I’m in Dover and I can vouch for the A2 approach to the port. Definitely steer clear of the A20, as that’s the official detour, plus War&Peace traffic too. Took my wife an hour to get from Ashford last night. If you get on the A20 though, head towards Hythe and take the coast road, then up to Capel-le-Ferne. Or A2 to Canterbury, then Bridge-Aylesham-Lydden-Temple Ewell.

Those Vayas look luvverly.
Vorlich, how does the Awol ride unladen? I think the position looks great, but wondered if it was too much of a touring bike to ride well without another 80kG of stuff strapped to it?

My CrossCheck earler in the year.
And now, after some fettling.

Yes, well aware of Damien Lewis’ Etonian upbringing!
He was in a series called Life that was good, that nobody seemed to watch.
I think Pacific missed the spot though.

Bikes I’d love to have again are probably some of the BMX’s I had in the mid-late 90’s. A rebadged Curtis specifically. Outdated in 1995, but fillet-brazed 531 BMX frames aren’t ten a penny now! Weird shape though!
Reynolds Racing Fresh 40 too.
MTB’s; the only one I’ve regretted selling was a 2008 GT peace 9’r. Way underrated bike.

I went halves with my dad and bought the boxset years ago……on VHS.
Haven’t had a video for about ten years though! It’s a good series for spotting english actors. I think Simon Pegg’s in it for couple of early episodes, plus I’ve been told the guy who played the medic later on was from Dover.
Never could take David Schwimmwer seriously though!
Currahee!!

I’m a fan of the CrossCheck, but it is heavy. I think it rides fine though,bit more rugged and versatile, but can be a weird fit. They are decent bikes, generally; not fancy enough for some and expensive for others. Again, All-City, Soma make similar offerings. Have you seen the Velo-Orange frames? The Pass-Hunter seems to get good reviews, though maybe on the pricier/cheaper side.

Ah, Mr.Stumpy, I was hoping you would reply! That does sound encouraging at least, as I’m going from a 1×9, to a 2×9, so I’m not really comparing the shifting to anything else. Again, it just seems weird (to me, at least) to have such a large middle ring on a 110mm triple. I would have though 46T would be a small outer………..If I remember correctly, your ring was the same, with the pins protruding on the same side as the counterbores?
I have to say it also sounds strange that you could shift up, but not down. I would have thought that the problem would be reversed. I guess that could be because of the lack of ramps and full size teeth?
I’ll be using DT friction shifters anyway, I think that should help somewhat too.

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just thought 46t would be a bit large for a middle position ring on a triple. Especially for a 110bcd compact.
The ad on Ebay didnt give much away position-wise, only that it was 9 and 10 speed compatible. There’s also not much in the way of ramping, so it may be possible to swap the pins over to the other side.

Agh, can’t believe they’ve dropped this, I was saving up to get one to replace my KM. Was it a whole year in production? Didn’t the Fortitude only last a year or so too? Progression and continuous improvements are all good, but surely leave it a couple of years to make a big change.
The Monstercross bike looked interesting though.

Yeah started out feeling quite confident, then said retired gentlemen always seeming to be leaving any stops as we bumbled in!
All a good learning curve though, you definitely find what works and what doesn’t.
General vibe was really good though, very friendly. There was a Sportive using roughly the same route and the difference was striking. Very race-y. I think I even got a “Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo” from a passing fred!

2nd for the Shin Cup! Don’t use all the powder at one, about 3/4 will do you right.
Apparently Sainsburys stopped selling them due to irradiated ingredients……..
Still the tastiest thing in the world!

Ah I see, I hadn’t realised the cafe/cake angle was such an institution! This is sounding better and better!
As far as GPS goes, I’m just thinking about a basic app based map. Paper backup perhaps?

OP, you’re not thinking of the Hop Garden 100 by any chance are you? I’ve been planning to enter it as my first audax too.

The very same! I was looking at the Fairies Bethersden one as well, but clashes with holidays.
I thought 100km seemed a reasonable distance to do as a first effort, I just think the confusion came about seeing how much stuff people do seem to take!
As for the stops, am I right in understanding there is more involved than just getting your card stamped e.g. some sort of eye-spy/nature quiz?

Won’t be using GPS, or at least I hadn’t planned on using it. Would you recommend a map holder for the route sheet?

I was looking for one a few years back and couldnt believe how much they were going for. Considering the reputation they had, I thought a grand would get you a good one……..I’d had Beetles in the 2000’s and agree that you just don’t see people actually driving these cars anymore. Fiat 126s, 850s, Beetles, Type 3S, MGBs Midges, these were all accessible, practical cars that don’t seem to be around on the roads at all now.

If you’ve got your car handy, The Walnut Tree in Aldington is good, plus there was a really good Sunday lunch pub in Monks Horton, along the A20. If you fancy going into Folkestone and have a few quid spare, Rocksalt is very good.

I have to say, it does just scream fun exactly as it is there. I am more interested in the Monstercross though, that doesn’t seem to have generated as much interest.

scotroutes – Member

Chinny reckon

You Sir have just dated yourself (and me) quite magnificently.
Tutankhamun!

I have some OGs, exactly the same as the old Ragley Carnegies, if that helps. Not had a problem with my hands moving at all, but I do use flanged grips too. I personally think they’re a good bend, not as extreme as Jones or Marys etc, but with all the benefits.

On a semi-related note, did anyone else get a “Major Emergencies” Leaflet through their door this week? Dover council distributed one, and after reading the ST about our possible new V-bomber force and Russian rearmament, I ended up staring at it with a wibbly tummy and thoughts of emigrating.

My favourite way of getting kicks!

Mr Joe,
Here is what I found;
http://marzocchiworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/travel-reduction-z4-mxc-series.html
I actually turned some 25mm spacers this morning, so when I get the other bits I need, I’ll jam them in and let you know how they feel.

Thanks all, after a lot of careful google wording, I actually came across the Marzocchiworkshop article. LOADS easier than I was expecting! Activesport have the 19mm springs, otherwise I can just turn a couple of PTFE spacers.
Any reason I couldn’t go down to 75mm?

I believ there was an LP in the early 80’s called “The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan” released by Stiff……….it was blank both sides.

I find it usually signals someone pig-ignorant, with opinions based on fantasy. The person saying nothing the loudest.
See pretty much any episode of Come Dine With Me!

Not SS, I know;

I’ve had my Knard for a while, great in the summer, as long as it’s not too dusty. Mud is just awful, at least around South East Kent where it can be very claggy and chalky. I love the cushion-for-pushin’ but I might try something else for the winter. Maybe even go small again?

I used to love these! Before I had my daughter, I stocked up on a couple and spent quite a bit of the pregnancy going;
“Arrrghghh I remember that! The Banana Thief!”
Very warm cosy memories

I can recommend these;
http://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-05266-weldmate-p178hf-tig-arc-inverter-welder.html
I used to use the Weldmate in its older form for a few years, most of them have the same basic internals with a different casing. Cheap and cheerful, but reliable with HF start.
DC only (so not for Al.), great for site work.
Specialized Welding are a good contact and they can give you good advice on this or something similar.
If you want better quality, you’ll be looking into Miller, ESAB etc.

Classics! Mine are
Iron Maiden- Live after Death
Slayer- Reign In Blood and South of Heaven
Napalm Death- Scum was good but I think the Peel Sessions release distilled it down even further!
Ministry- Twitch is a good one, I think Land of Rape and Honey is still 80’s?

Christ, that was just depressing, especially the semi-literate Have-your-say bit. I really am starting to believe that the world would be better off without the internet…….
Having said that, Peppa Pig World certainly subverted a large amount of money out of my wallet. And, yes, Ben and Holly is better and Nanny Plum has a sexy voice!

I’d agree with Mr. Top too, they can take a little longer than a couple of hours. You’ll probably get the bulk of it done, but it’s the tidying up, charging etc. that takes time.
As far as motors go, the 540, even the standard silver can, is still a very poky motor. I had a Holiday Buggy 2010 (another good kit that may be worth looking at) that came with a 380 motor. The 540 was a massive upgrade, you could wheel spin in sand at any speed.

Like a few on here, I was brought up Catholic (or to quote John Irving, a Mackerel Snapper!) by my mum, a proper Irish/Liverpool catholic. Where I grew up, Ashford in Kent, there was a large Catholic presence, lots of Irish, Poles, Africans and English Catholics. Went to Catholic primary school, secondary school, was an altar boy, 1st confession (a horrible, nasty little rite forced on children), 1st communion, confirmation etc. I never really saw or heard anything anti-catholic, bar 5th November until I was in my 20’s.
I think though, that common with a lot of religions, when brought up with it, you never really take it that seriously. Sure, the guilt bit does get in there, not touching “down there”, listening to Slayer. It does take a while to sjake it all out of your head.
However, not having been to mass for about 20 years, I went to my Godmothers funeral and actually found it quite comforting that some institutions change at such a glacial pace.

You’d never drink it!
Imagine cracking it open and it’s rough as a badgers balloon knot….

This stuff goes well with Rola-Cola or Panda cola;
https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-16905.aspx

I love the time honoured trope that a complete lack of any evidence is evidence that someone is trying to conceal said evidence.
If you open your mind far enough, your brain will fall out….

Same problem with the chainring as it’s “armed” rather than a solid circle.
I think I’ll just measure back from the bolt holes…

It’s a bit difficult on a 5 arm crank. I’m at work anyway 😆
just wondered if that information might be at hand

Yeah, that’s what I came to. It’d be reasonably easy to make it under size and take it out I suppose.
I just assumed it would have been a fairly standard dimension.

I have a £5.00 off spends over £50.00 if thats much use?

I do like the look of those Gevenalle shifters, but look to be a bit spendy, especially compared to normal road levers.
I think I’ll go with the bar ends then, though I wonder if that Gevenalle system would be easy to replicate……