From the ststement by the cyclists family on the news they were unhappy with the sentence but what had really upset them was the derogatory comments made by the driver: blaming the cyclist and calling him 'suicidal', refusing to say that he regretted the incident and in respect of his attitude towards the family in court – this is only heresay as I wasn'y in the court.

Even the BBC news reports that a witness saw Mr Spink clinging to the wipers of the truck, since they are pretty much in front of the driver he either didn't see or didn't care (and I assume the former).

For such a lapse, and especially inlight of comments he is supposed to have made in court ( I wasn't there) deriding the cyclist, I personally think he should not be driving again in a couple of years.

Only reporting what was said on our news, not intentionally over-embelishing.

And I would like to think that the driver would be able to see someone hanging onto his wipers even if only for a second or two.

And in my opinion even if no longer prison sentence is appropriate the driver should have his licence revoked for life.

I'd be happy with 3 feet Goan, it's usually much less than that round here.

Druidh stopped at mine a few weeks back and he couldn't believe how close cars got or how dangerous much of the driving was.

Conversely, I was in Edinburgh not long back and couldn't believe what the cyclists got away with there and how tolerant the drivers were – some of the moves I saw cyclists pull in the city would get you intentionally run over round here.

It is a strange outcome, if the story 0n our local news is correct the lorry hit the guy on the bike, said rider was left clinging to the windscreen wipers of the wagon but the driver would not stop but carried on driving until the rider fell off under the wheels of the truck. Driver then, according to winesses, drove for a further 6 miles with the bike under his vehicle, finally stopped, pulled the bike out, put it in the truck, drove 30 miles out of his way to dump the bike in a remote area and carried on as if nothing had happened.

2 years jail and a 3 year driving ban seems very lenient, especially as the driver has shown no remorse and was verbally abusive to the family while in court.

I usually agree with TJ about not giving long sentences merely for revenge but this case does seem to justify more jail time, and definately a longer, if not permanent, driving ban.

Tyre pressures a funny one, I can't really say if I notice 5psi difference cos my 2 pumps aren't that accurate – one shows 36psi at the same time as another one registers a touch over 40psi, so no idea what I'm riding with.

To be fair he may be looking to sell the wheels and they will be more saleable if they look good and fully stickered up.

Dirtynap said

I started very young, then a few years back and a monster crash during race practice at whistler which put me in a wheelchair. It was 2 years before I could ride again.

Over summer I stacked so often I went through three sets of body armour, two bikes, 120 stitches, and 100's of pain killers but so what its the price you pay to get airborne and silly.

Yup,

that really sells it to me.

Go into Nursing, it's great, never have to do any work, spend long periods of time on the sick, get paid too much and a ridiculous pension at the end of it – I know cos I read it on here.

Serioualy though, I trained in marketing, found it mind numbing, worked as a bouncer for a few years which was good money for easy work, then in chemical production before finally training as a Nurse and ending up £14K in debt to fund that training.

Love the job most days and, occasionally, someone appreciates what you've done for them which is nice.

If you have a desire to do something then look at the options, do your sums to ensure you can afford to do it (or at least afford the debt you'll run up paying the bills whilst training), make sure you have family support then go for it. If it all adds up then go for it, you'll only regret it later if you don't.

teatwosugars had one and broke it, I think.

IIRC Cove wouldn't honour the warranty cos he had it resprayed and that could have affected the structural integrity of the frame.

Is it just me who thinks £3 for 4 tiny bolts is taking the piss?

Vista has always been fine on my low spec laptop, mind you I don't ask it to much beyond browsing, photos and word processing.

Not noticed any slowdown with the SP2 from automatic updates this week.

Given up on waterproofs for biking, goretex not breathable enough for a sweaty sod like me, Event leaked after less than a year, now try to stay warm but wet using a windproof and good thermal layers.

Am aware of the dangers of chilling off with this strategy but tend to do rides from the door or trail centres in winter so not such a biggie.

Big mountains in winter I bag for Paramo, yes it is warm but is well vented and skin stays dry even when coat is wet through.

You really need to decide what you want from a piece of kit, how you run (hot/sweaty/cold) and how your kit will fit in.

EDIT – if you're willing to put up with less longevity then I reckon the above event jacket is a good call, though I did hear rumours then Endura were dropping Event due to the poor life span.

Aristotle – what I was trying to get over was the shock I found, as a white person, that others could think that of me. Daft as it sounds I had never considered that other groups could believe that about me.

Probably the first time I had ever really had an inkling of how minotities can be made to feel, perhaps all the time.

And of course there's no grading of bigots, all are equally evil.

Personally I think NG is a weasly little racist nobody with ridiculous extreme views he tries to cover up but is too thick to do so.

What would really worry me is if someone with brains and charisma takes over the outfit.

As a talking point such views of separatism are not the exclusive preserve of whites as often gets portrayed. Does anyone remember Luois Theroux with the Nation of Islam, being told that it 'wouldn't matter if they killed him because he was white and therefore less important than a dog'.

I found that one line really chilling – that any person could think that of others, and that's irrespective of whether thet're black, white, pink, yellow or blue.

you're a medical marvel and totally **** then.

Hope have been great when I've had problems – give them a call.

Ctrl Alt and up key

Lay down

dangerousbeans i think.

I'm agree with philsimm.

Hands up all those people who have never said something in jest, then decided it may have been better not to.

Oh, just me then.

Multicultural tolerance would be wonderful – unfortunately that would mean all people of all cultures getting on board.

I suspect that due to loony minorities in ALL ethnic groups this will never happen.

trailmonkey

Would love to see the charge sheet for that :-)

CaptJon

I know, I was pointing out how attractive they may look to lots of the population.

OK I admit it. I'm a dangerous racist

Lucky I outed you then :-)

I am.

Gorm is from old Norse meaning sense – thus lacking in sense.

I often refer to people as Gormfull.

Repack – fully aware, was commenting on what many people think but was not agreeing with them.

And RD,

I appreciate that, just wouldn't want a mate to be labelled racist when the truth is that he was just a bit gormless.

druidh wrote

I thought some local might know when the Cromarty to Nigg ferry ran. I might incorporate it into a JoG ride.

wordplay gone wrong. :(

user removed – I know quite a few black guys who would disagree with you.

kimbers,

I know that, but meet people in my work who say they'll put up with racism if those principles are returned to society.

People are generally selfish and some will vote for personal gains even if someone else loses out.

Many (if not most) people don't give a shit about child labour so long as they're clothes are cheaper or pesticides poisoning whole communities cos they want cheap good quality bananas – even when they know they still act to benefit themselves and sod everyone else.

So you don't mind the word being used in public but not on the internet?

wordplay is a crime then, yeah?

The problem is that they do have some attractive policy ideas over and above their out and out racism, many of which are a no-no to the mainstream parties (from the Telegraph):

It favours nationalisation and a break up of "socially, economically and politically damaging monopolies".

It would devolve powers to the "lowest level possible" to give local people as big a say in decisions as possible.

On health, it is committed to a free, fully funded NHS for all Britons and wants more emphasis on healthy living and sickness prevention.

Those responsible for causing pollution should pay and towns should be a blend of local architectural styles and take place on "a more human scale".

The BNP would restore the earnings link with pensions.

Seems quite a bright lass IMO, really rich from doing **** all – beats working for a living.

I take a first aid kit mainly for the kids – gives them a bit of reassurance with a plaster applied, and makes it easier to encourage them to carry on.

Also some very strong pain killers – may make the wait for assistance a bit more pleasant.

Good innit

Goan,

But it still makes it look like a flattish fire road with a few rocks embedded in it.

My point was that vids tend to make things look less steep, less rad and much easier.

Buy and try – if you don't like it you'll likely get £80 for it – only gonna lose £50.

And you may love it.

Just been looking at this

Fort William downhill course looks like a fire road with a few small rocks bedded into it..and not very steep either.

Bet it's not though.

And if you're all that good I'm never going on a STW ride.