I really want to like HotD but it is so tedious. Lots and lots of nothing happening (see this episode’s balcony scene) and then key plot points crammed in to a few minutes.
As binners says, they’ve removed everything that made GoT great and replaced it with, well, nothing.

I have really enjoyed your adventure updates, tjagain. Feeling a bit sad that it is over but want to wish you all the best and thank you for the posts and photos. :-)
Enjoy your day in Santander tomorrow and bon voyage for the ferry trip back to Blighty.

I had this one made by Jen Green last year

@monkeyboyjc – I have been following Jen on Insta and am sorely tempted to get a head tube badge made for my Broken Road. Was the sizing and ordering process as easy as it looks?

Ordered an XT rear mech from R2 a few weeks ago. No trouble at all. Ordered on a Sunday, arrived on the Thursday with a free water bottle and an ickle bag of Haribos..

@bratty – I have an SLX M677 double (38-24) in my spares box that I want to sell.
Drop me a DM if you’re interested.

Here you go.

I’d not be expecting to remove and grease all bolts on a brand new bike.

You should. Most are mass produced in far east factories where speed of assembly trumps greasing small parts.
Even some of the parts that are lubricated may as well not be for all the good it does. Next time you get a new Shimano derailleur have a look where that lovely luminous green grease is. Chances are it has just been randomly squirted in to the mech and isn’t actually in contact with any moving parts.
Half an hour spent putting a small dab of copperslip on a few bolts when the bike or component is new can save a great deal of time, money and aggravation further down the line.

Went out for lunch with a mate.

The newer Macs with Apple silicon are much more efficient than the older Intel-based machines and 8GB is absolutely fine.
I’d pay the extra for the 2022 model for a bit of future proofing. It has the M2 chip and also gets a better screen, better camera and better speakers.

Quarters Coffee in Newport.
The Village Bakery in Backhall St., Caerleon.
Cadence at Upwaltham on the SDW.

I find the grief some people have for a person they have never met, why a whole nation has to mourn, the constant TV coverage mystifying but can understand it to a degree. However, the desire to stand in a queue for hours and hours and hours to shuffle past a box covered in a flag in a big empty room is just bizarre.
If people want to do it though, then let them carry on.

I had issues with seatpost slippage. I’m sure it’s sorted on newer frames.

Mine is the 2020/2021 model and I haven’t had any problem with seat post slippage. A mate has the latest frame (with internal top tube hose/cable routing) and hasn’t experienced any slippage either.

I can’t comment on the Chisel, but I have a Broken Road and love it. It’s definitely a keeper.
I use it mainly for XC rides and bike packing (with a Tailfin) and it is the most comfortable bike I have ever had.
Recommended. :-)

Tiny Rebel produce a wide range of beers.

https://www.tinyrebel.co.uk/browse/c-BEERS-5

Loved it as always but where was Ted? Not even cameo appearance!

Thanks for the replies.
All sorted now. Managed to get a room in a newly refurbished flat after someone had to drop out. 👍🏻

If you look at comparable products that price is about right, but as mentioned above, wait a few weeks and there will be a sale that will knock a few quid off.
You don’t need the cradle either. That is just an optional extra you can use if you will be regularly removing the top tube bag.

*The 2021 Fuel Pod is in the clearance section for £34.99.

I have a 12Pro and was hoping for a better zoom camera on the 14Pro as that is the only thing that would trigger an upgrade. I’m sticking for at least another year and hoping the 15Pro really will be a step up.

An iPad, an Apple Pencil and the Good Notes app.
Good Notes can convert handwriting into .doc, .pdf and a few other formats.

I’m a big fan of Giant bikes and with your budget and the type of riding you want to do I would consider the Giant Revolt 1.
It’s a bit more ‘relaxed’ than the Contend and will be better suited for the gravelly paths.

Either will be good bikes so try and get test rides and take it from there.

We had to claim a partial refund from an AirBnB place we stayed at a few years ago due to a number of issues. The owner tried to claim we were making things up until I sent him the photos I had taken. They were the key to getting a successful refund so my tip is to take photos, and lots of them.
Good luck with your claim.

I now have to log in twice each time I access the site.
First attempt I get the message “ An error has been encountered. Probably page was cached. Please try again.”
Second attempt works fine.

This is happening on my iMac and iPad.

Not in the garden, but I have a little colony of False Black Widow spiders in my garage.

We have a couple of hedgehogs that regularly patrol through the garden. Noisy buggers when they are mating!

Have a look at Elephant as well.
They do stand alone learner insurance and policies for new drivers. My daughter passed her test in July and we are paying about £1,200 for her 16 reg Fabia with her as the policy holder and me, my wife and son as named drivers on the policy.

Yes, it was the SDW section of the video I was referring to. Maybe the pain of some of the climbs has caused my mind to blot them out. :-)

Nice video, @boardmanfs18.

I rode the SDW last August and some parts in your video are as clear as a bell in my memory but I have no recollection of other parts. Weird.

I really liked the M089 but couldn’t get replacements when the sole of one of mine disintegrated. Ending up getting a pair of Shimano XC5 and they have been excellent. More comfortable than the M089s in my experience and they are lasting well.

I have an Osprey Serial 7 that I use for longer rides and bike packing when I want to take extra water and a Savu 5 for more regular rides.
Both are comfortable to wear and hold enough in the way of tools, spares and snacks for most situations.

What was it?

For budget bags/packs try the PodSac range from Planet X.

Sonder Broken Road or Signal, depending on how aggressive or not you want the bike to be.

Skoda Fabia.
Bought a 16 plate for my daughter a few months ago and it is blimmin’ great. It’s a 1.2TSi and has enough oomph but is still economical to run, especially on longer motorway journeys. With the back seats folded down there is bags of room for a bike.

@kayak23 – the bolts under the top tube are probably for mounting a custom frame bag.
The seat stay bolts are indeed for a rack.
Single fork mounts are usually intended for attaching a rack rather than a cage. Cages usually need two or three anchor points.

Sonder Frontier – 68deg head angle, 73deg seat angle and designed around 100mm forks.
Sonder are very helpful and will tell you if a 120mm fork will work with the frame.

I wouldn’t like to do it in this heat, but good luck if you do. It’s a great ride.

Be aware that a short section is currently closed due to the Boomtown Festival and a diversion is in place:

…but I’m not surprised you had bounce and sway issues with that barbag/seatpack setup (especially the barbag way out in front of and level with the bars).

The barbag is a Blackburn Outpost. It attaches to a quick release handlebar mount that keeps the bag clear of cables and hoses and there is very little bounce.
The seat pack is a cheap Podsac jobbie and is actually very stable. It sways a little but nothing to cause any concern. (The waterproof jacket on top of it was only put there while I took the photo as it started raining just as I was about to set off.)

You are the one riding the bike so go with whatever your taste and budget allows.

My own experience ranges from panniers to seat pack and bar roll to (most recently) Tailfin aero pack and fork bags.
Panniers hold the most stuff but are bulky and can easily be caught on undergrowth, branches and fences on narrow tracks and trails.
Seat pack and roll bar is good for distributing weight and keeping the width of the load down but can be awkward to pack and require careful planning to get things in in the right order.
Tailfin is bloody expensive but very good. It’s really a rethink and combination of panniers and packs that makes for a solid set up with no sway or bounce, and that is very welcome when riding off-road.
The Tailfin gear has made my seat pack and bar roll redundant I think but I will still use panniers for longer road-based trips due to their extra capacity and ease of transporting between bike and house/tent/hotel.

There was THIS ONE