I too am supposed to be moving house imminently. It has been imminent since the last lockdown mind… but we now have all the bits of paper lined up I think so it really does look like it is going to happen very soon. No idea if we are going to be able to do so in the next 4 weeks or if it has to be pushed back to December (which we were trying to avoid).

Just when we thought we were on the home run too!!!

I am currently (still) in the Lakes. We had planned to move back to the Stirling area (ideally a bit west) but couldn’t get what we wanted for our budget. Then got very keen on Pitlochry/Loch Tay area… lots of looking and just kept hitting the same issue.

So once our sale completes we are heading up to the Inverness area! Hoping to get a date next week with a bit of much needed luck!

All three of the areas we looked at would work well for you, Edinburgh too (lived there a few years). Good luck with the search though – we are also free agents with no work to tie into other than what we are setting up ourselves, and it is kinda fun and exciting… other than having almost too much choice! We also looked hard at Oban and Mull which may also be worth a look yourself.

Looking at this myself, but as we are going to share a set up with wildly different bikes I am being swayed by the idea of a Smart Bike – swapping and changing things I can just tell will be a barrier to actually doing anything at the moment!!!

Interested if anyone has any suggestions ,- the Watt Bike Atom is looking interesting as it isn’t insanely expensive.

@murf

PMd you earlier, but no idea if/how it notifies so posting here too! Should be moving just outside Drum in the next few weeks (half way up Glen Coiltie) so keen to hear about local riding!

Cheers!

We are, hopefully, about to set up a whole new thing soon – just waiting to relocate, but if I can pop a wee link in here that would be smashing! My job has shuddered to an unnatural conclusion so we are heading north to set up a mini glamping site just a couple of miles from Lochness (providing our sale and purchase all go through over the next few weeks).

As well as glamping we are going to be offering commercial photography services throughout the Highlands, photography workshops and tours plus very probably historical/archaeological tours of Northern Scotland too. We won’t be fully operational this side of Spring 2021 I don’t think, other than commercial photography and 1:1 workshops/photography lessons but if any of that sounds interesting keep an eye on our website.

We are in that excited and scared phase just now!

I did this a few years back, didn’t hurt… drove home and it was all good.

Next morning I had a head ache. Was all fine though, but of ‘profen and I was fine. Until the afternoon when it was turned up to “worst headache ever” and I decided to go to A&E. Fortunately they are used to such injuries in Barrow in Furness and the very nice doctor popped me in a chair under a bright light, pulled out a hyperdermic needle and set about my eye.

It was f***** horrendous.

I now wear eye protection even for those teeny tiny jobs :-D

Now… I love a good 4×4, which is totally at odds with my eco-mindset. That said, I wouldn’t touch a Landrover with someone elses! Too expensive and too unreliable. If I was going down that route I think something like a Landcruiser would be top of my list. I drove one across the Amazon and it never missed a beat, and that nearly 25 years ago! I keep fantasy shopping for a Landcruiser Duty for a post move wagon since my ancient RAV4 is not the most reliable!

That said, they are thristy. Which keeps making me hold back from the idea!

It is a shame that Landrover are expensive and unreliable as the new Defender 130 with 8 seats could be just the thing for our new business venture. I may have to see about an Arctic Trucks 4×4 Sprinter bus instead though ;-)

We are needing tourists to make a living!

Will take a wee look though.

The Beard Struggle

It has Vikings on the logo!!!

(It is also very good and well worth a go)

I was meaning to say… but forgot (running a bit of a fever and sore throat here so wondering if I have the bat aids)… is it a result of your choice of steed? You switched to an eBike with ALL THE TRAVEL which is going to increase your speed and, thus, your crash velocity. Perhaps, so long as your previous injuries allow, going back to a normal bike with shorter travel may help bring the speed down? You can have more fun at slower speeds on something with a lot less travel!

Aaaaah Mr Stell, you have sneaked back to the virtual UK whilst recovering I see :-D

I wouldn’t worry too much about the future at the moment, specially if you are still as half baked on the pain relief as you were when I spoke to you t’other day (was laughing at how you faded out mid conversation!). You are going to need to take 6 months + off anyway so I would just take that as a time out and then come back slow – don’t push things. See how it all feels on the flipside, and you will be 45 by then too ;-)

What does your good lady have to say about you going back out on the bike? Has she banned you from all forms of 2 wheeled shenanigans yet (your track record is a wee bit chequered)?

Get well mate! Are you still okay for coming over this summer btw (assuming that flights are back on?)

Rob

So… we have had an offer come in on our Lakes house this morning. Just in that considering and negotiating position at the moment but we may be under starters orders. Keith, will drop you an email in a bit!

Lol Arran is lovely and has been on our radar for a while. Not sure it is quite what we want in some respects but it does tick a lot of boxes (Mull has been on the agenda too but the right places just don’t come up often there).

Pubs can get thin on the ground in the more wild areas – how close would you want to be? Walking distance (a mile or so max?), Short bike ride (3 miles?) Or short drive (5 miles?)

It is something I am keen on finding as I want to be somewhere with a bit of community – particularly as we have kids to worry about too and I don’t want to cut them off from society completely… although how society feels about that I am not so sure 🤣

We are definately doing dogs – it is a nightmare finding somewhere to go when we have our borderline collie with us! May even do doggy day-care for those times when folk want to go and visit somewhere less pooch friendly, just looking into the legal requirements for that service though.

Hire services are something we were looking at, but it depends on the scale we go to, it may be a couple of units, may be 10+ depending on who we finance it and what we can find in terms of space. It won’t be all crammed in like most sites I have seen (and quite a few I have stayed on) – more like the density at Comrie Croft or even less if we go glamping. Cabins/converted far buildings would obviously be different! With a bit of luck/lot of luck we will aim for a bit of a blend, but glamping is going to be the quickest/most cost effective route to start up so is looking most likely.

We will hopefully throw in bookable trips/experiences and workshops/location guiding for photography and possibly other “stuff” too alongside more traditional photography related business stuff!

Proace Verso – really very nice :-) My neighbour sells them, apparently retail sales are very low at the moment so deals are there to be done!

Not done the NC500 in a long while, I think I was still riding Triumphs last time (been on a Moto Guzzi since 2011!).

Some good thoughts coming through, kinda following my own prejudices which is good too ;-) I am au fait with the wonderful midge being of Orcadian extraction!

Locals are absolutely fine too – I used to pop off for weekends/long weekends all the time, and I think this market is going to be a pretty good one to hit to be honest :-)

So I was chatting to a guy at the weekend who it turns out he was just back from Iran… he had been (I assume since this was “work” related) tested, but does this show up pre-symptoms in the tests? He had only been back a week or so.

Should I raise my worry level from meh to hmmm?

Am I going to die from the bad kind of cat aids?

Should I go and hug as many members of the Tory Party as possible just on the off chance???

Works pickup – 28/29ish usually, sometimes I can coax it into the low 30s over a tank if I am being particularly careful.

13 year old, 110k mile RAV4 – 41 if being used on school runs, 50ish mpg on a long run.

Bike… 31mpg usually… had it down to 19 on the Dumfries run once!

Passed him near Carnforth a short while ago, think he got thrown out of a pub later that day and made the news – thought it was some random nutter prior to that, then found it was actually a nutter with a cause! Think he had to halt his progress due to illness/injury shortly after.

Quite a suprise when you run into someone in nought but speedos on a cold Lancashire morning!

The Parkamoor descent will drop you off not far from Lowick Bridge (or my house, not that I have ever got around to riding Parkamoor, but only because I have been broken for years or it has been sheet ice when I have been that way!)

North Face is still there and I think not as bad as it’s press suggests. Suggestion above sounds pretty good though! Should get you ready for a pint at the Red Lion too :-)

Started at 11 in 1986 – full classical guitar lessons. I did okay, graded up as per the traditional route… and then discovered Led Zep and Deep Purple. My guitar teacher was an epic old man in his 80’s who was quite happy to take a break from Pagganinni and do something else, but then he used to be quite the name on the Jazz scene of the 1930s and 40s.

My first electric guitar appeared at the Guitar Show where I was noodling on an electric in the Marshall booth. Jim Marshall gave me the amp, and Nigel Tuffnel (for he was in character – this was the JCM900 launch) gave me the guitar – I still have it… it is hideous… unless you have a love of the late 80’s crackle finish shred machine in which case it is a work of (cheap) art!

Moved on from 70’s rock into Goth, played most venues in Scotland and a few south of the border (Rock City was the biggest in the south, Barrowlands in the north) then the band split in the early 00’s and the guitars got packed away and haven’t been out much since. That said, my big brother passed away coming up 2 years ago and I inherited his recording studio which is currently in boxes in the garage. Once we move I plan to rebuild his studio on this side of the Atlantic and see where it takes me!

I was quite good once, but the pharamcuticals and booze seem to have taken their toll and these days I am decidedly average at best when I do pick the guitar up. My brain kinda remembers what to do, my fingers are like sausages with all the dexteriry of a dead pig. It annoys me, I regret putting the guitars away and I need to sort my self out.

Currently I have the old crackle finish Aria Pro, a lush (but non functional) Gordon Smith custom built for me, a Hammer Arch Top which needs some serious attention at some stage, a Seagul OM accoustic and a Gibson Les Paul made out of Swamp Ash rather than Mahogany. Amps are a Peavy Windsor Studio (which I don’t really get on with), a Mesa Boogie of unknown provanence which I gigged to destruction and really need rewiring, the old Marshall head is somewhere, but hasn’t been seen in a decade and a Yamaha THR30 which I bought to start playing again and then didn’t.

Yeah, but I think location wise it is going to work. We are looking at the immediate area too, but ideally want to be close enough not to have to drive the kids into school.

Lol I thought you had forgotten me for a moment there 🤣

I am fully intending to come down and visit Stirling for riding too 😃.

There does seem to be a good amount between Stirling and… well “The North” so as fitness improves I have a lot of exploring to do :-)

Problem I have had here has been a physical job, short amounts of free time and a stack of work related injuries. Be good to get myself back on track again 🤣

Awesome, cheers Crispin. Jen noticed you were heading in a Perthshire/Cairngorms type direction the other day and suggested O would be able to catch up with you lot again for the odd ride too 🤣

Shall go and join that group!

Trailforks is showing a lot of local activity in Pitlochry and Dunkeld which is promising and there are many tracks on the OS maps to explore too.

Mr Barton – I used to ride with you in Stirling, left 10 years ago and heading back now 🤣

The Lakes just never did it for me – which is odd as I used to enjoy heading down for weekends to do just that. Living here had been different though, not fallen in with any like minded souls on the one hand (former riding buddy down this way left for Australia before I got this far). Throw in work and life stresses and riding has been a rare event. Grabbing an hour or two down here is pointless! Plus it is just too bloody busy!

The idea of moving is driven by my job evaporating at the end of the financial year plus too many work related injuries to stay in that industry anyway, so back to Scotland for a fresh start.

The plan for a new business requires a steady stream of tourists, being close enough to the main urban centres for family and friends to get to us/us to them and being as close to stunningly beautiful landscapes as possible. Pitlochry seems to fulfil most the briefs and being pretty much geographically central means I can get anywhere with relative ease. We have (probably) ruled out crossing the Drumochter Pass on the A9 or Arbroath on the east coast. West we would go as far as Fort William/Oban if the right opportunity presented itself. Callander has been looked at quite a bit, as has Aberfeldy. Then I kinda hit a blank on ideas without going far north which I am barred from unless we get really stuck!

Urban Extreme skate park – they do bikes and have a pump track outside.

Dock museum is pretty good for killing time.

Coffee… can’t think of anywhere other than Costa, but at least it isn’t Starbucks

Ulverston: Beerwolf for interesting hipster booze and you can take it back to Barrow too as it is drink in or take away. Quite like the Devonshire too. Walk up Hoad Hill, visit Roy’s Ices at Bardsea or pop by our mahoosive stone circle on Birkrigg Common 🤣

I haven’t been kayaking in years… may be a good chance to try again! Or an open canoe could be nice…

Yeah, I was meaning to pop in when we were up in October but never made it past the cake :-D

Facebook messages have not worked so may try email, or just wait until we are up again (we may have an interest in the house but not sure yet – so if things develop we may be rushing up house hunting at any moment!)

I had some good nights in the Tappit Hen! Lived in Cambuskenneth for a long while and Doune for a couple of years before heading south on a misrepresentation… but such is life! Don’t think I ever sampled any pie based goodness though and feel I may have missed out now.

Can’t wait to get back north!

Highlandman – just posted about Pitlochry as a place to live regarding mountain bikers. Do you have any knowledge of groups around there?

Have you checked out the Fast 800 by the ubiquitous Dr Michael Mosely? Strikes me as a better approach than shakes.

I started it, was doing well then stress and depression bit and I fell off the wagon. Plan to start again soon as we have made some big moves to simplify life which should help.

I loved living in Stirling, it is on the list of possible places to go back to, along with Crieff, Comrie, Callander, Pitlochry, Dunkeld and Aberfeldy. Pitlochry/Dunkeld is currently winning but once we get an offer on the house we will come to a decision ;-)

Booths in Ulverston… because Barrow-in-Furness is too far away to be bothered (and it is also Barrow). Or Morrisons/Sainsburys if I am over Kendal way.

I am not too much of a snob about these things though so will be quite happy with whatever is wherever we land next!

I feel for you – prolapsed a disc in a car crash November 2018 and still have problems from that and piriformis due to muscle damage (same crash) which just isn’t really getting better.

Today’s unscheduled 3 1/2 hour car journey was not comfortable. Been instructed not to do more than 2 hours a day in the car as this really triggers it, but so does sitting… or standing… so I often push the 2 hour limit way beyond breaking (I shouldn’t – pain reduces concentration and all that) and as a result as soon as we sell our house I am quitting my job and going to do something more interesting instead. Which may be unemployment for a bit. Physical engineering work is also not compatible with sciatica!

Yoga has helped with some aspects. Still a lot of numbness/pins and needles and just sparodic red hot searing pain – mainly after the aforementioned sitting/driving/standing and lifting type actions.

Well… that just gave me a kick up the arse (by just… Christma Eve…) the BIL had a heart attack. He is a year younger than me and I don’t know how much worse shape he is in as I really have sunk low this last year.

He is still with us. Recovery just now, but it has somewhat altered our festive plans to say the least as he lives the other end of the country. Going to try and use this as inspiration for 2020 I think.

PM’d – I am in a bad way and need some encouragement I think.

Wee boy came along September 2018 followed by a car crash in November 2018 which prolapsed a disc and tore back and arm muscles. Everything still hurts but I am feeling big and sluggish, the brain weasles are weaseling and it is passed time I really got to grips with my body (and mind) again.

Depression is rubbish, being fat is rubbish, being depressed and fat is just nyyygh

(Hopefully I may actually be able to ride a bike again sometime next year too)

I use boilerjuice – as much because I can put a bit in each month and then when I need to refill there is money there ready.

Seem about as cheap as anyone locally.