Been up to Geordieland for the weekend and it was champion. It’s been a good ten years since I went up to the north east and it’s changed a lot from my memories of the place. Granted it still wasn’t warm, but at least this time it didn’t rain the entire time and the pizza in Jesmond was ace! Spent Saturday wandering around Newcastle and headed over the Tyne to check out Baltic. It was a great trip, but I might need to get a guide before the next visit.

In terms of Bikes it seems Chris’ insider knowledge on new products coming out of the Trek/Gary Fisher partnership was spot on. The new Roscoe is like a slightly shorter travel version of my fantastic Remedy 9. Talking of which why is it no matter how much helicopter tape you put all over a frame it always gets scratched in the unprotected areas? Some flat pedal pin scratches and chain slap have left their marks so a quick trip to Halfords means I now have some suitable touch up paint…

A while back I mentioned Charlie Kelly and the fact that his website is a great resource on the history of mountain biking. What I didn’t know then, but do now, is that he’s also a contributor to Dirt Rag. I thought that his write up from the Specialized product launch was one of the best reads I’ve had in a long time.

It’s been pointed to me that I didn’t actually post up any portraits of Neil Mottershead into his 50th Birthday set. Well I guess I never set out to take any shots like that. I get embarassed asking people to pose and they get conscious of the fact that there’s a lense pointing at them. Any way I snapped some pictures of Neil last year, so here’s one of them:

Photos from a very special trip to the Switzerland including some previously unexplored trails not just for us but also for our guide Jamie Carr from Ride the Alps. Top trip, great company and a bit of a party or two!

When I turn fifty I want to be pulling cool tricks like Neil - the guy has serious amounts of class and talent! More photos up on Flickr.

It was also great to meet Jules Fincham from Cycle Wild Scotland on the trip (although we only rode together for a day before he jetted off). He’s a top bloke and runs his business out of Aviemore, where he knows Ben Davies and the gang in Bothy Bikes. I’ll have to get up there for some riding in the near future.

Back from the Alps, sans VTT. Seventeen mountain bikers boarded my flight home, but the baggage handlers never even loaded the bikes onto the plane. There were some rather pissed off people hanging around in the baggage reclaim area, although the one member of staff from the airline who had to deal with us all wasn’t looking too happy about the situation either. Riding wise it was a great trip with friends exploring some new areas, progressing avec body armour and crashing out with some style. Possibly the only biking holiday I have ever had where I feel like I’ve put on weight - largely due to two enormous birthday dinners for Riggers and Neil.

Back in May this year Apple opened a new store on Boylston Street in Boston. It’s the company’s largest in the US, and second-largest in the world. It would of course have been rude not to go and take a look (there’s a page detailing the opening and lots of pictures here). It is a good looking store. So I went along and checked out some of the things on offer.

Now I’m quite interested in getting my hands on one of these new touch screen iPods. Then you think - maybe I should get an iPhone. The reason I ditched my personal mobile a few years ago was that I never used it, so it would have been pointless getting another one. I’ve been talking to iPhone users too, especially those who also have Blackberries too and the consensus is that there is no way that you’ll be able to text or email quicker on an iPhone. So if you do that a lot it’s not  good alternative.

So really all you need is an iPod touch. Basically an iPhone without the phone - all the same applications, although no camera, not that this is an omission that would make any difference. The iPod is lighter and thinner too. Thing is since Apple brought out the new iPhone the playing field has been thrown out of kilter. According to MacRumours you’d have to be off your rocker to buy an iPod touch right now because a replacement is imminent.

In fact the real reason you’d be nuts to buy one is because the iPod Touch 8Gb is $300 and the iPhone 8Gb is $200. So for $100 less you get an iPod Touch. And a mobile phone. And a camera. In one device. I felt like saying something, but clearly Apple know best, right? Despite the exchange rate savings, there’s no point buying one until some better kit come out. I think I’ll be waiting until they bring out a 64Gb version…

I wandered off and headed down to the great little Back Bay Bicycles store for some retail therapy instead. They have a neat little calculator on their website where you can see how much riding could save you in comparison to driving too.