do you know anyone who works for the bbc, or national rail, or one of the other big corporations who have the 'o2 open' deal?

my brother works for the bbc, and he got me 30% off my iphone contract :o)

Dave

I don't have the 'laser eyes', but I do have the little switch which puts the lights on 'auto'.. thereby meaning I don't need to worry about what lights are on.

I would suggest that you refer your complaint to whoever wrote the settings for the auto lights on new audis. I doubt that people are turning them on themselves.

Dave

I haven't done Les Allues, but I did stay down in Brides-les-Bains one year… NEVER AGAIN!

the olympic bubble takes forever, and although it will take less time to get to les allues, the last lift down is about 5.30; which means you can never go to the pub for more than one beer, and every day is ended with utter tedium in the lift.

Find somewhere else if you can :o)

Dave

It is a 180mm xt – which is what their documentation says is the maximum allowed.

And it is the alloy swingarm (as the pictures show!), not the carbon one.

I know that the chances are slim, considering that I'm not the original purchaser, but hoping they will at least let me buy a swingarm… with some sort of discount!

Dave

Its a 2006 frame… I didn't buy it new; I bought it from the classifieds from GoogNoog (now called goog, I believe).

The JRA claim was a bit tongue in cheek… I've ridden this bike properly for quite a while – this is its 3rd summer in the alps, plus plenty of fun in Wales.

But! I still don't think it should fail at the weld like that; I think the weld went (possibly assisted by the turning moment from the brakes), and the carbon hinge went as a result.

I'd love for Yeti to give me a brand new ASR-7… but I would be over the moon if they gave me a new frame, or even just a new swingarm.

Most likely, I expect they will sell me a new swingarm at cost; and that would be fair of them. I've sent them a friendly email saying that I love the bike, and can't really afford to replace it at the moment.

We shall see :o)

Dave

snowcard gets 5 stars from me… claimed last year when i broke pelvis, spine, hand, ribs and tore shoulder while biking in the alps. they were brilliant. put me on the phone with an english speaking doctor and nurse; paid for everything without hesitation (including my girlfriend's expenses for visiting me), and were going to fly me home (except that I checked myself out and drove back in the car with mates, in agony, because I am stupid)

consider getting annual cover, and see if you can get it as a couple (if your partner is into the same stuff as you)… ours costs £170 for 2 of us for the year; that covers all our snowboarding trips too.. makes it much better value.

Dave

Hi again… another bump to see if the sunday night crowd know more than the weekday lot :-)

Dave

anyone?

I got a couple of enormous pictures printed onto canvas by the imaginatively named printitoncanvas.co.uk[/url].

Can't fault them for service or quality. absolutely spot on. they even sent me extra fixing hooks because I lost one of the originals.

Dave

DIYnot Forum[/url]

Nowhere near as busy as STW, but some good advice (and arguments) on there

Dave

my clock went forward… did i do it right? will I get my evening riding and dusty trails still?

Dave

my cousins live in derby and are forever going on about going out in nottingham; so i would guess that nightlife (at least for 18 year olds) is better in nottingham.

beyond this, I know nothing :)

Dave

Where: Croydon to Leatherhead, all on road, but not on the main route… cut through wallington, belmont and ashtead.

What: Blue Ribble Audax with mudguards and a pannier.

When: Leave home around 7:30, head back around 5:30 – journey takes me about 50-60 mins; record is 47 mins :)

Trivia: Started commuting again yesterday – first time back on the road bike since I broke my pelvis and spine in the alps last year. My legs are a bit jellified now, I need fitness!

Dave

I use generics, which I think were added in 1.5

i.e. List<RandomStuff>

Dave

are there any other custom cycling shit makers

<childish>tee hee</childish>

Dave

what does he plan to do to him when he finds him?

have you considered that the defector may not want to be found?

Dave

les marmottes in morzine :o)

Camping les Marmottes

Fair distance from the town, but easily bikeable. Nice clean bogs and showers too.

Dave

this is how we do it:

– 10pm ish ferry – drive until about Reims, then stop in an Aire.
– Sleep in pop-up tents (cheap decathlon 2 second jobs).
– Drive for about an hour then stop for a cuppa and a pain au chocolat in one of the aire restaurants (l’arche etc.).
– Keep on plugging on, stop in the Carrefour at Dijon (not too far off the autoroute) for lunch (pizza’s from their Traiteur are great) and to buy any supplies you want to stock up on (much cheaper than resort town supermarkets).
– Arrive in resort mid afternoon (bit later if you are heading further south – les arcs etc.)

On the way back, leave mid morning for an evening ferry, stopping again at Dijon for lunch. Alternatively, leave mid afternoon, stop at dijon (or chambery) for dinner; kip in an aire up near lille and catch an early ferry.

Two drivers are a bonus, but if we are stopping for a sleep, then I have no problem doing it all myself. When we went down to Les Arcs in Jan, we did it all in one push – caught a 10pm ferry and were in town checking into our apartment at midday the next day.

Route: Calais | Reims | Troyes | …
then either Bourg-en-Bress | Geneva | wherever…
or Lyon | Chambery | wherever…

Unless you are going to italy, don’t follow your satnav through the mont-blanc tunnel. In winter, then col’s to get back over are often shut, and the tunnel costs quite a lot anyway!

Dave

snowcard/activcard

simply brilliant when I stacked it properly in the alps.

dave

quick fire on the edit there druidh :D

Shame it’s actually spelt AluinIum

is it?

i thought it was aluminium ;)

Dave

racing_ralph – email winging its way to you now

Dave :o)

R_R, where are you? do you want to come see my van?

It will be for sale when I get back from snowboarding (going on friday for the week). I could be persuaded to do a special stw deal :o) I’ll probably even throw in the twinny quattro bike rack, if you want it.

As a measure of how dodgy mine isn’t (eh?), I am about to drive to the alps and back in it – which I do regularly with no worries. High mileage, but that doesn’t matter – cost me £200 to get through the MOT 2 weeks ago, and that was because one of the rear springs needed replacing (common fault).

Picasa album of my T4 LWB

Dave

no, not bulk; i think they just mean one bike for people to share

Dave

(obviously i meant fiancée :) )

not a cheapskate jacket, but my mountain hardware syncro jacket is brilliant:

it is conduit softshell with has taped seams, so it is 100% waterproof, but still comfortable, and very breathable. Looks smart enough to be a normal pub/work coat.

Dave

where bored == stuck ?

Dave

mudshark, yes! ;o)

Dave

Zahada![/url]

Consider yourself warned.. if you click on that link, large portions of your life will vanish.

I’m on level 36 :o)

Dave

well, last year I was considering selling for about £5-6k… had a lot of interest, but got fed up with tyre kickers. I think £4k would probably clinch it now; but I can’t sell until after I’ve been snowboarding in march :-)

I’ve got a twinny quattro bike rack that I’d throw in too.

Where do you live? If you want to come and have a look around it, you’d be more than welcome – no obligation to buy, of course – I’d be happy for you to look around just to sort out your own ideas. I’m in Croydon.

Oh, and I don’t fancy the Focus… bit too different from the van!! I’m considering getting an MPV thingy; possibly a Honda FR-V.

Dave

I made the beds myself… welded box section frames with wooden interlocking slats… really comfy to sleep on and very versatile.

I do carry passengers in the back, which is technically legal, but not particularly satisfactory from a safety point of view.

I bought for £3k with a knackered engine back in 2006; rebuilt the entire top end of the engine (new cylinder head et al.) and kitted out the interior myself. I’ve done about 40k in it since then – mostly trips to wales or the alps (summer and winter).

I was going to be selling it, but now the LEZ is most likely going to be cancelled (low emission zone in london was going to mean I couldn’t keep it), I will probably keep it for a few more years. Unless I get a good offer, of course :wink:

Dave

I don’t have time to write a big reply at the moment; so I’ll just post the photo album that I always post

Long Wheelbase T4, kitted out for bikes and rough camping

Cambelt interval is 80k. Go for the ACV engine if you can (2.5TDI with intercooler – the TDI badge is all silver) Mine has done just shy of 200k, and is just as strong and reliable as ever, reliable 36mpg… slightly less if I commute in it (but I don’t).

MOT is tomorrow – fingers crossed :-)

Dave

Biking:
Chipped the end off my elbow
(then one accident for all this lot…)
Broken pelvis (3 places)
Broken Sacrum
1 Broken Rib
Broken 4th Metacarpal (left)
Torn rotator cuff

Snowboarding:
5 Broken ribs (maximum of 2 at a time)

bone scan of the big bike crash:

Dave

sorry to hear that rusty :(

my T4 is insured by HIC – Herts Insurance[/url], they are very good with vans – might be worth giving them a call.

Oh, and if you do go with them, get their breakdown cover too.. £45 extra with the policy, and it covers recovery for all of europe (compare that with £90 from the AA for just the UK). They were even willing to repatriate my van from the alps when I broke my pelvis and was going to be flown home.

Dave

I’m waiting for my next invitation… got turned away last time because I was still in physio for my broken pelvis. I tried to tell them I was fine, but they weren’t having any of it – they wanted me to keep my blood and get healthy.

Giving blood is great… go do it everyone!

Dave

More pictures here

Does about 37mpg, stonkingly powerful. I was going to sell it last year, but couldn’t get as much as I wanted. Think I’ll try to sell it again this year for a bit less.

Dave

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK//OTHER/about.asp

well, he did predict that he’d be taking a sabbatical this winter :lol:

Dave

thanks for the replies, sorry i haven’t been taking part in the thread; i got dragged off to a meeting for the rest of the day :o(

How is the FR-V for bikes in the back; assuming all 3 seats are folded down, can you get bikes in vertically with the front wheel off?

Dave

thanks :o)

time for some shopping!

Dave