ive had the conti turbo tyre on my trainer for three or four years now – used at least once a week year round, looks like its still got life in it.

Prior to that used to use old road tyres, used to last me two months max, and theres nothing worse than getting 50 mins into a 90 minute race simulation and puncturing…

the only reason this is even being considered is becasue itll take air traffic (noise, pollution etc..) away from the west of london where most oft he decision makeers live, shifting it into the most populated part ofthe Uk instead… Unfortunately the only sensible option is the expansion of a central uk airport (again where the decision makers live!) or an alternative form of transport be found.

The biggest airport in the UK with the worst road and rail infrastructure in the uk, itll bring the whole of the south east to a standstill, and all the new crossrail lines will be clogged with the equivelent of 4,000 lorries worth of cargo, the M25 will be come more of a carpark than it is already.

Theres also the small matter of a bird sanctuary next to it and a capsized war container full of unexploded bombs and explosives that has never been removed as its too unstable. Could make for some interesting landings…

cloudnine – Member

Anyone been to Peppa Pig world?? Apparently we are scheduled a visit this year!!

yep went last year just after it opened – was a school week as mine are under 4, and wasnt too busy – amazing place….. if youre a kid…

Dont expect to see anything else in the park though, which is very good in its own right, peppa pig 15-20 mins queues, you can virtually walk onto any other ride without a queue outside of peppa world!

they did report locally that following a questionnaire that was completed the venue would be open to public use, with changes.

I think our local race series has it pencilled in for 2013..

muggomagic – Ive got one of them, the only drawback, as such, is that the beam is not adjustable, but I use it in conjunction with another cree torch which is adjustable for a widersweep and Ive pretty much got daylight, I can ride as fast off road as I can in the day – other than startled rabbits running out!

It does have a very good beam pattern though and is very very bright…

thank you – just signed up…. 😀

if youre making your own you need to be getting the Hares Moor kits, make them as hot or not as you like (I usually swap their chilli’s out for scotch bonnets for a bit of sweetness)

hmm rero is for the third year running restricted to pre 95 bikes… thats disapointing…

the odd thing I noticed during this years racing and training that following i-dave actually seemed to give me more energy and not as ‘puffy’ – During races also I found I didnt rely on drinks for (previously using up to 1500ml per 2 hour race) I now just about finish a 500ml bottle, and performance has risen, (vets cat) from a mid 20s finish to hovering just outside the top 10.

Did I cut out carbs totally, no I give myself two days a week of eating what I want (usually known as the weekend!) but still since April ive lost and kept off over two stone…

Ive come to the opinion carbs arent the most efficient way of taking in energy…

I remember 88 too well (in fact by coincidence was going out with one of the crew members that has produced the film and subsequent series) – acid house, raves were there but were more east london warehouse parties in 88, hadnt broken through mainstream, and there were still pleny of mods (particularly in london and yorkshire) in 88, as this was where I spent most of my time and new most of them…

Im now feeling very old…..

justin sandercoe of JustinGuitar, quite literally the best learning website out there is about to bring out a beginners book, its based on his beginners course (free on the website) which is brilliant – seen some really good guitarists start on his site…

normal sunday morning sessions is between 1hour 20 to 1 1/2 hours – two laps of the german and two laps of the spnaish world cup courses usually racing against myself – courtesy of tacx…. 8)

bread was the hardest thing not to eat, esp as I love and make really well, italian bread and cakes…

Midweek I rely on soup (tomato or mushroom are both really filling and very low calories) but once or twice a week I do have a wrap with fried beans and spring onion.

personally Id be looking for an epi LP custom or if youre really lucky a 2nd hand gibson SG standard. Id also take the epi custom over the Gibson studio… The plus tops for some reason epi never really nailed them, they never seem to have the 3d quality of some of the gibson quilt and flame tops.

But before you part with your money take a good look and play the classic vibe and Fender Classic Series 72 Telecaster Custom telecasters, how fender make these so well ill never know, and those customs sound amazing.

Freebird!!

….runs for cover…

being a singlespeed race shouldnt they be riding…erm… singlespeeds?!

Or is I missing something?

theyre not proving to be as good as the reviews suggested they would be, and its an excess amp – most people bought them in addition to other amps – that and a huge influx of them being sold 2nd hand (ever since they were bought out) means low prices..

I ordered one of those cree torches that lightman posted a link to i think on 4th November – turned up yesterday from china… so 11 days – shame the bracket wasnt quite as quick! But a quick test in my garden with three AAA’s and **** me cant wait to start using this…

whers best place for the batteries (18650’s ) nowadays..??

bought my timbuk2 in 95/96 – use it every day on the bike – still not got an excuse to buy a new one… Will prob last me at least another 15 years

Weetabix Dr Who cards FTW

that makes you as least as old as I am.. 🙂

holiday music / strings direct in rochford essex – specialise in left handed guitars – new and used.

What you after Im about to sell 4 of mine…??

its not something you can ‘retrain your brain for’ or ‘grow out of’ as I was once told.

Im kind of unique in that Im different types of colourblind in either eye, quite rare by all accounts.

It really depends how severe this guy is, some people can see normally under normal light (ie really bad with flouro lights – eg dont ask me if clothes match in a high street store) some people can see large areas nnormally but things like wires in a plug for eg can all look the same colour (minus the stripey one obviously), some people it will only be various colour groups (red/brown, blue/purple being the common ones).

I used to run a Northern Soul club in Kings Cross late 80s/early 90s, the other guys always used to finish with Jimmy Radcliffe…

Me I always finished with this:

Always had loads more people on the floor…

Nutters!

and cant forget the impressions with you’ve been cheating…

no one done frank wilson yet – ??? Do I love you – frank wilson 🙂

He’s never let me down

2 words…. Style Council…

not mine but everythnig Ive ever seen just doesnt compare…

does it matter? – Im still racing a 1996 kona, did really well yesterday too… 😀

someone asked me why the travellers dont travel in Ireland as they might be more welcomed

anyone know if travellers have valid passports, or do they not believe in that sort of legal stuff?

the reason theyre here in the first place is that they were effectively kicked out of ireland – there it is a criminal offence to do what they are doing here not a civil offence.

They have planty of property back in Ireland one of the sheridans (current resident of Dale Farm) owns an entire nearly built housing estate…

Also why is it we never see the men that live here..? Its always the women, protesting, in court, in the papers etc etc… Why never the men?

tomatoes – yes (I use them a lot)
Nuts – in moderation
Soya milk – soyabeans are ok so im guessing milk will be…?
Sweeteners – def no… youll actually get used to the lack of sugar / sweet stuff (something I never thought I would)

Does everyone do the one day of eating what they want ?? I kind of do 1 1/2 days of hat I want as I have pizza on friday evening (i make it though so a damn sight healthier than any shop bought ones)

That’s what the internet is for!!

Done that – still bored!!

got to say despite my ‘success’ to date being at work is the hardest thing – bored stupid, trying to stop myself snacking when Im not hungry is the hardest part of it…

Im not sure why sugery carbs are needed pre exercise. Maybe Ive now trained my body not to need them but I did post about them earlier, but two things Ive noticed:
– during 2 hour plus xc races I use a lot less on the carb front, used to gel every 20 mins and 500ml of SIS Go an hour, now I still have drink left with only one 500ml bottle and I maybe use 2 or 3 gels.
– But this maybe down to my non race sunday training – due to having two under 4 kids Im up at 530 in the shed/garage kinda thing and on the turbo for a two hour race simulation (ie hr and cadence matching a normal race) – I eat or drink nothing before I get on the turbo, and all I take with me is one 750ml & one 500ml fluid replacement drink (not carbs – its that hi5 zero stuff) and yet my times to date are consistently quicker every week (its a tacx which gives me the oportunity to race against my previous mes whilst riding round the german and spanish world cup courses).

So, Ive eiether trained my body not to need carbs and get energy from other sources or we genuinely dont need them, personally I think its prob a combvination of both.

Also during the week I ride 10 miles plus to work after 2 poached eggs and a glass of fruit juice, no coffee until I get to work.

im quite proud of it but doing two hour xc races virtually everyweekend (and turbo versions when not racing) combined with the diet is having a huge impact.

I actually started after seeing a picture of myself at the first race of the season and couldnt believe how fat I looked, and as im rding 20yr old hardtail ti frame really needed to do something before I had to replace the frame!

Couple of things Ive noticed though…
When racing I dont need as much drink or gels as I used to (500ml will now last me virtually the race – I used to take three of these, and maybe two or three gels as opposed to every 20 minutes)
The thought of cereals for breakfast is kind of offputting, just dont fancy them anymore
all my trousers, jeans & shorts look like Ive tied them up with string! Nothing fits me anymore and without a belt Im lucky if they dont just fall off.
Lycra shorts look baggy!

I started in April, just after racing season started, and that combined with the basis of the idiet has lost me pretty much two stone. I say the basis as I still eat fruit and have a pitta with my poached eggs. But as I say this is combined with a full racing season and training which obviously has a huge effect.

From 12st 4 as of this morning im 10st 6 with 9% body fat. Not looking forward to the end of hte racing season though…

been there, went riding, cant wait to go back..! Theres a bike shop in scottsdale we hired bikes from (cant remember the name) but they had a book of mtb trails in and aronud scottsdale – In a month we wouldnt have finished the book. The old Cactus cup trails are around scottsdale too, well worth riding.

This time of year the heat is incredible (so dry) and also youll have to look out for rattlesnakes and scorpions esp early in the morning as thy come out to cool down… Oh and you must have gel in your tyres cactus thorns are everywhere and will go through anything…

Enjoy and start counting the days till you go back!

On a tourist note the grand canyon is a must, with a stop off at sedona on the way, Tucson studios (in the opposite direction) is great, and dodge and tombstone arent that far away. I seem to recall the mountain in Close Encounters is in arizona too but could be wrong…

Oh and if youve got a full bike licence hire a harley and go ride through a desert!

Strangely last night whilst I was near to passing out on my Turbos, I did actually wonder is this normal, are other riders pushing themselves like this to get faster?

– yep every sunday morning at 5.30!?!?!?!

My own take on this in the 80/90s xc was mtbing, then come the mid 90s if you raced you did the downhill and xc usually on the same bike with dh on saturday and xc on sunday. At this point mtbing was taking taking off like nothing else, during 95 to 98 I remember stuff coming out weekly that would promise to improve your performance, x-lite, pace, kona, gt and cannondale were by comaprison small operations to what they are today. And then DH started to come to the fore, and the technology took a different direction, and xc racing ‘stabilised’ until the foot & mouth outbreaks that pretty much killed it (round here at least).

Now however its seeing a bit of a comeback, the same guys I was racing against in 95/96 have had their kids and are back racing xc again, and tbh, without the weekly must bythis because its blue rubbish, its a lot more fun.

Agree with teh age thing though, but the only other option is a points based licence ranking, but because of the ‘freespirit’ nature of xc I dont think it would work too well… still annoying when guys matching elite times put themselves in with the other vets though…

Done – would like to see it used as part of the local series – re dumming the course down personally it needs to be if its not there will be numerous accidents – The rock drop off is def not for the feint of heart…

some interesting replies here but I think reality would be slightly different.

we had one of the worst private claimping companies in the Uk in southend, one which was the subject of a Watchdog episode – LBS Enforcement.

What happened was you park in bay marked no parking (whether at local garage, private flats, back of shops etc..) before youre even out of your car youre blocked in by the clamper – clamp goes on immediately and you are charged in the region of £4-500 for a release fee… For those of you now thinking I wouldnt let this guy touch my car, the guys that are doing this are ususally found working the doors of east end and glasgow night clubs in their spare time, they also dont listen to arguments – if you dont pay the fee within the allotted time (usually around 20 minutes) it double or triples because theyve called out the van to tow your car, so yhose of you nipping off to get an angle grinder, the car wont be there when you get back. Call the police – its a civil matter, the signs are up, they’re there with the agreement of the landowner, nothing thy can do. Obviously once your car is towed excessive storage fees are applied.

Many people took the company to court, most however lost as they were parking illegally in the first place, those that one tried to claim their money back from a company that had no assets other than a desk and a chair in a portakabin (the clampers were all self employed).

It was a very slick quite well thought out operation, which worked just bordering of inside the law.. Before the comapny was wound up it owed in excess of £20k to claimants not one had seen a penny and I doubt they ever will.

As far as I know becasue of this particular company the law has no been changed and this type of operation outlawed. But it always amazed me how many people went onto the local paper’s website complaining theyd been clamped when there were huge great signs warning them…

At the end of the day if you dont want a parking ticket dont park where youre not supposed to…

my band is playing in a local (southend) pub tonight…

other than that steve cropper next week, steve cropper end sept and the specials in october…