its cos the chain is less slack

when I'm riding my hardtail over a flatish fast peddaly bit – which is also bumpy enough for me to want to get out of the saddle, I put it in the big ring. when I leave it in the middle ring I can feel the chain slapping about and its harder to pedal in smooth circles, you can feel the tension in the chain coming and going as the chain bounces about

if you don't have a big ring its not an issue as your chain will be shorter anyway

i seem to remember snooker players getting caught using Beta blockers when I was a kid

it depends

I have a berghaus top which calls itself a base layer. Its a similar fit to a loosish jersey – and only really works as eigher a jersey in its own right, or an extra layer if its cold. Apart from the lack of pockets there is no real advantage to wearing it under a jersey than just wearing 2.

I have recently bought a tight fitting "hot" base layer for summer use. This seems to work well at keeping me dry, wicking sweat away from the skin

I don't seem to get so cold when the temprature drops as I don't have lots of sweat on my skin ready to get cold

I have a heckler – but if I was in your shoes and was offered the intense I would take it – they are pretty pricey non?

why do you need to worry about the distributor?

if they are in warranty then merlin will fix any issues

if they are out of warranty, you send them to TF Tuned, or fix them yourself (just like you probably would if they were non-OEM)

i doubt the average listener will notice much of a difference

its not even close to a "greatest album" title – those awful "backwards" filler tracks put paid to that

yuck look at this – couldn't they have fitted a proper set of mudguards[/url]

trek seem to be buying into the new technology big time

the new Guardian bike podcast has a review of a hub geared Trek hybrid which uses a belt drive

there are bargains to be had in there – but I need to spot that bargain fast – I quickly loose the will to live if I have to spend too long sorting through racks of endless rubbish

I think I'm like you – started with a basic commuter, then a basic mtb when I got the bug

since then I have replaced the basic starter bikes – and now have 5 bikes

However they all do a different job (ss commuter, "proper" road bike, hardtail, single speed MTB, full suss MTB)

I am happy with all my bikes and have no plans to change any of them (bar upgrades to the odd individual component here and there)

I do think about new bikes – buts its always a different type of bike than I have currently (track bike, cross bike, tourer, cargo bike blah blah blah)- I don't think I could get that excited about buying another single speed say, the one I have does the job just fine

i liked it, i like the comic too (but I am very far from a comic book geek)

bit of a marmite film to buy on DVD at full price perhaps

I might buy the DVD – but I will wait for the rumored longer directors cut with the animated pirate comic bits they cut out of the cinema release

i have Oakley prescription frames for day to day use

they aren't riding glasses though – just "normal" frames made by Oakley, not sure if that is what you are after. Got them from Vision Express

for proper riding I wear disposable contacts and Oakley sunnies – the cost of changing lenses in prescription sunnies as well as normal glasses adds up as too much I think

topangarider – I have attached the ay-up mount to a couple of old lumicycle qr type mounts via a couple of zip tyres

works well and allows me to easily put the mount on/ off different bikes (doesn't work on oversized bars though)

if i recall you need to have at least 10cm of post inside the frame (you might want to check with cotic on that)

i think most people need a longer 400mm post to achieve this as the frames are fairly compact – i can get away with a 350mm, but I seem to have relatively short legs and long body!

or just ride in your work clothes – take it easy and you won't get sweaty.

I just ride in work clothes for my short 4 mile commute to the station – although I do change and shower when I do the full 12 mile distance and skip the train

if its only 2 and a half miles why don't you just walk in?

julies are ok – I have some on my SS and they work fine (pads seem to last for ever), feel a bit plastiky and cheap

but

If you shop around you can get something much nicer for not a lot more

have a look at Merlin – they often have bargain OEM brakes. I have had a set of Formula Oros and a set of Shimano SLX from there for not alot. And they are much nicer brakes than Julies

I noticed the odd timings for 3rd/ 4th 5th laps too – didn't seem to impact the figure for overall time on the course. I expect they will be fixed before they are published online

I raced the 12 hour solo – pleased to up my position from 16th last year to 11th this time (12 laps both years so I guess it was harder this year)

good bits of the course were still good – I missed the 1st singletrack section before the tarmac climb from last year, and I recall that the bluebell woods section ended in a more interesting way last time – maybe those sections were in a bad way thanks to the wet weather?

Like Badlywireddog (hello BWD) I was camped with Team Morvelo – and their race provided an exciting end to the weekend after I was done riding

if I recall there is a solo camping area near the track, and an area where soloists can leave their food and bottles around the changeover area.

not really a soloists tent though – your best bet is to camp trackside or near to trackside and sort yourself out at your own tent

reminds me of that Bill Hicks routine

the ultimate ad for coke is just a shot of a woman with her legs apart – "exploring her own body" and the words "DRINK COKE" underneath

"more coke, more snickers"

reminds me of that Bill Hicks routine

the ultimate ad for coke is just a shot of a woman with her legs apart – "exploring her own body" and the words "DRINK COKE" underneath

"more coke, more snickers"

the one in brighton is chained up outside a house

I've only seen him riding it once – stopped at traffic lights and using a metal pedestrian barrier thing to lean on

seen one around brighton – can't work out how he gets on and off

it's so funny I want to take it behind the cafeteria and get it pregnant

arrested development is also worth finding on dvd if you enjoy comedies (like 30 rock) with lots of quickfire/ recurring/ hidden gags etc. Cancelled now

i would say the modestly keen home chef needs at least one decent, proper sharp knife – mainly for dealing with the cutting of raw meat and fish

cheaper knives are fine for veggies and stuff but I could do with something proper sharp (and easy to keep sharp) for that kind of stuff

@grievoustim

I'll be there doing the 12 hour solo again on a custard soul with White magura forks.

yes – very scary

but also so touching and sad at the end

loved it

wasn't really planning on sharing on here, but here goes

looks like I'm heading the same way as Fitzy, 3 kids here. 10 years marriage, wife is 36 and things have gone off course in the last 2 or 3 years – it does seem like shes changed over the last few years and got restless, whilst I have stayed largely the same and want to enjoy the comfortable life and happy kids we are blessed with

I seem to have failed to say/ do the right things since things started going wrong – now things feel too far gone to save, too much mutual frustation and resentment

i don't know how we're going to tell the kids

I loved yesterdays rainy stage, it was great watching them suffer

plastic re-usable single cup filter – use one every morning for a nice mug of coffee, and perfect for camping

I agree with coyote – sounds like a helicopter was waaay overkil, but this was a bit more than a BBQ for 17 people

ss roadrat – with the headbadge removed and old inner tube wrapped round the downtube to hide the logo

hmmm

when I was signed up to do this a few years ago I left sorting out a room late – and there were none left, at all (and I hadn't left it as late as you)

in the end it was cancelled due to weather that year – but I had arranged for a lift on the day instead

perhaps see if a kind soul on here might put you up for the night?

samuri

there is a film of Apt Pupil

It was directed by Bryan Singer of Usual Suspects and X men fame – and stars Gandalf as the Nazi

can't really remember if it was much good or not

samuri – you are very right

i think of this female love of multitasking, more as an ability to make a stewed, near cold cup of tea at the same time as say watering the garden.

um iLife?

get your photos in iPhoto and pick out the ones you want to use – get them in an album all by themselves

iPhoto will do you a basic slideshow – but you get better results if you export to iMovie. You can then play around with different pans and wipes and things. drag your music of choice over from itunes

then use iDVD to create your DVD menus and stuff

I managed it with my holiday photos it must be easy!

upthedowns thirded

Spotify is for good not evil

my mum talks about doing that back in the olden days

I think they used to eat sugar sandwiches too

the thought of it makes me feel queesy to be honest