It needs more tension than they can provide

in other words, a solid 10 mm Al plate can be bent quite easily.

ir_bandito is on holiday.
His belt drive FS Kona-A is in development. The rear triangle flexes under heavy load and the belt slips with an almighty bang. He has bent two snubbers with his powerful leg muscles. Maintaining tension on the belt is also an ongoing challenge.
I think chains will be around for a long time yet.

tick !

I was mugged for polos by a donkey once when walking – it was very threatening and Welsh.
I shot at a fox with a 12 bore on my step-dad’s family’s farm in Cheshire, I missed and now I’m glad I missed as a rural fox is a fine animal.
I thought that our dog wasn’t interested in sheep until I had to chase her across Cheviot – she didn’t get shot but now she goes on a lead.
I’m not sure if any of this is relevant.

TJ – Agreed. I think it is post WW2 consumer capitalism, based on planned obsolescence, that is particularly dependent on continual growth. I see no reason why you can’t have a stable market based economy.

Can somebody explain why growth is a good thing? I can’t help wondering on a finite planet with finite resources, how can everyone’s economy grow?

As some have said above, the contents may have changed slightly especially the flavour and consistency. Sugars may change slowly over time as may some vitamins. They are unlikely to make you ill unless the packaging is damaged.

No chance! A STWer would stop and berate the mother for not correctly applying the brake of the pram, before riding off.

This was obviously a quick thinking and brave individual who deserves some sort of medal.

It looks like one of my favourite descents on the A686. But then, I don’t take it at race pace surrounded by a peleton…

that is all…

what ir-bandito failed to say was that we reached the top of cross fell at ~11pm in the dark, low cloud, freezing cold and a howling gale (despite it being mid summer). Happily, we found the trig point and from there the path. Fun!
Tips – daylight, food, GPS, and prepare for bad weather on the tops.

how about a pump that says “this is diesel” or “this is unleaded” repeatedly when you lift the nozzle, until you start pumping.

I had a non union break in my clavicle. I had surgery which didn’t go to plan, no pins or plates were possible so it was wedged with bone graft and I had my arm in a sling for 8 weeks. Happily it is now set but at one point it didn’t look like it had worked. Yes, a bone graft is very not pleasant.
I rode OK with the break but it was painful at times. An MRI scan showed that I had managed to get some muscle in the break.
The Senior Registrar advised me not to have surgery. This is a common thing for rugbyists apparently. You need a medical opinion but don’t be surprised if they tell you that as you’re fine, to leave well alone.

@project – that’s the best one that you could actually do. Glueing about 2m of fishing line to a toy rat would be my choice.

Phenolphthalein? Courts take a dim view of poisoning.

Green food colouring worked for a friend at Uni. As he says – “no one ever steals green milk.”

I was chatting with a CAP worker a few weeks ago. She said that very few CAP clients were in serious debt because of negligent spending. Many families face problems because of loss of income though separation, job loss, or illness. She helps people to sort out their finances until they get out of the debt/poverty trap. More helpful than judging from the sidelines…

I would expect Northumbria police to take this seriously. They did when a taxi driver ran a red light a a crossing when my wife was pushing a buggy across just missing her. They offered the options of prosecution or words of warning. In that case she went for the warning as it was a mistake.
Personally I wouldn’t do anything other than report what happened and make it clear that you had to deliberately avoid a collision. Let the police decide what offence occurred.

I’ll risk the inevitable flames with CAP
CAP helps families like those shown on the program to find a way out of debt in a way that government never could.

My employer has stopped the ‘bling to work’ scheme after Inland Revenue got sniffy about it.
A better way to encourage cycling would be to drop VAT from all bikes and accessories below say £1000. I’m sure that this would be cheaper for the government to administer, benefit more than just the big retailers who cash in on the current scheme, and not be subject to all the nonsense about nominal resale values.

…the ducks play football.

no, I like all four seasons best. Hankering for winter in summer and summer in winter is no way to stay happy.

Post viral syndrome or ME is controversial in medical circles. Your doc may be in the ‘it’s all in the mind’ camp. There as much good science (i.e. not much) to suggest that he/she should prescribe you a dose of antivirals to get you better. I’d also be asking for a occupational therapy appointment to discuss how you can build up your ability to function in a progressive way, without risking overdoing it and ending back at square one.

ride in the pouring rain and inches deep mud, you will a) get used to the feel of rear wheel drifts and b) become awesome cos you’re riding when your mates are warm and dry. 🙂

Risk isn’t just about how likely an accident is to happen, it is also about the consequences of the accident. Hence for some parents the consequences of an accident are perceived as being so terrible that the risk isn’t acceptable at all no matter how low the probability.
FWIW The oil and gas industry deem an acceptable risk of accidental death as the same as the risk of being killed by lightning (one person in 19 million)ref

I took dab_jnr around Tesco in a papoose at a few weeks old. Pushing a shopping trolley didn’t feel entirely safe to me. It could have been the risk of a display of beans collapsing and hitting him on the head, and I was very aware that most people weren’t looking where they were going and I was worried that they might crash into me. Young babies do enhance parents protective instincts, some more than others…

Do they also have earphones in so that they can’t hear the traffic approaching that they can’t see, and dress in dark colours so that it can’t see them?

Prescription transitions Flak Jackets are £300 RRP – just been discussing them at the opticians.
So do I go web and save a bit?
Also anyone using black iridiums transitions for night riding or are grey transitions better?
…hmmm…

It’s only expensive if you buy stuff. Riding bikes is free. £100 a year would be a reasonable budget for esssentials e.g. new tyres, brake pads and lube.

If I ‘had’ to wear a helmet it would be the £9 one I just got from ALDI for leaving at the station with my hack bike.
My other more expensive ones (Giro Monza, 661 resomething) I’d save for when I ‘chose’ to wear a helmet… 😉

I’ve never seen clone wars – does that count?

probably a leg issue that is being translated to your back. Go and see a sports therapist/physio/osteopath it will be money well spent. Docs in my experience will tell you to rest and give you anti-inflammatory drugs unless you are lucky enough to have a sporty doc…

Yes, cycling heats, swimming heats, and trampolining. It’s going to be expensive if we get all three for the four of us. We will also try and see the time trails in Hampton park…

I was told by a traffic cop that ~90%* of traffic offences can be defined as ‘failing to spot the police’. This one definitely counts…

* made up statistic.

@D0NK no it shows that all the previously explored stabilising effects have been important in the evolution of the bike and that others are also important, suggesting that alternative designs for stable bikes may be possible in the future. I think…

@adstick the gyroscopic effect is involved, as is the caster effect, but the paper shows that you can build a bike with neither and it still stays up.

Larger charities have dedicated legacies teams. They can help you draft your will and give tax and legal advice. e.g.CR UK[/url] orOxfam

It’s just one flowy bit after another.

Which is why we like it…

Green woodpecker on Staine Street N. Downs. I followed it for about 50m. I disturbed a Roe deer which bounced about 6′ in the air and down a steep gully one Sunday early morning. Great fun…

this was demonstrated on BBC Horizon with toy cars and toy goats. One player always changed the other always stuck with the original choice. After 100 goes the pile of cars for the always changes was much bigger than the always stays in line with the probability theory…

courgette = French
zucchini = Italian
baby marrow = English

Pedantry is a short cut to a sad and miserable life IMHO, especially when it based on a false premise, as above.

@samuri Codeine is activated to morphine (the active drug) by metabolism. Approximately 8% of Caucasians lack the enzyme (CYP2D6) and don’t get any pain relief. You should tell your dentist about this.