Nothing Else Matters – Metallica. Be yourself and nothing else matters. I like that idea

My s/s Roadrat with Hope XC discs is a great way to travel to work. lovely handling bike Took me until lunchtime to stop smiling :-)

gmap pedometer[/url]

is this what you meant?

To be fair there’s a few sensible points there about trying to persuade people not to be riding in the wet and riding without due consideration to the impact of the sheer weight of riders in the Surrey Hills. And also about the acceptance by many that the trails will exist for them by other people doing the work.
Where i disagree is that we should build trails on other people’s land. Especially Hurtwood where they’re doing a huge amount to remain open and engaged with the biking community. Sadly when I helped out on the trail building days, it was the same usual suspects…

their version of Sgt Pepper’s rocks :-)

Properly shocking. That’s got to be a charge of attempted murder hasn’t it?
I do hope all the victims make a full recovery and feel able to ride again. That could put you off for life.
We need to get this going viral so people can understand what the ‘anti-cycling’ attitude can lead to at its most extreme

Glad to have brought some joy to the STW world :-)
That vid shot from the sidelines suggests they’re running wide bars. Double Gnarly!

+ your position is much flatter on a road bike, a bag would move forward and knock your helmet
But basically you only take a fraction of the kit. If you need additional water/food you stop off at a shop

Running mine with 140mm Revs UTurn. Dial down for climbs and for anything except the steepest stuff, tend to run c 120mm, but nice to have 140 for when it gets gnarly.
Old frames only take 130 forks max, new ones are ok for140mm
Lovely bike. Reputation deserved IMO

A few things I would comment on from my own experience:
1. Go speak to HR and make them aware how you feel, be constructive and positive and ask for their help (rather than make it a whinge about your boss – they’re more likely to support you)
2. Consider chatting to the doc, if only to see what he/she says – they may or may not sign you off but you can bet your bottom dollar they’ve seen more of this than you have and will be able to offer sensible advice. Mine said quite bluntly ‘it’s only a job’ which was really quite helpful…
3. You’re not required to put time off for stress on your CV – it’s your document. Mine simply shows that I started with that company in November 2004 and left Feb 2007. The fact that the last 2 weeks of October 2006 were spent signed off sick doesn’t appear… and why should it really if it was in response to a sh*tty situation in one particular job?

Hope it all works out. Stress is often misunderstood IME

My arm warmers are 6 years old, dead comfy and still going strong. Quite happy here

Super bright[/url]

Maybe not cheap but I’d say they’re good value with the rechargable batteries

Picked up my ‘Rat from the LBS yesterday with the DC19s fitted and went for a hack. Very impressed – doing everything I wanted in terms of improved comfort and taking road buzz out. Very happy

Smiths of Smithfield. Very very good.
But be prepared to spend a few minutes sharing a sofa with a few Grauniad-toting yuppies while they find you a table ;-)

PLEASE let it be as good as they used to be ;-)

Some good advice here re training rides but no-one’s mentioned the more holistic stuff: sleep and diet.
Long rides will take a lot out of your body. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and stay away from the beer in the days before.And eat well, especially plenty of carbohydrate (pasta always good for this) When you get back from yr training rides stay away from the cake and stick plenty of water, and protein in you. And make sure you get a good night’s sleep after. Also make sure you start the ride well hydrated and keep it that way. Find out what energy products work for you too…
And enjoy. A century ride is something to be proud of. Especially when people at work can’t work out why you’d even want to do such a thing :-)

Happened to me many years ago. Started to do all the things I’d always wanted to do with my life and never looked back. Had a blast.
Throw yourself at all the things that make you happy, and as has been said, time will sort it all out and at least you now know the truth…

Oh, and you’ll get dead good at riding if you ride all the time :-)

Yes the EU are not happy that Ireland charges next to sod all business taxes and has just had a one of the biggest bail outs in history

Spain and Portugal aren’t too far off needing a similar size bailout. Or Greece.

I use CRC because they give me something my LBS can’t: sheer choice and the ability to buy on a Sunday night after something broke/wore out over the weekend, delivered in time for me to ride again the next Saturday.

I use my LBS when I need some help/advice or need something fixing/parts installed that I don’t have the tools to do myself.

Each has a role – maybe time for LBS’s to consider the value they’re best placed to add, and to focus on it? e.g. Bike Treks guided rides/maps/test rides etc

Careful now, this is in danger of becoming a reasoned fact-based debate with lots of mature commentary and general consensus.
Not the STW way, people!
:-)

Friendliest and most helpful bike shop in Surrey[/url]

Head For The Hills are easily the most friendly and helpful shop in the Dorking area, nothing but good experience with them. They do Hope too…

Can you give us the context?
AFAIK stretching before you’re warm is likely to cause damage and therefore not encouraged. But stretching afterwards is important to limit soreness.
My experience is same as Jambo

Had mine for 6+ years and had loads of use winter munroe bagging and general hillwalking. Am amazed how warm it is. One of my favourite bits of kit
Reckon it could be too warm for riding tho. Although it’s superbly breathable. I tend to wash it in soap flakes. Cheaper than specialist outdoor kit cleaners

Surely Hurtwood is a good example of how a privately owned woodland can offer value to everyone. And that selling of the FC land doesn’t necessarily mean destruction and restricted access, if sensible conditions are put on the sale at least…

Friends Of Hurtwood[/url]

Corporations taking advantage of (legal) tax avoidance:
a) of course they do, wouldn’t we all if we could? Why else are so many complaining VAT has gone up. No-one likes paying tax, whether an individual or businessman and we all like to avoid it if we can
b)if they’re not paying tax then they’re keeping the money. What are they doing with it? Not sticking it under the matress. Either a) re-investing it in the business (= more jobs) or b) giving it to shareholders (who are either private individuals or institutional investors like pension funds who are investing on behalf of….. private individuals
To slay them for avoiding paying tax is far too simplistic and assuming that no-one benefits from them doing it

The ‘economic problem’
I love the way we all think we know what’s wrong and how to fix it. Sorry, b*llocks. The brightest and most educated people in the world don;t know how this happened or how to fix it. The world has never faced a crisis like it. No-one can say Brown caused it or that Condems are making it worse, getting it wrong. It’s all conjecture, there’s simply no-one alive today with the experience or brains to have seen this coming, stop it and fix it.
Most people’s responses are, IMO, emotional and totally tainted by their own (narrow) experience and political bias, and neither approach can possibly give you the whole picture.
In a crisis you need positve attitudes, constructive criticism and teamwork. I’d like to see more of that.

And basically, accept that it’s not going to be like it was. Let’s get over it, accept we’re still better off than almost everyone else in the world, and ride our (generally) rather expensive bikes and be grateful we have the wealth to afford them and leisure time to ride them
Rant over :-)

Union membership has been declining for years.

The biggest mistake people are making in this debate IMO is to think public sector have it bad and private doesn’t. Private sector’s been hard for the last few years, job security is low and pensions are hard to come by and it’s hardly an easy life now.

TBH the whole crash and recession has had such a fundamental an impact on our confidence in the system and the future that it’s pretty irrelevant who your employer is… it’s hard for everyone.

And i do think the unions need to think sensibly about where their support will come from if they play the ‘we’re being victimised, everyone else is ok card’ because I doubt very few amongst the general public feel ok enough to have sympathy with it

I did it in 2 days last year when I was about as fit as I’ve ever been on a bike. Hard work and it took me a couple of days to fully recover. I was happily doing 40-50 miles on my road bike in 3-4 hours but offroad is a very different affair

Groovy. Will have to join you again soon :-)

I did it in summer (from Timperley) and the early parts were ok but the closer I got in, the worse it got – muddy and wet and quite narrow. Rather enjoyed it, and a good way to see some of the city but I thought as a regular commute the muddy narrow stuff would quickly lose its appeal…

Your Aspie score: 117 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 90 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

This pretty much confirms the anecdotal evidence and feedback I have. My friends tell me I’m great, but a bit ‘unique’
Not all the way out there but enough to make it hard in a work environment where I can’t control the amount of contact I have with people or who I have to have a relationship with…

Sorry to hear yr feeling crap. Xmas gets oversold and plenty of people feel like they’re not living the happy day they’re supposed to.
Recommend fixing yr bike and getting out on it. Always good for a bit of perspective. Or just a walk in the snow.
And +1 for a chat with yr GP. They can be good for a bit of support and perspective.
Hope rest of the day gets better….

I put a Wanted ad on STW for a Rockshoxs rebound knob and he sold me one. Can;t; remember how much for but he delivered as promised. All happy here

McHamish +1

I envy people like musicians, writers, artists, sportspeople, coaches – something which is so ‘them’ that it’s what they do to earn a living rather than a job that they do because they need money.
Something true to yourself and that you properly believe in, and work with other people who are equally in to what they do…

They’re utterly shocking. I found the chief exec’s email with a few google searches and wrote to him when his staff couldn’t sort out my internet connection (ad said 20mg, reality 0.5mg). He replied, saying it was not good reading and got someone on his head office team on it. 4 weeks later of going round in circles having different people tell me the same thing again and again, total inability to get an engineer out when I;m actually going to be home, I gave up and left. And they’re still sending me emails telling me what my next bill will be.
And not a dicky bird from the chief exec.
The actual internet service has been a total shambles, customer service too. Avoid

This is only the 2nd time I’ve had flu in my life. It’s shocking. nothing like a heavy cold. Started last Wednesday afternoon and have been off work since and won’t be going back in till Weds at the earliest…
Only thing to do is to relieve the symptoms, eat well as you can and sleep….

A degree in itself gives you lots of options in later life. You’ll regret dropping out completely IMO and unless you become a successful entrepreneur your lifetime earnings are likely to be significantly lower
That said, if you’re not enjoying it, consider doing something else.

IMO few people end up doing a career in their degree subject and in any case at 19 hardly anyone knows what they really want to do, so don’t beat yourself up about that.
My advice:
1. Speak to student services
2. Have a chat to someone well into a career in radiology and get their perspective
3. Don’t let personal things confused with degree/career satisfaction

Even the most successful of my friends grumble about their jobs loads – whilst I would never say you’re expecting too much in wanting a job you love, few people are in that happy place. But the £££ does come in handy when you have a hobby like mountain biking :-)
Good luck

Mammut Base Jump Pants

I’ve had a pair of these for 5 years. Very tough and with a pair of thermals surprisingly good in proper Scottish weather.

Not too slippy for glissading tho but I guess they’re good for Base Jumping too :-

Above your price point but I reckon they’ll last for years

Highclimber – just the info I was looking for, thanks.
And actually I take the earlier posters point about different conditions, despite the tone!
You laugh at those guys on bikes but a guy I worked with at the time (to be fair not the brightest nor the most familiar with bikes or mountains) saw my photos of the AE and asked if I’d ridden it…

we’ve not had constant sub-zero over a number of days like this for as long as I can remember (born in 1973) and certainly for the last 20 years winters have been warm and mild.
Forecasters are saying that if winter carries on like this it will be the coldest winter for 100 years. We’ve only had commercial air travel in any numbers since the 50s so I’d argue that for people who run UK airports this is exceptional, it’s never been this bad in all the time they’ve been in existence so of course they’re not set up for it…
BBC reporter was trying to make the spokesman for BAA look a fool yesterday by attempting to put it they were cr&p for not being able to get planes to fly. The spokesman was standing outside Heathrow in a blizzard.
Go figure! I wish people had a bit more perspective