I like light, small and bright. Gloworm X1 for me with an X2 on the bars

Obsessive compulsive cycling disorder

What mudshark said ^ Fixing is an insurance.

When we first bought our house I fixed for 2 years via a broker, who then tried to sell me another fix with tales of rates rising.

I worked out that we needed rates to stay at 0.5% for 4 months to break even on what a rate rise might be.
This was around 5 years ago I think and we are so far ahead of where we would be on a fixed I gave up working it out.

Do the sums. How long do you need on a very low variable to make it worth while, and if it rises can you afford it.

We stayed near Loch Lomond last summer and visited Oban and the area on the many bad days.

Distillery tour if you’ve not done one

The sealife centre is good.

If you fancy a bit of a drive The Hill House was very good – designed by Mackintosh

Bit further away – We did a visit to the Isle of Bute – a very short ferry trip, nice island and Mount Stuart was good.

You looked for another job because

I’m a board at the place I work

and

felt like there was little scope for progression.

On top of that long term I’d like to be self employed or small business in some way in the future and I don’t feel this helps me in that direction.

More money changes none of these so while you will feel better for a short while, you will come around to these issues again.

If you are going to talk to management about why you’re leaving I’d be telling them this.
Either way once you’ve decided you want/need to leave I’ve found it’s best to just get on with it. Leave on good terms and you can always go back at a later date if you need to.

I’ve ordered twice from Superstar in the past few weeks.

Got dispatch notices and low and behold both orders arrived when expected.

I’ve never had an issue with any of the orders from them, or the quality of the products.

I have an MX5 and bought a seasucker rack.
Used it about half a dozen times so far and it’s very good.

Did a bit of a write up on it here
Bike rack review

No else here backed Exploding Kittens then? I’m waiting on my cards, but so far they’re not actually overdue.

ditto.

I also backed a bike related card game – Geared. Was a bit late but even MrsR likes it so all is well with the world.

Am I the only one wondering whether people are starting to use kickstarter in lieu of market research- that rather than using the money to get a project to market, Kickstarter is being used to presell a product, often from an existing company.

I think this is fine though. It’s a form of market research which is far more accurate with people committing money rather than saying they would buy something. The company then know there is a market and they will make a profit. They still have to do all the same background work to set the project up and make it back-able.

Seems like an appropriate thing to do IMO but I rend to not back ones like this unless I can get an early bird and really want it.

I’ve backed loads and very few deliver on time.

I don’t mind. You can’t just go out and buy things from Kickstarter so you can’t get them any other way.
The longest delays tend to be where they are having something manufactured for the first time and they over estimate how long things take, mistakes that will be made etc.

So far none of the 52 I’ve backed (didn’t realise it was so many) have failed to deliver at all, but a few have been a year or more late.

Such is life.

What Northwind said.

You ride differently on a HT compared to FS. I have both and like them equally, they are just different and need different styles to get the most out of them.

At Mayhem I did 3 laps on the FS then switched to HT for another 5 – Both were brilliant.

I have a pair – had them for many years and they are still going strong. The pad is still good and the signs of wear are slight given the age.

I wore them twice a week every week for 4 years or so. Wear them less so these days since I bought some Asos ones – which are much better and twice the cost.

If I had less money I’d buy them again no question, now I can afford better ones I buy the premium brands.

Cheers for that – I’ve replied and told him he’s in.

Being ginger is a benefit – They are the nicest people you could possibly wish to meet :-) Highly intelligent and exceptionally funny.

Bump for the last time.

Anyone ??

That’s great thanks

I’m entered into the same event for the 12hr.

Did the 6hr Enduro6 with no additional training and my cunning plan is to just ride as much as I can and see how it goes.

I figure it’ll hurt no matter how much I train so I’m not stressing about not doing as much as I’d like.

Tapering is quite important. Also make sure you (try to) get lots of sleep and eat well the week before.

I recently worked with a contractor project manager who used so many bingo words it had everyone looking at each other in disbelief.

Over a few beers it appeared that 3 of us had independently noted them down as a few were new to me and priceless. Some of these look made up but he actually said all these words over a 3 month period.

We need to make sure he has skin in the game
I want you to all think outside the box
We need to be pushing the envelope
We need to park this point and resolve it offline
I’m going to put this meeting to bed as we are just bayoneting the dead
This will be a chalk and talk
We don’t want to boil the ocean here
Hope is not a strategy
Do we need to go exploring the deeper envelope?
I’m the Captain but we will steer this ship through the project together
We need to define our Modus Operandi
Lets make sure we upskill the client
We’re all adults now
I’ll crank the handle of the plan
These dates are barrelling towards us like a drunk Elephant
It’s up to each individual church goer to determine their own attendance
I will shepherd us through the detail
Lets all try and inhabit the common ground
There are different ways to skin this cat
Let’s all try and be on-board
How much of the drizzle of innovation will be ready in time.

2nd year for me.
It has the nicest atmosphere of any event I’ve been to in ages and some decent riding.

I wouldn’t say I get a black cloud but I do feel down and the reality of going back to work makes me question what I do.

It helps watching GoPro footage of the trip and then planning the next one. I try and get out on the bike to build on the fitness I like to think I gained while on the trip.

I’ve been trying to make sure that I have something arranged every month so it’s not long until the next thing and I can start to get the anticipation bug again.

Rigid SS

Bast**d hill.

Partly because I have the KOM and partly because it is.

I do both and as others have said it does help.

It’s no replacement as it tends to be a constant effort which makes different demands on you compared to the than the more interval like demands of MTB.

It certainly increases cardio fitness and leg strength overall. I often ride the same road loops and look to do intervals by attacking some Strava segments then recovering. I also have a 14 mile loop I ride flat out to give me an indication of how fit/strong/fast I am.

It’s also good when you’ve not a lot of time and the trails are in a mess but the weather is dry. Lot’s of time in the saddle as there is no bike cleaning to be done.

Best bet is to put a cap on the tab and let the bar and everyone know.
Then accept that you will spend £400 and enjoy yourself, if the bar staff add a few pints then so what.

For me it went from cheap to serious money when I could afford to without it affecting other aspects of my life.

Thinking about it I’ve always spent about the same amount when related to my disposable income. I did make a concious decision to not spend as much as we could have done when buying a house (and cars come to think of it) to make sure I had enough money to fund my cycling addiction, habit, hobby.

I’m looking for a new roadbike and was looking at the Advanced Pro 0 yesterday.

Found several decent reviews of the Advanced Pro range – all good and I’m tempted to pull the trigger and order one.

My other considerations are a Cannondale Synapse (seem to be sold out of a few sizes) and a Canyon ULTIMATE CF SLX 8.0 DI2 (usual canyon delivery issues putting me off)

Unless you’re young or want to race and win then I think crashing isn’t normal. Occasionally maybe but not consistently.
You’re going beyond your ability and coaching will help. Coaching and practise.

I very rarely crash as my primary motive when I’m out is to get back in one piece. I used to be very slow on the more technical stuff but coaching and practise has made me a lot more comfortable, well in control and much faster.

I had a one on one session with some guys in the peaks and a group session with Jedi – both different, both well worth it.

It all depends on the size of the premium, the likelihood of you getting ill and the cost of the most likely claim.

Basically do what the insurers do. If you feel you’re less of a risk than average and could afford to pay yourself then self insure (put the premiums you would have to pay into an account and cap it at a sensible amount)
You always have the NHS as a fall back.

As for whether it’s worth it – you can only ever say for sure in the future, but if you feel you’re less likely to need it compared to what the insurers do then it’s not, and vice-versa. So it differs for different people.

I think they sum up the missed appointments, lump them together and say that means there is x days/weeks/months of missed appointments which equates to x doctors/nurse/hospitals that aren’t at full capacity which cost Xmillions

All of which is making some dramatic and incorrect assumptions – but that’s politics and statistics for you.

With hardware I would usually say buy the most expensive (you can afford)- the most memory, fastest processor and largest screen.

You won’t then ever think you wished you’d got the bigger, faster, more memoried. The Surface Pro allows you to do all you want and may want – and is the most expensive therefore the one to buy.

You might be able to get away with a lesser machine but I wouldn’t if I had the choice.

They have been pretty well received for good reason and I’ve been pretty impressed with Office 365 and the integration.

I advise you to read reviews on a PC related website

We shared a bottle of Champagne with Celia Imrie in first class on Eurostar back into London after skiing a few years ago. She insisted we try some from her glass when we were trying to decide what to order and then got the waiter to bring us a full bottle. Such a nice lady. hic.

It’ll be the best decision you’ve ever made (from a work/life perspective)
Even if it doesn’t work out you will be wiser and no doubt spend a year pondering and have another go with a different or better idea

The hardest part is what you’ve just done – I’ve wanted to do something similar for a few years but never been able to pull the trigger.

Good luck and enjoy it.

I’ve always washed my own car(s). It gets done every couple of weeks or whenever it looks a mess – which now I have a black car can easily be weekly – For me it’s a pleasure to do a bit therapeutic and gets me out of doing other jobs.

Never even been in a car wash

MrsR’s view of washing a car is to get it valeted – chap did a very good job and saved me a couple or 3 hours.

I’ve tried a few but haven’t changed since I started using Squirt.

IME the ‘free’ repairs are just for chips and are only free if you have an insurance company they work with and a zero excess.
Cost to the insurance company is £75 but if like me you’re not with an appropriate insurance company the cost to you is negotiable.

I paid £20 cash which is cheaper than my excess.

It won’t help the parents or automated calls, but my latest tactic has been having a positive effect in reducing calls

I used to get wound up but now I’m all cheery and just tell them that I don’t answer questions from cold callers. They all try and tell me they aren’t selling and proceed to ask me a question after which I politely tell them that I don’t answer questions. This always ends up with them hanging up feeling hacked off and I’m in a good mood.

I have an event shelter, well I have 2 after we found out that the cheaper shower proof ones are shower proof and not water proof.

Use them at Mayhem as communal places to gather but they are brilliant in the garden. Once you’ve put them up a couple of times it doesn’t take long and they make the garden feel like an extra room.

I have the sides as well so as it get a bit colder we put them on and all end up sitting outside until late. The deluxe one is a lot better than the standard IMO and worth the extra.

If you do get it done by someone else see that as a starting point.

I have always tailored mine to fit each role I apply for as the CV is just to get to the interview. Trying to fit everything you’ve done onto a single page or 2 never works as it would be too much to read properly.

It never fails to amuse me when I see adverts asking for specific detail skills in things that I would never expect to do in a particular role. It makes me think they have an internal candidate they want to get a position or they are naive to think they can get someone to fit another persons experience and skills exactly.

Not a company I want to work for which is why it takes me ages to change jobs when I do. Equally I have walked out of interviews when given a coding test when the role doesn’t involve coding, been asked to attend a second interview at 7.30am to suit a very busy person. Maybe I’m a bit picky though :-)

I wear bib shorts only these days and have found that the more I pay the more I like them and the more I wear them.

I’ve got a pair of Endura FS260s which I wore at least twice a week for around 4 years and they are still going strong.

Currently I’m mostly wearing a pair of Asos 3/4 bibs – with the new pad (I forget the model name). They are the most comfortable I’ve ever worn, oddly costing the most – around £120 I think.

oldejeans +1