+1 for Denton House, nothing dodgy about it at all – just cheap and cheerful!

Oh, and a short amble to the pubs but thats probably not important anyway…

So that's not how stone-washed jeans are made then!?!

I'm probably about 12.5-13st kitted out, mine is at 175psi and that seems fairly plush to me. It goes quite a bit through the travel quite often, but its not harsh when it gets close to bottoming out. Seems just about right to me.

Enjoy!

Last night's curry was so so, Muttar Paneer and mushroom pilau but the rice was nothing special. Can anyone recommend a decent recipe for this?

P&M it is for grindage then..

Its Haweswater and Thirlmere that are the main problems now, they take a long time to refill. UU are pumping like crazy from Ullswater and Windermere (which this rain physically enables them to do) at a cost of 10s of thousands per day so hopefully this and the wet weather will mean the ban can be removed.

Think you're right though, more should be done to fix leaks! Having said that, UU have met their leakage targets for the last few years Apparently. Also, with the extremes of weather we're getting now (big floods then prolonged droughts), I think everyone should be obliged to have meters fitted. Guessing it would also give the water companies / regulators an idea of exactly how much is being used vs leaking away.

More importantly though, if I go out on my bike and going to get pi$$ wet through and covered in mud. Bloody rain..

What do folks use to grind up the spices? I was after a little electric job to powderise from seed but haven't found quite what I'm after.

Hmmm, curry powder (only) –> Indian fine dining?! Blindfold readied.. 😉

Damn it Cap'n, you've got me looking at more books while stroking my Waterstones gift card..

Hadn't thought of using my pizza stone for naans. Hmmm, I sense extra brownie points tonight…

(And apologies for the hijacking Hora!)

Damn it, bloody hungry now! Found this a while back too, haven't tried any though – apparently its for recreating that restuarant taste at home..
http://www.natco-online.com/acatalog/Holy_Grail.html

Home-made definitely the way to go, much tastier, doesn't take long and you get to have a cupboard that stinks of all sorts of weird s**t. Breads are all dead quick too.

A few here to be going on with..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/anjum_anand

Some good stuff in this one "Indian Food Made Easy" by Anjum Anand (BBC program not so long back. I've also got the "New Curry Bible" by Pat Chapman but that needs a bit more faffage.

I've foolishly said I'll make a curry for tea tonight..

+1 for Nike…

Nice work and great pics!

Ridden around there quite often but have tended to stick to the usual "Back O'Skiddaw" route using the mine tracks / Longlands / Dash Falls / Caldew, or up High Pike / Carrock. Will have to investigate the alternatives – look bloody good!

As above, ask her out for a coffee or similar, no pressure and you've got everything to gain, nothing to lose. Do it soon though, you don't want to be beating yourself up over it over the summer if you don't ask her! (and you've got the summer to recover if it doesn't work out)

Very best of luck, hope it goes well,

Andy.

Just had a brief thunderstorm in Carlisle, nothing to write home about though.

Ok, a more basic question…
Still got a big CRT telly until we get Freeview HD later in the year but needing a DVD player. Figure I may as well get something like that Sony mentioned way back but will it still work with my stone age tellybox?

EDIT – realise I won't be able to watch bluray yet!

+1 Joe Blow (I have the sport)

Another vote for Vivid in Keswick, well placed for Borrowdale, Whinlatter, Skiddaw etc. Cheap, cheerful and helpful. They had a big group of coast to coast folk in when we were there so they must be fairly well setup for groups of sweaty bikists. Think one of the guys there is a qualified guide too.

A.

They've probably seen about 15hrs use, maybe more, so Mojo said to try that first. The sponge seals were spotlessly clean though and not much crap on the dust seals either. How long did yours take to bed in Nick? I'm about 12st so have about 65-70psi to start with, compression 1 click above minimum and rebound various around the midpoint. Very, very annoying! Difficult to set the sag due to stiction though.

Cheers for the very useful link Foxy – had already memorised it before I started so figured I was just being a bit soft!

Thanks folks, I manned up a bit and gave it a few good whacks and that sorted it out. Not convinced the whole cleaning and oiling thing has made a bit of difference to the impressive stiction but we shall see…

Thanks again, A.

I've always had good service too, accepting that free postage doesn't mean next day delivery..! Returns also good – same problem with you with undersized clothing but refunded no problem through t'interweb.

Thats good news! Glad the doc listened, hope you get sorted ok mate. Had a couple of guys at work who got Lymes disease and the biggest problem they had was convincing the doc – one of them ended up self-diagnosing and buying drugs over the internet.

All the best!

Thanks guys, seems a bit much to have to remove the lowers on them just to (try to!) get them to work properly. Have tried all the other things suggested already though, think I'll give Mojo a call on Monday.. Sounds like low oil levels could also be a cause.

Thanks again, Andy.

Awesome stuff, looks superb! Never been riding around there but we stayed for a week in one of the cottages right beside the pub in Badachro – great beer and grub – must be one of the best pubs in the highlands.

Another vote for the Bel Air RL – just got a Ti railed one from CRC as they had / have 25% off. Replaced the Gobi XM that my bony ass just couldn't cope with – now both MTBs have the same saddle 🙂

Could you not demo a road bike for a weekend instead? Then you could get a spangly blinged-up bike instead of a potentially shonky old hire bike.. Might cost more but probably a better idea??

Superb day, no rain and not too much wind. I finished in 4:44 – keen for sub-5hrs so very happy, it was over 30mins quicker than my last attempt!
The pipers were a nice add-on too, cracking supporters everywhere. Here's hoping it silences the miserable anti's!

Maybe depends on where you are and whether or not there is a big road club?? I saw a lad of about 12-13 out with their grandad last weekend – Border City Wheelers top on the grandad. Great to see it!

Same in all sorts of other sports / pastimes though – angling clubs are becoming an old man's domain with very few youngsters coming though and it could ultimately lead to these clubs disappearing unless they get a damn sight more proactive..

As druidh said, Metcheck is giving it clear until 1pm so hopefully their right for once!! Pretty cool though so not sure what to wear now!! 3/4s favourite at the minute.

Best of luck all, Andy.

Damn it, it was looking ok too! I'm in L at 07:22 but haven't done nearly enough training so I'll be getting passed plenty!

Are they as noisy though? Don't mind Hopes on my MTBs but on a road bike they'd drive me a bit mad I think!

Yeah, mines about 18mths old too and same thing as Al – if its non-stop browsing etc. It'll probably need charged by the end of the day. Keep the WiFI and bluetooth switched off if you're not using it, but battery life should be much better if you're just listening to music without WiFi, screen etc.

I just wish they had GPS and a decent route planner..

PS At its worst mine felt like I had constantly rattled my funny bone, definitely not funny after a while!

Yeah, its probably Cubital TS rather than Carpal if its your pinky and the outside of your ring finger, I've had a bit of bother with it and have to a bit careful how I sleep now – always used to have my hands up around my face to protect myself from my girlfriend ;o)

Anyway, I had 8 or 10 physio apppointments through work which helped a lot so they're a lot better now (my right was rarely any bother). Difficult to pin down exactly where the entrapment occurs though, could be anywhere from the shoulder to the wrist apparently, and without electrically stimulating the nerve to see where the blockage is even more so. I haven't had this done because I can kinda live with it the way it is now as its much better than it was. I just don't lean on my elbow any more, I need to do some weights or something though to build up my arms a bit though, apparently that should help too.

Basically, doesn't necessarily need an operation, go see a decent physio and tell your employer its affecting your work a bit..

Best of luck, Andy.

Will have a good look at it all again later, four rides locally (lakes) plus Dalbeatie and mainly dry bar Whinlatter so I'd be surprised. Each ride must be bloody expensive in the Pennines!! Thank christ the Northern end isn't like that!

Cheers Monty, sounds like a job for the bike shop if thats the case! Having said that would I see uneven wear after 5 rides totaling 12hrs or less?

Oh, avoided pads too, never had any problems with the Monos on my HT from cleaning it this way. Bloody things!

Thanks all, I'll try the cleaner first and see how it goes. Will double-check the bolts etc. but it would be a little odd if both brakes were doing something similar. Washed the bike with very mild soap and water only and avoided the rotors, but if they got contaminated would this mean new pads?

Any recommendations re rotor cleaner? Presumably some sort of alcohol based cleaner will do?

Thanks again, Andy.

Just the standard ones, 183 front and 160 rear I think

Goon – yeap, the one and the same Maisie so you probably did guess right 😉

Was showing Maisie's "mum" your great pics and got cheers of "I know who That dog is!". now if I can only get her on an mtb with me and Maisie…

Have never tried this before so here goes…

Kes (strictly speaking the parents')

Maisie

1. Spaniels
1. Lurchers
(showing a preference could be dangerous..)