Life’s too short. You’re right, you’ve answered your own question. Nothing in your post suggests you would be better of staying where you are, so you know what you have to do.

I have no idea who I look like and nobody has ever said I look like anyone else.

I tend to just bleed into the background. Utterly forgettable 😥

Once got off a Korean Air flight to NZ. Going through customs with loads of Korean’s, a man next to me shouts out “Bruce Willis”!!! Everybody turned and camera flashes started going off. Very embarrassing!

Did you get any photos of him?

This thread needs comparative photos really.

Its OK, chalky and rooty, so dont bother if its raining*

*unless you’re good at riding a bike / have cut wetscreams.

I’m biased cause I am a committee member at Aston.

Riding it in the wet isn’t easy but then DH isn’t supposed to be easy. It requires finesse and skill to master the DH runs in the wet.

Practice there enough and you’ll learn how to find and use the grip.

I think it’s about expectations with films sometimes. To pick one example Lost In Translation. I was looking forward to being blown away as so many folk rated it, but it was just boring, in my opinion. Perhaps that was what they were after ?

I agree with this. In fact Mark Kermode often talks about audience expectation and has some interesting theories on believing we like certain films when in fact, we don’t.

Good thread this. If nothing else it just confirms (what we already know) that film is utterly subjective.

So many films in peoples lists that I absolutely adore. I could never argue with anyones point of view of course because of the subjectivity.

I’m never surprised to see that so many hate Lost in Translation though, despite the fact I really loved it. Great film.

12.9

my fingers hurt.

Not on the fast day… too many calories for too little nutrition.

Low calorie so you can eat a lot of them.

We must get our science from different sources. 😉

Could you eat the crayons?

Low calorie so you can eat a lot of them.

i think i could do a one-on-one-off pattern. i’m going to maybe possibly commit to giving it a try.

Could you do that for the rest of your life though?

I’m certainly tempted by trying the easier 5-2 ratio as not eating for a couple of days during the week whilst at work wouldn’t be too difficult.

Initially he fasted for three and half days. Then it was suggested he try a one on, one off ratio but he didn’t think he could commit to it. So he opted for 5 – 2 instead.

does the 2 days restricted calories have to be consecutive?

No. He didn’t do it that way anyway.

Anyone tempted to try the fast for 2 days thing? Didn’t he lose almost a stone in a five week period after doing it?

Just because I saw it yesterday. ‘Goon’ is absolutely bloody awful. Steer well clear.

Love Film is great but I do end up adding all sorts of crap to my list.

My all time most hated film is Batman and Robin. Even as a 12 year old comic book fan I was devastated when I went to see it. No words can quite describe just how terrible it actually is.

Well that was a good read.

After reading every page it’s quite simple to sum up in my mind really.

Bunch of belligerent folk want to uphold some notion of ‘rights’ in order to cause a fuss and antagonise for the pure sake of it when they could have just gone somewhere else for one night and avoided a rather nasty and needless confrontation.

Rather unnecessary

Absolutely, and purposefully so.

Why can’t people just respectfully disagree and then put forward their opinion and thoughts. I can’t fathom why someone can become so angered by someones opinion on something so menial that rather than say they just disagree, they have to display their anger that you would dare to have an opinion slightly differing to theirs.

So, my response was purposefully belligerent because I could find no logical reason why he would get so angered and upset that my opinion clearly didn’t run in line with his.

Sorry if I’m taking you out of context here, but surely for some athletes just getting to the games is a massive achievement, and whilst they may have goals (getting in the top ten, making the final, whatever), getting a medal will not be a realistic aim.

Slightly out of context yes. I’ve heard a few athletes before their event say they are ‘just pleased to be there’. That reminds me of the sort of thing I used to say to my dad when I used to race motocross. If I was convinced I wasn’t going to do well or didn’t like the track etc I’d normally say to him ” i’ll be pleased if I can just get to the end of this one”.

It might be unrealistic to assume you can/will win but resigning yourself to the fact you definitely can’t isn’t a good approach. Of course it’s an achievement to get to the Olympics but now you’re there have self belief. Who knows what could happen?

The talent of an athlete is the will to succeed , the will to win and the drive and work ethic that comes with that. Few people have that sort of mind-set. It’s a talent as far as I’m concerned.

Horsecrap, suicide rates would be unbelievably high in atheletes if they were hell bent on being the best and couldn’t deal with not being world number 1. What about domestiques? How do you explain their existence with your crap logic? There are hundreds of excellent tennis players and golfers who make money out of the sport but know that they will never be quite the same standard as Federer or Woods etc.

Touched a nerve by the looks of it there Bwaarp.

I’m assuming you are shit at an awful lot of things to be satisfied with failure.

There there, never mind.

No it isn’t, you can work as hard as the man next to you but if your genes are not as good you may end up losing out on a medal.

Let me guess. You’re short, fat with stumpy legs, oversized head, small feet, small hands, small…..

If you try a bmx you’ll see how much easier they are to get up in the air

I’m sure they are. I always worry how sketchy they are once your are up though.

The British 4X national series is tiny compared to the national and even regional BMX racing, but is a lot of fun and much more laid back/friendly. Check out http://www.british4x.com.

Yeah, I went to a round at Leamington Spa to take a look earlier this year. Good atmosphere and good fun to watch.

Just race your mtb, I did a few times. I even won a race on it once.

I would but all I have is a Nukeproof Scalp and Spesh Camber. I don’t think either of those would do anything for me in a 4X race.

Periodontitis. Its extremely common. It leads to premature teeth loss. Look it up and go see someone to get treated.

As far as I can tell I have no symptoms of this. Not yet anyway. Sounds horrible.

The pain comes from the few areas where my gums have receded and have revealed small areas of the root of certain teeth. When something touches that area – toothbrush, ice cream, cold drinks it is painful, literally like touching the nerve.

I certainly don’t have gingivitis, bleeding or sensitive gums etc.

Regardless, a dental appointment has been made this morning and I’ll be investing in an electric toothbrush. Thanks for the info folks.

The superstar grips are great for riders with big hands. I got 5 sets of them from Fort William World cup (fiver a set).

Thin grips give me terrible arm pump when downhilling. These grips remedied it.

None smoker.

I rarely floss to be honest. Occasionally at best.

Cheers folks. Great feedback.

I’m definitely going to give it a go. I miss the bar-to-bar action with proper racing and it will be good to learn some new skills, plus I’ve got a few decent BMX tracks nearby for practice.

Incidentally, I personally do find downhill bikes jump well because of their stability in the air but then I come from a motocross background so I’m used to the weight and stability they offer.

Me at this years DH WC at Fort Bill…. Also hunting bears.

I’m based in the South East.

I can jump but it’s just something I need to work on and be more confident with. Motocross and DH has enabled me to jump but I’d never say it’s something I’m naturally comfortable with. I’ve never ridden a small hardtail so have no real frame of reference for how easily they jump. A full on DH rig makes it easy, likewise with an MX bike.

Disagree… Yes they should be proud to be able to aim to be the best but the bottom line is, not everyone is going to win and if you distill a sport down to first place being the only thing worth competing for, and everything else being devastating failure, then all you do is make less successes.

I agree they didn’t need to apologise. What has anyone here done to get them into the Olympics? It’s their graft and hard work, not mine.

If you’re an athlete in any sport then your aim should be to be the best. That’s what makes these people stand out from mere mortals like you and I. There absolute determination and will to succeed whereby second is meaningless and first is all that matters.

To compete at the highest level of a sport, do your best, and take home bronze is an achievement so far above what most people will ever contemplate. Not something to apologise for.

And that’s the point. They are not ‘most’ people. They are the best of the best in their discipline. Winning should be all that matters to them. It’s what sets them apart.

I despair when any athlete says ‘it’s great just to be here’.

They need to get a crack on, a storm is fast approaching. Don’t want to break the momentum Murray has built up.

Shortened that for you….

It’s not just in sport that we need more of that sort of attitude!

I agree totally.

I designed all the signs/art work for CW.

I had to carry out an awful lot of site visits and I was always underwhelmed and surprised why it would ever call itself an ‘attraction’.

Some of it is pretty grim… Like Percy and Simpson earlier today, apologising for only getting silver. “We feel so bad for everyone watching and supporting.” That’s a ropey state of affairs, sure they could have taken gold and maybe were expected to but any medal at this level is a huge achievement. “Sorry we’re only the second best in the entire world”

I’m glad they were so devastated with Silver. It demonstrates their absolute determination and drive for success. We need more of that sort of the attitude in the UK when it comes to sport.

When people are happy, however fleetingly, they rarely do wrong to their fellow man.
It is this that helps change things for the better on a national level.

I agree with this sentiment but it is, as you say, fleeting. Whilst it would be nice to think there will be something long standing after all this, I do think this feeling of collective happiness/pride etc will come to a grinding halt once the closing ceremony is over.

As you were and back in line. Would be great if that wasn’t the case and would love to be proven wrong but I cannot see any legacy beyond the games.

The crying like babies thing, Adlington pleading behind teary eyes for the public to understand how hard it is to medal in swimming and everything being ‘unbelievable’ and ‘amazing’ have annoyed me, but other than that I’ve enjoyed it.

I’m waiting for one of the track side beeb presenters to get angry if tears aren’t forthcoming. It will happen.

Surprisingly my Scalp has been used more than anything else recently.

I guess I’m lucky. Mr’s Image loves cycling as much as me. She’s got herself a nice little Spesh Camber and encourages me to buy bikes and kit.

I mentioned last night that I fancied giving 4X a go and she started looking at frames and forks for me to buy.

Track tickets all gone now. Missed out by seconds.

annoyed.

It is incredibly exciting and I am chuffed that we as a nation are absolutely stamping down our authority in all forms of cycling.

Forget Football being the national sport, Cycling in any form is where we should be focusing our energies and spending our hard earned on.

Imagine every town having a velodrome where a football ground used to be.

I got one for my wife last Christmas, she’s a keen photographer and thought she’d enjoy the novelty and potential for some experimentation.

She didn’t. The photographs weren’t great and it has since been boxed up and stuck in a drawer.

If you want it you can have it for a tenner.

Every silver NP I’ve seen has been the same to be honest. Some just slightly less noticeable than others.

Both the black and Silver are anodized and the Yellow painted. I think it looks alright to be honest. It rides brilliant regardless.