Inner or Outer? We did the Lewis / Harris / Skye this summer and it was fantastic. Where are you travelling from as you need to factor in getting to Oban or Ullapool and ferry times, depending on your route.

Lewis had amazing beaches and Harris had great hills, so depends if you plan to ride, surf and or canoe. My kids are younger than yours, but happily played on the beach all day. However, stunning scenery on top of stunning scenery might not necessarily appeal to your kids.

Stornoway is pretty, lews castle and museum are interesting plus there is a cinema and swimming pool for when it will be chucking it down.

Is Prime worth it? Not too bothered about their streaming content, but free kindle books. Are these really old content that are free anyway?

Or just cancel account within 30 days, obvs!

On road / off-road, you are spoiled by riches in around Glasgow and Central Scotland.

Matt – No, beinbhan – correct.

Totally off topic, but happened the other week so I thought I would mention it. Kids were just being kids, and stopped when politely asked yet one adult thought otherwise. The gardens aren’t enclosed, but it is common and maintained grounds within a housing estate.

Iainc, I don’t think the person was probably even thinking about access rights either, they were just being an arse. But, being an arse to someone totally supportive of mtber’s and folk enjoying the outdoors.

So another great thing about Perth, miles of trails and farm tracks for skids, just not on the lawns surrounding my dad and neighbours house! :-)

I was born in Perth and grew up riding my bmx and then Muddy Fox Courier around Kinnoull Hill and Barn Hill. My parents still live there, and whilst I may not have appreciated it or thought so in my youth, it is a wonderful place to live and work.

If you like cycling or pretty much any outdoor sport and golf, it is a great place to be. As mentioned above, it is relatively close to everywhere else, so Edinburgh and Glasgow are just about commutable and you can be on a beach or proper mountains within an hour.

Quick question and a long shot, but does anyone on here go night riding up Kinnoull Hill via Gannochy, Milk Boys walk and Coronation walk to access Deuchney Woods?

Last week my dad, someone who loves seeing people riding bikes, horses and go running up there, and offers the Muckmedden marshalls cups of tea, politely asked a group who had youngsters with them, to stop pulling skids in the lawns surrounding their home and car park before setting off on their ride. The group agreed and stopped, yet someone thought that their responsible land access rights were being infringed upon and challenged my dad about who owned the land. Whatever argument they might have had, was instantly rendered meaningless, when they made a retort once he turned his back. :roll:

So if that was you or you know them, please don’t be dick (or ask them not to be). My dad has thick skin, but there are plenty of people who would happily restrict access with any little excuse. :wink:

I’ve changed, it’s not you, it’s me. Bibs picked and packed, rather than Humvees….

My MT500’s are still going strong mind, after 5 years.

Oh and the Vitus Venon looks good too:
http://www.wiggle.com/vitus-venon-disc-105-2017-road-bike/

OP, I have similar requirements but debating whether or not discs really are more of a must have, than a carbon frame. The Boardman and Cubes looks good, but also debating over a Bianchi Intrepida if I can get a good deal, or opting for a Giant TCR disc or a Defy.

I see plenty of TCR’s around, but as I will never race does the Defy make more sense for all-round mile munching and comfort?

Another shout for the Garmin Vivoactive HR. No more sweaty chest straps and no more having to switch on laptop, connect, plug in and sync my Edge 500 after rides or activities. Now, a couple of taps, job done, no more klunk!

Oh and it tells you to move your lardy ass! And it conveniently tells the time too. :-)

Icandy peach, pram and buggy here, with the maxi cosy seat adapters. It was fantastic, really solid and could be taken moderately off road. It was also a really great platform for attaching a buggy board when no. 2 came along.

However, it was really bulky and too good for travelling with and having at the mercy of luggage handlers. So we bought a 2nd hand Baby Jogger City Mini and it is brilliant. So much so the icandy was used less and less, and the city mini is still used when our 3 year old gets tired. It folds easily, is light and very robust. Doesn’t realy work with a buggy board, or at least our version that was bought for the Icandy.

I think it lays flat so could be used from birth. If we had our time again, we would have bought it from the beginning.

Slings and carriers are great and we use a toddler sized one now, but not at the exclusion of a pram. They might sleep happily and comfy in a sling, but you or your partner might like to have a nap also, go to the loo, or do something not attached to said child etc.

glasgowdan, IIRC are you not near Torrance? Take him to Stylers and go and see Margaret or Gillian.

Don’t worry, we’ve been to Yorkhill (Glasgow sick childrens hospital), following a ill-timed wriggle from our wee one during nail-cutting. I nearly closed a door on my eldest hand, but realised just-in time she had her fingers near the door jam. I still shiver thinking about it, why are kids so attracted to door jams, power sockets and switches!

I’ve stayed in both, and would definitely stay at the Colyumbridge again but not Craigendarroch. The food was awful, but Ballater is lovely and the Lecht is only 30 mins away. No snow yet, well not enough for ski-ing on.

Do you plan on having dinner in the hotels or just B&B? In that case fill your boots with either venue.

Can you use the points at Doubletree hotels, part of the Hilton Group? Then why not stay at the Dunblane Hydro? Dunblane is a pretty place, food and leisure centre are good and got Dumyat and the Trossachs on your doortstep for walking.

Other Hilton alternatives, Edinburgh at Xmas is very pretty but super busy. Glasgow Grosvenor, enjoy the west end and strolling around the Botanic Gardens. Loch Lommond is 30 mins away.

Thanks all, great input. I certainly plan to get behind the wheel of an Octavia, Avensis and Mondeo and try them out. The Mazda 6 does look a great choice, but is at the top end of our budget.

One of my best cars was a Focus Estate, but understand the boot space and shape on the newest version is a bit poor, otherwise it could have been a contender.

Thanks for the input guys. I think the Mondeo is climbing up my list and the Octavia is dropping down. Agree about the options, which makes it hard to compare one zetec or titanium with another.

Interesting your comments Cashback, on the Kia Sportage. I thought it had a bigger boot than most crossovers, but clearly still limiting.

Would a vivoactive or Fitbit Charge 2 be a good compliment to an Edge 500?

I like having my Edge upfront, but it is a faff having to upload via a laptop. Happy to keep using my Edge, but would be neat if I can upload the same data via a watch and phone, and have all the other functions of an activity watch.

Probably should of read this thread before posting :-)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-baby-new-dog-new-carlittle-help

Voodoo Ray, c’mon!

That is a great sketch by Bill Bailey, but then Bill Bailey is a fantastically talented musician and comedian. I cannot play a note, but I do seem to be aware that you have to be a great musician to play really bad on “purpose”, aka Les Dawson playing the piano.

Anyway, I think U2 are an amazing band. They don’t hit it every time but they seem to try and take every album to different places whilst funneling their influences. They could have remade The Joshua Tree for the rest of their career and made a lot of people very happy, but they didn’t.

They might not be to your taste, but they are certainly not shit, and live they are still an awesome spectacle as I witnessed on their last Innocence + Experience tour. It’s a shame you stopped listening SaxonRider :-)

Just listen to your body OP, but good on you, donating is a very worthwhile thing to do if you can.

They do say take it easy the day you donate and the next day. In my 20’s and early 30’s I would happily ride or exercise the next day, but now in my early 40’s I do feel the effects and do not try to exercise for a couple of days.

Last week I donated on a Thursday evening and felt great doing a 30 km mtb ride on the Sunday, but I would have struggled had I done a 70 km road ride.

Bing bong boo bang bong bee bing bung biddly bongly boo?

Get it right man :D

Baked beans bing, baked beans bong, baked beans bingly bungly boo…*

*This is probably wrong too, but will see how much it has been ingrained into me :wink:

I am sure you will be aware of this and any store worth its salt will point this out, but car seat pram adaptors are purely for short periods of use and not a replacement for a pram or buggy themselves. So great for going to the super market and not having to disturb the little ones too much if they have fallen asleep, but definitely not an all day option.

You will use the adapters for such a short period of time, that there are many on gumtree and ebay, and they seem to hold their value.

We had an Icandy Peach, which has been great, highly maneuverable, solid and the height adjustable arms were great not only for swapping between my wife and I, but also navigating tight shops. It took car seat adapters and was solid for attaching a buggy board to it. However, you have a separate pushchair and a frame to pack away, is quite heavy and I would say the pushchair comes up shorter than Icandy suggest.

My in-laws used to live overseas, and the Icandy was too much bulk and frankly too nice to expose to baggage handlers so we bought a Babyjogger City Mini from ebay. We still use it and prefer it to the Icandy and it has thus seen more use. It folds easily in one piece and great for napping children. We bought a carrying case for it, so easy for travelling too. I am sure you can get pram conversions for them too, and would have got one originally if we know what we know now.

I went camping and canoeing with Matt_OutandAbout last year, but had never met him before other reading his posts on here.

Hello Matt…

Davieg, You must believe that the doping problem is still prevalent then to warrant such a drastic measure by a Sports Governing Body?

Xyeti, hopefully and genuinely I do not believe doping is still prevalent, but clearly some are still willing to cheat, so there is no room for complacency. It would be far better if the story was for a former Pro to share their insight and tactical nous with the development squads, rather than their past experiences also serving as a warning.

So is it a role for DM to fulfil, or could any former Pro taken on this role? I don’t know.

As an aside, do we think Millar has been as honest as possible about his doping?

I remember getting a bit of an itchy chin when I read his book.

Possibly. Once you have crossed that line, you can never go back, so it would seem strange to pick and choose, as and when you doped. Which the book suggest he did, i.e. he wasn’t permanently juiced.

It has been more than two years since I read his book, but was part of his demons to dope or not dope, was to prove to himself that he could compete solely on bread and water? Then having doped, did he not what to prove to himself that he could compete clean afterwards? Is that not where keeping the “used syringes” as a memento was derived from, which the cops duly found when they busted him?

As we can see, when it comes to DM, for some no amount of rehabilitation and repentance will ever be enough. They would have you believe he sketched it all out on an envelope as a career plan:

Get Pro Contract
Fight conscience, teammates and predominant cycling culture of the time and accept Professionalism and dope
Get caught
Start fake repentance plan
Show contrition
Become anti-doping campaigner
Get new pro contract
Ride clean
Write book
Get Media gigs
Retire
Get more media gigs
Get coaching gig

I have never met DM, but I do not think he is that cynical or hypocritical.
He could have had an easy life as a DS on Astana or Tinkoff for instance, but readily admits he is an ex-doper when so many others cannot, so I can see why BC believe there is a value he can bring to youth development.

Well put M.I. I am 1 year older than Dave Mirra and have two young girls, and just cannot comprehend the dark place where we can only assume he was, that this seemed rational.

I grew up on a BMX, watching Andy Ruffell, Eddie Fiola and Ron Wilkerson and was astounded years later seeing the progression of the sport by Dave Mirra at the X-Games. RIP Dave Mirra

Do not expect or request much sympathy from your better half’s at any perceived pain or lack of dignity, unless you want a detailed account of their child birth experiences. Quite right too.

It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, definitely bristled as the anesthetic was initially applied, but whilst being aware of tugging etc, didn’t feel a thing. In and out in about 20 mins with the procedure itself taking a few minutes. I waddled out with painkillers and a pre-addressed sample package to be sent out 20 weeks later, to get the all clear.

I had to post my sample.
Had to stand on a stool to reach the slot in the post box.
I laughed.

I laughed too. :-)

Stunning views driving from North – South East Glasgow this morning. 8)

iainc, tour finale obviously, but are you going for Paris or going for Disneyland?

If the latter, GLA – CDG, then take the magic shuttle to Disneyland will see you make the most of your time at Disneyland (Fri, Sat and Mon morn), and you can easily take the train into Central Paris for the Tour finale on Sunday.

And possibly get fleeced by somebody with a medically accepted qualification.

Well, you could try the nhs first, albeit the waiting time could be long.

To be fair, you will find all different levels of skill, experience and interest from physios, just like all medical practitioners. One might get your ailment straightaway or it may take some investigation and troubleshooting to diagnose, and work and effort from the patient to rehab themselves. Some issues can never be fixed, so becomes pain management or what aids life quality the most.

My mum has had good and bad experiences with physios, but none of them suggested she could be treated in *just another x number” of sessions that the chiropractor she attended did.

Q. How many physios have you seen trying to drum up business outside a shopping centre / supermarket etc?

That tells you all you need to know, as per the numerous comments above.

Depending on your ailment, a physio may refer you to an osteopath. So physios and osteopaths good, chiropractors woo.

I watched Twin Peaks last year, over rated and not as I remembered it. “How’s Annie”…. :?:

I finally caught up with season 1 of The Wire last year on the turbo, but struggling with season 2. Too much to concentrate on so I am missing bits. Must find something less taxing. In his book, Geraint Thomas recommends nothing nuanced or layered so no Wire or Game of Thrones. He’s right

I mix up Sufferfest and Trainerroad, but trying to complete Sweet Spot base in the latter so using it more. I find music concert films work well, especially when doing FTP tests.

Do the GCN videos have recommended cadence and effort levels? That is the great thing with Trainerroad, giving you a target to aim at.

plug the vents under the toes every autumn with bathroom sealant.

I think I need to try that. I suffer greatly from cold feet, both road shoes and mtb flat shoes. Last night on the road bike, I tried out woolie boolie socks and Castelli Diluvio overshoes for the first time, and my feet were still frozen. Granted they stayed dry but I was hoping my feet would remain warm, but not so.

I don’t think I have my shoes too tight, but I will slacken them a little. I can get cold feet in the spring and autumn so I don’t think a winter boot is the answer and don’t want to keep chucking money at the problem. Surely good socks and overshoes would help, but first impressions are that they haven’t.

Riding in the winter, is cold feet just going to be inevitable and I just need to MTFU?

If you got the choice (which you appear to have), take something light. North of Inversnaid, you will be carrying your bike for nearly 5 miles so best make it light.

I rode my full-sus which made some sections more comfortable, but was a beast on the hike-a-bike section. If I did it again, I would ride my HT.

I also rode slightly more conservatively and smarter, looking for clean lines and walking the larger water-bars, rather than risk getting a pinch flat bunny-hoping them.

TomD +1 basically

I get it occasionally but try to flex my arms, roll my shoulders and wiggle my fingers to help. Good gloves will help and how solid are your tyres? I had mine rock solid at 120 psi, but was murder on some of the surfaces I rode on, so dropped some psi.

What I found has helped the most was advice I found on here or road cc. Hold your bars like you would hold your pint or when carrying multiple pints back form the bar. It has to be firm enough to keep hold of the pints obviously, but not too firm that you will break the glass with a vice like grip.

I find if my fingers are tingling or my shoulders are getting tight on a ride, I mentally picture myself loosening my clasp of a pint, and that helps. Try it first, before shelling out on a bike fit.

He’s finished, but has fours years to serve out first and top up his pension.

We expect politicians to be economical with the truth and spin their message, but this was such a blunt and “shitily” placed lie. It goes beyond party politics no matter what he thinks.

He knew what he was doing and has gotten away with it. Is he hoping / expecting, a seat in the Lords when his time is up?

A spare pair of trousers shirley?…

I won’t spoil it, but the show was really rather good. It took a few episodes to find its feet, but it was dark, poignant and funny all at the same time.

Yes, was thinking about a Fire tablet too and seems keener priced than the kids bundle version. I will look into that. Presumably you can remove a a lot of the Amazon content and strip it down to its core Android O/S?

Apologies for the thread hi-jack, but how do these Android tablets compare to say a LeapPad?

We are looking to get something for a 2 year old, clearly not to surf the web or play games, but put on some Peppa, Mr Tumble etc for car journeys and loves flicking through the photos on our phones. Also to stop arguments with her big sister, when she tries to play with hers.

The Android tablets look great for just this purpose, and look better value than the LeapPad which is about £50 on Amazon at the moment. Or is the LeapPad more toddler friendly and good value for what it is?

Thanks