I go from DHR2 to Ardent in the summer. Have also then put the DHR2 on the front in the past too which is pretty good and relatively quick rolling as a front tyre.

We have an Alexa and the house is rigged up with several chrome cast audios which all work well with Spotify. Only issue I have is that I got an Apple Watch for Christmas and (surprise) there’s no Spotify app for it which is really annoying.

Gave a trial of Apple Music a go and managed to copy some Spotify playlists over using an app called SongShift. I could then sync with the watch and listen whilst running without the phone. This was good but once the trail was up, I haven’t bothered renewing with Apple. I think Spotify is better and need the Chromecast compatibility. I can work around the Apple watch issue.

Came across this in the middle of the woods about a mile from any road  

https://www.cyclesurgery.com/p/orbea-occam-am-m30-cs-spec-2017-Q1224437.html?colour=157

If it fits

Really happy with my IXS flow’s. Not too bulky.

@ Aphex_2k

If you like those, one of my fav playlists is one called “ninja tune / trip hop / chillout”. Really nice mix of stuff and not really a duff track.

My mates been on one for about 18 months and he loves it. Done BPW, Afan etc on it and he’s taking it to the alps this summer. Really good bike for the money. Only issues he’s had is the rear maxle had to be replaced as it kept coming loose. I think the stock one is crap. I doubt anything will come close in that price range.

Been running the 11-50 with an XT SGS for a good few months now.

It took a bit of messing about to get it to work on my frame as it initially struggled to get across to the 50 tooth. It was ok for clearance but it wouldn’t move inboard enough to shift the chain up from the 42.

Eventually got it working by removing the upper ‘link’ bit of the mech (not sure what it’s called) that normally screws into the hanger and instead attached the mech to the hanger using the lower bolt, with the hanger sitting in the gap where the link bit was. This moved it inboard enough but it still had enough clearance for the 50 and didn’t foul on the cassette. Been flawless since.

+1 for that carbon Orbea Occam AM. I demoed it last year with the Aeris and Whyte T130. I wanted something exactly like your OP, capable but still able to climb and ride well in flatter terrain like my local woods.

I was expecting to get the Aeris but the Occam was the better bike for this type of riding IMO. The Whyte and Aeris were great decenders but the Orbea was the livelier bike for me and the type of ride I wanted. Might be the weight/carbon frame playing a factor here. The carbon Orbea is around 28lb all in and snappy is exactly how I’d describe it. It gets up to speed really quickly and carries it well. Just a great all round trail bike. Had mine for over a year now and no problems whatsoever (including, touch wood, the PF BB).

I’ve been running a sunrace 11-50 since last autumn. Using an XT SGS and it’s been flawless. No need for a goat link or anything.

Guarantee. (Just had to google it then)

Seems like a fair amount of effort has gone into producing a document that was never intended to have any useful value then. How does that work?

Thanks for the advice so far. The dates sound like an issue then which is a bit of a nightmare as we’re quite limited with trying to sync time off as my mate works shifts. Is there any way to know exactly when they’ll be open or is there anywhere else in the alps suitable for us that will be open then?

Also thanks for the kind offer Alexxx might take you up on it if we do end up there.

Our main issue is that our development has outpaced evolution. In the last few hundred years we’ve created a world in which we’re actually no longer that well adapted to.

All the stuff like religion, the concept of countries etc, it’s easy to see that it can be improved upon now we’re more enlightened, but we’re **** to do anything about it because our genes still drive behaviours which mean we’ll never really get there.

@wallop

I’m using strava on my Apple Watch. In settings you can turn on cues to give you pace alerts. Works well. You get a buzz at each mile interval and it displays your total time and pace for the previous mile. I’ve got some Bluetooth headphones and the cues play through that when I’m wearing them so don’t even have to look at the Watch.

Hard reset (holding both Home and power buttons together) if you haven’t already? If you’ve replaced the battery it might not do anything but worth a go as it can clear glitches.

@THM I posted the following a month ago in this thread and is just one real example of a brexit effect on the NHS. This is not scaremongering. There is actual planning ongoing looking at stockpiling medications as this is perceived as a real risk.

“I work in Pharmacy in the NHS and just on my way back from a meeting in London where one of the things discussed was future challenges. There is real concern about drug availability and cost post brexit. Apparently there’s suggestions from drug companies that post brexit if the UK has its own regulatory system to comply with outside of the EMA, plus the NICE process, there’s a real possibility that the UK market won’t be commercially attractive enough to bother with (we’re about 4% of the global market). It could be that access to many drugs is increasingly limited and we will rely on increasing amounts of parallel imports with a much less robust supply chain. They’re forecasting potential major supply issues.”

I got the Apple Watch 3 (non LTE version – didn’t see the need for me and the normal version was top end of budget) for Christmas.
Never had a smart watch at all before. I really like it. More than I thought I would. Battery lasts 2 days in my experience. I’m marathon training so that’s including regular GPS tracking for training runs and odd 1-2 hour rides. You’d stuggle to drain it between overnight charges I reckon which is the minimum I think you need to demand.

Strava works well and now I’ve downloaded some music on to it, I can listen to that whilst running using Bluetooth headphones (Anker soundbuds) and don’t have to take the phone. Strava also gives audio cues for pace etc which come through the Bluetooth headphones so don’t even have to look at the watch. I play a bit golf and there’s GPS and other apps for that too but not tested them yet. Also nice to be able to swim with it.

Then there’s other bits like getting your messages, emails etc and telling the time! It’s a smart bit of kit and I’m sure there’s more i’ll make use of in the future. It’s not life changing but it’s nice to have. Was showing it to my mother-in-law over new year and it completely blew her mind what it could do.

Just joined the club.

I’ve been running on and off for a few years but never really got into it. Did a few Triathlons last year which got me running a bit more seriously. Now signed up to the Brighton Marathon in April!

Training was going well, managed to do a half marathon at a steady pace after 4 weeks. Then pulled a calf muscle which put me out for 2 weeks. Back on it now and trying to steadily build back up but going more gradually. Will see how things go in the next few months!

Sounds like issues i had in my right leg where I would get various hamstring, thigh and calf strains/pulls. Went for a sports massage and it was suggested it was actually glutes. Not engaging them puts the strain further down the kinetic chain. This was sort of proven when he dug his elbow in my arse cheek and hit a pretty tender spot! Was given exercises like lunges etc to try to strengthen it.

SANTA10 10% off

Afan lodge and get a ride in over there too?

I work in Pharmacy in the NHS and just on my way back from a meeting in London where one of the things discussed was future challenges. There is real concern about drug availability and cost post brexit. Apparently there’s suggestions from drug companies that post brexit if the UK has its own regulatory system to comply with outside of the EMA, plus the NICE process, there’s a real possibility that the UK market won’t be commercially attractive enough to bother with (we’re about 4% of the global market). It could be that access to many drugs is increasingly limited and we will rely on increasing amounts of parallel imports with a much less robust supply chain. They’re forecasting potential major supply issues.

Ironically the sections of the population who voted brexit eg older people are most likely to be taking these drugs! Killed off by their own brexit.

I guess it’s the sort of thing an impact assessment might have thrown up.

@Pondy

Mine worked without changing anything but can differ depending on frame and mech hanger. I would expect it to be ok.

I’ve been using the Sunrace 11-50 for a couple of months. Using with long cage XT mech as I needed a new mech anyway for the conversion and this is what sunrace recommend. There’s a mech compatibility table which only lists the SGS long cage model but in practice a medium cage might work?:

I’ve been really happy with it, all running fine but too early to say about longevity.

I had a couple of claims in with egg for a loan and credit card. Had successful claim for the loan but unsuccessful for the credit card. Out of the blue got a letter last week from Canada square operations who deal with the Egg claims. Said something like new case law might mean you may be owed something with a form to sign and return to them if I wanted to persue it. Sent it back and awaiting a response. No idea if anything will come of it.

The scar on my belly from an operation I had as a kid and the BCG scar on my arm are war wounds from a battle I had with a dragon. My youngest still believes it and bigs me up to her friends.

Canterbury 10 mile run in Jan on the way towards Brighton Marathon in April. Leeds Castle Tri in June and then Whitstable Tri in August. That’s the current plan.

Tried quite a few in the summer. Ended up with IXS flow’s. Felt the best balance of comfort and protection. Fit well, stay in place and don’t really notice them once you’re riding.

Everyday in November excepts Fridays

Will see how it goes after the price freeze but can’t see me paying £12.99 pm. It’ll kill summer use off completely. In winter I’d probably just mtb and run instead.

Camper Wabi

Got some a few years ago ( I think after a recommendation off here) and they’re great. Warm, comfy and with the rubber sole, you can take the bins out or whatever and not worry if the ground is wet.

Sunrace 11-50 cassette £60 ish from altheteshop. SLX/XT 11 speed shifter £26/£33 from CRC. SLX/XT long cage mech from CRC £33/£61. Narrow ride chainring and chain of your choice. I went OneUp as it comes with spacers to alter chainline and then a KMC chain.

Probably 95% from home in Kent. 5 mins to get off road then another 5-10 mins to some great woodsy singletrack.

Very good road riding from home too. 10 mins to get out of town and then as far as you want on pretty quiet country roads through the North Downs.

The rest would be odd visits to trail centres etc on day trips or breaks away.

The bikes are good. I had one of the early full Sussers, the Vitus Blitz. I’ve still got it as a back-up / pub-bike. Only needed consumables replaced in 5 years.

Just seems that CRCs customer service is suffering at the moment with the wiggle merger. You’d hope it would settle down but who knows.

Tax avoidance

Could be linked to this?

WhatsApp: How the supermarket voucher scam works
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41900814

Could’ve been with this guy?

Few years back me and the missus went to one as Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally which went down well.

I once bought a luxury yacht at Stanstead.