Lynx boxset from secret santa so I can relive the brief, teenage flirtation with smelling like a ****.

Did you hear what happened to Jesus when he went to Mount Olive? Popeye kicked the crap out of him.

An English cat named one two three challenged a French cat called Un Deux Trois to a swimming race across the Channel. Un Deux Trois cat sank.

As a Mk1 Zealous owner, I wholeheartedly endorse them.

I totally understand why people hate landlords and, in particular, letting agencies having been messed about by so many of them. I have no interest in being a landlord really but owning my home does have some perks of security and opportunities that come with being able to rent it. I’m lucky to be in that situation. Exploiting a massively skewed housing market at the expense of others is a very different ball game though, something I want no part of.

So you are still using that for financial gain egb81…

Temporary stability, financially and practically. The house was bought to live in. The opportunity has arisen to try something new, that may or may not work in the long run. If it works, I sell the house. If it doesn’t I move back into it. I still only own one home at a time. My future is stable, no one gets particularly exploited. Selling it and renting for a short time only to want to return would be daft.

Surely a BTL landlord is someone who buys a second/third etc home with the expressed interest of exploiting it for financial gain. This is a very different animal to those who inherit houses or rent them after moving in with a partner. I’m considering letting my house out so I can move abroad for a few years but I didn’t buy it just to do that. I’d be using the income to pay rent somewhere else. If I were to buy a new place I’d sell the old one.

I didn’t get much riding in this year due to injury but my favourite outing of the year was the LVIS Audax in biblical weather.

I’ve done both on NYE. I hated Amsterdam as it’s full of the aforementioned pricks getting stoned and asking where the red-light district is. It’s also pretty expensive.

Oslo is silly prices for beers out but I went to a house party with my friends who live over there and it was, well, a house party. With the right people that’s not a bad option though.

I’d take the house party in Oslo any day, then head over to Bergen on the train for a few days.

Cheers for confirming. I’ve heard that you can run 11sp chainset with 10sp so wondered if the front mech was fine as well.

Meeting Tinker Jaurez at Newnham World Cup

He peaked too early with the Wire. Once you’ve been an integral part of one of the greatest TV shows ever made it’s mostly downhill from there. Same goes for Dominic West.

183 front and rear

Cheers for the heads up.

Established Middle Class, presumably because I enjoy both Mobb Deep and Billie Holiday and I don’t rent.

Stick an old saddle on the post then whack the nose from the side with a lump hammer. You’ll destroy the saddle, possibly the post as well but it’s pretty effective.

Once you get your brace off, if you have access to a pool, swimming is a good way to work your leg and keep up some cardio fitness. It also has the added bonus of allowing you to look crazy if you fancy doing hydrotherapy exercises in a public baths.

Strange that they put you in a cast, I was told that was old school style and the braces were much better. I was braced from the start (mid May 1st surgery) and for about six weeks (end of June, coinciding with my first physio session). I only got it off that early due to following the consultant’s guidance with incredibly strict adherence. The risk I had was, due to the severity of the fracture (severely comminuted), if the brace came off too early then there was a good chance my quads, hamstrings and calf muscles would tear my knee cap to pieces again.

The bruising took months to go down on my knee and it extended half way to my foot. I recommend getting a reusable ice pack to help with the swelling, you can pick them up for about a fiver from any chemist. I got one that slides into a pouch that you can wrap around, which is pretty useful.

I’m on the physio trail six months after shattering mine. Just been able to get back on a bike again in the last few weeks. Mine was a particularly messy break though and had a huge amount of metal in it to hold it all together. I was braced at full extension for about six weeks. I could, and was encouraged, to weight bear straight away. I could only walk about 20m at first but gradually I could walk a mile or two with crutches. I’d recommend you do exactly as you’re told by the consultants. By being a good patient I got the brace off early, which was a god send. Take all physio offered. Mine has been excellent. Physio, hydrotherapy and specialist sport therapy all through the NHS. I had to have a second surgery to take the metal work back out at the end of October and since then I’ve regained about 3/4 of my normal range of movement, albeit without the strength to do a lot of things normally. Work hard at the physio and you’ll be rewarded. Set yourself goals and try and stay active. I worked on my upper body the best I could and it kept me entertained while I was off work (four and a half months!). Still got a long way to go but aiming to be back mountain biking in January. Any queries, feel free to pm me. Good luck and try not to enjoy the prescription painkillers too much.

The centre of Bristol isn’t that bad. The traffic is awful but if you commute by bike then you don’t have to worry about that. It’s got all year round trails right on the doorstep (Ashton Court, Leigh Woods), south Wales, the Mendips, Quantocks, Cotswolds close by. The white men with dreads can be easily avoided if you just live somewhere that isn’t Stokes Croft, Montpellier or Easton and even if you do accidentally trip over one, they’re harmless enough (though their dog crap is annoying).

Bristol is great, though property prices are getting silly (dependent on your view of silly prices).

This frame has a BB30 and BB92 bottom bracket as well as 650b and 29er wheels. How very niche!
http://www.asiancyclexpress.com/free-shipping-29er-carbon-hardtail-disc-brake-qr-mountain-bicycle-frames-fm129

You lose a few gears at the top end that you’d only use on wide, smooth, flat out descents and a few from the bottom end that you only need if you’re a bit of a mincer. You’re left with a much simpler set up that’s lighter and still has all the gears you really need. Win all round.

I’ve got a Vista Chino (used to be Kyuss) shirt on but it’s only a few years old. Casual dress at my work but I don’t think I’d get away with my moth-eaten Metallica shirt from the mid 90’s.

He isnt the best boxer the heavyweight world has ever seen but was doing a number on Lewis before the cut stopped him

That was Vitali.

True, but have you ever seen an interview with Hopkins? It isn’t going to debate anything, she’d throw out a few sound bites and then the ‘debate’ would be all about her and her views, not the actual topic (which is what she wants).

I’d like to think that she’d act according to the setting, i.e. not just being an attention whore when in an academic space. Perhaps I’m a little optimistic.

Surely the point of a debate is that people actually engage in debate, rather than just ignore the alternative view, however stupid.

I’ve been eying up a pair of 7 iDP Covert pads. Removable hard knee cup so would be handy for both trail and more hardcore duties. Anyone got a pair?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/7-idp-covert-knee/rp-prod115854

North Bristol Cycling Club (NBCC) are a sociably paced road club. Big club runs go from Bradley Stoke on Sundays. The Cheesy Riders for MTB and road jaunts.

You’re far better off heading north or east from Fishponds, rather than cycling to the other side of the city.

+1

Get off at Oldland common near Victoria Rd, head across high st and up Redfield Hill, left down Beach Hill, then towards Beach but turn left onto Oldbury Lane, follow to A420. Turn right then left and follow road to Doynton then onto Durham and Hinton, loop back to Puckle Church and then get back on cycle track to Fishponds.

That’s eerily close to one of my quick winter night routes. Some of the roads can be filth around Beach when it’s been raining a lot as it all runs off the fields. Otherwise it’s nice out that way.

Pucklechurch – Hinton is a good start but I’d head out to Castle Combe then head back via Ashwicke – Marshfield – West Littleton. Plenty of hills, lots of quiet roads, though might be a bit longer than you wanted. The A46 is an awful road.

Vennart – The Demon Joke
Marriages – Salome
Little Dragon – Nabuma Ruberband

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

The Cheesy Riders facebook page has rides posted up. Quicker/more technical rides are usually on Monday nights in Leigh Woods, slower paced often on Friday. Other rides posted up ad hoc. Very friendly bunch. If you’re free tomorrow morning, the Bristol Bike Jumble outside Mud Dock at 12pm is a good place to meet riders. Ask for Mark (he’s basically a giant and a lot of people know him).

Stanton Switchback Ti

If the customers do not initiate the conversation you keep mute! Simple!

Sarcasm?

I can imagine a load of LBS workers wanting to flog the latest £3k enduro bike but keeping schtum when a customer comes in as they don’t want to be seen as a pervert.

I’ve been riding for 20odd years and there’s plenty of riders out there that keep my ego in check by storming past me like I’m not even moving. Just ride and enjoy it and if you’re worried about people on your back wheel, let others go first or let them past at a suitable point. It’s pretty poor etiquette for them to be basically buzzing your back tyre but it’s equally annoying having your hard earned descent wasted behind a stubborn mincer.

Any decent D-Lock, with cable extension, locked properly; i.e. frame and rear wheel together to immovable object leaving minimum wiggle room then using the extender cable to secure the front wheel.

Ultimately if someone wants to knick it, they will but locking it properly deters the vast majority of thieves who’re opportunistic rather than professional.

I hadn’t put the cog on.

Oh, that’s evil. Like a reveal chess move. You slap your forehead, and chuckle, and say to yourself, “ah well, I’ll just take the lock nut off and….”

…Boom! It hits you.

A lot of swearing and a set of mole grips finally rectified the situation. Well, the mole grips did, I’m not sure the f-bombs really did much to help.

When converting my old bike to single-speed, I slid the spacers onto the freehub, tightened up the lock nut then realised I hadn’t put the cog on.

I bought a cheap folding scooter off ebay and it’s been a god and since I’ve been off the bike. 6km commute in 30min, quicker than the bus, so much better for my sanity and pays for itself after a few weeks.