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"rollindoughnut Free Member
Man I was the worst about ebikes. Then I spent an hour in Friston forest with a guy who’d suffered a knee problem. He showed me a bunch of awesome trails and encouraged me to try beat him up the climbs. Felt my prejudice dissolve in the face of actual human contact.
Posted 10 hours ago"
I've ridden in Friston Forest a few times. A group of us went together once, arrived in high spirits, parked in a pub carpark in Polegate and set of towards the first climb. No more than 100m into the ride my mate pulled a wheelie, overcooked it and landed on his tailbone. Half way up the first climb he called it a day and went back to wait for us in the pub.
Went out for a maiden ride on my new ‘gravel/adventure’ bike with Scotroutes.
A friend who dreamt up a nice route taking into account that a) its a new and unfamiliar bike, b) I’m not the fittest and c) a good mix of surfaces to see how the bike feels.
Got a wide, slow pass on the road by someone in a huuuuge Range Rover thing (they were right over on the other verge).
Dog walkers controlled their dogs (we slowed way down and thanked them back).
At the speyside railway line we could hear a (steam) train coming, Scotroutes stopped to set up a photo. Driver gave us a toot, lots of people waving.
Last dog walker (who we had passed before but my front wheel loosened off) pulled off on a climb to let us by. I thanked her, she said ‘you made that climb look easy’ (I was breathing out my arse!).
And we had a great cafe stop at Nethy Bridge (distinctly garlicky hummus, ❤️).
Makes it difficult to be a right miserable bastard... sometimes... 🤣
A non-judgemental thread...
Perfect, because I spent the best part of a day (dodging the weather) to clean my Wife's car.
I've been using it for the last 4.5 years or so as my commute car, because it was the more economical option. But I obviously put quite a few miles on it and it was looking tired.
Had the wheels refurbed and when they came back I gave it a full wash, clay bar, polish and wax.
It's not perfect, but 10x better than it was.
Long walk with the pup yesterday around lunchtime. The local hotspot was pleasingly under-crowded and everyone with dogs stopped for a chat or put their dog on a lead. (Pup has no recall so he's on lead walks only).
The rain held off too though it was a bit breezy and social distancing was observed by everyone. We both had an afternoon nap to celebrate this positive experience.
@deserter sorry for your loss. I lost my Dad a month ago, if you want to talk to someone who knows what you're going through send me a PM.
I like the idea of this thread. Let's keep it going through winter.
I'm worried for the mental health and wellbeing of several of my friends and my Mum and Aunt this winter and as I'm away in Portugal until the end of March I feel rather guilty and useless. I will message and phone regularly but I'm scared to share photos and updates of my trip as I now feel it will be sickening to those stuck in lockdown with horrible weather.
Let's hope we get some cold, frosty mornings soon. We've had to endure a lot of rain and mud over last winter and this autumn. A few rides over crackling ground would be mint.
Forecast looks vaguely promising.
Love this thread, thanks rollindoughnut.
Sorry to hear about those who have lost loved ones, or who are in difficult circumstances.
but I’m scared to share photos and updates of my trip as I now feel it will be sickening to those stuck in lockdown with horrible weather.
But ... maybe it will lift their spirits to see photos of someone they care about enjoying a nice environment. 🙂
I don't think anyone should feel guilty about having a bit of good weather (or a bit of luck with anything in life really) and sharing the experience.
The world can be a tough place. Most of us take strain at some point. If I post a pic showing dry dusty trails here in November I'm not doing it to "one-up" anyone or to rub it in how bad the weather is back in the UK. We have our various problems over here too, believe me, even when the sun is shining!
A nice positive, uplifting thread gets a thumbs up from me. That's really what I try to make our "Buying & renovating in the Pyrenees" thread all about. Light hearted & positive....
Cheers guys...well I will get spamming fb with pictures of beaches and sunshine asap 😁
I went for a run in the woods in the rain on Saturday, my knees didnt implode and I cam across a small child refusing to go the way his mum wanted him to. I ran round him in circles telling him I was a Halloween pumpkin till he laughed and rejoined his laughing mum. Then tickled Tilly the border terrier for an hour who alternated between drooling, farting and dog grinning. Job done.
"Outside" is funny, isn't it.
We went for a walk last weekend down a local greenway. It was pretty busy - dog walkers, kids on bikes, families getting away from it all just like everyone else, the usual fare. Walking along, most people you meet give you a nod or a smile or a cheery 'afternoon!' But you'd never do that walking down the high street unless you were Mick Dundee.
Got a wide, slow pass on the road by someone in a huuuuge Range Rover thing (they were right over on the other verge).
I genuinely get a big smile on my face when this happens - when drivers deliberately give you a ton of space, or (one that happened to me recently) point out when you're stopped at the traffic lights that they're going to be cutting across the cycle lane, so do you mind giving them a few seconds to get across. It's validation that not all people are w*nkers and gives a totally outsized buzz of joy.
Thanks for cut and pasting that @batfink
I've had a day filled with crazy anxiety (something I used to suffer with and which has intermittently re-surfaced during COVID) so its good to read something like that and re-affirm what I already know.
Had a ride this afternoon which included a gravel road climb up to a remote village. Just me, the sunshine and the gravel 🙂
This is thread of a few days I've had recently. I work a 4 day week, was meant to go back to 5 when my daughter started school there in August. But Mondays have become my decompress days (it's a w*nky term, until you actually have that feeling). Every other day is either work stress or sharing the busy weekend space with people I'd rather not be around (as in, the range rover drivers, the people texting at the wheel, the people too precious to walk any further than they must to the shop etc). On a Monday, I go out whatever the weather and say hello to everyone. There is no stress, no rush, no bustle. Just people out because they can, want to be, have to be. And I come back.... Decompressed. Is it worth 20% of my salary? Hell yeah. For now.
I got asked to quote for some vehicle graphics last week, turns out that it was for a suicide charity response car. They park up in an area near me at high risk times and help if they are needed And look out for people who may need a kind chat. It struck a chord with me. The guy was quite moved when I told him not to worry about his budget, we won’t be charging. It’s nice to be nice, eh.
On a Monday, I go out whatever the weather and say hello to everyone. There is no stress, no rush, no bustle. Just people out because they can, want to be, have to be. And I come back…. Decompressed. Is it worth 20% of my salary? Hell yeah. For now.
Mine used to be Mondays, will soon be Fridays. If you can afford it, do it.
Well done TheDTs 👍
Top man TheDTs.
Oh TheDTs, thats the stuff
Like many I’ve struggled a bit with lockdown and the associated fallout. Things that should have happened didn’t and things that shouldn’t have did. Both my wife and I turned 50 this year, it was also our 25th Wedding Anniversary, very low key celebrations and a trip to Rome that didn’t happen. Our eldest son graduated from uni which was a massive achievement considering how difficult he found leaving home. Again no formal graduation like many in his year. He had to leave with 24 hours notice and come home right in the middle of his final work piece. Then my mum suffered a stroke and spent 3 weeks in hospital. On discharge she’s now relying on my wife and I for care, on top of us working and caring for our Autistic son.
That sounds very woe is me, but we are very fortunate to be in the position we are in compared to a lot of others. It’s just all happened in one hit.
Now back to the positives. Said Boy1 has been freelancing since mid September doing what he set out to do, he’s a modelmaker, and has just landed 7 weeks work at a big studio in London. The industry has been almost at standstill since March.
One of my best mates has just gone full “Facebook Relationship” with a lass he met before lockdown in March. He’s one of the nicest blokes you’ll meet and he deserves a bit of happiness. He has Lupus which he’s struggled with for nearly 20 years, was diagnosed whilst travelling when in Australia. He’s had a tough time with his health, had to shield until a few weeks ago, he’s just about to moved in with his lass. Had a beer with him for the first time this year on Friday. He’s properly happy.
Bike stuff. I bought a very tatty Charge Plug frame and forks about 2 years ago. I’ve made a project out of to see how low cost I can build it up with second hand quality parts. I only need brake cables now so it went to the powder coaters two weeks ago. I phoned to see how it was getting in on Monday, I had a text back to say he’ll have it done by Friday. He was shutdown all through the first lockdown because he couldn’t get any powder. He knows I’ve been waiting for it so will make sure it’s done. This has cheered me up no end.
Our daughter is a scientist working for a large pharmaceutical in Cambridge, she's helping to try and defeat this virus I'm really proud of her but I'm worried it's taking a toll on her health.
She's often still at work late at night an unsung hero in my eyes.
We're a working class family, my daughter was only the second pupil to go to university from her Ofsted condemned school, she never had any private tuition and her parents are as thick as bricks, she's my Superhero and she might just save the World. (Probably not but a man can dream) 😊
@twinw4all Give your brilliant daughter my thanks for her efforts and a hug (when it's allowed again).
Thanks Sandwich, much appreciated. 👍🙂
Hugging may be a step too far 🤣
Is this ok in the thread guys?
Remember all the koalas affected by those horrific bush fires in Oz?
Some are being released back into the wild over there now after being nursed back to health.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-australia-54786796