If you absolutely definitely must go to work (ie you’re self employed or the company you work for will go under etc) then ask doc for sleeping tablets too, I couldn’t sleep as it was so uncomfortable after a week I was cracking and sleep pills helped me get back my sanity (I’d make a crap spy, 2 days of sleep deprivation and I’d tell all the secrets).

You need to get to your out of hours GP asap. If it is shingles you need Zovirax tablets to slow the virus down soon as, otherwise it may well spread and nerve damage is possible.

I’ve had it, not fun. Good luck!

Ps I am not a doc etc.

My creak turned out to be a carbon seat post in a carbon frame. Carbon paste fixed it, took me ages to find though.

Finally, a thread for me.

So many go choose from… But these three spring to mind.

Ruining the axle of my front wheel when trying to remove it to replace the bearings by guessing (incorrectly) that I had to pop an Allen key into each end of the axle and unscrew it. All I did was flare out the end of the axle meaning it was useless and no, I couldn’t get a replacement.

Cutting the integrated seat mast of a Ridley Dean TT too small, despite measuring 20 times. That still makes me feel ill.

Somehow getting my finger caught between the chain and the chainring at a speed that meant it did half a revolution before i stopped turning the cranks with the other hand. Psyching myself up to do the half revolution required to fre my bloody digit took a while.

So OP I wouldn’t worry, there’s loads more painful and expensive f**kups that you could have made!

1 shed knows his poos. Good advice!

OP – we’ve got a 1.9 SWB 57 plate T5 that we bought with 50K miles as a white panel van. We had windows and seats in the back and a bit of carpet and all is good. Wouldn’t go back.

A remap completely changed driving it from ‘I’ll never get past this tractor’ to ‘overtaking is actually possible on occasion’ – from 90 ish HP to 130ish HP.

It drives like it drives. If you’re really bothered about how something drives then I would do lots of test drives. If you want a van that you can sort-of use like a car then I wouldn’t worry about it and just get one.

Lastly – T5’s do keep their value but don’t discount a newer Transit or Vivaro etc, I’d suggest some tyre kicking and price comparing as ultimately they’re just boxes with wheels.

When I’m cutting down on coffee I drink Redbush or decaf green tea (but I’d always rather be drinking coffee).

Boring but lime and soda for me too.

Agree, 95% of the time it’ll be fine. But are you happy with a 1/20 chance of losing your money?

I gave up swimming for a few years due to excessive pool rage on my part. I’m back into it now, but pretty much sack it off if I get there and there’s more than 4 people in the lane – life’s too short to get angry over swimming.

The list of annoying behaviours is long and detailed: Breaststroke, standing at the end, foot tapping then not passing when you stop, slower people pushing off in front of you, people in the fast lane who get cross when you splash them… Etc

Out of the water I’m quite tolerant. Not sure what happens when I swim?!

We’ve got a massive leylanii hedge on one side of the house, one of the covenants when they built the estate was apparently to have a huge hedge to screen us from the posh people.

We cut/get it cut every two years. Getting it cut was £150 (25 foot tall by 30m long). Bloke wasn’t too keen to take the job 2 yrs later mind you!

I’ve done it twice, once with a petrol hedge cutter and a ladder. I’m lucky to still be here. Once with a mates Schtil hedge trimmer on an extension pole and a mini-scaffold/work bench thing. Much easier! I would do the whole helmet/ear/eye protection thing… Bits everywhere.

As gas been said above, the cuttings only half the battle. Collecting it up and taking it to the tip was another story.

I’d only take off 30cm as we have a couple of brown patches where I lost concentration!

What a great (and sad) article and it completely reinforces my only major phobia… cold, dark water. Combine a footbridge, a fast flowing river, night and winter makes me take a deep breath and mutter ‘get a grip’.

I want to watch the documentary, but not with the curtains closed and probably with a lot of ‘pause-breath’ moments.

A-plan for me.

It’s always a hassle to find car insurance, even with comparison sites it’s possibly my most hated way to spend non-work time.

A-plan insured my T5 with some modifications (remap) as fully comp about £450. That’s with a T4 forum discount, not sure if you can find something similar?

Good luck!

‘Deceptive simplicity’ is a great way of describing his documentaries in general, and I like his programmes. Yesterday I thought his struggles to contain his own impotence in the face of Joe’s self destruction manifested itself in too many leading (and buck passing) questions to the medical staff… Whose job looked horrendous. That’s my only criticism of an excellent documentary.

EDIT. Rereading that… “Struggles to contain… Etc”. Not sure I’ve ever spoken like that, but somehow typed those words. Amazing what factual TV can do! Back to CBBC for me.

I recommend amatryptaline (SPL?) as a painkiller to help you sleep, my shingles was preventing me sleeping and after a week on 1 hr/night I was cracking at the edges. The doc was great when he could see I was in bits and those helped a great deal.

1 week of minging nerve pain and 2 weeks of discomfort was pretty much it for me. Was riding after that first week though, so good luck with it (and the new bike!).

PS i guess the location is significant. Ouch to the guy who had it on his face, mine was on my back/chest.

No read the whole thread so sorry if this has already been posted.

Ray Mears’ “The Real Heroes of Telemark” is great, I’ve just finished reading it for the umpteenth time).

Simon Murray “Legionnaire” is also a brilliant read and a change from the normal military non-fiction.

Custard, it just works.

Cute attack! Love it.

@hughjayteens Ok, thanks. Sounds like a build that’ll turn heads on the trails :)

@hughjayteens – what length are the Sram cranks? Could you email photos to me (address is profile).

Cheers.

Loving these bikes. My 6 yr old son isn’t ready for a 26″ frame so I’m building up a Genesis 24″ wheel for him for this summers trip to the Alps and we’re both desperately hoping he’ll grow enough to ride it (which is a very good way to get him to eat vegetables and go to bed early, as “we only grow when we’re asleep”).

Last summer he rode his Islabikes Beinn 20 at Val D’Isere and Tignes and, apart from savage arm pump, was ok on the green singletracks… but bigger wheels, disc brakes and larger volume tyres will really help. I picked up the Genesis to build it up with lighter components and it’s a work in progress (and have a 24″ Spec Hotrock FSR frame for sale if anyone’s interested?).

I’ve done a lot of riding and been lucky enough to ride all over the world. There is still no trail, no ride that’s been as fun as riding behind him down a dusty singletrack.

Am with Kilo, just don’t get it.

As Edukator said, this is a great thread that puts both sides across for the OP.

Yes money is crap per hour. Yes, the holidays are awesome. Yes, teachers complain about the hours too much I think. Yes, its savage/draining as a 10 min break from 8-4.30 is normal. Yes, it’s very rewarding and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I don’t have much more to add other than I followed a similar route (PhD to maths teacher via lecturing) so if you want to contact me direct you’re welcome to (email in profile)

I haven’t been there for a couple of months but only one of the Xc trails was open (the newer one). I enjoyed it and would go back. A couple of laps was enough to tire me out.

Not my daily driver, but a T5 is our main vehicle. As a cycling family of three we’d never go back. It does work out more expensive, but we do more fun stuff so its worth it.

I’ve got a rubber stable floor mat from Countrywide (an agricultural store, we’re in the country). It might be a bit big at ~1m x 2m but its heavy duty and has grooves (i assume for sweeping horse poo/wee along) that stop weights rolling about. It was £75 but it’d stop your nice floor getting knackered?

Everyone has said ‘join a running club’, and they’re right. That made a massive difference to me.

If you don’t have a club close I wouldn’t bother too much with increasing your duration/mileage but focus on running faster (as many others have said). My variation would be hills, starting at 30 second efforts, walking back down for recovery, then building the duration of those efforts gradually.

Having said that, pretty much any type of ‘on/off’ interval will help if you haven’t done them before and you push yourself.

Good luck!

They must be laid down [completely] flat, bathed in cold milk (semi) to a depth equal to half their height. Leave to soak while you put the milk away then immediately flip them over and demolish before they get too soggy.

So right.

Mini-likes-food scoffs 3 or 4 every morning using the disgusting (in my eyes) technique of mashing them to a paste then essentially inhaling them from the spoon. I know, manners… but it’s the morning and getting him to the table fully dressed is a win.

A proper BMX, more than you want to spend, but it’s skills for life, innit?

Almost there, good work! I remember struggling through the final weeks of mine, all I wanted was to be shot of the thing… but people kept helping me ‘improve’ it. To be fair I do think I submitted the PhD thesis with the greatest number of typos.

The feeling of walking home at 3 am on a summers night after finally, finally, finally finishing still lives with me as the absolute definition of relief.

Keep at it, it’s worth it just to not have to do it.

@ martinhutch. Thanks for the photo and the advice. I’ll get a service kit and keep my eyes out for a replacement forum bargain.

Cheers.

We had a similar problem when we rented a flat where the previous tenant had multiple dogs. Although the flat was empty for 3 months before we moved in the critters just waited in their little eggs. Once they woke up my legs looked like I had the plague!

The problem wasn’t touched by the sprays from the shops, or hoovering till Henry gave up and died. In the end a pest control company came in and gas bombed the whole place, twice. We had to move out for 24 hours but they never returned.

Good luck.

Been with FD for ages, mainly as their offset mortgage rates are good. Their phone app is crap IMO but the phone banking is excellent and quicker somi just use that all the time (it’s open 24/7). Would recommend.

Saying ‘No’ to stuff that you know is a good idea and in an ideal world you’d enjoy… but that you also know that you absolutely 100% don’t have the time to commit to doing it properly so you’ll probably let them down and it won’t end up being a good idea. This is true^3 hard for family or mates stuff.

+1 Direct Line. +1 not claimed though.

I gave up on my stove top, too much hassle. As a total philistine I mimic the effect by just putting lots (and lots) of coffee in the cafeteire. Caffeine? Yes. Awake? Oh Yes! So I’m no help to the OP, but sort of relevant.

I like the house, but have zero sympathy for their ‘suffering’. Consumption so conspicuous really doesn’t sit right with me.

Love it, great present idea.

+1 for Crud Road Racers. They worked fine for 2 winters, till I smashed the front one trying to track stand then ripping it off with my foot. The rear one is still going strong (4 winters).

Ouch, I just think ‘algae’.