We're overdue a thunderstorm. Poor Johnny's split himself right down the middle and has become another nationwide league celebrity. The poor boy's gone ga-ga.

leigh, email me (email in profile) and i can send you a couple of routes

EDIT: Also, bear in mind the Dark Peak is quite up-and-downy and 40km might feel quite long there depending what you're used to.

just joining in

Surely that should be, "I'm just joining in."

Spain deserve a crack at the final after all this time; but Germany have endeared themselves to me with they way they played.

+1. I kinda wanted the Germans to win because of how well they've played but I didn't find myself too disappoined when Puyol unleashed that heeder cos I'm enjoying Spain's game tonight. Germany vs Holland? Huge rivalry, great game*. Spain vs Holland? New winner, both very hungry for the win, great game*. Quids all round. (Well 'cpet for Grum if Spain win).

*This is an estimate aand not an actual guarantee of a great game.

EDIT: Hmm, I wonder what the odds on Germany getting an equaliser and taking this to penalties is..

Oof! How did Villa not get on the end of that?

check both pistons are moving freely

Yep, I've had probs with a sticky piston in Juicy 3s before.

To be fair to the OP for a DIY job from out of the spares box that mech doesn't look half bad. Mind, it doesn't look half good either.

Table Mountains are part of the Sudety – specially for You HeathenWoods

Lol. Cheers! Looks very nice, and i particularly liked thw look of the Table Mountains 🙂

I've not been but it's definitely on my 'want to' list. Sadly, it's not going to happen for a couple of years because we've just bought a house and money's tight but I'd be grateful for any riding pics of Beskids/Sudety being posted…. 🙂

Two psychological thrillers for dark days:

Engleby – Sebastian Faulks
American Psycho – Brett Easton Ellis

paracetamol and zipties

I had a Soul but never had a moment of epiphany with it. Nice enough frame but I was left a bit nonplussed by it; unlike others I've never missed it. I'm currently building up a P7 and while it is heavy-ish the few 'round the garden tests' I've done have impressed me that the weight is well-placed: it feels planted and 'eager'.

Heh. i started driving last year, aged 39. Hopefully I'll get to the sports car stage when my eyesight and mental capacities start to fade. Should be fun. For me.

M R James short stories

+2 already!

Thomas Ligotti is superb but can be difficult to get hold of. There's a couple of Virgin paperbooks out of some of his stuff and they're well worth picking up – cold, creepy and with a slightly otherwordly feel; almost an HP Lovecraft for our times.

China Mieville sits right in the middle of the crossroads between horror and fantasy in my book (well, his) and is a good read.

ouch! That satellite broadband's pricey.

Go to http://www.samknows.com, plumb in your postcode, it'll give you a list of LLU providers at your exchange. Pick one of those (or post a list and I'll recommend one).

According to that we have no SDSL or LLU and 'Your exchange should have ADSL2+ services installed by the 31st o March 2010'. THe list it offers only has BT, Plusnet and Eclipse. Doh!

mate, have you been living in a cave.

Lol. yeah, i suddenly realised that ten years of TV developments had passed me by whilst i was in Ntlworld.

Hmm, i'll probably end up with their phone as well and get free box and 'standard installation'

…uhh, hang on, do they do bbc, itv etc?

Hmmmmmm I thought…………

Lol. That's a new one. I do like his shirt, mind.

According to missus and kids…

…don't see the likeness myself.

Of course, he could just rant in Latin a

That would be awesome, I've always fancied learning Latin and would very impressed by a rant in Latin.

Is his rant about bikes?

Apparently about sexual perverts. So, probably.

Whilst we're on the subject of Spanish stuff. Has anyone seen Intact (Intacto)? Any good?

"Let the right one in" will become a classic

Great film. 'Thirst' is a really good Korean vampire film and 'Dumplings' is also 'fun'. Just watched 'Dead Ringers' again for the first time in a while and had forgotten how good it is. Me and the missus are making the most of a lovefilm.com subscription and going through a load of horror. Next up is going to be a Thai ghost story called, 'Shutter'…. no idea what it's going to be like tho. We've also got Human Centipede knocking around somewhere and will see what that's like…

Two-hows Rigg

Rode round there a few years ago and loved that section – from Simon Howe to Two Howes Rigg. Had a laugh climbing out of Goathland up Mill Moor on a SS before being tracked by spooky looking soldiers round Fylingdales perimeter.

Not much help I know but yeah, some cracking stuff in NYM – i'm guessing the cheeky is fun round there but then there's a lot of BW to explore.

He picked a poor team* and configured them in a less than ideal way and they played poorly – equal culpability.

*Not necessarily poor players in themselves but they didn't gel together as a team.

There's some cracking pictures there of some favourite places. Cheers 🙂

One from the sunny and often forgotten white peak

And now te conditions are dry, most of the WP will be bloody lovely. Must finish the build before the inevitable rains change everything!

Nuffing. Waiting for a 70mm-ish stem to turn up on the classifieds lol.

ANy of the Elric series by Michael Moorcock. LOTR takes me back to cycling round NE Spain and the Hebrides when I was in my early 20s, so nearly two decades ago. WTF I was thinking, lugging the omnibus version of that round in my panniers, I have no idea.

Thanks folks. After a particularly pointless family argument they look all the sweeter.

where is that droppin down to, ladybower?

Yep, it's round about here – good fun in any direction 🙂

Here's some evidence, just in, from an interview yesterday. It's true, he'd barely be understood in the oasis of eloquence that is STW.

That was good. 2yr old up at 6, missus off to work at 6.45. I down enough coffee to keep a squdron of fighter pilots buzzing and now 2year old has taken herself off to bed to get, "more sleep."

I'm wide-eyed and electrified.

The domestic counterpart of the tandem of doom thread. Marvellous.

Have you not considered making a hybrid from the various bits you find?

safety is my other watchword!

A tip of the glass to you! You have unleashed a beast from hell and are unafraid to straddle it!

Pretty much any combination of the above barring the kind of stuff the LBS sells. I did once take a banana and peanut energy sandwich with me. Didn't do it again as it was minging.

lol @wwaswas.

Yep, always offer. Maybe they were 'July specialists'? y'know, dust off the road bike for a couple of rides around the time their man Lance is doing his thing in France but haven't quite grasped two wheeled etiquette.

Bet you ride steel

Hey amigo, i steel ride. I steel ride alla the time.

And a lovely goal from free play. Nice work from Honda

made from Ti but they pretend to be steel so they can sell them to stupid punters. It's just another conspiracy that people fall for.

SUCKER!!

That 'Ti' is just rebadged 853; there's no such thing really and it's all a clever marketing ploy aimed at the same people who buy Apple stuff.

Glad it's sorted for you; the Galaxy is a great bike. Have a great time and keep safe 🙂