Go for it. "I'm unstoppable!" That worked for me.

What tipped me over was my closest cousin who shared my birthday with but was 3 years younger than me, died a few years back. He was 36. C started in his lungs then spread to his spine. Last days were fubar beyond recognition. I still miss smoking but those last days are a horrific image in my mind.

Bizzarly – shortly after he passed on – I bought my first mtb (I still dont know why?) since I was 16. Now Im addicted to somehthing else – more exepensive more addictive (more dangerous?) but life expectancy is slightly better :)

My only advice – find others wanting to quit – especially guys. Talk it through with them. I think NHS do this but its better if you know them.

Also, as you're on a cycling site – your ability to climb will increase exponentaiiy! Honestly – a smoker on a £10,000 carbon trendy cult whatis bike will never ever EVER get up a hill as quick as me as on a post bike. With a camel in the front basket. And a sink dragging off the back. And the draggiest tyres in the world. And a ships anchor ….

As you can tell – I'm probably willing to help / encourage. If you need a challenge (and can supply the camel) I'm up for it.

BTW my crutch thru all of this was a very expensive humidor full of cigars that now I will never smoke. We all need some sort of escape / crutch.

Ronan

Mmmm. Sounds like your damper is slowly loosing fluid (into the lowers). This can appear intermittent with the pumping up and down ideas above cure it (temporarily). The test is if you can loosen off the bottom bolt on the lowers damper side) and see if blue fluid comes out. If youve got a rebound adjuster there it may need a stiff tug to get it off. If it's all brown fluid you can just put it back in – make sure the fluid is super clean!

If blue fluid – the damper is leaking. The ideal solution is a full service / warranty return but you can get around it by draining the lowers and topping up the damper by the same amount -10ml (and putting the 10 ml correct fluid in the lowers). But never never ever overfill the damper.

btw – dont ignore it. The side effect of extra fluid in the lowers is that your total travel is significantly reduced. The spring side is meant to do all the susp work but with a reduced volume in your lowers means the fork cant get to its max travel.

I think it must be what youre used to.

I always used KMC which I always got on with but changed to SRAM (some Merlin special offer) and I cant budge them for love not money!

LOL. They're saying 321mph in Edinburgh next Friday!

Count me in for a Wednesday ride.

Kit – are you on the mend? How's the bike?

LOL!
Like a penny farthing – but done wrong!

Some local MTBer has probably bought a Magicshine / Trout :)

. I just linked to the Dailymail

I just assume it's all made up!

It's the daily mail. ffs.

For cables / extensions; They use standard dc connections. I use one of these no probs:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-5M-2-1mm-DC-POWER-EXTENSION-CABLE-LEAD-CCTV-CAMERA_W0QQitemZ350283958477QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CCTV?hash=item518e8d08cd#ht_2091wt_1165

Or if you want something custom – you can go to Maplin for 2.1mm DC plugs and get soldering.

I got a MBUK subs as a Christmas present 2 years back. Read the first few issues then didnt bother opening the next one. Realised this was a waste of my families money so phoned Future and they happily suggested alternatives – WMB. Got this for around a year – now I'm looking forward to NOT getting it every month. For me their star rating is beyond ridiculous. It's not about performance, its not about value for money, its about ??? (I've no idea).

Anyway, Christmas is coming and the family needed a simple idea – so I suggested a PREMIER online subs to STW. PREMIER. Did you get that bit? Im now a PREMIER member! I kinda like the mag and the downloads but from the few issues I've read I honestly think that kit wise it's too focused on the expensive end of the market. But I really enjoy articles about rides, 100mile enduras etc. And its obvious the guys love and live what theyre doing!

Is ST online worth it? So far I think so. The MBUK / WMB reviews all end up on bike radar whilst the mag is still on the shelf – so thats a waste of money. At least ST is different!

Bag.

As in something for carrying stuff – not a description of your good lady.

The good news: Stif.co.uk appear to have then in stock (rebranded as Ledlite as per recent mag review) :)

The bad news is that they're charging £150 :(

http://www.stif.co.uk/gear/select_options.asp?productid=7989&store=mtb

No 2 makes them look younger somehow.

Depending on the size of canvas you'll need at least 1 1/2 inches for the wraparound on all sides. No 1 may be a bit tight on the top edge but you may be able to manufacture it in photoshop (esp if hung on the wall where you wont see it)

I like mine a lot. Apart from the slow epg.

I love being able to continue watching a program when you call up the epg and the PIP features.

It did develop a habit of freezing – usually shortly after startup and especially if playing / recording at the same time. I found a thread which suggested the following (I cant find the thread now) but the gist of it was:
– make sure you get the latest OTA software
– do a retune
– do a factory reset: you will loose your recording schedule :(
– do another retune!
– delete all the channels you dont watch (shopping, gambling, …)

Following this for me the number of freezes has now reduced significantly

I cant imaging having to go back to watching live TV with all the ads etc!

WMB reviewed both your options in this months mag. In case you havent seen it I'll try and do a v quick paraphrase. Excuse the spelling.

NW – zip+laces, medium insulation, great price, stiff upper means its not right for everyone. Cabon sole at performance end, screw in toe studs, slightly slippy hard compund thread, decend wading performance, no separate top sealing and some testers found stiff upper unconfortable around ankles. 3.5 stars.

Shimano-Velcro straps, medium insulation, leapt up in price, still reckon toughness and thermal comfort make best value all round winter boot. Sole not as toothty as some, medium compound grippy. Open design means no clogging. Solid feeling not penguin still for walking. Big roomy insulated offers unhindered circulation. Paddle proof. Tall neoprprene collar helps stop drip seepage. Can be a squeeze to get on. No studs. Makes a great misery beating cold weather investment. 4 stars.

btw Lake MXZ302 was the overall winner.

Try the TomTom Outlet store. They do 'refurb' units incl the XL with Europe maps and a free map upgrade thing for around £100. Used my previous one until some schemie nicked it from the car. Missed it so much I went out and got another one. Delivery from Holland I think.

BTW – IQ routes and mapshare are pants and I wouldnt pay extra for them. If you get them for free then fair enough!

No 9 is SO TRUE! But she's getting used to it now.

My father in law used to be a rally driver and loved night rallies which he felt were a bigger buzz and also (for him) safer – maybe it's something similar. He could never sleep after one though – all hyped up.

One thing I find funny though is that really simple stuff can trip me up. EG at the bottom of a steep bit I stop to get my breath and reflect on how brilliant it was – but because there's no perphiral vision I didnt realise there was a hole right there where I wanted to put my foot. Duh!

I was in Glentress tonight and saw lots of folk including a small group with a young chap (maybe 7 ish) heading up toward Spooky Wood (which still has lots of ice and frozen snow). Hats off young man! If he can do it…..

ODI X-Treme. Got them cause of good reviews. I'm a sucker for reviews!

Super grippy. Last ok. Work with bar-ends.

I guess the built in digibox is freeview not freesat?

If so sell the Sky box and buy a Freesat one and plug straight in to your existing satellite cable. You could also buy a recorder / PVR one which is similar to Sky+ (but depending on what you have at the moment you may need to update the LNB on the dish and run an extra cable).

Note that you'll gain some channels and loose others.

More details here:
http://www.freesat.co.uk/index.php?page=installation.Main&PHPSESSID=m6lu32mige7f7h1ell2vob0ku2

jon1973- This does seem to be more common. The easiest / quickest fix I've found is RipIt4Me which is a collection of free tools (inc dvd shrink & decrypter) and some other goodies that get rid of the errors before decrypter does it's stuff. It's got a wizard mode that's easy to use.

How's this for a frozen puddle. It went on about 200m and to keep it interesting its on a slope.

Sorry for rubbish phone photo.

Gore Phantom got me through 3 hours at just about freezing today combined with a serious wind.

For when it's proper cold I also use those gel regenerating heat pads with the clicky thing in them (£1 a pair from LIDL but I'm sure they're on ebay too). I find the rectangular ones work best as you can wrap them around your grips as they solidify and they dont fall off. Around 20 mins use at 30 – 40deg. Grip tighty and enjoy. They are a bit bulky tho – just make sure they're not in the way of any levers.

You're / your right / write there / their / they're.

I decided to stock up on consumables and ended up splitting my orders into separate £50 chunks. Don't know why they didn't do 20% off over £50 to keep their delivery costs down?

Specialized do lids that fit my 64 skull. I got a propero and one called an XL. You can guess what size it comes in!

You might get away with DVDShrink. It that doesnt work try DVD Decrypter.

I got a set of free tools for "RipIt4Me". It includes DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink and a few other bits which has a wizard mode that does what it needs with occasional prompting.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/RipIt4Me

I dont know him but you could try his work number and see if he's on holidays or something? Remember it's a workplace – so nice and polite.

If you cant find his number via his email address and the internet – email me and I'll tell you how to find it.

Welcome to Edinburgh (if you decide to come!)

I was in you shoes recently (ok 15 years ago). Like most towns there are a few places to avoid. Some are close (ish) go Gogarburn.

Do you want to live on your own or share? Do you want to drive / cycle / public transport to work (the new tram will run just outside)? Do you want parking near your flat?

I guess it depends on how close to town you want to be vs how close to the hills vs socialising etc.

I used to get REALLY cold feet and think the MW80s are pretty good.

In icy conditions I prewarm them (left near radiator). They're good for most conditions. The longest run I had with them was 3 hours in the snow and my toes were numb by the end but that was about 2 1/2 hours longer than I'd manage without them.

So they could be even warmer. But they way they are makes them good for Autumn and Spring wet days so I get more use out of them than I thought I would.

I rode through all of last winter and only ever had water inside them once (got stuck in a deep muddy puddle and had to walk out) and they have'nt smelt great since :oops: I'm very reluctant to machine wash them like I do to my MP66W's etc.

Overall – 4.5 stars from me. Just make sure you try them on with your warm / thick socks (I'm a 43 usually but these needed a 45). If they do get wet inside try and dry them out asap with a fan or something.

V good imo. Used to eat avid pads at an alarming rate. Got Superstar Sintered and they last extremely well with little noise, good grip…

I got some but but for anyone that uses bar ends : they dont work for you. The end caps are part of the outer locking collar.

Rob – you know that the light heads etc have a 2 year warranty?

Seems to be related to this work:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/phrp/news/news.html

I'll meet you at Harlaw.

Flats or riser?

Salsa do a 11deg flat in standard and o/s. If that's not enough theres also a 17deg.
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/salsapromotoflathandlebars.aspx?&id=5327

Dunno about risers.

The theiving little gits do low level purchases to check the details they have bought.

Thanks Wooliferkins: that makes sense!

I believe I've figured out what company it was that's stealing my details! I'll drop an email to Capital One. Fortunatly it's not bike related.

My detective work is based on having separate email addresses for different hobbies that feed into a combined mailbox. The affected email address is pretty new and theres only one company in there that was used previously.

I've never bought anything from CPW but I guess it sounds plausible that it could be someone at an call centre / IT centre for one of my regular payments.

I'm still scratching my head though on why the phones were going to be delivered to me?

Their website says delivery via DHL. I've been getting my statements fine (not opened or anything) and havent had any problems with the mail to date.

AVG is updated daily. But I'm almost conviced it's not my PC as I use another card way more (flights, online groceries, presents,…) and never have a problem with it. This is my 'hobby' card (mainly bike related) so I can keep track of spending.

If I was schizophrenic wouldn't there be another post complaining that "my" mobiles hadnt turned up yet?

I've got Vista, AVG anti-virus, windwos defender and a firewall.

I'm up for some of these. Are you planning one for this Wednesday?

For the Pentlands its handier for me to meet you where the WOL crosses Roseburn Terrace.

btw – I've got a spare DX P7 torch / batteries and am happy to lend them out.

I cant make Sunday unfortunatly.

I was up last week and some of the bits I know were getting pretty muddy.

I began to wonder if there were more "suitable" winter tracks that are still interesting?

Anyone got any pointers (apart from my usual loop of Harlaw, Maidens, Green Cleugh, Red Road, Beech Ave)?

Edit: apologies for the hijack!