you could follow me (@braveluggage). Only had one follower last time I checked :cry:

Mind you I’ve only been on Twitter a little while.

You’re right, Virgin do have a site. I’ve just checked it out and they allow more than one charity to be supported. One to investigate further I think. Good shout.

Whether or not you do go to see your dad I would recommend getting together as many photos of him as possible. My dad and I did that after my mum passed away and it was a great comfort to be able to see her in happier times.

Very sorry for your loss.

I got to see my mum only a few minutes after she had died (I had been with her earlier in the day thankfully) but after that I didn’t want to see her in the chapel of rest.

It is a very personal decision to make whether or not to see your dad and it is impossible for me to say what would be the right thing to do. I didn’t want to see my mum as it simply wasn’t her anymore and I don’t regret it at all. I know she would have understood.

The Italian method works well too (ie ragging it, the longer and faster the better).

Certainly seems to be the right approach if you have a Fiat. My dad’s Panda has been running quite rough recently. I’ve found that driving it like an Italian; bouncing off the rev limiter with every gear change and going everywhere flat out, has left it running much more smoothly and has improved the fuel efficiency 8O

s’funny. I was at a presentation a few weeks back – the launch of a new compact pyrolysis plant. Everyone there was in at least a jacket and tie

Ah well a pyrolysis plant is at the more interesting and expensive end of the recycling industry. My clients are usually owners of knackered and muddy transfer stations and tend to have a fondness for wearing company branded polo shirts stretched over beer guts. Ties and picking line conveyors also aren’t a good mix!

I haven’t owned a suit in years. I tend to buy decent looking jackets and pair them up with smart trousers when attending meetings. I very rarely wear a tie these days apart from when attending meetings with certain clients or when hosting workshops.

I’d rather spend my money on decent shirts than on ties and in the industry I work in (recycling) very few people are impressed by a suit.

Managed to get out for an hours ride this morning. Was up until 2.30 this morning trying to fix a leaking toilet so was a bit sluggish on the uphill bits. Good to get the first ride of the year done.

you don’t need to carry a knife you want too.

What a very odd comment

I agree, very odd.

opening plastic packaging use scissors you are just making excuses

Do you really have to open these products the minute you leave the shop or could they really wait until you get home? How often do you honestly buy a product that comes in such packaging?

I travel a lot for work and I quite often find my well equipped kitchen drawer with the scissors in isn’t always close to hand.

Absolutely no need to carry a knife in the UK, unless you fantasise about being John Rambo

Er, no, not necessarily. I’ve always got a swiss army knife on me; in a world where every other product comes encased in rigid plastic it gets a lot of use. If it had a locking blade it would be a damn sight more useful,especially in the garden, but sadly the scum bag element in society has yet again led to daft laws being imposed that affect the rest of us.

Does McMoonter live in Downton Abbey?

What are they like set up with either cross tyres or even slicks and ridden on tow path/road?

Not bad but it will never be as quick as a cross bike. Its how I have mine set up and once it gets up to speed it is pretty unstoppable but it is more suited to bashing around off road with fat knobblies on. Fantasically versatile frame and very tough.

I run mine with a drop bar and get away with it by using a 50mm stem and a large stack of spacers. Not pretty but effective and very comfortable.

I don’t actually ride in December, I tend to take some time out to do other things and to clean and service my bikes ready for the new year. On the 1st of January however I will be out on the bike at dawn; something I’ve done for years.

Getting quite twitchy already at not having ridden my bike for a couple of weeks but I’ve been so busy at work and with home stuff that it would have been difficult to fit in a decent ride.

I’ve never been able to figure out why the conductor on the train didn’t just call for the transport police in the first instance when the little scrote started causing trouble. Thats what they are there to deal with.

A book is uniquely satisfying thing to own, hold and read. I just can’t quite see myself getting as attached to an e-reader. A good book can last for decades, be read many times, will never suffer from a flat battery, can be dropped in the bath and will never suffer from the problem of incompatibility with newer formats.

I’m off to dust my bookshelves…

Where’s the resident EnglishScot when you need him, eh?

I suppose I qualify given that my mum was English and my dad is Scottish.

It’s not the funniest prank dreamt up by a Ned with a nicked laptop but Im not going to shed any tears over the mildly racist slur. There are idiots both sides of the border after all (I’m related to some of them).

Not much at all. I always stay off the bike in December so apart from a bit of walking and decorating I intend to spend the festive season relaxing.

Of course if it snows I’ll be out on my bike like a shot as I bought some studded tyres during the summer and I want to give them a try.

I did briefly experiment with a cheap tube cutting tool. It broke. Surly makes ’em tough.

TBH the extended tube is handy for strapping lights to so it may well stay; it has for the last two years so far :D

Welcome to the Cross Check club my friend, you won’t regret becoming a member. They’re ace.

I’ve left my steerer tube long as well, mainly down to not sorting out a proper workbench with a vice in the garage yet. One day…

I’ve just this week signed up to Twitter. Its mainly to promote a blog I’ve started working on which in turn is to promote a series of bike rides I want to do for charity next year. Got to get a justgiving page sorted out next. Its a bit of a rabit hole once you start down the path of sticking stuff on the net.

All I’ve managed to do is post a lot of badly written crap at the moment but its a start.

Something from Dahon perhaps? They fold up relatively small and should fit you well considering your height. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few references to people touring on Dahons somewhere on the interweb; most of their bikes can take a rack.

Probably not as nice a ride as an Airnimal but pretty decent little bikes.

“the Casio F-91W digital watch was declared to be ‘the sign of al-Qaida’

Bit harsh, I bought mine to stop me scuffing my more attractive Citizen Ecodrive when doing the garden and DIY. I’m wearing it right now in fact.

I’ve got one of those old Campag shift levers lurking in a drawer in the garage somewhere. Lovely looking thing.

I still use downtube shifters on my Cross Check; ultra reliable and easy to set up.

till they die

+1

Mainly out of spite with my current Astra :twisted:

I don’t believe you can buy a truly bad car in the UK today

I use a lot of hire cars in my job and I’ve been shocked at how much tat is out there. Ford and Vauxhall both produce junk from my recent experiences and I’ve even had the odd Seat which has really disappointed, something that I was quite surprised at given their VW links.

On recent experience my next car will not have a Ford or Vauxhall badge on the front. One Focus I had on hire was so flimsy I could see the bonnet flex at motorway speeds 8O

I also hate Vauxhalls insistence on electric parking brakes, hateful things.

On the other hand I’ve always had a soft spot for Fiats. Yes, they break but there is something charming about them when they are working. Plus when they do break they are cheap to fix, unlike my current 2006 Astra :oops:

Why are these 29ers worse than any dedicated touring bike?

I guess they have the potential to be a bit heavy because of the larger chunkier wheels, but then again I’ve got a Thorn Sherpa in the garage with 26″ wheels and it weighs more than the moon.

That said it will probably outlast the moon…

Not ugly at all – but the handling will always be compromised, unless you go about 2-3 sizes smaller

I haven’t found that but, horses for courses and all that.

I’ve got two Surly’s, a Cross Check and the Monkey and they both handle beautifully.

I bet you can fit drop bars to a KM…

…the fact that it’s designed for flats and therefore always going to be a compromise is neither here nor there!

Drops on a Karate Monkey are fine, ugly but fine. Its no compromise at all, you just need to choose the stem you use with them carefully. To make sure I’m totally out of step with modern life I even run mine with bar end shifters and V brakes :P

How about the new Surly Orge? Its a touring/ utility version of the classic Karate Monkey. Its ugly obviously but you can fit drops no probs, I’ve got drop bars on my old style Karate Monkey.

Most of us who ride 29ers are smart enough to avoid the dog eggs in the first place.

We leave riding through dog sh?t to those who still insist on riding around on kiddy wheels :D

Can’t speak for the Kaffenback but I have a Cross Check and love it. However, the Kaffenback is now disc brake compatible and you are limited to V’s or cantis on the Surly.

On the plus side the Cross Check has great clearance for both fat tyres and mudguards.

TBH if I was in the market for a new bike the Kaffenback would probably trump the Cross Check for the quality of kit and the disc brakes. I’d still keep my Surly though; its ace.

I think he should be allowed to run as he is a figure who challenges the definition of disability and that can only be a good thing. I’m sure he will not be the last ‘disabled’ athlete taking on able bodied competitors. Besides,he must face other issues when using the blade legs which even out the mechanical advantage they offer; they must be damn hard to get balance on and run with at the speeds he can achieve.

Maybe the question we should be asking is if he isn’t allowed to run against able bodied athletes is it fair to make him race against other disabled runners who can’t compete at his level? He is clearly able to match the non-disabled runners although it is doubtful he will win an Olympic gold.

Mainly decorating during the winter months, a bit of training on the turbo in the garage (got a few big rides planned for next year) and sorting out the garage. Its a bit of a mess and crashing about in it swearing at boxes of junk and old tools sorting stuff out is strangely therapeutic.

So all cars can be expensive.

I know that all too well; I’ve got a Vauxhall Astra, supercar running costs and none of the joy :cry:

The car may be cheap, the bills will not be. Depends if you have the cash to keep the thing on the road once you have bought it.

I twisted some vertabrae out of alignment in a car accident when I was younger so have a slight twist to my upper spine.

I prefer to think of myself as crooked rather than bent. Sounds more sinister for a start…

Try these guys:

MPB Photogrpahic

Bought my Canon 400D from them. It was virtually as new and I paid just under £200 for it (body only). Top quality service.

ever been very drunk, done stuff and been left feeling pretty devastated with your behaviour?

Done lots of stupid things when drunk over the years. Posting a five bar gate through a mates open bedroom window stands out as a highlight, as does the night I ‘acquired’ a six foot starting handle from an electricity sub station. I’ve also been very rude to people a few times but as I’m quite a bluntly spoken individual at the best of times when sober its never bothered me. Everyone has to make an asshat of themselves at some point in their lives.

I’m on a bike, have far greater acceleration and can come past when ‘I’ deem it to be safe, not when someone in front pulls over.

Thats exactly why I don’t pull over to let bikers past, if I’m already doing the speed limit and they feel they desperately need to be in front of me its entirely up to them. Its not for me to control the traffic.

As for bikers filtering through traffic I have no problem with that as I do it on my road bike.

It would still be strong on the back of the German and French Economies

I was under the impression that long term the French economy is borked as well. They have a public pensions problem that makes ours look like a small overdraft dispute. Wouldn’t bet on the French being a stable bailout partner long term; they have a habit of doing what suits them best.