Not wanting to edit again, am currently 60% equivalent. Don’t be surprised if you actually do 80% (in the same way that FT employees often so unpaid overtime in many professions).

I did when our son was born. Intended to go back FT when he went to school… But we decided that the cost to family happiness wasnt worth it.

I would say it’s one of my best life decisions for me and for my family. If you are in the position that the true essentials (house/bills/food) are covered the take the financial hit. Spending will always rise to dispose of your income so be proactive and trade money for time.

Crack on and good luck!

Edit. I was 32 when i went PT. Prior to that of been career gung-ho (fast track schemes etc) but i realised that it wasn’t making me happy (although i did enjoy it the work-life balance was poor and the? stress was high).

+1 point for the skid at the end of the clip.

Can’t believe I missed this, great project :)

Ditto Convert and Miketually. 90% of our A-level students starting in this Sept will be doing 3 with almost all of those doing 4 taking further maths.

The challenge that gives is you can no longer drop the one you like least (or hate the most!) at the end of Y12 so choosing now is (even) more important. I’d therefore say stay general and do things that get you into a wide range of subjects (with that in mind lots of students find this helpful).

We mix wholeground and rye 50/50 and it turns out ok. Mind you we never do the actual baking bit in the machine, just do dough and make rolls.

Can’t have too many camper van threads! Lovely job.

Ouch! You have my sympathy.as others have said, movement is key and therefore painkillers to allow you to move are a good thing.

Once the really bad pain has subsided then swimming might be good, I found it helped me to move my back in a variety of directions without any sudden shocks.

Once it’s much better then I’d foam roll your back, although at first this will feel as painful as the actual spasm, over time it becomes easier as the muscles relax.

Savage news, it sounds like you’ve got a fantastic support network of family, friends and (slightly strange) forumites to lean on. Don’t hesitate to use them all.

I (we) always drive now for our summer holiday (2 weeks). We used to fly but it worked out only marginally quicker, was more expensive (as long as you have 2 or more in the care to share costs) and having the option to take more stuff (spares, workstand, track pump) just works out easier.

Having said that if I was going on a weeks guided bike trip then I’d fly as they’d probably be able to organise transfers and have the spares etc.

I’ve got a Lynsky Cooper Cx. It’s an older one (canti brakes) and it’s 99% used for winter road bike duties. It’s mega comfortable but it absolutely hates going round corners.

+1 for the Burls custom suggestion, MrsLikeFood has one and loves it and dealing with Justin was easy and confidece-inspiring.

I found it much easier & quicker with a really long pile roller – holds much more pain and gets in all the nooks and crannies. Just basic emulsion and 2 coats. Probably not good enough for someone posh, but good enough for me.

Brilliant, I totally agree with you OP, the best rides I’ve had have been with my son. Many more happy times to come.

+1 for Hot Fuzz. A comedy classic, Simon Peggs finest moment IMO.

Slight thread hijack, but does anyone know how long does the season (reliability) lasts? We’d be limited to school holidays, would Easter be too late?

Part time is the solution I think. At least you phase the big decision and any crunch time and it allows you time and space to get the next plan into action. I don’t think not working as a working age adult is a good idea, work in general brings much more than just a paycheck (unless you absolutely hate it obviously).

From memory I think there is a really good relationship between being unemployed and poor mental health, but that’s perhaps related to money problems?

Depends what it would replace. If it means she doesn’t have/need to put other stuff on in transition then yes (I think back many years to my first triathlon, I think it took me about 5 minutes to put a helly hansen thermal on, don’t underestimate the friction between damp skin and a thermal!).

Otherwise, not really.

Brilliant, I love these threads. Watching with jealous/dreamy eyes.

Happy days.

Jaffa cakes for me. I’d be just about able to manage if they were individually wrapped, but tubes of 18, no chance.

In my mind it’s something about opening the packet. Whatever size packet it is is not important, the entire packet must be consumed in a oner.

@ the OP. Like many blokes I remember feeling that it was particularly important for me to really emphasise my point in an argument by shouting and then by slamming the door very hard. In retrospect it’s easy to think that some of that emphasis may have been lost by accidentally leaving my foot in the way… Not a pain I want to feel again.

Maybe he wanted one just like it but wanted a test ride to check sizing and was in a rush to get back to work so couldn’t ask before or apologize after?

Or maybe not.

Ditto for ISM and buying one secondhand from a forum (try the timetrialling forum, they often come up on there). Worked for me on my TT bike.

When is the acropolis coming? Did someone tell the Greeks?

I’d try to move on, OP. In my dreams I’d have been round face to face and sorted it good and proper. In reality I’d do exactly what you’ve done, be angry then eventually write if off.

As for sympathy for the tenant? Not really. If you’re struggling you speak to your landlord first.

As an aside, cockwomble and cockchops are both fantastic insults and I only ever hear them on this forum. Brilliant.

Not sure what the difference between a chip and a remap (assume a chip is a physical thing whereas a remap is changing the software?).

We had our 1.9 T5 remapped from 96 to 130bhp (both those numbers are dredged up from memory so may be complete s#*t). It made a massive difference to how easy it was to drive and reduced fuel use… not sure how but perhaps as I didn’t need to rev the crap out of it to make it move.

If it’s out of warranty I’d definitely do it although chatting to a mate of mine apparently there are good and not so good remappers out there so maybe ask on the T5 facebook page for a recommendation close to you?

I would have a massive ‘get someone pregnant and your life is over’ discussion (a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s my style of parenting) and supply large amounts of condoms. If they want to bonk, they will… End of story.

It is tricky, ESP as his mum isn’t keen on the GF, but if he’s working hard and basically a nice kid then I’d count your blessings and move on. There’s loads of parents out there who would kill for a kid who worked hard at school.

Good luck.

Getting flashbacks to my abcess. Truly mind bending levels of pain.

Nothing to add that hasn’t been said already, other than to say I hope it gets fixed quick.

Mega, thanks everyone. Some good tips.

I’ll post photos!

I’m amazed any of our children actually make it to adulthood.

Reading this thread makes me feel better!

@northernmatt

Luckily he’s a scoffer like me so bounces quite well :)

My adventure ideas cost me a fortune in snickers!

Sons first trip to BPW one June. Nice and sunny, uplift booked out but no problem, we spend an hour pootling up to the top with snack stops and a few pushes.

Just as we arrive at the top the mother of all storms blows in out of nowhere. Proper sleet, really windy and very very cold. The trails turn to little rivers and he was really struggling to hold the brakes. He got properly blue lips cold and was shivering uncontrollably.

To be fair, it only took an hour to get back down and while it would have been quicker and safer to walk he refused to even discuss it and instead sucked on bits of snickers to “keep my teeth warm dad”.

The real ‘bad dad’ bit? He was 4 and on a Cnoc 16.

I feel/felt stupid for putting him in that position… Something I wouldn’t have done with anyone elses kid. Still not quite sure why I decided that another trip to the FoD wasn’t a better idea.

Luckily he wasn’t bothered at all and loves riding. We have returned to BPW.

There’s a fine line sometimes between ‘adventure dad’ and ‘idiot dad’. It seems on my bad days i walk on that line :)

I got a Genesis core 24 and put 80mm Reba’s on it for my 6 yr old son. Works a treat.

I was amazed at what I had in he spares box in the garage, a bit of fettling and parts swapping soon lopped a fair bit of weight off. The best bit though was going 1×10, taking the front mech off reduced the number of things he had to think about and made life much easier.

Nope, it’ll be me. Look, no more posts…

If you have the time building up a tiny MTB works really well, I reckon £300 should do it if you’re watching the forums like a hawk.

Ref your actual question. I saw an XS Specialised Stumpjumper hardtail frame a while back that looked perfect for that sort of build?

Meths. Smells nice as you drive away too. Probably melts the car dash and certainly will get you a funny look if you get stopped by the police… But no smears.

I’d third Decathlon, really comfy smooth liner and one zip pocket. I’m a shortarse so while I’m not sure about the inseam, they work for me.

@tang how would you say you’re living differently?

Just sitting down and catching up with everyone’s replies,thanks for all the input.

I guess the real brake for me/us (and perhaps most people?) is loss aversion. Life isn’t ‘bad’ by anymeans and we count our blessings as my mum used to say every day so stepping away from that (critically leaving good jobs) seems almost impossible. But there is that nagging sense of wanting to start an adventure that seems to crop up.

At the very least this mini mid-life crisis will help us focus on what we really want tongue doing with our time/money. Although the idea of a land cruiser with a tent on the top is hugely appealing!