Defender

Interesting reading the strengths and weaknesses. It all rings true.

What a great photo of Barry. He was clearly a top bloke and it’s heartwarming to read these words written about him by his friends.

Although he died far too young, it sounds like he lived a full and happy life and I’m sure he’ll live on in the memories of those who knew him well and shared those adventures and experiences with him. I wish I’d have met him in different circumstances but it’s nice to think of him in his prime like this.

Surrey Hills on Friday and a local ride through the bluebells today.

Had a good few rides on the new bike now and very happy with it.

@rp123 I’m so sorry for your loss. Barry and his loved ones have been in my thoughts a lot over the weekend. I can only imagine what a shock this must have been for you all. Thank you for relaying Tash’s message and I’d just like to offer my sincere condolences.

Very inspirational @scotroutes. Looks amazing.

Aldi do one. It’s a blatant Fransizkaner rip-off with the monk on the label and is almost identical in taste. That’s my go to.

Just googled it – Reinbacher it’s called.

RIP Barry. Very sad esp for his family. Hope you are ok OP and also the lass and her daughter.

Thanks all. Think I’m still processing it but feel ok.

We had to wait to give statements to the police and the lady came over to us to thank us. She looked really shaken up and was in tears. When we were giving CPR I asked her daughter to go to the road to direct the ambulance up and only realised later that she was probably only about 14. I hope she was ok. Must’ve been very difficult for them both as they first found him just before we came along.

Good effort on the CPR. Just remember that CPR is an attempt to perform a miracle so don’t feel guilty that it didn’t work. It’s quite a common reaction after something like that.

I don’t think either of us were ever hopeful sadly. He looked like he’d died some time before we got to him and never looked like pulling through.

One thing I would like to promote was one of the ambulance crew mentioned the what3words app and recommended we installed it. It can help them track you down in remote locations.

https://what3words.com/products/what3words-app/

I’ve made sure I’ve installed it.

I think what this Tory government has done so successfully, with the help of the right wing press and social media, is to draw people into their sphere of influence and once there, turn it into an echo chamber that they’re almost never going to escape from. They find most of the mates and family in there and any effort a small number might make to peer out, is met with fear inducing rhetoric, downright lies (with no risk any more of any recourse for this) or some nostalgic propganda that quickly snaps the lid shut.

I therefore agree with some earlier posts that in the face of this, Labour are toast for at least a generation as those already boxed up and voting Tory now are gone IMO.

Without major reform to the way most people consume media which seems highly unlikely to happen, Labour need to target those not already boxed up Tory (like the young etc mentioned earlier) and work bloody hard to keep hold of them, which may still not be enough. The odds are well stacked against them unfortunately.

I’ve been getting weekly ish texts from various ‘banks’ asking me to confirm a new payee on my account. The first time it nearly caught me as I clearly didn’t recognise the payee and natural reaction was to click on the link to find out what was happening. But it all started to look dodgy and I stopped before getting any further than going on to the link page.

Well, if Lifetime Legal are simply a referrer then going direct to them won’t help, I’d have thought.

I meant go direct to the local firm for a quote and bypass lifetime legal which I’ve done. But had to do on email as was on hold for a good while -which isn’t promising!

The agent mentioned the name of the local firm in the phone. Looking at the quote this lifetime legal refer to a ‘panel solicitor’ and there’s costs against that that are similar to the other costs we’ve had. I think all this firm are doing are acting as a referral vehicle of some form and it will just end up with this local firm but cost me £400 more. I’m going to go direct I think to them for a quote and see what happens?

The intermediary is Lifetime Legal through Miles and Barr estate agents if anyone has any specific info or experience. My gut is telling me to swerve it but

Like that Red 👍

Thanks all. On the schools it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be much in it but edging towards Oakbank.

I’m up kinoul and deuchny area a fair bit so give me a shout if you want a tour. There is also some stuff nearer on St Magdelaines hill. (Not sure if I’ve spelt that right)

Thanks, would like to take you up on that once we’re settled in. Will check out St Magdelaines too.

Bit of good news on the schools. Spoke to both Oakbank and Viewlands and luckily they both have space in the year groups that our girls would be in, and both happy to take them. Both were really helpful so now to try and decide which to go for and doesn’t seem to be a lot to pick between them.

Possibly the only thing is that Oakbank feeds into Perth High, which looks like has a wider catchment. So if we stay in this rental, but then moved a bit towards the outskirts of Perth or a bit beyond when we buy, then I guess they may still go there for secondary and may link back in with friends they make at Oakbank if they go there now? That’s about all we can differentiate them on at the minute unless anyone else has any thoughts?

If your commute involves crossing the broxden roundabout, be warned…it’s about the biggest bottleneck in the area!

Looks like we skirt past it to get to Dundee rather than actually go across it according to google maps?!

There’s some pretty cheap ‘Coolsurf’ SUPs just come on to Sport Pursuit.

From the OP, superboost and dodgy shock position are about the only ones there that would significantly bother me.

My last bike had a PF92 BB which lasted nearly 4 years. Then replaced with one of the screw-in versions (token ninja) which I’ve no doubt would’ve lasted even longer before I sold the bike.

Agree with Suntour, rightly or wrongly.

On a similar note, ugly welds would seriously make me think twice and I probably couldn’t stomach colours like pink unless it was crazy cheap.

We got the Aldi Helinox rip-offs last year. Good for £18

https://www.aldi.co.uk/ultra-light-camping-chair/p/083364381405003

They may do them again I guess but looks like a few similar options linked above. Decathlon do one too.

Can’t comment on schools or Perth life but live in Liff and work in Invergowrie. Let me know if you want showing around the Dundee end of trails (Templeton, Sidlaws, Ballo, etc). Ballo is almost on the way home too……

Will definitely take you up on that. Thanks.

We did stop in to Ballo on a drive around as we were sort of passing and I’d seen it mentioned and had watched a few you tube clips. Had a walk up the fire road from the car park. Saw some nice looking pretty steep trails crossing over. Looked good.

Longer term I could see us settling either near Perth or that area you’re in north west of Dundee from Liff up towards ballo but will see how it all goes.

Thanks again all

@argee

Thanks for that. Yes, it’s over that way. When we viewed, we did take a drive round the corner to Oakbank/Perth High as that was what google said was the nearest primary. Looked like a fairly big modern building. Couldn’t say much else. The area felt like a nice residential area and close to get on the motorway to Dundee for work.

@clubby – Looking forward to exploring Kinnoull Hill 👍

Got some good news today that our application for the rental in Perth has been accepted! So we can now move on to schools. Looks like the catchment primary schools are either Oakbank or Viewlands. I’ve sent an email to an address the Perth Council website to ask what the process is now so hope to hear back on that, but wondered if any locals had a view on either of these schools or anything else useful to know?

Thanks again to all for the ongoing input. It’s really helping!

Really enjoyed that.

Very interested to hear how the OP gets on with it. What size did you go for?

It’s a medium. I’m 5’9” and a reach of 450mm ish just feels right.

My old Occam was actually a Large, but was shorter.

When I was buying that, I demoed a Bird Aeris and they suggested an ML which unfortunately felt too long at 470mm. It just understeered and I couldn’t unweight it without a lot of heft. 450mm I think is the sweet spot for me.

Very nice. I fancied one of these but i guess if you’ve got one they’re already sold out.

On Instrgram a few days ago Vitus posted to say they are imminently expecting a stock drop on their most popular road and mtb models. Set up a stock alert.

Bit of ramble…

So the origins of this bike go back to building up an on-one big dog last year. Until then, I’d only ever had one MTB on the go and that was my 2016 Orbea Occam AM – 140mm each end, full carbon, something like 29lb. I loved that bike and it took me to Morzine, Wales, Scotland and even some Bikepacking duties thanks to the shock position. It was a really versatile bike.

But I fancied a hardtail to complement it and wanted to have a go at building a bike from frame only. The big dog was announced and with the promo at only £150 for the frame, that sealed the deal. Once I’d got it built and rode it for a while, a few things became apparent. I preferred 29er wheels, the low BB made cornering really fun and made you feel more ‘in the bike’ on descents, and the geometry was just better. 65 head angle vs 67 and steeper seat angle made it in many ways a better climber and descender, despite the relative lack of travel and rear suspension. The Occam was done for really as there was just more I liked about the the big dog and too much overlap between the bikes, so I started looking at options.

I was basically after the same geo as the big dog, but full suss and something a bit burlier to move it into a different bracket and get away from that overlap. But I still wanted it to be decent to pedal. I sold the Occam last November and started the search, which of course has been hampered by the supply issues. But the Vitus was announced and when I saw the new design, compared the geometry and looked at the spec/price, I felt this was the bike that ticked all the boxes and luckily managed to pick up one of the limited ones available.

Sitting on it and pedalling, it feels exactly like the big dog. There’s a few mm difference in some of the geo measurements but it’s as close as you could expect to get, which was a relief buying direct. It’s heavier though at around 32lb. With the steep seat angle it climbs well and I didn’t notice much pedal bob, but you can feel the weight. Some of that will be in the tyres too. Assegai and Dissector is too draggy for the current conditions so will move the Dissector to the front and put an Aggressor on the rear.

On the descents, I think it will be a beast. I only managed a few tame-ish runs in the local woods so not a proper test, but everything suggests it will be very capable.

So, as a complement to the big dog, I reckon it’s absolutely spot on and look forward to getting it out on some trails that will be more suited to it. If I didn’t have the big dog though, my first impressions are that I don’t think I’d have it as my only bike. It’s marketed as a do it all trail bike, but at 32lb with Fox 36s etc, my feeling is that it would be a bit too much bike for anything more ‘XC’. I’d probably go for something like a Transition Spur, Ibis Ripley, YT Izzo I think. Well, that’s my first impressions anyway but of course will need more time on it. Perhaps the tyres will make a difference to that view.

Hope that’s of interest to anyone considering one.

Maybe its time to start thinking about a new bike that will obviously be needed for a new locale 😉

Funny you should say that….😉

Had a pretty successful trip. The sun shined mostly and we did everything we could’ve to explore and try and get ourselves sorted.

We’ve got applications in for 3 rental properties. We’ve had to hedge our bets as it seemed that competition was high. Our favoured place in Liff had at least 10 other viewings in the previous 24 hours according to the agent. The other places are in Perth and a rural place over on Fife not far from Pitmedden (which I only discovered when we got back from the viewing and I checked out strava!). Fingers crossed we get one.

A big positive was the meetings we had with new teams at Ninewells. All went well and everyone was welcoming. In fact the first bloke I got introduced to turned out to be an MTB’er and has already said he’ll get me out with him and his mates!

We did throw my wife’s gravel bike in the boot and I managed one ride up the Angus coastal trail almost to Arbroath and back which was great on a sunny day.

Still scary, still lots to do, but feels like we can see a path now. Thanks again for the tips and help here.

May be worth setting up stock alerts on CRC for Vitus sommet/Escarpe, depending on how downhill focussed it needs to be. Stock seems to be dripping in. I picked up a medium Escarpe last week (hasn’t been shipped yet) but it was sold out again in under an hour after getting the email alert.

Thanks. Didn’t realise about legally needing to view! Good job we’d got this trip planned then.

Thanks Tomd. Will check those out.

Just thought I’d update this…

So, I’ve now found work also at Ninewells. Going to be doing 4 short days Mon-Thurs initially to fit around school hours, with scope to increase up to 4 full days which is what the post is funded up to. Really happy about this and if we can get away with it, may stick to the short days so can be around more for the kids which is part of the motivation of the move.

So far everything has been done on phone/email/Teams but we’re planning a short visit next week where we’ll both be meeting new managers in person. We’re both now starting on June 1st so the move is planned for the late May BH weekend.

The other reason to visit next week then is to try and house hunt somewhere to stay. We’ve looked at both rental and air bnb and it’s favouring a rental at the moment if we can get one as the air bnb costs just look too much. We’ve got a couple of places lined up to look at for rent which we’ve found on Rightmove/zoopla. Just wanted to check if there’s any other sites we should be looking at? For sales we’ve found TSPC and PSPC but don’t seem to cover rentals.

The longer term plan is to buy once we’ve got a better idea of exactly where we want to be. Our house is on the market but hasn’t sold yet. Got a few viewings lined up this weekend so hoping for movement on that soon. The plan is to rent for a few months, with the hope we can sell ours and at least be in a position to offer on somewhere by mid-August when the kids go back so we can try and get them into a school local to where we’ll be. No idea yet what we’re going to do about schools for the 3 weeks of the end of this school year that they’ll have left when we move up?

All still a bit of a scary logistical nightmare, but exciting at the same time. We’re aware of course that otherwise we wouldn’t be allowed to travel up next week, but this is essential for work/house hunting. We’re both also double jabbed up so v low risk of transmission.

Sorry to hear this OP.

Very much agree with the posts above. The clinicians will be trying to find a balance of giving adequate pain relief to give comfort whilst avoiding adverse effects and excess sedation. This can be a tricky balance to find against a background of possible declining general health and does rely on making adjustments based on response, but with the general approach being go slow and monitor.

The description you give does sound like perhaps the dose has been increased perhaps a bit too quickly or to a slightly too high dose. The sedation and twitching are signs of this and sounds right to lower the dose as the GP has done.

As mentioned, Oxycodone is often better tolerated than Morphine which can build up toxic waste products if your kidneys are not working well. However it is still cleared by the kidneys so can build up if they’re not functioning as normal which can often happen towards the end of life. We typically switch to another opioid in this situation called Alfentanil which tends to be better tolerated. However there are a number of factors that would come into play in any given situation and different areas may have different treatment approaches or local guidelines.

The important thing as mentioned is to discuss with the clinicians if you have any concerns. If your father is at home, he will have limited input from the GP and community nurses and your observations on how he is responding to the treatment will be important and I’m sure will influence the management decisions.

It sounds like you’re doing the right things though but as above, look after yourself too and ask for support yourself if you’re struggling. There may be support services such as a local hospice that can help you which the GP should be able to signpost to.

I’ve had a stock alert set up for a while on medium Vitus Escarpe CRS and CRXs. Had a ping yesterday afternoon on email. Saw it 30 mins after being sent and whatever was there had gone already. Some L and XLs but they went within another 30 mins or so.

Got another stock alert ping this morning which I saw 20 mins after it was sent. Managed to bag a CRX! It said there were 3 in stock when I got it. Another 20 mins later, all gone again.

So defo worth setting up stock alerts but even then, you’ll need to jump on it straight away!

Sonder Cortex also an option if stock

Got mine too. Like em. A bit snug around the hips / waist but ok but there’s a bit of stretch there and reckon they’ll be comfy. Happy for £40.

Also ordered. Thanks. Look good for the money.

We live on an unadopted road. It’s 50/50 potholes vs normal surface but I like that as it stops it being used as a rat run and basically only people who live on the road drive up here.

We have a communal pneumatic drill, a few wheelbarrows and a cement mixer that is ‘owned’ by the residents. We all (pretty much) chip in £20 per household twice a year, and around April/Oct one of the blokes up the road gets a few builders bags of type 2/cement and the able bodied blokes grab a few beers and spend a few hours filling the potholes. It’s actually a very nice social and communal effort.

East / West Wittering area used to be a bolt hole for us when we lived in Brighton. Nice beaches etc.

Along the river in the Parc des dereches, round lac montriond, along the river going out of town towards the nyon lift.

Also using an XT/SLX mix with sunrace 11-50 and KMC chain. All good.