You get a chance to sit in some planes and turrets. How those that served coped with sitting in a turret for hours during a flight I’ve no idea – its as cooped up as you can get and that of course is the start of your issues…

I went to the Coventry air museum and got inside the Vulcan. The pilot and co-pilot on the top deck got ejector seats. The poor bu33ers on the lower deck had to bail out through the tiny hatch…

@surroundedbyhills

I was referring to the paramedic…

Lie in wait as a pedestrian and body check him heavily as he buzzes past you on the pavement. Then fall in a heap like Ronaldo. You can then sue him.

I thought I’d post my own progress as I’m quite proud of it.

Started 1st April at 215 lbs and have now reached 187 lbs with 5:2. I have had breaks for August and the festive period but am approaching my target of 182 lbs almost without trying now. I am 6’3″ and have gone from a 38″ waist to a 32″ waist. I can easily maintain the weight it was just shifting it that was the problem.
I allowed myself 660 calories on the fast days. I have been looking at the weather forecast and choosing the rainy days for fasting and the fine weather for riding. Has worked out perfectly.

So what did you do for the other 5hrs55mins?

I can make anything last as long as I want it to… even a coffee!

I think Singletrack should actually start a dating website specifically for cyclists. The market is there. Loads of lovelorn bikers of both sexes looking for that pedalling partner.

A ‘coffee’ is a chat. 6 hours of chatting means there’s something there. It’s because neither of us wanted to go home.

Just as a bit of advice to all you ‘coffee chatters’. At the end of a successful date, don’t just go for a polite peck on the cheek. Aim for the centre! That’ll show you’re attracted. After the 6 hours I almost went for the cheek, was interrupted by the target mid flight and a course correction was forced upon me. Touchdown!

Went on FS, POF and Match for 4 weeks. Had 5 ‘coffees’. 5th coffee was a massive hit! We both deleted our profiles within 2 days – blissfully happy. Fingers crossed for future. We’re at about 7 ‘dates in’, First ‘coffee’ date lasted 6 hours!

Surroundedbyhills… Did Ms Juliana Klein not tick any boxes? We must compare notes! It’s a small world…

The bit from Wikipedia which sort of tickled me was this:

In one example of the daylight precision raids carried out by the Mosquito, on 20 January 1943, the 10th anniversary of the Nazis’ seizure of power, a Mosquito attack knocked out the main Berlin broadcasting station while Commander in Chief Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was speaking, putting his speech off air. Göring himself had strong views about the Mosquito, lecturing a group of German aircraft manufacturers in 1943 that:

In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I’m going to buy a British radio set – then at least I’ll own something that has always worked. “

8,000lbs according to wikipedia, 17,600lbs overloaded

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress

It could carry 8,000lbs but only on a very short 800 mile range… hence my comparison with range with said bomb loads. The Mosquito had wing spars for extra bombs and drop tanks so in theory could ‘overload’ as well.

This pic is on my wall:

That’s JMC in Hardisty Cycles kit on a GT RTS behind Myles Rockwell.
It’s my all time favourite MTB pic.

I think he means the conical top spacer but difficult to tell without a PICTURE.

I sell most of my stuff via retrobike. That forum has a less cynical vibe to it…
If stw come up with a better selling system then I’d use it a bit more. I’m not sure who actually owns this new selling site but the link was sent to me by a trusted friend on fb.
Tbh I haven’t actually looked at the site in detail so I will examine all the concerns raised above. I have a huge pile of unwanted cycling bits and this link came out of the blue as I was filling the huge box in my workshop so I thought I’d tell folk about it. The cycling community does need a decent gumtree-alike site that isn’t ebay.

This website has just started up:
sellmybikestuff.com
Get joining and advertising, use your stw user name to register. Simple!

Has everyone forgotten about the Nukeproof chainstay snapping epidemic on the first Mega? (I had a Mega without issues BTW) I had a bearing issue on my SB95 and a tiny crack just above the BB. Yeti sorted it without any fuss. The warranty is one of the main reasons I went with Yeti.
Any manufacturer will design out any small flaws and as long as you get a decent warranty, why worry? The SBxx bearing issue can be sorted with more careful cleaning and regular servicing. I like how my bike rides so I take care of the bearing.

I was riding clipped in offroad on a mountain bike from 1990. Albeit using plastic Look leisure pedals. I saw the article in MBA and had to try it. I have seen some people start using SPDs and give up. Mainly because they pre-unclipped sections that they would have dabbed in flats. The pre-unclipping made them fall where if they’d stayed clipped the added ‘pull’ would have got them through.
I tried to analyse my unclipping method. It feels like a fast ‘snap’ outwards of the heel, almost like a tapdancer… And almost always at the bottom of a pedal stroke when coming to a controlled stop.
I always use the cheapest Shimano semi-platform pedals and then only because they have a more positive clip-in (the old DX pedals sometimes just rotated instead of clipping).
I used crank Bros and found them horrendous – one week and straight back to Shimano.

Keep up at the back! Some of us are in this properly you know!

The Scottish MTB scene is quite small, guess what we’ve got in common? Better to email than post inline…

No! bubbly = annoying

A few extra pounds = zeppelin

Curvy = Balloon

I like Salsa = couldn’t think of a decent hobby

Looking for fun = likes dogging

I have a SB95 which has one bearing and one bush. I had issues with improper installation on the first and second set of bearings. The outer race needs to be tapped in carefully to ensure it is seated all the way to the stops. For the last set, I prised off the bearing dust cover and flooded it 9and the bush) with 3-in-1 oil and put the cover back before installing the switch link. With the swingarm removed (and bump stop removed) I can rotate the link unit easily by hand. 3 months later, still no creaking.

Due to the short travel of the bearing and the vibration it experiences, it is subject to false brinnelling (wiki!)

“get your bike, join me, it’s fun!”

“live long and prosper”

“winnie the pooh” – say it in a Spanish accent

Just sending a bike frame via ‘Pharos Parcel’ and UPS as the selected carrier. I tried to check the prohibited items but the link was dead. I carried on and completed the booking and later checked the prohibited items (not restricted, that was a different list). Bicycles are prohibited items. WTF? I rang UPS direct and the operator there assured me UPS do not have bicycles as prohibited items. I told him about the RM saga and he said UPS standard is road carriage only so no x-raying and no air freight. I removed valve core of the rear shock and put a cheap plastic valve cap on to allow air to pass but restrict any oil leakage. And a large swing ticket on the shock saying ‘de-pressurised, non hazardous, safe. Just in case they have a peek. I didn’t want to advertise it on the outside of the box as that might spook them…
£17.00 for a bike frame up to 10kg total package weight 1 to 5 days with £250 insurance. not bad, I think.

Are ebay withholding payments until delivery now? Is this now UK ebay practice?

I’ve had a 2000 plate Sharan for 6 months, done a lot of miles, now on 150k. Previous owner had removed the rear auxiliary heater. Very reliable and comfy to drive on long journeys. Will actually turn into a comfy campervan for 2 people (swivelling front seats)
I’m actually selling mine as I need a small petrol car for commuting. (I live next to the trails so don’t need to lug bikes much now).
Tax/MOT May £1350 ono. Any takers?

I had tickets to see Serj Tankian about 5 years ago. Due to someone messing me about with transport didn’t get to go. Gutted.

BUT. My daughter went with her uni mates to reading about 4 years ago. She rang me up to ask whether she should go and see Kings of Leon or…..

Faith No More.

I told her Faith No More. She went, it was awesome apparently (I watched it on TV – Eastenders Theme whistled by Mike Patton – oddly brilliant). Her friends went to a very disappointing Kings of Leon show, they were gutted…

Nope. Kelly’s Heroes is.

Kaspersky. The best value because it has the best protection levels, doesn’t slow the system down and always seems to get top marks in all the tests.
AVG slows down computers too much. Doesn’t matter on new systems with tons of ram and fast processors but you install it on an old laptop and it kills it!
If you’re using an anti virus program and it never finds any viruses, how do you know you haven’t got a virus? Because your anti virus program tells you? Hmmmm. The brain is the most useful organ in the body, but look which ones telling you that!

just get a Bialetti Moka Express Espresso Maker.

simple,cheap, no batterries required & makes perfect coffee

I’ve got one of those, perfect with Lavazza. BUT I want an electric version, is such a thing available? At work, we aren’t allowed hotplates, just microwaves.

My tips (from an ex-shift worker).

Pitch black room (avoiding even LEDS on electronics, especially blue LEDS)
Wear socks
Hot milk with honey
Empty bladder
Hand shandy
Iplayer with half an hour radio prog that’s not too interesting. Sketch comedy is usually good.
Coccoon yourself in a light mummy sleeping bag under a light duvet (the nylon helps you to slide easily when you roll over and you never wake up from losing the duvet)

Obviously not in that order but use common sense.

Dave Hinde exists purely to make other lacklustre mail order operations look better.

Yep, best TV for ages. I watched his ‘Boat that Guy Built’ proper entertainment.

More please!

BTW, what is the WORLD record?

Had a 140 pair for 700 miles of offroad, no real signs of wear. QR15 axle is a bit odd and can sometimes be fiddly.

Well, looking at the weather, probably not taking my bike now!

I’ve got a hybrid. I managed to squeeze 1.95 29er tyres on it. It’s my hack bike.

As for you Deveron53, that’s the last time I do you any videographic favours..!

Don’t forget, that was self-admitted ineptness! I’ve played about and tested all sorts of cheapo helmet cams. In the end I got a Sony HDR AS15 which I will use soon when I have something interesting to film!

The Sony is now available for around £100 and at this price it blows EVERYTHING away! The image stabilising works great, battery life is good. Buy one!

i meant to say in the area 24th to 28th. available to bike 24th AND 28th…

Very bad rolling shutter. I think even with the ineptness of the operator the camera is poo. IMHO.

I’m free 23rd and 28th.

‘everyone’, email me, address in profile. I’m in Brid from 23rd to 28th inclusive. I can give you a lift to dalby.

Thanks rwamartin, I hoped I’d get a sensible answer eventually!

I’m just moving the heater the other side of the same internal wall so no extra load on the electrics. I have 4 storage heaters actually so I’m not sure why there’s only 3 fuses. The immersion seems to be on the main circuit. I think the hardest part will be drilling through the concrete block wall. I removed some storage heaters from an old house once so I’m aware of the weight!

The off-peak timer is a remote radio controlled one. I think there’s some special deal in Scotland due to climate. It comes on and off randomly through the day.

I’ll check on the law regarding electrical work as Scotland can be a bit different.

thanks.

I’m happy. Line 1 in OP applies to me as well. Means no-one can stop me buying a bike with a letter ‘c’ after the model name now… (There are many other benefits but that’s the one that springs to mind first!)

Veloviewer puts the steepest section at 19.4%

I dunno if I’m doing it right but I got 62.2mph…

EDIT: that gear combo at 120rpm gives 44 mph. Spin out at 140+ ? Hmmm…