I don’t think you’ll find a better venue for a first race. Even the big bomb hole had a chicken run last year, so you don’t need great technical skills to get round in one piece.

Just a thought, try looking up poly tunnels. They use a heavy duty plastic sheet, stretched over a frame, and I would guess that heat is used to shrink it at the ends. The sheeting is opaque rather than clear, but if plants get enough energy through it to grow, then I guess it must be pretty efficient.

Brilliant results. Were there any prototypes (i.e. cock ups) along the way?

Like clockwork.

I heard from a reliable sauce in the aggregate industry that all newly upgraded sections of the red trail at Swinley are having a surface dressing of 21mm to dust, making them only rideable on 29ers. The blue will still be graded with 20mm to dust for at least 1 more year, so that riders of 26ers have somewhere to ride until the new government scrappage scheme is enforced. By then 20.31mm to dust will be being produced by most quarries, meaning that it can then be ridden on by 650b riders.

Regarding ‘avoiding central heating’, I used to work with a lady (who was only slightly eccentric) who would insist on “Changing the air” in the office at least once a day in the winter. This involved opening every window for ten minutes or so to let cold fresh air in. I don’t know if it actually prevented illness or not, but it certainly woke you up if it was getting a bit stuffy, and everyone went along with it.

Edit
I suppose with most modern offices this is not even an option with fixed windows and air con.

Form work can be removed between 24 & 36 hours after casting. Wrapping it in a damp cloth and bin bag will keep it damp. Spraying and wrapping after the for form work is removed is also a good thing.
Concrete will still be curing after 28 days in the right conditions, but will have most of it’s strength after 7 days.

1. The aggregate in concrete gives it it’s strength. Using only sand would mean it would be weak, not a good finish. Rough angular stones are better that rounded gravels, and ideally you want a mix of sizes, so that the smaller aggregate fits in the gaps between the bigger ones, right down to the fine sand. Think of the cement as glue, you want the thinnest layer possible between the aggregate, no voids with only cement, or worse, air.
To get a good a good finish you need to get all the air put of the concrete while it is wet. On a small piece like this, vibrating the whole of the shuttering is probably the way to go. I’m sure you could use a power tool to get it to vibrate. Once it is good you will see bubbles rising to the surface. Don’t vibrate for too long though, as you can cause the aggregate to separate out with the lightest material rising to the top.
The other thing to do is give it plenty of time to cure. A couple of days at least. Do not let it dry out or freeze while it is curing, or the chemical reaction between the cement and water will stop and it will have a powdery surface.

2. I think setting the bolts into the wet concrete may be best, if a bit of a faff rigging up a way of suspending them while the concrete is beginning to cure. Any sort of expanding bolt or rawl plug is likely to split open a block that small.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a few goes to get this to turn out the way you want it.
Please post pictures when it’s done.

Before you spend any money, I’d give the hinge, runners and plastics cams a spay with silicone (e.g. Bike spray). This may just solve the issue, possibly with the application of a little pressure on the outside of the window as the cams engage.
It may or may not be a permanent fix, but could at least allow it to be shut properly until the spring when it warms up.

Could it be that a bike with mudguards gets cleaned less often, because the paintwork and contact points don’t get so dirty, whereas the drivetrain gets just as dirty as a bike without?

I have a Sony that’s two years old with a similar waterproof cover. It is always charged with a plug in cable and never been an issue, and is perfectly waterproof. Takes a couple of seconds each time you charge it in to open or close the cover. I’ve also got a Samsung that’s about five years old with a pretty much identical cover, and that is still waterproof too.
I think the phones will be completely obsolete well before the covers give up and leak.

I made the jump to 1*9 a few months ago and no regrets yet, but I think today could be the first real test on a long wet and muddy ride. I like the simplicity, slight weight reduction, and don’t miss gears I’ve lost. (It isn’t that hilly where I mostly ride)
I just fitted a narrow/wide chain ring and made (bodged) a top guide. The rear mech doesn’t have a clutch, has a long cage, but I’ve not lost a chain yet.
I do have another bike with 3*9 too.

We got rid of a load to music magpie. It didn’t earn us a fortune, but a some money for not too much hassle, and no quibbles. There were a few which surprised us as being worth more than we thought, so it is worth adding what may seem like complete rubbish to you to the list. Not loads of money but a few quid for a kids song from the 00’s rather than the 10p I’d have thought it was worth.

I’d suggest wearing them alternately. That way they will take much longer before they get stinky, and you can wear one while the other is being washed / drying.

I’m sure that you can, but be careful. Even though you add your own money up front to top up the initial amount, you still do not own any part or percentage of the bike until the end of the rental period when you’ve paid the final fee.m

Indeed.

Are 650b tubes actually any different to 26″?
I’m asking as I’ve never used one, but I’ve fitted (bodged) a 26″ tube into a 29er without any real issues.
The difference between 26″ and 650b is tiny in comparison.

I’m getting this too.
Back button need two touches, or doesn’t work at all.

This is my first year with an allotment, and I’ve only had just over half the plot cultivated this year. The rest is under sheeting, waiting for next spring. This has not been an issue, but there’s not a waiting list here.
After the initial clearing of the plot, which is a huge amount of hard work, it seems to me that a number of short visits each week are far better than the odd full day here and there. It helps if the site is very close to home or on your commute so you can just pop in.

I had this for a while, for no apparent reason. Marking the tyre and rim proved that it was the tyre rotating on the rim under braking, and trying to pull the inner tube around the wheel with it. Running the tyres at higher pressures helped, but going tubeless got rid of the problem completely.

I recently got some Shimano M424 spds from Wiggle for the same reason. £19.49 in the sale at the moment.
I’m very happy with them. The platform isn’t as big as a proper platform pedal, and with thin soled shoes you can feel the spd part in the middle, but loads more comfortable than riding on regular spds in flat shoes.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m424-spd-pedals/

You can also get PD-M545 for £33.45. They look similar but have an alloy cage rather than plastic.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m545-free-ride-pedals/

The adverts at the bottom of the screen, which jump all over the place whenever you scroll, are making the forum almost unusable on an ipad.
This must be counter productive and detrimental to the other advertisers in the usual locations.

We did this a few years back after a broken pelvis. Our cat didn’t really like the harness, but loved getting outside after a long while. The only problem was that he would want to go behind bushes in the garden and get the lead knotted up. Well worth it though.

There are some trails in the Whippendell Woods, across the canal from Cassiobury park. I don’t know it well at all, but part of it is a SSSI, so be careful where you ride.

I use just a dab on every new set of pads. Never had a squeal. Never seen a reason why not to.

My commute is just a little more than that, but my motorbike spends most of the time in the garage, wired up to stop the battery going flat. I would rather cycle any day than use the motorbike. It tends to only come out if i know I’ll have a very late finish or I need to get home quick for something.
Cycling is so much nicer than the noise and traffic of the bike.
Can’t you adjust your cycling route to miss the worse of the traffic? A couple of miles of tow path makes all the difference.

Is this on tomorrow?

And if so what time are you riding?

I seem to be growing mostly thistles, along with couch grass and some mares tail. Got some potatoes and onions in between, but everything else seems to have been eaten by the birds, slugs etc.
I spent an hour of so weeding today, until the rain soaked through my clothes. I was as muddy and wet when I got home as if I’d been out riding.

The best gizmo is a quick link, to take the chain off for a proper clean. All the other contraptions I’ve tried are only ever good for a quick, but not that good, clean when time is short.

A great ride yesterday, no rain at all, and I’m sure the sun even came out at one point. I did the 77km route. Some of the trails were pretty muddy and churned up. A lot was just soft, and some bits were remarkably dry. Not too much wheel spinning on the climbs, but my bike was twice its normal weight at the end with all the mud stuck to it.

The last time I rode some of the bridleways in the Chilterns a couple of weeks ago, a lot of it was surprisingly dusty and dry. There’s been a fair few showers these last couple of days, but a lot of sun in between, and it’s windy. It’s mostly chalk under the soil, so reasonably well drained.
More rain is forecast overnight, but it’s now not looking too bad tomorrow for the actual ride.
I’m not changing to summer tyres, as I expect there be more than a few boggy bits, but hopefully it will be running well on the majority of the route.

In my experience, get a chain or U lock,not a cable. Even big fat cable locks seem to be very easily cut.

For some reason cats don’t like kidneys, so will eat the rest of a mouse, but leave them. You must have a good mouser, ours hardly ever catch anything – which I’m glad of.

One more thing, check the date at which the school consider you to be living at an address. This is likely to be the address that child benefit is paid to, on a date that could be about nine months before you apply. If this the case, the old school may be your best bet if you were at the old address then.

Are you within the catchment area of the old school? This will vary each year, but previous years will give you a good idea. Also is that school over subscribed?
If it is oversubscribed and you are not within the area, you are unlikely to get in. Putting it as your first choice could be a waste as it could mean you do not get the new school either, even if you put it as second choice, as it may fill up with first choices only.
This could mean you end up with neither of those schools.
It is worth looking at the stats to make sure you have a good chance of getting into school you put as your first choice, and without a sibling going there already, being a ‘looked after’ child or having a SEN, then your distance from the school is the main factor in getting a place.
Now that most schools are academies, they can set their own entry requirements, so check these out too as they may not be the same as local authority run schools in the same area.

Good luck.

Do not use a rucksack or shoulder bag, they make you sweat no matter how good your clothing is. Carry everything on a rack.
Stop to take off layers as you warm up so as not to overheat.
Arm warmers are better than a jacket on cool mornings as you can pull them off and tuck them into a pocket really quickly.
Shower before you leave in the morning.
Hang your cycling gear up at work to air out.
Fit mudguards to keep you and your clothes a lot cleaner.

100km for me, but that may change to 77km depending on the weather / how my legs are holding up.

See the Aldi thread.

It’s only water from the air-con. A coach is like a greenhouse on wheels, so needs a massive air conditioning unit to keep the interior cool. If you’ve got 50 people on board they produce a fair amount of water vapour.

There’s only one way to find out, just jive it a go. Almost any tyre can be run tubeless. Search youtube for how to videos. You may need a bottle inflator or compressor to get the beads to seal initially.