When I say gaffs I mean shaking hands with invisible people, getting lost leaving the stage, falling down stairs, talking about people long dead like they’re still with us etc. I completely understand the dislike of Trump and while he might say stupid things he’s at least still with it.

If you’re running the tyre pressures you like OP and still trashing rims then the only choice is beefier rims and/or some kind of rim protection.

Indeed he did, very stupid move. I’m not trying to defend everything Trump has ever done, we’d be here all day and I’d still lose.

Biden is clearly past it and I feel bad pointing out his mental degeneration but it’s 100% a thing. He’s not fit to hold any public office and definitely not pres. Go look at his many gaffs on youtube, it’s endless.

Definitely do not use a circular saw OP. As said above a bow saw or silky for small stuff and for bigger stuff use the right tool for the job, chainsaw.

You may disagree with Trump but at least he still has his mental faculties, such as they are. Biden on the other hand should be in a home, the guy doesn’t know what day of the week it is. I feel sorry for him.

The more this gets talked about the better as far as I’m concerned, I had a pretty rough few years and came very close myself.

When I came out the other side and started talking about it I was shocked how many of my friends had been through something similar and never said a word about it. 

I’m once again going to Morzine to give the boring and obvious answer

I think they’re reasonable questions to ask, as said above some have already been answered.

The power to have all the powers I want for me.

If I was American I’d have voted for Trump both times, not because of any great love of Trump but because I think Clinton and Biden were both worse in their own way. It’s going to be a sad a state of affairs if it ends up being Trump v Biden 2024. The most powerful country in the world and it’s a choice between a failed businessman/reality TV star and an OAP who’s lost his marbles.

Wishing the guy gets murdered seems a bit much, there’s lots of people I dislike but I wouldn’t wish them dead.

I don’t think the e bike I’d want exists yet. None of this eco mode stuff, max power up technical climbs for at least 40 miles on a single battery, downhill bike levels of performance for the fun stuff, not ridiculously heavy, reliable or at least easy to fix. Sign me up in 10 years when this is a thing.

I’d still have a normal bike as well though, I kind of like the suffering I think it does me good.

I suppose the conspiracy theory angle would be that the incriminating evidence has been destroyed, the necessary people have been silenced and that anyone named is just collateral damage.

I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I would bet £5 that Epstein didn’t kill himself

I’d be interested to read the notes the OP gave to chatGPT

Don’t bring poor Penfold into it. This has gone too far

Has anyone been watching the meteor shower this week? Wednesday was brilliant

So to take your example, I as a white guy cant have any opinion on the ‘N word’? I’m not disagreeing just making sure I understand you

Context is important though. I say things to my friends that I’d never dream of saying to stranger or someone I didn’t know well.

I’m giving my opinion, surely that makes me completely qualified. I’m not out here telling people not to use it or that it should be banned.

By my standards I guess. Throwing around insults never helps dialogue IMO

Personally I think the numbers don’t matter all that much as long as you’re not on a bike that’s completely the wrong size, it’s more what you’re used too and personal preference.

I moved from a 2012 bike to a 2021 bike and at first it felt really weird and I experienced many of the things described above. I was constantly getting pedal strikes, the bike felt slow and sluggish in corners, I was really struggling to lift the front wheel/unweight the rear, bunnyhops were much more difficult, the front wheel felt like it was constantly going to wash out, when the bike was leant over in a corner my toes would sometimes brush the floor which was terrifying, I could go on.

Now I’m used to the bike I don’t experience any of these problems.

I’ll bet against the nicotine-stained man-frog returning to the fold. My money is on him becoming leader of the conservative party after they’ve been decimated at the next GE

Elden ring. Fantastic game but not for the faint hearted.

IMO there’s no chance he goes to prison. I actually think this helps him, it plays into the narrative that the ‘establishment’ or ‘deep state’ or whatever else you might want to call it are afraid of him and out to stop him running again by whatever means necessary. I actually think this sets a dangerous precedent, there’s a very good chance he’ll win in 2024 and if he does he’ll almost certainly try and use similar tactics against his political opponents.

I also find such cases worrying, causing ‘distress’ or ‘alarm’ through words alone is quite vague and open to interpretation. Calling someone a coconut is definitely a dick move but I don’t think they should be prosecuted for it. Same goes for calling someone a libtard or gammon.

I’d also add that if as you say OP you’re the fattest and most unfit you’ve ever been that in itself can be an un motivating factor. I’ve experienced this, I took a good few years out from mountain biking and my fitness dropped off a cliff. When I decided to get back into riding I thought I’d be starting from scratch but that wasn’t the case, the first 2 weeks of regular riding were very difficult but after that it felt as though I was getting substantially fitter ride by ride. I have no idea if there’s any science to back it up but regaining lost fitness seems in my experience to be far far easier than gaining it initially.

I’m not really sure what my point is other than if you feel your current fitness is holding you back don’t worry. It will come back faster than you could ever hope.

damn right!

Damn I’ve been caught

I’ll laugh long and heartily if this is the hill that Rishi chooses to die on. Surely even the most ardent anti immigration supporter would agree that the Rwanda plan is complete nonsense.

I struggle with this at times, especially during winter.

I find having a goal helps a lot and it doesn’t need to be a spectacular one.

I also try and drum into myself that I’ve never gone on a ride and not come home thinking that I wish I hadn’t bothered. Even some of the most disastrous rides I’ve had were ultimately worthwhile, even if it was rubbish at the time the funny stories are still worth it.

Some interesting replies here.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned that I think could be relevant is outside forces trying to stir up division. I’ve heard talk of Russian and Chinese bot farms whose aim is just that. I have no idea if it’s true or how big of a problem it might be but I do know that if my aim was to destroy ‘the west’ stirring the pot on social media would definitely help achieve that goal.

I don’t know much about Brand and Barton but I did have a bit of a look into Tate when he got cancelled and have a few ideas about how he became so popular.

He presents himself as a caricature of a masculine man which appeals to immature teenage boys. Ex kickboxing world champ, rich, in shape, loads of sports cars, flying on private jets, loads of women, says whatever he wants, does whatever he wants and doesn’t care what anyone has to say about it.

He understands what social media is. It doesn’t matter if someone watches his content because they like him or because they hate him. All that matters is the clicks and views, if you can get enough then you’ll start making serious money.

He deliberately says things that are factually accurate but in a way that will cause controversy. For example I saw a video where he said ‘women are weak’. He then goes on to explain that on average men are bigger and stronger than women. He clearly knows that the ‘women are weak’ statement is the part that gets clipped and people get mad about, this is good for him as people are talking about him.

80% of his ‘message’ is actually quite positive. Work hard, go to the gym, strive to be successful, take responsibility for your actions, stay away from porn, drugs and alcohol.

Lastly I’d just like to add that as I read through this before posting I saw how it could be construed by some as being positive towards Tate, this is not the case. I don’t like the guy and think kids should have a far better role model.

The title was just an excuse to use the term gammon, I’d never heard it before and thought it was funny. I could just have easily used left vs right or The Culture War or something.

Personally I think its a combination of factors, most of which have already been mentioned. Social media, traditional media trying to compete with online, peoples natural inclination towards tribalism, looking at the UK through a US lens, potentially outside influences stirring up division (bot farms etc).

Mostly I put it down to humans not understanding how powerful social media really is and how new and weird it is to be able to communicate in such a way with such a large number of people.

I thought starmers ‘praise’ was that she brought about meaningful change, not that he agreed with her methods or goals.

In this instance a libtard would be the opposite of a gammon. It’s not a real thing, just a generic insult from right to left

I seem to have a made a cockup of my post. I don’t know why it’s in small black type.

I think Starmers only concern is getting the top job, he will say whatever he thinks people want to hear.

Currently listening to,

Jinjer

Whiskey myers

Queen kona

Larkin poe

Electric callboy

Tech n9ne

Jinjer are first on the list for a very good reason. For those that have never heard of them give Pisces a listen.

Episode 1 was terrible, 2 was ok, 3 was actually quite good.

Thanks for the info everyone.

The bike is a 2021 santa cruz nomad if that makes a difference