I was up there for a triathlon couple of years ago. Van next to my car had a window smashed and a laptop nicked. Must be a crime hotspot.

Got more lights than you can shake a stick at. Just not on my bike on this one occasion in about 10 years! As said before, the door was about 3 feet wide. And he actually used his foot to kick it open at quite a speed. So there was no possibility to avoid, and cycling 3 feet in the middle of the road isnt something I would do with or without lights. Albeit, there wasnt a car on the road, so i could have cycled on the right hand side if i wanted to and ironically it would have been safer. Doh!

no thanks

For the cost of a car door, would the insurance company bother taking me to court?

feel free to add insult to injury. will take the abuse, as it is probably deserved and am getting used to it.

but some advice on the expected sequence of events from now would also be appreciated.

p.s. out of all the possible consequences of riding on an empty well lit road at night, this could have been about the only thing i can think of that would have ended up as an accident

I was out sparko on the floor so didnt get his first reaction. But he looked pretty concerened when I came too. I do feel bad, and asked the PC if he was ok. He said he was fine. He certainly didnt seem to care about his car at that particular moment. So am grateful to him for that.

CTC membership lapsed in January. But I was insured at one point. Not that it helps now.

Its not whos as fault Im really worried about. Just wondering what to expect next. A bill in the post from the insurance company, a call from the police charging me something, summons to court…….

Am also worried at some point I will actually have to pay for the door and how likely it will be, or if his insurance will pay up.

Police turned up and all details were taken down. They mentioned that opening his door on me was also illegal, and me not having lights was illegal too.

The car door must have been 3 feet wide! 3 door BMW doors are huge. Would have had to been cycling on the white lines to prempt that one.

I know it was silly. Have had numerous tickings off. Expect more.

But if i dont have insurance, what can the insurance company do? And I cant afford a BMW car door.

Other than the usual advice- make sure you get it very level with no stones under.

Stunning looking place, but definately going to need pub access! (but thanks)

Its not as easy to control a snowboard. Tight turns and narrow slopes are a nightmare. Much easier to keep a decent speed up and rock left to right in a regular pattern. Skiers tend to make less predictable movements, and thats when i find myself going in to the back of them.

Not sure if that covers what you are talking about. Not claiming all boarders ski responsibily, but I do, and sometimes it just happens.

My bike was cost neutral if stopped by customs. So was worth a gamble.

I rode it in some mud before the shop packed it up. No duty on second hand goods i fink.

Never sweated so much when i brought back a bike from the states through customs.

Didnt take a bike out with me. Think its a myth that they check what you took out with you. Airlines dont keep records.

A sensible question- just had a look on you tube and without wanting to sound to much like a wally, it doesnt look particularily testing. Looks fast and flat. So is it just the video angles making it look less technical and steep, or is it really no worse than a singletrack decent at any other trail centre?

The reason I ask is a non biking friend of mine suggested it, but for all that hard work I would want something quite challenging on the way down (i.e. downhill course, rather than fast singletrack).

Whats it actually like….?

Things to note when renting rooms:

They cant have locks on their doors for insurance/mortgage purposes
You wont be able to re mortgage if there is another name registered to vote from your house
Be very clear with what is allowed from the begining. Even small things can end up grating you after a few months (blue tack/nails in the wall etc..)

If you want a copy of a contract for renting a room out let me know, and will scan one in for you. Got it online from WHSmiths legal publishing.

Ads

Ditto on the MW600.

Only thing that doesnt work is the voice activated dialing. The volume button is annoying too.

But the rest is great (including the FM radio which really surprises me)

ditto,
I would take an old rear mech, mech hanger, tubes.

Leave the tire at home.
Track pump is handy but not essential.
Zip ties
Duct tape
No need for loads of tools. Bike shops will lend you the more obscure tools (chain whip, cassette tool…)
Pads
Never bothered bleeding brakes while on holiday. Am usually too drunk at the end of the day.

No need to do any complicated gold card stuff.

Jusy do the unrevoked method. Very simple plug and run process.

Wont work for me as i rooted it once already though.

The Eastons i bought were actually a replacment for the Ultegras. No issues with them for about 4 years. Then noticd the rim had a crack at the spoke hole in the rim. Was trying to pull through.

Not a bad wheel, but as a direct comparison (i still use the ultegras in the winter-with the crack), the eatson is twice as good.

Was going to say these (as last year went through the same decision):
Easton EA50 SL

But having seen the Fulcrum 3s, get those!

Edit: Actually, just noticed they are the 2010 models. Only 38g lighter and £35 more. Also the Eastons are in stock. Great wheels too. Very, very stiff, and incredibly high spoke tension.

I had a three pronged comb type thing bolted to the underside of my chainstay bridge on my Klein Attitude that did just that. The frame had the bolts braised on there already, but sure it could just clamp on instead if needed.Klein thingy

On the rare occassion that mud/grit gets in your eye with contacts, I remember the near impossible task of getting them out with muddy hands. Real pain in the bum. Luckily my eyesight was never that bad that i coulndt continue riding without taking them out. Suppose if i was organised i would take a spare pair while riding.

The SO had it done about 10-15 years ago when it was a day in hospital job. Only just last year did she have to get glasses again.

I had it done 6 years ago. I have astigmatism in one eye which contact lenses never corrected. Wearing glasses is useless for me as I just break them, scratch them or lose them constantly. Plus in the long run, glasses cost more.

It didnt hurt, I wasnt scared, and no part of the procedure is ‘risky’. Had it done by vision express on harley street (cosmetic surgery on harley street!). Was normal price though.

But, i wouldnt say it was perfect. My eyes were very dry for about a year. But that isnt a problem as i just used drops. But its fine now. But dont expect that to be guaranteed.

Secondly, I have blurred night vision/halos. This has improved, and doesnt effect me enough to stop doing anything in the dark. But it is noticeable. Again, dont expect it not to be worse.

I knew these things, and to be honest didnt expect it to hapen to me as many people say it went great for them. Also I went for wavefront which is supposed to be better for the blurry thing.

But even so, i would still do it again. I was crap with wearing glasses. And with the sport i was doing, having 20/20 daytime vision was more important to me as I play lots of squash, which contacts never would give me. The night time vision thing is a none issue, just mildly irritating.

Digusting behaviour by the pair of them. Belittling women to make them feel bigger. School ground behaviuor. No place for that in a proffesional working environment.

Enjoyed that! Now back to work :-(

I make sure I slow down to walking pace irrelevant if they have seen me and stepped to one side. If they dont hear me or see me, then I say a poilte excuse me. Allow them time to find a decent place to move to one side, and a polite thank you as I pass.

Never had anyone purposefully keep in my way. If they did, then i wouldnt let it get to me. Lifes too short.

Like the shouting ‘ding ding’ idea. Definately going to try that.

Pedestrians stepping off the pavement without looking with earphones in is another matter. Only thing to do is shout ‘oi’ at full volume. Usually scares them enough to stop dead.

single speed/station bike- most days
winter road bike- twice a week in the winter
summer road bike- three or four times a week in the summer
full suss bike no 1- once a month
full suss bike no 2- not used it yet

Good job they are insured then. Never had a stalker before- was always hoping it wouldnt be a bloke though…

No cross bike. How about this for a DH bike..

Dont own it anymore sadly

well the ones i use the most are the most boring ones probably. Got some apps which are no longer available through app store (but can be downloaded if you google- the joy of android over iphone!)

Beebplayer
TrainTimes

Also use drivesafe.ly for when useing heaphones whilst riding. Reads your texts to you and manages your calls handsfree.

Astro for a windows explorer type view of whats in your phone and backing up apps

BatteryTime for a better idea on battery levels left

MetOffice weather forecast

tv-guide

just got angry birds- only game on my phone, but it is addivtive when on the train

I got mine for £17, but was direct from play and not via a trader. Happy to compare when you get yours.

beamers- id be very suspicious of those. Thats a £40 set of headphones for a fraction of the price. Do a quick google and you will see that theres more fakes out there than real ones (especially on ebay and amazon)

All depends if you go for suspension out back or not. When I used to have a hardtail it seemed a bit pointless not to have the lightest bike I could afford (but with a decent fork-100mm or so). That bike got down to mid 20s.

But bought a full suss that will never be in any ‘light’ category just because everything has to be that much stronger and more bits and pieces. So seemed no point to try make it particularily light. My Blur LT was 28lbs which was plenty light enough for everything I rode. But as my preference for enjoying the downs more than the ups increased (and my fitness) another 10% weight seemed like a none issue. Factor in a sack full of tools and water on my bike, the odd pound here and there beomes insignificant.

Summary- performance of bike eclipses weight preference. But current bike 30lbs and rides up and down better than the 25lb hardtail.

thanks. I was giving it some real umph and it wasnt budging. will try again tonight.

so you just use an allen key and start spinning the dial round? Do you pull the dial out a bit, or does it just spin as you poke it with the allen key?

Not work safe!…. very very nice

i recon your saddle may be too low (just a hunch as youre halfway through the pedal stroke)

Shoe on other foot…

Your kid is causing a racket- crying, screeeming etc… I say poiltely, ‘can you move away and stand in the kitchen/toilet area for the entire of the journey?’. How do you take it?????

p.s. until recently smoking in public places was legal. Now you try and tell me that was the wrong thing to do. Im sure most people were less bothered about the small risk of passive smoking than the stench and annoyance it caused.