Don’t take it personally morgs!
You’re only trying to help.
I’ve done business with some great recruitment consultants, one presented me a bottle of champagne for the last job (he could have made it some real ale instead though).
Recruitment is a tough business : too many headhunters out there

There are different types of umbrellas as well.
Some operate as a sort fo group for LTD companies, others will employ you.
In the latter IR35 is not an issue, but you cannot take dividend etc.
IMO become a LTD company is the best, but more effort.
Beware business bank accounts (you’llneed one if going LTD) they are strict on charges, and so on.

Here’s some advice from an ex contracter.
You’ll need an email address like this:
‘info#1@yourcompany.co.uk’ or similar.
Otherwise you will get so many spam emails to your real mail account from recruiters that it’ll result in a stack overflow of some sort.
Likewise think of getting another sim card or phone to reduce spam SMS and span calls from recruiters, …along the lines of ‘I have a VB or COBOL or whatever is not on your CV position in Dublin or where ever is a b’tard commute that seems to match your skills’.

If there are is a line of traffic speeding on the motorway then the cops will pull the first car in the line, not the whole line of traffic.

Although cyclists travel more slowly I dont see the copper trying to nick 2 at the same time.

Most people would take the easier option at work if the results are the same.

People are too willing to play the rascist card IMO.

Road tax of £450 a year on the Scooby – that would wipe the smile from my face unless I was driving it all the time….no time for cycling then though.
How about man up and get a GSXR 1000 and some turbo-diesel for the day to day? (dangerous I hear you say).

A Lotus Carlton if you can find one or if not a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4*4.
But : they are not autos.
In that case how about a Bentley Turbo R : that’s an auto!
Or even an Aston Martin Lagonda ;)

“Lizard Racing”

Yeah lumps under all but the index finger.

Has anybody tried racing ‘cross on a peregrin ?
Or even road racing it <shudder>

Maybe I’ll strap some drop bars on it and use the Force shifters from my road bike. That’ll be cool ;/

yep.
Campag don’t do an MTB groupset unfortunately.
Maybe Hope will bring out some shifters :)

Gripshift perhaps is another option. Clean bars too.

Tried that one :)

Would do but I am not the original buyer, may be that does not matter though.

I use 2*10 on a 29er (on-one scandal).
28/42 & 12-36
All’s good so far! You do loose super low ratios & after perhaps 100 wet km’s in wales or somewhere steep they would be missed!

even a cornered squirrel can be dangerous…

I can’t imagine a situation where I would ‘corner a dog’ when out riding my MTB though.
Dogs are nippy over short distances but they can’t keep it up.
Apart from grey hounds, and whippets.
In the US some mtb’ers have been killed by cougars.
Here we have badgers, I would not fancy cornering one of them.

Well said Tandemjerry.
Yeah I’ve only had trouble once with a dog owner in 22 years or so of MTB.
Rarely do I get thanked by dog walkers when slowing down to a walking pace but that’s OK I suppose.
Some just seem to bimble round the place with no awareness of other people : it’s just them and their beloved dog.
Mainly in town, way less so in the country. Mobile phone obsessed walkers are another hazard!
Random greetings are the way to go. I like holloring (apologioes for the US slang) a weary ‘ringing my bell’ when on a cycle track or whereever, it seems to work !!

Oi Barbara Woodhouse’s!
How do you think the courts would react to the scenario then:
A dog chases a cyclist from a cycle track onto a main road (some distance behind of course as it was slow but persisent)
then gets run over whilst causing a vehicular accident, then the dogs loving human partner decks the cyclist and the car driver.

is this Crufts or STW??

I would have let it chase me onto the main road…if my pet croc hadn’t eaten it all up first!
Well dogs are so intelligent they know about paths and things eh.

Think I left my teeth in the jar besides my bed!!

Besides CS Gas cannisters …. :)

I was chased for about 200 metres by a dog on a cycle track. When it caught up I would accelerate off again.
When it caught up I would accelerate off again.
When it caught up I would accelerate off again.
When it caught up I would accelerate off again.
Dog was looking pretty knackered by this time… then the cycle path merged into a main road …..
I can still remember it’s owner belatedly yelling ‘barny ! barny ! barniiieeee!!’
Funny as ****.

Squirrels just run for cover faaast!
They squeek when run over!!
As do rats….

Well no matter how much you love your dog ramming a child is far more likely to have legal implications.
Besides, children are usually kept under control, and their parents understand that not everybody thinks that they are wonderful :)

Nickquinn293:
Yeah that’s the scenario. I have slowed right down to a walking pace but still the dog sits right in the blimmin way !!
LOL :/

richc: I doubt whether dogs have any conception of footpath, bridlepath, rupp boats or whatever. I am talking about bridlepaths or even bike tracks anyhow.
Anybody an expert on dog behaviour like Barbara Woodhouse?
I don’t recall getting dog trouble when out running cross countr…

See if Bontrager do some carbon stabilisers to go with them eh :lol:

Ah well : have fun what ever riding you do.
As the thread of the title says ‘Serious sportive riders’ …..
The thread has become something like chinese whispers now anyhow.

Hey : serious sportive riders : remember to say hello back when another cyclist waves at you : eh.

Ed2001 : Wales and South/ South West regions, gave it up a just over a year ago, couldn’t be arsed to move up to Cat1 due to family commitments.
Tour of the Marshes, Tour of the Blackdowns (god that was cold), Betty Pharaoh legstretchers, Ham Hill / Pittards etc etc etc.

partyboy: No & Any suggestions for improving my trolling? Am I missing a trick?

random : That’s sportives for you. Road races are completely nuts, sometimes they can be boring though.

jamesb : good for you, well done on the gold standard.
Any thoughts about entering a real race?

In MTB the direct equivalent to the sportive is the enduro : but the attitude is different they are less serious. I honestly don’t care what bike people ride on : its the attitude of the riders that counts.
Oh jonb by the way I raced Elite MTB and when I retired from that Cat2 road (with a young family in tow), ‘winning’ 120 mile sportives was relatively easy in comparison.
So these days just do stuff for a laugh really, like enduros and XC, cyclo-cross..touring…but not a sportive :)

The other difference between sportives and races is that in a race riders are streamed according to ability. That way the good ones don’t have to avoid the beginners. In a sportive we are all lumped together! Then it’s up to the good ones to spot the imposters (confusing with their carbon wheels like a good rider may have) otherwise we will have to take avoidance action whilst they zig-zag over that nasty railway bridge.
Whilst doing the Forest of Dean sportive (for training & a laugh) I found it pretty strange that there were beginners with carbon wheels on a similar course to some of the Classics where the professionals themselves would not use carbon wheels.
So whilst trying to ‘dick wave’ their bling they are :
1) Making themselves look stupid
2) Confusing decent riders who may have to take avoidance action
3) Ruining their decent kit in rough conditions (good for the bike shops of course), thus annoying the ‘inner engineer’
4) Giving themselves a rough ride over the gravel in the wet
5) Getting more punctures and then not knowing what todo with tubs

Their are plenty of long sportives (such as the Tour of Wessex 3 days for example) but so what ? There are far longer & tougher audaxes, road races and time trials with local club & biking community support. Sportives maybe good for beginners to get a ‘race experience’ a bit like a red letter day : perhaps sportive organisers should offer hire bikes (without carbon wheels) then good riders/cyclists can spot them a mile off and avoid them as they wobble aimlessly around the lanes.

Here’s some more observations on the ‘serious sportive’ rider.

1) They would be better of learning to ride on a more basic bike before advancing to carbon wheels and so on.
2) They will be wearing generic kit : no affiliation to any local club or sponsorship : so who are these people?
3) They do not take part in local races or time trials or mtb events

Like a previous poster said : are they are like the full on ‘storm trooper’ gear ‘all mountain’ bike MTB’er hanging round a canal towpath. :-)

As a previous poster mentioned:
Sportives are no more than reliability rides or audaxes but without the navigation skills (and shorter), and the cake stops are poorer compared to audaxes (sometimes these have beans on toast).
There is no comparison to real road racing at Cat E/1/2 level anyhow.

Has anybody heard the of phrase ‘plastic biker’?

The funny thing is they still use the carbon wheels when the roads are properly manky!

Fair play to the bike shop owners though :)

Seriously: Have you tried using stilts ? I have heard they can make a big difference.

you do worse than try poco mail

That’s f’all. You could get it repaired if Giant will not help : try Argos cycles if you are in Bristol area. That area is not so stressed either, the main stresses on a frame are the down tube behind the headtube (that is why they are heavily reinforced in that area).

How much too short was the bar tape and what width were the bars?
If the bars were 46cm then perhaps CRC have a point.
If the tape was only a bit too short.

Or how about a 18'' frame that was actually 14'' .
s awright guv theyre all like that – it pedals dunnit?

Like I said – road bar tape is often too small
Cinelli tape is a good length.
CRC are still w@@nkers though.
Rock on the LBS and wiggle.