Shout a lot is my best advice. I used to have to ride past a farm up the road from me on most rides and would do so as quietly as possible, but invariably their collie and terrier would come out through the (always open) gate and have a decent go.

I started off just going as fast as possible, but one day lost my rag and screamed as hard as I could at the dogs to go away (not quite in those words) and they did.

I hadn’t spotted that, no – my bad! I’d just read/heard a similar serious comment elsewhere so perhaps wrongly assumed Simon was serious too.

59 for 5!

I don’t get the negative talk about a collapse – they made 823 and declared, one batter scored over 300 and another over 250, it’s a non-issue for me. Once root was gone the best thing to do was be aggressive, add as many runs to the total as possible, declare and put Pakistan straight in to bat when they were tired and conditions would hopefully be favourable for bowling later in the day.

Pakistan now 41-4 with their opener dismissed with the first ball of the innings – looks like it worked…

For me, it wasn’t the most technical terrain that lead me to a full suspension bike, it was the bumpy, pedally grassy hills that made up a lot of my riding at the time. Going downhill you can use your legs for suspension and you consciously ride with better technique (hopefully), but on bumpy flat stuff/climbs you can’t always be out of the saddle, and for me that’s where I find the biggest benefit of a FS.

I’ve probably posted this comment before, but almost everyone, and their lazy attitude/approach to work.

I’ve just lost an entire morning of planned work to sorting out issues that needn’t have arisen if people had done their jobs with even a modicum of care or diligence.

Anyone who’s worked in the public sector will know how badly contracts are managed, and how flawed the tendering/awarding process is to start with. Due to public sector bureaucracy they’ll be getting shafted at every turn for supplies, building work, maintenance etc etc as every company and contractor used will have to be on an approved list and do a hundred risk assessments blah blah. The ‘facilities’ offering could do with being simplified, quality improved, and the trails need a makeover.

Personally, I haven’t used a trail centre how they’re intended more than once in the last 6 or 7 years. I can’t see the point in driving an hour plus each way to get a few hours riding in, on trails I’ve ridden before which now seem boring.

Heart. I don’t get Specialized bikes either, electric or not. Had a weekend demo on a Stumpy 150 several years ago, it was arguably too much bike for my mincy local XC rides, but I was faster everywhere on it according to Strava. I didn’t buy one though as the bike just had no soul.

On the subject of Soul, I went from a few Cotic Soul’s to a Lapierre Zesty and a Bird Aeris to itch the full sus scratch, but still ended up on a Cotic Flare after I’d fallen in love with one on a demo ride a couple of years earlier, but couldn’t afford one at the time.

Heart always wins in the end.

JLR are the same,  a friend just had to wait over a month for a water pump for a Discovery Sport, to then be told if they wanted it fitted at the dealership they’d have to wait at least as long again. Their yard is full of cars waiting for parts, apparently. How brilliant lean and JIT manufacturing are…

Cars have gone so far backwards in terms of reliability and longevity it’s ridiculous. Anyone I know in the motor trade is saying the viable life of Euro6 emissions cars is 100k miles max, and to sell them before 60/70k ideally. I fail to see how building two cars instead of one is progress.

Bar ends, maybe TOGS too, I like Bontrager tyres, XR1/XR2, comfier bars with some sweep/rise?

I refuse to work on other people’s bikes now, outside our household at least. Nobody understands the cost of parts or consumables, and is rarely grateful anyway – even if you’ve spent half a day freeing shit up, raiding your parts bin, swearing and losing knuckle skin.

I can barely be bothered to do my own, but the last decent LBS I know locally pissed me off when I took my bike in for a bearing change and it came back out with a new gear cable (totally unnecessarily) and the shifting the worst it had ever been. It had not long had a new mech and cable and was indexed perfectly, but I suspect that rather than being taken apart properly the cable was just cut off to take the rear triangle off…

I’ve got a dynaplug tool, but looked at refills recently and they’re ridiculously expensive, so currently lugging a tube about with me…

Although I’m an advocate for a clear inbox, and it starts to make my shit itch if I’ve got over 30 to deal with, I do wonder if we’re the fools, and by being slaves to the inbox it creates a perpetual cycle. I have planned days in the office to complete particular tasks, and can end up getting few or none of them done due to continuous emails.

I tend not to answer the phone, and don’t return missed calls – I only respond to voicemails, if I think it necessary. Perhaps I ought to try and apply that to emails.

None, I flag them, deal with them, import them to our records management system, and delete them. I aim to have a clear inbox by the end of the day, or at least in one pane so I don’t have to scroll to see them all.

My Cascade is an XL with flat bars, currently Stooge Moto, though I’m thinking of going narrower with some Ergon grips/bar ends for an alternate hand position, I already have togs so I can ride thumbs up. I like drops, but the lanes are so rough in my area I was even finding 700 x 37mm+ tyres uncomfortable, and felt like I was dodging potholes half of the time. I do like drops, but if I got another bike with them it would probably be 650b with 50mm+ tyres.

No bike specific clothes is a good one, I do that when it’s not hot – and I’m exclusively on flat pedals now. It’s not worth the hassle from my partner if I don’t wear a helmet…

Update – I don’t think they are swallows; they’re too small, their faces aren’t brown – they’re sandy at the darkest, and their tails are fan shaped, not forked.

Ornithologists convene.

I think I’ve answered my own question inadvertently… They’re swallows, but their chins looked white on my phone, on the PC they look darker, think it must be the low light compensation. Doh.

Not a bike, remotely. Saw some e-trikes  doing deliveries in Belfast recently with a huge box on the back. They (and the riders) looked unsafe at best. The appear to pose a pretty big risk to pedestrians and riders/drivers to me.

Do it, the Cascade is basically the mutant child of the old Solaris – you’ll be grand!

Garmin edge 25 is about as basic as it gets. Mine’s been faultless for the past 10 years. Can connect HRM via ant+

A friend (in his late twenties) has recently been diagnosed with sleep apnoea and started using a CPAP machine. We’ve joked for years about how bad he is in the morning (not ideal as his job requires early starts), how much sleep he needs generally, and how much he’s aged in the last few years. He eventually went to the doctors and was quickly diagnosed and issued with a CPAP machine (within weeks), he says it changed his life from the first night and now he’s got the mask properly adjusted and he’s used to it he barely ever wakes up in the night, and even on a short night’s sleep he feels so much better in the morning. In his own words, he’s like a new man.

He did say the NHS issue mask is a bit cumbersome, but for ~£200 you can get a more refined/streamlined version.

That’s the real reason I haven’t gone back to a hardtail for actual MTB’ing – getting beaten up less. Full sus is faster and more comfortable everywhere for me.

I want to know when 150mm became short travel?

A client of mine has a robot mower than can be controlled via an app/WiFi and GPS, you just draw the area you want mown (easy to amend) in the app and it does what you tell it, with pattern options and scheduling etc. Returns to home (little house/dock in garden) when it needs a charge and/or has finished the lawn. I’ll find out the make/model.

‘hardcore hardtails’ have been around for a long time, and well catered for by the likes of Cotic, Stanton, On One etc, the British pioneered the longer travel, less XC hardtail 20 odd years ago, and guess what – they’re still good. Sure, head angles have got slacker, seat angles steeper, wheels bigger, and boost blah blah… Their have always been shorter travel full sus bikes that aren’t XC race machines too.

Labels have evolved and to my mind ‘downcountry’ bikes are just what 99% of the population expect a mountain bike to be – not 150mm+ travel, not 2.6″+ tyres, and not a 22lb carbon race bike. Just, a, mountain bike that can do a bit of everything, which is what I think most people probably still need – newbie or not.

I have a Cotic Flare 650b (not that I ride it often due to lack of time/other hobbies), and can’t see the point in changing it for the sake of a heavier bike with bigger wheels and a couple of degrees slacker head tube and steeper seat tube – it still does general mountain biking as well as it did back in 2017. I’ve nothing against 29er’s, I’ve had several, but I don’t think they do twisty technical trails as well as smaller wheeled bikes, and all of these new bikes are so bloody heavy – 35lb for a full sus seems to be widely accepted these days?!

I think I know which pedals, really small name… I can’t offer any advice other than to say mine wear stupidly fast also, I think they’re just a bit of a shit design TBH.

On the other hand, I’ve got two pairs of these that are probably 10 years old and they’re as good as the day I bought them. https://www.merlincycles.com/wellgo-mg1-magnesium-platform-pedals-45615.html

I’m not sure the trend on ‘classic cars’ is universal – it all depends what’s in vogue/who’s got the spare cash to spend.

I’ve seen it in steam railway memorabilia (through my dad and friends) and the vintage tractor world; both have had spells of stuff from certain eras making huge money, then plummeting, and I don’t think classic cars are much different. It’s cyclical I think – we’re all getting older at the same rate as the cars, and for the older stuff the knowledge to maintain them, and potentially the spare parts supply is drying up. Land Rover, Mini and Classic VW may be somewhat immune to this given the scale of the modifying/aftermarket scene.

Ultimately, I think we all want to buy the cars/tractors/stuff that we remember from our youth – that’s certainly the case in my peer group, we’re all in our late thirties/early forties and wanting 80’s & 90’s vehicles, which coincides with us progressing in our careers and having more disposable income, and in some cases time as kids are that bit older, so that’s where the money is going. You also have to factor in that A LOT of 80’s and 90’s cars went on the scrappage schemes, so are relatively rare, driving prices up. Try an eBay search for a Nova, Corsa, 106, 306, Clio etc from the 90’s – they either don’t exist or they’re silly money. I bought a 205 XS last year for handy money, and I think I would get 50% more for it now. If I have a large windfall/win the lottery I will buy the best Williams Clio I can find though, and keep driving prices up, haha!

Get in touch with Jonny Smith at the Late Brake Show https://thelatebrakeshow.com/

Get him to film it as a barn find, then loads of people will want to buy it!

Here’s my prescription:

Right: SPH 0.0 CYL -0.50 AXIS 155.0

Left: SPH +0.50 CYL -1.00 AXIS 35.0

BVD: 10.00

If you don’t live in a part of the country that gets properly cold, then I’d recommend Uniroyal rainsports in whichever flavour suits your car, they’re the best all-round tyre I’ve ever used.

Just single lenses, no bi/vari focal. The optometrist was very helpful with the eye tests, but I didn’t actually decide to purchase glasses on the day as she was quite vague about when/why I should wear them if I did. The reason I’d gone for the test was because of the screen issues and occasionally noticing I was struggling to read smaller text on signs say 5m+ away.  I asked when I ought to wear glasses if I got them and she said “when you feel like you need them, whenever suits”. In the following couple of days I experienced more headaches and weird vision whilst using screens so decided to get some. I was already using the blue light reduction on my PC screen(s).

The odd thing is that they also recommended prescription sunglasses for driving which were ‘free’ – they obviously factor the cost in, so I took them up, but if the prescription is wrong for that use I feel I ought to take it up with them.

I’ve only had the glasses a week today, and not used them that much yet, but I’ve had them on all morning, and still everything square looks wider at the top?

That’s a lovely looking bike. I must stop looking at them now.

I guess it depends where you live, or what you can reach without a huge drive from home.

Mine started out as riding maybe blue/red grade trails and visiting trail centres/local woods quite often, gradually increasing the technical side of things. Then I started doing more local XC from my door with some road and green lanes to make a loop. These days I’m on a rigid MTB mostly riding what’s now labelled as gravel riding I suppose.

I’ve got to the point/age/level of grumpiness where I can’t get my head around 2 hours worth of bike prep/driving/cleaning and tidy up for the sake of a 2-3 hour ride, I’d rather go for a blast from the door on back lanes and the odd bridleway unless it’s a full day out on the MTB.

I have an old Polaris one that’s been great – but I’d like one a bit brighter and bigger… Sadly the only one they list now is two tone fluro yellow and orange… Following with interest.

For me the gilet is second only to bib shorts in the cycling kit hierarchy, shortly followed by arm warmers.

@CountZero – no I don’t have the spell check turner on, I don’t want any assistance – I can spot any mistakes as I go. I’m not looking for help with my spelling and grammar here, I just want a keyboard which responds accurately to my inputs and doesn’t decide to change words at will. In the example in my first post I could see “kind regards” in the body of the email and saw it change to “kim rewards” of its own accord.

I’ll try MS SwiftKey, thank you.

I’m a huge motorsport fan, but haven’t followed F1 in years. The racing is poor, the regulations too complicated, and it’s all about ‘the spectacle’ now rather than talent. Any form of recreation/event that requires transport and resources could be called non-green.

I play for my village club, we’re in our 73rd year, my grandad was a founding member. Our groundsman retired last year so we’ll be looking after the ground by committee this year, most of the outfield is currently a bog, not helped by an apparently broken land drain under one corner. We have managed one cut of the outfield and square so far, but I can push my thumb in the square 2″ without much effort. Our ground situation is further complicated by being located on the village green/common, so although people respect the square the rest is dog walker central.

Our plan is to get the grass down ASAP and collect all the trimmings so the ground dries better when we do have some fair weather. First friendly has been pushed back to 28th April but I can’t see it being on.

In answer to the OP, I’ve had good results with scarifying on my own lawn, but was advised not to cut the grass too short for a while and let it shade out the moss.

If you’re buying vehicles then buy good, old, pre-add blue and all that bollocks stuff. Anything new, ICE or EV, lease the thing.

New houses built to current (English) Building Regs don’t need wood burners, and I can’t see an issue with following suit here, the fabric is good enough to not require a secondary heat source and those that do fit them do so for a ‘focal point’ or out of luxury, and tell me they rarely (if ever) light them.

But, air source heat pumps are crap, and only just suitable (with a huge cylinder helping them out) for the best new houses, preferably with MVHR. Trying to heat the UK’s existing housing stock with ASHP’s is a non-starter.

I can’t add much, other than to observe that I’ve been to watch Rallye Monte Carlo three times now and each year there seems to be much less snow in the lower reaches of the alps and far fewer local little ski resorts open now compared to 5 years ago.

I was up near Gap in January, it was almost 20 degrees most days, there was virtually skiing to be had and the little towns/resorts looked desolate.

I’d spent three days skiing in Pila/Aosta prior, my first ever ski holiday, and whilst it was lovely and there was enough snow, it all seemed quite perilous for the future. Since we came back they’ve had loads of snow, too much if anything.