farm labourer
Butlins ‘ride’ attendant
off licence counter staff

now:IT (most roles), but back to developer right now

and at my peak I got ‘paid’ to ride a mountain bike for an outdoor adventure centre brochure photos ……..

helped my dad as a nipper, go back and check in 10 years was his advice

his mates mainly did fences (forestry) it was faster

presumably you’ve seen a Caithness slab fence, was always impressed with that

could you do a pulley system – ie two connected carrying objects, – the full one rolls down or slides down a cable) and pulls the empty one back up, if you could work out automatic emptying you could maybe just stand at the top and shovel

in reality it’ll be a lot quicker barrowing …………….

seen araldite (twin tube)glue do amazing stuff – but has to be left to set.

could you pliers/molegrips the rounded bolt out (tradition was to file down both sides to give edges but that was motorbike land and you’re dealing with much smaller parts – but hopefully much less torque as well)

part of our system I believe – a problem with both politicians and the people

if you want people to vote for you then you give them something nice, saying we can’t afford it, which is what should have been said would get you out of power pretty quickly

Bankers were vilified (rightly so) for their abuse of other peoples money I can’t help but feel that not only have politicians done this but they’ve got away with it.

what about yoof hostels or also check travelodge special deals – can get £20 nights

*quite a lot of the Thames coughpath is ridable, check canals (e,g Guildford – basingrad) http://www.cyclingfromguildford.co.uk/route3.html

grrr – missed that

truly an icon, really did cover an awful lot of bases rather well

I feel a you tube session and all my old cassettes and albums coming out

I’d prefer a tariff on usage

ie work out ‘average’ usage

if you use below average you pay less than average per unit
if you use higher then you pay above average per unit
if you stick in some ‘bands’ to allow tuning – ie really low user pay really low and really high users pay really high

I think the soakaway is either to hold water away from soil etc and if you make it big enough it works (*I guess) so it allows disipation away from the surface, if you can plumb the soakaway into a drain that would (*I suspect) be good

I’m trying as below
buy perforated plastic drainage pipe 60/80/100mm (ebay etc)
dig a herringbone pattern trench that slopes/drains to a low point with a water escape facility – 30cm deep ish more etc depending on what’s above (*bleeding obvious – water doesn’t run uphill)

in trench base with gravel/pipe in/gravel around over pipe/soil back on
*you can *possibly also cover pipe in weed suppressor fabric instead of gravel **possible

it’s only been in for about 2 weeks so no idea if it’s working, but at a cost of £12.50 for 30M of drainage pipe off ebay it was worth a try – digging is free, if somewhat time consuming

as an alternative see ebay soakaway crate (*plastic spceframe crate that you dig into the ground which gives a soakaway)

note that pensions are generally sold on commission – ie beware conflict of interests, also beware a ‘tied adviser’ – only able to sell a distinct subset of funds – ie maybe not the best ones

as an alternative see web search on SIPP and Hargreaves and Lansdown(*other suppliers are avilable) – ie SIPP – you invest in a money pot of ‘funds’ that you choose (*and YOU repeat YOU repeat YOU actively monitor manage – you wouldn’t expect a bike to work after 30 years unattended – so why expect that of your pension pot – bear that in mind – and back to the commission point – it’s on the sale NOT the returns of the investment…..)

you need to understand the law re your ‘legal status’ – ltd co – as above and then decide on how to move forward

I’d also look at other things as well
– ie pension – you get tax relief on contributions and 25% tax free cash BUT can’t get till 55 and how and when you take income is ‘controlled’
– ISA – no tax relief on source but tax free after that/open access
– house – can be rented etc/can be sold etc etc
ie- all eggs in one basket may not work

handy if you or mrs can go with a ccouple of mates with similar wants, so buy and split the large packs

NHS staff can join (so can a few others)

well it may be of no help, but I keep the post/tube clean as poss and copaslip on the bolt, my creak turned out to be the saddle rails – now that was hard to find……

Oldfield – Hergest Ridge
Cooder – Southern Comfort

have a look at mountain board wheels (plenty of them are air/inner tube) but I suspect their diameter will be too big

with old age (and mtbing, keep fit and hockey) I started geting probs esp after hockey (*which apparently along with mtb shortens hamstrigs – gave up footie after two major failures during full power kicks), anyway I now find post sport stretching (esp hockey) makes the difference between walking and hobbling the next day
(I do 5 mins or so back stretches and leg stretches whilst ‘cooling down’ and it works for me)
yoga is also meant to be good for backs

*hijack (and apologies for), but as planning to treat gf to Brum/Works via canal next weekend and as there are some locals on board was wondering if apart from Brum/Worcs and back are there any canal/cyclepath routes that included old architecture/history/industrial buildings/scenery/must vist bits etc etc as gf is into that sort of thing and we’re doing the weekend in Brum

edit – ignore me – specsavers issue – Lochgoilhead/lochgilphead – apologies

presumably you’ve seen – http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6N6H6H

we did Crinan Canal (which I suggest is worth doing for the tranquility and views) and then from Crinan S on coast and into woods is an offroad track I planned to do but didn’t get time,

Orkney, various sites, good scenery etc

Crete, ditto, might be sunnier

glyphosate based

or elbow grease, ie lift gravel and lay a membrane, I did and I get very few weeds, and as they’re gravel rooted only they pull out easily

flash beats me to it – quota to meet or budget to spend would be my guess

for me and gf reducing bar ‘reach’ worked (raising bar height/ shortening stem/seat forward etc) I’d also make sure controls are lined up etc

we used Sykes cottages (and got lucky with the May good part)

Plas Porth Y Arthur (*Spelling extremely dubious), 3 bed house, just inside Caernarfon town wall, sea 30 ft, pub 2 mins, (lots of)facilities 5 mins, couple of ‘family’ cycles nearly out of door, brilliant scenery just a short hop

Harbour Cottage, Barmouth (1 bed here), truly beautiful place, slightly bucket and spade but the local facilities were (*for us) BRILLIANT, wander down pier, along prom/beach, train journey down coast, local walks, local bike bimble (Mawddach estuary *can add proper mtb bits)), local drives over gated roads with stunning views

edit (Barmouth poss better for kids – beach/seaside etc)

also check ebay – as you can sometimes get something there

Beryl Burton (*who I didn’t know about till her name was posted on here, a small post with slightly weird answers that made me look her up)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2008/05/15/people_beryl_burton_feature.shtml

the bit about where she passed the bloke (who was currently setting the mans world record for 12 hours), offered hime a liquorice allsort and then went on to set the actual world record appears to be true

“At the end of the 12 hour race Mike Mcnamara had beaten the 9 year old 12 hour record, finishing with 276.52 miles. However, his record beating ride, was completely overshadowed by Beryl’s ride which left her with a total of 277.52 miles, the first time any male road cycling record had been held by a women.”

I did this W to E

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=174390&y=848780&z=120&sv=174390,848780&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=719&ax=174390&ay=848780&lm=0

N at first fork, N at second fork, you can (I didn’t do this so don’t know track or conditions) then go S road/tracks and retrun via loop st the second fork S option, however the bit I did was mainly rideable.

I did this as it was pissing wet, 30mph W wind and no viz for Annat trails, ho hum.

nice shortie – Kinloch Damph along E side of Loch Damh (could possibly add via Glasnock to S) river is a wade by the way

I’d suggest a chain splitter with a replaceable pin facility (ie I had 2 cheap ones – I now have a Park, as the pins used to flatten and bend on the cheap ones – at least with the Park you can replace the pin but I haven’t had to yet)

tell him to practice on a skateboard/mountain board, and if you have a windsurfing club near you that can be pretty exhilerating (and will give you board balance/water comfort etc etc for surfing so will actually help – it will also open up dinghy/cat/kite surfing etc etc) – ditto canoeing (but I found windsurfing [in the right wind] pretty much as good as surfing and a catamaran can be totally awesome *and uncontrollable)

bit ot/probably to far, however we’ve just done 2 weeks in N Wales, anyway
http://www.totters.co.uk/prices.asp, *parking might upset you, it’s in two public car parks about 1 to 2 mins walk away. Pub (with food)on seafront is at car park, we stayed over the road in self catering, it was fine.

or http://www.wigwamholidays.com/snowdonia-and-coast-wigwams, didn’t use this but found it as part of holiday research and we used a wigwam for a week at Perth.

painted,sealed concrete (of a light colour that doesn’t match bits on bike etc), and carpet/carpet tiles are a brilliant idea (try kneeling on a bolt on a concrete floor if you want to know why)

lino if you can get some cheap, esp the slightly padded stuff

forgot, for a Brit movie – Blue Juice

for much earlier persepective (and possibly boring etc to a todays child) see Crystal Voyager (*beware Pink Floyd music, however it was that film, seen a long, long time ago that caused me to go surfing) and also Big Wednesday (wholesome American, surfing and friendships)

Purbecks, Corfe Castle (views, steam train), Weymouth (harbour area really nice, eat there, wander etc) Portland Bill (*great walk/bike loop round bill, sculpture park, pub at bill is rubbish), Old Harry Rocks on coast very scenic, Lulworth Cove + Durdle Dor
Square and Compass at Worth Maltravers food/atmos
(edit I think one of bill lighthouses does B+B poss)

Devon – Lynton/Lynmouth – Exmoor, cliffs, Valley of the rocks, Porlock, Porlock Hill, coastal path, Hunters INN at Watersmeet (and walks from there)

well, when I was in the motorbike display team we ended up towing people on old ‘snow skis’ on grass if you see what I mean, so how about, quiet dowhhill road, big powerful mate on mtb, tow rope, disengage brain etc, or poss downhill on grass

*edit, take em to the BBB and have a pulling’ competition (sort of like a tractor pulling competition)

I sort of agree, but find that I struggle a bit with the concept of people who use the phone, text, drink coffee, apply makeup, read maps, discipline children etc whilst driving being so vociferous and judgemental about something proven to impair driving ability.

yes, as it lets all the opposing parties spend ages (and our money)whinging, complaining, criticising, guffawing and making it crystal clear they wouldn’t have made the same mistake. After all if they had to clearly specify what their policies were they would have had nothing to say.

if you want to do a 40% downhill in a car go to Harlech, up hill at S end of castle, turn L at shops then down smal one way, don’t brake on the gravel

Portmeirion, awesome, drink in hotel, stroll on the prom etc, tour village

Barmouth (*fyi, the Last inn is about £14 for ham+eggs), second King George III , dinner there last Thu – cracking visit the Panorma viewpoint (up hill on RHS)

train – Barmouth/Aberdovey (for lunch and back, Aberdovey is nice, linear town,worth an hour)

cracking drives/viewpoints, purple haze of bluebells on Fri/sat – truly stunning
here – http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=263288&y=337578&z=120&sv=263288,337578&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=710&ax=263288&ay=337578&lm=0 – picnic at lake just bewlo if weather like this then over narrow road below

pass of the Cross, then canoe hire at lake Vyrnwy – http://www.cyclingnorthwales.co.uk/pages/rte_bala.htm

my rope swing failed, mind you tying it to a top of the outdoor stair banister probably explained why I ended up sitting on the kitchen table getting 3 unanethetised stitches in my forehead….

oh, another top tip, if the old fashioned mechanical mileometers that work by a peg attached to the spoke clicking them round make a comeback, if your’s isn’t quite clicking properly don’t try adjusting it by kicking it gently while you’re riding along …….

if you want to stay techie and skip the politics go contracting, more money, less ‘management/company’ stuff etc

do you (and sorry if this goes down the wrong way or if it’s not the case, however I’m asking as so,so many people don’t esp in IT[personal experience and personal learning]) understand basic management maths.
Management Maths
5 person team, manager kills himeslf to get deliveries in on time etc, working at 140% effort (*and will probably burn out after a while with possible quality/team issues), this will probably result in a less than 500% effective team as the rest of the team are probably badly managed etc etc and down to 80% effective. Alternatively manager manages really well, he’s down to 90% as doing management, team however are at 100%. Which is better for the team and the company (and the manager). I truly have worked for people who were too busy to delegate.

If you can delegate you will have more time to be political.

(*I went contracting)

take a kite course
take a buggy course
make sure you can fly the kite you’ll use properly
check beach regs, and population/usage, and never underestimate the lack of understanding of your hobby by other beach users and the arrogance and stupidity of dog owners.
do all that before buying

*sorry, but it was one of my hobbies that ‘failed’ – I had a Lynn buggy (which I liked) (make sure you get a seat with a backpad and a front mudguard/sprayguard) and a old Flexfoil Hi Tiger 4 (a little big but good in low wind) I gave up as I found it difficult to get enough appropriate personal space and if something rustles along the beach, such as an expensive kite, dogs will chase and bite it…….
For me it was too much hasle for the fun if you see what I mean.

cheers, should have searched but was in harassed mode as it’s hot and a constantly dragging brake has just curtailed a rather pleasant ride…., having investigted it appears to be lazy piston, one side is perfect the other side just doesn’t play, have tried exercising and teflon but still an unhappy camper, but at lest have got it nearly working now…..