Saw it from the train on the way into Newcastle. Excellent photos above…

I went to Uni in Bristol with someone that didn’t know how a tin opener worked. She was a medical student – apparently the maid did that sort of thing at home… 🙄

A friend’s daughter got stuck in a queue of traffic with white van man stuck at the front. She got out of the car and went and asked if she could help. White van man sneered and said ‘Why, what are you going to do?”. She calmly said, “put it in second and take your foot off the accelerator”. Seconds later that van drove off and the queue got going. She went back to her car with congratulations from the queue. 😀

We have a stupidly low plagiarism limit of 5%

Wow, that is low and stupid. I use turnitin for my students’ work and only large chunks of cut and paste are challenged. You should complain vociferously through your staff-student committee. They should either let you resubmit work until it passes, or drop the meaningless and arbitrary limit. Meanwhile – quotes in quote-marks and fully referenced should solve the problem…

This says it all… Apple Wheel 😀

We have seen deer, badgers, owls, bats on our night rides. Everything looks different at night and when the moon is out you can see the countryside, often looking magnificent. Plus there is nothing quite like stopping at the top of a hill on a clear frosty night, turning all the lights off, waiting for the eyes to adjust, and looking at the stars.
Out there or at home, that’s the choice…

The distressing truth is that placebos do work. A real drug in a clinical trial has got to prove that it works better than a placebo, not better than nothing. My LBS stocks them, so I asked when the lucky rabbit’s feet were being stocked. The reply was that the wild rabbit that visited their garden just died of myxomatosis, and as it had four feet, they couldn’t be that lucky! 😆

Thanks for the references BUT the Journal, year, volume and page numbers are missing.

Take home for lightly roasted rats – goats milk works just as well and is cheaper – is that right…?

To be fair, proving that something works by double-blind trial is difficult and expensive. For new drugs, thousands of patients may have to be recruited for a trial to be sufficiently powered to give a robust, statistically significant result. The functional foods folk are hardly going to do that as the returns don’t justify the outlay.

I wager that these products (holograms, colostrum etc) work for elite athletes because they believe in them and that gives them the edge they think they need. As for me, I’m sticking with my lucky innertubes…

Torygraph
Even the Telegraph is incensed – maybe because it was a Johnny Foreigner that did it – but there’s plenty of good reasoning in the piece.
Personally, I’d take photo’s for trophies, and kill for the meat. I doubt I could pull the trigger on any animal though (unless I was really hungry).

Mutts are generally healthier than pedigree dogs.
IMHO calling a sprocker a mutt (or mongrel) is stretching it a bit as the demarcation between the breeds is relatively recent and was on the basis of the size of the dog. Our cocker is pedigree (from a show champion, dontcha know), but probably has some Sussex spaniel in the mix going way back.

@hp_source – too cute

not a mickey take, just a different charger 😳

It does actually. Fructose is a glucose molecule and a sucrose molecule afaik. It’s a bit unstable so when you juice the fruit it starts to break down into those two. Again afaik.

Sucrose is one glucose + one fructose look it up!

I cut the plug off and wired up a UK one. The wires were quite thin.
Back in the day wiring a plug was part of O-level physics – goodness knows what kids get taught now…

It’s a high-tech rabbit’s foot, crystal, lucky charm…
this says it all

Magnetic or fluid for quietness. Side rollers for nobbly tyres. Use a clock and a training plan for intervals or laptop if you’re fancy. Regular 1hr sessions will make a real difference to your fitness if you do it right (i.e. suffering, redlining, tongue hanging out etc). Also a good motivational aid as if it’s a choice between riding in bad weather or a turbo session, I usually choose the ride…
You’ll need a big towel as well…

Bar mounted HID and helmet mounted doubleshot* sounds like an ideal combo. Does anyone really need more light than this?

* Ok it is a tad heavy…

It could be hurting because you are weak. Or more politely, the core muscles that support your head, shoulders and back are under developed for the position you are in on the road bike.
Pilates/core exercises plus a few 100 miles in the saddle should sort you out…

My neighbour’s 8 year old son managed the blue at Whinlatter and loved it. I think he now has the mountain bike bug. I’ll be taking my boy along soon. That’s why it’s a blue route…

One tip is to imagine that there is an egg (hen's) between your foot and the pedal. For spinny cadences, you should not be pushing down on the pedals hard enough to break the egg. The exact cadence doesn't matter.
The result of spinning is that you shift the workload from your legs onto your heart and lungs, which are better able to cope with the strain for long periods.

I remember reading a big study into why dogs bark. The conclusion was that they bark because they are dogs!
When we were training our dog, if she barked at a noise outside the door, we'd take her to the door, show her there was no one there, praise her and she stopped barking.
You can also teach a shush command, by the instant they stop barking, put your finger on your lips, whisper shush, and treat/reward. They quickly get the idea.
I don't hold with all the pretend you're a dog stuff. IMO millennia of dog human interactions teaches us that dogs are much smarter than that.

After many years of not speaking to my father

Put yourself in your sister's position – she's been there for him when you haven't. Now you're back on the scene because he's ill and questioning her judgement. I am not at all surprised that she hasn't welcomed you back with open arms…
Or to put U31's comment the other way – maybe she thinks you're after the estate.

Does anyone remember the days when all mail order sites said "allow 28 days for delivery"?

If you liked that, you'll also like this Fundamentals DVD…

The Boatside Inn at Warden is close to paths around Tyne Green and Acomb.
The Traveller's Rest at Slayley is nice.
The Dyvels at Corbridge (near the station).
The Dipton Mill is very nice and close to some excellent riding.

Conditions are near perfect at the moment, enjoy!

No use for winter if you leave it in the shed. It sets solid below about 5 oC. I might try using plain groundnut oil next…

I set mine up with pressures as per the sticker on the fork leg and they work fine. I always pump the higher pressure section (lower chamber) up first. They don't sag much in a seated position but also don't dive or bottom out.

Did they do Aldi?
Mine have been excellent…

Nope – no midges at Keilder 😆

midge eater

how about MUPPET award
Motivational Uplift Prize for Post Employment Tribulation

that should keep HR happy!"

Yes, that's why there is an off button.

I just spent the best part of my train journey in slagging the Daily Mail, to friends, in relation to attitudes to cycling in town, then the bloke opposite very deliberately turned over his paper to reveal – you guessed it…
It did make me smile – but not too obviously as he was bigger than me and looked a bit rough! 😆

Toons – some nice loops there. Everywhere is perfect at the moment (if you like slightly damp, greasy roots!).

There are informal groups that ride from The Bike Shop in Hexham. You should ask there. Our group usually meet at 8pm on Wednesday evening. There is lots of local riding on your doorstep if you know where to look.

Radio Shack are 2nd in the team standings. Armstrong will be contributing to that.
Wiggins 18th overall – still pretty good for a brutally hot race. He just hasn't got that extra few percent to give this time.

AT the start of the NHS the two groups most opposed to it were a) the Tory party and b) the doctors. No surprise to see a) giving control to b) in the guise of efficiency. This is an idealogical policy (just as closing the coal mines was).
I look forward to the Government telling Tesco to sack it's middle management (accountants, buyers, logistics etc) to concentrate efficiency on the customer by devolving responsibility to the shops!

Three British Team Sky riders having a good day today. Must be all the practice on Manchester's shocking roads – they might as well be cobbled!

mtb – pedal up, sometimes pedal flat, no pedal down.
Road – pedal up, pedal flat, sometimes pedal down.
It's different, and as you're not used to it, harder for you. Your opinion may change when you get used to both.

Its all the ball's fault. That terrible ball that even N. Korea seemed to get the hang of and England's best never managed to work out how to control, pass or shoot straight. Blame Adidas it's a conspiracy!
Also interesting to see that foreign players in the premiership aren't suffering form the heavy workload – Tevez for example.
Capello got England into the last 16 which is a fair result given the talent on offer.

Don't tell Ghana!

OK more than one…