@Kryton57, I have a GS, it’s a beautiful thing.  HOWEVER I’ve moved to a leather strap from the steel bracelet as the beautifully polished steel scuff very easily.  If I had my time again I think I’d have got a Ti version instead

So good.  I am in awe.

Super useful, thanks @convert !

Ah, was thinking of checking out Sealanes as a girl from work loves it.  Does seem expensive giving the large bit of adjacent coast…

@drP

I’m in Lewes, so not too far away, I’ll drop you a line when I’m up and running!

I knew STW would come through!  I’m definitely going to do Pool swims too (I have an open air one 5 mins walk away though that’s closed from November to May).

Also keen to do more sea swimming, so don’t plan on it being a one and done.  However kids and work are likely to mean this unlikely to happen more than once a week.

Will avoid TriUK with the Ashley insight.

Is it worth getting a dryrobe sort of thing?  Any dry bag recommendations?

I’ve had very similar experiences over the years, but in recent months have been running 5k on a treadmill twice a week with zero strains, which is a first.  Yet to take it out onto the road but I’m hopeful getting miles in on an easier treadmill will mean my muscles are a bit more robust when I go running outside.  This is based on zero science.

Not my experience, but the Turkish barber I use drives to Gazientep from Brighton in two days (Gazientep is 12hrs drive past Istanbul!).  I didn’t believe he could do it that quickly so took photos last time he did it to prove it’s possible, so can be less than a week of driving.  For what it’s worth he prefers the Serbia / Hungary / Bulgaria route to the Greece one as it’s quicker.

Can’t help, I’ve never had any issues with mine on the few longer rides I’ve done it. HOWEVER use this as an excuse to have a look at what Vincent van Eerd is doing with Bromptons, it’s very cool – Dutch Brompton Coolness

@Kryton57 I’m confused, you’re saying it’s fine to have attractive pit girls there as eye candy (and eye candy only) because no-one on a MTB forum has actual evidence that they’re there just to be eye candy? Are you suggesting it’s a coincidence?

yes, im sure the ad men were thinking “lets get some scantily clad girls in to attract the lesbians

Hah, comment of the week.

Ah, my specialist subject, and something I also asked about on here. ESIs are good but spongey, the Ergon ones mentioned above are OK, but don’t feel big enough for me. By far the best I’ve tried are the Wolftooth Fat Paws, which are indeed fat, but less spongey than the ESIs.

These ones Levers!

I’ve broken 2 Pedros levers! Settled on a Topeak set that have a metal core that are a mismatched sizes, yet to snap them in about 3yrs of use.

The blim holes in my shell suit,
Formed into an absolute,
Fell apart one day.

Mario Man by The Super Furry Animals.

Mentioned this on here before me and my carbon Tallboy crashed into a ravine in Morocco, which included a 6ft drop and rolling down big sharp rocks. The frame was unmarked despite slamming into rocks. By way of contrast, I was quite heavily marked.

Second the bar recommendations above. If you have time in Ghent, theres’ an amazing bike shop called Plum that has a mini museum downstairs. Lots of vintage steel pron. and friendly staff. The big gallery is also cool, if not too pissed…

Aberdeen 1998-2002, though as above, not engineering. Obvs this is going back 20 years but the live music scene was really good. Triptych festival back then, good venues, most good bands seemed to appear there – I saw everyone from Muse, to Grandmaster Flash & Kool Herc, to Super Furries and on and on.

Uni was good, great campus and I believe facilities have only improved since. 1st year accommodation was a good hour walk into the city centre, but was in Seaton Park, so was actually great.

I loved going to Uni there, but this was at the very peak of the oil boom, so there was a LOT more money sloshing around the place back then…

I sort of have the same issue, though it’s of sameness within genres on YT Music. I have eclectic taste but have found the same issue as you that if I launch a radio off say, Tom Waits’ “I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love…” then it will default to the same 20ish, similarish songs that are already on my likes, followed by a fair amount of dross. For some reason the Talking Heads radio lists are very good though.

One thing that has helped is listening to some of the pre-prepared playlists on the app, which has massively expanded my appreciation of modern hiphop and got me out of my 1992 to 2002 rut. These have now been added to my Likes list and made the rap algorithms more interesting. Definitely recommend that if you’re into your old school!

@tjmoore – eh? It’s certified to show it’s a vegan product, and is safe for vegans to eat? I think this product sounds grim, and am in no way a vegan, but find it bizarre how frothy people get about it. Why are people so keen to point hypocrisy when people are just choosing not to eat stuff?

My home town! I moved away in 1998 for Uni and now live on the south coast of England, however my Mum still lives there. In terms of diversity it’s a lot better than it was, but it’s hardly multi-ethnic. I bumped into the one Asian lad in my year a while back and he told me about some of the fairly grim racism he’d had at the Academy – however this was 25 years ago and seemed to come from two lads in particular. No idea what the Academy is like now, but I’m struck by how much less rough secondary schools are down south from what I experienced (and took part in…) in the Academy.

I could never live there again, it does have a ‘wee town’ air about it and I was pretty desperate to get away when I was 18, but there seems to be a lot more to do there for kids there nowadays. As mentioned above, the Bike Bothy is a great shop, and the Pop Gallery seems to regularly have interesting stuff on. As you say OP, great countryside nearby, and zero midges in and around the town.

I find the Paramo thing so odd. I bought one of their jackets 3 years ago and it’s the best waterproof I’ve had by miles and miles. It’s been totally waterproof in prolonged downpours and is comfortable in temperatures from just above freezing to about 15 degrees. Perfect for British winters. I’m a total convert, having spent too much money on Haglofs, North Face and Montane waterproofs previously. Odd.

Really useful info, thanks all. I did wonder if the mud and stones would be the issue.

@ross980 – my commuter is a belt drive / Alfine set up, and I love it, don’t notice the drag at all.

Ah STW, you always deliver. Will look at these two recos!

I got bitten by a false widow. The bite was a stinger, felt like a hot needle, I then rapidly had a racing heart and I got very sweaty but it all passed pretty quickly. The worst thing I was on the Tube at the time, so looked like a maniac on the platform tearing off my coat to work out what the sudden pain was.

Not a Swarf FS, apparently…

I did similar. Was a sales director at a big corporate, but wanted to stop commuting in to London and get something more local. Happily took a very generous voluntary redundancy offer which meant I could take a more junior sales role in a smaller company in a completely different industry , and it’s been brilliant. Can commute in by MTB, rather than crappy Southern Rail. I’ve really enjoyed learning about the new industry, and my previous experience has meant our sales have grown rapidly and I’ve been promoted twice in 2 years. If your confident the skills will transfer then Go for it.

@woodpile that sweeping statement would have been indefensible even if your beer of choice was a very good one. Even tougher when the one you choose is absolute tramp piss

I have Osprey, Camelbak and Dakine packs. Find the comments about Osprey being much better designed and comfier odd, I find them all very well designed. The only things that stand out for me is the Camelbak reservoirs are (still) better than the Hydrapak versions, and the Dakine packs tend to be a bit heavier but are the best made and most robust of the 3 brands.

+2 for ME7s. Best show I’ve had, work in all temperatures, great for walking in. Plenty stiff but definitely not a disco slipper, if that’s more what you’re after though.

I destroyed my left shoulder in August 2018, and was only started MTBing again in May last year. i found that even the mildest obstacles gave me THE FEAR (little roots felt like massive booby traps), which I gradually overcame by riding them as slowly as I felt comfortable. However for more technical stuff what’s worked is sessioning different trails 5 or 6 times, and then building up to more technical ones when I’m completely confident. It still takes a wee mental jump to hit tricky obstacles, but the built up confidence carries me over them.

Can someone cleverer than me do a PornHub gag? I’ve got something important at work that I really need to concentrate on, and it’s distracting me.

Good question. Though the phrase “mounting my phone” is unfortunate given the context of the rest of the sentence. What genre are you thinking of watching?

Hmmm, so you’re saying I should go to the local school playground and sell the Auld Fella’s old grot magazines?

@dannybgoode – every school has a pron baron. Ours had an endless stream of mags stolen from his big brother and some tapes that were widely borrowed. He was basically a filthy, analogue Netflix.

This is of interest to me. After my dad died I found his stash of “adult interest” magazines that are all mint and don’t look like they’ve been touched since the 80s (fnar). Mulling selling them on eBay as there aren’t any large hedges near me.

Definitely possible. Just (as you know!) deeply, deeply unpleasant. Chatted with a lad doing it over 2 days on a 2016 Orange 5. Didn’t fancy that either, but fair play!

You’re riding a Status?! I live in Lewes, let me know when you’ll be near Blackcap and I’ll cycle up to encourage / laugh / steal your bike from whatever is left of you as you’ll be too weak to fight back.

Not me, but I used to work with a Czech girl who on a trip home had gone to a boozy lunch with some friends, and hopped on a train back to her parents. She woke up several hours later having crossed 2 countries and woke up in Budapest. Don’t drunken sleep on the continent, kids!

I completely destroyed my left shoulder and shattered my shoulder blade in a fairly innocuous crash in 2018. 2 and a half years later I still don’t have full movement back and was off MTB for 18 months. It sucks. Hope yours is better!

Really sad, Humpty was my gateway drug into hip hop…