in the drive side spokes to compensate for the wheel dish and consequently makes for a much stronger wheel.

In terms of single-speed, i've never tried a Chris King hub, but I can't imagine you wanting anything more from a hub. This is one absolutely bob-on piece of kit!! This has to be my favourite rear hub ever - including my other standard ProII.

At first I was suspicious of getting a new Mavic EX721 as the graphics looked a little bit questionable asthetically, but on the bike they look the business and - despite what you may have seen on the internet, are completely readable if you stand further away. I deliberately got a non-disc rim so as to leave possibility open for a trialsy future for the build.

Wheel build from Chain Reaction Cycles is, as usual, exempliary. My other hoops have taken a severe beating for about a year now and are still as true as a nun on a polygraph.

I will have to give the new hoop a bit of a thrashing before being able to give any reasonable feeback, but initial indications and previous experiance suggest that this should be one-hell-of-a-piece-of-kit!

Pete's New Toy

2007-10-04T22:42:00.000Z

I want a new gadget.

Its called an Asus 701. Its a mini-laptop that comes with linux, open office and firefox as standard. Its Wi-fi compatible, 512mb RAM (upgradable to 1gb), has 3 USB 2.0 slots and the standard network slots. Best of all, it costs the princely sum of £200. Yes, just £200. Not sure how I will manage with linux, but you can put XP on it if need be via USB. I want one. Released November apparrently. I'm putting an order in.

Nearly Sleepless

2007-08-12T19:25:00.000Z

The dust is just settling from Sleepless in the Saddle 2007 and with it four spent members of aber uni mtb club return to their respective homes. My body feels depleated and my arse feels violated from hours in the saddle.

The event began for me at around 10am on Saturday when I turned up to find Olly and Josie well established camp - ground zero. The event began at 2pm and foolishly I had let on that I had been running recentlly and was therefore coerced into the les mans-style start of running about half a mile to your bike before doing the first lap. I ran fairly well only to be dominated by numerous dozens of people after the run that were obviously far better riders than runners. I had not had time to ride the course before hand and found it nice if a little teasing. We returned to a point within sight the finish line at least twice, before being sent several more miles until the final relief of the finish. The entire lap was 7.5 miles long and my first run had been fairly appuling. I changed with Olly and the race continued.

My second lap was perhaps my best being approximately 35 to 40 minutes excluding the errors made in change over (the fast guys were doing about 25 to 30 minutes) so I was pretty chuffed. It wasn't to last. Our fifth rider - a randomer we picked up called Sasha - had to drop out for medical reasons and we were left one rider less than was optimal for a mixed team. But on the up side Arran turned up in a surprise to me to take some pics, which was cool.

My third lap was at about 9:30pm and by then the course was in complete darkness. I had never done any night riding before and it was quite exhilirating. I only had one 10w lamp, a purple glow stick and a next-to-usesless commuter light, yet was able to keep pretty much up with my former pace just by drawing on my experiance at dealing with the unexpected on the trail. In fact our team made was not by our fitness, but our experiance of relatively gnarley Welsh trails and DH courses. Practically all of us were able to dominate practically everyone on the downs, but only to be passed again on the climbs.

After that lap I decided to get a few hours of shut-eye, but attempting to wake myself at 1:30am after perhaps 3 hours of sleep with only the prospect of a dark, dangerous and un-rewarding ride in the rain was exceedingly difficult. However, I pulled myself out of the tent and changed with Olly again and went off into the night. After a lonely lap where I seemed to see no one for the entire lap in a surreal expance of empty single-track I returned to the change-over area to find on relief. Everyone was asleep. I toyed with the idea of doing another lap, but quickly put it from my mind with the apathetic nature of my team mates and settled down to sleep.

Stu woke at around 7am I think and put a lap in and then I took over for my fifth lap - now in daylight. I returned and Stu masochisticly took over for another lap. Olly and Josie took another lap a piece and I did my sixth and final lap with chears from the spectators at nailing the downs and trying to catch air at every available bump (I think Olly employed a similar tactic).

In conclusion, not quite sleepless in the saddle, but nearly as tiring as that.

WHAT I'VE BEEN LISTING TO:

Oversleeping by I'm from Barcelona

My out-door shop is now a trendy mobile bar!

2007-08-02T10:25:00.000Z

I returned from uni a little while ago and went to my local out-door shop - George Allen -in Kettering only to find that the unit was now some kind of telephone shop? What is going on with that? Kettering town centre has about five mobile phone retailers, and I'm curious as to what is happening? Mobiles have become an accessory to your wardrobe now and have a number of special botiques associated with them.

I don't understand it myself - but it seems lots of people do.

Dirty, Dirty Boy!

2007-05-17T18:30:00.000Z

Just recently i've gotten into dirt jumping - mainly with the help/encouragement/petrol of Mr. Joseph Howard. I say dirt jumping when infact I mean hitting tables and going as high as I possibly can ... with or without injuries. I want to learn to whip and table and stuff but its going to take some practise. I'm still trying to perfect the two-stage 'american-style' bunnyhop at the moment which is angering me up as i've developed the wrong muscle memory. :( Never mind. I'll just huck away for the moment.

A Time for Change

2007-05-16T20:09:00.000Z

I got annoyed with 'Windows Live' so i'm officially moving blog. Not an easy process at the best of times but the benefits are clear. As you would expect, all of my previous entries are still available from http://ponderingpanda.spaces.live.com As for the new title - its a little arrogant and pretencious, I know. But I love the Roald Dahl references. :) Anyways, time for joy.

MUSIC TIME KIDS Today I downloaded Happy Nostalgia by The Imaginary Friends as seen on the mountain bike DVD 'Unscene'. It is nice, but the only place I could find it was tunetribe.com.