You can’t really compare a Jeep to a Volvo quality wise. Volvo wins every time.

Ah damn! Never good to lose an old pal. Especially a Lab. We lost ours at 11. Tumour on the spleen. One minute fine then rushed to vets and died of blood loss on the operating table. No symptoms nothing. Glad you were with him at the end.

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and tea like a pauper. One thing I’ve always been guilty of is eating a main meal far to late. If I miss my tea I’ll just have a snack. It took me about 8 weeks for my body to adjust to the lack of carbs. Exercising was especially hard at first. I can remember not being able to generate any body heat and feeling cold all the time. My weight loss has stabilised but my waist is still reducing slowly so I guess I’m putting on a bit of muscle from the exercising. I’ve got an old rowing machine that is like a torture machine that is great for my core and upper body. Mixing it up is the key I think.

I was 19 stone (6ft 4″) at one point. Rode every second day. Bike fit I was. I restricted my carbs due to other health issues and boom now down to below 16 st. It was hell at first. Then over time it slowly got easier. I think my body is getting the energy I need from fats etc. I have reduced my carbs down to a quarter of what they were. It makes a massive difference on the bike to lose weight. I never eat white rice, pasta or bread. My carbs come from veg maybe 1 slice of proper whole grain brown bread and lentils and pulses etc. I lived on low fat white rice and pasta type dishes for years and for me it was contributing to damaging my health. I feel leaner now than I ever was and like you just need to loose that little bit around my middle. My body is all for hanging on to that bit! Nothing with added sugar in either!

Have you added the sour cream yet. That should take some of the tomato-ey taste away!

I used to carry a camelback now I never do. Decent saddle bag and two bottle mounts. Im 6ft 4 and about 16 stone. 2hr ride use 1 800ml bottle if I’m out for 3hrs I’ll add a 2nd 500ml bottle. Usually have a small protein drink in the car for the way home. I always carried two much water and drank to much probably. The fitter you get the better your water management will be. I never use lucozade just water with half a High 5 zero tablet in the small bottle if its a hottish day. Mind I did stop today during my 30 miler and eat some ripe blackberries bloody lovely!

I have only ever had 26″ and 29″ mtb’s. Not much point going to 27.5 from 26 when a pair of high rolling tyres are pretty much the same. For me the 26″ bike was more work but more responsive and turned much better. On twisty singletrack I preferred it. On long lazy XC rides the 29er could cover more ground with less fatigue much faster. I don’t think one is better than the other. I still see more 26″ mtb’s than 27.5’s or 29ers out there. The local Halfords was trying to sell some friends of ours a 27.5 for there 10 yr old daughter. She fitted my Sons old 24″ carrera blast perfectly.

I can’t really comment because I only cycle. Friends however that do both are getting constantly injured from running and that impacts on their cycling. They have great cardio vascular fitness but seem to get a lot of calf injuries and seem to struggle on longer climbs due to muscle strength.

Slight thread hijack. Serious question apart from the Independance debate and all that guff. How does the average Scot view the ability of the SNP to actually govern and run the Country with regard to employment, housing, education and healthcare? It’s been 15 yrs since my better Scottish half left Scotland to move to England and just curious if people think the SNP are delivering on the everyday mundane stuff?

I’ve gone low carb and no sugar. Lost 3 stone since May. It requires a change in mindset really it’s not something you can dip in and out of. I will only have brown rice and then a quarter of what I would of normally had. No white rice, pasta or bread. Up your protein content especially fish and chicken. Sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. It’s really bloody hard at first but I’ve never lost the weight as easily as I have this time. Weight loss has settled down now and I’m down to under 16st. I’m only losing about 1/2 LB a week. I am 6ft 4″ though. My only treat is 90% Cocoa Dark Choc I’ll have a piece with a cup of coffee when I get home from work. It isn’t so much sugar for me that was the culprit but too many Carbs. Sugar is easy compared to giving up bread, rice and pasta!

Go with Meindl. They are not a narrow fit like most approach shoes. Superb quality with great memory foam insoles. I have the leather ones that are goretex lined. 2yrs old and going strong. Very comfy. I used to have the moab ones but then there sizing went all to pot and I went from a 12 being perfect to being very tight and the 13 being like a boat!

I repeat what I have always thought about Corbyn and his team. They neither care or want to be in power. Far easier to be in opposition constantly pushing a dated ideology that they will never have to put into practice. Meanwhile the Tories will carry on unopposed without a strong opposition bringing them to account. It’s all very sad. We could really do with a new Liberal party rising from the ashes of their catastrophic previous campaigns and returning to their core beliefs to shake things up a bit. At the moment I’d vote for them rather than the current shower we have.

Wilson are good, so are Head and Babolat. Grip size is important you can add an overgrip to size up but you can’t make it smaller. Weight is another important factor and wether it’s head heavy etc. Open string pattern gives more spin and power more closed pattern gives more control. Smaller head size gives less power. String type and tension very important. Less tension more comfort and power. Higher tension less power less comfort. I hate to say this but a decent racquet is at least £100-120. Most are carbon fibre these days. My son has been playing for 10yrs his racquets are about £300 for two on a multi buy deal. He is 14 and his racquet is about 290g. He needs new ones, these will be about 300-310g. Don’t expect to get the perfect racquet first time. It’s a bit like buying a bike saddle!

Do not ring in. In our Surgery there is a queue of people waiting in the waiting room for an appointment. Once these are given appointments they answer the phone and say all the appointments are taken can you ring back tomorrow! I guess the same thing happens the following day. Crazy!

This is my current love. I would go for the best acoustic you can afford. Something like a Martin if they do one within your budget.

Halfords had some 40mm 700c schwalbe land cruisers for 8 quid each.

If it took 4L to fill it up I would reckon that engine will be borked if not now soon. I would also say that there will be some small print somewhere that states you should check the oil regularly even if it’s on a service contract and if it took 11k for the oil level to drop by 4L you haven’t been checking it. I’d get shot sharpish. They will use any excuse to charge you for a new engine. Mrs Inbreds Skoda is on a service contract but we still have to check Fluids and tyres once a week.

Your Body can only store and convert so much food to energy when you ride. Normal meals should suffice really. A banana mid ride is all I really need. Always have porridge for breakfast on ride day and normally leave a couple of hours before I ride.

There was a poll in one of the papers today can’t remember which one but a fair percentage of labour voters would rather vote for Theresa May than Corbyn. The gap is widening. If May makes a fare stab of Brexit I can’t see Labour getting back in for 10 yrs.

Oldman I think you know the answer. The Labour party is now fundamentally and ideologically split. I don’t think for one minute that actually winning an election is even high on Corbyns agenda if it ever was. It seems to me that they would be quite happy entrenching their position and using that platform to quite rightly complain about the nasty Tories and how bad things are and will get without ever being in any position to have to put any of their ideas and solutions to the test. They would sh!t themselves if they got elected. Which ever party is in power needs a strong opposition to bring the goverment to account. On current form that is not going to happen.

Fisher & Donaldson coffee towers are quite expensive these days but oh so nice.

Ernie would you not agree that Corbyn’s Labour isn’t really the Blairite labour that people associate with the Labour Party. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but if the Party must split because there are two different factions then at least people will know who and what they are voting for and what the values are. It’s then up to each Party to get its message across and garner enough support for a majority. You never know they could form a coalition government and share power! There’s a thought.

Rhosneigr beech on Anglesey great for the kids to body surf on.

I think you will find it still has a DMF but less likely to fail as less torque from engine.

If it’s only a week hire something big and comfy 5 series or E class.

Out of all the cars I have driven none were as good or as much fun as the Vans I have had. Mini 1000cc van stock engine 48 Bhp but uprated metro 4 pot brakes and adjustable suspension with negative camber arms. Nothing I have had since could carry as much speed through a bendy section of B road without braking. For Mtbing Scudo van JTD. Surprisingly reliable and very capable. Two sliding side doors bulkhead and panelled out inside.

There will be a bend in the boost pipe where oil will collect and slowly soften the rubber leading to a split, this will open up when the pressure builds from the turbo and dump the boost pressure. It’s about 80 quid from a dealer and about an hour to change if you can’t get it up on a ramp. You would know if your turbo had let go, so would your engine!

I think with Boris it’s keep your friends close and your enemies closer still!

I’ve got Pirelli Cinturato P7 225/50/17 on my 4×4 Yeti. 20k miles 4mm left on the fronts and 6mm left on the rears. When I change probably before the Winter they will have about 25k on them. So I think either you are a loony or you have a tracking / tyre pressure issue somewhere. VW group cars are not known for excessive tyre wear generally.

Most likely done when the tyre had lost pressure allowing the rim to be damaged by road surface.

Kildale for natural trails. Lots of riding around Sutton Bank and surrounding Moors.

Murray without a doubt. No sport is as mentally tough or as technical more lonely and as physical as tennis. Lots of sports as tough on one or maybe even two levels but no other sport in my opinion is as tough on multiple levels.

/shimano-m424-pedal. These for me are the best starter clipless pedals. They are light support your shoe and don’t carve your shin or calf when you get it wrong.

TheCaptain normal trade rules may not apply in this case. I think Germany is very worried that it may lose more than it gains by imposing tariffs. Tariffs work both ways and we like our German goods but if we think our BMW’s and Audi’s are going to cost us more because of punitive measures by Brussels we could easily go for Jags and Lexus. There is more to this and certainly I think we may be surprised as to the direction that the negotiations go. Early days.

Early days yet but it appears that Merkel is distancing herself a bit from Junker and Tusk with regards to trade talks. We are simply too big a market for both France and Germany to Sh@ft us as much as Junker and co would like.

As with most things it’s what they leave out and don’t play that makes it interesting or adds to the sound.

Right. **** this. We’re ALL up shit creek and we need a paddle. Now, not in three months.

Fellow Remain voters: Enough already. Yes, we’re all pissed off but navel gazing ain’t gonna help. Not all 17 million Leave voters can possibly be racist northern pensioners without an O level to their name. Maybe they have a point about this quitting the EU thing? Maybe not. Whatever, we are where we are and no amount a whinging is gonna change that. Allegedly we’re the intelligent ones, so get your thinking caps on.

Leave voters. Well done. Good game. We hear you. Now you need to get stuck in to the aftermath and not just piss off back to Wetherspoons. (Just banter, ****!). And the first person to say they “want their country back” gets deported to **** Gibraltar. OK?

Politicians.

David. **** off. Shut the door behind you. Now.

George. You may be a **** but you’re our ****. Plus you know the passwords for our Junior Savers account. Get your calculator. Drop the face-like-a-slapped-ass routine. You’re on.

Boris. Sorry mate. That photo of you abseiling by your scrotum over the London Olympics while waving a Union Jack can’t ever be un-taken. Plus, you’ll never be able to appear on Question Time again without some sturdy Glaswegian nurse asking where the **** her 350 million quid is. Not only will she have a very good point, she’ll be wearing a T shirt that shows you gurning in front of that **** bus! No captains hat for you I’m afraid.

Theresa. You’re in charge love. Get the biggest shoulder pads you’ve got. We need Ming The Merciless in drag and you’ll scare the shit out of ’em.

Nicola. Yep. Fair cop. You probably could get us on a technicality, as could London. But we **** love shortbread. And oil. And to be honest you’re probably the best politician we’ve got, so we need you on side. Sort your lot out and we promise never to mention that Jimmy Krankie thing again (although it is pretty uncanny) and we’ll make you a Dame once we’re sorted. Bring Ruth Davidson. She kicks ass.

Opposition party. We’ll need one. Someone take Jeremy and John back to the British Legion Club where you found them. Take Nigel as well. Give back their sandals, buy them a pint, then go to Heathrow and collect David Milliband. **** it. Lets gets Ed Balls as well. He keeps George on his toes. I think he works on the lottery kiosk at Morrisons now?

Oh. And Mark Carney. Give him a knighthood and tell him to keep that shit coming. We definitely need more of that good shit!

Everyone set? Right. Hold the Easyjet. We’re going to Brussels and this ain’t no hen party.

#weneedaplan Share!

A little something doing the rounds on FB.

Puppies learn not to play bite when the other puppies yell or shriek when nipped. Just yowl when it bites, he should get the message. If not a blast of water from a super soaker!

I have a 26″ kili flyer hardtail for rufty tufty stuff and a cannondale 29er for long XC days. Don’t see the point in 27.5 for what I do. Each to their own I suppose.

Thanks Seos will check out some reviews. Always loved the sustain that Gary Moore got from that original Tube Screamer pedal.