for £2.99 this has been fine on my bike cheapo wilko downtube guard together with a homebrew muckynutz-esque fork guard

forgot to add – the stock tyres on the croozer are reasonably large and we run them pretty soft. as Daffy says larger volume BMX tyres would probably offer more comfort if needed

we have a croozer kid for 2 (no suspension) which we got from someone on here. our daughter happily chills out/sleeps/plays in it for hours when out doing big rides along the old railway lines and forest trails near us. a few weeks ago we were in scotland riding really bumpy gravel landrover tracks to get over a big hill to a loch which had nice flat trails. it coped really well on the rough stuff, and she was totally fine inside it for a few hours. in fact she only really whinges when she needs her nappy changing or gets hungry! yeah it bumps about but suppose she’s made of sturdy stuff :P it doesn’t have suspension but unless you’re rallying it into rock gardens at full pelt can’t see the need for it tbh, just slow down a little

we started putting her in it at about 8 months, but i think theres a baby sling available for it which would give smaller babies more support (head etc) and take some of the vibrations/rattling out. the seat on the croozer is a bucket type hanging from the frame, so it seems to do a good job of providing some sort of buffer/suspension on its own

if you’re in the north east welcome to come and have a go if you like. can even rally it up some local tracks lol. that XLC looks good to me

if you’re wanting to put a longer shock on for more travel some offset bushes will give you a few mm off the length

cheers just got a pair of reflex sidewall shwalbe land cruisers for the commuter & some sks guards for the girlfriends new bike £36 all in :)

these guys are in newcastle

http://www.recyke-y-bike.org/%5B/url%5D

i was looking at a few petrol chainsaws and in the end got an electric one from screwfix for £60 as i couldn’t justify the cost for just cutting up firewood. so far been excellent for chopping upto 12inch diameter logs. if you’re dead set on petrol stihl or husqvarna are the boys. i’d make sure you’ve got the helmet/visor/ear defenders and thick gloves as a minimum really, would not want to get on the wrong side of the saw when its going at all

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb355chn-40-5cm-2000w-electric-chainsaw-230v/92771

plastic files work well – have some from work. if you’re in newcastle you can grab one. also have a template image i can email you, print out full size and it works straight away

this set is worth it from screwfix. wood grenade is just that – awesome! :D and need a tiddler for chopping kindling

http://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-log-splitter-set-3-pieces/48279?kpid=48279&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&kpid=48279&cm_mmc=Google-_-Shopping%20-%20Landscaping%20and%20Outdoor-_-Shopping%20-%20Landscaping%20and%20Outdoor&gclid=CIiniuSE2sICFYbItAodzmQAqQ

get yourself one of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stihl-Moisture-Digital-Tester-Detector/dp/B004NQ0RL4

for logburner with flue you’re looking for wood with less than 20% moisture in it to burn efficiently and limit soot/tar build ups. sounds like that pile would need splitting/cutting up and drying out for a year or two (depending how small you chop it). but don’t worry if its got a bit of moss/mould on it, you just don’t want to waste time with rotten wood. as for open fire pretty sure you can burn whatever – my girlfriends dad burns allsorts he brings back from the woods

i’ve got some logs i ‘found’, split them and they have 20% moisture reading so gonna burn it straight away (pine of some sort – no idea what mind)

belarussss…….hic

me. got my sleeves rolled up already :twisted:

33 and 59bpm, mind thats after a lamb curry with 10000 cals, 6 coffees, 26 mile round trip commute & just got the bairn to sleep… maybe lower when i chill out! :)

we just went for a curry for our lunch.. . . . . :?

comparing fatties with actual disabled people isn’t quite right is it. they don’t have a choice to lose their disability, self inflicted or not, and neither can someone change their race if they fancied it either… i lost 5 stone in my mid 20’s which was purely self inflicted pie/drinking/lazyness weight (and not in one iota due to an underlying issue), i’m now a lot healthier/fitter/happier as a consequence and can’t see why any other lazy arsed sod can’t do the same. fair enough if an underlying condition means someone can’t help themselves to the biscuit tin

stihl chainsaw, 10lb sledgehammer, maul and splitting wedge, plus some paving slabs so i can make a base for my 2nd hand asgard bike shed i have in the lock up

also a couple of boxes of ale for xmas hols :)

no as baby was ill with tonsilitus so pulled the short straw. sounded like it was gash anyway – was on monday so we could have a joint one with the arses in our london office (ffs – worst day ever for xmas do) and everyone was home by 8pm. used to be a good laugh, but now tedious and just an excuse for the boss to flash some cash. we’re heading out tomorrow for xmas beers without the boss so will be a LOT better :D

we had lucky dip secret santa this year so couldnt revel in getting something ‘personalized’. gutted when i pulled out a cress growing kit. quite possibly the wankest present ever, so i’d have happily taken the shark thing anyday!

** cue will cress seeds last till xmas 2015 thread… ;)

didn’t buy it this year but resurrected my 10 year old chameleon – proper boss

our place now offers a ‘health bonus’ at christmas – £200 if you’re not off work more than one day in the year. previously everyone got £50 vouchers for john lewis no matter how hard you worked or days you were ill… i’ve been off sick 3 days over the whole of this year (legitimate, honest guv) so get nothing, even though i’ve busted a gut the rest of the time – but why should i feel pressured to go in when i feel like shit like some muppets do, just for a little bit of cash? funnily enough quite a high turnover of staff…

only had one job with a proper bonus, which was at worst £500 and at best about £1100

if he’s walking in the UK and is familiar with OS maps i’d go with a OS based mapping one. as you say money isn’t an option, so why bother with a half way house/dodgy map which shows a path and nowt else for navigation/route planning? he’ll probably have a an OS map anyway for back up… i find the information on ‘free’ maps irritating and hard to read (but i have a love for OS maps and been using them for 20 years+)

i was thinking of doing this and making a weekend of it – however for the cost for all my mates to do it including camping we could get a proper boss cottage in the lakes, a couple of kegs of real ale, a load of grub in & do some of our favorite routes in the UK, and still have spare change and come out smiling. i’m out

we have a garmin dakota with full gb 1:50k mapping and its ideal for this. can get bike mounts and cases for clipping to rucksacks etc too. i use a ram mount as the garmin one isn’t great. if budget not an issue the bigger screen of the oregon would be better but its big enough really

schwalbe marathon winters = you won’t fall off on ice, however i usually fall off with fatigue from riding them the 13miles and 250m of climbing home with them on. pump them to 90psi and they’re manageable but still drag like riding a DH bike with 2.7’s on (maybe some over exaggeration there…)

its tricky for me where i live as its icy/snowy on local roads/bike paths but there will be nothing on the final few mile drag into town where its always a few degrees warmer & gritted. however putting up with the drag is better than shattering a pelvis/shoulder or falling off in front of a car or bus i suppose

paul interested to hear on sandstone way as i fancy it sometime too – let us know how it goes. i’ll ask claire about tyres tonight :)

steels for wheels when dave worked there but he’s moved on now so not sure what its like now. pricey

start head honcho shop staff are up themselves. however the mechanic did lend me a tool once overnight so i’ll let them off

edinburgh bikes ok for bits if needed never used workshop

gravitate sounded promising when opened – heard good thing about servicing shocks/forks etc and round corner from work. however my one visit had me realising i’m not in ther target audience & disposable income bracket plus they weren’t that helpful tbh

evans – been once and seem to have a lot of stuff. no idea on workshop but from the grapevine i dont think its great

newcastle is crying out for a good bike shop – need to take note from some of the ones popping up in manchester/bristol i reckon. will try bykology or bicycle repair man next if i need mechanic

as above halfords got my freehub body for a formula hub that came on a voodoo. took about 5months to get it in mind…

i’m over near consett/chopwell now but try beamish oddsox for regular wednesday night rides from beamish. you could ride there/back along the C2C as above or park up at the pub. can give you some pointers for chopwell if you’re ever over here

http://www.beamishoddsox.co.uk/

used to have mine stuffed with paper all the time/by the log burner/radiators but it was a bit of a faff and i kept getting bollocked for having them in the ‘nice’ bits of the house rather than the designated subzero porch. bought one of these shoe driers below from clas ohlson and not looked back since, dries them out in an hour or so, plus can do the missus’s fivetens/our walking boots when we’ve been out together as its got 4 hoses. adapter for gloves is pretty good too – i’ve been putting my spd shoes and gloves on it for 5mins before embarking on freezing morning commutes the last week :)

http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Coline-Shoe-Dryer/18-4230

don’t worry about it being hung on a wall – it works on the flat too. they also do a cheaper freestanding 2 hose one for £20

we used to ride slag heaps when we were kids – good fun, but quite compacted material and you ended up absolutely minging if you crashed on it

i think m810 are 68/73mm bb and m815 are 83mm bb. similar for zee in that the last digit 0/5 indicates whether 68/73 or 83mm iirc

paul theres a similar but smaller log over here i built up into a wee jump. shaped the top side of the log to make a lip with a the axe edge on a folding spade, chopping x shapped notches for some extra traction, then built the take off side up with some mineral soil after taking off all the topsoil/organic stuff, shaping it up to tie in with the log. still there but needs building up again due to erosion (2years since it was done)

i’m interested in riding over the hill so happy to give you a hand if you need man power in return for some guiding :)

also i bumped into the old nefa folk in chopwell they’re planning dig/maintenance days with volunteers with kit & materials through the FC so if you fancy it get involved – they’re looking to expand the legit trails there

if you’ve got me can you just put the tenner in an envelope with my name on? ta

irrational maybe, rest of that no. however she has grown a love of shite TV programs which has had me grasping for the scissors to cut the aerial cord a few times…

i’m with ir_bandito – driving to go riding seems like such a waste of time! :)

easy to find above track – assuming your coming from the newcastle direction, after you gone through rowlands gill and over the viaduct, after about 1km the railway path will have a little kink/subtle bend, with a path leading off on the right. it has a wooden post with a red kite on it from memory, follow down till you hit a track and turn right to the mill. go left for a bit and cross road where you see the footpath going through a gate to the woods on the other side of the road :)

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=415450&y=557052&z=115&sv=415450,557052&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=564&ax=415450&ay=557052&lm=0

you will be at the very bottom of the woods – some great biking so worth an explore. the ridge on the right has loads of shorter/steeper trails on it, with more dh orientated stuff in that direction. as you go into the woods just follow the main track you’re on going straight all the way up past a few houses to a small road, turn right here and you’re at the main car park/start of the powerline trail. more xc orientated stuff past the car park and to the western edge of the woods but would need someone to show you really. enjoy!

an alternative route is to go up from rowlands gill to highfield then victoria garesfield up the track on the link below. you need to cut through houses at highfield, past school/industrial estate and along another track to victoria garesfield where you can get in the woods. probably say the other way is better/nicer/more ridable, but theres a fun little bombhole/drop section by highfield you can play on this way

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=416710&y=558714&z=115&sv=416710,558714&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=564&ax=416710&ay=558714&lm=0

respro make a black one with reflective bits and tron style glowing blue light strips – i have one!

covers are easy to clean, take off and hose down, dry in minutes compared to rucksack/camelback. i still put all my dry clothes and phone etc in a dry bag though as you can never be too sure when it comes to rain…

clearly what you need is a drone strike

rebuilt my old one up (horizontal dropouts) after digging it out of the shed and getting it powder coated. now i barely ride my full susser or dh bike – its that much fun!