Did I miss “Riot Act” in there somewhere?

Thank you whoever put Temple of the Dog down I couldn’t remember the band name but saw the video for Hungerstrike the other week on a Pearl Jam documentary. :)

It worries me what will become of our city centres

Why?

For a starter for 10….

Because there will be loads of empty shop units, lots of people out of work, no choice for those of us that have still have any money to spend, they’ll fall into disrepair and be an eyesore thereby turning off investors from doing anything to rebuild our broken economy, people will cease going into town centres because they’re miserable and whatever good businesses are left will suffer as a result, those left in work will have to fund the benefits needs of those who’ve lost their jobs, our pensions will be worth less leaving more people in old age poverty.

It’s not that difficult to see why a broken high-street in a consumer/service based economy is not a good thing!

Retail’s having a torrid time at the moment and not likely to improve in a hurry.

The danger for us, the buying public, is that the more retailers go under the less choice there is in the market and the more power the remaining operators gain.

The end result will be once the choice is gone the control of pricing will pass to a (relatively) small number of larger players who will then be in a much better position to move pricing upwards (should they choose to do so).

It’s also bad for those of us with pensions. A lot of pensions have (directly or indirectly) substantial exposure to property markets as well as listed shares (which most of the high street multiples are). Bust retailer could = reduced pension.

don’t pee in your own pool!

Use someone else’s 10 floor staircase.

Most important is to keep up a steady pace, stay off the brakes and the throttle. To get the best mpg you need to up your concentration levels above what is normsl for many. The other big benefit is the more you drive like this the more relaxing your journies can feel.

Accelerating I say short shift BUT keep the turbo on boost all the time. For my mondeo that means keeping the rev counter between 2000 and 3000ish.

At least as old as I am (probably)!

hey there hope you get all sorted soon.

as a parent of a toddler nothing instils worry like a poorly one!

We’ve been lucky with our 2.5 year old. We eat as a family at every opportunity we get, that means 3 meals a day at the weekend and my wife eats breakfast and lunch with him on the 2 days she doesn’t work. His nursery has a good food policy and there’s loads of good peer influence there to eat well.

I get him to help make cookies (Hugh’s ten minute cookies from the Everyday book are dead easy to make with a toddler) and nice things sometimes. We grow our own veg and get him to help weed the patch, pick the spuds out of the turned earth, harvest other stuff and generally be excited about food around him and the idea of growing, cooking and eating.

You can’t bring all of this in at 100mph and shove it in their face though.

Showers (mediocre if I recall correctly) and a bike wash at Glyncorwg.

I haven’t ridden the linked route so not sure how the timings across work out but unless you’re starting early you might only want to do one of them trails if you have to get cleaned up and back into Swansea for a meeting but then again you might be a fair bit quicker than me!

It’s slightly less uncomfortable than experimental pile surgery?

8O

Poor journalism, poorly thought through nimbyism, an inability to understand that the road network is centrally funded and rampant stupidity. Well it’s reassuring to know that in these times of global economic turmoil that some things endure… :roll:

elfin

Do you live under a bridge and terrorise the billy goats gruff?

Seriously, this is basic maths rules that were taught to me at primary school nearly 20 years ago.

maths is right or wrong. If it wasn’t a lot more things you rely on wouldn’t work.

funkynic,

that’s what i meant, only you managed to say it properly!

elfin

Do you live under a bridge and terrorise the billy goats gruff?

Seriously, this is basic maths rules that were taught to me at primary school nearly 20 years ago.

maths is right or wrong. If it wasn’t a lot more things you rely on wouldn’t work.

Love travelling by train and choose that whenever its practical.

Sometimes the non-London lines are a bit patchy with service tho’

I have a 100k 04 reg Mondeo and the amount of soot it produces varies wildly during the period between services (much less sooty with clean oil in and new filters) My money is on that being due to it being well maintained and driven mainly on the motorway for decent distances.

It’s nowhere near as bad as some (newer) cars we’ve had in the house (both VAG diesels in lighter cars).

I suspect the worst “smokers” and some of the DPF failures are those used mostly round town and which never get taken over 2000rpm and that never get a good hot exhaust system to stop them getting all sooty OR those that don’t get good quality clean oil and filters on a regular basis.

As for the cleanliness / tax issue there’s good and bad in both fuels environmentally. At the moment it’s politically expedient (and administratively more cost effective) to focus on CO2 so guess what that’s how your VED is calculated. Diesel drivers pay more at the pump in tax (but my money’s on that being demand driven rather than truly environmental).

Given a choice I prefer petrol to drive but diesel has certain economic advantages when you do bigger miles for work!

Bromley Bike Company.

When I wanted a spare crown race was with me in about 48hrs and I think they are (or were at some point) the same business as/linked with the importer.

could be worse it could be “Me Too”

(or repeating Mater and the Ghostlight 4x this morning).

Toddlers…

456? Can go down to a 100mm fork and Ti option.

I use mine for just about all my riding (including taking nipper out in his child seat, hence the rack mounts). It weighs a ton (but so do I) but doesn’t ride like it.

The rack mounts on mine (about a year old) are a bit closer to the dropout than ideal (I can only use a Shimano skewer) and I have to use a normal Topeak rack. The disc specific one has bigger “feet” and won’t fit.

Brant if you’re reading this – I suggest you put the rack mounts 40-50mm from the dropout when you next do a tweek to the design rather than 25mm or so it is on mine.

Couple of things…

(1) If the debt is with the limited company then that’s initially where your claim lies as you know – but that entity’s been dissolved. Have you approached Companies House to find out why they didn’t act? Or did they strike it off for non-filing rather than a directors’ application?
(2) There isn’t any automatic liability for directors of companies a case has got to be proven against them (usually in Court) this might involve restoring the company to the Register (£1500+) and appointing a liquidator.
(3) If he has other unpaid CCJ’s personally what makes the debt collector think that he can/ will pay yours – he might not have the means or you might need to enforce judgement (more cost).
(4) If the agent issues a court claim and the director contests it or wins you are exposed to paying for his costs.
(5) Anyone with £1 can find out who the director of a company is and they’re probably on a subscription service where it will take 10-15 seconds to look up so don’t be that impressed by the fact that they know who the director is.

I’d say an upfront fee is good money after bad. Better having a word with a qualified insolvency practitioner (who could probably take 10 minutes to look at whether there’s anything in the published accounts that would make it worth restoring the company) or a litigation lawyer.

I use Oakley’s opthalmic frames (ie their normal glasses range) as I have a major astigmatism that isn’t compatible with any of the sunglass range.

I have a pair made up as reactions, another as glasses and a pair of sunnies. You don’t get the wrap around protection but the quality’s been good (bicycle and toddler proof!).

I’d quite like something with inserts and a swappable lens for the bike but adding that to the other 2/3 pairs I need for daily life starts to get silly on cost.

For the shifters have you considered bar end mounted ones?

I think these generally cope with more extreme ratios than STI as you might have a friction/ratchet option, hence why they still appear on some tourers?

Re Andyl’s post – my sister has a Merlin (Malt 1 or 2) and that fits her great (shorter top tube). Don’t know if they still do them?

I’d suggest the 16 assuming she’s typically lady proportioned (ie shorter torso / longer legs than a 6′ bloke).

I ride an 18″ and am 5’10, male and very short legged / long bodied, like to be stretched out (years of road riding before I converted) and the 18″ fits just right with minimal layback post and a 90mm stem and I run a stiffly sprung 5.5″ fork so that lifts the front to about its highest point/shortest top tube.

Or you could try an 18″ with a very short stem (30-40mm) and an inline post if she’s a bit less leggy (no offence intended).

As a high mileage driver and a lifelong cyclist – my view is that lights on a bike are close to useless from a motorist’s perspective in the day and ESPECIALLY small ones.

It’s not about how bright they are they’re still small and small lights at close range are easily obscured by car blind spots, street furniture and the like.

If you go for lights for daytime use the larger the surface area and brighter the better (within reason) one of those 5 or 7 LED wide ones on the back would be good. Much harder to lose that behind the A-Pillar of a car than a single dot.

If you want to be seen then wear something bright and ideally reflective.

What makes a cyclist (or anything else on the roads) visible in good to moderate daylight is contrast between them and the surrounding environment (whether that’s pure colour or reflections of light from flat surfaces).

Around town I reckon wearing a high-vis vest is the way to go if you can live with the fashion faux-pas (I almost always do and I carry one when out on a ride in case I get caught out at dusk and need to pound some tarmac).

Having said all that I have a neat little 5 LED light from Topeak as my (night time/evening) backup that I take on the MTB and darkside bikes.

Paultons itself is good. They were building Peppa Pig world when we were there last spring and it looked good.

Some of the facilities (changing) could do with an upgrade for the admission price but the main rides and stuff were good. The flying saucer thing (I forget its name) is not to be mixed with a belly full of chips. How I held that down…

I’m not a big drinker at all but I LOVE Ardbeg. Just like drinking a bbq peat bog.

Sorry, I’ve not read all of this but I’ve been through a similar set of symptoms.

I’m bigger than thee (100kgs) but moderately fit, near enough tea-total, ok blood pressure, decent diet (but could do better). I do however snore at a level that would make the four horsemen shudder. What worried me is that when I got to bed at night (9.30) I’d be off to sleep in an instant and sleep through til 6.00 and I assumed I was sleeping brilliantly so something else was causing it.

After blood tests for the usual nasties (Diabetes, thyroid bla bla) my GP referred me to ENT who then put me on to respiratory for a sleep study.

Did the study about 8 weeks ago and get results on Monday, which I am expecting to be that I have sleep apnoea (letter says appointment at sleep apnoea clinic so seems to be a bit of a prelude!). Wife’s colleague’s boyfriend has it. Sleeps attached to a machine – since diagnosis, twice the energy, more alert etc.

I think what I’m saying is if you’re a major snorer flag this to your GP.

Agree it must be difficult for them to fund and I’m not sure that the geology helps either. I thought the issue with the ‘berms’ was just me being hopeless though, but maybe I’m not alone.

I wouldn’t mind throwing in a day’s labour once a year as part of a group overseen by the centre management. I ride there enough to be happy putting something back but whether you could get a big enough group to achieve anything I don’t know.

What I find odd is that the second section (the off camber one after the first climb and little bit of fireroad) and the other off-camber flattish bit in the middle (before the berms) seem to have stood up better than most of the rest of it despite being 15 years old. Maybe its that those bits are largely brake free.

Contrasted with the last descent where I can no longer remember where the original re-routed line went (I’m guessing it was the higher line) as there’s so many extra bits that have sprung up from people sliding down the hill side.

Oh sorry, couple of other things that help once they’re on:

1) keep chatting to them / singing / pointing things out (we like to spot row rows (boats), re-res (lorries), Tom (train), roun-rouns (buses) and doggies)
2) the wheels on the bike go round and round is good too (she’ll probably know the tune)
3) I always announce the bigger bumps with “bump”(kerbs/potholes as we get to them), I know get an echo from the back seat too which is kind of funny.
4) Never be the one to lose your rag if you do get cut up, carry on like it’s the safest thing ever. If anyone in a car/van needs a mouthful they get it from mummy once our boy’s not looking!

Matt

We had someone nearly take us out on my son’s first trip. My wife had a few choice words with the driver who was genuinely mortified when he realised what he’d nearly done. He was a bit younger and it didn’t really phase him for long.

All our early rides were almost completely road free (cycle tracks near but not on main roads) so he got used to vehicles being near but not too near. Now when he’s on the back he’s happy on the road even with quite large vehicles.

As for getting her back on, it might be an idea to leave it a week or so then get the bikes in the car (if necessary) and head for somewhere traffic free for a few confidence inspiring rides.

Also does your partner / wife ride? Even if she can manage a couple of miles and ride next to you entertaining little one that might help.

Our son likes to sit on the cross bar and be wheeled round the garden holding the handlebars or sitting on the ‘big boy’ seat and being held in one arm while the other’s used to push the bike. With lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement he’s developed a real liking for two wheels and I think it’s the big boy thing + child seat.

He’s just under 2 by the way and been coming out on the bike for about a year but not always without tears (helmet not producing smiles!).

Do you know anyone else with a kiddy similar age and a child seat who you could meet up with who would be a good influence?

Not sure if that’s any help at all, just our experiences.

Not going to stop me riding whenever I can, doesn’t the enhanced risk just make it more exciting? Also if you worry about it won’t your blood pressure go up and that make it even more likely you’ll have a heart attack, so you can worry about the risk trebling and then quadrupling and eventually die a big fat pasty lump on the sofa having never done anything. Or you could live a little :D

Probably still got more chance of going under a lorry / getting killed on the motorway / while shouting play up Pompey on the way through Southampton.

Apologies in advance to my son if I end up orphaning him by pushing too hard on the first climb of the day (but he prefers mummy anyway and they’d be rich).

You can have errors etc corrected (we had to on my wife’s as it was showing a financial association to a former partner). Under the DPA98 they have to correct if it’s WRONG.

There’s other things they can do to sort things out to best call or email them to discuss the specific issue. We found Experian very helpful. They then passed on the amended data to the others (Equifax etc) I believe so you may only need to correct one.

I’d agree the sandwich board looks to be a major part of the problem. It’s pretty much directly in the driver’s line of sight as he approaches the white lines (look where driver’s head is vs. the sign in the still) and you being of narrow frontage would have been completely obscured for much of the last few seconds of your film.

A car with a longer bonnet (Mondeo, S-Type Jag, bigger Beember, Vectra etc etc) would have needed to get to where that Beemer’s bumper did just to see past the sign.

Definite word with the board’s owner and if they don’t listen show the local police the video.

Doesn’t excuse the driver but you can see how it could happen.

Assuming no following traffic if you had moved over a bit towards the middle of the lane (especially given the curve on the road) you would have been more in his field of vision.

Not criticising just trying to suggest how you might avoid a repeat.

Wouldn’t say that’s unusual at all (can’t judge the speed) but it would have caused me a minor heart in throat moment. By the way plan B might have been turn left and end up in the hedge in the side road, it would have hurt less than hitting the car.

Just out of curiosity what do you wear when commuting? Anything hi-vis / bright. I ride AND drive a lot and there’s nothing worse than the bicycle ninja for visibility. Dark clothes + dark bike + small frontal area = not that visible at all.

I now where a hi-vis vest a lot more on the road (especially around rush hours) if I’m on my own and reckon I am having a lot less SMIDSY’s. Yes I know it looks pants but its hardly performance reducing.

Clubber

Well said (and far more diplomatically than I would have done)

MTB gives me the most excitement (on a bike at any rate) and it’s the bit of the sport where I’d chuck most money at bikes and parts but I love to ride pretty much anything.

The most pleasure comes from putting mini-dweller (almost 2) in his rack mounted seat and taking him out somewhere for a family day out. He is the next generation!

First things first get yourself to http://www.insolvency.gov.uk and download yourself a copy of the Government’s guide to bankruptcy and then read it slowly and carefully. Bankruptcy is not to be taken lightly.

You don’t say who the advice is from but I’d strongly advocate talking to a licensed insolvency practitioner (maybe your IVA supervisor who will be a licensed IP) or a lawyer specialising in insolvency who can explain the issues to you properly. Many do a free initial consultation.

I am employed in the insolvency profession and a lot of the “pub advice” around bankruptcy and insolvency is seriously flawed and with regulation in the sector changing frequently what was good advice last year or even month may no longer be.

Another vote for carbonara

Or fry/roast a combination of 2-5 of these in olive oil
Courgette
Mushroom
Red Onion
Fresh tomatoes (cherry other small ones whole)
Pepper
With garlic / choice of herbs (I like oregano)
Chilli flakes (if desired)
Toss with freshly cooked pasta and add a splash of balsamic vinegar if you like.

This is not haute cuisine but it 15 a minute tasty meal including chopping.

If it was me I would want a contrast.

My thoughts should not be relied on as a definitive statement of what’s a good idea for you….

I run two hardtails (one lightweight + a 456 with toughish trail build) at the minute plus a roadbike. I go for the light hardtail for bashing out the miles, the heavy/harder one for shorter play rides and trail centres (as well as kiddy seat duty) and the road bike for road riding.

Because I mix up my riding across these 3 areas I have a go to bike for each and each one gives a different riding experience.

From your list I’d personally go either for the CX bike or a really lightweight racy hardtail.

The problem with choosing the 456 (and I love mine) is that for me it would compete with the Genius for the same kinds of rides (hence why my Spec Enduro frame donated its components for the 456 and is currently languishing in a box at the back of the garage).

Of course if you don’t know what you want you could just stick with the Genius (or is that heresy?)