I errr, I am currently drinking Japanese whiskey.

Thanks for the tips! Currently the itinerary is to go on Saturday and stay highly caffeinated. Sync to local time. Then ride around Stanley Park on Sunday morning. Eat some more food on Sunday while staying caffeinated and see what the rest of the week brings. I’ll need to do some clothes shopping. Usually I travel with what’s in my bag, with a single change of clothes and buy the rest while I’m there.

Anywhere good to shop that’s not too “outlet-ey”? Maybe there’s some cool indie t-shirt pop up scene made by left handed basket weavers?

Anything I should eat or drink while I’m there?

Cheers all, especially @sweaman2

I think I was looking at the lows. My hotel is right next to Stanley Park, so it should be excellent! I’ll check out the museum and the park.

Unfortunately I do not ski. I have one expensive sporting habit already. Can’t afford to add another one I’ll most likely only ever do once a week each year to that!

But you could do that anywhere.

Oooh, maybe I could buy some maple syrup?

The problem with pretty much every single carrier is someone will tell you not to use them over an hour or so. Various reasons ranging from hip dysplasia, to unnatural spine curvature and so on. If I’d had my way I’d not have bothered with a buggy at all for 6 months. Depends on the size of your baby I guess.

I used the Baby Bjorn, both the front and the rearwards facing ones. The problem with carrying them on the back I found was getting the baby in and rotating round. They didn’t seem to like that bit. Then there’s the faff of getting them back out. I’ve never managed it without having to do some extreme contortions!

In summary, love ’em, they’re great!

With a few hours practice I got to around 10 pedal strokes this summer.

I think given flat pedals, some time, and a plan anyone can do it. I used the Ryan Leech 30 day course which was pretty good. It even comes in handy on the trail!

I’m assuming he’s investigating if there’s something in there containing organically sourced Ammonia?

And 😀 @MrSmith! Some strong words there. What did On-One ever do to you?

Is torsoinalake the new captainflashheart?

Seveneves

Is this serious? About £100? I really need to come up with a fool and money parting scheme of my own

You do. But you won’t mate.

E-mailed you with my mobile number.

I could be tempted I think. Will depend on how soon I can get out of work though. You got a contact method? My e-mail is in profile.

A fixed ankle.

Better mental health for a couple of people in my life.

@qwerty I may take you up on that!

Well, that was a comfortable few hours of whimsy. However, it has given me some fuel to find somewhere new.

So, the 200k figure is what it would take to be mortgage free. 90 minutes door to door is the acceptable commute for me based on going into the City a couple of times a week.

That commuter map site is pretty awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Well look at IHN here with his fancy inside toilet.

What is posh Welsh?

I’ve made my peace with a 2 hour door-to-door to get to work if my moon-on-a-stick is found. Once I’m at the terminal I’m pretty confident I can run/bike to work under 30 minutes, hence the 1.5 hours to the terminal requirement!

Man, a 15 minute drive in the morning would suck though. It would have to be biking or running distance to the station.

@ctk if only… Does look like your money goes a long way there!

@tommyhine I think at this point I should add a “not Home Counties” requirement? Some cracking suggestions here though!

@prawny whereabouts in Cannock should I look?

@Nobeerinthefridge where’d the riding be?

This started out as a bit of whimsy. Seriously considering the move to Somerset now.

Anyone know what the deal with HS2 is? Crossrail is already playing havoc with house prices where it’s going to be. Surely people are cashing in on the HS2 gravy train (ahahahaha! Sorry) already when selling?

@perchypanther 😀 strangely, Nationalrail doesn’t list Hogwarts as one of their stations. Private school brats probably had onward transport from the local station I bet.

Yup, when I lived there a 1 bed first floor flat cost £140k! Mind you, that was close to the peak. Sounds like it’s as bad there now.

@Doh1Nut now that’s what I’m talking about!

@northerntom maybe 200k is what I’ve just won in the lottery? 😉

@Woody2000 when’s that then?

@piemonster a couple of times a week, maybe less. Somerset is increasingly looking like the best option though!

@fasthaggis, anywhere specific? Somerset was my first choice. I thought I’d be looking at a pretty dire part of the Home Counties to be honest!

@IHN I live within riding distance of Swinley Forest and under an hour’s drive from the Surrey Hills, Chicksands and so on. So I guess something comparable? Would compromise for bumblecore and very good road riding if that helps?

I’m driving to Scotland next year, so me!

If you have sealant in the tyre, deflate it and it unseats from the bead in transit you’re going to have a Bad Time.

You could clingfilm the bottle top to be doubly sure.

Also, if you’re flying BA and are using business class for the extra allowance then make sure the baggage handler knows it!

Shouldn’t it be in your Wiggle order history?

Also, if you have the frame serial number wouldn’t that help move things along?

Insurance replacement not an option?

Bit out there, but does it really matter what his motives to travel are?

Ultimately, you’re not going to regret spending 7 months with your family are you? Even if it brings things to a head and forces you to confront what you’re avoiding then it will be time well spent. I don’t know OP’s personal situation, but sometimes it can be good to spend time away from it.

I took a couple of months of unpaid leave to travel with my family (GrahamS off here told me about unpaid parental leave. I’m in his debt if he ever decides to collect!) so I”m definitely biased. It did help me realise how much work my wife did, how demanding childcare is, how I could help and how quickly children grow up.

If you’re worried about what he’s missed at school you could always catch him up once he’s back. There are so many resources out there these days. If you could save up for 7 months of travelling then I’m sure once you’re back and working you can put some money towards tutoring for your son if you absolutely had to.

Re limited datasets and all that. First, it’s not about me, it’s about OP. Ultimately, he’ll have to decide what’s right for his family. Second, I don’t have access to information about what happens when you take a child out of school for an arbitrary amount of time, so I hope anecdotes will suffice. If either geetee or aa have evidence then please feel free to share!

Friend had some problems with last year’s shapeshifter on the Strive. They posted him an updated replacement and it’s fixed his problems. Contrast that to a Norco I bought from Evans where it took many months and several trips back and forth to sort out a couple of discs and I’m wishing I’d bought a Canyon too!

How do you know?

Oooh, I know this one! Because you can’t get more than the highest grade in all subjects?

all the wonderful it gets better posts

In the spirit of “it doesn’t get easier, you just go faster”, “it doesn’t get better, it just gets different”. I must admit I’m enjoying a rare good spell at the moment. I may even get out for a ride tomorrow!

Do it.

In some countries kids don’t even start school till 7. If you’re that worried about his education then you could take the textbooks with you and try and teach him on the road! Personally, if I could do it, I would. My parents sent me to tour a different country at 15 to play sport. Missing a term of school made no difference to my O/Level results.

The more senior you are in your career the more picky you get about where you work, what you do, and who you want to work with.

With this in mind do some research on the companies you think you want to work at. There are tons of resources out there now. Once you’ve identified a few choices take some time to see what vacancies they have. If they’ve not got anything suitable, then take a look at their competitors. Then apply, see if what they’re offering is something you’re interested in and go from there.

When I switched jobs recently I used this approach and it worked quite well. I also had contact with recruiters through LinkedIn. Most of these people are using a scattergun keyword search and it’s pretty simple to weed them out.

Good luck.

The gold one.

@Kryton57 that looks a bit too classic for me.

@Quirrel that Vitesse bag maybe just the ticket!

Alright, I’ll have a go and report back.

@nickjb I am the OP!

It works, but the “bleed” seems to last about one ride’s worth before it starts to pull back to the bar.

Maybe, but it does work!

@Milkie in what way are they better? I like the look of the bags.

Got to say, Crumpler have been pretty good about honouring their guarantees. I’ve had one bag replaced for a higher range model and another going back.

@Quirrel the Tumi ones are pretty pricy. Worth it?

Books?

I can recommend the following:

Anything by Roseanne Thong
Little Why
Guess How Much I Love You
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Three Billy Goats Gruff