Yeah I checked that fermentation had stopped but there was an extra half-teaspoon of brewers sugar at the bottling stage. It’s certainly lively when you open it.

I’m thinking of mixing it with some Crabbies Ginger Wine for drinking as it’s quite bitter on its own.

You can use a hydrometer to take initial and final readings and calculate abv from it. I brewed some alcoholic ginger beer recently using this recipe and wile it’s very alcoholic it’s not sweet at all as I allowed all the sugar to turn to alcohol. I used champagne yeast instead of the beer yeast in the recipe.

Brew it in a big plastic bucket for a couple of weeks and transfer to bottles. I used plastic bottles and the pressure has caused them to distort. If you’re going to use glass be very careful.

The whole Gyle area was not designed for anything other than car travel. After the casino I think you can hop over the road and use the pavement to get to the bridge. I haven’t come out that way though, only gone home a couple of times via Costorphine.

From the new town, Costorphine Road all the way would be pretty direct. I cycle to Gogarburn from Polwarth so choose between the canal or Gorgie Road to Saughton and then there is a cycle path that follows the train/tram tracks all the way to Edinburgh Park.

Get a copy of the Spokes map or if you have an Android phone there is a new app called Cycle Streets that is pretty good for Edinburgh.

I used an Ortlieb dry-bag attached to the handlebars with a couple of straps and it worked perfectly. Also a large Ortlieb saddlebag and a rucksack. Cheap and cheerful worked for me!

Check my previous posts for some photos.

Great fun last night. Cheers to Stevemtb and northwind for lifts.

will have to do it again soon.

Chris

Not sure shared contacts were possible. we ended up going with Google for mail and salesforce.com for customer info. I think zoho do one that’s a good bit cheaper.

I’m up for a ride if I can cadge a lift from someone. Anyone near gogarburn/gyle area? Northwind, I could meet you in currie, its a 30 min cycle from gogar isn’t it?

Heavy rain might also put me off, I heard enough brake squeal this evening to last me a while.

I did it a couple of weeks ago from Laggan to Fort Augustus. The start of the track is like riding up a river bed, bits were rideable but a bit of pushing involved. I pushed up the zig zags but they would be fun going the other way. All good once you get to the top although pretty rough. I did it on a rigid HT and some suspension might have made it more enjoyable but still great fun.

I camped on the FA side at about 500m

It was the only real trouble that I got in London but it was a shock that the normally fine ride from work could suddenly turn into that with very little warning. It certainly made me look over my shoulder at traffic lights from that point on.

I got punched from behind when I stopped at traffic lights just before Broadway Market in London. I jumped off the bike and was holding it while the gent who had punched me was trying to pull it from me shouting ‘GIVE ME THE BIKE, GIVE ME THE BIKE’. As we were both holding it and I had a helmet on I headbutted him but unfortunately only lost the peak of my helmet. Another couple of punches from both of us and I managed to leg it with the bike with him chasing me over the canal.

Ahhh, I miss London.

The push up Streap was pretty awful, I had to stop every 100m to brush ticks off my legs and the path was very easy to lose. I just got some happy tunes on the stereo and thought of the descent down the other side which I had walked up before. The only other bit of pushing was on the Corrieyairack Pass where parts of it were like cycling up a river bed.

The weather really made it and I’d do something similar at any opportunity. Let me know if anyone fancies another trip.

Thanks to 13thfloormonk for the beginnings of a route suggestion. I went for a slightly easier Dalwhinnie – Kinloch Lagan – Fort Augustus – Clunes – Glenfinnan route. All completed in amazing weather and with the minimum of fuss.

Camped on the Corrieyairack Pass about 500m up, beautiful evening but woke to frost covering everything. Still warm in the bivi though.

2nd night camp

Views along Loch Arkaig

Final night in Glen Pean Bothy

Great adventure, kit included two cheap straps to hold dry bag to bars, Ortlieb saddle bag, rucksack, Alpkit bivi bag, Alpkit tarp (unused as it never rained), Mountain Equipment sleeping bag. A very gentle 150km over four days although if it was raining I could have done it in three.

Yep +1 for Bolle. I’ve used the Spider frames with the ESP lenses and they are great. My favourites are these though. No point paying more.

great stuff, what a feast he set out! Looking forward to having a go myself now.

Is this not the same guy that did the Isle of Man TT race? Why is he on a show about a boat? He’s like Fred Dibnah with sideburns.

If you decide to replace rather than fix I got the new style waterproof battery from here. It arrived within a week and despite being rather bulky I no longer worry about getting it wet.

Gaffer tape! I have used this on the nose of my Bel Air and this has extended its life by about 18 months so far. A bit more is needed on the side now but I’ll keep doing this as long as I can as there is nothing else wrong with it. Sounds like SDG need to work on the longevity of their covers though.

salesforce.com is really expensive but also really powerful. zoho.com used to be free for up to three users although it’s ages since I looked at it.

Image rights belong to Kit.

That sounds great. I’m going to get some maps and have a look at these routes.

Any more suggestions?

Sounds good TJ, easy off-road and great scenery is what I’m after. I’ll be in touch for more details.

Awesome city although my memories are hazy. Went there for a stag do and was awake for most of the weekend. A club called Rosies stands out and also a day club that seemed to be run by gypsies. Also relaxing on the grass outside the Reichstag. I should go back and see it properly.

Loads of people raved about it but I bought it and played it for a good few hours but never really got into it. For £10.99 it’s worth a shot though.

Nope, it’ll just count as another religious person in the UK. No religion campaign here[/url].

Cheers everyone, I enjoyed that and my feet are now defrosted. Jet wash on Dalry Road came in handy.

Sounds good to me. I’ll get in touch for more details.

My battery got water-damaged even though I tried to keep it dry in a sandwich bag. I have found a replacement here.
You can also get the old style ones here

I have ordered a replacement from bestofferbuy using PayPal so I should be okay if there are problems. Will update when it appears!

Fasthosts are awful. I had to move our server from them after their second security lapse and we went to the opposite end of the spectrum which was Rackspace. Expensive but great support.

One mountain bike and one fixie for chaining up in town. Does me perfectly. If it wasn’t for bike thieves I would only have one.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society[/url]. Got membership as a Christmas present and you’ll never look back.

I love mine, solar charging and gets set by the radio clock every night. It took a battering when I fell off my bike:

Luckily if came with a new face protector so I undid 4 screws, changed it and it is now as good as new again.

I got a ferry from Arran to Islay and stayed a couple of nights in B&B’s. Took a tour round the Bowmore distillery which was interesting as it’s the only one I’ve seen where they still smoke their own barley rather than getting another company to do it. Also took the island bus down for a tour of Ardbeg which had recently been done up. Good tour and the guide gave us 30 mins with a bottle of 25 year old, also got a taste of the raw spirit as it was going into a barrel.

This was about ten years ago but can’t imagine it has changed that much.

You’ll need some spray malt or brewers sugar to stick in each bottle. Regular sugar won’t quite cut it.

I’m on my third batch and it’s all good stuff.

I use the Gmail one although my phone doesn’t sync with it. I think it will be a pretty good option for the future when I upgrade my phone.

If you format your Excel sheet then you should be able to import it directly – http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=14024&hl=en-GB

thanks for bringing Stewart Lee into this. Saw that sketch live and summed up so much it was painful. No-one on a bike forum can defend Clarkson – an idiot for money.

Watched the episode but more of the same.

Probably best to check this thread over on avforums. Sure they will all be listed there.

Can’t beat some Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire De Melody Nelson from 1971.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/cult-classics-histoire-de-melody-nelson-serge-gainsbourg-1971-801399.html

fresh beans are the key – http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/ are good. I use a Bialetti stove top and love it.