Looks really clunky and reminds me of my old Y- Fronts. Will stick with my V2.

 

Looks like these guys had a bottle  once- they might be able to give you a valuation…

https://glenbotal.co.uk/bottle/johnnie-walker-pure-malt-15-year-old/

Id be going for one of these;

https://www.certini.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/2023-specialized-epic-evo-mountain-bike–satin-harvest-goldblack__92622?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=94823-7004&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnqK1BhBvEiwAi7o0X5TmE02Fvc5L0HkvjXg59H7wi9xzC2hfBHhm06Tjqthr-YZ4W428yRoCLaMQAvD_BwE

We rent a uhaul van for $20 a day plus 99c mile  as it’s cheaper than a car and do north shore Seymour and frome Squamish Alice lake area and whistler bike park and local trails – air bnb all the way – rentals are very expensive so take own bikes (megatower) which fit nice  In the van. Van seats only though. Vancouver island is good but lose a day in ferries

Seemed very overgrown and pretty much deserted last time I was there 12 months ago sone trees down and loads of harvested areas – which is a shame because I remembered it being great back in the day. Guess a lot of folk are all about the uplifts and bike parks now so this place looks to have lost favour.

As soon as he returned to Russia from Germany after recovery form poisoining and was escorted from the airport there was only ever going to be one outcome for him. Surprised he lasted this long to be honest.

Surely spending at the service to get the age related bits fixed is cheaper than £20k on a new car? Can retro install an android audio unit. Save the cash and keep the current car. From an owner of a 2010 superb with 150k on the clock.

I’d hire a long wheel base kombi van and stick em all in side the vehicle and also seats 5.  I’d be worried about bikes falling off the car on such a long journey!

Theres a government THINK campaign recently that stated that male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers aged 25 or over and that 60% of all serious and fatal collisions involving young male car drivers were on rural roads. I dont hold out any hope – its a maturity thing, biologically the brain just isnt fully mature enough until after 25 to manage the high degree of skill needed to safely be in charge of 2 tonnes of fast moving metal. Easy solution – dont drive until you’re 25?

Im not sure the money is there – have you seen the size of the government debt lately? Finephilly is right though to some degree – the quickest way to limit the road damage we are all causing with prolific and needless car useage is by pricing people off the road.

Cant you just rent microsoft 365 for £5.99 a month anymore?

Vanishing point Primal Scream just reappeared on my playlist after 20+ years.

Not purchasing any new bikes – just riding the ones Ive got in some nice locations and servicing/replacing worn out parts as required.

Id suggest starting with using one of these calculators to see what you might get at reitrement based on expected lifestyle and ability to save into a private pension scheme between now and then.

https://www.standardlife.co.uk/pensions/tools/pension-calculator

me and her indoors have AA through Halifax ultimate reward account ( costs us 17.50 a month but also get travel insurance and mobile phone replacement cover aswell as other stuff). Cant fault them, and as we both drive german cars use the AA at least a couple of times a year!

Don’t go too cheap as a cheap guitar won’t play great. Anything by epiphone new or lightly used second hand might be a shout (tend to hold their value as well) and budget for a decent set up (action intonation etc) and fresh strings – a guitar that’s a joy to play will mean he plays it for hours. And that’s how you get to be good!

Luckily no one was hurt but my first thought was why was no sprinkler system installed?

If at all possible I’d take the train- for me its not wasted time as instead of being stressed out in my car with all the other idiots hurtling around, Im sat in a comfy seat with a table and can get some work done on my laptop.

Still running my iPhone XR with no need to upgrade but do quite fancy a  13 pro max now as they’ll undoubtedly be discounted. Must. Resist.

Reassuringly expensive! but its still a motor – cycle and not for me, for now I prefer my climbs to be executed organically.

For my money I’d go Santa Cruz tallboy or Specialized epic evo – some mega deals to be had at the moment.

stick a dropper post on and 1×10 ( get a 11-50T range) and youll be well away. Miss my ASR5C of a similar vintage but the wheels were just too small.

Entirely expected and surprised its not down by a much higher percentage. Society has now irreversibly organised itself to be slavishly dependent on private cars for the vast majority of its mobility needs, to the benefit of the individual (for convenience)  and the automobile and oil industries ( for making huge profits). We are massively inept at seeing the true detrimental impact of car dependency on society in the rise in obesity, air pollution causing asthma, injuries and deaths from accidents and impacts of CO2 emmisions in the warming of the climate. The loss of amenity and green space for all the roads and parking cars need also does not seem to perturb the car driving masses. Personally Ive not been on a road bike in 12 months and do the vast majority of my riding now via off road paths. bridleways as the standards of driving on the roads are appalling.

Im on a large epic, which is basically a carbon chisel. 187cm tall. I put a 90mm stem on ( from 80mm) and a 10mm layback post and its perfect – not too stretched out as i like it to be playful ride on my twisty xc woodland trails.

Compared to my xl v1 hightower the distance seatpost to bars is exactly the same and is exactly what i was looking for

wowser im really tempted by the epic evo deal that certini have – i just dont need another bike right now and have all bases covered with the incumbent fleet. Seeing the levels of discounting going on does make me think the bike industry have been properly taking the p 155 over the last few years, guess now their chickens have come home to roost!

That is not a pretty bike. Seat tube is an abomination- the top tube doesn’t really need that gusset weld and the forks look bent at the head tube. And it’s £800 too expensive.

Why don’t they just use RAL numbers to avoid ambiguity

I had the hope fortus on my Hightower- as you say strong but heavy- wanted strong and light so went for Roval traverse carbon – super tough on enduro racing and bike park with threadlocked spokes and very agile on climbs – haven’t looked back

Santa Cruz megatower. Some good deals about at the moment new and used – incredible climbing and descends like a dh rig.

I do like the red paint job……. – already got a v1 hightower I run mullet otherwise id be all over that.

Definitely not a BMX

Stuff that works for me at 48- If you’re carrying extra weight work on losing that. Look at your diet and how you are fuelling before and after rides. Lift weights. You state you haven’t ridden for a bit and that means your fitness drops off much quicker when you are older. Ride more. Set some ride targets miles or hours per week.

got 3yrs left on a 5yr deal at 1.9% – aim is to pay off the 15 year term full balance in those 3yrs – ball cocks to paying silly high interest rates. Only reason houses are so expensive is due to years of super low interest rates and mega cheap borrowing. Yet the banks cant let the prices crash now they are less afordable can they?

no butter or oil. Non stick pan on low heat. Keep stirring. Take off the heat as soon as they stop being runny ( theyll keep cooking in the pan). Serve on buttered brown or sourdough toast. Splash of ketchup. Magic.

Id leave it as is – a bit of patina, its a scar ,like a badge of honour.

mower broke last month so its going long – but surprsingly this has meant we’ve now got a patch of st georges mushrooms which have now popped up in the wild grass – and theyre delicious. Would be £90 a kg to buy!

according to trainline.com you can get the 1136 to kings cross travelling today for £45.70 one way

I learned to deal with moments of hightened anxiety by taking it as a signal for me to ‘do something’. That usually involved one or more of – going for a walk, picking up a guitar if nearby, putting some music on, messaging a friend, making plans, making something nice to eat, etc. just simple easy activities, and usually it releives the anxiety. Before that I would just let the anxious feelings mount up and not really know what to do or know why I was feeling that way… which made me more anxious..

seems to have gone quiet on this one – anyone know where its at? – they are a long way short on the crowdfunder and the locals werent too impressed with the line building thats gone on!

Its not just gardens we are paving over!