This is why some EU workers are leaving, they realise that in the event of no deal they’ll no longer comply with requirements and can be deported on whim. That and being disliked, or worse, insulted and intimidated.

Don’t agree. There is a huge recruitment drive from much of Eastern Europe, in many cases they are willing to match salaries of many EU workers that have left the country. This combined with the falling pound and a much lower cost of living at their country of origin means that many of them are now returning.
Brexit or no Brexit those people were here for money and money alone.
When you actually ask real people why they left the UK it is because of the high cost of living and l hate to say it but its true but many do not like the multiculturalism in the UK, which doesn’t happen in their home countries.

Percentage?

Which, if any, of the following words would you use to describe yourself?
British 58%
English 49%
European 15%
Scottish 7%
Regional term (eg northerner, southerner, Highlander) 7%
City/county specific term (eg Londoner, Yorkshireman, Glaswegian, Geordie, Mancunian, Scouser) 7%
Irish/Northern Irish 4%
Welsh 4%
Local area/town-specific term 3%

Taken from the Guardian ( yes really!)

However this experience had completely put me off doing any mountain biking

It shouldnt. Like anything else in life its risk and reward, im not going to miss out on a epic ride because there is a very very remote chance there will be an encounter again.

The fact he’s now having to look into Italian residency, changing his driving license and arranging health care he’s not so keen.

Well l live in mainland Europe (EU) and had to gain residence , change my licence ( it has the wrong address) and pay €80 per month healthcare anyway.

The free movement does what it says on the tin. To live and work is something different altogether. The fact that a Ukranian friend of mine managed to gain residency in exactly the same timeframe as me , an EU citizen says it all really.

Thankfully my dog is good at dealing with bears

Its true that the best form of defence is to take your dog with you, my closest encounter was on a dog walk. My border collie which is the most gentle dog you will ever meet was walking about 10 meters ahead of me when she started growling at something in the forest, i didnt take much notice at first as it happens quite a lot and is normally deer but as i got closer i could see it was a large brown bear which
upon eye contact with me turned and ran , i then walked a few paces and then ran like hell about 3km to the main road.
So a dog is the best early warning system you will ever have…and will offer the bear distraction and give you enough time to get away, although that will almost certainly mean you will loose your best friend in the process…

What tyres for escaping angry bears?

Something with a fairly hard compound and low rolling resistance , would have to be a 29er too ;)

I had a very similar encounter with a brown bear a couple of months back , fireroad descent about 60 kph , came round a corner and the bear was standing in the road eating something on the verge. I skidded to a halt and it looked at me and ran into the forest.
As this is the third recent encounter i just waited a couple of minutes and rode past, spending the rest of the ride shouting ‘ Bear im coming ‘ before every corner much to the amusement of every tourist i passed.

I think if what this guy is saying is true its a pretty amazing story, i guess he could have cycled away but at that range the bear could easily catch him before he could get enough speed.

As for killing the Bear , i used to be of the opinion that this would have been totally wrong but you have to consider that if the bear had lost its fear of humans there is a chance he would do it again, and every headline like that increases the chance of a local cull. Its almost like one bear can save the many.

When you said regular riding prior to the 4 month training plan, what did this equate to time wise per week, and what kind of intensity were you riding at?

I have been using the CRC Pro ( strong word!) bike bag for a few flights and is proving to be durable, its on offer for £169 at the mo.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/chain-reaction-cycles-pro-bike-bag/rp-prod114204

For the money its pretty good, the only downside is depending on how the bike and parts are packed it can be a little wobbly while pulling it along, but ive found this can be solved by putting some extra weight (tools) in the bag that contains the front wheel so it more closley matches the rear

Ride within your own limits on the ups and downs, its easy to get carried away especially at the start and either blow up or crash ( ive done both in the past)

Make sure you take enough
water too, for marathon events i normally take a hydration pack as its easier to live with than bottles in a race situation where its easy to forget to drink enough, same goes for food. I would take at least 4 gels to be on the safe side.

Enjoy

What mountainous part of the UK are you out of interest?

I live in the Slovak Republic , low tatras which is the equivalent of the highest regions of the UK.
Its the prolonged high speed descents which i really feel a massive benefit over the rim brakes, and 30mm tyres are a must too but thats another topic!

What they add in benefits is very minimal – but they add a whole list of new problems.

I think if you are not seeing the benefits of disc brakes then you probably didn’t need them in the first place.

Ive got 105 hydros on my gravel and roadbike and id never go back, that said i do live in a mountainous area but even so, the extra power and feel of them gives so much confidence compared to the rims i had before

The reason why they want to recruit from outside the industry is that most salespeople pick up bad habits, and the big companies like to take sales staff on that they can fully control and mold to their own sales processes.

If you are the kind of person that likes to make decisions and have opinions franchised dealers (especially the big groups) are probably not for you, but if you love dealing with the public, learning processes, administration and being directed then you probably find the job fulfilling.

If l was going for a sales role today l would ask detailed questions about the pay plan, because unlike years back when you would basically get paid for every car you sell, you now have pay plans that are heavily biased on achievement of key targets, volume of sales , vehicle profit per unit, finance per unit , insurance per unit, customer satisfaction, customer renewals (getting existing finance customers into new cars) and whatever else is the flavour of the month like old cars or specific units they want to get rid of for whatever reason.

To earn £40,000 P.A in a franchise dealer would mean hitting target, depending what you sell that could be anything from 130-180 cars per year. To earn more than that would mean you are overachieving on target which is (in motor trade speak) the golden nugget! That is hard and only 20% of the sales team achieve money like that. In my experience they are people that have either been working in the dealership for years or very good at selling (but can be a bit of a nightmare with admin and basically anything that comes after the sale!)

Some of the best car sales people l have worked with came from the armed forces, general retail, police, or the dealerships own departments such as service reception.

Its a people job first and foremost, if you are a car nut fine but you really don’t need to be, just good with people, good with admin and take pride in your work.

good luck!

Jasna is become really expensive ( along with everything else in Slovakia) in the past few years, i was looking at hotel resorts with ski passes and there wasnt a hige difference between that and the Alps.

I know its a while back but i used to stay at hotel grand in the early 00’s and it was about £35 a night, last time we looked the same room and board was £250.

Edit- Take Euros. You will end up with local change, but people like euros.

but get a currency conversion app as some places will rip you off especially the food stalls in Margaret Island.

It is a brilliant City though overall definately one of the best in Europe.

Buy a kettlebell , i got one from decathalon for around £15.

the total body kettlebell workout

and for core work try this one

I just domthese during the off season when i cant ride at all due to snow along with 5-10k per week running , i hardly loose anything fitness wise on the bike come March , so i know they must work. And best of all (apart from the kettlebell) its free!

Aye, when she complained about the number of votes in the EP, the twitter pile on suggesting she might’ve used her iPad to prepare was a sight to behold.

Ahh Twitter, the modern day equivalent of scribbling on a toilet wall.

If you want a future-roof frame definitely go for boost, which i think was originally designed for steering stiffness on the front of the bike and now to accommodate the every increasing number of gears on the back of the bike.

I have always found Giant to make the best bikes for the money quality wise, but they can be a bit dull.

Ignore many scare stories on Canyon, i have found them and their bikes to be excellent.

I bought myself a couple of kettlebells 10 and 15kg and have been doing online workouts for a couple of years and found them to be highly effective for cycling strength, l also attend boxing classes and only run in the off season only loosing a little endurance which comes back quickly anyway.

The run, hike, jog workouts are good if you dont want to push it too hard and are still a great way to keep fit

I have the 2018 Canyon Neuron AL 7.0 29er, in a medium.

Its a really good bike actually, the fox suspension setup is one of the smoothest I’ve ever experienced and the frame despite looking slightly industrial (especially the rear triangle) has a cool adonised black finish. This was the first bike l had with a dropper post and am totally sold on them now.

It does weigh just under 30lbs, but a tubeless conversion and tyre swap should take a pound from that straight away.

The 2019 model has been revised slightly with more relaxed geometry, i have owned many brands such as Trek, Specialized and Giant and would say that Canyon are right up there now.

Don’t be afraid of dealing with an online seller either, my experience with Canyon has been first class.

Specialized fastrack gryphon 2.3 have really impressed me, soft compound so very grippy on rocks and roots.