Garmin user here. Had a Forerunner 220 (with chest strap), 235 with the optical heart rate, and now have a 935 (also with optical heart rate). Whilst the 935 is an amazing piece of kit, it’s a triathlon watch and overkill for running. The optical HRM seems better on the 935 than the 235.

For running only, I’d get a Forerunner 35; if any other activities are needed, I’d get a 235 or a Vivoactive HR (you can use the 35 for cycling, and change the activity type on Strava afterwards).

Note that I haven’t used TomTom or Polar watches, and they could be amazing. However in our group, 90% of people use Garmin. USB cable is still proprietary though (and the 220, 235 and 935 all have different versions).

Edit: 220 and 235 sync via Garmin Connect app on phone using Bluetooth. 925 also has wifi, so syncs as I walk into the house :-)

Sierra Nevada was excellent earlier this year. Easy flights to Malaga too

In person – 1987 World Athletics Champs in Rome.
In the space of about an hour, Ben Johnson won the 100m Final (new world record, since banned of course), Stefka Kostadinova won the Womens’ High Jump in a new world record, and a local boy (Francesco Panetta) won the 3000m steeplechase.

On TV.
Cav being lead out by Wiggo in yellow in the final stage of the 2012 TdF

Impressive sense and pathos on this thread. Nothing much to add apart from agreement with everyone here so far.

We’ve used one in France on holidays for a while as an extra beer fridge. I’d say 20 degrees below ambient is about right, so OK for beer when the temp is 30 degrees. If you put stuff that’s already cold into it, rather than expecting it to chill it down, then you may be OK.

It’s been a while since I used a standard coolbox when camping, but we always replaced the ice packs each day

Roadie:
1) SRAM HRD with stock SRAM pads and rotors
2) 80kg
3) Bit of both, but on the light side I suspect
4) No judder, but squeal somewhat in the wet.
Overall, love them – especially for looong descents in Spain recently

Pub bike:
1) Avid BB7 Road with stock pads, and Shimano generic centre-lock rotors
2) 80kg
3) Bit of both
4) Again, no judder, but do squeal in the wet. Bike gets no maintenance at all – it’s a hub-geared bike so just gets put away filthy.
Overall – not as good as SRAM HRD, but fine

Held the toilet door open for Phil Redmond at a friend’s wedding.

Met Alan Ball and Jimmy Hill the night before my wedding. It seems Southampton were playing Sheffield United the next day.

Nodded a hello to Danny Murphy on New Year’s Eve once. He was playing the next day, and was going out for a run.

Louise Minchin a couple of weeks ago at a triathlon. Seemed like a lovely person (and pretty quick)

Just seen this. Best of luck OP; sounds like you’re (kind of) looking forward to the new arrival. Tough at first, but most of us get through somehow.

Oh, and Laura is the best girl’s name

I had a Barclaycard in the 90s, and an Egg card more recently (owned by Barclays now). Sent off a speculative claim to Barclays, got a rejection letter (didn’t notice that they said they were looking at other accounts), and got a cheque for £1700 a few weeks later. If I recall, about £800 was PPI reclaim, and the rest was interest and something statutory (can’t remember). The figures were estimated by Barclays apparently, but I was happy enough.

Oh, and it was easy – don’t use a claims company.

I’ve got a couple of Gore Bike Wear Gore-Tex Active jackets, and I really rate them. Well worth it. Best riding jackets I’ve had.

I have a G4, my son has a G5. I prefer the smaller form factor of the G5, and it has a removable battery. I have had to send the first G5 back for replacement after the camera failed. Both good for a cheap phone though.

I have that Wiggle one, and it seems fine, especially for the price. Nice little case with the bits and bobs too.

Nikon D3400 has wifi. I have the D3300, and it’s lovely (at least coming from compacts and smartphone cameras)

Is this easily done?

Yes, very

Moto answers

I have a G4 and son has a G5. Both good – prefer the slightly smaller screen size of the G5, which also has a replaceable battery if that matters to you.
Add a large, fast SD card, configure it as internal memory, and you have a large capacity phone.

Years ago I bought a barely used £1000 bike for £500 secondhand from here. It’s been great and was only relegated to turbo duties last year. Well worth a punt on a secondhand road bike.

Oh, and full lycra here. Draw the line at road pedals though – too many pairs of shoes.

I am absolutely pants at DIY, but even I managed to fit a new toilet siphon. Replaced the old one with a push button kit – like this one I think:

Screwfix siphon kit

Had to take off the cistern, and buy a new seal for the connection between cistern and pan. New siphon can be replaced from the top, so should never be an issue again. Only issue was that it was cheaper to buy a massive kit of washers than a couple of suitable ones. I have enough washers for several lifetimes.

Amazon hold you to ransome. You just have to Swallow it.

Very good – even a reference to Amazon’s origins as a bookshop

Happens to me all the time. I just mention that the kids are home, and no-one bats an eyelid

Raleigh Strika was my first proper bike. I’ll also be forever grateful to this bike (not my photo) for getting me into biking and me going from a 17 stone unhealthy bugger to the (relatively) svelte 12 1/2 stone cyclist I am now. Still in the garage – planning to give it to a charity when I get round to it – need the space…

Forgot about the fan and heart rate monitor. Using my Garmin Forerunner 235 to transmit heart rate over ANTplus. Works fine.

I already had this turbo (which I hated using before Zwift) and a Garmin cadence sensor

Elite Chrono Fluid Turbo[/url]

Just had to buy a speed sensor and an ANTplus dongle from Amazon. I’m using a Suunto one FWIW

Just make sure the turbo you buy is on the list of supported trainers on the Zwift site. The fluid trainer is much better than the magnetic one I had. I’d also get a mat and front wheel block – both available cheaply from Decathlon.

The big issue is the shorts – she’ll need something she can swim, bike and run in (to state the bleedin’ obvious). The pad in cycling shorts are a pain to swim in (I’ve tried), and run in. The pad in tri shorts (or a tri suit) is much thinner and works pretty well for all three disciplines. FWIW, I use tri shorts and a tri top rather than a full suit.

I loved my Palm Pilots, got a couple in the attic. Vx and Tungsten.

Also thought the Rex Pro was a brilliant piece of design. Synced with Outlook, so you’d always have your diary and contacts with you. Still got it somewhere, but I lack a PCMCIA slot on any PC now :-(

Recent Zwift convert here. I’m using a supported dumb trainer (Elite Chrono Fluid), plus Garmin Speed and Cadence sensors. Also using a Mio Link optical heart rate monitor.

Connection to PC is via a Suunto ANT+ USB stick. All works rather well in my opinion. PC is pretty high end laptop (i7 with 8GB RAM and solid state drive).

List of supported trainers

Done. A good (mountain biking) friend died of leukaemia a couple of years ago. It’s a cause close to my heart. The very best of luck to you.

Just to add another voice right at the start of the Zwift journey. Signed up for the free 7 day trial a couple of weeks ago, and now signed up as a full member.

Using a standard Elite fluid trainer with Garmin cadence/speed sensors and Mio Link heart rate monitor, connected via an ANT+ USB stick. Really enjoying the immersive nature of the sessions, and finding the virtual power pretty good. What was a chore is now much more enjoyable. I’d recommend it. Not got into any races yet, but may try in a couple of weeks.

Applied last month. Thought the social media questions were a bit off (and were optional), so ignored them. Got accepted anyway.

Love a bit of good news. Congratulations to Mr & Mrs JonBoy.

Paul is a very classic name….

If it’s anything like the 225 it’s a bit meh for cycling data. You’ll still have speed, distance, elevation, and…. HR…. but no cadence and no cycling mode. You have to edit the activities after syncing.

Garmin 235 does have a cycling mode (unlike the 225), both indoor and outdoor. It pairs with the Garmin speed and cadence sensors for indoor use. I also use a separate wrist mounted optical heart rate monitor (Mio Link that I already had), so I can mount the 235 on the bars when I’m indoors. The 225 is a 220 (which I also have) with optical HR. The 235 was a big step forward, despite looking almost identical.

If it was running only, I’d probably get the 35.

Edit:
Website to check which sensors will work with what[/url]

Sounds minging.

Very good :-)

I married a rational (most of the time) physicist, so none of that fluffy stuff around here….

She told me I needed to ask her after about 2 years together. She was right (as always); 23 years married :-)

” . . he also kept photographs of a patient’s radiograph on his iPhone for his own amusement which showed a bottle in the man’s rectum.”
Surely all doctors do this?

Yep – friend in halls at uni used to blu-tak these to his door. Umbrellas, bottles, lost instruments in body cavities etc.

LSR did a good job on my Gore-Tex Active jacket – same material and fitted the patch in with the shape of the panels. Was mid-sleeve after a fall though, rather than cuffs

No advice to give, but you asked for others’ experiences.

First born slept through from six weeks – we thought “this is easy!”
Second born didn’t sleep through for two years. Not sure we did much differently. Shows that they’re all different.

Best of luck OP.

Oddly, I’ve just installed the separate Garmin hub mounted speed sensor on my turbo bike for use with my 235. Can report back that it works fine. Used the auto size measurement on the watch (by just going for a ride). Had previously installed the cadence sensor which also works fine.

All good.

Apologies for the minor thread hijack but does anyone have a recommendation for a colour laser, ideally with wifi.

Also have a Brother colour laser printer, which we use over wifi. Sits there for weeks with no printing, and then prints nicely when needed.

John Lewis Brother colour laser printer

Was up there about 5 years ago. I have no head for heights at all, and I was fine, albeit slightly nervous. You could feel the altitude, but no issue really.

Amazing views though, and you have to admire the people who built it :o

Mountain biking mate of mine divorced a couple of years ago (age 47 now). Within a year he met a very nice lady on match, and they moved in together a year ago.

He’s a pretty standard, intelligent bloke who likes a drink and a chat. He enjoyed the experience.