Wipeout. Awesome flying/driving/racing game.

Loco Roco. Surreal 'platform' puzzle game with addictive music (possibly the 'blob' puzzle game?)

Daxter. Platform/shooter.

The Grand Theft Auto games are great conversions if you like that kind of game.

Go for it!

If you are contemplating it, perhaps have a go on a tryout day?

I did a stag do with http://www.mxtryout.co.uk last year. What a blast! I had no idea how hooked I'd get. Wanted to buy a bike but just to make sure, booked them again for my birthday and bought a bike 5 days later!

I went 2 stroke as they are simpler, lighter and cheaper to maintain. 2 stroke is little and often, 4 stroke is infrequent but spendy (with the potential for a show stopping valve failure) so they seem to even out. For me, having ridden both back to back, the 4 stroke was easier but the 2 stroke was much more of a giggle when the power hits.

Unless you are heavy, a 125 2-stroke will be plenty fast enough and build lots of skills. 2005/2006 YZ's win lots of the mag shoot outs.

I had no plans to race, just hit local practice tracks. Now I'm faster and starting to clear doubles (was stoked to first jump the double/double rhythtm section at Apex!) I may give a local race a pop.

Costs – I'd say a typical practice session is £25 to ride. £8 in fuel and premix. Add in filter oil, gearbox oil and wear and tear you're about £42 a ride. Of course, there's always unforeseen damage on top!

Maintenance tips:
http://forums.mxtrax.co.uk/showthread.php?t=230010

Chinese : Will bodge a solution rather than resolve a problem. Worst two words you can hear = No Problem!

Very true!

Same answer to every question. Sometimes there's a killer pause that you've got to listen for though.

Q – Will the tooling be ready on time?

A – No problem.
or
A – No…. Problem!!!!

I was always walking into work on Monday mornings after a race like I had spent the weekend in prison.

I was described as looking like the illegitimate offspring between Ozzy Osbourne and C3PO!

its my ruined knee thats the problem

If you want a sport to ruin your knees, it's motocross! Have you got knee braces?

What car, engine and fuel?

I had a 1/8th scale buggy and it was a bugger to get to run well. Never got through more than 1/2 a tank without overheating, no matter what jetting and settings.

I contacted the engine manufacturer and they recommended a different fuel and glow plug.

Changed fuel from 'duraglow' to 20% blue thunder and the car flew, and ran tank after tank. It instantly changed from highly frustrating to loads of fun.

Just wondering if I'd be laughed at for turning up at an MX club (im thinking MTB without the pedaling) on the wrong bike

No, you wouldn't be laughed at turning up at a practice track on an Enduro bike. It's a win/win deal – if you are rubbish, you have a ready made excuse and get respect for getting stuck in, if you are great then you get more respect! There's usually one or two number-plated bikes in a practice session.

im happy enough going sideways on an MTB, but i'm imagining doing it with 40hp and a 200lb bike is a bit different to 0.25hp and 30lb

There are lots of transferable skills for sure – but you're right, a push iron drift is waaay different to a moto powerslide! It was the brakes, throttle, clutch and gears I struggled with more than the line choice, balance and getting loose!

Head down and watch at your local practice track to see what goes on.

p.s. in terms of MTB without pedalling, don't think it's an easy option. Be prepared to need help putting your socks on for a couple of days after your first proper moto session!

Linksys WRT54G for ‘G’ and 10/100. ‘L’ (WRT54GL) version flashed with 3rd party firmware for loads of extra options and great stability.

D-Link DIR655 for ‘N’ and 10/100/1000.

This is still for sale – hope it’s of interest:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ot-wireless-router

Look in the screwfix catalogue for a deal – when I was last there they had a 24 litre tank, think it was 1.5hp, with air tool set for 70 odd quid.

I got a known branded one and it looks the same and was twice the price (before staff discount). I use it for a lot more than tyres (air gun, blowing out carbs, spraying, blow dry after washing, seating tubeless). For just pumping tyres, my track pump is easier and was a fiver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzgKaFg-PMs

Sheffield Wedding Photographer – James Stewart Photography

Wedding photographer and rider from Sheffield who’s shot Peaty for some adverts before. Nice guy, worth giving a shout to see what he can offer.

Another vote for Grindewald/Wengen/Lauterbrunnen!

Had an amazing holiday there last summer – lift accessed hiking! Hike, train, hike, gondola – pick a route and do as much or as little as you want.

You can hike the Eiger trail or catch a train up inside the mountain and peer out down the north face.

It does get busy and is not cheap but we really enjoyed it.

Easy access – you can catch the train direct from Geneva airport to Interlaken then up to Wengen.

Scenery is stunning – I took this photo (click) from our bedroom! (Sorry about the pretentious border, I was playing in photoshop):

My Mrs. works in Pharmaceutical research.

When asked what we did, she used to say “Drugs and vice”.

My specialist topic – I designed vices for Record for a few years. Not much to go wrong, really!

If you are buying second hand, check the tommy bar is straight. On the Record, at least, the tommy bar is designed to bend before the vice is overloaded. This acts as an initial indication to stop tightening it!

Other thing to check is side play in the slide. Open the vice wide and see how much waggle there is in the front jaw. There will be some, but too much means it might not close straight.

Record vices will break castings before they strip threads. Check the screw for backlash as the nut can wear.

A Record number 3 is a solid little vice, the most popular in the range and would be a good bet.

The only reason I can think of bigger one is pressing headsets. I’ve got a decent fabricated steel vice with parallel faced jaws that is a wicked bearing press.

Our Boxxer used to sleep in the porch.

Half way through the night, he’d sneak in between the inner and fly then lean over inwards, collapsing the inner tent onto us.

Turned into a regular trick when we has near tents! Always looked very pleased with himself!

Have a look at http://www.interparcel.com/

They seem to be a middle man. Quote and book on-line and someone like Royal Mail, UPS or DHL will turn up. Always been cheaper for me than going direct with a carrier. I’ve used them for skis, mountain board, bikes and been great.

expensive though g-s.

I paid £150 for a 12V Hitachi with 2 batteries, case and a decent set of bits. In terms of my spend, I put that in the ‘investment’ bracket for tools, but it’s definitely paid for itself. When it packs up (hopefully not soon), I’ll get another impact driver.

Cordless impact driver and corded hammer drill for the tougher stuff is my perfect combo.

If you are predominantly driving screws rather than drilling, have a serious look at a cordless impact driver over a drill driver.

It produces much higher torque for much less weight/power and has no torque reaction – i.e. it’s not trying to spin itself out of your hand.

Hitachi 12V drill driver – 26Nm
Hitachi 12V impact driver – 130Nm!!

This the impact action also means it’s far less likely to cam out of fixings and round out screw heads. Also, it’s light – you can use it in one hand, at arms length and still drive coach bolts into timber. Since it’s compact, it also does things like fit between floor joists where a big 18V drill driver would struggle.

Get one with 2 batteries. Hitachi are great. Awesome bit of kit – every time I use mine, I’m glad I bought it. It’s paid for itself several times over now.

How about this?
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/2404726-post2.html

£7k is disappointingly small even in 20’s.

Took most of it to Liverpool in my coat pocket to buy my last vehicle!

Can’t believe I’m replying… ;-)

Theory makes sense, swinging side to side is sometimes easier to use (and good for the abs!)

In reality, our flymo was a terrible purchase. Blows grass everywhere, even a ‘collector’ one, motor blew up after little use and was going to cost more to repair than replace the mower! I also found it blew the grass flat, then battered then ends off it, rather than cutting it.

Also, bear in mind that the flymo rides on an air cushion. If the bumps are really bumpy, it will ‘spill’ all it’s air cushion and still scalp the tops of the bumps.

I got a Bosch on wheels and it’s miles better.

UK Knife law

Basically, you can carry a folding pocket knife with a blade below 3″.

Well they sorted out the ghost shifting on my YETI (actually, that’s mine linked to above!!) a treat!

More info on the system including some setup tips here – http://www.gravity-slaves.co.uk/?a=127

I bought a Blackburn Air Tower 4 (for £35, not the £78 it retails for now!) based on lifetime warranty. I’m currently waiting to find out if the warranty performs better than the pump!

The angled gauge points at your crotch, not your eyes, when you are pumping. The hose clip doesn’t work and there is nothing to keep the handle ‘closed’ in transit. It did blow a good volume of air until it started leaking from the barrel/shaft seal!

I’m a big fan of Sanyo eneloops.

http://www.eneloop.info/

I’ve had loads of fun from my PSP. Great screen, great sound, easy to use. The only ‘cons’ I found is the UMD, as you say, playing off a stick would be much easier for travel. Homebrew firmware available that might do it. Stock battery life OK but the original PSP has a long life battery option.

LocoRoco is addictive and the music will drive you potty, in a good way. When you start trying to sing it, you know it’s time for a break.

Wipeout Pure is the best ‘driving’ game I’ve played on it, absolutely awesome conversion.

I might sell mine with games and accessories. Drop me a mail if you are interested in photos and details!

What’s the correct link / method ?

Use the ‘img’ tags either side of the link to your photo.

[ img ] yoursitedotcom/yourphoto.jpg [ /img ]

but without spaces.

I can’t tell that a flash was used in the Atherton’s gap shot. Maybe that’s a good thing, but I’d imagine a fast prime would have captured the same image.

A fast lens would have got the light in for sure, but I used a big flash, manually zoomed to full, to highlight Sam and help ‘lift’ him out of the background. I reckon a bigger aperture would have given a lighter background and darker rider so less ‘pop’. It also let me drop the aperture a bit for more latitude on focal depth. I wasn’t about to ask him to go again!

On the original you can see the flash has hit him nicely! Full story of the shot here for anyone interested.

Flash, when used well (not saying I necessarily can!), is an amazing tool that open up lots of possibilities, especially when shooting fast paced action in poor light.

You can add a sense of motion and speed, freeze the action, fill in shadows when backlit or pull the subject out of the background.

Or, it can look rubbish.

Of course, it’s all down to personal opinion at the end of the day!

Here’s one with the flash zoomed in, full power, to pull the rider out of the background:

Some more flash shots from my
Flickr[/url] photostream that I quite like!

Check out strobist.com[/url] for endless tips and advice.

Is it apostrophes?