He has a moral obligation

Wouldn’t expect someone who treated someone else’s property like that to have decent morals. It’s all well and good to be “it’s just “stuff”, mellow out maaan”, but people seem to conveniently forget that value of said “stuff” is in the eye of the owner!

OP, if this is a job you want to stay in I’d pursue a quiet word with the manager like others have suggested before taking a more aggressive route. Remember, your career over time is probably worth more cumulatively than the bike costs.

Are you that Bez off the front page?

Ah, the points are cumulative over the year! So even if I hit 40 points a week for 52 weeks (yeah, sure) then I’d only get 2080 points which just about gets me into Silver. There’s no way to get to “Gold” points without going to Weight Watchers (which is frankly pointless if you’re not someone who struggles with their weight in the traditional sense).

You need to add something called “Vitality Optimiser” to qualify for the partner benefits. The health checks put me off a bit if weight is the only measure they’re using to determine health. At my height and weight there’s nothing to lose really!

The main motivator was the half price gym membership. They’re not that much more than alternative providers. Also, I commute to work a few days a week, work out 4 days a week (home gym) and do a few Parkruns a year too. Seems ideal to get the discounts, but I’m not sure how they track all that info without it becoming a massive chore for me.

Does it take them long to assign you a “status”? You could just bang out the activities for x length of time and then get the discount surely?

How well does the point collecting work? I’ve had a look at their site and it vaguely says “use your Garmin”. Do you just upload your GPX files post-activity to it, or do they do something smart with your Garmin Connect profile?

Wow! Almost like it pays for itself (using manlogic).

I’m going to have to get it privately seeing as I’ve not got life cover. I was hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone.

@joshvegas
You can have mine, but you have to return it in the condition I lent it to you in.

Is there only me feeling a little less sorry for the OP due to his asking for peoples opinion, then getting quite aggressive when they don’t tally with his?

Leave him alone, he’s just lost a bike!

Feel really bad for OP. In a similar position I would at least fess up to the person I borrowed and offer to make good on the damage.

“Told you so” comments don’t really help you, but I’d definitely ask the person you lent it to if they will cover the damage. You don’t ask, you don’t get.

Seeing as you’ve told his partner you’re not satisfied with what’s happened you should bite the bullet and ask. However, the reluctance to give you their phone number, and absence when you were taking possession sounds like they’re chancing their arm on you not asking.

Focus on what you need to do. Get receipts for the bike and quotes for what you’re willing to accept in place. Show this to him and ask him to do the right thing. You can consider alternatives after that.

Chin up though mate, at least you know this person’s character now. Hope it all comes through for you and they do the right thing. Absolutely disgusted by this behaviour.

I’ve got my long travel HT as a low maintenance option for winter, or for when I want gears, but minimal cleaning faff on a muddy ride.

Around my local trails it’s almost as fast as any long travel full sus.

No, I don’t regret it, but if I had to have only one MTB it would be a modern long travel full sus.

Buy a jersey with a zipped pocket.

Still good 3 rides later. Even on the untidy, debris strewn roads on my commute.

The suppleness of racy tyres is strange compared to the hard as nails Gatorskins they’ve replaced. I’m running them at 80/90psi front/rear. The Hutchison seems to lose a couple of psi overnight according to my pressure gauge.

Pretty happy so far. May update this in a few months once I’ve tried them on a properly long ride. So far they’re just doing 28km a day, which is hardly anything.

Hey there. Would any Exposure mount work with the Fluxient? I have a U2 Mini. The diameter is a little bit over 25mm when measuring with a ruler at the widest point.

The light I’m looking at is around £200 from Exposure. The Mark 7 Diablo I think. I don’t mind paying for it (Cyclescheme accessories voucher should save me a few quid there), but I’d not mind trying a cheap alternative before taking that option.

Forgot to say, I don’t want any batteries mounted to my helmet either.

I’ve already got on of those U-mounts. I cannot get it to fit snugly enough to not “flop” though. Double sided velcro using a buckled loop would probably sort it.

Unfortunately they’ll probably not fit on my bike. There are some really good deals on them about at the moment though!

First ride today on the commute and they’re riding really nicely. Was a bit worried the tyres would come a cropper on some of the untidy sections of road I need to navigate, but they’ve been fine. 25mms do feel more comfortable than my old 23mm Gatorskins.

The instruction manual seemed to suggest fitting the vale section last when putting the tyre on. This did not work for me. I wound up removing and reseating the bead to get it on. Both tyres needed a dilute washing up liquid solution to fit. The Schwalbe – surprisingly – did not do the double “pop” the Hutchison did. Seems to have stayed up fine overnight, and on today’s commute though!

I may swap the tyres over in about 4000kms to save on wear if I remnember to do so.

Terms and conditions

Codes are single use each month and linked to your British Cycling membership account

Have I misinterpreted this?

You can get BC discount once a month if you have a membership.

There’s more emphasis amongst the middle classes about being a “better” parent these days.

Grew up with two working parents. They didn’t spend a lot of time with us, but we had everything we needed, and a lot of what we wanted. I only now realise how much they sacrificed to give us all these things. They didn’t have to, but they wanted to. They figured it was better for us to have the opportunities than spend time with us. Frankly, I think they did the right thing, but it’s taken a long time to understand that.

I’d not swap my upbringing for anyone’s.

Pick an arbitrary number of months/years you’d like to have a cushion for if all of your income dried up overnight (6 months for me). Now save as much into a cash ISA to hit that amount (you may have to save into a stocks ISA if your cushion is more than 15k-ish).

Now overpay the mortgage with what’s left over if that’s the highest interest loan in your life.

You may also want to put some money by for your children if you have any.

Pretty much it. The more I look into it, the more it seems like CICO, eat less, move more are simplistic ways to weight loss. But that’s what the general populace (your average overweight person) needs. They don’t need to understand or even care about the minutiae.

What gets me about the pseudoscience is when it’s used as an excuse to justify poor choices.

I think I’ve figured out the statement about CICO being false, depending on calorific composition. The argument is that calories from protein are not as efficiently stored as fat, as calories from carbs.

Ok, I can definitely buy that. I’ve also come across a study using diets with 3 groups. 2 had equal calorie counts, but one was low carb, high protein. The other ate at a deficit.

Counter to the CICO belief, the low carb, high protein group lost weight. I’ve learned something from this. So thanks to Solo etc for helping me get off my backside and look for it without putting blind faith in CICO, which I was.

Like someone stated in the thread, the problem with carbs is it’s easier to consume a ton of calories without feeling full for certain foods (ice cream, sweets etc). Given this knowledge, perhaps low carb, high protein is the way to go, while getting carbs mainly from vegetables, and to a lesser extent, fruits.

Still not sure on fasted training though!

Beast!

How much do you weigh, and how long did it take to work up to that?

How is the deficit made up then? I thought breaking down muscle and bone tissue for energy when fat stores were readily available was a very inefficient process.

It is most people I’m interested in. Not outliers like people with Marasmus, hormone imbalances, or undergoing a version of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

Most people will lose weight maintaining a calorific deficit. This weight loss will mostly be due to fat loss, and some of it will be the loss of retained water. If there’s a way where you can lose fat while eating at maintenance, or at a calorific surplus then please share it. I’ll even go as far as giving it a shot if you do.

If you find you’re not losing weight while at a deficit, then chances are you’re not sticking with it long enough to see the water weight drop. I’ve seen my own body retain up to 2kg in water weight over a week while eating at a deficit while increasing the volume of exercise.

Nope, really not looking for an argument.

Feels like we’re debating semantics here and things don’t come across very well on text. I think you’re stating fat loss is most efficiently performed by maintaining a low insulin level, using a low GI diet. I’m saying calorific deficit is the only way to weight loss, and incidentally fat loss because the fat reserves are what’s burnt when there’s no access to other energy sources due to the deficit.

The article I linked to made sense to me as a lay person. Calorific deficits have also worked in practice for me (and for millions of others). I think you may have greater knowledge about what you’re talking about, but I still can’t understand how calories in < calories out == weight loss doesn’t make sense. I’d be interested in seeing any studies disproving it.

Cheers for your time. Happy riding. 🙂

@Solo
What do you think about the Twinkie Diet experiment?

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

Or are there some qualifiers when you say calories in < calories out is secondary to type of calories?

What’s a trap bar? I only have access to a power rack in a home gym, olympic bar and weights.

Been running R500s as commuter and trainer wheels for about 5 years. Thousands of kms and no problems. Haven’t even needed trueing. Bought some new wheels to replace them recently, but more to mess around with tubeless than anything to do with the wheels.

Also, you get CRC discount of 10% if you have BC membership.

What unlocked it for me was learning to “lead with the chest”.

Still scared to try higher weight lifts though.

Ok, ignoring obvious outliers, like people with marked hormone imbalances etc.

@wilburt
The most important thing for an average person who wants to lose fat is to find a way to lose it that they can stick with long term. Fat people are fat because they eat more than they need. I think we’re all agreed there. Calories in < calories out works, and has been proven to work for millions of people who’ve dieted their way to a lower weight. Where does the energy for them to carry out bodily functions come from, if not from fat stores?

@Solo
Can you explain what you’re implying in simpler terms please? The way I understand it, you’re saying eating a “low GI” diet is best to force the body to preferentially burn fat. Are you saying this can be achieved without running a calorie deficit? I’m genuinely interested in your opinion as to why you think calories in < calories out is not the simplest way to achieve fat loss. Where does the majority of the energy come from if not from fat stores? Not looking for an argument, because I don’t claim to be an expert. If you can explain why the deficit is not the way to fat loss long term is, then I’m very interested in learning it.

For anyone else, this article offers a detailed, accessible explanation of how calorie deficits work:

The Deficit – How We Lose Fat

I thought the whole nutrient timing theory had been proven to be be inaccurate?

For most of the general populace, calories in < calories out is still the key to weight loss. Perhaps fasted training has some benefit, but I’d be willing to bet it’s marginal to your average enthusiast.

Sure, if you’re on the verge of that pro contract, sub 10% body fat, and you’re looking to drive some sort of physiological adaptation that preferentially burns fat, then knock yourself out. If you’re an average cycling enthusiast at around 15-20% body fat, and looking to lose some weight then you’re better off just eating at a calorific deficit and maintaining the level of exercise you’re comfortable with!

Of course, if fasted training makes you feel more “pro” (see shaving your legs as a Cat 4 when you have no masseuse), then go for it. I’m not judging. Hell, I’ve even contemplated it myself, but it just seems to be a lot of work for very little benefit.

The definition for a novice in the standards is someone who doesn’t train, but has been shown how to do the exercise. It’s also for a 1 rep max I believe.

It’s supposed to be based on aggregated data. So I guess there may be some outliers.

If you want to know numbers then this is a good place to start:

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/DeadliftStandardsKg.html

Try laying a membrane down before putting the bearers down? I’ve used paving slabs as a base and it’s been fine. The shed was in place for a year. It was then moved over the fence when I moved house. The neighbour wanted it. Didn’t see any rot in the floor, and this was an el cheapo floor.

Gone with paving slabs again as the base for the new shed. Seems to be holding up ok.

So what’s the verdict on fasted cardio then?

It takes very dedicated training, or access to some excellent anabolics to build 20lbs of muscle.

I think the figure quoted for newbie gains is 0.5lbs a week. So 40 weeks’ worth of training for a man. The average giffer has probably quit the gym in 4 weeks to party with the lads, or because he HAS to have a bottle of red wine every Friday night, or because KFC night is a tradition with his housemate.

If you want to see your 6 pack, then lose fat by eating at a calorific deficit. Everyone has “abs” they’re just hidden under a layer of fat.

If you want to lose weight then you have to be at calorific deficit.

You have a certain number of calories your body needs for essential functions to keep you alive. You then require a certain amount of energy for whatever you do on top of that (e.g: bike riding, gym etc.).

If your calorie requirements are not met by your intake, then your body will burn fat to make up the deficit. If you take in more than you need, your body will store it as fat. That’s all there is to weight loss and gain. Pretty much everything else is of negligible benefit to the general populace, and some of it is arguably harmful.

I’ve been looking longingly at a Canyon Inflite AL. At the price they are, I may even be able to afford one next year under the pretext of affixing a trailer to it!

My experience is the same with them.

Unless they are making clothes for man/kangaroo hybrids (Mangaroos?).

In a big year I’d only put in about 7500km. Should be ok for that I reckon.