well put Junkyard

prolonging very low quality of life seems very questionable to me

I went to Biarritz with this lot

http://www.surfsouthwest.co.uk/

thought it was well run/organised – suggest you check on tuition options though as most people just went and surfed

See my post here http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/torridon-area (applecross – kenmore )

Arran has some bits – and it’s overall scenery makes it worth a visit

Clauchlands – Lamlash – Cordon – Kings Cross – Whiting Bay, (Kings X – WB – deffo rideableish – paths/stiles – take sarnies to sit at horsehoe shaped sandy bay nr KX point), suspect that biking might be tricky C-KX but deffo used to be walkable (*1960s 10yr old, looked ok 2 yrs ago) then back at WB via up the hill forest tracks nr cafe at burn (Glenashdale Falls, Giants Grave, lovely wee burn and follow track then follow burn back to Lamlash once you hit the road

also, on a hot day, get barefoot, get sandy beach, get to tideline and wiggle and squelch toes in – you might get a flattie or a spoutie

(*will require removal (pls replace) of decent sized rocks to get full views)

madness in action

to be fair though I do think free parking might help – (scratches chin contemplatively) – I wonder who introduced parking meters and car park charges on publicly owned property ……

floorball

http://gbfua.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=76

bleeding things, long sleeve shirt, long shorts, long socks, full finger gloves – you know the little hole on the back of the glove where it velcros together – 3 bites, little fookers

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/gallery/raleigh/1955-raleigh-cycle-master-648×570.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1955-raleigh-cycle-master/&h=570&w=648&sz=76&tbnid=A74YDcUYylEV-M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=105&zoom=1&usg=__fB5wg0TpOBvMRfGF_UisCJAVGuw=&docid=kDXHVBa7deg1MM&sa=X&ei=e_3zUZnKIMvw0gWWr4DQBQ&ved=0CFYQ9QEwBw&dur=131

my granny had 2 of these at her place in the 60s – I thought they were cyclomoteur/french but they had the engine sitting in the wheel just like this – it was the sort of place where a small child had to be careful running through the field – some grass clumps were due to cow pats and some had motor bike engines in them and they hurt ….

they also did ones (*I think where the engine dropped down onto the front wheel for hill assist)

not quite strange, but very pleasing, whilst happy bimbling along the Thames (footpath), having been scowled at by ramblers, there up in a tree (20 ft or so), with a bushman(a saw type chaps) in one hand and the branch he was sawing at in the other, feet braced against the trunk was a very heavily built, tanned, check shirt wearing chap – when he saw me he took out the saw, waved, smiled shouted hullo and then carried on sawing

don’t forget seat

I had a bit 15ft of wire(well metal cable actually) with clamps bolted to each end, loop thru and ends in boot

I also have from ebay a plastic coated 3 metal cable that I use

Have a look on spareroom.co.uk
you can search for wanted as well as advertise

Maybe unlikely in your location but I’ve always managed to get Mon-Fri lodgers which means when you’re mainly about they’re not.

Notes – take a photocopy of their passport/license etc/note their car number etc.
You need to tell your home insurance company. *edit and understand consequences – I wasn’t insured for lodger theft etc etc)
I always ‘interviewed’ on phone and in person.
Make sure you are clear on any ground rules (I’d get a copy of this signed) – no smoking etc whatever you think you want.
Also you need to be able to slightly change mindset – from it’s my house, to it’s my house but they are paying me to stay here so I need to meet sort of middleish……..

if you put in slightly sunken pavers you should be able to just run a mower over the lot, make it an interesting shape etc or do big rocks with alpines grwoing out of them and use them as the path

does it creak when you’re not sitting on the saddle and are not pedalling ?

if you had a gf who had access to nitrile gloves you would find that fixing punctures on manky/muddy days was no longer such a pain

headset removal – 22mm copper tube, cut 2″ deep X in end, splay to fit cups – sorted

try moving house and then investigating what needs to be done to board the loft

ps – cod and chips pls

H+L – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/multi-day-route-on-harrislewis

I can vouch for this one
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=175472&y=849900&z=120&sv=175472,849900&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=694&ax=175472&ay=849900&lm=0 (I did the N branch to Kenmore , the E branch is higher) – you could loop it though

it was so windy (40mph,driving rain) I gave up at Torridon and did this with a tail wind

bit late imho

In the 60s in Arran people were still living in sheds (*and railway carriages). Nowadays it’s a lot trickier, rules and regs, same amount of land, lots more people (many of whom are very profit orientated). It was part of working class culture – boat/forest/coast shed, primus, tilley – cups of tea, bread and butter with fresh fried fish on the beach

in short imho – no (*no easy, novice suitable off road route with kit)

the classic harris route – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/rhenigidale-mtb-route
would be challenging with gear/for a novice (edge paths and bloody steep)
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=118493&y=901788&z=120&sv=118493,901788&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=693&ax=118493&ay=901788&lm=0
the west N/S leg might be doable (arrow on loch)

I’d guess the best best is http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=118553&y=911683&z=120&sv=118553,911683&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=693&ax=118553&ay=911683&lm=0
do it W then S, S is cart track and a lovely glide with views (and I suspect campable) the first bit as I recall was fairly rideable but had some pushing and wet bits

this bit is an old road and should be fine – http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=111988&y=895203&z=120&sv=111988,895203&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=693&ax=111988&ay=895203&lm=0

do not do this (*it was in my pre gps days but there if there was a distinct ground path I didn’t find it – quite a lot of rocks and bogs though, truly relieved when I hit tarmac) whttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=110103&y=894838&z=120&sv=110103,894838&st=4&ar=y&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=693&ax=110103&ay=894838&lm=0

also I love Scotland to bits but I’d suggest you take enough cash so you can do a B&B if the weather goes wrong and watch out as there will be a lack of facilities and more so on Sunday

I used a steamer (*don’t overuse as it can impact plaster) and that made a big difference

once top soil is broken up rake to level and also turn the rake upside down and drag, this will act as a leveller and also help drag larger bits into piles so you can remove them

with a cheap folding rack I added (via tailgate ‘gaps’ and rear seat belt top mounts) 2 extra 1″ motorbike hook straps, make sure rack straps in good condition, don’t rely on just rack strap clamp (put a loose knot etc in strap to help stop slippage), do up properly and if it rains it might be wrth checking as things seem to stretch/slip when wet

3/4 shorts, long socks, full sleeves top, full finger gloves and a net over helmet, all tucked in – yip, unfashionable, but made a 1hr slog climb bearable if a lot hot

It’s a split multi level bungalow, and is updated to a combi boiler, so far I haven’t seen any copper etc in loft but will do some more digging and see if I can find a header/water tank

re wiring/boarding – another idea seems to be another layer of rafter at right angles to existing rafters, in my case this might be easier. I need to board a rectangle 25ft long, 5ish ft wide (currently with rafters running parallel to the short sides) and if the ‘new’ rafters were to run along the long I could just get t+g boards 5ft wide and fit together without having to fix it all down and it would let me put in a bit more insulation.

2 pages max
mine is
Name + contact dets (name + email + mobile)
Qualifications (Degree + professional, training certifications etc as applicable AND relevant)
Skills summary (Job Roles/Tech Keywords, as I suspect most people do keyword searches/IT lookups)
Reverse job history (where, to/from, brief para – less detailed for earlier jobs

I would try to ‘tune’ to required job – ie include suitable previous skills/experiences etc

**re ‘truth’ – imho you need to sell yourself as best you can and there is (imho) a ‘grey area’ between marketing and porkies, at the very least be positive about your abilities and skills, but expect anything you have put to be tested/verified.

easy option: out/back, scenery, pub etc

http://www.cyclingnorthwales.co.uk/pages/mawd_cycw.htm

we decided not to (and mine is a single bloke house bought in 1990s, everything original – if it works it stays rule), on the grounds we decided as part of our search that we would either buy a cheap do-er upper or a top priced pretty much what we wanted (ie we wouldn’t pay for what we don’t want – which ruled out all good condition houses of unsuitable style/decor/colour etc etc), and whilst you can do up in ‘todays’ style it probably still won’t suit everybody but you need to get top whack to cover the cost.

ioe (in our experience) stuff that is priced right is selling, esp if you can be end of chain.

*edit I also used an interweb agent £200plus vat, working well )

*2nd edit, re comment below about valuations – a far as I can see surveyors no longer do valuations (* 3 out of 3 contacted in my case to do a full/building survey) – all said they did not value

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho

as a luddite I buy the ye olde paper 1e:50000e maps and highlight bridleways/boat/rupp etc with a marker, I just find this the quickest way to see suitable routes/loops etc and helpful cheeky footpaths, of course I then MM it and load it to satmap

add the size of vehicle you have to take it away to equation and try to have as few bits as possible

as above, ie it sounds like she should make sure she gets a mortgage that allows the overpayments she wants to make. gf mortatge capped at £500per month, given above sounds like overpayment limits are part of each individual mortgage

Also try understanding an offset mortgage, they ‘generally speaking – please calculate your own figures’ work if you want to have an amount of savings and a mortgage simultaneously, but it might be a way of ‘overpaying’ if you see what I mean, however rates are usually higher than norm – so it may not be the best deal for you..

cheers guys

mtbfix – could you bung us an email I’m on <forumname>@hotmail.com

robdob – whereabouts are you – had already seen Vita xs and thought it might be the ‘one’, they do come up on gumtree/ebay, but would love her to try before buying (and want sh to save cost)

matt – cheers, will add that to searchlist (*you’re in Scotland I think)

sorry, self bumped for weekenders

late thought – dad used to work trees with horses – any local heavy horse enthusiasts

go flintstone – get a dirty great metal pole aka axle and two round logs with holes in middle aka wheels

do you not have scrapyards up there ? go and have a mooch for inspiration

convert a wheel barrow, old boat/dinghy trailer etc,

when a bloke bought a motorbike from me – he wanted a test drive (fair enough imo), so met in a layby, he had to bring cash in an envelope (show me cash then seal envelope), passport and I took a photo before he went off.

*edit there was a ‘phase’ when a few people left stolen vehicles as the deposit…

Some ‘alternative ideas’

you can ride (*mainly) on Isle of Hoy from Linksness ferry to Old Man, and back off road.

If you ever explore here http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=300685&y=945510&z=120&sv=300685,945510&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=728&ax=300685&ay=945510&lm=0 can you let me know how it goes – as it ‘looks’ good for non tech gf – remote but non techie with station

*you can *theoretically (map paths) get to station from Braemore (just E of Dunbeath on E coast

yes

agree with polite/cheeky approach – also agree with the ‘people can ramble etc etc etc etc because of civil diobedience’ attitudes, and hope that when challenged people remain calm and argue their case politely and constructively.

“Bridleways are ‘as seen’ for us, just because your recreational vehicle of choice can’t cope with the prevailing conditions is not horse-riders fault.” Well when it was vehicles on RUPP/BOAT – ie totally legal they would get TROd(banned) for damaging the route (fair enough IMO if damage prevented other users – but I think with vehicles there was a lot of politics as well), I think that it’s ignorance and wrong (of any type of user – including cyclists) to damage the surface beyond the use of other users and for me there is a problem with horses (and rather too many horse riders attitudes) on this one. Horse riders seem to expect consideration from others – maybe consideration needs to work both ways ?

In England and Wales
Walking – 100% plus (*all ‘tracks’ plus r2r and some open access)
Horse/cycling 21% of ‘tracks’
vehicles 3%ish of ‘tracks’ (down from 5%)

in the good old days we got a ‘squareish’ 1 gal container and cut one side out (put cap at bottom as then can drain into a decent container when done) *edit (and a paintbrush)