From Churt you can get in from Whitmore Vale Rd but it might be easier to start from Beacon Hill opposite the newsagent on the corner, just find the opening in the hedgerow and you’re in, pleasant downhill section to the bottom and from there the trails become fairly obvious, you will have to go up to go down again though and i think this is what puts some people off.

Whitmore Vale on the Beacon Hill side is very good, its a small wooded area that sits in the triangle between Churt, Grayshott and Beacon Hill itself and can be accessed from all three, some decent but achievable climbs and some decent downhill sections make it one of my favourite rides in the area, i’ve got some good pics of this area that i’ll try to find later in the week and post up….been riding this area most of the year and seen 3 other mountain bikers since April!

That video has made me want to go back over to the Devils Punchbowl and Gibbet Hill and have another play!

teamhurtmore….

…the Devils Punchbowl and Gibbet Hill are ok but its all packed into a fairly small area, i’m not a good rider but i didnt have any problems there earlier in the year.

From the bottom there are two hard packed trails that i know of to get back up and out, one used to lead onto the A3 where it snaked around the top of the Punchbowl but i havent been since the opening of the Hindhead tunnel so i dont if this is still the case?….and the other trail out from the bottom will bring you up to the cafe and car park….both hard going but no need to get off and walk.

I find this area frustrating because its hard to cycle straight across the punchbowl due to the logging and the bogginess at the bottom, it becomes a hike-a-bike session and i dont get any pleasure from this, there are also a few gates and stiles to lift the bike over which starts to annoy after a while….and by sticking to the trails and single track you WILL come across walkers as this area is popular with ramblers and tourists….that said there is an excellent descent with banked edges either side of you that made my trip there worthwhile, it was like being in a toboggan run!

I’m lucky to live within pedalling distance of Hindhead but find Ludshott common down the way from the Devils Punchbowl to be a better ride, far more open and no need to carry the bike at any point but not as technical as Gibbet Hill and the Punchbowl obviously.

Bought a complete new bike earlier in the year but after a few months there was so much i wanted to change (and did change) that it would’ve been easier and cheaper for a ground up build to my spec….

….so that is what i’ve done for the next bike.

Picked a frame based on size and angles, the rest pretty much falls into place once thats sorted.

TJ….are you joking?

The euro-zone is a mess….if the UK was part of this then we would be in the same position as Germany….Germany either has to bail out the euro at a massive cost to its citizens or pull the plug on the whole project…not a nice choice for them.

Would UK membership of the euro have prevented 20% unemployment in Spain?…or what about the 10-15% that seems to now be a standard feature of many of the member states?….these countries got themselves into this mess through massive government spending masking a lack of any real economy….imagine how much worse the UK situation would’ve been if we’d been carried along on this tidal wave of recklessness.

Britain has done well to stay away.

For years some people in this country have looked enviously at european life and talked some right old nonsense….the usual stuff includes how much better public transport is on the continent, how much better health provision is on the continent, how much better pensions are on the continent etc etc….nicely forgetting that it all has to be paid for and nobody has been paying for it in recent years, its all debt and europe is not going to be a pleasant place to live and work for the foreseeable future.

Stuff europe, the UK needs to do whats best for the UK and will hopefully come out of this euro crisis as the strongest country in the EU.

Any of the Harry Potter films….meh

Any of the Lord Of The Rings films….very meh.

Kill Bill…yawn.

Had two teeth removed back in january, told the dentist i am a nervous patient and she arranged for me to come back another day whereby an aneasthetist sedated me with Midazolam and i dont remember a thing about it….highly recommended!

Konabunny….there is provision in law for a pre-emptive strike if you genuinely believe your safety or life is in danger.

To have a situation whereby somebody has to harm you first is ludicrous….if you are threatened by somebody you are legally entitled to fight your way out of that situation before any harm comes to you….this is something the police taught me in fend-off training years ago when i started with the ambulance service.

Of course you are still bound by the definition of ‘reasonable force’….but as the police release more information on this case it would appear the man was outnumbered and at some point his wife and child were involved in the situation, i think most people would fight tooth and nail to protect their family….i hope common sense prevails and he walks free with no charges.

I clipper my own hair too….used to have an ‘oh so fashionable’ choppy, styled cut which needed products in it to maintain….started using clippers (with no guard) when i got a motorcycle, having a proper hair-do and putting a helmet on and off several times a day gave me a greasy head/face and made me look like i’d just got out of bed….but all day long.

A shaved head is tidy and convenient, get out of the shower and i’m dry almost instantly….i also dont spend money on the barbers or gel/wax anymore….the other half wants me to grow hair again for our wedding photos but i’m holding out at the moment.

Lifer….exactly, laugh with me wont you?!

I’m raising a beer to this hero as i type, scum that go ‘two on one’ in somebody else’s home are low….not as low as sex offenders but pretty low nonetheless and deserve no place in society.

I’ll laugh even harder if it turns out he turned the intruder’s own knife on them….poetic justice.

My better half works with horses and (around these parts anyway) most riders only use the roads as links between bridleways….i’ve had loads of arguments with her about the copious amount of shit her horse will excrete on a ride….and i reckon a fair compromise would be for a horse rider to clear the shit up if its on the road as this is dangerous for motorcyclists in particular…but obviously on bridleways anything goes…as bridleways are there for horses anyway….and they were around long before the weekend warrior mountain bikers and will probably be here for some time yet.

Cheers for that, will get one ordered then!

If it turns out the dead chap was in the house for nefarious purposes then he got everything he deserves….ah, that feels better.

An Englishman’s home is his castle and all that….Land of Hope and glory, God Save the Queen etc etc….

* Just to add, this story has since been updated as more facts have emerged.
The police now say there were two burglars that forced their way into the house and that the homeowner’s wife and child returned home while the altercation was occurring but were able to escape unhurt….the police also believe that the two intruders had threatened the man who has been arrested. *

If this turns out to be true then the bloke has huge balls and i applaud his actions in protecting his home and family….

….find it quite amusing that two burglars thought they’d try hard man tactics on a bloke home alone and one of them ended up dead!

Done to death in motorcycling….the figures speak for themselves, a shaft drive set-up loses significantly more forces through that arrangement than a chain and sprocket system, which i believe only loses around 5% of the energy put in at the engine or pedals.

teamhurtmore

‘Whatever one’s political persuasion and wherever one stands with regard public sector pension rights there is one glaring fact facing all of us. We are going to have to accept lower returns, pay more for them and ultimately work for a lot longer than previous generations.’

I dont believe this should be the case at all….the scenario you outline above is applicable only if we as a society want to continue with a bloated state, subsidies for the banking industry etc etc….personally i felt the failing banks should’ve been allowed to fail….no point keeping a bankrupt business afloat with public money….we would have a much clearer view of how the land lies now if that had happened.
It all comes back to living within your means….and that goes for government too….if they dont have the tax receipts to implement their ideas then they shouldnt do it.
An irresponsible attitude to money has pervaded all areas of society recently….a friend went travelling for a year, had no intention of working….it was effectively a year long holiday.
He applied to put 30k on his mortgage to finance this, the flat he bought was purchased when prices were high anyway so the lender should’ve told him to poke it….but they didnt, they tagged 30k onto his mortgage and off he went for a pleasant 12 months….flat now cant be sold as he’s got huge negative equity and he regrets the 12 month holiday that is now going to cause him years of financial grief.

This story and others involving personal loans, credit cards etc can be repeated for millions up and down the country….what needs to change is peoples attitude to money and this pathetic ‘i must have it NOW’ approach to consumer goods.

I believe we should have a state funded education system, armed forces, police, NHS and a very basic benefits system which keeps food on the table for people between jobs….beyond those things government spending should be cut back in the most dramatic way….i reckon we could then afford a decent pension system for all and not have this pathetic hand wringing approach to politics where we feel the state has to be involved with every facet of people’s lives.

What has largely turned me off politics is that nothing seems to change, you just know that despite the current problems nothing will be learned and the next Labour government will spunk money away like they did last time on some ridiculous idealistic crusade and then act dumb when the debts have to repaid and the economy is shafted.

Unfortunately the Labour party tries to apply 6th form socialist politics to the real world and they still havent learned that it just deoesnt work.

I can place plenty of blame on Brown, this is the ‘iron chancellor’ who spent like a teenage girl without a thought about what may happen in the not too distant future….sold gold at record low prices….enjoyed massive tax reciepts but didnt think to build a surplus….then borrowed on a scale we’ve not seen since the second world war.

The man is a spastic.

It was criminal of Gordon Brown to raid private pension funds to expand the public sector….private pensions in this country were pretty good and the public sector had some shortages but nothing on the scale that Brown/Blair reacted to….Police Community Support Officers?…what were they a solution to exactly?….the masses that were recruited are largely uselss and possess no actual policing powers….i cant help but feel that a huge amount of job creation went on during Labour’s tenure just so they could trot out figures about investment, how many extra nurses they’ve bought etc etc….governing by press release if you will.

….it also had the effect of shrinking the number of unemployed but is it really a job if its not needed and the state pay for it?….there are some towns/cities where close to 50% of the working population are in the public sector, did that not strike anybody in government as being just a teeny bit unsustainable?

For most of Labour’s time in power they paid out more than they were recieving in taxation….and then borrowed on top of that too….its really not rocket science is it?…..its staggering that political ideals and vanity can cloud the reality of the balance sheet to such an extent….i was brought up to live within my means, old fashioned i know but i cant help but think if the treasury operated in the same way then we’d all be in a far better situation.

Though this thread was going to be about something else entirely.

irc….paramedic here too, cant answer for v8ninety but i’ll give my opinion if it helps?

I wear a helmet on my bike, not for any great fear of other road users (i reckon if a car hits me hard enough i’ll die regardless, motorcyclists die and they wear far more protective kit that we do)….a cycling helmet may protect my head but wont help if my chest, pelvis etc are mullered by a car.

I wear one because at times i hit a decent speed on the road….we’re not talking ‘Tour de France’ mountain descent speeds but i reckon i’d hurt myself if i came off, i cant guarantee i’d tuck my head in or not hit the kerb either so i just play safe and wear the helmet instead…its slightly different when off road, my speeds tend to be lower but tree trunks look pretty hard when whizzing by even at my paltry speeds….therefore i wear a helmet, personal choice and if others dont want to wear one then thats cool, i didnt for years either but the older i get the less brave i get!

Regarding advising pedestrians, motorists etc to don helmets….you cant wrap people up in cotton wool even though it might be best for them!….walk into an A&E on a friday night and there will be a multitude of minor head injuries all waiting to be stitched up….would a helmet have prevented some of these?….no doubt, but who wants to go drinking wearing a helmet?….where do you draw the line?….back protectors for walking down stairs etc….

Common sense has to play a part, cycling sometimes involves moving at a faster speed than i can propel myself, there are times i dont feel 100% in control so the helmet gives me the percieved feeling of protection even if some evidence might suggest otherwise….when walking to the shops however i feel completely in control however misplaced that sense of security may be.

*faaz….the more injuries that occur then the more secure my job is!

What phone do you have?

I havent used my old sat-nav since getting a phone with Google maps, Google navigation, Streetview etc on it….does a much better job all round….just had to buy of those things to mount it on the dash.

Why the problem?….the group/club chooses the rules…this happens everywhere.

I’ve been to kick boxing clubs that wont let you spar without a head guard whereas other clubs only insist on a gum shield….other clubs wont let you spar using gloves less than 14oz whereas other will let members spar with harder 10oz fighting gloves.

If you dont like their rues then find another group to cycle with.

No surprise there….dont think i’ve ever been out to somebody who is happy about getting sectioned….she was suffering with insomnia, had substance abuse problems and bi-polar depression….while trying to care for a child?

Easy for her to criticise her treatment now but i bet at the time she was as mad as a hatter and had very little insight into her condition and problems.

I have a Nexus-S….made by Samsung but dual badged by Google.

Runs a pure android platform with no manufacturers ‘skin’ over the top….e.g HTC use ‘Sense’….Motorola use ‘Blur’….Samsung use ‘Touchwiz’ etc….these manufacturer add-ons to the operating system often make the phone clumsy and use up memory and processing power…

The phone is very fast with the internet, to the point where i sometimes use the phone instead of the laptop, the sat-nav is superb too….my only gripe is the camera has no zoom facility, dont know how important that is to you?

People banging on about how light their bike is when they are clearly overweight and carrying a rucksack that could carry enough crap to see them through a weekends camping….

….no, your lightweight bike will not help you get up that hill better when you insist on scuppering your best effort by strapping a bergen to your back that a squadie would think twice about carrying.

12k (average annual mileage) is fine for a set of tyres….try riding a motorbike and having to change them every 2-3k!

Regards personal stories….you’re right everybody has personal experience that refutes the figures.

The reliability surveys throw the odd curve ball with niche cars that didnt sell in big numbers sometimes skewing results but the big names at the top; Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Kia etc sell enough cars that the results can usually be trusted….its also telling that companies like Kia and Hyundai started off the current war over warranties by offering 5 and 7 year warranties years before the european manufacturers got their arses into gear.

The last european car i owned was in 2007, i’d spent 12 years driving Fords, Citreons, Peugeots, Volkwagens and Fiats and become used to spending money on cars….everybody else did too, part of adult life isnt it?

Er, no actually….bought from the east at the end of 2007 and havent had to put anything other than tyres on my cars since….managed to convince the other half to swap too and her Mitsubishi (7 years old) hasnt gone wrong yet either.

*randomjeremy….yes i do buy cars on reliability, not really that interested in image any more….i see my car as a glorified umbrella, something to keep me dry in crappy weather thats all and the less money i have to spend on it the better as far as i’m concerned….i have the mountain bike and a motorbike for fun*

I wear ordinary sports shorts on the bike….the same ones i wear in the gym, playing squash etc….about medium length, quick drying synthetic material and come with the netting/lining on the inside thus negating the need for lycra and/or underwear….usually cost about a fiver from any sports shop.

The idea of spending £50+ on cycling specific baggies has to be one of the biggest cons going…..seriously Alpinestars, Fox etc must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Figures from 2010:

What Car? 10 most reliable manufacturers:
1. Honda
2. Subaru
3. Mitsubishi
4. Lexus
5. Toyota
6. Mazda
7. Nissan
8. Skoda
9. Kia
10. Mini

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1686756/Most-reliable-cars-2010.html#ixzz1XS1Rt6Ai

Which? most reliable new cars
1 Kia Picanto – 98.1%
2 Mazda3 – 97.6%
3 Daihatsu Sirion – 97.0%
3 Honda Insight – 97.0%
5 Honda Jazz – 96.2%
6 Toyota iQ – 96.1%
7 Toyota Prius – 95.4%
8 Volkswagen Golf Plus – 93.3%
8 Mercedes-Benz SLK – 93.3%
10 Mazda2 – 93.2%

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1686756/Most-reliable-cars-2010.html#ixzz1XS1c7XfX

Warranty Direct most reliable (Jan 2010):
1 Suzuki
2 Honda
3 Mazda
4 Toyota
5 Skoda
6 Smart
7 Citroen
8 Hyundai
9 Nissan
10 Ford

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1686756/Most-reliable-cars-2010.html#ixzz1XS1jfoHN

And now the least reliable (2010):

Which? least reliable new cars
1 Land Rover Discovery 3 – 67.8%
2 BMW 3 Series convertible – 73.9%
3 Hyundai Santa Fe – 75.0%
4 Renault Mégane CC – 75.7%
5 Volkswagen Eos – 75.7%
6 Land Rover Range Rover Sport – 75.8%
7 Jaguar S-type – 76.0%
8 Ford Focus CC – 77.2%
9 Citroën C4 Grand Picasso – 77.4%
10 Volvo S80 – 77.6%
10 Ford S-Max – 77.6%

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1686756/Most-reliable-cars-2010.html#ixzz1XS25GF8W

Warranty Direct least reliable (Jan 2010)
1 Jeep
2 Porsche
3 Landrover
4 Alfa Romeo
5 Chrysler
6 Jaguar
7 Audi
8 MG
9 Mercedes
10 Saab

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1686756/Most-reliable-cars-2010.html#ixzz1XS29N7hi

2011’s figures so far (best):

1 Toyota Corolla 4.00
2 Suzuki Alto 7.00
3 Honda HR-V 8.00
4 Ford Fiesta 14.00
5 Honda Jazz 16.00
6 Volvo S40 18.00
7 Mazda 2 20.00
8 Mitsubishi Colt 21.00
9 Lexus IS 21.00
10 Toyota Yaris 22.00

Worst:

1 Mercedes-Benz SL 349.00
2 Mercedes-Benz CL 327.00
3 Land Rover Range Rover 295.00
4 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 287.00
5 Nissan Pathfinder 269.00
6 Renault Espace 264.00
7 Jeep Grand Cherokee 256.00
8 Mercedes-Benz V-Class 248.00
9 Renault Vel Satis 247.00
10 Citroen C8 238.00

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/

True story.

On the way to an emergency call in a rapid response car i hit a badger crossing the road but obviously didnt stop as i was on the way to a ‘chest pains’ call….got to the call and needed an ambulance to convey the patient to hospital….when the ambulance crew arrived they mentioned that they had passed a badly injured badger on the way….i felt awful and told them i had hit the badger on the way here, they said it wasnt dead and i should go back and take care of it.

They left for hospital with the patient and i drove down the road to find the badger, it was in the verge in a bad way so i went to the boot and got the crow bar from the rescue kit….then proceeded to beat the badger to death.

Didnt get another call so pootled up to the A&E for a cuppa, bumped into the crew who’d taken the patient and one of them asked if i’d seen to the badger….i explained what i’d had to do and he looked horrified, turns out when he said to go back and take care of the badger he meant to take it to a vet….i was a little embarrassed but i maintain my actions were for the best.

Hide what?

Got a few mates who work in ‘sales’….BMWs are the choice of the aspirational office worker everywhere….usually in grey too.

They are nice cars but there are lots of nice cars out there….its funny when i’ve been to one of these mate’s place of work and see the car park full of them….or Audis a few years ago when they were all the rage….and before that it was the new Mini….you get the idea, a lot of new cars on the road are fleet vehicles and people in that kind of stifling environment are always desperate to follow fashion even when it means they all have the same cars!

For me a good car is one that doesnt break….and BMW havent been anywhere near the top of any reliability lists for some years now….the last list i saw 8/10 of the top manufacturers were from the far east.

Peugeot 205 GTi….awesome car, wish i still had it.

Had some of the other popular 80s/90s hot hatches too; Mk2 Golf GTI, Ford XR2….but none of them were as good to drive as a Pug GTi….owned both the 1.6 and 1.9 models at various times.

I wear T-shirts for sports only, they just look shit for anything else once you’re out of childhood….Polo shirts are the adult alternative.

Woody, my hourly rate is roughly the same whether i work in the private sector or in the NHS, if i work overtime at time and a half in the NHS then it’s more than my hourly rate in the private sector….if you PM me the private firms paying hourly rates higher than my NHS overtime rate then i’d be eternally grateful!

TJ

The private firm providing emergency ambulances in Surrey employ IHCD Emergency Medical Technicians (the same as the NHS) and HPC registered Paramedics (the same as the NHS)….G4S who i do some work for only employ either registered Paramedics or registered Nurses…as clinicians we are beholden to our professional body not the private firm we work for.

Whether i am working in the private sector or for the NHS i have to work to the same standards the HPC (Health Professions Council) demand from me whatever the setting.
If the working environment is substandard and the firm (private or NHS) expects me to deliver sub par care either through poor equipment or lack of drugs etc then i am fully entitled and supported by by professional body to walk away and not return until the relevant changes have been made….the days of unqualified/unregistered cowboy clinicians polluting the private sector have long gone.

The ambulances that ERS (emregency response services) use carry the same kit as our NHS ambulances, without it they werent allowed the contract in Surrey….the service delivered to the patient hasnt got worse, it has stayed the same but that doesnt fit into you political ideal about standards in the private sector having to be worse.

The reason they are cheaper is because they have a smaller HQ than our NHS one, have fewer managers and dont have an estate of ambulance stations to maintain….the part about estates is massively important, if you think i’m talking nonsense have a gander at the direction that most NHS ambulance trusts are taking….they are selling off individual properties and creating central ‘super stations’ as its just too expensive to maintain the 18-20 stations we have in Surrey (and we’re a small county).

The figures were told to staff a few years ago when the ‘privates’ first started to appear and we all questioned why the service was using them when we are all quite happy to pick up the vacant shifts on overtime?
The answer was quite simple (but probably still wont be good enough for you)….to pay full time existing NHS employees to work extra hours means paying overtime at either time and a half or double time whereas the private firm can just employ its own staff (usually other NHS staff moonlighting) a flat rate….instantly they have undercut the NHS provider, add on to that the fact that ERS dont have ambulance stations, the staff are based in the vehicle for the duration of the shift and you have another instant saving….in short the cost per hour of having this private firm do our work for us was about half what it costs to do it ourselves!

Now i’m not saying that this will be the case in all areas of the NHS, i’m sure some areas are a beacon of efficiency but in other areas the private sector can (and does) show just how poorly managed some NHS services are.

“It’s the fear of public workers that is stifling change and progress”

Very much this.

Most patients couldnt actually give a toss who provided their care as long as it was of a good quality and continued to be free at the point of need….there will always be a few passionate individuals that lean one way or another but the masses are largely disinterested.

As said in somebody else’s post, certain public sector workers (who unfortunately tend to be in positions of influence and management) know they would be out of a job if a private firm took over an A&E for example and saw just how many ‘suits’ were taking up space (and wages) without actually contributing anything to patient care.

It is usually these parasites that whip up the outrage about privatisation of the NHS….front line staff in my trust have for many years known it is coming and the privatisation of non emergency work was observed at close quarters about a decade ago and about 2 years ago private firms started providing supplementary ambulances to help out with emergency work too….the staff are no different to us in the NHS, the service offered to the patient hasnt changed, they carry the same kit and drugs that NHS ambulances carry…..they are however massively cheaper for the Primary Care Trust to use due to a lack of overheads our NHS trust can only dream about.

I honestly believe that tendering contracts to the private sector will be a good thing….even if the private firms bidding for a contract dont get it then it will hopefully have the much needed side effect of forcing the NHS to buck its ideas up to stay competitive.

I’ve been with Nationwide (building society) after i got annoyed by the tedious charges that Barclays made for everything little thing that went on in my account.
No problems with Nationwide whatsoever, i have a current account, savings and credit card with them now….had a personal loan in the past too which was also hassle free to set up.

660mm

Most of my riding is local forestry commission land, makes no sense for me to go wider as i reckon i’d start clipping trees.

Bought Superstar floating rotors for my bike….didnt fit the Shimano calipers i have on the bike, the disc was too thick….informed Superstar of the problem who initially told me to file down my caliper to allow the disc to fit!….when i said i wasnt interested in doing this they took the discs back and replaced with standard items that do fit….didnt have any problems with their customer service and will happily use Superstar again now.