Some good replies here. The missus was brought up with caravans, so she decided about 5/6 years ago that we should have one, and so we did (against my better judgement). My one caveat was that I would never empty the toilet (she says it’s not too bad).

Top tip that I would offer is to go to a caravan show, and whilst this may seem like one of the Seven Circles of Hell, and you will be amongst the youngest there, it’s a really good way of looking at lots of layouts and seeing which one(s) is right for you.

Our first caravan had a pair of bunks, whilst our more recent one has a fixed bed for us, and the kids either make up the front bed for themselves (no work for us) or sleep in the awning. We do have a decent bathroom because we are plumbed into mains water and drainage on holiday in France, and we use our own shower.

Re: car – there are some fairly light caravans out there to suit most cars. Don’t exceed 85% of the car’s weight, and look out for the noseweight (buy a gauge). The car we use is fairly strong, and we don’t find ourselves holding too many people up. Some modern caravans also have a kind of stability control that engages the brakes selectively to prevent snaking.

Good luck. Once you get over the embarrassment, it’s a pretty nice way of being on holiday with bikes, wetsuits, body boards etc. Our kids are now old enough to disappear with walkie talkies and roam the campsites with friends.

EDIT: Didn’t see the LR Discovery comment.

29 and 31 here – wife is a similar age (actually 3 months younger, as she likes to remind me). A couple of years earlier would have been nice, but not important. Compared to our friends, this is pretty young to be breeding.

Now 11 and 12, and the boy is coming out with me occasionally.

Delamere isn’t far away, and though the marked trails are somewhat dull, there is lots of unmarked stuff available (and legal) to ride. Ask on here (as I did recently).

If I remember correctly Cheshire Chunky Monkeys are based there, and although I only rode with them once, my face graces their home page, which is nice. CCM[/url]

Clwyds very close as well – lots of rides available online around there. Berwyns, CyB and Penmachno easily accessible. Big road scene as well.

EDIT: No advice to give about living in Chester itself, I live in a village to the North.

Cheshire, specifically Chester.

In fibre optics, (some) Americans measure distance in kilo-feet.

Feel sorry for the Irish. Whilst in the UK we have miles outside km on our speedos, it’s not worth it for the car manufacturers to have km outside miles on speedos (just for the Irish), so they just get km. Makes driving in the UK interesting.

Bump for the evening crowd

Nivea SFP30 spray-on, plus a buff. Sun block seems to survive OK (used it in Spain, and in the UK for the last week). Buff stops the sweat mixing with it on my forehead and getting in my eyes.

All 3 of mine (MTB, Cross and Road) are generally ready to go. I tend to be a little obsessive (like many on here) about having them all available. I have ridden all three in the last week as well.

Family bikes also ready to go, but they get much less use.

Little better than riding on quiet roads in the sunshine. My road bike is evil though, it just encourages me to ride faster.

Quick road ride this morning before breakfast, and Penmachno on Sunday.

I bought a couple of pairs of these at the weekend, but Wiggle seemed to have upped the price from £30 to £45 in the last couple of days – shame. First ride today was good.

Wiggle shorts[/url]

Pirate for me this evening. Stops the sweat mixed with sunblock from getting in your eyes (and stinging). I think it keeps me cooler with the better evaporation.

[/url]
P5200138[/url] by paulcheshirecat[/url], on Flickr

Forgot how to post an image earlier

Have the 2.1 UST versions front and rear. They seem bigger than the 2.1 Continental Mountain Kings they replaced, but never measured them.

Like them a lot, seem to do everything well all year round. Tubeless so run fairly low pressures. Will probably buy the same again when they wear our.

On One Pompetamine Versa[/url]

Spending a lot of time on my new bike. Versatile and very little maintenance.

Was there a couple of weeks ago on business. Cheap direct flights from Manchester, cheap taxi into city (I believe there is a train into the city now, but didn’t use it). Ride into city ranges from 30 minutes (early morning, no traffic) to a couple of hours at rush hour.

Bear in mind that the taxi drivers like to cover the back seats, and don’t worry too much about the seat belt buckles being available. Bit unnerving in a small Fiat at mental speeds. You can pre-book better cars (and I would if I had my family with me).

Hagia Sophia (great), Blue Mosque (also great and free of course), Taksim Square (OK), Topkapi Palace (didn’t go) etc. Wander around old city, excellent food. I really want to spend some time there as a proper tourist.

Take a 10 pound note each for the “entry visa”. Just a tourist tax sticker in your passport.

Paul

I’ve used a photocard license for getting onto flights within the Schengen area (e.g. France to Germany). However, as above, you need a passport to get out of/into the UK

Hmmm….feel your pain to some extent. Misdiagnosed with Psioratic Arthritis a few years ago, and Methotrexate was a treatment option. Happily not the case, and recovered pretty well.

aa – I had three injections in my knee over six months or so. The final one “took” and I haven’t needed one since (about 8 years ago now). If I remember, the general advice at the time was not more than one per quarter.

Summary, Cortisone worked for me, but nothing like the dosage the OP had.

Inconsiderate people.

Being British used to be about making the world slightly better by being polite and considerate. Virtuous circle….sadly not the majority any more it seems.

Paul

Bear in mind that Planet X charge a 10% fee for using Cyclescheme. Mine was discounted by 100 pounds at the time, so I wasn’t too bothered, but worth bearing in mind when you’re choosing.

See Planet X Terms

Thanks CG. Did a lovely route from my book around Watership Down last year. Planning to repeat it next week. For somewhere so close to large conurbations and major roads, it seemed incredibly quiet.

Will bear the Malet Arms in mind for the future. Am down South fairly frequently and normally stay around Oakley. In fact, I’m down next week and will be bringing a bike :-)

Looks good – many thanks

Did a 50 mile walk in Sheffield many years ago with not very much preparation (though was pretty fit). By chance we seemed to choose the right combination of shoes/clothes. Well worn-in trainers, tracksters and a light breathable waterproof. Bit of cash to raid the newsagents for chocolate when they opened. No rucsac or walking boots – was all on pavement.

180mm centrelock rotors with BB7s on my Pompetamine Versa.

If you’re looking for a C-Max, I’m just about to trade in the wife’s. 1.8 petrol Ghia though (not diesel). 45k miles, 54 plate, new front tyres, well serviced etc.

Chester area.

Cheers – anyone else?

If Scotland gets its independence, then English, Welsh and NI students will be free too.

My Dad has an automatic Seamaster from 1964 – never been serviced in that time and still works well. It will be fine with the activities you suggest.

However, I have a modern Seamaster, and I take it off for sports because it’s just a bit too bulky. Something to consider. It is pretty rugged though.

Hmmm…..all good stuff here.

I was recently asked to make a special trip to the main office with all the power supplies/mains leads from my home office. Around a 500 mile trip, plus a night in a hotel, plus the messing around under my desk.

I pointed out that the driving bit was way more dangerous than the risk of an exploding mains lead, and I could get a local man in to do the job for less than the cost of a tank of diesel. To be fair, office H&S person did actually see the sense in this.

Backtracking like crazy

Agree with the above. I have hydraulic discs on the MTB, and Avid BB7s on the Pompetamine, and I think they’re great. Daughter has some cheap Tektro cable discs on her Merida MTB, and they seem fine too.

“4am in the morning”

It’s 4am, or 4 in the morning. Arrrgh…..

Irrational, but I hate this with a passion.

Wouldn’t even walk that – sorry.

My wife and children laugh at me on castles, tall buildings etc.

Anyone got a GPX of a nice route around Delamere?

Friend of mine had one of hers done in her mid 40s. Went from painful walking with a stick, back to walking properly, riding etc. Took a while though.

Totally transformed what she could do.

Graham, I’m running OpenCycleMap on an eTrex Vista HCX, so the older version of the eTrex. So long as you name the file correctly, then it’s been plug and play for me.

Not to the standard of OS maps, but a cheap mapping solution that’s getting better all the time. Maps for rest of Europe also available as well (I have France on a separate micro SD card).

Erm….Cheshire. The Northern bit just above Chester. Handy for road rides, and a few local bridleways. Wales a short drive away.

I bought a bike from Diz – she seemed really nice.

I have a Garmin eTrex Vista HCX, plus a micro SD card with Open Cycle Map from Open Cycle Map[/url]. Not as good as OS Maps, but OK, getting better all the time, and very cheap or free.

You can download the Open Cycle Maps for lots of different countries from the links on the wiki sites on the web (easily googled), but they can only be loaded one at a time on the SD card. I have France and the UK on 2 different cards.

Looks like the newer eTrex 20 and 30 can support more points on the routes (which is an annoyance on the eTrex).

Paul

EDIT: and you can buy bike mounts for it (large diameter rail mounts – about £7)