I feel I should qualify my comments about Bethesda. As a teenager I had friends in Bethesda so I would travel down there every now and again. It is a working-class town which serves the slate mines (or at least it was 25 years ago when I used to go – it may have changed)

Everyone we met there was friendly. I never heard or saw any anti-English sentiment. We used to go to the Bull. At that time is was a den of underage drinking. Which suited me nicely at the time. On a Friday night it was crowded and rowdy, like most pubs on a Friday night. Some bloke in the Bull did try to recruit me into the UVF, though. If you were around Bethesda in the early/mid 1990s then you’ll know the guy I’m talking about!

It’s a working-class town like any other. It’s worth a visit and a good place to stay if you’re hill walking. You’ll be welcome in the pub. But I couldn’t recommend it for a stag night, in the same way I wouldn’t recommend Burnley for a stag night.

Frames to Spain go mostly on the plane.

There’s an UWCB thing near me.

Is this how it happens? You have a conversation with a bloke in the gym, then 8 weeks later a chartered accountant is putting you in a coma?

Looking at the schedule for my local event, it’ll be one for after the summer holidays. If I’m going to do it, then I won’t be missing any of the training because I’m on holiday.

There you go.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-countdown-has-begun-ultra-white-collar-boxing-content

I’ve been to see amateur clubs at competitions. Not really that amateur when you get up close, those lads can really hit, not to mention take a hit back. About 0% chance you’d ever get me in a ring. After watching them fight, I was under no illusion that I am in any way ‘a hard guy’.

Good bloody luck pal. If you live, let us know how you got on.

EDIT : Some photos from when I went to shoot a charity night.

Thanks. That thread is both terrifying and hilarious. And your photos are incredible. Good job.

Brother in law did it. He loved the training. Lost a lot of weight. It can be brutal. If you can be arsed watch his video. If not go to 3.36 and watch him get saved by the ref. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. He suffered as he also wears glasses but couldn’t in the ring obviously so contacts it was which don’t like being hit…

That was very instructive – thanks. Yep I watched the whole thing. I thought your BIL looked the tidier fighter in Round 1, and had the footwork going on. But he had definitely tired by Round 3, and I don’t blame him. Massive respect to him for getting into the ring to fight that lanky bastard 🙂

Ask the gypsy if you can try it out down his place

I did! He said “I’m a gyppo mate. If you wanna start boxing, you don’t wanna start with us”

🙂

Handbags at dawn, boys. Let your legs do the talking!

Eek. Bethesda. A couple of rough pubs and a Spar.

Ooh. this looks excellent for the money.

I haven’t ridden one, but:

I’d bet my right testicle that any mid-market carbon frame is much the same quality as any other. Just get the one that fits you/has the nicest paint job 🙂

Thank you 🙂

i would have knocked her senseless

i fear that i will chin her

You know, I think maybe you (as a family unit) need to find a way of communicating that doesn’t include anger and threats.

Set some boundaries re the disrespectful behaviour, and be respectful yourself. Make sure you & your wife stand firm and together, otherwise she will exploit any disagreement between you. For example, decide with your wife how much money, if any, you’re giving her, then ensure both of you stick to it. Don’t enable her by picking her dirty clothes off the floor. She’s old enough to use a washing machine.

And another thing, where is her home? It seems that at the moment she has at least two. If she is to live in your home, then the respectful thing to do would be to tell you when you can expect her back, if she’s going out.

As for the stealing, tell her calmly that if she steals from you again, you will call the police. And then do it!

She might not like these boundaries, but it seems like she is aimless and lost. I think she needs some tough love, and will (secretly) appreciate it.

If the charges were not pointed out to you at point of sale, if you did not sign anything agreeing to those terms, then I don’t think they have a leg to stand on.

If you DO remember signing an agreement, and you’ve lost it, ask them for their copy of it.

Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

I’ve just got rid of my 2.2 TDCI Mondeo (2006, 120k) because it was becoming uneconomical to keep it on the road. Old diesels innit – DMF, EGR valve, turbo, turbo actuator…

From experience, buying a high-pressure diesel only makes sense if it’s a lease/company car, replaced every 3-4 years. Keeping them running when they get old gets expensive.

Yes, you should expect more than 60000 miles from your Golf. Maybe you’ve been unlucky, maybe it’s been driven hard, or maybe once you fix these current problems it’ll be OK for another few years.

I’ve gone back to petrol.

I know Slippy Vicky from Billericay.

Well done Alex.

Because if you’re complaining to the police that cyclists were riding too fast and it was also hard to overtake them and they had a “degree of arrogance” the problem might actually be with the person making the complaint.

This.

And also, “showing consideration”, to many, means “getting out of the f**king way so I can get past in my car”. Which isn’t reasonable.

I think big road clubs should consider is buying a few cameras and recording their club rides

I was just thinking this. It shouldn’t be necessary, should it? But…yeah.

I started riding MTBs in 1994. Take it from me – the bikes from that period do look nice – but a modern bike is much better to ride 🙂

If they are 2 abreast (or single fine) then you can bet that the car will try and overtake and squeeze between the riders and a bollard or something. It just seems to be a given really.

yes we have a right to be there. Yes we are not a danger. unfortunately everything else is and I think that cyclists are seen as fair game? thanks to the media.

Well if this is the case (in my experience it isn’t) then we should be calling for the driver in question to adjust their behaviour, not the cyclists.

Two-abreast riding, and taking a primary position in a lane, is done precisely to discourage the sort of risky overtaking manoeuvre you describe.

tbh my personal view is as cyclists you need to be whiter than white on the roads.

Yes. Best not upset the Proper People in their cars. If we’re all perfect all the time, them maybe they won’t hate us, shout at us or try to kill us any more.

riding 2 or 3 abreast and saying I have a right to be here is akin to an audi slip streaming you on the motorway

You are confused. Riding two abreast is good cycling. Riding three abreast is not. But neither are aggressive and dangerous, whereas tailgating on the motorway is.

There is nothing wrong with asserting your rights. Everyone does it all the time. There is a large part of the public who would rather cyclists just didn’t exist. The law protects our right to be there. In an ideal world, we shouldn’t have to assert our rights, but as a marginalised group of road users, we do.

We have a right to travel on the road by bicycle. We have a right to ride two abreast, and drivers are expected to be patient.

Whilst it is sometimes prudent and polite (ie on a narrow road) for a group of cyclists to “single out”, remember that this usually only makes safe overtaking more difficult. Someone else has already posted the Chris Boardman video on “why cyclists ride two abreast”. Please watch it.

I get this all the time on Twitter and Instagram. There is no woman. They’re just trying to drive traffic to some porn site or whatever.

Ask for a picture of her stoat

Roadie peleton = mob mentality cocks.

Oh, bore off. Honestly.

I think that often the police try to “keep the peace” rather than worry too much about upholding the law.

The problem with this is that people (in this case cyclists) will be considered unreasonable even if they are riding lawfully.

If I was Club Secretary, I would assure the police that the riding on the club runs is legal and reasonable, and that if they have evidence of a crime then the club will be happy to support the police in the prosecution of such crime.

Riding two abreast is perfectly good cycling.

“In an arrogant way” is just a standard complaint that means “I have an entitlement to drive as fast as I like and these lycra-clad perverts refuse to get out of my way.”

“At great speed” is another subjective and dubious allegation.

I would raise with the secretary the unreasonable “single out” request.

Amazing how one crank complaining to the police can have such an effect.

I’m in the “both in the same eyelet” club too

Because it lives on the trainer silly
No, I wanted something a bit more commuter, take a proper rack and guards, slightly less bendy-overy.

Fair enough. I don’t mean this to be as rude as it might sound, but in my opinion you’re overthinking it, being prepared to drop £1000 on a short, straightforward ride to work when you already have a good bike that will do the job.

You can get p clips which will enable you to fit any rack you like to your Defy

slightly less bendy-overy

Raise/change the stem?

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do. You must have more disposable cash than me!

Get yourself on Tinder, Govinder.

I’ve only ever used my defy on the trainer.

Wait wait – You already have a Giant Defy? Why don’t you just ride that to work?

Right. Well, enjoy your new bike.

It’s for road commuting in Sheffield so it needs to be able to negotiate some pretty rugged terrain…

What – like roads? 😉

Why not just get a road bike?

If you’re dead set on a hybrid, just do a search in Evans, Wiggle, Chain Reaction, or even (gasp) your LBS. It’s a crowded market. Just pick the one you like the best. That Boardman is good value though.

Specialized Sirrus?

Carradice Carradry? Although you can get cheaper.

Time ATAC?Double-sided entry and you can walk in the shoes.

K451s here. Very happy with them.

Myfitnesspal. Helped me loose 2st.

Yep – good call

HIIT sessions. Do a search on YouTube. I punch a heavy bag, swing kettlebells, On the bike, high-intensity means hill climbs and sprints. You need to get your biggest muscle groups (ie quads, glutes) firing like mad until failure. Then rest for a few minutes and do it again. This will promote testosterone production, and ensure your muscles continue to burn large amounts of calories even when you rest or sleep.

Diet: Ensure you get 1g per kg of body weight of protein per day. Get your energy from fats. Low GI carbs only. No baked goods, no beer, no white pasta.

Sleep: Get your 8 hours.

BTW, Star Wars Lego, and photography books, have been my best investment to date. I’m not kidding.

Have you looked up historical gold price charts? Be prepared for a bumpy ride. The value of gold has risen since the beginning of the year, leading the “herd” of retail investors to start buying. Before you commit, you should take your own view on the likely direction of the gold price over the period you want to hold it for. Gold rises as fiat currencies depreciate, but growth in Asian economies is also a signal for a rise in gold as demand from China and India increases. Indians and Pakistanis in particular have a huge cultural attachment to gold, and many have their entire savings in gold jewellery.

These are just a couple of the factors affecting the value of gold, which is a very, very efficient market. Any economic news from around the world will be in the price within a couple of minutes.

The standard view is that gold makes an interesting addition as a small part of a broad investment portfolio. Furthermore, it is seen as a “hedge” against underperformance in more conventional investments, such as the FTSE.

You should also note that gold is priced in USD, so if you’re going to buy in GBP, you have foreign exchange risk; movements in the value of the USD against GBP will affect the value of your gold. Furthermore, you have the security risk of having small, shiny, valuable objects in your home. Check you are insured, or pay to keep your bullion in a SDP/vault. Bullion traders all offer this service.

Also, don’t forget you have the “spread”; the difference in buying price and selling price. If you’re going ahead and buying, find the dealer with the narrowest spread.

Anyway I’m sorry – I didn’t intend to get into an argument with you. We may have to agree to differ 🙂

The bloke comes across as a bit of a weasel. Maybe it’s just me.

He told the truth under oath. He states that the driver was giving him a lift because his baby was sick. He gave his impressions of the driving of the defendant.

What do you think he should have said?

Planet X London Road?