Once a letter enters the box it becomes the property of HM the queen until the times it goes through the box of the addresee

However if you were to wait at the box for the collection and explain your predicament to the collecting postie then he/she might help , contacting the local delivery office would have no effect as they only do delivery not collections.

If you can't get it back from the collecting postie then the only choice is to 'fess up to the family recieving the letter and explain what a f**kwit you've been.

Spend as much time as you can being nice to your local relatives or you'll find getting out anywhere difficult , my family all live within an 8 mile radius but have extremely busy social lives , the last time me and mrs carlos went out together was 2 months ago and 9 moths ago.
We always knew we couldn't rely much on our families but it's worse than we ever imagined.
I've just got my afternoons back as master carlos just started school and to be honest I'm at a loss what to do with myself apart from more regular rides on my local loop.

This years efforts

And the family looked like this.

I got kicked out by my mother when I was 17 1/2 because 'me and ***** are getting married and I don't think you two will get on living in the same house' fair enough my dad's mate on the council managed to queue jump me and I got a flat and lasted nearly 18 months before debt got a good hold of me.

Mum and stepdad agreed I could come to them to live but had to pay my way ,so I paid a quarter of everything except the mortgage.This was anywhere from £140 in the summer to £210 in the winter per month , I was on £130 a week (1998)

I got a 2nd job at a pub and did anyones shift if they wanted time of and cleared over £2500 of debt in 6 moths found a house got a mortgage sorted and have never looked back since. If faced with a similar situation with my own child I'd be tempted to go down the same road as I think it give a good indicator of what life in the real world is like.

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/119144.html

Doesn't actually mention stock levels but worth a call if you've got money to burn :wink: (jealous smiley)

I've had an 'elite' stem on various bikes for the last 6 years , I took a real bad fall coming down jacobs ladder and noticed a crack in the faceplate after when cleaning , I weigh 15 stone and aren't exactly a delicate rider so being able to just replace the faceplate(£7) instead of buying a new stem makes sense.

Oh and they look bling too :D

When mrs carlos was young her dad did some work with the local scouts the leader was a mr christmas nothing unusual there but he married a lady called mary :lol: , if I were her i'd have changed my first name.

Man up and get a hardtail , you know you want to :D .

My 6" fr bike hardly gets a look in anymore(used to use it for everything)since I built an old Orange P7 up , I might not be as quick on the downs anymore but everywhere else is faster.

Ah , lack of funds in my bank account exclude me from this , sorry , would've done it otherwise.

What is it ? , I'm in Leeds

ruptured patella tendon

car cut across my path when I was riding home(super fit triathlete at the time)

Top sports surgeon flown from the big smoke to Leeds to operate , had to remove loads of rear passenger window glass from the 3" hole where my kneecap had been(now up on my thigh)and used a mixture of wire and disolving(that don't disolve but go manky inside you!!)stitches.

spent the next 4 months backwards and forwards to the physio and really put myself through a lot of pain to get the 97% mobility I now have , had the wire removed from the tendon at 5 1/2 months and spent a further 3 weeks back on the sticks.

It took me nearly 12 months after the accident before I would go near a road on a bike again and decided that I would only ride mtb's as if I get hurt it's likely to be my own fault.

Give me broken bones any day , soft tissue damage sucks big time.

I'm going to echo some of the above comments and suggest you get yourself to a physio and get some advice on exercise and strength building for your knee.

I ended up with a ruptured patella tendon when a car cut across my path , spent 5 months on crutches and hours in tears trying to get everything working again. Tried wearing supports but they just weren't that comfy and you start to rely on them too much , I work as a postie(yeah,yeah when I'm not on strike :roll: )and find the almost daily exercise is the best thing for my knee as when I'm on holiday things start to seize up if I don't exercise.

same place you get cheap lights from! , I've had 3 R4 cards from them and at just over $5 each probably the cheapest you'll find.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19236

If it's for a DSi I'm pretty sure it's a different card.

Still it was nice to read the same lights review in both WhatMTB and Cycling Plus. Presumably MBUK have dibs on the report next month..

If their tests were won by a 'tiger light twin led' then they've run it this month

Thats a fantastic looking trail and he probably rides it a lot , it looks like a lot of sections i've ridden at various trail centres up and down the country all rolled into one.

One reason i've not tried to pick him up is a memory of a TV presenter a few years ago handling one, only for it to sink it's tiny teeth into his thumb. It obviously liked the taste, as it was reluctant to let go. He was close to tears by the time they prised it off his digit!

more than a couple of years ago (check the haircuts :lol:)but do you mean this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9xHEj3Gk4Q

I've got one of these, http://www.trueutility.com/pocket-tools-store/multi_torch_tool.html and it's been nothing short of brilliant.
this is actually the newer model that replaced mine but has all the same tools at about half the price of the equivalent Leatherman.

I learnt on a hardtail, now I ride a full suss

I did it the other way round ,initially I borrowed mates spare bikes but my 1st proper mtb was a susser and I mainly ride HT now . I'd get the HT to start with ,hone your handling skills and if after trying a few you think FS would suit you more then change.

Carlosg, I have thought about that and may give it a try but don't want a metal can shim dropping into the frame and not coming out.

fold the top over a couple of times to form a lip?

make yourself a fizzy drinks can shim? just make sure it's trimmed back enough that you can't cut your legs on it.

this one? , I lurve this bike it's made my susser almost redundant

considering that the wifes 'dale weighs just short of 25lb and is a xs frame I think it's entirely possible that the seller may have got it wrong

We haven't reached tooth loss yet so I'm following this with interest , but felt I should mention that in our house as a child all tooth fairy money was left in the bathroom next to the toothbrushes!

I like to watch it now and again but enjoy the lighter fighters best as the fights seem to be a lot more technical rather than just trying to knock each other senseless which is what the heavyweights seem to be doing

Be aware a properly cared for house rabbit stands a good chance of living a long time , our's died earlier this year at the grand old age of 13 and 2 months , we'd had him from 6 weeks old.He was an old English/lop cross and extremely affectionate to the point of jumping onto our knees to be fussed

A single bunny is more likely to bond with you than a pair (who will bond with each other)
A cage around 4' x 2' should be used as a minimum spacewise.
Cleaning poo's off the floor is easy with a vacuum so no worrys there but get a corner toilet tray for inside the cage as it makes cleaning up easier and makes the hay/sawdust go further(we got through a large sawdust every 6 weeks@£4 each and a hay every 2 weeks @£3 each)

House rabbits make fantastic pets and we'd have another one in a shot.

Every now and again my mum starts on to my wife about how "he could've done better at school , he could be earning more money" but I don't care about being rich!

My cupboards are full of food all the bills/mortgage are up to date or we're in front and most importantly my wife,son and me are all healthy.

No way would I trade my health for anything , even though it would be nice to see my grandparents again and show them how wonderful their great-grandson is , grandma died when he was only 8 months but I know my grandad would've really got on well as they share the same sense of humour.

Anyone know what times its open, cost and anyone got a postcod for the centre so I can "tom tom" it?

Cheers

It's open anytime , no car park/useage cost , as for tom tom dunno but it's a couple of miles out of the village of Gisburn on the A682 heading towards the A65.

Have a look on google.

+ another vote for the MSR Whisperlite , we bought our first one in '99 and another a couple of years later.

Cracking little stoves , we bought them originally for touring on the bikes but used them for a week in Cornwall in June cokking 3 meals a day most days. You just need to be careful when using Coleman fuel as stuff heats up a bit too quickly sometimes.

Crikey £50 to weld a disc mount on not including the mount!

where in the country are you ? I had a mount welded onto an aluminium frame a few years ago at Chris Marshall cycles in Keighley (yorkshire) for £45 including the mount from Hope this included heat treating too, it can't have gone up by much if you're near give him a call 01535691073.

New mini??? , surely you mean a BMW ONE!!

the original is a mini!

My mate had one and it was nothing but trouble. Make sure you have a good look over it before you part with any wonga.

Bet it was a 1.8 or 1.8t , they suffer big time from HGF

I can get 2 bikes a tag-a-long and a weeks kit in the boot without putting the rear seats down , with them down I've had 6 bikes in the back.

Also good for shifting paving slabs I had five 3'x2' and 4 2'x2' at once, wouldn't do it too often though.

the diesel engine is very reliable and with a few easy tweeks can be made nearly as quick as the 2.5 petrol.

http://forums.mg-rover.org/forumdisplay.php?f=90

Have a search around on here ^^. I've got a Rover 75 tourer cdt , so wrong engine but same body and am well pleased with it , the only real difference between the rover and mg is larger wheels (18" instead of 15") bigger discs on the front of the 190 ,stiffer suspension and (some say) a younger man styled interior.

Build quality on the Rover 75 / MG ZT range is generally exceptional!

Tube from a knackered camelback(or similar) and use a cable tie to restrict the end that goes over the bleed nipple(make it a tight fit)

i've been up there a couple of times now and didn't find the lack of full waymarkers that bad.

Overall the trail is great to blast round (imo) even though it's quite short , however I fell off last friday near the end of the big dipper section and almost broke my thumb and can't change gear at the mo' , still stops any more injuries before I go on holiday!

as long as you don't want bling colours have a look on http://www.polimil.co.uk

M frames start at £59

Shouldn't tell fibs to a woman they ALWAYS find out , I spent over £1200 on the wifes bike so she can appreciate the value of decent kit , then she doesn't complain when I buy expensive stuff as she knows the reasons.

'01 Rover 75 2.0cdt tourer.

why:
when I got it 3 years ago it only had 55K on the clock(now 105).
it's extremely comfortable to drive.
enough poke to show an indicated 135mph(private road :wink: ).
45mpg urban , 54mpg on a run.
luxurious leather interior.
can get 2 bikes and a weeks kit in the boot(6 bikes with seats down).
almost bombproof BMW diesel engine.
dual zone climate control/heated seats
it's really nice to drive.

'99 Fiat Siecento.

why:
it was only £500 with less than 3K on the clock at 6 years old.
it's ridiculous fun to drive despit only having 900cc and 39bhp.
dirt cheap to tax and run.

used to have 2 fs bikes (xc/fr) and was happy running that way , bought an old P7 cheap with the intention of cleaning it up to sell at a profit. Went for a test ride and fell in love with it , this was after not riding ht for nearly 7 years.

After the test ride I got home and took all the good bits that would fit off the fs xc bike to go on the P7 and sold the fs. I love the feel of the steel ht frame it's so much more responsive than my old fs bike was.

I don't regret the change one bit and my 6" bike only gets used for gravity assisted duties now.