This will sound very random, but I had a creak that happened mainly going uphill, slightly re tensioned the rear mech and it was sorted.

Love my v4 which I’ve had since June, done a bit of bike packing and a bit of gentle offroad, handles all that very well. Nippy on road too. Obviously not a replacement for an mtb, but as a versatile road/ gravel bike I think it is fantastic value.

I’m surprised that the flights to Amsterdam haven’t been discussed more. Two flights where the passengers were presumably subject to some pre-screening and 10% tested positive upon arrival in the Netherlands.

First AZ jab Sunday 4.30, went for a ride in the evening. woke at 4am very shivery/ aches and bizarrely balls of feet hurt when walking.

Fine by midday.

So presumably when the queen goes the bbc will realise that they need to top this, but how? Freedom of thought and expression really isn’t valued in this country at all.

Bit embarrassed that RadMac have joined in, at the very least pull a sickie chaps!

Trump now at 7-1. I got him at 3-1 earlier on today and quite frankly, it’s looking like the best 70 quid I’ll ever lose!😁

I had the same thought, on the basis that anything I bet on inevitably loses.

Looking at what odds you can get, Georgia looks close, both parties 5/6

Yep I reckon Trump has got Pennsylvania by about 400k votes?

Bookies have dems 1/5 to take Penn. Same for Arizona.

English is only for short distances it would still seem people are happy to ignore that though.

What counts as a short distance?

So you’re essentially at the spring peak already…?

Yes, in terms of inpatients, which is at least a fairly absolute measure. For whatever reason the spring wave seemed fairly light here, but cases have been high for weeks now (Tier 3 from yesterday)

Some sobering stats from my local hospital (Warrington). Under normal circumstances has 500 beds and 20 in ICU, current COVID inpatients are 118 with 16 in ICU. Think the peak in spring was just over 120 (for some reason we seemed to be fairly lightly hit back then).

Makes me laugh (well sort of!) when people suggest too much of a fuss is being made of COVID, dread to think what those numbers would be without some restrictions in place.

duplicate post.

If you are trying to kid yourselves that the main motivation behind ‘Leave’ wasn’t a gradually built and deliberately cultivated sense that the country ‘is not being run for us any more’ then you are wrong.

I’m not, but the root cause behind that… poverty, lack of social mobility, lack of opportunity, access to edcuation, poor health… you describe the end effect of that, and I don’t think labelling all those people as racist is constructive.

And all this has nothing to do with Andy Burnham.

And if you don’t think you need it, claim it anyway and give the money to a local food bank.

Because it is the main motivation behind northern areas voting for Brexit and then Tory in the 2019 GE. It is this context that Johnson will operate in and appeal to.

It is relevant even if you personally don’t want to confront it.

That’s a grand claim that you will struggle to back up, there are plenty of Tory voters in the north (I even know some) who had very different motivations. A lot is to do with the demonisation of Corbyn by the press, admittedly not helped by Corbyn himself.

A lot of people try to ascribe very simplistic reasons why people vote the way they do, truth is that a) it is much more complex than that and b) there often isn’t a main motivation, but a multitude of factors

Generally the DH guys & girls seem quite sound, everyone has their moments but they seem less up their own a@$5s than the averge pro sportsperson.

Just decided to take my temp to get a baseline for future reference….35.7!

That can’t be right can it? Unless I’m a lizard?

Mine (and my daughters) are usually 35.6, so I just take that as a reference point – so anything above 36 I’d count as feverish for her. Oddly didn’t seem to matter whether it was an ear one or under the tongue

So if a cabinet minister gets caught drink driving, then the obvious reaction from the general public is to hop into the car for a couple of pints? Of course Cummings should have been sacked, but the fact remains people are looking for reasons not to comply with the rules and Barnard Castle was a perfect excuse.

If they failed to take any resposibility for their actions, then yes, some people probably would think ‘Why should I?’

I’m not bright enough to embed it, but Trump’s niece’s response to last night is classic.

Trumps neice

There’s definately pleasure to be taken when it comes off, which it usually does. Even more so if a car has followed you…

You forgot the Imperial REACT study which was 1/188 at the last count. But “slowing”. As for infectiousness – well we don’t know. Assume all as a reasonable worst case scenario.

With quite large regional differences – based on positive tests alone Manchester is 1 in 200

All of which combined have less than 3 million people, so roughly a third of the population of Greater London on it’s own.

My original point stands.

Greater Manchester alone has a population of 2.8 million

Had a few like this – best one was camping beds costing c. £100 – both were damaged, took photos, none in stock to replace them so they just refunded the money – managed to bodge repairs for about £3

Have fun building it up, and share any early views if poss :)

Be lovely to see some development at Rivi – some work on the San Marino descent and a different way back up, it’s already a busy area round there though, and the landowners don’t really seem that keen.

Anyone own or ridden one? Seriously tempted but I need a bit more information before parting with the cash. Geometry on the website still looks a bit out – standover of 812mm – I’ll need a set of steps to get on!

I know this is a classic ‘how long is a piece of string’ question, but I’ve been thinking about approaching our parish council for something similar, wondering what ballpark costs are?

Less and More we’re discussing lockdown dates today, they clearly said the models were wrong so maybe this one doesn’t fall at BoJo’s door.

TiRed – I rarely post on here, or indeed anywhere on t’web, just wanted to say that I’ve really appreciated reading your posts as an intelligent insight into what is going on. Thanks.

Use itunes, but think spotify is better. CBA to switch…
Spotify 23 itunes 7

Helen Wyman gave Rob Hatch a wee telling off on Red Bull when he got over-excited about a ‘first British Rider’ on the Elite podium, she then listed the two or three (?) women who had already achieved that feat.

He could have been a bit more graceful about it, didn’t really acknowledge the correction and only sort of grudgingly qualified the statement next time by emphasising elite MEN’S podium.

I noticed that and went back to listen again, he had said men’s podium in the first place.

Think I probably just need to adapt to it a little bit, I generally prefer solo riding for the reasons you listed, and it was nice not to have a faff around in the morning. I’ll pack a jigsaw next time ;)

Well done OP, file in the adventure category.

I popped my bikepacking cherry this year with a trip to the lakes in September -a few observations from me:-
1. Started quite late in the day (4pm) reckoned on 4 hours of daylight being good for a first trip, 3 hour (ish) ride followed by setup/ food prep etc…
2. Used trails I knew quite well, so no real navigational or rideability issues
3. Kind of expected it, but riding a loaded bike was a bit of a pain – no dropper due to bag and the hills dragged a bit
4. Checked for a nice kind forecast -probably would have just done a day ride if the forecast was bad
5. It was a long night – dark by about 8, listened to a podcast and watched the stars, poss could have done with more ‘entertainment’
6. Should have practiced tarp setup at home – worked ok, but Ray Mears need not fear for his job ;)
7. Kit was OK, mainly used what I have, only thing that annoyed me was my stove and gas cannister which were a pain to pack and not great quality.
8. Not sure solo bikepacking is for me, have bivied in small groups before and a lot more fun, plus can split the load a bit, I found the evening dragged though, think I like company…
9. Clear night and no moon – stars were flipping awesome (and I had plenty of time to look at them!)

Pretty sure I’ll do it again, might look for a partner in crime though, and will invest in better kit for cooking.

Is it just me that finds the idea of a sunpeed frame funny?

Nope :)

The Roscoe 8 was on my shortlist, along with the similar priced vitus and Whyte models. Ended up with a Voodoo Mambo which is a bit cheaper and is, in my opinion, a superb bike, well worth considering.

Hi, I love mine, absolute steal for the price, goes downhill brilliantly, and is fine the rest of the time. Great spec and looks pretty good too. I fitted a dropper and some new grips, they are the only changes made.

Grumbles… only two minor ones, rear axle is slightly obscure 141qr standard, and spare gear hangers were a pita to source (I like to have a spare knocking around)

Astonishing value for money though.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/13/ban-4×4-off-roading-in-the-lake-district-campaigners-say

I suspect that one different aspect here is the potential risk to the public beyond the original targets. A British citizen (Dawn Sturgess) has died as a result of what happened.

Top man!

Most of the ones I would suggest are already covered. Manley mere def worth a trip, depending upon where you are in Cheshire the monkey forest at trentham gardens is worth a trip, and if you like gentle cycling the path from Birkenhead up the wirral is nice. Hilbre island worth considering too.