flow – Member
And how do you feel about that?
Pretty pathetic if you ask me, especially as most of the time the “debate” is hardly one sided.

There are certain people on here who like to dish it out, but when they get some back, they go crying to the mods.

I know who they are

Yes I get that feeling, they’re probably insecure kids, with spots, abused by their step dad.

martinhutch – Member
my mate eventually arrives on the scene to witness me holding the sheep from the rear with it bucking about,
Amazing story you had to make up to explain what your mate saw you doing. Why not just own up?

Yeah that’s what he said, unlucky for him he wasn’t quick enough with the mobile phone cam.
I might have been 😉 😆

TandemJeremy – Member
some of us get banned for the slightest indiscretion yet the time served get away with blue murder
Really? some long standing members get banned far more easily than the norm – deliberate policy made clear by the mods.

Ah, hadn’t realised thanks for clearing that up, so where do you go?

flow – Member
some of us get banned for the slightest indiscretion yet the time served get away with blue murder
I’ve been a paid member for ages and manage to get banned at least once a month.

And how do you feel about that?

don simon – Member
some of us get banned for the slightest indiscretion yet the time served get away with blue murder

I believe the best strategy is to report people when they say something you don’t like.

Like in the school playground? What do you do in real life?(when someone says something you don’t like)

Time was, PC users were the nerds and Unix super nerds, I guess it must be since OSX arrived that Mac users became nerds.

Personally having ran the gamut of lots of platforms, until Lion the mac was without doubt the best platform for simplicity and turnkey plug and play, it’s not now Lion has made it over bloated in an effort to appeal to the mass market.

Having said that it’s a long time since I tried to battle with windoze and although pleasantly surprised by 7 I’m still struggling to get my parallels mac to network connect with the bloody PC laptop I have to use to place orders with our corporate HQ in france on an antiquated MS Access database.

Surely you can be selective in what you bother to read, this place is already pseudo protective enough, some of us get banned for the slightest indiscretion yet the time served get away with blue murder imvho, not that personally I’m an exponent of banning anyone, don’t like it don’t read it further.

I enjoyed that political debate about the public sector, a lot of not normal hi rate posters made some very interesting points, and it’s educating to see the other persons viewpoint even though you may not agree with it, isn’t that what forums are about?

So I think if you’re going to be restrictive then it should apply equally across the board, post count should never justify opinion value, just because you’re new to a particular board shouldn’t mean either your welcome or contribution is valued any the less.

They are tedious those chaps, but not worth getting upset about or denying their ‘fix’, and I have a feeling this place works precisely because it’s so simple, not sure it’s as popular as it might be but then that’s my opinion after a couple of bans, who knows who else has been removed or where they go instead.

OMG! That so could be my little fecker, not so little now, but still only 20 months and the most difficult dog I’ve ever had the misfortune to try and train.

That scenario has happened to me twice now, once when he slipped his lead as I was trying to get my bike through a gate whilst still holding on to him, the second time, last Friday, night riding someone had left the gate to a field that he normally gets put on the leash open. He was through it like a rat up a drain, initially thought my luck was in, there were no sheep, I went after him anyway to try and get him on the fikken lead, my pal was still coming up the hill behind.

To cut a long story of yelling, absolute horror at a sea of eyes lit up, the **** dog cutting one from the flock, me arriving it **** off (the sheep then the dog going after it again), my mate eventually arrives on the scene to witness me holding the sheep from the rear with it bucking about, (the logic being to stop it running off and to protect it from my bastard dog who just circled us just out of reach enjoying every minute of the chase), hurry up John (name changed to protect the innocent) it’s your turn quipped I, get hold of it so I can catch the bastard.

So there we were bike lights illuminating the scene, taking turns to hold this sheep in ‘the position’ eventually he sits and I get him and give him the soundest thrashing ever which is the wrong thing to do since he did obey the sit command and I did manage to get hold of him, but whatever, he did pin the damn sheep down and give it a shaking..

We did manage to extricate ourselves from the situation before another group of riders arrived on the scene from the opposite direction, but damn, as nasty an embarrassment and potentially lethal situation for the dog, although I have to say if I’d a gun I’d have shot him myself..

It is true however well you think you have them trained, there comes a better offer involving chasing and herding and they’re off..

What you need is a dog collar that explodes and blows their head clean off..

I can’t help thinking what it’s going to be like for her, arriving at the party happily married with her hubby..

“Who’s that guy keeps looking at you?”
“Oh no-one really just some guy who was a cock to me years ago”
“Shall I deck him?”
“No, no he’s harmless, just a bit of a stalker these days, spends most of his time hanging out on the internet asking for advice about wether to speak to me or not”
“Still a cock then?”
“Yep.”

v8ninety – Member
But the tragedy of this recent period is those who have been financially sensible have been screwed royally.

This.
THIS.
My Personal Debt ammounts to a medium sized fixed rate mortgage and a small 0% loan on a sofa. No credit cards, no car loan. My choice. I chose my career, in part, because whilst understanding that I would never get rich, I would be able to provide modestly for my family and be able to retire at a point that I wasn’t monumentally knackered, Hopefully. Now they want to change that.
I’m ANGRY that a relatively small number of MONUMENTALLY stupid and greedy rich people have screwed up the global economy by employing a fiscal model that would see a private citizen bankrupt within a year, yet no one seemed (or wanted to) to realise at the time that it was all going to go tits up.

Ands whats worse, is whilst we all attack each other and fight over the scraps of the broken economy, those same small number of rich powerful people are laughing all the way to the bank.

Yes, we are on the same page really aren’t we.

There are lots and lots and lots of folk who also feel this way, so how on earth do we motivate each other to actually do something about it I wonder… All around my world I’m watching businesses fail, people being laid off, mainly down to bank intransigence with credit, they have the gall to tell us that our world is risky, when it is only risky a) because of their initial activities and b) because they won’t help us to help ourselves because now we’re too risky. Talk about catch 22.

Every pub, cafe, business, you go to and chat t the owners or staff all report the same discontent, and still they lecture on about austerity. What we fundamentally need is some sort of leadership with a plan and a promise of sun filled uplands, we know they have to do what they have to do, what we don’t need to constantly hear about is how much longer it is going to continue for.

I’m sorry I’m off on another rant now – apologies, it does wind me up so.

😉 see how easy it can happen.. Road biking bankers

v8ninety – Member
I’ll vote Derekrides… He hasn’t got any more of a clue how to fix it than the rest of us, but at least he admits as much.

Why thank you V890, er as it happens i do have a bit of a cunning plan, first it involves me writing a book called ‘My Struggle’ then I need to organise a sort of National Socialist Party, I’m looking for lieutenants right now, then we need to target a minority group everyone hates, I’m thinking road bikers, mobilise the nation against them (All bankers are road bikers), if you could help with the final solution bit, build some camps, maybe Poland way, talk about some extra living room….

binners – Member
Mods – can we ban derekrides please?

We don’t want to be interrupting the cyclical ranting and specification of FACTS from entrenched positions, with the like of him, coming round here with his reasoned arguments

Not to worry, they tend to do that fairly frequently, in fact whilst I’m on that subject where do all the banned folk go, I notice it’s quite a regular occurrence, got quite upset the first time, now realise it’s a bit like school here and that’s kind of like detention, anyone would think the place was run by an ex Physics teacher..

There does need to be a general sort out, there needs to be an ideology to unite the protests, right now, nobody except the odd banker and politico is very happy with the situation as we find it. We need a latter day Marx with a viable alternative.

Enough needs to be defined, how rich does anyone really need to be, a day of a mans labour should be the same value the world over, it could be based on energy value, certainly in the none too distant future energy considerations are going to be very important.

Right now so many folk are protesting for so many different reasons, change is certainly in the air, wish that it were somebody could come up with the definitive article, some thing worth revolting over.

But it does seem very unfair the global distribution of wealth and it aint getting any better and here in the good old cradle of democracy – what have we got? More clones in suits difficult to define a difference in value between them, all self serving career politicos without an ounce of conviction between them.

I do despair.

It’s got nothing to do with pseudo aphorisms about neo liberalism, it’s more basic stuff, it goes like this, if you borrow money you have at some time or other to pay it back, if you borrow money to give it to whole swathes of your population to either do nothing, or do pointless activities in the name of employment for purely political reasons then sooner or later you are going to go bust.

A couple of things would solve this issue quickly, one would be to get the hell out of Europe and second would be to seriously look at the welfare state, oh and whilst I’m at it, legal aid. We also need to train our potential work force to do things that are actually needed, educate our kids the way the Germans educate theirs less media and drama studies more technology and engineering.

Now before anyone challenges the we’ll all go broke if the Europeans don’t buy our shit, they don’t buy it now unless they absolutely have to and cannot find something local anyway and they certainly do not adhere to their rule structure in the same way we slavishly do.

As to the welfare state, I’ll not get all Daily Mail on you, but it is very detrimental to the human condition being paid to do nothing. If they were not paid they would have to do the sort of work that we are currently having to ship in other nationalities to do.

Anyway it matters not what I think, I have no political clout, no party that represents my views, like a lot of small independent business types, totally disenfranchised.

The Banking and Financial sector go hand in hand with the bloody Government and are generally Public Companies which are quite different to the private sector that is expected to rescue us from the mess that they created between them.

Without borrowing any money because for the most part they (banks) are constrained by the various Basle agreements put in place to shut the stable door now the horse bolted and still restrict even Government supported borrowing. So we out here are expected to invest our own money, quite where we’re going to get it from since we’ve been living on it for the past four years we don’t know, then we need to take on more staff, staff that they haven’t exactly educated the way we might wish for, but never mind there are plenty of Eastern Europeans hungry for work, so we can turn over more money and collect and pay more tax and Bank charges that frankly make your eyes water, so they (Bankers & Politicos) can continue to waste it by employing outreach consultants and more dog wardens whilst the upper levels of their management earn more in a year than we will profit in ten.

Er, actually I don’t think a lot of us are going to bother frankly and the black (cash)economy looks increasingly tempting.

It’s the lack of accountability that really gets me, if a private sector director invested 50 million and lost it, he’d be gone instead of still sitting there laying off front line services whilst retaining his/her £250k pa salary for running a county council.

I’m in the private sector, collect & pay VAT, collect and Pay Tax & NI, have silently fumed as my pension has been decimated, watched wages in the Public Sector soar way above anything I or any other similar one man private sector tax generator will receive for our efforts.

I’m thinking we in the private sector should organise ourselves, I’m thinking enough is enough, I’m wondering what would happen if we did all get together then had a Tax Strike, refused to pay the VAT, they couldn’t jail all of us could they? What are they going to pay the prison guards with? How would the politicians continue to get paid, then if we also refused our council tax?

Maybe someone might start listening to us, I mean, not much to ask is it? We do generate the cash after all.

That Shogun just ruled, I should have but left it then they stopped doing it, gutted I was riding a lot more then, don’t get away much these days last Monday was just a cheeky one.

Fabulous day, sunny bit of a light easterly breeze, rode first thing then went sailing, last race of the season blue sky’s clear blue water, could have been the med, great day.

Wish I could remember its name, but the first board was like tha Bataleon. The second was some whole other deal with twin cambers and a centre flat. It seems a bit of a minefield these days so you kind of need to try these different types. My regular board is a Ride TMS project which tbh is a bit soft, previously I rode Nitro Shadows or the Natural which were both a bit stiffer and more reliable all mountain all condition one board does it all types.

Goneboarding.[/url]

Got two, one all rounder the other super light XC racer, the light ones got to go, not sure how to sell it, wether to sell it complete or break it into bits and maybe achieve more for it, is there much demand of DT Swiss stuff second hand?

GlitterGary – Member
The steps at the back of Rumbelow’s on Stanley front street.

I’m surprised you don’t mention Sandy Lanes, it’s at the back of where you live now..

mastiles_fanylion – Member
Does anyone think that the Remembrance becomes more intense, more poignant each year? Is this a media-driven thing, are we (as a nation) becoming more aware of it’s significance or am I just getting older and understand the importance of it personally?

I tend to the view that there is as with everything these days an element of media over indulgence, extreme media mawkishness for want a of a better description and as to the debate over wether or not those overpaid fairy football buffoons should wear them is a prime example and wtf has it to do with David Cameron in the commons?

So yes I’ve always worn one and I do attend Armistice day events when forced to by school or organised group do’s that the kids attend, I’ve also got a lovely big plastic one that fronts the truck of total joy and goes on and off each year.

I’ve never been in the services myself but both my Father and Grandfather served in the 1st & 2nd wars and the Mrs comes from a military family, so I get the picture and these guys did give their all so that we could be free to squander that inheritance on CCTV surveillance, free cash to anyone in the world who wants it by simply showing up here, nothing for the relatives of those victims and nothing for any of them if their business failed as a result of the war.

flow – Member
Number one, without a shadow of a doubt, has to be Bedgebury.

Agreed I went there once, pretty bland as is that place Fowlmead (Betteshanger Slag heap makeover)

Mining in Perth, they’re paying thousands to young kids down there, make a fortune and return?

Nah stay, there are much better prospects there than here, I’ve a pal just come back he earned close to forty thou just working in a surf shop, gutted he had to come back (his Mrs hurt her back and had to return as she lost her job.)

No Stairway?

Denied!

When I look at all those, I think isn’t life great, so many trails, so little time, I just wish the ones I have ridden I had the bike I have now, so I’ll just have to go do em all again..

I only ever really got going on Crank it up at Whistler (still learning the ropes on a bit of a heavy old clunker bike) but I was lucky enough on the last day to follow a really good rider down and did stuff that looking back I must have been mad.

The others I enjoyed I’ve no idea what they were called, but like the other poster said if they downhill they’re cool with me – I just love it.

Keep posting the pictures, it’s damp and miserable outside and it turns my screen into a much nicer window to look out of.

I’ve never been there but there’s some riding to be had down Ham Street way, I’ll try and get a map co-ordinate and maybe report back one of the boys I ride with Friday night gets over there.

Which part of Ashford are you in, there’s a bunch of us ride next junction south, J 11 M20 around the village of Saltwood, there’s one group ride fast and furious on Thursday night and a few of us more occasional laid back types that ride Friday Night and there’s also another bunch go out from a bike store called the Hub at Sandgate, we occasionally run into them on the trail.

Our rides sometimes go North Downs way, other times by the Zoo Park and back along the Canal from Aldington down by Michael Howards house then back through the tree section.

Hmm sounds like that other well known Northern Mastermind Challenge, sticking a finger in your ear and saying red backwards.

ocrider – Member
Ski – Snowboard = XC racing – Freeride Bike.
You’re showing your age! All the cool kids ski nowadays. Boards are for 40somethings.

Signed

A. Snowboarder
Yep, like I said, only cos that’s all they teach in schools and on school trips, there are still plenty of cool kids elsewhere that live on or near the hill that ride boards, but then the really cool types (like me) can ride either and there’s still the question of wtf with the poles?
And anyway that’s when it started to get good, the moment it ceased to be ‘cool’ to do it and got left to the riders that do it for what it is, the best way down a hill.

Try both, they each have their own peculiar benefits, School trips tend to favour skiing and all the kids get taught to ski, because it’s easier to teach them, all lined up off to snowplough we go.

Of the two and I’ve done both for some time, I currently prefer Snowboarding simply because the best days I’ve ever had, steep, deep, snow crystals sparkling in the sun gently brushing your cheek in hushed swishes as you set up fan after fan fresh tracking through the trees… It is simply the finest thing you can do imv.

Not that skiing is bad, but there are those poles and it’s all so much more intense. Ski – Snowboard = XC racing – Freeride Bike.

Coming to Gods own County?

Have you got a visa?

You should be Ok coming this way in the morning and tbh even going back is against the tidal flow, it’s worse in the morning heading Northbound at Dartford.

If there are M20 issues you can always go M2, then either a229 Bluebell hill or A249 to cut across.

Clearly some of you need help.

And I’m not ‘sick’

Have you considered one of those new fangled Stand Up Paddleboard things, a pal of mine bought a blow up one, reckons he gets twice as many rides at half the effort, (you pick the wave up earlier and ride it longer) and you don’t have all that laying down getting hammered on the way out..

They also tell me it’s a good work out.

Echo the gay scene for no pressure dance environment, couple of the guys i work with hold a lock in above the local Police Station once a year, I often wonder if the Police even know what’s going on up there, but some of the greatest parties I’ve ever been to took place above old bill in their Canteen drinking their subsidised beer and boogieing the night away.

I love to dance, trouble is I’m now too old and to embarrassing to have anywhere near the girls that used to love to bop about with their Dad, and in anywhere other than the home I need to be pissed in order to dump the requisite number of inhibitions to get down.

There is however a very embarrassing phone video doing the rounds with me on the bloody table dancing with the ‘twins’ at their birthday bash, funny it looks nothing like the way I think I look…

In answer to the potential knife attack, only once and lucky that someone else came to my aid and I did have a vehicle as weapon of last resort had I needed it.

As to the rest of you I have no idea where you live but where I am there are gunfights between rival gangs of Afghans, the streets are full of folk from all corners of Eastern Europe a lot of whom are increasingly desperate and not acquainted with typically small town British civilities toward one another.

Didn’t have a family back then, not sure I’d be totally cool with the guns I had back in those days in my family environment, but I would like to feel I’m responsible enough to own and safely store a small sidearm should needs must.

It’s just another example of the State making decisions not all of us agree are sensible.

It follows the sample argument for legalising soft drugs, de criminalising the distribution of fire arms is more likely to remove them from the ‘wrong’ routes to market.

grum – Member
it’s a shame the only way we can own them over here is illegally and it’s a jail sentence if you do
Yes it’s really such a terrible shame.

I still think it ought to be a basic human right to bear arms, particularly when you live in an increasingly anarchic society.
O RLY? Stats?

It’s just my opinion chum, can’t back it up with stats, but I was trusted to own one once and only used it at permitted ranges and went through the even by todays H&S standards, fairly rigorous checks and inspections of storage devices necessary to store firearms in the home, so see no reason why simply because someone went mad because he was fed up with being Scottish so decided to terminate lots of other helpless Scots, that I should be prevented from a simple pleasure and the means as an absolute last resort to defend myself or my family from early termination at the hands of some knife wielding thug.

You can’t deny me that opinion, I accept you may disagree, but then I absolutely promise I’d never ever shoot your for it. 😉

wwaswas – Member
Night riding is nowhere near as good as riding during daylight hours. FACT

with more lumens that you can shake a stick at to light your way it’s better than daylight round my way.

No dog walkers
No joggers
No horse riders
Fewer cyclists
Cheeky trails to be ridden at speed.

what’s not to like?

+1 Totally echo that sentiment.

I was lucky enough to have a firearms license once pre Dunblane and know a bit about the subject, which, old school rules Revolver = reliability, Auto for flashiness but not quite the accuracy, you have to be one strong mofo to get any kind of decent grouping with those large calibre handguns.

My personal favourite was the broom handled Mauser, cool in a deadly ugly way, I once briefly owned one captured in the Persion Gulf in 1906, came with a wooden case which was also a stock. The gun was also famous as being used by young Winston Churchill, very powerful big stopping power would go through a brick wall.

I never cease to be amazed how easy guns are to come by stateside and that girls like to go hobby shooting, (they could have used a lighter load for that poor woman who had it kick her face) it’s a shame the only way we can own them over here is illegally and it’s a jail sentence if you do, I still think it ought to be a basic human right to bear arms, particularly when you live in an increasingly anarchic society.