Ive got sage bambino plus and its fantastic. I buy the coffee ready ground for espresso from PACT mostly but have a seperate grinder if i get the occasional beans order in bulk. Paid £300 for it in the sale.

Cut down on the short journeys ( These are a killer on MPG – I have the same engine as you ) and walk or cycle these journeys instead.

Have you got 6 months worth of living expenses in cash in an easy access savings account? if not, do that. If you have, then overpay your mortgage or put the surplus in a high interest savings account ( you can get 4% pa for 12 months fixed) if the mortgage interest rate is lower than the savings rate.

Wow that Dakota is a stunner – not cheap but I guess the quality makes it worth the price of entry – how does it sound?

70 miles a day commute is bonkers – Id be moving closer to work.

Here’s a little blues backing track I played over – my Gibson les Paul gold top through a Marshall 1974x combo and a dr z brake lite attenuator on 3.

https://youtu.be/83wf4vMxs5g

How about a specialized epic?EPIC
Not a FS but sure rides smooth – ive just come to one from a santa crzu hightower which was overkill for the trails and commute routes i mainly do.

Id be keeping what you got and putting the ‘new car ‘ money in the savings account.
Saying this as owner of a 2011 skoda superb estate with 135k on it. And I’m a tight arse.

Loake bedale boots. Not cheap at all but extremely well made and super comfy from the off, they also last many, many years – got 5 years out of my first pair and they only now need a resole.

If you cant beat em join em. Seems to be an emerging culture of people who will do the least anount of work possible but just enough to not get fired. Be one of them. Unless its your own compamy and your money at stake the work thing is really not worth worrying about.

My theory / hunch on this is that we are seeing more die from long term exposure to traffic pollution ( all those diesel fumes from cars with cheat devices) – and the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption during lockdown. I of course have no evidence to support this!

Tignes and val d isere today after 30 cms or so last night and blue bird weather – paradise.

It’s a nice idea but if it is located where I think it is I’d be surprised if it gets planning permission- it’s quite an idyllic unspoilt rural location and I think the locals will massively object.

I always always add a bottle of beer as part of the stock quantity -guiness, old speckled hen or Leffe Brun are all good. And taste half way through cooking – add an oxo if its not beefy enough!

Our lively lab spends hours chewing a piece of antler when indoors – keeps him occupied for hours.

Do these wannabe ship masters claim on their insurance for damage to the car in these cases? – if so we are all paying for this lunacy with higher insurance premiums…..not to mention the environmental impact… still makes for entertaining viewing though.

spent years using the halifax as telephone banking service only until I gave in and went with the app. They still let you pay in/out at Post office branches as I recall and you’re usually never too far from one of those

Chris King hubs – theyll last a lifetime!

Usually Levi’s when there’s a sale on and I adopt a no wash strategy (within reason) so they last ages – just bought some hiut selvedge after getting a small bonus – let’s see if they last as long as the Levi’s.

Buy the dip!

A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Just put your riding clothes on, wheel the bike out of the garage and go for a ride. Even if just for 1 mile.

tempted to go EV with the next company car but i heard waiting times for orders are bonkers at the moment

bot a fox full face and went ip a size form recommended base don google reviews – it was till chuffin tight but after two days of wearing now feels just right.

ive taken to wearing my merino mountain shirt (a lock down extravagant purchase) and long sleeve baselayers round the house now its cold ( as I do every winter) – im super toasty and not putting the heating on for a while yet.

Ladybower reservoir has some awesome steep techy but you need to know where to look for the good stuff as its not obvious.

Running ROVAL traverse carbon and some reserve wheels on my two bikes – fast spinning and confidence inspiring.

What a hoot – even in the wet practice was mental, glad the sun came out on race day and dried things up a bit. Really enjoyed stages 1,2 5 and 6, rock garden off stage 4 nearly sent me flying! Stage 3 was pointless.
Not a fan of any of the transitions – way too much hike a bike and the climb up from stage 3 to 4 – that should have been reversed into a downhill stage on its own!
Overall was a good fun weekedn but the transitions killed it for me, if i can be arsed to enter again i might do the sprint instead next year. Oh and i was massively over biked – did not need a 170mm enduro rig – a 130mm xc full sus or hardtail would be the ideal.

Drive less if you’re that strapped for £16 of diesel a week

yep im in! not done this one before – missed the original sale but got lucky on the waiting list- been doing ard rock most years so keen to compare how it stacks up against this event.

Still on my trusty XR – not seeign anything I need up grade for with the 14 – but might get a 13 pro if they drop massively in price…

did luton to zurich return last weekend – out fri back monday. zero queues or drama in the airports either way – but outboud flight delayed leaving whilst the fixed a ‘technical issue’

Buy a cheap non boost hub and get the wheel rebuilt?
hub

hightower or megatower

My hope is that high fuel prices will begin to focus drivers minds on to reducing unnessary car use to the point that other options start to become more viable – making fewer journeys ( do you really need to drive 1mile to nip to the shop for a loaf?) using public transport more ( provision of which would improve with more users/demand and greater revenue streams, build it and they will come….), working from home where possible, living closer to work/schools, etc. Likelihood is it wont make siginifcant impact on reducing car use – society has been engrained to the point were cars are absolutely essential for human life – and we are wholly dependent on them at any cost, much to the delight of the oil companies, tax collectors and the car industry, but hugely to the detriment of the natural and built environment ( light, noise and air pollution, cancers / CVD from inhaling exhaust fumes, greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts on climate, obesity from lack of physical mobility, accidents causing injury and deaths and loss of green spaces to parking lots and road infrastructure).

I went to a 2.5 Assegai from a 2.4 DHR – no noticeable increase in rolling resistance but front end seems grippier – feels more confidence inspiring and hence im faster.

probably cost cutting innit – get it paid and slow the duck down.

they were checking everyone’s Covid pass on the Eurostar to Disneyland on Monday – massive queue in Pancras station took 1h30 to get through security and had 5 mins to spare before the train departed.

only 27.5s left today..

reassuringly expensive – on my 7th santa cruz and absolutely love the way they ride – always buy secondhand though from original owners who haven’t used them much so that keeps the cost down – never had any issues in 20 years.
not a fan of the glove box though.

V1 hightower here – trail centre monster that climbs impeccably and is good for hammering down confidently on most downhill – though can get a bit out of its comfort zone in really rough/steep – and for that I have a megatower. V2 Hightower is designed to be a bit more aggressive with that extra travel and might better suit your purposes.