"Roughtly the size of Texas…"

Bloody hell :(

sorry b r – It wasn't meant to be derogatory – merely a typo. I should have said smallER. Apologies. :oops:

CBF1000 and Bandit1250 are both good shouts.

Having done my long commute in all weathers on small capacity bikes (600cc & 750cc) it is perfectly possible and they were perfectly capable.

BUT, they were both hard(er) work. I never arrived at work feeling refreshed and ready to go. With the Blackbird (an 1100cc mile muncher), it's a different matter entirely.

Nice. I like it 8)

I can. But only if I use a complex arrangement of levers and pulleys to render my aim true and keep me from spraying the entire bathroom.

Epicsteve – give the PR2's a go. They're very good.

(for info, over the last 3 years I've gone through Conti RoadAttacks, Bridgestone BT020's. Dunlop Roadsmarts x2 sets and Michelin PR2's x 3 sets)

I had a "D'oh"ville as a loan bike when the Blackbird was in for a service. It was a very comfortable riding position, but I really didn't like the motor.

Oh, and +1 for the Michelin Pilot Road 2's. Great t*res.

I've just gone through the same process.

A point to consider about the 2 page restriction – it doesn't necessarily apply if the position you're going for is technical. You may need more space to get all your technical skills on paper.

Try not to make it too busy. All the most relevant stuff on the first page. etc, etc.

The job I've just started (a pretty niche role) had 311 applicants for one post. So don't be surprised if the recruiter doesn't get back to you immediately – they've got to do a few sifts of wheat/chaff. I'd given up on this post when they called me back after almost two weeks.

Don't give up. There's a surprising amount of work about at the mo. What do you (want to) do/where are you located?

I am doing an 80mile round trip commute and have done for 6 years in all weathers. Mainly A-roads and dual carriageway. I started on a GSX600F, then moved to a Kawasaki ZR-7s (750cc) and am now doing it on a Blackbird.

The Blackbird is by far the easiest to do the trip on. I still have the 750 and am putting it up for sale in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, t Kwak has to go as I can't afford to keep two bikes. The Blackbird was an impulse buy as I was intending to run the Zr-7s forever.

EDIT: Ref Shafties/chains. The blackbird x-ring chain/sprocket set cost me £125 fitted and was last fitted at 42k miles. I've done another 8k miles and only had to adjust it once. Regular oiling sees to that. Alternatively, get a scottoiler and double your chainlife. (By the way, the ZR-7s has got 1k old chain/sprockets on it.)

Don't restrict yourself to a 2 man tent – especially if you're cat-camping. Look at 3 to 4 man jobbies instead.

Outwell tents are very good value for money. Decent quality and well designed. I have an Outwell Oregon 3 [/url]I use when I go away on the bike (motorised). It is 8kg, but that weight is not a problem on the bike.

Not a bad tackle, very clumsy and VERY unfortunate. Poor lad.

CaptJon – why let facts ruin a good lynching? :wink:

Surely binning that fat-knacker, Moyles, and his multi-million pound salary would be enought to fund 6Music?

chakaping – Member

6music news is bloody awful though

Well, yes. That's quite true. But is it a music channel. If I want detailed news, I'll put R4 or BBC News24 on.

The 6music news is generally split into two parts – current affairs followed by music news.

I'm going to try Derek and Clive's approach next.

….. what, send around Robin ?

zokes, it's been mentioned several times on 6music today. Last news (at 17:30) had a BBC spokesman stating that the reports of the demise of 6music were premature.

Ta Gerinomo

<wanders over to amazon clutching credit card….>

Geronimo – Member
You can, for 60quid. Pure highway.

If they switch off 6Music I'll be selling mine…. unless they switch off FM too.

Are they any good Geronimo? Is the antenna sensitive enough?

6Music rekindled my love of music radio. Should it go, it will be sorely missed in our house.

Radio 1 is sh*te, Radio 2 is trying to be all things to all men and falling short. There are some good shows, but not enough.

While 6Music lost it's way slightly with the introduction of "personality" DJ's, it's started to get itself back on track. Although I would not mourn the loss of George Lamb and those two twunts Adam & Joe.

dangerousbeans – Member

Don't understand why the ex civil servants keep coming on saying 'it was a piss easy job with great pay, massive pension,job security and loads of perks so i had to leave and get another job'.

Because, unless you're at the top or London based, it isn't. It's a sh*te job with sh*te pay, sh*te pension and no perks. MrsG has been in the civil service for the last 17 years and is desperate to leave.

Congratulations! A good size too!

Don't worry, the sleepless nights don't last for ever.

Top tip – if you've got lots of family/friends wanting to visit (and you probably will) ask them to help out by bringing something to eat. I remember that a dish of lasagne/cottage pie/ etc etc was an absolute lifesaver. Nothing too spicy though – if Ms Butty is breastfeeding, spicy food disturbs the bairns <<ahem>> "movements" <</ahem>>

I had a crap food moment last night.

Along with a couple of beers in front of the telly (watching the curling 8O )…. A jar of Hellmanns Mayonnaise. A dessert spoon. That is all.

Whole tubes of primula cheese squirted straight in. Nom nom nom.

Ye Olde Oak hot dogs. Made from mechanically reclaimed chicken meat. Almost made be gip when I read it, but at 30p a tin (on offer in the village co-op) how could I resist!

You need to clarify whether the position is available as a short term contract or for a self employer contractor.

Similar quandary here too. Was looking at buying these from Amazon as they get pretty good reviews.

Although my 4 year old loves eye-spy, he's still not quite grasped that you actually need to be able to see the object he's thinking about!

Aaaaah, so you're in Spain too?

He'll get a better game with MUFC V LFC than going to see liverpool v sunderland, and I'm a Sunderland supporter!

Don Simon, you red or blue?

Why not go to Old Trafford the the 21st instead – MUFC v L'pool?

We stayed in the City Hotel[/url] a couple of times, It's pretty central and good value – looking at the website, it appears to have been re-furbished too.

As said above, there's all the seedy stuff, which is still worth a look. But there's so much more besides. A really beautiful place, great restaurants and interesting stuff to see. Go to the Anne Frank Huis and prepare to be humbled.

johnners – Member

He's basically right though. I know a bit about the car I own*, very little first hand about anything else and I suspect most of the stw car "experts" on here are in the same boat.

He may be right, but there's no need to be a complete nobber about it. Coming on to a forum like this and asking a question is not necessarily a bad thing. It's generally populated by decent folk who will express an honest opinion. Read through the posts and people have posted their experiences of the cars they have owned – good and bad. What's the problem with that? TBH, I thought that Edukator was either an angry little twunt teenager who's mum and dad had gone out for the night, or a menopausal man-hater. :D

FWIW OP, I have no experience of diesel cars but found my old petrol Saab 9000 to be brilliant – I PX'd it (at 300k miles) for a petrol Honda CR-V, so I could easily get my diving gear in the back; I've had it 9 years now and it's starting to get a little long in the tooth. I'm looking at replacing it sometime this year and I'm looking at a Mazda 6 estate diesel.

Shelly Rudman. Hmmmmmm. Skeleton bob.

Amy in action

…. mentalist

No one has said that ABS isn't worthwhile – as far as I can tell.

I don't have ABS on my Blackbird, but I most certainly wouldn't reject a bike if it had it. Far from it.

What has been suggested is that it may be an idea to get some further training (for a relatively small outlay) rather than dispose of a perfectly good bike because it doesn't have ABS. 8)

And no, I am not a riding God, but a mere riding dog. Actually, more a riding badger.

Gav, have you got any links to pictures of the place – Flickr or the like?

I've only once bought memory from e-bay. A 4Gb Sandisk Extreme IV CF card for a price that seemed too good to be true…. It was…. It was hooky. :|

anagallis_arvensis – Member

Funny how its just the BMW riders who inist on saying wht iat is they ride.

I hadn't noticed…. No ABS on my Blackbird, the linked brakes took a little getting used to though.

Br – I did the Star Rider (bronze/silver/gold) thing back in the mid eighties too. To be honest, it's not a patch on the IAM.

I do 28k miles each year on the bike. Mainly commuting on fast A-roads and through 2x cities (Nottingham and Derby). I had a minor epiphany a couple of years ago when I arrived at the scene of a nasty bike accident before the services got there. Not nice.

I decided to invest in further training with the IAM. It changed my riding style significantly – some of the overtakes/filtering I was doing previously were just too risky. I still filter/overtake but am much better equipped to do so.

I'm now a smoother and, where circumstances allow, a quicker rider than I was previously.

Sign up; it's not expensive, you could learn something that may save your life, you meet some decent folk (and some weirdy beardies :wink: ) and they'll show you some really nice roads in your area.

Keep the Fazer, they're really good bikes.

Invest £140ish in some advanced rider training with the IAM. Good observation, positioning and anticipation will almost negate the need for ABS.

I was just about to mention Sardinia – until I clicked on DB's link above. Looks good and I'll keep that for when my two are older.

We love Sardinia as it's just so child friendly. We stay in/around Alghero and just potter about – some days out and about, some days lazing on the beach.

Cheap flights available on Easyjet/Ryan Air (can't remember which)

Ro5ey – Member

There are exceptions to every rule.

Ice skating is an example of an exception to the Sport's Rule, which clearly states.

A sport is only a sport, if specialised footwear is employed.

No it's not. They wear ice skates. I think that's quite specialised. Try doing it in a pair of trainers :D

hora – Member

Me and flying really don't mix.

Let the pilot do it then? :wink:

… seriously, that's a bummer. A couple friends of ours have the same problem. She has to basically tranquillise her husband to get him on a plane. They don't bother any more and go to Cornwall every year instead. :|