Mannfred Mann
Black Sabbath (first 6 albums)
The Who
Pink Floyd
Funkadelic

tpbiker, thanks – I didn’t know they could search local stores, I’m hopefully getting one sent along from Tranent :)

[It’s a shame really, as I went last week to look, but they didn’t offer to search for me and I came away with another edge 200]

tpbiker: which Edinburgh store?

Well I would highly recommend Fip: a French radio station, that plays an eclectic mix somewhat like 6music but better imho. For me it has the advantage that there is little chat and of that there is I understand 1 in a 100 words.
I will be as interested as you in others suggestions, as as you say, where does one start.
Hope that helps.

Cardiff?

Furlongs are ideal.

Clearly you are a very nice person and trying to do the best for your Mil.
However, as almost everyone has said you will not get your original money back. If you take out another ‘final’ loan, it won’t be the last, they’ll be back again and again until you are in the same situation as they are. There is no protecting your Mil from this (to me she sounds little better than your Bil).
At this point advice is all you should offer and since they don’t appear be listening to that,
I
stop offering that too.
The bizarre thing is that if you again loan then money, they resent you more than I’d you don’t, because they now have to pay you back – which they won’t.
I don’t know your financial situation, but for me £7000 is a lot of money, when you come to retire that amount of money may make the difference between comfort and struggle. You have to think of yourself also, you’ve done more than enough!
Best of luck.

Wobbliscott- are you serious??

I have a Lithium for commuting and I love it. Deore brakes and other bits. Takes guards and decent sized tyres. 2×10.
I’d check the gearing for touring though.

I completed my degree with the OU about 15 years ago, so things may have changed; but, I found it excellent. I was working full-time and had 2 children whilst doing it. You need dedication and a lot of stamina, I found motivating myself in years 5 & 6 tough. However, the resources were excellent (for maths at least). I didn’t really need the tutorials, but it was good to meet up with other students, as you could feel quite isolated otherwise.

What is a ‘dog friendly beach’?

If it was Summer a sombrero. However, as winter is approaching – I have been known to wear a plastic bag on my head if caught out in the rain; I’d like to be able to this without the comments it draws.

Spent three days there in the summer with my wife. We had our bikes and it was a good place to cycle. We definitely felt cycling around was the best way to see the city.

Every other building in Edinburgh is a cafe. Many are excellent, however I’d second the recommendations of Peters Yard or Soderberg as their cakes and buns are to die for. They are (particularly Peters Yard) well situated, near the Meadows/ university. A few good bike shops nearby and the start of the canal which is a pleasant flat cycle, although busy at the usual times.
‘Coffee lovers Edinburgh’ is a website with ratings for independent cafes, that would keep you going for a long time.

I use it a lot, with the free Open Cycle Maps and am often in awe of how good it is. Both here in the U.K. and across Europe. Also use maps.me which is free and the maps are downloadable – this is great for if you turn up in a new town and want to search for a supermarket or such like.

+1 for tablet for phone with Tuneinradio app. Then Bluetooth speaker, or even old set of computer speakers and cable to headphone jack etc.

Amstrad?

Pavement clutter. On the rare stretch of pavement not obstructed by cars and vans, there are sandwich boards. Why do places with a huge shop window and more often than not a sign hanging above the door see the need to block 3/5ths of the pavement?!!
Also, bicycles with signs on them for some shop or other, locked up at a cycle rack – argh!

Lyn Collins: “Rock Me Again & Again & Again & Again & Again & Again”

^ I take it that’s a genuine song/track and not a ‘not the nine o’clock news’ style piss take? I can’t tell for certain.

Excellent news, well done.

Bowdown woods???

The woods?

I said “if someone named their three favourite albums, then someone who knew their jazz could name a jazz album they’d like just as much”

DezB said “What a silly idea! No way is that possible, you can’t explain why someone can listen to some types of music and not others. I don’t understand why it matters to you! I could post some music I bet you’d hate almost as much as I dislike jazz but I couldn’t give a monkeys if you like it or not.”

It wouldn’t be my first silly idea, surely it’s possible though? It doesn’t matter to me at all whether any one person dislikes jazz, but for some reason nobody I know likes jazz and often that is based on listening to very little. For some reason it saddens me, just a little. I expect we like a fair bit of the same music. You’d only need to name anything by The Beatles (or Abba) though to more than win your bet ; )

Well, I was worried that my post sounded pissy. I’m no jazz expert, but I’m fairly sure if someone named their three favourite albums, then someone who knew their jazz could name a jazz album they’d like just as much. [now there’s a challenge ; ) ].

Possibly for classical too.

This thread is somewhat depressing. Why does virtually nobody like jazz? They dismiss it after, it seems, listening to very little. Kind of Blue is a great album, but I’m sure you could enjoy jazz and not be taken with it. It’s a bit like saying ‘Tommy’ is the greatest rock album (it may be) and dismissing rock if you don’t love ‘1921’.
Abba and The Beatles, seriously??
Oh, the same is also true of classical music . You’ll hear people say, “I like some classical, there’s that piece in an advert for bread”.

Thanks BWD, food for thought. You put the Rocket Ron at the back? – what bike?

Apologies if this seems like a hijack. I went out on my new Longitude (late 2016 model) at the weekend and I was loving it. It feels heavy to lift, but rides sweetly.
However, I got a puncture from a thorn. On fixing it was clear there is little if any puncture protection with the WTB trailblazers. So I was thinking of trying tubeless, which I’ve not done before. This thread has me worried though that that might not be enough. So, some basic questions:
1. Will tubeless help?
2. How can I determine what other tyres will fit, without physically trying?
3. Any general tips/thoughts?- I was planning on using the bike for general riding (nothing too gnar) and some off road touring; so a tyre that rolls well and could cope with quite a few miles.

Thanks.

As said above I think this is great and can barely believe it’s not fake. Does anyone know where the 1.5 m is measured from? – is it the end of your handlebar? , or midline of the bike?, or …

Any idea what time you’d be getting to Dreghorn?

I wouldn’t do that for someone else’s phone!

I’ve been ill for the past few days , so couldn’t make it. Many apologies for the lack of notice, I hadn’t really thought that anyone would have noticed my name as a potential partaker.
Looks like a great time! Hopefully I’ll be able to join you soon.

Who gives a …?
The forum appears to appeal to a wide variety of people, most of whom are interested in cycling in one form or another. I ride every day, sometimes on my mountain bike, but I doubt if I ever ride it to a standard that you’d call it mountain biking.
Op: not everybody is you.

I’ve tried it twice. First time I got to week two before damaging the front of my leg. So the second time, a year later, I thought I’d take it even easier, doing each week twice. Second week in and I tore a muscle in my calf, couldn’t walk for two weeks.
Running seems to use muscles and require a flexibility that cycling does not.

Udderly shocking!

Thanks, that was quick – you made it look easy! The strap needs a ‘silver’ buckle, but it may be swappable. I never think of looking at eBay, I’ll take a closer look there.

I might be if the offer is open to all and you’d be happy for me to bail out if I’m out of my league. .

Many thanks everyone.
I guess we’ll check the tide and hope for sun with no rain or too much wind.

Why not draw on some designs with felt tips and wear them for a couple of weeks. See if you really like them and gauge others reactions?!

Both are nice, get them both!

I’d go for the black, as it’s easier to tell the time with.