Yeah, the towns don't offer much. Victoria is the capital, its probably the nicest to visit and has some sightseeing options, but its also full of too much tourist-tat for my taste.

If you have a few days for a road trip, visit Tofino. Maybe 5hrs from Victoria, 3hrs from Nanaimo. Beautiful unspoilt beaches, surfing, walking, kayaking, whale tours etc. (There's a Bank Holiday in BC on Sep 7th so everywhere will be very busy, book accommodation in advance for this weekend.)

This is Meares Island, a short water-taxi from Tofino itself and an amazing 2hr walk through untouched rainforest:

Just to re-iterate what MarkG said above (Hi Mark!), if you spend some time browsing through the British Expat Forum you will find most people are currently waiting between 4-6 yrs for PR approval from the UK. Once you've submitted everything it goes into a black hole from which you hear nothing for several years.

If you <30 (maybe 31?) then look at BUNAC for getting a 1yr open work visa. Numbers are limited each year but the entry requirements are easy. Otherwise, do your best to find an employer willing to sponsor you and then get a Temporary Work Permit (TWP), valid for anything up to 3 yrs. This is dependent upon government approval for recruiting from outside of Canada and has also got tougher in the last year. If you get in on a TWP, you have a very good chance of applying for PR through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which basically allows you to short-cut the PR process and get it within a year. Job done.

And if you don't have the skills, then look at your wife/partner. If one of you gets the visa, their partner can come & work on an open work permit. Thanks to my wife (nurse), thats' why I'm now in Vancouver and loving it.

No, but I've ridden out in the hills near Nagano. Did it as a day trip from Tokyo (<2hr train) with Paul Chetwynd, good trails:

http://www.freerideadventuresjpn.com/mtn.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nichburton/sets/72157600344451555/

Specialized Safire is worth a look. Very low standover height relative to many other similar sized frames.

Response from Specialized:

"You can use any hot epoxy on those pads. Even a hot glue gun would work."

So off to the store to find some hot epoxy….

Kimmeridge is an off-shore reef break, probably not what you want on a boogie board.

Bournemouth can get some surf, depending upon conditions.
http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/BournemouthPier/forecasts/latest/six_day

Actually, Specialized reckon up to 5-6 years for a helmet. (Clicky) Admittedly I think I would prefer to replace mine before that, but this particular helmet is 3-4yrs old with <10 riding days done (its my bike park helmet, I use a XC lid most of the time). I'll contact Spec for their opinion.

Good ideas, I'll check with Spec to see if they recommend a glue or are concerned about other issues.

The helmet is a few years old so not under warranty but apart from this problem, its still got lots of life left in it. *Fingers crossed*, its not even scratched yet.

Definitely agree with trying different/larger grips.

Also, if you're not already, then try to set up your brakes for 1-finger braking. That leaves 3 fingers for holding on, its less tiring to hold on and you can relax your grip, you shouldn't need to squeeze your bars into a death grip.

The problem is that the US/Can 2-pin plugs are very thin, whilst the sockets tend to be a bit slack. There isn't a lot of structural support there so if you have a big UK adapter plug connected to a big travel adapter, it gets quite heavy. That leads to lots of fun as you try and support the load on whatever is available. And sparks too (at least in my apartment!).

Yes.

Wiggle used to sell them I think. I had one on my hardtail, very good.

Edit: Yes, they still do: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/s/cycle/7/thudbuster

I started a PGDip course a few years ago. Course content was good and they make a good effort to provide tutor support, testing & course bootcamps. Its not a soft option though, you still need to put the work in to pass the exams so take note of the amount of work they expect of you in advance.

Not sure about that Solo, I thought it was just the Juicy 7s that have a pad adjuster? Will have to check later.

Juicy5 has a lever adjuster for a better hand fit but that doesn't seem to make a difference to the lack of bite. Should I be winding this all the way out before bleeding?

Cheers nuke, I'll have another go.

Another vote here to avoid RF, cranks are good but BB bearings not good enough. Try Hope.

Any extra tips for bleeding Juicy's? My wife's Spec Safire has Juicy 5s and the levers move a long way before any bite, almost back to the bars. I bought the Avid Bleed Kit, watched the video, read the instructions in the box and followed them as closely as possible. End result = same as before. :o( Pads have lots of life left, but I put new ones in anyway, but that didn't help.

My advice is to print a copy of your ESTA confirmation and take it with you. Officially you don't need the print-out to get in the US, but it could be useful.

My wife had a nasty experience where the airline (AA in Lima, flying to Miami) wouldn't let her check-in to her flight without proof of ESTA. I'm sure it was just some cocky, jobsworth check-in attendant pulling an excuse to deal with an over-booked flight, but a simple print-out would have put him in his place and saved a lot of trouble.

Switched to flats last month (after 7yrs of SPDs) and now have a pair of the Freeriders. Same as jfeb, the Impacts looked a bit chunky for general trail use. Good fit (I've got narrow feet), comfy to walk in and stick to the pedals just like everybody says they do. Just remember, keep your heels down for the rough stuff.

Thanks both. I'll remove & clean up the bottom bracket and see if that fixes it then, maybe the bearings have some life left in them…

Hasn't anyone serviced their Hope BB themselves?!

No, didn't book my bike in advance, just turned up (and only 1hr before my flight too). Their policy allows 2 bags at 23kg each and a bike can be included in that so long as its packed properly. Only if you have 3+ bags, or go over 23kg each, or have a stupidly large bag, do they start adding the excess fees on. Its Alberta/BC, travelling with bikes/skis/snowboards is pretty common.

Westjet baggage policy

Good luck! And keep an ear out for the safety briefing, they like to make it interesting sometimes…

Fly with them about once a month for work, they're pretty good, certainly better than Air Canada.

I took my bike Edmonton > Vancouver at Easter with no problems. My bag & bike bag were both in the 23-24kg range and the check-in girl didn't even blink. If you're over that, it'll be down to the attitude of the girl at check-in on the day, so I suggest a big smile and fingers crossed!

Biased ex-local here with another vote for Guernsey, smaller and more intimate than Jersey. Day-trip to Herm/Sark very worthwhile if the weather is good, but don't bother on a bad day.

Petit Bot, Guernsey:

Belvoir Bay, Herm:

Good effort, I also wish I’d seen that before coughing up for the official kit over the weekend!

So any tips for getting a good result? I followed the instructions to the letter on my Juicy 5 and only got a minor improvement, I’ll need to do it again. Lever pulls through most of its travel before biting, even with new pads. One thing I noticed was a very, very small hole in the lever reservoir cap, which leaks a little oil whenever I pressurize the system. Is this normal, or am I overdoing it?!

Pike U-Turns, fantastic, but wish I could afford a Lyrik U-Turn or 36 Talas:

Santa Cruz gangrene here:

Forgot to say, email is in profile if you want any more info. Some photos from last year:
Galbraith, WA[/url]

and Squamish here[/url] and here[/url]

I also moved to Vancouver last year and can relate to what you’re saying. My wife especially has lost her motivation for riding since she found that most of the local riding here is generally harder and less scenic than the UK. And by less scenic, I mean you don’t have much of a view in the middle of a forest.

As others have said, Bridal Path on Seymour and Lynn Valley/Lower Seymour forest are good trails on the North Shore and Burnaby/SFU is fun too. Squamish has miles of green/blue trails and the view is pretty good if you’re at the top of Mashiter.

My wife’s favourites by far are the Sunshine Coast (we’ve ridden the Gibsons/Roberts Creek area) and Galbraith, just over the border in Washington. In both places, the trails are generally a bit less techy and the areas are huge, so plenty of distance available. Galbraith is also very open at the top of the mountain, reminded us very strongly of Afan and Welsh trail centres.

Dropping tyre pressures from 40psi to 30psi. Suddenly all those sketchy descents were full of grip.

Used to have a A3 Sportback 2.0Tdi 170bhp. Absolutely loved it, nice bit of extra oomph in comparison to the standard 140bhp and still got 45mpg+. No problems getting 2 bikes + kit in the back and was sooooo comfortable on long drives with cruise control.

[Sobs quietly] I loved that car! [/Sobbing]

In the back of a Beetle, 3 years & 1 month ago:

This is my 3rd most-viewed photo:

The first 2 places are taken up with some timelapse movies, a series of photos taken every 10 seconds for 2 hrs at Skookumchuk tidal rapids. I can’t seem to embed that so here’s the linky:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nichburton/2795410052/%5B/url%5D

ContourHD has just been released, could be worth trying out. HD @30fps, or more importantly standard definition at 60fps for fast sports like biking:
http://www.vholdr.com/contourhd/overview

cheap two way radios are useful in emergencies or just fun on the longer chair lieft sections

Radios are a great way to keep in touch with a large group, especially if you have some slower rides who you just want to check on.

We took some friends with us a few years ago to the PdS who were novice bikers, they came out for the easy trails and social stuff. One of them is an electronics geek so he brought a voice-activated headset for his radio. He was well behind us on the descents, but you could still hear his screams/curses/whoops of joy from the radio the whole way down. Flippin’ hilarious!

Oh, and in the last few weeks, I’ve also had the bike bag in an 09 Astra SRi (rubbish!), a friends 03 Seat Ibiza and an 09 Kia Soul (impressively practical!).

Standard bike bag will fit fine with seats flat. I rented a 2008 Corsa last year for a few days, bike bag went in flat and then 2 other duffle bags on top.

Windows Live Photo Gallery. Free, easy, awesome results and direct upload to Flickr.

Or for something more advanced, try ICE (also free):
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ICE/

If you’ve got 3 days, you’ve also probably got time to try Squamish too. Lots of sedate XC stuff there (try Alice Lake area), as well as gnarly stuff in abundance.

Off the top of my head, I think you’re looking at about $50-60/day in Squamish for XC bike, $70-80/day for an XC bike in Whistler. DH bikes in Whistler are nearer to $90-100/day, armour is extra but very much recommended.