Our Border has been on a raw diet from birth, it’s what the breeder feeds her dogs.

We use natures harvest frozen whole carcass minced mixed (chicken & beef) with frozen mixed veg. You should make sure it’s whole carcass, fat, bone the works as it contains all the nutrients they would have had in the wild.

It’s very easy for us, we weigh out the food one day at a time, let it defrost then keep in the fridge. No smell, little hassle. We usually put a bit of kibble on top as well.

My view is that dogs evolved eating a raw diet and compared to what he eats when we are out walking there is no chance of any bacterial issues from it. We make sure we wash his bowl after every meal though. Dogs stomach acid is stronger than ours and they are very resilient to bugs.

He loves it- but then it’s food and he’s a dog.

Our dog is now just over a year old and we went through this.

It’s not easy. We found something that he really liked and he only ever got it when we went out on a walk and he came back to us.
When he came back (no matter how long it took him) he got to play with it for a short while then it was taken away and he was praised.

We then introduced a whistle for meaning to come back so we can recall him if he is out of hearing distance.

Consistency and rarity of playing with the thing he likes the most (for some dogs it’s food) means he now always comes back when the whistle is blown.

We also used a very long lead for a while but it didn’t stop his desire to run after other dogs which is what you want to stop.

It takes time and trying to not get cross. Took him around a week to catch on with no other dogs around and 2 months for it to be very reliable.

We have a Border and strip him ourselves- mainly my daughter.
Take it a bit at a time and while he’s not the biggest fan of it in certain areas, is generally fine and is much happier for it in this sort of weather.
It tends to take us about 4 days in total – 2x30mins each day when he’s relaxed.

It doesn’t hurt when they are ready to be stripped.

+1 for a Halo band here.

Stops all the sweat from my forehead going in my eyes. I do have to make the helmet adjustments larger to fit it under.

I shall be there for my 9th year with Lightly Lubed riding as a mixed team of 5.
Must be mad

I also have an Atera Strada – the 3 bike plus the optional 4th add-on.

Very secure, easy to fit and load bikes on and IMO the best way to carry bikes.

We bought an Audio Pro Addon T3 at xmas and it’s excellent.
Not too big and quite weighty as the battery must be a decent size as it lasts ages.
Sound quality and volume are excellent.

Not that cheap but worth it IMO

We have a 1 year old Border and his recall is very good.

The trick is to find something they love, go mad about, and only ever use it as a reward for coming back when you call.

His obsession is balls so we have some that squeak and he only ever gets them when out on a walk when we call him back. We added a whistle to calling his name in case he is far away, so now 3 blasts on the whistle and he will stop doing anything else and comes flying back for his ball.

You just need to be very consistent and practise for short periods very regularly.

+1 for an MX-5

good value, fast enough, easy to drive and perfect bike car :-)

I use mine all year round

I bought a Nomad washer probably 5 or so years ago and it’s been brilliant.

Battery is still OK but doesn’t last as long as it did – enough for 4 or 5 tanks still and it takes 2 tanks to clean a very muddy bike.
Not cheap but has lasted very well given how much I’ve used it.

When I passed mine many moons ago I did an intensive course over several days that included 1.5 days of riding out and about with the instructor in a small group before the tests.

For me this part was the most important, not only did it give some real experience but I learned a heck of a lot from just riding in a ‘safe’ group. I’m sure it made me safer than learning the basics and practising the test. It was also bloody good fun.

Several others on the CBT didn’t do this and around half failed the test while everyone on the intensive passed.
So passing the test isn’t everything IMO – you want to be a better, safer rider.

While I don’t have depression, I’m always in a good mood, the world is a nicer place and I buzz for the rest of the day at least after a long ride, no matter how bad the weather or how I felt on the ride.

It gets to the point where the wife and daughter tell me to just get out and go for a ride – I must be a miserable sod if I don’t ride for a week.

8 month old border

Raw mixed veg and raw minced meat from Natures menu with a sprinkle of decent kibble on top (forget the make)

We buy all the raw food frozen and measure it out into plastic containers 2 days at a time. Easy to do , he loves it and it’s what the breeder does with all her dogs.

Our view is that they evolved eating raw food so the whole minced carcass stuff has to be better than man made dried food.

I have one for the same reasons as HH. I have an MX5 and it’s the only rack that will work but only because it’s a hard top.

I got the additional front wheel adapter so I don’t need to put it inside the car, which is equally difficult. It also gives you the additional sucker on the rear in case one comes unsealed.

It’s a fab carrier, very easy to put on and take off and takes up hardly any room. Security when on the car isn’t good but I rarely leave my bikes out of sight anyway. If you’re worried it’s a 2 minute job to run a cable to something or take the bike off and lock it up.

I’ve used it for road, HT and FS bikes and it’s perfectly fine above legal speeds (ahem… so I have heard)

Road bike

FS

You always think that you did worse than you actually did. You always think of something you could/should have said

She’s had good feedback about it so she should stop worrying, nothing you can do about it now anyway.

The best thing I’ve watched in ages is Detectorists.
Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle

A beater dog that’s bred to go out front and zigzag?

Yes a Border Terrier

A dog that’s bred to follow the horses and hounds and flush out a fox if it goes underground

The border terrier was bred to have long enough legs to keep up with the horses and other foxhounds, which traveled with them, and small enough bodies to crawl in the burrows of foxes and chase them out so the hunters had a blank shot. The foxhounds that traveled with them were not small enough to do the Border terrier’s job.

They weren’t bred as a beaters dog.

It depends on the timeframe, how often you buy shares, your attitude to risk, do they usually pay a dividend or are you after growth for a return.

I wouldn’t shares on the basis of someone saying they can’t go any lower, or on gossip that there would be an announcement.
If you work for the company and know there will be an announcement that will increase the share price you may be investigated for insider trading (I think) Companies that are traded on the stock exchange usually ask/instruct employees not to buy in the run up to announcements.

You should do the basic research as if you didn’t work there – what price would they have to be to make sense to buy.
Given you work there you can gain a sense of whether you think it’s well run, management attitude, the quality of what you produce/offer.

…and there will always be stories of shares going even lower once you buy but that doesn’t mean it always happens.

Understand the fundamentals and accept you may get it wrong.

As a dog owner I’m hoping to take our Border out with me in the future – they were bred for running with a pack and we will both enjoy it.

But there is no way I’d take him to a trail centre when it’s even lightly used. Certainly not when I can’t trust him and other riders. Maybe at 6am like cubist but I value his health too much to risk him being run over or to cause an accident.

Trail centres, for me, are about 100% focus on the trail and you can’t keep half an eye on the dog and ride. So I’ll be taking him on more natural rides or on some deserted Scottish trails. It’s all about being considerate and when it’s busy you are unlikely to have enough control over the dog for it not to be a potential problem.

Last time I asked EE I think I had to pay an administration fee – a few quid I think (out of contract etc)

spend the money

No-one ever regretted getting the next bike up in the range.

I had a similar decision (that didn’t actually come off but I did the research) a couple of years ago now.

Brompton – 2 gears because there are no hills (1 would do but 2 makes it faster)
Marathon tyres – because you don’t want a puncture.
Simple mudguards – because you will ride when it’s wet if it’s a commute
rechargeable separate lights – as you don’t need them all the time
I also specced a bag that clips to the front

I was tempted by the Ti option for weight – Hardest part is deciding on the colour

Simple choice :-)

I think it used to be easier given the proliferation of standards.

When I did mine I got some parts through a LBS (Plush Hill) and Al checked the spec, provided some useful suggestions on and built it up for me. I reckon I bought half the bits myself and half through him (some with decent deals)

I took cake and watched. Glad I did as it’s his day job and he did a better job of it that I would have done in the time.

I was most concerned that I’d order the wrong size/type/number etc of front mech, discs headset etc and even though I double checked it myself having a proper mechanic do it made it a lot easier. He also has all the tools and little bits that make it easier – plus hours of practice.

I strip it all down and do maintenance myself but for original builds I let the professional do it.

I bought a Neet Airstream and plug it into the amp.
Set online to be the highest quality and it sounds very good.

The Neet has been very reliable and it just works.

How far… as far as we needed to find a breeder we liked.

We decided we wanted a border terrier so started with the breeders nearest to us. Found one 20 min drive away and decided to wait until she had a suitable pup available. We could have easily paid half the money and had a dog within a week but decided the choice of breeder was the most important thing.

Anyhow Ted is nearly 8 months old now and getting to know the breeder before we got him, making several visits and getting to know and see the parent dogs made buying him easy.

I did some work for a leasing company a year or so ago.

Spent quite a bit of time talking to the guy in disposals about what they do, reasons for decisions and the like.

They prefer to sell to the driver. They make the most money that way as people know the car, often like it and have looked after it and it seems cheaper.

Next they tend to offer the decent spec, decent condition, popular cars to dealers they work with. They make less money than selling to a driver but it’s simpler.

Lastly they go to auction – this tends to be the route they factor into the lease costs – so the other routes are more profit.

When I asked what he would advise me to do if I were to be in the handing back scenario he smiled and said but it from him :-) then said to make sure you don’t drive a desirable model, hand it back, attend the local auctions and buy it for a lot less there. The dealers need to make a profit so you can often out bid them. They will collude though and he has pulled all his cars from an auction before when they colluded to force prices down. He equally saw them force a private buyer out by bidding way over the market price to send the message that private buyers aren’t welcome.

OK I can’t resist.
I’ve tried to not read this thread but failed.

Heading out to Val Thorens over half term. I was worried about the amount of snow but clearly not now.

counting down the hours left at work – 59 and counting

Just the lift passes to renew and daughter and I are all set…

OK just caught up on this thread and my blood pressure is through the roof…

My personal peeve is the use of the noun medal as a verb. You don’t medal in the Olympics, you win a medal. Similarly you don’t podium.

… and I accept that language evolves and if enough people use it then it will no doubt become accepted, but that doesn’t make it right.

Interesting thread.

Like many others I did the London, build career, earn a lot thing while I was young. Pretty much stumbled into doing well as I enjoyed most of the work and was offered better roles, promotion and money. Saved a lot of it which has been helpful recently.

Then decided to stop climbing the ladder with a young daughter and stop doing stupid hours. Walking her to school and being there to pick her up 2 or 3 days a week was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Now in a job that I really don’t enjoy but I work with nice people, am good at what I do and earn a stupid amount. Would be nice to quit and have a simpler life but having no money worries makes it really difficult.

I struggle to understand why you need to ask the question (indeed all the ‘should I go to the doc/hopsital/A&E’ questions)

Your toe really really hurts and you wonder if you need to get someone who knows about this stuff to have a look and give an opinion.

I stored mine in the porch of the tent (Robens Voyager 3EX).
Take the front wheel off and it fits no problem.

I think it’s a good idea – out of sight and all that

I bought a Robens Voyager 3EX tent last year.
Light, really well made and easy to pitch.

Plenty of space inside and the porch bit is large so it can take quite a bit of stuff. I put my HT in there overnight with chair and boxes while doing the 24/12.

As others have said the only way to be sure is to ride a bike. Test ride, hire, borrow etc

If you can’t get to test ride then it may be possible to ride similar bikes / bikes from the same manufacturer etc.

Failing that you are taking a punt, although you can reduce the risk of getting a bike you don’t like by doing lots and lots of research. Read reviews, posts by people (I don’t think most people always say good things about their bikes – but these days there are very few bad bikes around if you’re spending a fair amount of money)

Personally I wouldn’t buy a mountain bike over £2k without a test ride. I probably would buy a road bike though – probably because after all the research I’ve done and riding other makes, the one I want rates well in a lot of tests in comparison.

She saved 1/3rd of her salary every month for a year to buy it for me, for me to not use it?

In that case – you have enough bikes and need to ride the Ti HT more – and keep reminding yourself how lucky you are.

I assume money in general isn’t an issue – if so you have no argument – otherwise 4 bikes isn’t enough

You have a scenario where you will use it.
It’s only money and will give you pleasure
It’s your hobby/interest/keeps you fit/sane etc

The hardest part is justifying it to yourself

in terms of paying off the two in totality then it PROBABLY makes sense to pay off the smaller first.

If the OP has to pay both loans then he should look at the effect on the total he pays.

There’s no probably about it.

I switched from a Garmin watch to a newer 510.
The newer Garmins make use of the US and Russian satellites and are more accurate than a lot of watches.

Battery life will be significantly better than a phone and they are appropriately weather proof.
For your purposes a 510 will be more than enough I think – the 8xx ones have proper maps which is useful off road but the 510 directions are good enough to navigate new routes off road.

So I’ve had a watch, used my phone but always take the 510 with proper HRM strap.

As the father of a nearly 16 year old this has been on my mind/radar for quite a while.

I have (jokingly) told her when she was 13 or so that I needed 6 months notice of her having a boyfriend, as that’s how long it would take me to get a shotgun licence.

I feel quite lucky as she is level headed and not really keen on boys as they are all immature (which raises worries of older boys)
We have just discussed how limiting on your life having a boyfriend could be – and she is a good rugby player which tends to come first so she has limited time. The rugby also makes me less worried as it requires a lot of self-analysis and she can look after herself if needs be.

We talk to her about the ups and downs of boyfriends and other life decisions then cross our fingers.

3 here soon to be 4.
1 old MTB with lights mounted all the time
1 newer MTB
1 road

going to add a Bell Super 2R with removable chin guard

I have a Mountain equipment cascade – can’t fault it but then given the price I should hope so.