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My first feeling was not too positive: the heels were quite stiffs and the only 500m back home made me a beginning of blister ! The first rides provided me also the same feeling, and curiously only on the right shoe. I started to wonder if he did not sell them for this reason. But I found a trick: with two pairs of thin socks, all was OK and I rode like this several times. Some time after, probably when they took the shape of my feet, the blister feeling disappeared and I now feel as comfi as slippers in it.

I have to say that this idea (waterproof shorts) is a genius of one which was lost on me until recently. I’ve never bothered getting full length waterproof pants because I knew that after the first climb I’d be taking them off due to overheating, irrespective of what the weather was like! I have tried various mudguards to keep my backside dry but none are very effective. Enter GoreTex shorts. It was like a light went on!! No problems of overheating ‘cos you have ventilation, being shorts, but they keep the area which is just awful to get wet – your arse! I went out and got some and rode in them for the first time yesterday. They are great. Backside dry. I’ll keep the review up to date. Maybe a little hotter than usual but I could see myself wearing these in the summer with the sort of rain we get in the UK.

One of my goal of this spring was to make a good use of the cracked frame of the QBikes (eventually "repaired"), because I knew the frame was more than OK as it did ?nie?nik and Skalnik the last times I rode it. Since I had the new Tomac frame, the old Q-bikes was taking space in the flat. Having an extra pair of disked-wheels, spare pedals, a spare seat, and many other items available too, I decided it was a bit a waste not to do anything with all of that...

Every summer I get blown away by the local road racers. This fall I went to extreme measures and added two walls to the carport to make a 7x7 spinning closet. The rudimentary addition cost a measly $225 and still affords the wife the ability to pull the family van underneath in the wintertime. Four pieces of plywood, 20 2x4s, a couple boxes of deck screws, a door, and some foam caulking basically got the job done. To top it all off, I removed a door to the furnace room, so the shed is heated and has light!! The addition of tool boards, TV/DVD, dresser drawers, and storage shelves make the shed a versatile and comfy place to hang out.

I should probably title this “part one of my series: things I had to replace as my bike was falling apart.” This is a review for the SRAM PG (power glide) 990 cassette. This is a 9-speed only cassette and is what passes for top-of-the-line with SRAM. It is available in an 11-32 or 11-34 ratio. I sprung for the 11-34, for no particular reason. The locking nut and spider are constructed from a red anodized alloy, which give this cassette an attractive look.

After must deliberation and conversations with James at Freeborn in Horesham I decided to go for the Mark 2 SST1 2010 Ellsworth Epiphany. Why? Well my Isis was getting on in years and I think that I was reaching the limitations of what could be done on a 4" travel single pivot. The brake jacking, while not a big issue, was always in my mind on a technical descent. I seem to puncture on nearly every ride which may be due to this. Well I know its a pretty poor excuse for a new bike!!! I was fortunate enough to have some spare cash and took the plunge.

A word of explanation: I am coming off a hardtail that I’ve owned for 15 years and over that time it has come to fit me like a glove. So, in addition to being my first full suspension, almost any little changes are likely to feel more negative to me than they would to someone who changes bikes more often. Also, I am what you might call ridiculously picky. So with that …

So, say you (like me) have a Shimano external bottom bracket. And say you (like me) have noticed a little grinding recently. And say you (like me) hate to spend money on what should be maintainable equipment. Out of luck, right? Au contraire mon frere! (In US English that translates to, “I don’t think so, chump!”) With a little creativity and some patience these are just as serviceable as any other bottom bracket.

I had the day off from work, and saw that there was a big storm heading our way- so I decided to try and get in some riding. I arrived at the trailhead around 10am, just in time to see the only other person there taking off for his ride. It was a brisk morning, but dry, and I soon warmed up as I started to ride...

The Hope Bottom Bracket is a work of art with beautifully machined aluminium cups, sealed cartridge bearings and aluminium tube. There are two options with his bottom bracket the ceramic bearings or the stainless steel ones. The ceramic bearings are more expensive. However the steel bearings have a two year guarantee on them. I paid £60 for this bottom bracket in January 2009. This certainly is not a cheap option but after not even getting one year out of an XTR bottom bracket I decided it was worth paying for a decent one.