There’s been a few threads on this light. Would be nice to just have a definitive link for a decent compatible battery and charger from Smudge at MTBBatteries or some other reputable UK supplier.

Now moved to Hoylake!

In my local running shop you get served by Julie, who is the owner and a decent runner. Happy to pay a premium for the advice and being able to try on different shoes, and it also keeps a local shop open in the high street. ASICS for me every time, but everyone is different.

Not just you. Won’t let mine play with 18 rated games (he’s 12)

And don’t use it to clean your loo either

Beginner’s mistake. He’s supposed to put the solution into a special flask, and strike it 10 times against a special leather and horsehair mat. Only then will the water remember the bleach molecules…..

Good thing he didn’t, or the homeopathic bleach could have killed him :-)

Recently read Bad Science, and am in the middle of Bad Pharma. It seems to me that Ben Goldacre was fairly complimentary about the drugs companies that signed up to the trials register (GlaxoWellcome was one I think), and was disparaging when they pulled out after a merger with Smithkline. He’s hugely in favour of open information on trials (positive and negative), and unimpressed with hidden trials and statistical manipulation.

Bad Science is a great book – should be a standard text for kids. Encourage them to look behind sensationalist headlines.

To the OP, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, my friend’s wife was diagnosed with cervical cancer basically during the birth of their daughter, and died soon after. The HPV vaccine (had it been available then) may have prevented the cancer and my friend’s daughter may have a mother now.

Would possibly have saved my friend’s wife (and mother of their small daughter), if it had been around earlier. She died of cervical cancer.

Suggest (strongly) she has the jab.

90 litres per person is where they would start to ask questions. There’s no actual limit on the amount you can bring back, as long as it’s for personal use or gifts.

90 litres is 120 750ml bottles of wine. 240 bottles is a lot of wine.

EDIT: I like Calais Vin as a place to buy cases. English speaking and you’re able to try small samples

T track adapters also mean you can use the full width of the bar, which is nice.

Take sandwiches and thick gloves.

Sandwiches for you. They look after Mum not you, and it can be a long process.

Gloves for when your other half squeezes your hand so hard that she draws blood.

Other than that, best wishes from a proud Dad of two. It’s hours of boredom followed by a few minutes of excitement and worry. Stuff will go awry, don’t sweat the details and be strong for your wife.

Had a couple of stubborn ones a few years ago. Tried freeze spray, bazuka etc. Even went to docs for their CO2 freezing spray (not recommended, extremely painful).

In the end I used this, and it worked well Verrugon

You may need extra packs of circular corn plasters (cream goes in the hole in the middle) and wide tape to cover the cream and corn plaster.

That’s a lovely tribute by his widow. I just hope I can aspire to something remotely similar….

Off to hug my kids.

The Polar FT4 is pretty good, with a decent belt and a fairly basic watch. When I was looking at these a couple of years ago, the FT4 was the cheapest Polar watch with the better chest strap (fabric strap with clip on transmitter). I now have a Suunto – better watch, but strap is not as good.

No idea how accurate the calorie count is.

EDIT: Good for a basic HRM watch, don’t expect lots of features.

When our kids were lice magnets we found the best solution was the electric comb. Nice satisfying noise when it zapped the little buggers too.

I had RS10s for a couple of years, and they were OK, but started to break spokes after a couple of years.

Now have RS30s, and they’re a big improvement. Not the lightest, but they seem to roll pretty well and are fairly stiff. I’m only 75kgs though.

My Dad’s got a 54 plate 1.8 petrol automatic. He fits the stereotype – he’s 80 years old. Never broken down, and it looks like new. Done 30k miles in all that time. If it were for sale, it would be a great car to buy for someone doing low mileage.

About a year ago. I’d forgotten just how nasty they were after 10+ years without one. Never again.

Worst one was 25 years ago at uni, proper drunk. My girlfriend at the time held the bucket for me to vomit into, and after that I knew she had to be the one. We’ve been married for nearly 20 years :-)

I’ve got a Solarstorm on the way from China right now. Any recommendations for a better charger (and battery)?

BG wouldn’t carry on my 3 star service unless I had a Powerflush. Did a bit of googling, spoke to a reputable local firm, and told them to stick their service. They were pretty unpleasant on the phone when I told them, which makes it even less likely I’ll use them again.

Got boiler cover from a local firm for £120 for the year.

My experience with problems in both knees is:

10 years ago
Right – diagnosis of bursitis (housemaid’s knee) at walk-in centre, torn meniscus (from two consultant orthopaedic surgeons). Keyhole surgery, they found lots of inflammation on the membranes (but perfect meniscus). Cleaned it up, had a couple of courses of cortizone injections, and it’s been fine ever since (running 10km, half marathons etc.)

Recent
Left – diagnosis of torn meniscus.
MRI scan, and it’s inflamed under the kneecap, being treated with stretching and physio

I guess the moral here is that both my diagnoses were wrong, and I wouldn’t get too down until you’ve had a scan (which was the first step after diagnosis for me)

Stayed in a few modern places in Istanbul, which were all fine, but went to an evening event here:
Old prison in old city[/url]

Didn’t stay there, but it looked stunning; right in the centre of the old city, near the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque.

Ordered one last week. Interested to see what it’s like when it turns up.

If it isn’t raining when I go out, I take a Pertex Montane Featherlight Marathon jacket in my pack, or back pocket. Also works for running (which is what it’s designed for).

For proper deluges it’s a Gore Fusion GoreTex jacket on the bike. Way too hot for running though.

We had the Trek Mountain Train 206 (and indeed I sold it to someone on here). No experience of any other versions, but the kids loved it (and felt special turning up to parties on it). Went round the easier trails at Llandegla a few times. Daughter was a bit lazy, but son liked to get out of the seat and crank away from side to side, which was a bit disconcerting sometimes.

Pedals were horrid, non-grippy things, and it weighed a ton.

Nice. My Dad’s got one from the mid 60s just like that. 50 years old, never serviced, and running (almost) to time.

Out of interest, how did you get out?

Always; have a set of Uvex ones with interchangeable lenses. Clear and orange mostly for MTB, dark for sunny road rides. My favourite were some Merida blue ones given away at the MTB marathon a few years ago. Now broken sadly.

My cyclist optician (who should know better) had to have a month off when he got a metal shard in his eye whilst commuting – ouch! He now wears eye protection on the bike.

Original C-Max was 5 seats, and as others have said, the seats don’t fold flat, but are easy (though heavy) to remove. We liked ours and the only issues we had were alternator and rear hatch switch.

New version has two models. Grand version has sliding doors and 7 seats.

Managed to keep one on the phone for 20 minutes recently.

‘You have a problem with your Windows PC’
‘Which one?’ – I had four at the time.

He hung up when I inadvertently said something that showed I knew something about computers.

Sadly, this is a scam aimed at the less tech-savvy, like my parents.

Since 1987…some personal, some company

Chevette (rusted to nowt)
Capri (just the 1.6l one, but German built, so decent electrics and paintwork EDIT: and it was given to me, so I didn’t choose it!)
Cavalier (first decent car, very quiet even by modern standards)
Saab 900 (loved it)
Mitsubishi Galant 2.5l V6 estate (brilliant car)
Saab 93
Saab 95 estate (favourite car)
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai Santa Fe

would rate that as pretty unusual, not taking off yes, returning after take off?? unless someone can tell me otherwise

Happened twice to me over the years. Both on the same airline. One was a smell of smoke in the cockpit, and one was a potentially unsealed door.

Saw a kid’s bike in the shop at Llandegla with a belt drive. Seems like an ideal application.

Had one as a rental car earlier this year. Was impressed.

Former chubster here. Was over 17 stone, now 12 stone. Running 10k and half marathon.

Things that worked for me:
Diet:
– don’t eat crap
– if you want to snack, a few cashews or almonds worked for me
– eat until you’re full, not beyond. I found I was over eating because I just liked the taste.
– have some wine and cake sometimes

Exercise:
– I couldn’t exercise my way to losing weight. Combination of a change in diet and exercise worked for me.
– start slowly, if you hurt yourself too much, you’ll stop. The couch to 5km sounds perfect
– a combination of interval training (could be cycling up hills), some weights, some stretching and some longer rides/runs will get you fitter pretty quickly. Circuits classes are good.

Have a guy who mows the grass every couple of weeks, mainly so I can get into the garden in the summer without feeling I need to mow the grass.

12 pounds front and back in Cheshire.

In contrast, when my boy fell off his bike in France, the hospital was excellent. Doctor was keen to practise his English – couldn’t fault the level of care.

OP, does sound like a nightmare. All the best to Miles.

Jordan and Peter Andre at Heathrow – they’re tiny!

It was the Mums’ race at our local primary school that got out of hand; many of them turned up in lycra and took it rather seriously. Mate of mine got deliberately tripped in the Dads’ race and was furious.

Paul (Dads’ race winner)

69 cycles in Chester are nice people. Nick is the boss.

I use a Garmin eTrex Vista with OpenCycleMap on a micro SD card (free maps updated regularly). You can load routes and follow the map or an arrow.

Mine has a limit of 250 points I think, the new eTrex units have a much higher limit, so I’m tempted to get a new one myself.