My wife hadn’t even pulled out of the campsite.

An orange 5.makes it pretty straightforward.

That was a Patriot actually. Owning a Five and having ridden a Patriot, and watching that video. I reckon a Five would actually be a real handful down that, seeing as that Patriot looked pretty sketchy at times in the hands of an obviously half-decent rider.

Five and Patriot might look like the same thing with different travel but the Patriot is a totally different beast to ride.

I’ve slipped over on a patch of diesel on a petrol station forecourt, at all of about 1mph! I was wearing my grippiest trainers too, not some leather soled loafers or anything… Diesel on the floor is lethal stuff. I know many a biker who’s binned his bike at perfectly legal speeds and on “safe” roads just from hitting a patch of diesel.

So on foot you’d only have one contact patch while walking, a bike just two and a thinner one at that. Totally different.

Basically if you can’t stop, your[sic] are out of control.

Braaap!

Where does the prick in his/her ferrari put the wheel chair???

Could be using a stick? Could have been someone giving a disabled badge holder a lift, badges are transferable like that no?

Something ran out in front of him?

If it turns out to be true I’ll give him that.

PP: see your point but like you, never had a problem in a car.

To lose control on that road, Mclaren F1 or not, it’s either a shite car (no), he was driving like a moron, or he can’t drive (no).

I flatly refuse to believe that a Mclaren F1 just ‘goes’ like that on a patch of diesel at 70mph on a big almost straight road.

With the Metro incident 12 years ago, correct me if I’m wrong but I seem to remember it wasn’t so much a prang but it actually lifted the Metro off the ground and up onto the bonnet? Not bad going.

He knows better than anyone what he was driving in the current conditions etc.

Brechfa +1

You have to question the nature of his driving, he crashed it into the back of an Austin Metro a few years ago and now he’s finally written it off. Talented driver maybe, safe/legal driver?

there is hardly a modern car surely that is anywhere near the limit on most A roads at 60 mph

Even my lowly C-Max is so drearily within its limits at 60 in a national, have to agree.

Cruising along country roads in an open top or a classic on a nice day aside, I find it hard to believe anyone is having fun driving without breaking the law. In principle I love cars. But actually driving on the roads?? I avoid it whenever I can as it’s always a miserable congested mess of piss poor driving and idiots.

I’d love to have the money and time for a track toy and I’m quite the closet petrol head at heart. But as a means of transport on public roads there’s little joy in it and the unsustainability of it is painfully obvious to so few people.

Yeah, it’s fine on a 140mm bike, arm pump prevented me taking the last run of the day though. Just stuck a bash guard and some Kenda 2.35s with DH tubes in on a Five and was good to go.

Never did get in the mindset for the road drop but even the ‘chicken run’ is a touch intimidating on the first run if you’re not a ‘DHer’ but it’s actually fine, still quick and doesn’t ruin your run so it was easy to keep avoiding the road drop.

Twin Six bibs are the longest in the leg that I’ve tried. Will struggle to try before you buy though.

I don’t consider Windsurfing to be all that odd but I did it all through my teens, and not living on the coast, I was the only one in the whole school (town even apart from my Father) who did it.

Life time regret, getting an invite to join the Olympic development squad aged 12, and declining as I was “too scared”. 🙄

Hark at you design studio types – always get the nicest, brightest, lightest officea at the top of the building them moan that it’s too hot ! I get to work in a dungeon. I’d happily swap offices with our design people, and promise not to flash my legs.

😀

Shorts here. But work in a design studio where jeans and t-shirt is normal atire anyway, so shorts is hardly a giant leap. Boss isn’t too keen but it’s pay for air con or let me wear shorts 🙂

I’ve got a macbook air. Lovely bit of hardware. The OS is pretty cumbersome when you come from windows though.

I wouldn’t want to do any real work on one but for web browsing it’s fine (except the eurosport player which is really very crap on the mac for some reason).

And suddenly this thread is a 10 pager in the making.

I was a stick in the mud windows user about 5 years ago. I still find Windows XP ok, but Windows 7 is proper backwards in just about everyway.

I do web design/dev and a bit of programming, writing, graphic design, and commercial photo editing and video on my Macbook Pro, so not ‘real’ work… seems to be alright for emailing and browsing the web too mind!

Road Rat?: http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/geared/

I wonder if the 0.2% is somewhat flattered by certain sectors. Because I think many of us working for small and medium enterprises in the private sector have seen shocking reductions.

I believe it used to be that tents had to go in the bag but then everyone started bringing pop up tents so they slackend the rules on that.

Aw come on guys don’t be so harsh. Far from the worst sportsperson advertising something ad out there and he’s just a kid!

This on the other hand is beyond unforgivable!

Yeah I know, riding nearly 200km and then having to suddenly ride your bike faster than anyone else in the world, and you get a special jersey for that!

*tsk*

Video.

I have Manfrotto 055-something as well as a really nasty cheap Jessops thing that has the plus side of weighing naff all.

Proper fluid head coming for the Manfrotto as well as a Glidetrack Shooter.

Don’t really take photos of much other than family now. Just bought a new DSLR and it’s shot more video than it’s taken pictures.

Caslon doesn’t look too far off in fact… not the Adobe version though.

ITC Caslon 224 Std Medium is the closest I can get.

You could probably do something similar with Adobe Caslon Pro, but you’d have to hand italicise it and do all the flourishes and ligatures by hand in Adobe Illustrator.

Will be how it’s done. Wouldn’t draw it from scratch, it’ll be based on some well known typeface, convert to outlines and then get fun and crazy with the pen tool adding flourishes.

Edit slow to reply, +1 to much of the above.

When the marketeers have their paws on it.

You really are paranoid about marketers sometimes!

I believe the Jet Black is just a normal black gloss. Disco is as mentioned with sparkly bits in it. Cherry Black is unsurprisingly Black but shows a hint of very dark cherry red when the light catches it. It’s not really hard to imagine that there’s a lot of clever things you can do with paint and god forbid anyone want a wide choice of finishes!

Basecamp works great with eTrex Vista on USB

Used Enterprise loads of times, even returned a brand new Zafira full of mud in the boot after a wet welsh MTB holiday, assumed I’d get stung for a valet at least, nothing. Seem to be a safe bet, price is relatively competitive and they do the whole pick up drop off thing.

honourablegeorge: I’ll need to measure it but it’s noticeably less than my Thomson…

Ragley stubbing stem will buy you a few mm on the stack as well – if they’re long enough for you…

Latitude and Soul are both good to 140…

Sorry, no side pockets for bananas on the 10. The side pockets on the 14 are hardly banana sized either.

It is a great pack though!

I enjoyed that, I agree with a lot of it despite being guilty of a lot of it, so I deffo think some people could do with lightening up…

That said, I don’t know what Benji’s plans are RE kids but if he does plan on having them, I’d say be prepared to take some of that back 😉

Kids are harder than they look! I’m a die-hard biker and when I’m old and wrinkly and ready to go, I’d rather die on my bike than in my bed. BUT. Being a Dad is waaaaay cooler, and soon I get to play bikes with the boy as well!

A friend is a paediatric nurse, and warns against using car seats for long periods – small babies are prone to overheating in this position. Obviously this isn’t applicable for supermarket trips…

Yeah but they have a big disclaimer on them anyway suggesting limits on time. Obviously when your child only naps for 30 minutes at best it becomes a non issue 🙂

So your kid’s asleep after a car journey – so what? If it’s tired, it’ll fall asleep again in a pushchair or sling.

Yup, and it’s not a great idea to leave your baby in the car seat for hours on end. We just lift junior out and put her in the pram – as you say, when she’s tired she barely stirs, and pushing the pram usually sends her back to sleep anyway.

Obviously got one of those super amazing easy to sleep sorts. Ours has never been a good napper and in trying to get a routine, we were quite happy to use the drive to the supermarket to get him to sleep, click him into the travel system and then do the shop knowing he’s at least had a decent nap at a decent time. Transferring him to sling or pushchair from car seat wasn’t an option as he’d wake and not go off again.

Oh and still using the car seat a lot for quick in to town missions – that said we have a clicky in and out base so it’s really no faff.

Geoff – I don’t like that kind.

I figure it’s what they like though really? Ours hated the farbic wrap sling, would always get too hot in it. Always prefered the baby bjorn which he still uses.

8 month year old here…

Ignored everyone’s advice to not bother with a travel system (iCandy Apple). Clicking car seat into wheels was admittedly useful but meant heavy pram attachment went all but unused – used a baby carrier most of the time.

Finally went in the stroller attachment which is bulky and fills a good chunk of a C-Max’s boot. He’s just as happy in his grandparent’s cheap M&P folding stroller.

If I was doing it again (thankfully the iCandy has at least lasted really well and should do another kid), I think I’d probably go with something like a Micralight fastfold but ignore the pram. Car seat attachment was a blessing at times and the fastfold does look at be a good compromise between cheap rattly thing and big fancy travel system stroller.

Sounds like you’re doing it wrong.

I used to live in flats with balconys and upstairs were having a party, largely out on said balcony, it was around 1am before I cracked.

I went out onto our Bacony, in dressing gown, and started shouting (only in that very British mildly raised voiced kind of way) to “keep it down a bit, we’re trying to sleep” .

Increasing the volume each time, I failed to get a response of any kind, despite them hanging off the balcony and me having to have been at least a little bit in view. I lost it. Picked up my trail building shovel and start smashing it against the floor of their balcony. Music stops, more people rush over, just as I shout at full volume “shut the **** up”. They went out after that. 😮

Crazy guy with shovel in dressing gown is the only way forward in these situations.

This any help?: http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/rides/tour-de-mont-blanc.htm

Yeah looks pretty tough!

Me