rainmaker-please pass them to me, I would be really gratefull….my e-mail is in my profile.

metrocentre-just follow the a1 till you see the metrocentre signs,
airport-just follow the a1 till you see airport signs
racecourse-just follow the a1 untill you see the big brown sign with the horses

its really easy, well signed and all those junctions within 5 miles of each other on the a1

I always use O-Pro. http://www.opro.com/
Like a dentist one-they send you a kit and you make the mould of the teeth yourself with putty and send it to them where they make the shield for you. really easy-comes with a step by step audio guide. Available in loads of colours, national flags etc

Sorry-I have joined this thread very late and not read every single page. I am after a new light and wondering if you are selling these troutie? Would be interested…

postierich-probably been asked before BUt what is it? looks really nice!

anyone know if there is anything in the North-Newcastle Upon Tyne area?

thanks spooky_b329-made my day! Lol!

Just started having a mess around with editing/cropping etc so will see what I can do with what I have already taken and work on future ones!

Think I will bear the rules in mind as they might help my placement of objects etc in the pics BUT I wont be totally help by the rules at the same time.

JonClimber-I might join that, could be an interesting challenge. Some great pics on there already.

thanks for the feedback guys. will get out and shoot some more soon, possibly looking at going on a course up in my neck of the woods!

Ok seems just like a personal preference then. Had lots of phantom shifts lately and both bikes needing a bit more maintenance than I would like so might give SRAM a go just for a change.

Scott TB-Newcastle Upon Tyne mate! if you know wheres good I would appreciate the heads up!

Teetosugars-thats really bad! I might be fine for the mortageability too but I am along way off 10K deposit….

hora-genesis alpitude? I had a soul previously and have swapped for the alpitude. not mega heavy, adjustable revs on it, pretty forgiving at the back and I weigh 16 stone. I have the original white one but this/next years model looks nice in the pics I saw on here.

loads of info here:http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/08/2010-genesis-bikes/

Cheers for the replies,

XC_PK I will be on a 140mm Genesis Alpitude and my girlfriend on a 100mm RockLobster. Nothing hardcore!

Spesh99-I think by the sound of it the red gondola access trail sounds like its just a step above us at the minute, I might give it a go though….

LMT-are you planning on doing alot of riding in the week or just the red downhill?

I looked at that one as-well. gets lots of good reviews. Well worth going to try them, especially as its so important that they are comfortable to wear.

I just liked the fit of them. They come in different back lengths and their large suits me much more than the other ‘one size fits all’ options. Seem like a really well made pack too. if it was mainly for biking I would go for the Exos right away-superlight for a pack of the size.

FWIW the deuter stuff also looks really good!

just to update-I have been and tried lots of packs. narrowed it down to a choice between an Osprey Atmos 35 or Osprey Exos 34!

Thanks for all the info guys, thats really helped!

Any idea about nighttime-any nice places to check out for food etc?

nunuboogie-how is yours built up?

I have all the gear already apart from the carbon post but considering selling a few things if I can lighten the load!

can get nice hope xc/717s which might be a little lighter. wheres the best place for hope/stan builds at the moment?

thanks for the suggestions, i was also looking at the Deuter Trans Alpine 30 so looks like a bit more though is needed!

When it says Trad jersey full does that mean full length sleeves (as I originally thought this might mean full length zip)??

way too small for me Im afraid, and over budget! sorry!

Joxter I might also be interested depending on size and price etc….

I am just trying to decide what to get on the scheme myself! have to go through Edinburgh Bike Co-Op and they have a few things for around £1000.

Not sure if I should get a MTB (Maybe their own brand scandium model which is pretty well equiped and light at 11kg) or a decent hybrid which would be ideal for the commute but no use off the road!

Just had my first ride on my alpitude last night and really loved it! looking forward to getting it out again soon!

aye i joined up but there is a delay between signing up and being allowed to post! really wanted that watch!

Barney-are you a member on that forum? i would quite like one of those watches but cant get in contact with teh guy!

no subs copy for me yet!

I am in my second year as a teacher. Did the ‘straight from school to uni back to school route mentioned above!

It might be worth thinking about why so many new teachers quit in the first year or 2 before you make any decisions! I was very close to quitting after 6 weeks (then I broke my leg and had an extra ‘holiday’ which gave me time to refresh!) I am still there now coming towards the end of my 2nd year teaching.

Have spoken about it with a friend today who is thinking of quitting after one year and she saw it like this…

Bad points: horrible kids, horrible parents, having little or no support from senior staff, lots of useless ideas that you have to go along with before the next surpasses it, constatnt assessment from others who may or may not have a clue what they are talking about/oberving, pressure to achieve results eevn if you are not teaching bright/keen/able pupils, poor management and also alot of teachers get very sick at some stage through the year be it stress or flu or whatever etc etc etc

Good Points: Helping kids/making kids feel good, The pay is OK-goes up every year as long as you are doing an OK job, The holidays-yes much of them is wasted marking/planing/pondering or whatever but you cant argue with them, you can if need be get away from school at 3 whereas most people are stuck at work till 5 no-matter what.

I have to say the bad points are making some people fall apart under my eyes at school right now! These points wont apply to all schools but I would agree with most of them!

lol househusband!

I saw that they were discontinued as-well. Still quite easy to get a large in black if thats what you are after though. As far as I know there should be a review in an upcoming Singletrack mag as on of the staffers picked one up to test.

I have one and am quite liking it! Its my only bike so I use it for whatever I am up to. Weight not really an issue for me. I am running Pikes at 120mm and find it fine at that.

thanks for the info so far-sounds like primary schools are the way to go!!!

Planning to get in there about 6 or 6:30 to be there in good time!

Wozza-what time would you call earlyish????? When would traffic etc be worst?

I would say the 16.5 will be spot on. I am 6ft 2 and ride a 16inch NS Society with a pretty short TT!!!! Been thinking about the 18.5 alpitude myself…

Thanks for all the input folks.

40mpg-I have one piece of wall which juts out a bit and I was thinking of doing that a different colour as a sort of feature-hadnt thought of the frames idea though! Cheers!

sandy/oatmeal might be the way i go with the carpet. I would love wood or maybe even tiles but I think that will work out much more expensive!

Looks like a few more trips to teh floor stores are in order….

had lots of chainsuck on my soul before i sold it aswell. old chainrings, new chainrings, old chain, new chain, wet lube, dry lube etc etc all the same….

renton sounds a little big-I am 6ft2 with a 32inch and am riding a medium NS society (15.5 inch seattube and 22.5 inch TT!) Although this is a tad small if I am honest……18 inbred sounds about right!

i will take your 456 and you can get a ragley

any idea on price for the ragley?

just click on where it says member beside my name-then you will see my e-mail. just copy that and send me an e-mail.