I’m a burger man as my “junk food” meal of choice, gun to my head. The beyond meat or impossible burgers are really delicious.

I like the currently trendy smash burger style though. so what I do is take a beyond burger, cut it in half and roll up each one into a ball and then smash each on the pan so its thin and gets crispy edges. Slice of fake cheese on each one and both go into the bun.

The GT off piste trails are amazing fun, best in the whole place imho. Thunderstruck is getting some work done to it hopefully to improve the drainage by the looks of it…one of my favourite trails for a “not quite golfie” experience.

I wonder if my XC bike is a downcountry hardtail. I hope so…

It’s a light 29er with fast-ish tires and 75mm slammed stem, but a 120mm fork and a decently tall head-tube so it doesn’t feel slammed, just looks it.

@nicko74 – Haha thankfully not. Nice to have it back and up & running with the new kit on it…I wonder if “But I just bought a new Rivel mech!” would have worked on the coppers had it come to that.

Bonus info: After the recent weather (pollen aplenty and then damp repeat ad infinitum) my bike was incredibly sticky all over. At least I hope the weather was the cause.

Sor all concerned parties – many thanks for your help firstly, and secondly an update:

My bike has been stolen succesfully. Actually amazed at how easy it is to cut those grey Kryptonite locks with just a hacksaw. Took maybe 2 minutes all in. No untoward looks or anyone there at all to be quite honest, so I can’t imagine I will be getting a visit from the 5-0 any time soon.

In fact, if I did I would be incredibly annoyed as I’ve never heard of anyone in the past few years actually getting caught. Perhaps I could frame it as some kind of social performance art about police budgets.

@kormoran – given I am also in Edinburgh and this is kinda tucked away in Leith that is encouraging. I suppose I have photos of it on my phone etc if I get grief for it.

@goldfish24 – It’s a Kryptonite lock, one of the mid price grey ones. I have a second one with keys that look identical but seemingly they don’t work…guess I will be pinching the work angle grinder.

Magpies are up there with my favourite birds – they’re a total nuisance with their squawking voice in the early morning, but it’s fun to watch them busy about in the garden doing magpie things. They’re pretty much the only bird we get in our garden.

Last year I was watching one come and go burying a bunch of stuff in one un-used corner of the raised bed. Once it was done, I went out to see and there were 3 big giant BBQ marshmallows buried there. I left a bit of crushed up biscuit and some rocks there and they were gone the next morning but alas they have not returned with better gifts.

Echoing others here:

I have Ritchey WCS +/- 5 degree bars on mine cut to 720mm, there is a decent enough amount of back-sweep at least with how I have them set up. I really like them, they’re alloy but they weirdly look and feel like carbon to touch and in stiffness. Very comfy position for me at least whilst still being “flat” XC bars.

Another nice point is that the clamping point has a strip of textured paint around it, which adds some nice friction for fitting easier. They look tekkers and racy as well.

“Gravel socks” does get a bit of a cynical chuckle out of me I have to admit. A lot of stuff that is “gravel” does seem to be the same as roadie or MTB kit, but in Olive Green. Because gravel cycling is the “bushcraft” of the riding world.

I replaced my POC Tectal after 4 years juts a few weeks ago. It was totally fine in the shell, but starting to look grubby with scratches and ingrained dirt that wouldn’t wash out, and the retention system system was starting to stiffen. Still useable though as a spare.

TBH I change my helmet when I see a cool new one that I think would look nice. Maybe like once every 2-3 years anyway.

Some Leatt jerseys have little pockets on them (I think for lift passes etc rather than snacks and tools). But they are expensive and are sized ridiculously. An XL jersey is about the same as an M T-shirt for me.

I get a lot of my MTB jerseys from Set Up these days. As you say they are basically just tech Ts, but they seem to fit me well and they are in a range of colours / designs whatever. They’re cheap as chips too compared to offerings from Fox, Royal, whatever else. No pockets though.

Problem with having a jersey with pockets (for me) is that it doesn’t work very well *unless* it is roadie tight. I find the stuff in my pockets just shifts around and sways unless its held tight against the body…and it pulls the front tight against the body anyway if you have enough stuff in there, which is kinda uncomfy.

I only just watched series 1 a couple weeks ago, not what I was really expecting it to be based on the iPlayer graphic. I thought it was gonna be a lot more straight laced Line of Duty style. I really enjoyed it and looking forward to watching S2.

I have a bit of thing for “scary organised crime crossing boundaries” kinda thing at the moment. Just finished Kin as well which was ridiculous but good fun and pretty tense.

Edited reply – missed point of post! Ignore!

The answer is yes.

Caveat: my cat is great craic. We adopted her when she was 3 from an old lady who couldn’t look after her any more.

She had never been outside before and even though we did experiment she was not very comfortable with it so she is quite content hanging out inside. Also, she is built like a melted wheely bin compared to other lithe outdoor cats and would get her ass kicked regularly by the big cats roaming around. She is thick as mince too, so would undoubtedly be flattened within a week.

She was kinda “curvy” when we first got her, and its taken about 2 years to get her to an actual healthy weight. She doesn’t really like playing too much despite endless toys and attempts, outside of her mad hour when she runs up and down the stairs making weird yowling noises.

Her favourite thing to do is just come and sit with us, or bask by the window upstairs. Every night at about 10.30 she comes and herds me to bed. Even the cat foster lady and various cat sitters said she is remarkably lazy and chilled. Her favourite food is the cheapest Go-Cat indoor low-cal biscuits, and sometimes ham.

Doesn’t display any anxious behaviour or unhappiness really and always gets a clean bill of health from the vet. Can still jump the equivalent of about 3 storeys when she wants to though. Mad wee things, cats. I love her with all of my heart.

Vittoria Mezcals are basically gravel tires anyway – you can get them in 2.1in width. They feel bloody fast for MTB tires.

I wish I understood this stuff. Can I just buy a share and make money in the next 24H? Haha

@poah – I don’t think I would necessarily compare them like that. There is one little section of HBR that made me pause for thought (the rock roll half way down the front that’s short but steeeeeeep – avoidable on the bike too IIRC) but otherwise HBR is way easier to find flow on due to it’s shallow gradient. I found it more just janky rather than full on committing and scary.

Top Chief I went comparatively early into my MTB career a couple years ago after watching YouTubers like McTrail Rider absolutely nailing it with the GoPro effect. I pretty much walked 75% of the slabs. I think I’d like to give it a go again as I can mince down the Laggan Black well enough these days (Though I don’t think I will ever ride Air’s Rock).

@thekingisdead – you’re right, I’m just using steam as a catch all word. There are no leaks or anything as per our annual boiler service and nothing seems to have changed. There are no other outlets no…although it is not floored solidly, there are a couple paving slabs and it’s just earth or foundation material in there. It does feel humid and warm when I open it on hot days.

@soundninjauk – thanks! Hoping it achieves the goods. Trying not to moan too much in front of my wife as she will be getting jagged up left right and centre…but yeah was hoping to have a good summer of riding! thought about an Asgard but probably easier just to use what I have tbh! And cheaper.

@montgomery – you may be onto something

@thekingisdead – Yeah I suppose that makes sense, I thought maybe warm steam going through it might increase condensation or something but I am not particularly knowledgeable with these things. The door is pretty solid with no real gaps or anything so must be the ventilation.

I would say in warmer months it is worse. I took it out at the weekend and there was beads of water on the bike, whereas in winter it can just feel a bit clammy.

Reckon I could just get a big drill bit and drill some holes in the door (maybe cover with mesh that you can’t see through)?

@stumpy01 – I might manage the odd ride  is the thing. It’s actually because we are doing IVF and I’ve been told that I shouldn’t sit on a bike saddle much until it works or doesn’t (timescale still not particularly clear, could be a couple months could be just a few weeks)…so may get a chance for some little low risk skills sessioning to keep me sharp, but certainly no big days out climbing or anything. Otherwise yeah I would just disassemble and store it for a few months.

We took the big blue coach (sorry cant remember the name, but there are berths for them outside the terminal) from the Airport to Trinity College. It was contactless payment with the ticket man at the stall outside, and cost 10 Euro for a single. Took about 15-20 minutes I think.

I believe the smaller / double decker city bus style ones are cheaper but not sure of contactless on them and they probably take longer.

Well, I have been officially / unofficially signed off bike riding for the time being by medical professionals…or at least to avoid spending time sitting in a saddle. This is actually for a good reason as my SO and I are getting ready to start our first round of IVF treatment. The link is pretty debated between cycling and fertility in males I think, but as that’s what the doctor ordered I want to make sure I do not bugger ANYTHING up as we only get 3 free goes at it.

Obviously riding has been great for my mental health and a bit of an escape over the past few months of appointments etc, but I must admit I didn’t even think about that side of things!

So I will be running henceforth. I’ve always liked how faff-free it is but never really done it often enough to not feel like my legs aren’t going to shatter into pieces.

I am relatively fit cardio/lungs wise, it is just my legs that I am not fit. The first few runs I am always sore with actual niggly pain rather than DOMS and have to take it slow…haven’t quite figured out my warm up strategy just yet. I often feel best if I just start jogging rather than taking ages to warm up.

I developed hayfever in the past 3 years or so. First dry hazy weekend of the year it feels like I am swimming rather than walking. Yesterday was really tough – beautiful sunny hazy day but my eyes were on fire and my nose was streaming all day. Antihistamines help a little bit but only when it started raining late afternoon did I start to feel better.

Was mad, the cars on our street were all covered with a yellow powdery patina from all the pollen. One of those days where being inside didn’t really help much either!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. ALL of my friends love it, I can’t stand it.

In my personal experience – I have has 2 sets of Fulcrum wheels for road gravel (Racing 5 rim brake I think, and Racing DB Sport perhaps) as well as currently owning a set of Red Zone 5s for my hardtail. The hubs seem to wear out incredibly quickly on them all. I got my HT wheels last October I think and they’re already rumbly and rough sounding.

Gonna go against the grain here and offer the hipster opinion that the best mayo is the Japanese Kewpie stuff. Hard to find but it is a little different…it has MSG in it.

Would it be too emo of me to say Jimmy Eat World?

I got into them as I was “coming of age” into music when Bleed American came out and I loved it – same energy as pop punk but felt more “adult” somehow and I still listen regularly. After that, Futures was also a fantastic album if not a little on the soft side at times. I got into their previous album Clarity a few years later and it’s up there as one of the greats. Some of the live show footage from that era gives me chills, so much energy!

Ever since Futures though, I’ve tried to like them but they have slowly just turned into a kind of soft-rock indie pop band. They were never super super punk (more punk for the sad middle class in plaid shirts) – but they’ve lost any kind of big “rocky” sound that they once had.

I’m gonna say it generally works best when a particular shape is matched to the right sauce. But overall – it is Rigatone and Spaghetti.

When I was younger (like 8), my favourite foods were macaroni cheese and spaghetti bolognaise. I announced weeks in advance that I wanted to cook macaroni cheese but with spaghetti instead, and figured this was a masterstroke. Spent weeks thinking about it. When the time finally came and my Mum got all the stuff ready or me, we cooked it together and it was not the championship meeting of two worlds I was expecting.

I didn’t know about the pro edition – mine is just the standard I am guessing then, as around the front it just has rucksack-style webbing. The Pro looks comfier too.

I go from loving my Arvada saddle where it feels like it was made personally for my bumbones one ride, to absolutely loathing it the next ride as my delicate parts turn numb after ten minutes of fireroad hauling. I’ve not narrowed it down to any specific shorts / bibs combo either.

I kinda thought they’d get more involved with the spin bike side of things which can be fairly lucrative

I’ve done this a few times on Shimano and Sram brakes. Obviously I need some kind additional focus when doing bike maintenance, I am the king of doing silly mistakes.

But yeah as others say they are fine as long as you wipe it off basically. Caused me zero issues. I’d imagine if they were unsafe to come out, there would be some kind of flange at the back to prevent this.

I really enjoyed it apart from a few moments (the ending was totally out of whack that’s all I’ll say).

It is basically a character study of photojournalists, borrowing elements well from the book The Bang Bang Club (very interesting and harrowing read apart Kevin Carter et al). Really doesn’t delve into the politics or even the war in general really…kind of a road movie with a few brutal stop-offs.

That being said – I can’t quite reconcile why Garland decided that an American Civil War would be the best setting, rather than just any war…as that doesn’t really come into it much at all. Although I suppose it still gets you thinking about the possibility, and for Americans seeing some of the fighting going on around national monuments like that must be quite striking.

The sound was the best part for me. Those gunshots in the cinema were so loud and jarring.

Also Jesse Plemons almost kicked off my own fight or flight response watching his scene, dude is solid at his job. Apparently his role was initially meant to go to Oscar Isaac, but he pulled out due to scheduling and Plemons was on set with Dunst just hanging out and they gave him the part instead. Can’t imagine Oscar Isaac being the dude to play that character.

@dave_h – I did that…What’s the point in forums if you cant post there asking for help with something you didn’t know before? Not exactly ruining these guys days by forcing them to reply.

@cerrado-tu-ruido – brilliant thanks for that!

Cheers folks. I’ve gone through life thinking all forms have a standard offset, despite constantly faffing around with brake setups etc. must have always got it right by sheer luck.

My first bike as an “adult” back in 2016 or so was a gifted Claud Butler 531 steel thing, with friction shifters and 53/42 and 11-21 I think.

Stunning bike but absolutely brutal to climb anything on. Pretty sure I remember having to get off and have a rest half way up Arthurs Seat. I’m sure most of that was because I was a wannabe powerlifter at that point and hadn’t done anything resembling cardio in a few years, but still. Makes me chuckle now thinking about having a 34/34 lowest gear on my road bike.

Did you go?

My first foray to the Golfie was absolutely terrifying a couple years ago – I hadn’t ridden anything of that kind of gradient before only trail centre type stuff. Started off on NYNY and thought I was hot sh*t because the top open part and the first 50m in the forest were fun and manageable, but then the steep corners and chutes started and I think I must have walked at least 50 percent of the trail. Was hard to imagine how anyone could ride it tbh!

Flat White was better, but still felt like a whole new level of riding.

After a fair bit of practice I now do a fair bit better. Right Side Clyde is one of my favourite trails now.

Interesting how bikes are getting 10mm more travel every 2 or 3 years. My first MTB was a 2016 Giant Stance that I got second hand and it was 27.5 with 120mm on either end…then they went to 130mm a couple years ago and now it’s a regular old trail bike.

Does Giant have a “downcountry” style offering in the works? Anthem Evo or something?

I’m the opposite – I struggle with SPDs when I’m mountain biking. I have them on my XC Hardtail which is generally fine and they’re way better for hammering it on the climbs and flats, but I can feel quite uneasy on sustained descents. I think I like the feeling of my “whole foot” being supported by flat pedals, whereas on SPDs I sometimes feel like I am balancing the ball of my foot on a needle, even though my shoes are very stiff. Dropping the heel feels quite insecure, even though I know they’re ratcheted up tight and will not come out.

Perhaps a flat enduro pedal with SPD clips would help with this, but I am stubborn in wanting to get better at the XC style!

I have never really had many crashes on my bikes, but the majority of them come from messing up techy climbs whilst clipped in haha.

All text in the forum seems to be in bold typeface for me?

@blokeuptheroad – kinda sounds like a weird version of synaesthesia. I have a thing where numbers and days of the week are all different colours and it’d really clear in my mind. Like if someone says Friday I always get the colour brown in my head, or Wednesday is pink.

4 is orange..!