There is no inappropriate bike, just different bikes.

This is it exactly!

I love being able to ride from the door, I doubt I would ride anywhere near as much (if at all) if I couldn’t. However you already have to drive to ride so it sounds like any move closer is a win for you regardless of being able to ride from the door.

My current grazing foods of choice:-

Medjool dates stuffed with almond butter
Agen prunes

Thoroughly inspirational. Great video.

Aha, looks like Glencanisp will be mostly dragging a bike through a bog then.

Yep, via Glencanisp (worries about sinister voice..)

I would go with the charity idea. I also have ms and still ride, like chvk my symptoms are limited to some spasticity in my legs and a drop foot. I can’t run anymore and can only walk limited distances but have no real problems on the bike. Epic Highland hike a bike efforts are out now though. Without knowing the guys disease progression, or indeed without really knowing him I wouldn’t return the bike. He may or may not be able to ride and may also be a bit offended at being seen as a charity case, I probably would be offended even though it’s a great gesture, may be different if I loose more mobility but then a donation of an off road electric wheelchair may be more appreciated!

Edit- just noticed your post on trying to gauge his ability to ride etc. Good on you.

I’ve lost just over 2 stone this year, using myfitnesspal as an easy to use food diary and simple exercise log. Diet wise we have just ended up eating ‘clean’ (see deliciously ella for example) so just a good healthy diet although that has been evolution over the last 6 months rather than a deliberate step change in diet.

I have my 92 kona lava dome which only gets ridden occassionaly. It is fast and fun, but hurts so much I sometimes wonder how I kept on riding.

We have a vitamix, had it for about 6 years, used at least twice a day and blend lots of frozen fruit/veg. It’s been faultless, has to be the best kitchen appliance we have used. No experience of blendtec but can’t imagine you could go wrong with either.

Activity monitor (of any brand) linked to my fitness pal. Allows you to see exactly what you are eating and your background activity level. Needs a bit of discipline to keep mfp up to date but not much, and it’s quite interesting just monitoring what you eat even if you have no specific weight loss goal. Small improvements to diet can make a big difference, and probably a lot easier to implement for someone not too keen on exercising.

Hope you enjoyed yourself. Dad daughter bike time is ace. This week saw myself and my youngest do glenlivet blue at the start of the week and then a wee bikepacking trip in the pentlands last night. Good times :)

Assuming you are not paying anything into a pension just now then you are getting a 3% pay rise with the employers contribution, its just being ‘saved’ for you.

For the increase to 4% for the employees contribution, you will get 20% tax relief, so will effectevely be putting in 3.2%. That will be the reduction you see in take home pay.

So, for a reduction of 3.2% take home, you are putting 7% into savings, or for what costs you £100 take home you get £218 saved in your pension.

You wont get such a good savings deal anywhere else. Its only a bad thing if you dont expect to retire or are genuinely on the bread line.

I spent a few pleasant summers evenings a few years ago clearing out the major windfall and building the bridges ( which didnt last long before they were removed), lovely wee trail. Hope it doesnt go the same way as the nail trail as it gets more popular which is mostly a churned up mess at the top,a few logs might keep the traffic down ;)

You can also head into the woods to the left of the muddy field, avoiding the dog leg, trail is pretty vague though and pops back into the field a couple of times.

As someone with a degenerative illness I think they are a fantastic thing. I will most likely be needing one in the future, they will keep me riding much longer. Brilliant.

Currently enjoying The Humans by Matt Haig. Comes in at 290 pages so just in spec.

I bought the better half a canon 24mm f2.8 pancake for christmas as a lightweight walkabout lens. Image quality pretty much as good as the 24mm end of our 24-70 f2.8 and a tiny fraction of the weight and cost. would recommend it. Its been great for indoor family shots over christmas and I can see me ‘borrowing’ it a lot for street photography.

True, it may be nothing to do with the charity, but a bit of altruism will make those bargains feel even better. :-)

Too late for me, but hopefully those of you who have the discount honoured donate some (or all) of your saving to the cash for kids charity.

Working from home, security update over Xmas is stopping me logging in to company network, it support all appear on holiday so I think it’s time to go for a wee spin on bike instead :)

You have my sympathies and have made me smile too. I was diagnosed with PPMS this year and it took a while to get over shock of diagnosis. Luckily I’m still riding but cant push myself anywhere like as hard as I used too, currently only have some spasticity in my legs. It’s hard to picture when Ill have to stop riding and hope to push that back as far as I can as its been a part of my life for so long(its been 30 years since my first bike related trip to A&E). Maybe need to put getting back into paragliding (has been almost 20 years since I flew) onto by bucket list :)

Just to restore faith in humanity, I once gave a rider who had punctured passing by my house a tube, fitted it for him and saw him on his way. He returned that evening with a 6 pack of beers for my trouble :)

Been looking at the original pic a day thread. and dont want to step on folks toes with these threads
so am asking should I/ we carry on doing this pic a day type thread .

Don’t see how you would be stepping on anyones toes, folk can post here on STW, over here on flickr[/url], or both.

Here’s mine from today:-

[/url] 130102 – 490 – Egg[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr[/img]

OK that’s 40-ish new members accepted to the one photo a day group, mostly from here, and some great first day photos appearing.

Haven’t been on the bike much this year, the best of the riding was going to the pub:-

[/url] 120720 – 324 – Riding To The Pub[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Great response to this thread Stuartie_C, lots of people taking up the challenge for 2013. Good luck to you all, looking forward to seeing some of your year in pictures :)

I’m in. Tried and failed in 2010, started again late 2011 and currently on day 486 :) I use the Flickr group stuartie_c has linked to.

Thats my tree in the background :), you probably recognise the fella in the foreground.

[/url]
121203 – 460 – Hello Santa[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

Oh, just remembered this one of a storm moving in:

[/url] 120821 – 356 – Storm Brewing[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Two from Jupiter Artland.

Conventional Panorama
[/url]
Jupiter Artland[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

Less Conventional, Bokeh Panorama (Brenizer Technique):-
[/url]
120617 – 291 – Weeping Girl[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

Some of my pics of Orkney:-

[/url]
120317 – 199 – Ring of Brodgar[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
111218 – 109 – Yesnaby[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
110921 – 21 – Stromness In The Rain[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

More here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66982909@N02/sets/72157628879277743/with/6170624440/

Here you go, some of the lovely city center architecture. If this doesn’t tempt your wife to visit I’m not sure what will:-

[/url]
111103 – 64 – St. James[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
120216 – 169 – Concrete Jungle[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

Can I play too?
[/url]
111231 – 122 – Bonny Bonny Banks[/url] by D(i)rT[/url], on Flickr

Very sad news :( This is on my commute too and this has shaken me a bit. It is a fast piece of road as its dual carriageway (although with a 30 limit), he was heading downhill so would have hit a parked car at a fair speed.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends. A very sad day.

Thanks all. Road bike it is.

A few hours in glorious sunshine in the Pentlands this morning, rode a trail I hadn’t ridden before (and I’ve been riding up there for nearly 30 years!) absolutely lovely morning.

I consider myself pretty sub-average, mostly as I don’t ride as much as I used to, when I was pretty average. Most group rides I go on there’s folks that can ride faster then me, take more technical lines under more control and style than I can ever muster and can jump/drop stuff that I wouldn’t contemplate, and there’s (fewer) people slower then me, who cant ride the technical stuff and are impressed by my pathetic jump/drop ability.

The main thing is we are all having fun, which is what its all about for me :)

Search for Kaesae of these parts. He should be able to sort you out.

Hmm. We don’t have a car park. Everyone bikes, walks, runs or uses public transport. Not sure what that says about us.

A few pics to wet your appetite:-