Quick update – Cinnamon and Dove -thanks for the advice I managed a 90km return from Abbotstone – the ‘Hampshire section’ was scenic and the byways I laced together from your recommendations were spot on. Only place I got it a bit wrong in my route choice was around Bentley. Thanks. G

Thank you – Scenery please (but if you have both that would help me plan as I need to get back to Kingston).

And a secondary thank you – you gave me a link to the ox drove a couple of years ago when I was staying in Basingstoke.

Cheers

G

Curbed alloys – weigh up the cost of getting someone to fix these before return vs. paying the lease firm to rectify (there is a chance that if you get something fixed and the repair is poor that you have still have to pay the lease firm to put it back to their acceptable std).

And I have found that small scrtaches are worth getting touched in by a mobile repair – the cost for these can vary. But if the car looks poor I think they put a bit more effort into finding further fault…..(paranoid me)……

And I do love giving cars back in the rain – all those rain drops and water on the car makes a full inspection tricky for the collection agent if you have a few light dings on the panels……

The thing I found was getting your head around the work life balence. There are loads of great things to see and do in NZ. BUT if you are the type of person that needs growth and challenge at work this can be stretch. The job market is smaller and oppertunities far fewer. I would flip it to focus on your work – as that is the thing you are going to need to do to enjoy the life as you want it to be if you are making the move.

I was in Christchurch – and had a great time – but my other half at the time could not make the move stick. Still, it was worth the effort to see if we could make it work. I did loads of temping in order to get going – and one thing you need to budget for from day one is the need to drive and therefore to buy a car as soon as possible. And if one of you does not drive – above all else get that squared away before you leave! I would often pick up jobs 10 -15 miles from where we lived and I started off cycling to these – but the very strong and persitent north westerly wind killed me – and then the wind when it came from the south in the winter was bloody cold!

All good stuff – the beer is good, you can be alone, you do see some very cool stuff, and everyone takes the piss out of ‘your’ rugby.

Thanks everyone. When we got the car there were some roof bars in the boot (as you do) and I have kept them in the shed ever since – but I think I am going to get them on the roof this w/e and then take a stealth trip to Halfords for a look see.

Nice work everyone.

G

Hmm. I have had some great times on OO frames.

I got an inbred in 2005 and loved it. Got another in about 2007. Loved it. Scandal V2 in about 2010, might be later, just did another Gravel Dash on it. Got a pompino in the shed, from back in the day, and Mrs GDRS rolls around on her slightly rusty inbred. Anyway, for the money and for a bodger like me these frames have done me right.

Reboot the scandal…I am fed up of loosing out on the mint ones that pop up on ebay.

Thanks guys.

My fear of this becoming a larger than planned (and it already is) job is much less than an hour a go.

Great Stuff!

Spotless Bike is an understatement. Any kit that has been in contact with soil / dirt needs to be declared. If you ride with a pack, make sure the mud splashes are off it (Spds / shoes etc).

And if you have a connection/ transfer etc budget some time for clearing these checks before you can proceed. 🙂

The pain in the arse this all is offset by some great riding.

Jim thanks for the cable ties. BiL ‘s kit was all secured by ties by the time we got back to Swanage.

Andy, more stable than you think….. 🙂 but as heavy as you can probably imagine.

50;50 for me and my brother in law.

Hambledon Hill with a trailer was a bit of a test of my sense of humor. But other than than that all good.

The first four fast guys in the 100 caught up with us just between Wareham Forest and Studland – with the fifth 100 placed rider passing us about an hour later as we were being blown across Ballard Down……but hey, whilst it is good to be fit – bank holiday’s are for a couple beers, goat stew and a night in a field.

Thanks again Bikemonger people – and for pretty much everyone else for not being a dick!

Check out the FB page for this weekend’s Gravel Dash (which BTW was great) – a guy doing the 50/50 rode one fully laden with bivvy Kit…….

Blew my Student Grant in the autumn of 1991 – Cannondale M500 (which is now being ridden by on old mate of mine as a pub bike).

The purple……oh the purple……

As someone who kind of works in insurance/car rentals…….

The driver has to be insured for the period of the rental. If the driver is from outside the UK the rental firm would have sold him a policy (it also helps them with their margin in the rental deal – so they are all over this). They may also have sold him an accident waiver as well. If his bank have arranged the cover for him (Chase) they have essentially done the in country admin for him – and again the rental firm will be all over this.

When the guy returns the car they are going to have a conversation about the damage – and it’s a good bet he will have called the hire firm already to inform them the vehicle has been damaged in order to get a replacement – esp if he is here for any period of time. Hire companies are very good if you are the injured party. They really don’t want to go to court (costs) and many self insure.

I would follow this up asap if not already done so.

If he has taken a collision waiver I would think any claim you make is less likely to be contested. If the hire firm self insure they may also be very happy to deal with you directly, especially if it is a simple case of the driver accepting liability and the hire firm now need to buy you a new bike. This keeps their costs down.

If you feel after sleeping on it and the adrenaline has worn off that you have any injuries – you may get access to treatment on the hire firm as their insurance would prefer to get the bill from a supplier they have appointed as opposed to one you appoint and attempt to recover the costs for (it kind of works like that in motor insurance for std RTAs – you don’t get any worse treatment – it’s just the bills don’t have any mark up from your insurer – the cost is controlled). Don’t do this if you are uncomfortable negotiating – call your insurer. In any case notify your insurer (BC)- you have taken insurance and it is worth asking their advice, even if you decide not to claim. That’s part of the service.

😀

That sounds about the right spot for my Navigation error CG.

But as I said – my fault – no proper map, hurrying after a flat and I was on Private Land when challenged.

I was just taken back by how aggressive the guy was.

Still – it was a nice ride – some good views and I do like ancient drove ways……..

Guys – quick update.

I got out on Sunday and used the route card

http://www.hants.gov.uk/rh/cycling/abbotstone.pdf

Nothing taxing – and as it goes it linked a few byways that I bumbled along on last year when we stayed.

One thing – the route card and map (as they tend to be) was okay but not exact.

I took a wrong turn in the bit that links Nutley to Dummer (between sections 13 & 14) which is estate / farm land. My own fault – I was in a hurry as I had just fixed a puncture – when I realised that I had made a mistake. I went to turn around and retrace my steps on the concrete road I had been on for 1500 meters or so, and I was challenged by a farmer / estate worker.

He would not let me retrace my steps, and in an aggressive manner he escorted me out of the estate and onto a nearby B road.

The farmer gave me his opinion on all the cyclists that make that same wrong turn – telling me that we all miss the @@@king big sign (I felt like saying if it was that obvious we would not be having this chat).

Any way benefit of the doubt that I was the straw that broke the camels back – I was on private land – he may well on another day be a nice chap.

Don’t get lost in order to find out.

G

That’s great guys. Thanks.

I can work out a leg stretcher from these 🙂

G

So – I won’t bore you with the history – but I broke two fingers, one in my late teens and one in my early 20’s. Annoyingly on different hands. I am in my mid 40’s now and here is the thing – the circulation is screwed in both fingers. They get really cold quickly and become useless.

So the point here – is come the winter – get good gloves! Carry spare gloves – and keep extra gloves in the ‘glove’ box of your car.

Well…for £250 I have an 18 inch candy red inbred that needs re-homing.

Right youngsters (for there must be a few on this thread) Chair lifts are the new stair lifts.

MG is the same age as myself – and what I like is that however she got the shit together to do it she did it – and not in some game levelling vets category.

I know the roundabout. Thanks Adam.

Cheers Natrix

Opposite side of the main road to the lake?

G

Cheers Guys

Pretty much what I thought. My folks moved to Uffculme about 10 years ago, and when I visit, I tend to spend an hour in the car before I ride (Haldon / Duncary Beacon / Porlock / Exford) and any recces I have done on a more local basis up near the wellington memorial etc have been underwhelming.

G

I am driving an Auto – work vehicle – for the last six months. Love it. Although I took my left shoe off when I was driving it at first to help me remember that there is no clutch peddle…..

I am now trying to get my s/o to ditch the manual Scenic we have and get involved with a modern Auto when I have to give the work car back.

I think on modern vehicles if you are a plodder (or even if you are not) there is not much difference. If you live in / near London or heavy traffic area they are great – stop / start / stop / start.

Back to bikes……

Some great ideas here for the OP.

Some of the climbs onto Ranmore road are steeper than you think and if you piece together some of the more popular climbs from Staple Lane towards box you will get a good workout.

If you are coming from Wales, most climbs here are going to be realtively short in duration and with some steeper kicks – and if you take some of the suggestions above, there is the odd wall. It ain’t the Ardennes – but in the spring it can feel like it. Enjoy!

I would second the fire roads as an option to get up some confidence – and you can ride together. There are lots of flat sections near the car park and the trail head.

http://translate.google.com/translate?client=tmpg&hl=fr&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.singlespeed-belgique.be%2Findex.php&langpair=fr|en

I would check out the singlespeed belgique web site. After SSEC11 found some riding from this resource.

We have an old style mountainbuggy and the slime in tube route has limited the flats. We carry a spare tube (one with the valve at an angle for ease of change and that I have pre slimed). We also carry some tweasers and a small pump. Basically I treat it like a bike ride. Anyway I now put way more slime in than I did originally and that has limited the flats big time.

Hey I forgot to ask this on sat / sun but did anyone log / strava the ss weekend routes? Nice routes for a pootle on another occasion and I don’t quite trust my memory to replicate on an o/s map. Cheers.

Good work charlie for mashing up two events on the same weekend. I just did the ss weekend and had a great time…..good to catch up with some familiar faces in both events……top pub stops……riding on the beach…..good cakes……doing it again next year?

I go bag with box lining…..BUT……the fail safe anti crush extra is to get either the plastic frame spreaders bike shops chuck when they unpack a bike for assembly or an old pair of hubs if you have them knocking around. These stop your forks or stays being crushed. I also take off the hanger and the disk rotors.

Small pre and post flight faff. Never any problems.

Just thinking about a few ‘what happens if…..’

So Mrs GDRS would take a Scottish Passport if they existed. Her father lives near Wick so there is link by ancestry. What would happen if everyone eligable for a Scottish passport ‘returned home’, Say to retire or have kids? Or if they married, and their spouse (i.e.me) was then eligable for a passport. Would these scenrios beneift Scotland or be too much of a stretch for the infrustructure?

I can see that the issuing of Scotish passports to the diaspora could be a money spinner. How big is the ‘Scottish nation’ if everyone eligable for a passport took one up?

On a simialr note, how many Canadian’s / Aussy’s and Kiwi’s would be eligible for passports – and would this be a legitimate way for people with ancester claims to enter the UK to work (as they would switch from a commonwealth passport with limited work rights to an EU passport with freedom of movement).

Would UK passport holders in scotland (who are Scottish) be asked to surrender their passports?

Current UK companies with offices in Scotland – Would a Scottish administration be forced to offer tax breaks etc to companies to keep parts of thier work force over the boarder? As a similar example is Nokia in Helsinki – they employ so many people in Finland they can boss the government around (taxes breaks etc). Or is this an oppertunity to increase employment in Scotland buy luring businesses to Scotland for faverable tax treatment?

If the Euro were adopted as a currency would that creat a ‘Dover – Calais’ / ‘Derry – Galway’ effect where excahange rate drives cross
boarder consumer trade (petrol & groceries etc). Does that in the long run benefit the North of the UK and towns like Carlisle – or put more pressure on these local economies?

*My personal view on the whole thing is that it’s all or nothing. Vote in or out – and then see what happens in the morning!

Hmm. Mobile phone use by drivers.

I see this every day, and now the clocks have gone back I can see their faces being lit up by their screens as they sit in traffic.

I have had a couple of close shaves over the years in London – and all have involved drivers using their phones in some capacity.

I would like the Police to get tough on this – not just check phone records after accidents for prosecutions for careless driving / death by careless driving.

That 2 – 3 seconds someone looks down at their smart phone / iphone is the thing I fear the most.

I travel for work quiet a bit but, it’s very on off in nature (India / US / EU & Baltic).

For US and India there is advance notice – but it has been at two weeks once I have had a valid work visa etc.

I think most businesses understand you can’t just drop everything – and if you are felxible they can be too.

For example I push for things like ‘days in lieu’ for time a way at short notice (i.e. like a Monday / Friday to make up a long weekend – or some shorter hours the week I am back) to compensate etc.

DILs don’t cost the firm cash money, and normally if I have gone, it has saved a more seniour person going, so they are open to that type of negotiation.

Yeah – also be clear on your firm’s expenses policy before you go…..

Try the straddle cable tip first Rich.

I had a set of mini V’s on before and had no real flexing at all.

Looks the biz as a SS. Nice work.

G

My only rule of thumb is stick to the plan….a bit like solo riding anywhere – if you do have an off and you are not on the route you said you were on, finding you is all that bit harder.

And take a foil blanket and a warm hat. Needed them once. Really did stop a bad thing becoming worse.

🙂

Metabief is a good laugh – wife and I stayed in a friendly family hotel in the village – http://www.hoteletoiledesneiges.fr/

it’s about 1km from the lift on the road into town (near the fromagerie) at junction of Rue de Village (D385) and Rue De la Forge.

Nice vibe. We ate in there one evening and had breakfast everyday and for lunch and a couple of evening meals we ate in the cafe / restuarant by the lift – next to bike shop. All cool. We only really rode the hill but were told there were lots of other ‘family routes’ near by.

Oh yea – Fondue with new potatoes – that’s my other memory!

Only go to the waterfalls after rain……

My nemisis is the sandy bridalway that leads up St Martha’s hill to the church at the top(nr Guildford). Singlespeed hell. Sometimes I clean it, sometimes it cleans me. It’s not so much the gradient as the sand…

I’ve done this three times in the past with my wife and various friends who do and don’t cycle much.

The tricky climb onto the north downs ridge has been levelled with gravel and The long drag is a drag on the old railway line so it not that technical – the distance is what catches some people out.

I would take a HT, have loads of pressure in the tyres – which you can let down for the final drop in the Shoreham, Take food, think about the trip back on the train to London if that’s your thing (faff /food/ water / lights if it takes you longer than you think, as there is some urban riding to negotiate at the end, or on the way home from the station).

And finally – don’t race people, as there are going to be people doing this for a real life challenge, and the distance gets to everyone who kicks on at pace at the start. As has been mentioned the climb on to the south downs then up to the YHA is mean if you are low on juice.

Enjoy – it’s a great day out. Go Raise money.