Mark Forrest

After getting out for a couple of local rides first on Sunday afternoon and then on Tuesday night; tiredness and lack of motivation has got the better of me tonight. Still, I managed an hour of daylight after work to do a few maintenance jobs outside. Also swapped the wheels off my hardtail onto my full sus so it has tyres more suited to the (more interesting) muddy sloppy trails away from the official trails. I'm told that some of the local trail builders have been busy with some new stuff, so hopefully I'll get to have a run down a couple of those at the weekend, especially if it dries out a little bit.

All this n+1 activity is making me very envious! @big jim what size wheels are on the 805? I've got a little used 27.5 (650b) Mavic wheel set sitting in the shed which won't fit anything we own. I held onto them thinking I might run 650b on my gravel bike, but the frame is through axle and the wheels are quick release, so it's not gonna happen! Let me know if they're of any use to you.

That depends a lot on the tyres and rims, some will seat just fine with a track pump, others require a shot of air to get them seated. One trick that often works is to seat the tyre using a tube, then unseat the bead on one side only to remove the tube, reseat the tyre and inflate. There are various homemade options you can use to give the tyre a shot of high pressure air if needed, ranging from drinks bottles to old fire extinguishers; personally I use an Airshot cylinder which I inflate to about 120psi from a track pump. It's never failed to seat a tyre yet.

He refers to it as Cranleigh, but it takes its inspiration from the Hampton Waterworks Railway, West London. I'll PM you some further info.

There is a narrow gauge water treatment layout design in his Urban Layouts book.

For me, having that gap of not really riding for about 20 years between the mid 90s and the mid 2010s it was remarkable to see how bike design has changed - most of mine are still steel (except the titanium gravel bike). Feels like (from a mountain bike perspective) geometry has reached a point where it's hard to see how it could get much better. Just look at how slack the seat tube angle was on things like my old Mustang compared to something like my Murmur! As an aside, I see the Raleigh Mustang name has made a comeback as a gravel bike. I really must resist the temptation to start looking for one like my old one on eBay...

My bike history really starts with a red Gitane branded BMX that I must have received as a Christmas present around 1984. I loved that bike, although as a kid I had virtually no mechanical sympathy for it, luckily it was tough as old boots. I seem to remember both pedals got so badly smashed into kerbs that all which remained was the axles, but I still managed to keep riding it. That was followed a few years by my first mountain bike (or should that be all terrain bike?) a Raleigh Mustang. That's where I got my taste for doing a bit of bike mechanics; I stripped it down, sprayed it matt black from a rattle can and upgraded the 15 speed gears to SIS. Photo off the Internet, mine is long gone, sadly. Once I started to drive, I forgot all about bikes, except for a brief period in the late '90s when I had a nondescript aluminium hardtail that I used for occasional commuting. Fast forward to about 6 years ago, with a house renovation project coming to an end and a bit more free time on our hands, wifey suggested we get some mountain bikes, which is where our current obsession with riding really took over. We got a couple of hardtails and started to ride the local trails on Cannock Chase, then getting a bit more adventurous, travelling to places like Llandegla, but it was riding more natural trails in the Peak District and Shropshire that we enjoyed the most. From then on there have been a couple of Cotic hardtails (a BFe that I sold last year and a Solaris that I probably ride most often). First full sus was also a Cotic, the Rocket Max that I've just finished rebuilding for Sarah. But pride and joy goes to my current "big" bike, the Starling Murmur. My first experience of riding a drop bar bike didn't come until last year, when I got a gravel bike to add a bit of variety after enjoying a few longer distance, less technical rides during the lockdowns; it's a long way from jumping off badly built ramps on the BMX.

Gravel covers a fairly broad spectrum from slightly beefed up all-road bikes through to what are virtually XC MTBs. A gravel frame will (generally) offer greater tyre clearance than a road frame, giving you broader (literally) choice of tyres. You might also find the geometry gives a slightly more relaxed upright position in the saddle - somewhere between road and MTB. Disadvantages of gravel over road; tyres won't be as fast rolling, bike likely to be a bit heavier. Question is, if you're looking at something with electric assistance, would you notice or will the motor make up for it anyway? Can't help there unfortunately as I've never ridden an e-bike, but seem to recall something on GCN talking about a 20 watt difference to maintain the same speed on road and gravel tyres. Personally I'd suggest looking at something more gravelly, even riding on road with the poor surface of some roads and the amount of potholes you encounter on quiet country lanes I'd favour the comfort of a wider tyre for a small increase in effort/decrease in speed.

I'm not intending to make excuses for what could well amount to careless or even dangerous driving, but one thing I have learnt since getting a van myself is how poor the visibility is from the driver's seat when looking over your left shoulder to reverse out of, for example, a parking spot. Driving a small van for leisure purposes, I'm mindful of this when I park; under pressure to make multiple drops on a tight schedule - courier drivers have my sympathy. While I'm not making excuses, it's given me a bit more understanding and tolerance of some of the behaviour I see on the road, and made me think carefully about how I position myself on the road around vehicles like these when out on the bike.

Regarding bar width, I run 780mm on my hardtail with a 35mm stem; 800mm on the full suss which currently has a (potentially slightly too long) 50mm stem - so 760 doesn't sound particularly wide to me. I'm a sucker for marketing hype though so it's entirely possible mine are wider than they really need to be. I'd definitely reduce it in steps rather than go straight to something very narrow. The combination of narrow bar and short stem might feel twitchy, so you might want to pair the narrow bar with a longer stem. Front wheel lifting when climbing definitely all about bending the elbows. On the tyres, I'd go for something around 2.1 to 2.2 inch. Loads of choice of brands, tread patterns and compounds; you should certainly be able to find something faster rolling and lighter, while retaining the comfort/grip of a wider tyre if you feel the need. Definitely consider going tubeless if not already.

@PMP might be an idea to give it a miss, unfortunately...

Sadly, it's back to work tomorrow so it's likely to be a few weeks of local rides and/or Zwift for me - can't complain too much though.

Yes, and plenty of roadies cruising up and down it today too. Think I did see a mention on Facebook that there were barriers at Ladybower to prevent access when there is work going on. I think I read that the official line is that it remains open to local, but not through traffic.

I think, to some extent, the steps between gears thing depends on what you're used to (and probably where/what you ride). My 1x11 with a 11-50 tooth cassette probably has some huge steps between gears, but can honestly say it's not something I've ever noticed.

Third ride of my week off work; Castleton and Hope Valley. As a mountain biker, the best thing about living so close to one of the busiest trail centres in the UK is that we're only an hour drive west to the the Shropshire hills or east to the Peak District . A bit of a favourite ride this, a route we keep coming back to (with minor variations to add in a fourth descent depending on how we're feeling). From Castleton, the old Broken Road climb up to Mam Tor, along to Hollins Cross then down to Edale. A brief spun along the Edale road alongside the railway - saw a Colas 56 running light engine towards Edale), then bridleway from Nether Booth to Jaggers Clough and Hope Cross. Second descent, Blackley Hey (aka Potato Alley), across the unusually quiet Snake Pass, which is closed due to landslides, and up past Rowlee Farm to descend Lockerbrook and pass the Dambusters monument at Fairholmes. The look of concentration/fear on Sarah's face at the end of Potato Alley was largely due to poor tyre choice! A steady bimble past Ladybower and we were on the home stretch back to Hope then along the road to Castleton. Always a good ride in any conditions but a bit of sunshine made it even better after the last few rides being on overcast days. It was quite busy out, but only really noticeable around the usual tourist hot spots.

Just a quick note to say that I've been following progress on your Mid Sodor projects both here and elsewhere for a while and have found (and continue to find) it hugely inspirational - so much so I've bought myself a 009 Baldwin and a couple of wagon kits! I find railway modelling and mental health is a delicate balance; there are times when modelling really helps, other times when a looming deadline or the pressure of something going wrong upsets that balance. My own approach is to avoid deadlines and have a variety of different projects on the go at any time. That way I can pick up whichever I feel in the mood for rather than having to do what's next on the list. This approach does mean that things can take ages to complete, but I'm OK with that, I generally enjoy the making more than the end result anyway. As with many things in life, there is no right or wrong, just do what works for you.

Yes, hydraulic so like you say, they don't need much leverage, one finger on them leaving the rest to hold on to the grips. Not sure if I run them unusually inboard, just have them where it feels good to me; it's a 780mm bar, so I don't like them too far out.

Today's planned ride was postponed, due to wifey having a bit of knee pain (suspected ITB issue, physio next week) so instead I've been catching up on some overdue bike maintenance. The downside of both of us riding is twice as many bikes need looking after. One of the benefits though is that carrying out bike maintenance in the kitchen is rarely frowned upon, although I've not pushed my luck as far as cleaning drivetrain components in the dishwasher, yet. My old frame recently came back from a local powder coaters in this attractive shade of hot pink; building it up for Mrs F to use. While that's ongoing, there was a wheel swap to do on her other bike, less straightforward than it sounds as the freehub needed to be changed and brake rotors swapped over. Somehow I missed a spacer washer when swapping the freehub and spent ages trying to work out why tightening the axle was preventing the wheel to turn freely, got there in the end though. On my own bikes, I was reminded last week how I'd never really found the saddle on my full sus very comfortable, so decided to try a Brooks. Only had a short ride up the road on it but first impressions are very encouraging. Some fancy new brakes for the hardtail too.

I gather that there's something of a shortage of used vans at the moment, have heard of people been quoted 12-18 month wait for new ones which is having an impact on the secondhand market. My only regret is not getting one sooner, I can't imagine us being without one in future. We're fortunate enough to be able to do a lot of our riding from home, living within riding distance of the trails on Cannock Chase, but the days out certainly add to the variety and help to improve both fitness and technical skills on the MTBs.

We used to hang them off the back of wifey's Ford Kuga on a towbar mounted rack, but got ourselves a van last year. With the bikes, two Rottweilers, and various house/DIY projects on the go (plus, if I start exhibiting my layout again exhibitions) it gets used more than our cars and is significantly less thirsty than the Kuga. It's an ex-Sky long wheelbase VW Caddy; no problem getting two 29er full suss MTBs in the back, wheels on and ready to go. Also has the benefit of being easier to get changed in after a ride. Must admit though, even with the better MPG, the environmental impact of doing a 200 mile round trip to go and ride bikes does play on my mind sometimes.

Second ride of our week off: Pendle Hill (gravel bikes). The weather forecast suggested our best chance of a not-too-wet ride was to head north, so that's what we did, up to Clitheroe for a ride from Jack Thurston's "Lost Lanes North" book. The route started off much more urban than we're used to with a ride through Clitheroe town centre, but with that behind us the climb up past the dry ski slopes at Pendleton Moor was soon looming ahead of us, along with a head wind as if it wasn't tough enough already! From there the loop was Sabden, Newchurch in Pendle, Barley, Downham, then East towards Barnoldswick for a short stretch on the Penine Bridleway to Gisburn. From there we started to work our way back on quieter lanes through Bolton by Bowland, Grindleton, West Bradford, Waddington and back into the outskirts of Clitheroe where we'd parked. The route was almost entirely on roads, except for a couple of sections of bridleway than I added to spice things up a bit, one of those was a bit too chunky for the gravel bike (but would have been fine on a hardtail). Roads were busier than we're used to and I'm not entirely sure that news of the new Highway Code rules have reached the good folk of Lancashire yet; reinforcing the view that we'll never go full roadie. A tough ride (just under 4000' of elevation in a 33.6 mile ride) and not the best conditions to be out in, but type 2 fun; definitely times when I had to remind myself that I'm not going to get any fitter just sitting on the sofa.

After a good start to the year in January, the amount of riding I've done in February really tailed off, thanks to the recent storms and a particularly busy period at work. Good news though, I've got a week off, so we got that started today with a ride over the Long Mynd. Starting out from the NT car park at Carding Mill Valley, we can usually manage four ascents/descents of the Mynd, but in a stark reminder that my fitness isn't quite where it should be, we called it a day after three - first ride on the big bike for a while too. Still, that's over 3000' elevation gain in a 20 mile ride and some decent weather, so not a bad day out.

Great progress so far, following with interest; I have a couple of rakes of coaches like these that I don't seem to be able to part with (despite having no real use for them) - you've got me thinking about detailing and upgrading them!

Not too windy here (Staffs) even managed to get out for a ride this evening - although trails are a little slippery from the earlier rain. I see that Forestry England are closing Cannock Chase from midday tomorrow as the first of this week's storms is due to arrive with us - might be Zwift for the rest of the week for me I think!

Mrs F and I did a nice ride around that area last summer. Highlight of it was that I'd not told wifey where we were going and she had no idea that we'd end up at the seaside. The look on her face when we turned a corner up above Arthog and Barmouth Bay suddenly became visible was priceless; there's nothing like seeing the sea to lift your spirits. Has to be one of my favourite rides of last year.