I may be wrong, but I don't think that any addresses are checked when you place an order. Just put your work address as your home address, and ask for delivery there. IIRC addresses are only checked if there is a fraud claim.

Google is your friend. Type in lake district bunkhouse(s) and the world is your oyster!

Talk about coincidences…..according to this morning's paper, the guy who defended Rose West has just died, apparently still believing in her innocence

What to get my wife for her birthday on Wednesday.

Why are you reading it?

The guy who wrote it has recently died, and I read his obiturary in the paper. It mentioned that he had written the definitive book about these two, and as I knew little about them I thought I'd d have a read. Book only cost £2.25 on Amazon.

Why worry about the saddle? You'll never see it when you're riding. But that gold stem? YUCK!

but by all means try both and see which you prefer

I suppose it depends on how much applause you are looking for.

Yep, just seen it. Just got back from Ypres and the trenches; thought provoking places.

Think I heard it said that there are more ants in the average garden than there are people living in UK!

Not a lot you can do with ants. Brush the soil away, then mow the lawn. There is little available to treat ants in lawns. You are at the worst time of year because they are getting ready to leave the nest and go and form new colonies. You may see flying ants soon, if they've not gone already.

The standard treatment for killing ants is boiling water, but in a lawn this is troublesome. You have to dig up the lawn and get down to the nest and hope that the queen is around. Then pour a kettle of boiling water over her/them. This will kill them, but it is a pain of a job, and stands a chance of killing the lawn as well.

There used to be a treatment available to commercial lawn growers, but like all the good things in life it has now been banned by EU. There is not a lot you can do, sorry.

Gisburn is 12.7 miles, whatever that is in French.

I can't agree with you. Boredale is a much better return.

Route still exists and is ridden regularly. Did it myself a few weeks back.

Only thing I'd change is the return. Coming back along Ullswater at this time of year is a total PIA. It will be full of walkers with dogs, kids and other assoted paraphernalia all designed to slow you down. A much better return is to come back from Howtown via Boredale, and Boredale Hause. Boredale is as quiet a valley as you'll find anywhere and is just so lovely. The top 400 yards are a definite push up to Boredale Hause, but then you've got a superb downhill back to Hartsop. Look it up on the map; it's well worth taking.

Although, I did hear of one poor soul who did that, and was arrested for theft because the owner had reported the lost phone as stolen! Insane

Don't know where you heard it, but that also happened round here. Guy fouind the phone, tried to ring the owner, then took it to the polis. Next thing he got taken to court for theft. Madness. Magistrates were withering in their condemnation of the police state in which we now live. Tread carefully. Bin it. (Or bin the SIM card!)

Orton/Tebay are both bang on M6 with good riding. Short rides abound. Grizedale and Whinlatter are nowhere near M6!

Can you get to Gargrave for 9AM?

settle – malham tarn – streets gate – arncliffe cote – under kilnsey crag to pub for 2 pints of Guiness and a cheese and onion sarnie – mastiles lane – settle

OOOH, that's my route for Saturday.

Not everybody needs one. Our great and glorious leader, Gordie oh Gordie, has decided he'll do some voluntary work with kids during his hols. CRB check? You're havin a larf. One law for them…….

You're a discerning man, so get an Aqualisa power shower. They are to showers what B & Q are to hi-fi. No temperature fluctuations when mrs turns the tap on, constant flow of water, not dependant of height of water, loft layout or any of the other reasons why an electric shower doesn't work. They work first time, every time. Not cheap, but don't ever go near a MIRA one.

What about rhubarb crumble and custard. Food of the Gods.

They are seemingly a contradiction in terms, but they do work surprisingly well.

Any chance of a copy of the route to here?

In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, indeed anything by Bruce Chatwin.

Dorothy Whalley – the mother in law!

Bugger! Looks like it's back to the drawing board.

As Philip Larkin wrote in "This be the verse" –

They **** you up, your mum and dad,
They may not mean to, but they do,
They fill you with the faults they had,
And add some extra, just for you.

Think I'd like to go back to before conception and have a fresh start.

Route is roughly – start Hawes, Hardraw, track towards Shunner then turn onto Bends Clints, through the wood to Cotterdale and back almost to the main road. Then pick up The High Way and follow that all the way north to the Kirkby Stephen road. Then back down Mallerstang on bridleways either side of the road (although Anquet says there is no track on the ground and Google Earth is unclear) which brings me out near The Moorcock. Back to Hawes is either down the tarmac or on the old railway bed. It looks easy to get onto and as I hate fighting traffic this way seems a good alternative finishing off with some jiggling round Appersett and Gayle.

I really don't like road work so if the rail bed doesn't work I may knock it on the head as there seems to be no sensible way back from the end of The High Way.

Yep, but didn't get much info so I'm trying again. Didn't you say you were looking at the same thing? Google Earth shows a reasonable trackbed for most of the way, so I might just go and give it a whirl if no-one knows anything about it. There's a tunnel too, but I suppose that will be blocked off.

I wouldn't touch it with somebody else's bargepole. The whole thing stinks.

I could suggest gorging yourself on malt loaf!!!

Well that's what you get for riding through fields! 8.30 in Staveley saw biblical rain.

Don't know where you were yesterday but it was still pissing down on the Garburn at 11AM.

I was going to go down the High Way to the north from Cotter End, then work my way back to the Moorcock on a couple of bridleways either side of the road to Kirkby Stephen. This would bring me out near the road junction. I can't see an obvious way to get back to the High Way – not even a cheeky one – so was looking at the railway as an alternative to the road back to Hawes. The railway is very close to the road at one point, with what looks like a short track running between the two.

Strewth, was everyone on Garburn yesterday? There was a guy from Wigan who had trained it up to Staveley, a guy from Oregon who'd driven up from a business trip in London and hired a super Trek from Wheelbase, four Geordies, three guys who left Staveley the same time as me but went up from Kentmere (why?) and two guys on massive 45lb downhill rigs who pushed nearly all the way from Troutbeck to get in some Alpine training.

Perhaps the crap weather drew everyone to a "safe" alternative.

Memory Map is certainly more user friendly than either Tracklogs or Anquet. Having said that, it is still a bit clunky to regular users of Microsfoft products, but is probably the best out there.

This is a pump track.

Ah, thank you. It's a BMX track!

Errr wots a pump track?

See above^^^ CK now do a conversion.

I've had this problem. Seems to be as you say. If a "route" is created, say in Memory Map, then Tracklogs will open it, but show nothing, even if it has been designated as .gpx. If a "track" is created then tracklogs will open it as normal. There must be some incompatability between Tracklogs and "routes". That might be stating the obvious with a product named Tracklogs!!!

The only solution I've found is to convert the "route" to a "track" before saving as .gpx.

I've just had an e-mail from AspireVelotech saying that King now make a conversion kit for ISO to 15mm

See here

http://www.aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PHB324&Category_Code=CKAXLES%5D