Sudocream* This will help a huge amount while you get the other issues sorted.

*other nappy rash creams are available

I drove a CVT Jazz once a while back. Can’t remember the engine size.
I preferred it to most regular auto cars, as you don’t get that pause you can get on a conventional auto when your speed is mid way between two gears and it isn’t sure weather to go higher or lower.
It had a manual override where you could select 6 pre-determined ratios with steering wheel switches, but the full continuously variable auto mode was far better.
Seemed to me like a good small car that can carry far more than you would imagine.

If this is a relatively new problem, I would start by looking at what has changed since the flooding started. If the water is coming from your neighbours side, the overgrown state of the garden will not be the cause, as it will maximise evapotranspiration and increase the lag time between rainfall and the soil becoming waterlogged. If the house is in a poor condition, it could be that their drains are blocked and overflowing into your garden, or guttering is leaking and not getting into a drain.
I think it would be worth investigating these sorts of causes to prevent the problem, before you start spending money on your property to deal with it. If this is the case, it will be worth staying on good terms with your neighbour, and assisting them to maintain their property, for the benefit of both of you.
Also, I’d not cement the gaps between the slabs, as reducing the permeability of your patio will not help the issue.

Mine is more like option 2. With a large fixed shower head directly above, no water will leave the enclosure, until you get in and stand under it. Then you will get a small amount of fine spray will make it’s way out. I don’t find this enough to be a problem, as it is such a small amount. Less than a wet footprint.
Also I don’t have the second movable shower head, as I thought it could lead to problems.
I think any shower that is not completely enclosed will have some water find it’s way out onto the floor, but I think it is much easier keeping clean a shower with no door, no hinges, no magnetic or rubber seals and no overlapping glass.

No one has mentioned Specialized Crossroads yet. The Armadillo versions are as near to puncture proof as you can get. They are fast and quiet on the road sections, and great on the hard packed gravel tow path that makes up most of my commute. They seem to last for ages too.

I opened an exposure once. I seem to remember it had a left handed thread.

As above, I found them good to deal with. I was given a value for bikes, and a second value for accessories that were nicked. These two sums had to be used separately for bikes or accessories, but within each category there was a lot of freedom to choose what you want from their website within the two budgets. If you want to add some more of your own money to get something better, you get a percentage discount off the list prices, but I don’t remember what that was.
My bike came well set up, and with appropriate accessories ready fitted. I’d suggest having a good look at the website to see what they’ve got before you speak to them.

I picked one up for £10 from Halfords a couple of weeks ago. Not sure if it was a mistake or not, but the staff honoured the price on the ticket, which also came up on the barcode reader. It was the only one in the shop though.

Mine didn’t, but a few cable ties, electrical tape, plastic tube between the chain stays, and a couple of other bits and pieces got them fixed to the frame and forks.

I went in an hour early to beat the rain. A good decision as i hardly got wet, but by the time I was showered, you could hear the rain beating down on the office roof.
I even got to ride home through the puddles in the sunshine.

The only decent stretch of cycle lane on the A40 I can think of, is opposite RAF Northolt, between the Polish War Memorial and Hillingdon Curcus. I’ve not ridden it in years, there are better routes via back roads. There are a couple of other short stretches of cycle lane on the way out of town, but these tend to link north-south routes to bridges or are service roads.
I would not recommend cycling any of the A40 inside the M25. Fast cars, narrow lanes and lots of slip roads/flyovers to negotiate.The only good thing that I can think to say about it from a cycling point of view is that the 50mph limits have recently been extended, so less of it is national speed limit than it used to be.
TfL produce maps showing cycle routes, but I think you can only order paper copies rather than viewing them online. Map 6 covers the A40.
https://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11682.aspx

Cats don’t generally set off our sensor lights. Just be aware the flood lights can be very bright and cause light pollution problems if you’ve got neighbours/children. I have floodlights in areas where no one other than burglars are likely to be at night, and low power energy saving sensor lights in areas where they go on and off regularly, but these cost a few £ more.

A very elegant solution.
One thing I like is that there are only a few small direction signs. If something like it were build in the UK, it would probably be smothered in signs and road markings telling you what you must and must not do.

I used to be a regular donor, but haven’t given blood for over a year now. Partly because they closed down the venue near my work, but mostly because of the near insistance that you pre-book an appointment. It seems now that if you just turn up without an appointment, you will be turned away or told to wait for a couple of hours at least. Being turned away a few times is very demoralising.

Didn’t Wiggle have a sailing section a while back? I’m sure I got some gloves from them.

Very sorry to hear of your loss. I went through the same ten years ago. A relatively unknown condition which affects so many. My thoughts are with you.

You will be on one of the old BMI flights. 90 mins is tons of time, and as you are connecting on the same carrier they will sort you out if the Edinburgh flight is late.

It’s dead simple. At T1 just follow signs to Flight Connections which will take you to where the airside buses leave for all terminals. Make sure you check in online and have both boarding passes with you to get you through the flight connections check.

^this.
Purple signs. If time is tight, BA may have staff as you get off the bus holding a sign with you’re onward flight no. on. They can speed you through.

Each lever has two small torx bolts, one screws in from the top, the other from the bottom. They need thread lock to keep them in place, as I found out after loosing a pair on a first ride. They are not listed as a seperate item on CRC, but they were helpfull and sent me a pair under warranty.

My local Halfords has been revamped, and the cycle section now takes up about 75% of the ground floor, rather than a small mezzanine. Camping has a fair section. Car parts seem to be a sideline now. Not sure if the service is better, but a good sign surely?

Had a full bike delivered about 2 years ago. Was a courier company, not royal mail, but I don’t remember which one. There was no option to specify a delivery time, but it arrived in just a couple of days.

From my (limited) experience, use them as hard as you can to get them bedded in, and they’ll sort themselves out pretty soon.

I used White Litghening Clean Ride for a long time, but now prefer Muc Off Dry. I tried saving some money with Bikehut Drywax but found it to be a false economy, it needs reapplying too often.

Hastings.
Stayed with them as they lowered my premium this year, and were best on a comparison site. Ticking TPFT rather than fully comp made hardly any difference, so worth checking.

As I said, different circumstances, but maybe a learning point.
About 20 years ago I flattened a plastic cone I hadn’t seen in a car park under about 12 tonnes of vehicle. The thought that it could have been a person made me a whole lot more cautious, not question why the cone was there. I’m reminded of it every time I see the all too familiar scrapes down the near side of vehicles.

Although the circumstances are different, it is the same manoeuvre – turning left as you pull away, and not anticipating or checking that there may be something in the blind spot below the n/s mirror – that has been the cause of the majority of deaths amongst cyclists in London in recent years.

Assuming you come out of London along the Grand Union Canal, and want to cut down to the Airport avoiding as much traffic as you can, I’d recommend leaving the tow path at Horton Bridge Road. Heading south on Kingston Lane and Sipson Road takes you through Sipson Village and straight(ish) down to the East Ramp and into the small bore tunnel to Terminals 1 & 3.
The route is all a signposted cycle route either on or next to the road. A subway takes you under the M4. For some reason this route is not shown on the Heathrow website, (maybe because BAA want to bulldoze the whole area for runway 3 and don’t want to admit that it exists?) but I would rather ride this than the paths beside the very busy A312.
You can take bikes on the Heathrow Express or Connect between terminals for free.
One last point, in the last week some of the barriers on the tow path in West London have been removed. That is taken away completely, not just vandals ripping the gates off.

Mudfest at Black Park. Not a day for baggies.

Going back to pedals: I use a pair of the plastic ‘platform’ pedals that clip to one side of SPD cleats for commuting for just this reason. No problem to ride in if you’re only used to cleats, and a big help with visibility. The only problem is that I lost one on a root strike on an off road section. No idea if you can buy them, mine came with some SPDs a few years back.

A small amount of copper grease on the rear of the pads should solve the problem.

I used them for an insurance claim. I didn’t really have a lot of choice in that, the insurance company put me in touch.
The service was very good, with everything arriving in one package in good time. Just about all the accessories that could be, were fitted to the bike, and ready to ride. This included upgraded kevlar tyres similar to those fitted to the nicked bike.
I had originally agreed to a 2011 bike, but they didn’t have my size, so I got a 2012 model, one level up the spec range to match my original.

I used a Mule for years, as anything bigger led to back ache, and if something didn’t fit in, I didn’t take it. This winter I fitted a pannier rack and bag. it may not look good, but it is practical, shoes etc are no longer an issue, and no more sweaty back or squashed bananas.

I use off road lights for the on road section of my commute. I use the Exposure flash mode most of the time, unless it is very bright sunshine. I feel this is essential because of the large number of cars around now with LED daytime running lights and HID headlights. Most of these are so bright they make conventional bike lights insignificant, and therefore the roads are becoming a whole lot more dangerous for cyclists. Dusk and dawn are the worst times.
Unfortunately I don’t see any solution to this problem other than making yourself stand out even more than the cars. For the same reason I’m contemplating getting some Cree running lights for the motorbike. Sad, but it seems to me that the likes of Audi and Mercedes, with the backing of the EU, have started an arms (lumens) race, and if you don’t keep up it could cost you your life. At least I have a switch and so the option to turn off or dim my lights as I see fit.

I do like the idea of a shield to stop upwards glare. Maybe I’ll make a prototype this evening.

I’ve gone the full hog this year and fitted full length mudguards, rack and panniers and puncture proof tyres to my hardtail for the commute. A good dose of reflective stickers have been applied too. It may not look good, but it is well worth it in my opinion as everything from my clothes to the drivetrain don’t need cleaning every day, and so should last much longer. Dare I even say it, (touching wood) I’ve never had a puncture since either, even though the hedge trimmers were out last week.

Just had a look at week 6 and that looks tough. May give it a go though.

bleach and a broom

Gore Bike Wear softshell. Pricey, but best top I’ve ridden in.

I did the same thing this summer and have a lump just like the picture above, where the clavicle has not gone back flush onto the shoulder blade. I landed with my full body weight on the right shoulder on just a small drop.
A visit to A&E later that day meant a long wait as it’s not exactly life threatening, but I was then X rayed from all angles to prove no broken bones as my shouler and arm were very swollen. I was then diagnosed as having seperated the AC joint, given pain killers and a sling and referred to a physio.
After a few days in a sling the Physio said it was best to move the shoulder as much as possible to stretch and then strengthen it.
After about 3 weeks I was back on a bike, but very gentle rides on road. It took about 6 weeks before I could lie on that side or do a gentle off road route.
Despite having had a good few months to heal, I still feel the odd twinge every now and then, and I’m very weary of coming off again and ripping the same joint again.
I was interested in the link saying you could get future problems if the joint does not go fully back together. I was just told the lump would probably never go, and have since met a number of people who have done the same, and have the same small lump.
My advice to the OP is get your GP to refer you to a Physio.

I don’t think you would even need a disc specific rack. I bought a cheap disc specific one for my commuter (26″ hardtail). The only difference to a standard rack is a couple of black anodised spacers and long bolts for the bottom fixing point. I thought these were excessive, so got rid of them, and the rack fits perfectly with standard short bolts. Clearance around the brakes (fitted outside the rear triangle)is only a couple of mm, but everything works just fine and it looks a lot neater too.
Of course all bikes and racks are going to be a bit different, but you have a greater choice of racks if you don’t get disc specific.

But suruly the light will go off when you shut the door, won’t it?????

No – population growth is the problem.