My son fell onto the end of his bars on holiday 18 months ago – right into the bit between nads and top of leg. Cue trip to French hospital and comedy translations of handlebars etc.

Luckily he had caps on his bars – hate to think what would have happened if they hadn’t been in place.

As an eight year old, he was very amused by the way the bruising spread around his bits….

Agree, bought brakes and a couple of forks from them online and in the shop. Decent advice over the phone as well.

As a father of a 12 (almost 13) year old girl, I have absolutely no idea what goes on in her head, and have absolutely no advice to give.

Best of luck….

Doesn’t seem harsh to me BTW.

Paul

Wife has a 54 plate 1.8 petrol Ghia (with the slidey seats, which we’ve never used). Only problems have been the boot lock switch (cheap) and the alternator (not cheap).

Comfy and nice to drive, Ghia has cruise control etc. Postman Pat van looks though. Boot is very deep, but not that wide, and has vertical sides rather than wheel arch intrusions (difficult to explain).

Just about to sell at around 45k miles, and replace with a smaller car.

I think you’ll find that Kate is in fact short for Bob.

Hangs head in shame. You’re correct of course.

Kate would be funnier, since I’m a bloke.

“Kate”
“Kate?”
“It’s short for Bob….”

“Bob”
“Bob?”
“It’s short for Kate…”

I carry one, plus a Leatherman Squirt for the valve and a CO2 cannister. Never had to use it in 2 years of tubeless (full UST plus Stan’s sealant).

I have bells on all my bikes (and my kids’ bikes), except my road bike. Helps a lot when riding on shared use paths – most people move across and smile. Apart from the large group on Saturday who mentioned not having bells, when both my son and myself had ringed repeatedly and slowed right down (really, really slow) to pass them.

I do get stick from the people I go mountain biking with though for having a bell.

Paul

Could someone e-mail the diet to me as well? Ta

Paul

Only ever had the 10, but it’s great and easy to change the clamp size.

Enjoyed reading that. Just had delivery of my very first On-One, a Pompetamine Versa; drop bars with 8 speed Alfine and BB7 disc brakes. Two rides in I’m loving the versatility.

Paul

p.s. the “glow in the dark” white frame really does glow in the dark.

Thanks CG – I wanted a couple of new maps.

I have Hope hubs and a bell. People generally like it when you ping – use it mostly on a cycleway when out with the kids.

Tony, would also appreciate the link.

Cheers
Paul

Quantum physicists pantomime….

Puss in Box

Don’t discount buying secondhand. I bought a barely used road bike from a STW forum member for £500 – half the original £1000 purchase price.

Nothing needed doing to get me out riding. However, in 5-6 years I’ve replaced the handlebars, saddle, tyres, chain (a few times, can’t remember) and just recently the wheels.

Ultegra groupset, so better than you’d get new at that price point. Reason was the same as you – young kids. Road bike lets me go out for an hour at lunchtime.

Owner of a mju tough and a couple of Lumix cameras here (plus an Olympus bridge camera).

The Lumix take better pictures, and the auto mode and flash seems to work better. However, tough camera is indeed pretty tough and has a slide across metal cover for the lens. My take is that there’s compromise to hide the lens away, but the kids can take the camera swimming, beaches, in canoes (with the float strap!) etc.

No issues with battery life and charging. Extra batteries are cheap (if you don’t buy Olympus).

EDIT: Mine’s an 8010, and I must try the beer photos :-)

How about a Hyundai Santa Fe? Car rather than ladder chassis, decent 2.2l diesel engine, option for 7 seats for grandparent duties, Latest version started on an 06 plate I think, so can be the right age for the OP.

Ours has coped with the last two winters’ snow very easily, tires are inexpensive and seem to last ages. It’s also pretty comfortable for long journeys. Unlike some of the bigger engined 4WD cars, the road tax is around £250 per year.

If I were buying right now, I’d get the same again.

Mate has a 4 year old Laguna, and the list of stuff that needed repairing at a recent MOT ran to two pages. Still, it was cheaper to buy than an equivalent Mondeo.

Wife had an Almera for 8 years, and in that time it needed a section of exhaust pipe, one light bulb and tyres.

Dull as dishwater, but a perfect car for when we had a single income and needed it to be reliable. Drove pretty well as well.

Sold it because safety had moved on, and the Almera isn’t great.

Run for me as well this morning. 5 beautiful miles off road. Frozen mud is great.

Mate has one, and it’s really nice. It (as you say) came with all the wrong pressures in the shock and fork – easily sorted. Just keep an eye on the pivot bolts near the dropout, his came loose.

I’ve had an Olympus mju-Touch 8010 for a year or so. Not the best camera out there – my boy’s standard Lumix compact is better, but it’s great being able to take it to the beach, on the bike etc. I guess the enclosed lens limits the picture quality. Having said that, it takes decent pictures when the light is good, and the HD video is good.

So not a recommendation necessarily for the Olympus, but the idea of a tough compact is a great one.

Hmmm….

When my knee went all clicky, I was told by several different docs (a) bursitis (housemaids’ knee), (b) definately a meniscus tear (by my neighbour, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon) and (c) psoriatic arthritis (and I don’t even have psoriasis)

Turned out it was just full of rubbish from 30 odd years of misuse. Quick arthroscopy clean up, and I was back on the bike very quickly, and I’m running half marathons a few years later.

Not saying this is you, but my experience is that diagnosis seems difficult with GKS.

Original kool tool. Used it a couple of weeks ago when a friend’s chain broke.

Shimano SPD pedals – 3 pairs here, all going after many years with no maintenance at all. Splashed on the M540s – they were going cheap at the time.

My Marin hardtail frame. Everything else has been changed on the bike, but frame is original, and has a lifetime warranty. Fit’s me really well, don’t see a reason to change.

Note sure about lower power ones, but we have had a Mira for years, and when it eventually broke, the very friendly Mira guy came round, fixed it and charged around 50 pounds for the privilege (new main board). A week or so later, we got the cheque sent back to us with a nice letter saying that the fault was a design flaw, and they weren’t charging for it. Shower was about 6 years old, and I was happy to pay for a repair.

For this reason, my next electric shower will be Mira.

I’ve stayed here a few times.

Vendee Campsite

Far enough from the beach to be quiet, but 15-20 minutes away from a huge beach. There’s even reasonable mountain biking around the lake, and an organised MTB marathon in the middle of August nearby (which I’ve never got round to doing).

Always taken our own accommodation, but the tents (especially the lodge tents) and mobile homes look good. Staff speak good English, no problem to book direct. About 4 hours drive from St Malo, along mostly toll free dual carriageways.

Did one at Oulton Park about 10 years ago. 4WD Escort Cosworth, but they switched off the front wheels for the sessions. Really enjoyed it – main memory is the instructor shouting at me to go “faster, faster”. The instructor ripped a tyre off on the demo lap.

I think you’re correct. You can claim tax relief on the difference between what you’re paid (e.g. 20p per mile) and the HMRC rate (45p per mile for the first 10k miles this year (40p last year)). So 40% (if you’re a higher rate tax payer) of 25p per mile.

This is what I do, and I just got my tax rebate a few days ago.

EDIT: From the HMRC website – If the Mileage Allowance Payments you pay are below the approved amount for the tax year – your employee will be able to get tax relief (called Mileage Allowance Relief, or MAR) on the unused balance of the approved amount

To counter the inevitable horror stories, mine was totally painless at the time and mildly uncomfortable afterwards. Just the smell of burning flesh was a bit off-putting as they sealed the tubes. No regrets at all – should have done it 5 years before.

Another neutral and handbrake (actually footbrake on my car) if it’s more than a few seconds.

Montane Featherlite for me. Not really waterproof, but Pertex, so OK.

If it looks a bit colder I’ve normally started off with a windproof gillet and the two combined have been good enough for winter.

this – gilets are great for road.

@SkillWill – Hooters now closed (or at least the one opposite the Marriott Courtyard is) – now a Dennys.

Ottawa is a great cycling city – they close some of the roads on Sunday mornings – the one by the canal, and some over the river in the Gatineau Park. Pity it’ll be too cold when the OP goes.

Can recommend places to rent bikes as well ($3500 full carbon road bike for $60 per 24 hours). Some reasonable MTB in the Gatineau Park as well, though had a bit of a moment last time we went when we saw a black bear on the trail we were just about to use.

I work for a company with a presence in Ottawa – been about 20 times. It’s a really manageable city on foot if you’re staying in the centre.

Byward Market is the place to go for restaurants – something ridiculous like >100 in a small area, so lots of choice. Went here when I was last in Ottawa in August, and if you like a small plates type of restaurant, this could be ideal.
Small Plates Restaurant[/url]

The Rideau Canal skating is great – stop for hot chocolate and beavertails (pastry, not real beavers) at the booths on the ice. Hopefully it will be open by then.

Let me know if you need anything else – e-mail in profile.

Paul

Used to live in Zambia as a nipper. The small addition problem with this bit of river is that it’s full of crocodiles. If the fall doesn’t kill you, the crocs will etc., etc.

41 and cod liver oil. Seems to work for me.

Echo the bone marrow donation list. If you’re already a blood donor, you can get on the NHS register instead (as I am).

Prompted to do this when a friend’s wife had leukemia and needed a transplant. She was diagnosed whilst pregnant (happy time turned into a desperate time) – luckily things worked out OK (baby and mum).

Edit: The NHS limit is 49.

I use this one. Change chain at 0.75% worn, and you may get away with not changing cassette (for a couple of times at least).

Chain Wear Checker

Edit: Has two sides, if you can’t get the 0.75% side into the chain, then all is OK. If you can get the 0.75% side in, change the chain. If you can get the 1% side in, then probably new chain and cassette time.

Edit #2: This one looks like it has 0.5% and 0.75% rather than 0.75% and 1% like mine has. Looks similar though.

How about overnight ferry Portsmouth to St Malo? Return journey overnight Caen to Portsmouth.

Expensive, but low stress, and a short journey on the France side.

Manflu here since New Year’s Eve. Head cold and sore throat. Hopefully it won’t move to the chest.

Lovely day here today, gutted.