Having had to watch my parents die fairly recently (mum 5 years ago, dad 4 months ago) I have some certainties:

– Live your live, really live it. Spend time with your loved ones and friends, ride bikes, get p*ssed. Don’t sit around worrying.
– Hope you go suddenly and quickly, no lingering death in a hospice or hospital bed.
– Prepare your kids (if you have them) to be self-sufficient and not reliant on anyone.

That’s it.

meehaja – like it 😆

WGAS?

Wear what you want (though if you wear a KOM jersey you had really, really better be able to climb).

My favourite trade team kit that I own / wear is Kelme. Garish as you like, a fine history (laced with drug abuse it’s true). Ace 😀

Darjeeling? Lovely.

simonm has it.

Worth a visit but I wouldn’t go again (especially having been to Disneyland Florida).

Nowt wrong with the place, however the shockingly stereotypical behaviour of the Euros really p*ssed me off. Every queue the British were conspicuous by the fact that they actually were queueing – there was a constant stream of Euros barging their way to the front (or trying to).

We got to one of the parades early so our daughters (then 7 and 5) got a seat on the kerb at the front, only to witness French mothers pushing their own kids in front of them.

In one queue I grabbed one bloke who was pushing in front of us after an hour of queueing and slammed him against the barrier I was so wound up, and I’m a scrawny streak of p*ss not at all prone to such behaviour.

Not trying to put you off, your kids will love it, but sharpen your elbows before you go 😀

Couple of Fords:

09 plate Galaxy 2.0 TDCi Zetec 14,000 miles
53 plate Ka 1.3 petrol 46,000 miles

Ka for knocking around town, Galaxy for longer trips out of town (Cornwall a few times a year, France etc).

No plans to change either for a good few years.

Had plenty of loans, finance, credit cards over the years. Never, ever took the PPI the sales people tried to foist on me, as it was blatantly an over-priced, small-print riddled product. If they tried to insist I threatened to go elsewhere.

Appreciate it was indeed mis-sold in many cases, equally I know people who have claimed on PPI and would have been in serious trouble without it.

To the OP: don’t use any claims management company – total rip-off merchants who will take a huge chunk (often 20-25%) of any refund you get. Just speak to the provider and ask what their claim process is, and follow it.

You tend to find you have an inane grin permanently when riding a cx bike offroad.

I’d suggest (as a cyclist and motorcyclist) that all two-wheeled road users are equally vulnerable so a combined campaign would be appropriate.

What the hell, let’s post another pic of my Tuono. Goddam I love that bike 😀

Parents from London / Home counties. Moved to Bristol for work in 1952.

1965 – born in Bristol.

2012 – still in Bristol.

Have always lived within a 3 mile radius of where I was born. Have worked 50 miles away, for two years, other than that always walked to school and work. Kids walk to school, one to primary school 10 mins one way, one to secondary school 10 mins the other way.

Live in a quiet cul de sac with good size garden, 25 mins walk to the office in the centre of town.

Great mountain biking on the doorstep, great road riding on the doorstep, great motorcycling on the doorstep (well, 20 mins over the Severn bridge). What’s not to like?

Only places I’ve been in the UK I’d consider living are Glasgow, Brighton, and possibly Sheffield. That’s it.

I have a Boardman CX Team. Any lack of comfort is down to the skinny tyres and no suspension, I really don’t think the alu frame contributes.

Fair enough. I used to run Salsa Bell Lap bars on my cx bike which are flared, though not as much as those midge bars, and they worked fine.

Yep, screwdriver and rubber mallet. May take a while if it’s a really tight fit but should do the job.

Very nice indeed. I’m not sure about the bars either – I like the look of them but not sure how practical they will be in use – I ride on the hoods quite a lot and the angle of the hoods on those bars looks quite extreme.

Otherwise – cracking bike.

Very nice. I love my Blue Pig.

Actually, thinking about it, I’d be up for an overnight camping epic 😀

Yes it has.

Still bloody funny though.

supafly1982 – Member
Hi Gile, thats a nice bike, how are you finding the Alberts? ive got a Fat albert on the front, bloody thing keeps trying to kill me, even when i run it soft.

supa – not that impressed tbh. They’re ok in the bone dry, but as soon as there’s any moisture about the front will let go in corners without warning and have me on my ar$e. They didn’t stay on long, I’ve got some old Conti Verts on there at the mo.

Trimix – Member
Why compromise. Just use one bike that shines in the area of riding you like. Sod the rest. Live for that moment, not a compromise on all of it. Life is far too short for compromises.

Yeah, but I love it all – hence a cx bike 😀

Northwind – Member
It’s not even that- it’s the best compromise if you love road and want to do a little undemanding offroad.

CX bikes can be ridden on most stuff you’d ride a (XC) mountain bike on, albeit a lot slower and in some discomfort. I’ve ridden some very rocky / rooty trails on a cx bike, though the Mendips did prove to have trails too far – two of us had 12 pinch punctures between us in one two hour ride!

Obviously cx bikes aren’t nearly as capable as mtbs off road, but in a one bike scenario I still think they are an acceptable compromise.

Count me in again Andy 😀

With (hopefully) better weather and more daylight we can potentially head further West if people fancy it, Llandovery and back through Builth Wells is a cracking route.

Disc-braked CX bike for sure.

But ONE bike? What a ridiculous concept…

I really rate my Bontrager Jones CX tyres, however I’m not sure if they are still available.

Nice write-up and great pics

Blue Pigs are great aren’t they, here’s mine just after I built it up almost exactly 2 years ago to the day (rear brake hose subsequently re-routed):

I’d say Ford Galaxy……………….if you didn’t have an aversion to Fords.. 😉

zippykona – Member
Every time I leave my house in suburbia and drive my mondeo to the garden centre with my wife i take time to sing a crass song to myself. Just to let myself know i’m still out there just a little bit.

LOL!!!! I can really relate to that 😀

That idiot has been around for years. Total muppet. Originally their attempts to block the trails just made them more interesting to ride, but they’ve progressed. How they justify destroying perfectly healthy trees is beyond me.

mancjon – no you couldn’t just swap the bars for the reasons you say.

re: drop bars, have you tried them with chicken levers (that come as standard on many cx bikes, the Boardman for example)? They let you ride on the tops so it feels like a (admittedly very narrow) straight bar. I’d persevere with drops, they actually work surprisingly well off road once you’ve got used to them.

Read this, enjoy the pictures, and see if it helps your decision: 😉

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/first-cx-ride-a-pictorial-journey

Great band, great track, great TV programme.

Big part of my teenage years. Still love NMTB.

Whenever I listen to this I’m 13 again, sitting in my bedroom in the basement of my parents’ house 😀

I’ve always run Bonty Jones CX’s on my ‘cross bikes after a recommendation from Will at John’s Bikes in Bath.

Great all round cx tyres, can’t comment specifically on their gravel abilities though.

It would be nice if people realised there is a world of difference between the top bods in banking (who’s remuneration is not that far removed from other industries) and the City investment bankers (who may earn apparently obscene amounts of wonga, but sell their soul to do so, it’s not a life I’d ever consider), and average Joes who happen to work for a bank.

The current witch hunt created by the media really benefits no-one.

The Daily Mail and subsequent mindset has a lot to answer for….

robbieh – St Ives yes? Whereabouts are you parked up – I can’t place it.

50-55 psi for me at 11 stone, rarely get pinch punctures.

+2 Boardman. Not steel but I’ve had no comfort issues – very capable bike.