balanced by the brilliance of Tim Dowling

Grab this pair of binoculars,look away to the horizon and you might just catch a glint of brilliance.

This is how far Tim Dowling is away from it. {insert banjo player joke here}

;-) :-)

The Graduate

(which would have been on telly –>> video rental<<–

On the big screen,probably one of these…hard to choose though

Leon

True Romance

Run Lola Run

Pulp Fiction

I think, cause the world hates lefties ;-) most trad wooden ones are right handed. The leading wing is longer and you hold the short wing flat side to your palm. If there is any wind it gets launched at 45%  to the direction of the wind . It it’s too windy all bets are off as to where it will land :-)

There is always one that lives in the back of our car.Have had it for years and at the time it was the biggest wooden one that they had in the shop ( 40cmx45cm wings). It takes some launching ,but I now have the knack ,and as long as it’s not too windy I can land it at my feet* most throws,very satisfying. #suchasimplepleasure :-)

* I have never,ever tried to catch it..would break yir blinkin fingers

Any magnet success stories?

Too many to mention,but the best ones were when (yet again) I thought I would work on a bike over the grass,because ,you know,it was only a five minute job.

All praise the God of magnetism.

So yes ,to all that haven’t already got one stuck to a shelf somewhere in your shed/workshop, get an old hard drive one. :)

I am doing ‘photo a day’ this year,so I always have a camera or phone with me . The one thing I love most ,is it makes me slow down,stop and look around more than usual,not so much for that ‘perfect image’ but just as a reminder that there is often beauty everywhere.

:-)

When I have a seatbag on I use one of the Moon Cerberus lights,it mounts really well on the seatstays,has a super bright pulse and a long run time.

Even when the usual post mount light goes back on I leave the Cerberus in place as a reserve.

I bought a Ti Camino as a gravel bike,but it now does a lot of road miles as my winter bike and tourer.

With a choice of wheels,it’s close (for me) to being a perfect doitall.

This was one of the main reasons I bought it, the bigger tyre clearances just gives you more options if needed.

Never noticed the geo on the road,but then I am not trying to do chaingang speeds #adaptordie. :-)

Nice one.

“I love it when a plan comes together”

Well done.

My cousin used to be a ghost buster.

She would spend nights in buildings with one of the ( I can’t remember which) Edinburgh Uni paranormal groups.

Loads of camera and sound equipment recording all night.

They never got anything ,other than some strange white noise type bursts on one of the mics.

She loved it though and had some great stories from some of the property owners.

The main thing is… don’t let them shorten your life expectancy ;-)

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/aug/21/toxic-people-avoiding-them-real-secret-longevity

Forecast looking better for next week.

Are there details of the  road closures ,I plan to park an ride from near Melrose.

“No effin way,is that Liz Truss?”

What’s your budget.

How old was the Prime wheel,it could just have been a duff machine( or human) build.

There are always sets of Gravel/CX wheels being sold after folk upgrade,if your not fussed about weight.

You could start the ride from the Fleetwood* end of Blackpool, plenty of free parking around there.

* not Fleetwood itself obvs,or you would have no car to come back to. ;-) :-)

What car?

Regardless of the brand,any tailgaters would be top of the list,but in a strong second place would be E-MX riders ,like the one on a Surron that hooned past me and small dog on the river path this morning.

Their ride, along with their balaclava, would be fast tracked to the nearest crusher.

On a lighter note..

If

Have you been

Tickled

By TJ

?

T shirts and merchandise were available* ,

I truly believe he could afford that cottage ,much much sooner. :-)

@a fair price.

reassured in knowing that social services are taking an interest in the situations of solo child tourists who might put themselves in risky situations and what their parents are doing to maintain their responsibility.

this^^

Now the original notification may have come from a genuinely concerned family/person or a complete muppet that( for many reasons) just wants to wind things up and cause the child’s family to have a hard time.

If any of the (many) services that deal with child protection get a notification that a child may be at risk,it’s their duty to check the details.

If you work in any of these agencies  ( or your partner does), you know that with any intervention, they are often ‘damned if they do too much or damned if they don’t’.

It’s all I have ever ridden/raced.

You do get into the habit of ‘riding light’ and constantly scanning for the best lines.

Big tyres can help take the edge off and (for me)tubeless pressures (with inserts) has been a game changer .

I do feel more battered after a long day out,but a hardtail or gravel bike have been my only options.

As I am knocking on a bit now ,I have been looking at some carbon, short travel,full suss frames.

I started work at 15.

Kids nowadays,etc,etc :)

OP.

No idea what you have done,but you made me think of the opening scene in KillingEve where she wakes up screaming after sleeping on her arm all night,much hilario, so thanks for that. :-)

I hope Surly now up their game.

#moodyglare4tehwin

Heart check point for para gliders?

No mention of Kisimul Castle in Castlebay on the isle of Barra?

I thought it looked a bit sad and lost out there in the bay,like a wee abandoned prison.

It’s Dunnottar for me,a cell with an open wall and a floor with a slope towards the cliff/death ,also one of the best views from a public toilet.

:)

I wouldn’t. :(

Leave the bikes oot on show.

#TJdissnaerideafixie

The sooner you buy that cottage out in the countryside, the better.

LoLz,etc,etc :)

I hope they supply  some proper lemonade

:-)

…stand at the back an ting

IHN and oceanskipper^^

Reported

:)

When I did site work,the company* used to moan about how much my boots cost (£150-200).

My reply/justification, was always that this was the set of footwear that I would be wearing for hours,most days ,every week, so I want something that is comfortable and fit for purpose.

I think it’s always a strange one that (some) people spend so much on ‘best ‘ shoes/boots that they often only wear for a few hours.

* bean counters :)

OP

Good luck and thanks for a birthday present idea for a friend.

I am lucky that I have the materials and headset* parts to make a tamper like that.

* not Chris King

As roverpig says, folk that nick wheels will be ‘tooled up’ for the occasion, so factory fitted locking nuts are not going to stop them.

Ask your dog.

Dogs are very smart and can sense when danger (and probes) are close.

#latetoanotherparty.. I may be one of the very few that has never watched Peaky Blinders, but am now going to give it a go after listening to the writer Steven Knight on Desert Island Disks. Even if you don’t fancy the series,his DID  is well worth a listen.

:)

They were pretty good originally, and then went downhill (off a cliff!) once bought out.

Yup,styling was always ‘ok’ but materials ( shorts) were lacking,same as Le Col kit.

Wheeflin  <– Those short and rapid breaths when first sitting on a cold toilet seat.

:)

Go on,stick your neck out and feed that desire for a soft touch. <<–  written by AL, Ai’s imaginary friend :-)

Yup,it’s a strange and wonderful place inside my head. ;-)

Yes – I very much see shapes and spaces. I can also look at a tech drawing like plans of a house and rotate it in my mind and not just see the shapes but the spaces left around the shapes. I am very much a visual person

TJ,having read a lot of your posts over the years , I have often wondered why you became a nurse rather than an engineer*, you clearly enjoy a lot of mechanical/engineering type stuff.

* probably a very annoying one. ;-) :-)

Few weeks ago I saw a passenger in a Yaris do a supermoon.

It did not make me disproportionately cross :)

That was a lonely hill to die on ,bet the next few days at home were lovely though (LoLz).

In another heading north story (Aberlour) ,we were all fighting in the back,so my dad threatened to leave me at the side of the road if we didn’t pack it in. Like your good self Frank,he felt he had to stand by his threat so dropped me off beside a gatehouse/drive of a large estate. When they drove off I upped the game by hiding in the woods behind the gatehouse (I kinda knew/prayed that they would return). I let them search a bit before making my appearance. What an absolute bollikin I got ,almost as big as the one that my dad got from mum …Happy days :-)