When I went round the distillery it was described by them as a ‘ladies whisky’ and an excellent gateway to the drink in that it is alot softer than most and not very peaty. Probably not allowed to describe it as that now…

Nope – My parents were told that a while back and its one of the few they like. Took them to the distillery recently and it’s now termed ‘the gentle spirit’, changed for marketing purposes! Guessing ‘For soft sassenachs’ didn’t make it through the screening either.

Dalwhinnie and Arbelour 12 would be my usual go to suggestion. The Arbelour is very smooth. Fettercairn 12 is also a delightful dram.

Smooth and flavorsome has become my go to now, rather than peated. So tend to stick around the Speyside/Highlands.

I get on well with the Salomon S-lab ultras – great on estate track/fire roads but grips on the soft stuff too. Much more cushioned than most Salomon/Inov-8’s with drop closer to a road shoe, but somehow stable and non-saggy Everyone else I know uses Saucony Peregrins.

Finally caved yesterday and popped the CH on – not because of the cold but because I was decorating and the sodding paint wouldn’t dry so I could give it a second coat.

As above with Daffy, it’ll be the damp before the temperature. Already starting to feel it a bit, and the bathroom door is sticking. worked out 3 hours of heating is the same as a dehumidifier for 45 minutes…

Probably completely against the current trend, but bought a tumble drier for the garage, purely to avoid wet washing in the house adding to the dampness. costs about 50p per load for bedding. better than having them on radiators/horse for 2 days.

Anyone that races and needs a UK race license will be by default.

If people take a breath for a moment, it might be worth looking at what the deal actually offers BC. If it’s significant investment, opportunities to improve cycling in the UK from an Elite and amateur level along with infrastructure etc, then great. Nobody moaned about having a deal with HSBC with all of their suspect money laundering scandals/involvement in people losing their homes during 2008.

Like it or not, we live in a capitalist world where not every company has the budget to invest massive chucks of cash in charities. I’m sure if BC signed a deal with Facebook everyone would be squealing ‘data theft etc.’ Unfortunately, most ‘green’ companies won’t have the budget or the balance sheet for big sponsorship deals. I’d rather see millions of Shells profits going to British Cycling than fund managers.

As for the lube claims – Shell’s tech labs in NL are huge. If they can come up with a synthetic fuel that’ll power a Ferrari F1 car, sure they’ll be able to make a chain lube that’ll save 0.5 watts.

Regardless of your personal circumstances (FYI – fossil fuels are still needed to build both Tesla’s and wind turbines, and let’s not get started on the mess colbalt and lithium mining makes), fossil fuels are going to be in the energy mix for a while until we find other raw materials and embrace nuclear, is if that’s the case, why is it so unacceptable for the companies to try and do some good? I’d add that Shell/BP etc don’t set the price of gas or oil, that’s traded on the spot markets. Most oil companies are hedged at c. $70 bbl and <100p/therm. The people making the killings are the traders…

Interesting question really. I rarely use cash – mostly only when I’ve sold something on FB marketplace or want to pay a tradesman for a quick job and it makes it 20% cheaper (wonder why?).

Having said that, I’m not keen on a totally cashless society. Given how close Germany came to negative interest rates during covid, having cash in circulation means that, in theory, if banks start charging you to keep your money in them, you can feasibly just go and withdraw it all and stuff it under the mattress. Thus creating run on banks/financial meltdown etc dissuading central banks from going negative.

Cash is a faff, and contactless is far easier. Having said that, if we could get rid of coins I’d be much more willing to use it. Back to pound notes please and ban the 99p rubbish. (Disclaimer – I’m 37 before anyone says pipe down grandad)

If the pro model with the SID rides as well as it looks, it’ll be bargain of the century!

Slyly and anonymously via HR… ;)

Was looking for shoes recently, they seem to start at £60, or £100 in my local running shop 😮

True, they can be pricey. but then they take about 500 miles of pounding, protecting your feet and body from running barefoot on hard tarmac. In value terms, compared to a pair of 5:10s and fashion trainers, it seems pretty good value.

Echo most of the above. Shoes shouldn’t give you blisters, especially on shorter runs. Getting down a running shop and being filmed on the treadmill is invaluable. The right shoes make such a difference. o doesn’t have to mean expensive.

regarding the Knee – probably an ‘overuse’ injury. Running is brutal on the joints and takes time to adjust. I ride more in summer and run more in winter. This time of year, every year I’m battling niggles as I try and up the running distance. Knees especially since we cyclist are often quad dominated, but lack much lateral stability, leading to over tight IT bands and out of alignment knees.

In short, start slow – 2 or 3 steady <5km runs a week will get you up and (ahem) running much quicker than plunging straight into 5-10 km plus. Stretch, do Yoga, Stretch again (Especially hamstrings and hips) and then leg stability work like squats, lunges etc really help strengthen the muscles around your knees.

Hmm, well if we’re going ‘dream bike’, that means it doesn’t have to exist yet. So I want something that is as light and fast and pedals as well on the flat/up-hill as a XC bike, but descends with the stability and plushness of a trail bike.

Closest at the moment, probably a Blur TR, Reactor ST, Tallboy or Spur.

Bonus of being a coffee snob, now only drink ‘good’ coffee.

This equates to an espresso/Flat white at home for breakfast, and a filter/aeropress mid morning at work. Maybe another espresso at lunch if I go out of the office.

Instant, you can keep it.

I was looking at a CGR as a winter road/bikepacking/occasional gravel bike. They’re a little weighty but do seem a great all rounder. I used to have a steel Charge plug 5 (before the 5 went ti, and the rest went Alu) and it was great – commuted on it with 40mm G-ones which did everything.

ONly thing to keep in mind, if you’re out on a club run. with quick roadies on road bikes, you will be slower on a gravel bike/have to work harder to stay in the bunch. Part of the reason for selling my Plug was the clubber became a handlebar chewing exercise, vs. cruising along happily on my supersix.

Something like a Synapse or other endurance road will happily take 38’s now.

In short, buy a endurance road/adventure bike with 2x rather than a ‘off road focused’ gravel bike with knobblies and 1x if you want to really enjoy the road.

Come, join us on the dark side, it’s fun…

Always 2x for any serious road riding. As above, you’ll never find the right chainring/cassette size for a comfortable range of gears at a normal cadence for all conditions – you’ll either be spinning out of grinding. Chainline will be crap and it’ll likely be heavier.

Sram pushed 1x so much because their cable front Mechs were awful, in part down to their Double-Tap shifters that prevented you from overshifting if needed. Aquablue spent one ill-fated road season on Sram 1x, and it became a hushed up PR disaster will the riders publicly saying how shit it was.

50×34 with 11-32 will get most people along, up and over pretty much any road terrain. 50×11 at 90 rpm will see you zipping along the flat/downhill at over 50 kph. 34×32 will get you up Alp d’Huez.

For glare/low sun, I don’t think there’s anything that doesn’t end up being too dark as soon as riding in another direction. This time of year I find the Oakley Prizm Trail works well in most light other than bright summer sun, and a cap under the road lid. Use the same principle as driving – treat the cap as the sun visor.

Better half has a Trek FX 3 – annoyingly for sale but a medium so too big for your needs – I’ve ridden it a couple of times and have to say, despite being too small, the bike snob in me was put in it’s place. Light, nippy, rolls really well, good spread of gear ratios and 2x, and well put together. Cracking little bike.

I’ve been around road bikes too long, I got excited at the prospect of a Star Wars themed Cervelo

My Trafic campervan is registered correctly and I can partake of the higher speed limits. I believe that re-registration has been made slightly more difficult, though not impossible

It’s basically impossible now unless you have a high top (Pop tops don’t count). See this from DVLA:

a high-top roof (this does not include a pop-top elevating roof)

Hence the comment that brand new VW California’s don’t meet the criteria.

Cheers all, had a feeling that was the case but good to check before finding out the hard way! Will carry on trucking at 50 up the A9 then.

Definitely not the case for the average speed cameras on the A543 south of Denbigh – mate got done for averaging over 50mph in his van.

Yes – same up here – I’m in Aberdeen and the A90 to Dundee is 55 miles of average cameras on an dual carriageway. Some poor guy was ripped to pieces in the press recently for ‘reckless driver caught speeding twice in one day on the A90’ for doing, yes, 70mph. Was in a hire van too I think!

Not advocating dangerous driving, just find it irritating the lack of common sense applied. New enormous campervan – 60, Small camper conversion, 50. Don’t get me started about how California’s don’t meet the DVLA motor caravan requirements. Perhaps I’m just bitter I can only afford a conversion.

Just do what the rest of us do and stick to the speed limits through the controlled sections and make the time up where there aren’t any 🤣

Ahem, no comment… :D

Best thing about buying a van during lockdown is you can live in it when your mortgage becomes unaffordable…

All this chat reminds me of when working in a certain popular outdoors shop chain and we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to order Rab gear at trade prices. A few of us noted that at trade, a Rab expedition down suit for HA mountaineering was about £360. This seemed steep at the time, but even then the conversation of ‘probably cheaper than having the heating on’ became quite serious. Kicking myself now…

Being somewhat grippy when it comes to having the heating on, I’ve long since been a believer that it’s pointless having down sleeping bags un-used in the cupboard, so will happily sit in one in the evening on the sofa, and during WFH covid times, would sometimes sit at my desk in one. Any type of sherpa fleece hoody is great, as are the fluffy fleeces. a 13.5 tog duvet and a H&M £10 sweatshirt will see you through the depths of the Scottish winter. While Mcnair shirts are very nice, they’re expensive and country clothing supplies shops will yield a super warm work shirt for about £20.

I fully intend on making the most of my gym membership when it comes to showers this winter…

Deckhand/Roustabout offshore North Sea – preferably Norway if you want to good money and shift patterns. Long shifts (12 hours) but generally 2/3weeks on 2/3 off. Can be hard work in shit weather, but not actually that dangerous if you’re in anyway sensible.

Basically anything offshore pays way better than the onshore equivalent. Just need your Bosiet/Mist certificate which is a week long course covering Fire-Fighting/Fire-evac/Helicopter escape/HSSE legislation. Most rigs in the UK/Norway sector are pretty comfy too.

Camper vans were getting silly, but I’d imagine the price of fuel (£160 plus to fill a van) has led to some people wanting to offload plus with winter on the way it’s the wrong time to be selling. Plus, with the cost of living, a few people will be offloading unused/little used things to free up some cash. I had a mass clear out in spring to raise for cash for, funnily enough, a van conversion, and was amazed at how much you could get for unused stuff cluttering up the house!

Not getting rid of my camper, with mortgages rates and energy bills set to rise, I may be living in it! Am in the market for a gravel/bike packing bike though…

I have zero personal experience of heat pumps, only second hand from friends who have installed one. Long and short of it was, unless your house is super insulated, you’ll likely need a second source of heating in winter if you live in the North. High ceilings, stone and any draughts renders them sub optimal. Plus, 2-3months install became 4-6months.

I’d replace with a like for like. Gas will likely be cheaper than electricity based on price forecasts over the coming years (but not months). Like it or not, unless there’s a government subsidised/funded drive, Gas Central heating will be around for the lifespan of your replacement boiler.

Contrary to everyone else, I actually much prefer the new forum look. While the old one was great for loads of threads in a small space, I found it really hard to find one and often scrolled past. The new one is much easier to read, especially on a laptop screen.

Predictable. To go to the tip/recycling center near me you need:

Photo ID proving you live within an undeclared radius of the site.
A car – people on foot were turned away
Not a big car though else you need an appointment.
Definitely not a van else you’ll need to fill in umpteen forms proving you’re not trade – this includes Caravelles/campers.
The ‘right’ sort of waste – cardboard/grass cuttings and wood fine. Fridges, large appliances, mattresses, paint, tyres – basically all the stuff you see fly-tipped, you’ll need an appointment per item, probably for the 30th Feb.

I can’t help but think, if they just did away with the above nonsense, brought in during covid, then suddenly it would reduce the amount of stuff tipped significantly. If you don’t own a car, or only own a van, is effectively impossible to use your local facilities. Sure some ****ts would abuse if for trade waste, but surely it’s still being disposed of correctly and cheaper than dealing with flytipping.

Five Ten guide Tennie approach shoe, Salomon XA Pro, Scarpa Mescalito approach shoe, Sportiva TX4 approach shoe would be my vote.

The approach shoes above have soles designed to be sticky enough for scrambling/easy climbing so on par with MTB shoe rubber, and stiffer in the midfoot than trail running shoes. I had a pair of Montrail versions (sadly now discontinued) that were similar to the TX4 and were superb with flat pedals (Back when 5:10 was still a climbing brand).

The XA pro I’ve used a few times on hire bikes when not expecting to be riding and its stiffer than other trail shoes with a decent toe bumper. They’ve been my go to ‘bumming about in the outdoors’ shoes for donkeys years.

Very similar to you – I had some dead trees to take down and chop up, and a bow saw took sodding ages.

Bought a Stihl MS 180 – a touch out of your budget at £220 when I bought it, but the MS 170 is almost identical and starts with a £1xx. That and a cheap (£20) galvanized saw horse from B&Q made short work of the Birch trees, which are now seasoning nicely.

Oregon PPE bundle from Amazon – Troos/chaps, gloves/visor & lid all for about £50.

Best of luck, there’s something quite satisfying about felling and chopping firewood in the Autumn.

Another vote for the Sherpa. Bought to replace a LLS Whyte 905. It’s a bit Porky at current build with Hope Fortus wheels and Cushcore, But I’d be willing to bet with XC wheels/Tyres it’d be a riot.

MTB vans mount for me as came with all the different adaptors – mine get’s used with both road and MTB’s. TBH, it’s not a great improvement as because MTB’s are so sodding long these days, I have to move it depending on which bike is going in (MTB – axle in front of bars, Road bike – bars in front of axle) and the bike goes across the van in front of the R&R bed.

If you’ve not ‘campered’ the inside of your van, I’d go with the wheel off and bungee every time.

Sportful are my go to – I usually use the race gloves – really light and thin on the palm with enough to take the edge of bumpy roads or really long days.

I usually ride gloveless on anything up to 4 hours but wear gloves for events (to mitigate the idiot taking a group out factor) and more frequently now because I need to stop burning the backs of my hands in the sun. These seem to tick the not sweaty and don’t notice category, although I’m tempted by the air gloves too.

Another vote here for the Stanton Sherpa – and the UK made one would avoid the Taiwan tax. Zippy frame, designed around a 120mm Sid, not silly long, capable downhill, sprightly on the flat (with the right wheel/tyre combo). If weights an issue, there’s always the Ti

Can recommend the Vivaro’s. I bought mine last year, 98k miles, 60 reg for £4k. I’ve had the suspension bushings and and clutch master cylinder done, but other than that been pretty maintenance free. I figured the price difference between that and a transporter meant I could blow the engine/gearbox up and get it replaced with a recon and still have spent less, VW’s are silly money and no more reliable.

Since converting it, I’ve driven it to Devon & Conrwall from Aberdeenshire, and all around Scotland. Easy to drive, not awful on fuel (a tank gets you 600 ish miles). Fits bikes and surfboards. Best thing I’ve ever bought.

Bought mine of Facebook marketplace – the MOT checker really helps establish the history. AS long as you try and check the injectors aren’t rusted to buggery, all should be fine. If you live a ULEZ, there should be some non-Euro5 vans hitting the market soon.

Some of this sounds familiar – I’m a month post covid – RHR higher, no top end when exercising, heart rate through the roof on the slightest push, always tired etc. I’m in my 30’s and only 5 or 6kg or so over ‘race weight’

I had a whoop for a bit last year on a free trial. On the whole, everything it told me was entirely predictable – hard exercise or poor sleep = fatigue. What it did highlight however was how much one beer (Yes, one) made to my RHR and impacted my sleep. Likewise one late night or poor sleep made an impact too – these were evident on days where I felt ‘fine’ but then struggled when trying to do anything active.

In general, to echo the above. Have a dry month, or try only having a drink on a fri/sat night, eat well, prioritise sleep and drink plenty of water. make sure you keep active, even if it’s only a walk around the block or to the shop and back. On the sleep front, I’ve found avoiding the news if you’re stressed and a no phones in the bedroom or after 9:30pm rule has made a big difference.

Best of luck, hope you feel better soon.

Alpkit Gravitas. Very light and great for running and summer hill use in the Cairngorms etc, but also used it on a 2 day backpacking trip with a big/heavy rucksack with no ill wear effects and stayed nicely dry.

Probably should be a member of Oakley Anonymous, but have a ‘few’ pairs.

Sutro S with the Prism Trail Torch lens have become my most used. Great on the MTB but also go from super dull claggy/wet days, to reasonable (all but the brightest sun) on the road, only fail with glare off of water/shiny surfaces. Coverage is great but not massive so play nicely with MTB lids.

Sutro Lite with Prizm road is a superb all round road lens but find it too Dark for MTB in the slightest shade/trees. Coverage and vision is superb. Look like a 90’s pornstar mind.

Try the Sutro S with Prizm Trail.

Smaller than the standard so a bit less spaceman yet retaining the same style. Brilliant shades TBH, can’t fault them. My Radars feel like peeking through a letterbox in comparison. Stay put surprisingly well too.

In the GCN video he says he shifts once every 17 seconds on average. No idea how often I shift but it is nowhere near that!

It’s actually quite alarming how much you shift over the course of a ride when it’s in numbers in front of you – eg from a recent Sportive:

135km, 4hours 8 min, 1553m ascent, 955 shifts equals 3.85 shifts per minute. Thats not far of a shift every 15 seconds. This was a flattish (Bar the KOM section) and fast course so lots of small cadence adjustments plus in the wind/on the wheel, but still, a lot of shifts and a lot more than I remember.

10mile TT, 25 min, 48 shifts = 2 shifts per minute. Most of that time spent in ‘puppy pose’ on the tops of the bars. I think we change gear way more than we consciously realise.

I’ve recently become addicted to drinking Brake fluid…

…it’s ok though, I can stop anytime.