Sorry @Kramer, if you look at the post times I was writing my reply to scotroutes as you posted so I hadn’t seen what you wrote then.
That’s really useful info as I’ll be switching from one bike to another, and yes it’s a real bonus being able to use it for touring but remove it for fun.

I love asking questions here as I always get so many useful (and often hilarious) replies no matter what the topic.

Nice one scotroutes, that counts for a lot coming from you. If it works during some of the things I’ve seen on your blog it’ll work for me.

“Why else would you be looking where you’re looking?”

because it’s beautiful and quiet?  we’ve always enjoyed visits to this part of the world. Our family is from Northumberland, and we’ve always planned to move back up that way(although admittedly we’ve gone a bit further).
is it an especially Tory brogue and tweed part of the country? Moving from Bucks I’d hoped for a bit less of that.

Anyway, must trot. The fox hunt is about to start, and Felicity and Giles won’t wait forever.

Offer for Coldingham house has been accepted. Looks like I’m moving to Valhalla*

Sprootlet: that second house was very, very tempting. Not that keen on Eyemouth for a few reasons.

Stevenmenmuir: what makes you believe I’m not already a brogue and tweed wearing Tory? We had a good, long, look at that house in Duns.

Coldingham is only three miles from the railway with a direct line to Berwick upon Tweed, so not quite as remote as it might first seem. I reckon it will do us just fine – it’s got a inglenook!
Thanks for all the ideas and info everyone. I still interested in first hand experiences of life and cycling in the borders if anybody feels like sharing.

* it took me a while to get that @onehundredthidiot

“…I find I live in about 2 rooms (and one of those I’m mostly asleep in).”

There will be four adults sharing this house.

Four bedrooms is the minimum. A few ‘living rooms’ is very much a priority.

We’ve put in an offer, but other suggestions of good places to live are welcome, not to mention any great houses you see. East coasts, borders preferred but anywhere considered.

Right, our next choice:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131811476?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=whatsapp#/?channel=RES_BUY

A bit further north. Doesn’t look as nice from the outside, but check the interior. Anybody know much about this area? Seems beautiful.

No, somebody outbid us by ‘a lot, not just a few 10000s’.
There’s another house we’re interested in. Very different, and not in Coldstream – I’ll add details later.

Yep, that’s the one.

the budget is about £450000

others in my family are up there looking at the moment. Apparently we have to put an offer in today at noon.
they are saying much the same as people here – the house is fab, the town is ok.

Thanks people, this is all helpful.

Kelso would be my preference, but we haven’t seen any houses in our range. We’ve found an absolute beauty in Coldstream, but have similar feelings to many here.

Road cyclin* is good eh? That helps.

:)

I’m currently in north Bucks.

we’re definitely moving, but where to is still under discussion. We’ve seen a good place in Coldstream that we like, but I’ve only ever driven through, not stopped.

We like the area – Berwick-Upon-Tweed and Alnwick – but haven’t found anything suitable in those places.

Hey Jude. The ending is so good it’s longer than the song.

I do like songs like that – those that end with a long, often nonsensical – repeat. When I Dream by the Teardrop Explodes is another, as is The Great Curve by Talking Heads.

Other examples gratefully received.

Evry morning for me. Coffee and ciggy probably helps.

My friend told me that a ‘herbal’ cigarette is the way to go – apparently there’s no keeping it in after that.

… of course your ride might e about different if you try that method, it who knows? You might prefer it

We stopped using meat and replaced it with lentils when some veggie friends came to stay. We much preferred it, and now use lentils all the time! Out of choice!

Watching thread with interest.

I’ve just bought a tent, and I’m about to buy a sleeping bag and mat.
of particular interest: how to keep devices charged.

I was a SCUBA instructor for 10 years. I was a MTB guide for two years.

In my experience there’s not a lot of crossover.

That I haven’t heard anything by Sting or Dire Straits for years, and I’m content to keep it that way.

That I’m alright with being 60 next month.

That of I bow my shoelaces like a reef knot instead of a granny knot they don’t come undone.

Hello again.

Kit arrived from Spain. The instructions confused me a bit as it turns out I don’t have ‘Bleeding edge’. Once I’d realised that everything went well. My brakes still feel a little spongy, maybe a little air got in when I was faffing about – I’ll do it better next time.

I have one more question that probably has an answer so simple I’ll blush:

When removing the syringe a fair amount of fluid escaped before I could replace the little screw. This happened at top and bottom, but more at the calliper end than lever end. I’d actually foreseen this and had positioned the calliper as best I could so that the fluid port was positioned upwards. I think that helped a little.
Is there some simple way to prevent this happening, or is it inevitable that some fluid will escape?

Anyway, thanks again for all the tips and advice. My pads will need replacing in the near future so I’ll give it another go then and I’ll do a better job.

Fair enough, I tend to stick with one system per bike as much as I can.

Phil5556 – it’s not so much the clean up, it’s the list of warnings you get with Dot 5.1 and the protective gear they suggest you wear. And mineral oil doesn’t absorb moisture.
I know there are advantages to Dot, but I’d rather avoid it if I can.

I’d go Shimano just to avoid dealing with nasty Dot 5.1 brake fluid.

It’s not like riding a bike. It’s not even like riding a bike no handed.

It is a little like learning to ride a bike as you just have to keep trying until you work out where your balance point is. I learned by using a lamppost to get on, then falling off many, many times. Thankfully it’s fairly easy to land on your feet.

I ,kept at it until I could ride around the block, then kind of lost interest. I also looked ridiculous (even by unicycle standards) as my arm made motions as though I was stirring two huge pots of stew as I cycled along.

So come on oceanskipper, I would like to know if £50 bar tape is £25 better than £25 tape.

How have you found it?

Smile Bungalows, Bottle Beach, Koh Phangan, Thailand. It cannot be just an accident, they must go out of their way to make it that bad.

I know it’s not a popular opinion but I much prefer Starbucks of the major chains, usually espresso or occasionally macchiato – I find Costa too sour, Nero a bit weak.

I’m aware it might take a few days to get here. That’s ok, I’ll just have to be patient.

A few more questions:

How often do you need to bleed brakes? My gravel bike is about 5.5 years old and I’ve never done it. The brakes – Shimano on this bike – feel fine.

Will the procedure be the same as a normal bleed even though I have no fluid in the rear brake?

Thanks again, really useful info from everyone.

“Thighs and calf were then too tight”

Now if you’d got yourself some 3/4 length trousers that wouldn’t have been a problem :)

While we’re sort of on the subject can anybody recommend a good shampoo bar?

I wanted to move away from unnecessary plastic bottles, so i’ve been buying a bar from Sainsbury’s. I haven’t checked the price for a while, but today I noticed it’s £5 a bar! Actual soap bars range from about 50p to £3 (apart from the posh stuff I don’t even look at), and the sort of shampoo bottles I’d use are maybe 2 or 3 quid.

So does anyone know of somewhere I could get better value?

Thanks everyone so far, lots of useful advice.

I’ve just seen the SRAM pro kit on bike inn:

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/sram-pro-brake-bleed-kit-tool/137680569/p?tqw=

for £64, which is a bit more reasonable than I’d seen it elsewhere. I’ll be getting that I think.

“How did you lose all the fluid?”

You see where I said I needed klutz level help? My rear brake was a bit sticky. I thought the pistons might be a bit grubby – ‘no problem’, I thought ‘ I’ve cleaned pistons before’. So I removed the pads and gave the levers a teeny little squeeze, and out popped the piston, leaking all that nasty fluid everywhere.

It seems my shimano brakes, which I have cleaned many times, require a bit more of a squeeze than my sram brakes.

In that case could you take the part to a local hardware store or DIYsuperstore? They usually have loads of different screws/bolts/etc and I’ve always managed to find something. One of my bikes requires all sort off different spanners, screwdrivers and Allen keys to work on as it has been fixed with all sorts of bits. Not ideal but it works.
One day I’ll get around to sorting it out*

* No I won’t.

Surely this is where you go to your LBS. They’ll know what you need and might even have one in the big box of odd screws.
If not ask them what it is then go to B&Q or wherever and they’ll have something that will work

Thanks for everything you’ve done Drac. I hope you realise that people do appreciate it.

After a sort of ‘similar though not really but kind of’ situation I took a part time job working with people with learning disabilities. Terrible pay of course, but I enjoy the work, love our participants, and feel like I’ve done something worthwhile at the end of each day. Maybe after a break you can find something similar. It really has changed my life for the better.

Please everyone, keep this thread going, it’s by far my favourite.

I suppose I should contribute to help the discussion, so here goes. I like:

Carpenter trousers, especially carhartt. They have extra pockets without being too cargo.

Henley shirts

Grandad shirts

Keen Jasper shoes. Soooo comfy and versatile

3/4 length trousers. There, I said it.

Danny MacAskill

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=danny%20macaskill&mid=0C5DCA2B26BA360178DE0C5DCA2B26BA360178DE&ajaxhist=0

Carnac RSF SE Cat 0-3 Photochromic Sunglasses

“Turns out its mostly folks complaining about the weather, the cold, the locals, and lack of socks…”

The STW of it’s day

Hey Brant, while you’re here:

Could you buy back Planet X again please? I haven’t liked or used it anywhere near as much since you left.

Heart Usyk, head Fury.

Another tick for mezcals. I have 2.1s on my whippet. They are fast yet surprisingly capable.

Decathlon is a good idea, I’ll take a look there.

trail_rat – Thanks for that. As I said I’m completely out of touch with this sort of stuff, I was abroad for more than decade

irc – That is much better, but maybe a little too small for me. The two person (well, one and a half!) version seems a better fit
https://www.tiso.com/eatnz7ti0199/oex-phoxx-iiv2-green

It’s 2.08 kg rather than 1.6 and a few quid more, but I’d appreciate the extra width and height I think. The list price is £230 – I guess I’m being marketed to again!

The budget is tricky as I also need to buy a sleeping bag, mat, and possibly a cooker. And anything else I remember I need in the next couple of weeks.

I think I’m inclined to get this as it’s such a low price then spend a bit more on the sleeping bag.

Any suggestions? I really am out of the loop with this sort of thing.

Initially it’s for going to a dual 50th birthday weekend camping celebration. It’s just for me, so seems ideal for that purpose. I’ll be travelling mostly by train with maybe 10km of flat cycling at the end.

Afterwards I wouldn’t mind trying a bit of bike packing. It won’t be too adventurous and only for a night or two – I thought I might get away with just taking the inner or outer to cut down on weight and space.

Maybe I should be looking for something smaller.