Mum has a Rav4, 2L auto 5dr version. Guzzles petrol, its gutless, esp uphill and the boot is useless. Back seats are like sitting on planks.

Uses more petrol than my old twin turbo Subaru Legacy!

I wouldnt go near one, but she loves it.

rye flour and granary flour is good. I usually do 1/3 rye or granary plus wholemeal and white. you need the white or it gets a bit tough and heavy

pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds. you can get a good pre mix from Holland and Barrett or mix to taste

one over the hob will blow the gas out 🙂 well, ours does!

if you have an awning it might be good having it open into the awning, then you can have it open while you sleep without worrying as much, or if its raining (we dont like to sleep with the door open)

You are going to have to do a fair amount of picking for her but how much depends on her – you’ll have to judge. My OH picked the colour of the frame and then pretty much went with everything I suggested based on him not knowing any better and being prepared to “give it a go…”

You might want to discuss the pros and cons of spending more or less in certain places. That way when she’s riding she can take that into account. You might find she would rather spend less and not feel the pressure of needing to like her bike just because it cost a lot it must be good and its me type thing. Then you can swap out bits later when she knows what she wants.

Frame – How tall is she? I’m 5’9 and get on fine with mens frames but if she was small she might be better off with a womens frame – although anything small and light ought to be ok with a shorter stem.

saddle – anything with a groove or a hole. Unfortunately you cant really say how one person will get on with a saddle. I have had some womens saddles that are really wide, make it harder to pedal and hard to get off the back of.

you might want to think about brake spec – I found V brakes useless because I didnt have the grip strength (do they even exist anymore?). Having said that you will prob want brakes with adjustable levers (smaller hands, smaller reach). BUT she prob wont need massive rotors…

Grips – again hand size is a factor. I like ones with less padding / rubber.

Fork size vs stem size – she is going to find it harder to keep the front down when climbing than you do.

As for build – I did a similar thing for my BF a few years ago. Bought him a Soul frame and then put basic bits on. As they wore out or he broke them he replaced with more expensive bits…I thought the frame more important in the long term and as a beginner he wouldnt notice deore shifting quality. The Soul has been great and for the same money (once built) a full suss would have been hideous.

grind will have a lot to do with the result…you dont want the water taking ages or not long enough to get through the coffee.

+1 for preferring it toppped up with boiling water.

If you stay til Sunday, head to Spitalfields (Liverpool Street tube) and then up brick lane into shoreditch. Keep your eye out down all the side streets. Spitalfields has loads of food options for a break – Patisserie Valerie for cake or Leon for trendy kid food

timeout london for kids[/url]

Somerton Combe everytime without fail

Soul with 2008 Revs & 70mm stem. Almost always run at about 120mm, unless I'm also dropping the seat then I'll put them out to their grand 130mm

+1

what kind of message are you wanting to send here???

too fancy and she might think you have gone to a lot of effort…you may or may not want that?

nb. Euston to farringdon will add another 15mins, even by Boris bike.

oh and also consider the season ticket price, I'd imagine Ashford on a fast train would be a packet….

I love the ones who just keep riding along as if there is nothing there (ie no red light, no intersection, no give way sign), dont look for cars with right of way. Then oh there's something stopped in front of me, no problem, I'll just mount the foot path and ride around then ride off again right into the traffic which is now moving again. Why check for traffic, they will all avoid me… toodley doo, tumpdy dum.

I used to think pedestrains were the scariest (after getting knocked off by one) but recently the good weather has brought out all the summer cyclists 🙁

go a size bigger than your shoe size, i bought some on sale, last pair, half a size bigger than usual and they are a wee bit small, but ok for a commute

be careful washing them in the shower if its an over bath jobbie – I did (do) that, dropped one and have a big scratch in my bath now 🙁

Having said that, I have also found if you dont wash them from the beginning after each muddy ride then you dont get rid of the smell…sorry…keep them outside 🙂

my gore ones have lasted quite well, if she's new to biking they have a medium thick pad. The other thing is they are low cut in front, makes them more comfy for bending, but still high cut at the back so not drafty 🙂

My favs are ground effect ones though – order from NZ website BUT the exchange rate sucks at the moment. They have nice fleecy knees for the winter / usual UK summer and a thinner padding than the gore.

If you are in London try Cyclefit – they will do you insoles but also look at your saddle set up etc mine was a combo problem, it insoles alone wouldnt have solved it.

strangley, just after posting I decided to get the online quote – hey presto way cheaper. Then I also noticed that on the renewal letter they had included stuff like zero excess and no claims bouns protection that I can live without so that's made it heaps cheaper too.

I'm having the same problem – M&S renewal came through at over £800!

Problem is, everywhere else I have found will only insure bikes up to £1,500 each.

Are there really no alternatives?

juice, banana, kiwi, frozen summer berries, spirulina. then anything in season. nectarines are good.

used to do milk, berries, banana and protein powder for a recovery drink but its much less faff to use the torq stuff

if your fruit bowl is all ripe at the same time you can always cut it up small and freeze it for smoothies later.

12 hour solo is harder. training is "bulkier" ie training for a marathon takes up way less time than training for a long MTB race. 12 hour is way harder mentally. Its not like you will get tired running after 4 hours and fall off or hit a tree.

If you have done a half marathon then a full one is about 3x the effort, not twice as hard ie the second half of a full marathon is twice as hard as a half marathon (will make sense when you do one, you should do one)

ours have been fine locked to the tow hook of the van, although out of sight in the awning.

have heard just as much about theves following cars with bikes to services but never had problems there either (never take long, try and leave someone in the van or using chain lock to lock the bikes to the rack)

our camper is LHD, only problems not already mentioned are pulling out past slower vans/ trucks, almost impossible to see without the passenger telling you. Plus seeing oncoming traffic through tight bends on country lanes, people assume you have seen them.

My OH has trouble parking it. Then again, he has trouble parking our hatch back too.

mine is great for the commute, even with just regular shorts / running tights, no padding BUT rode to brighton the other day, not so cool after 40 miles…I think because it isnt leather

how much discount are you talking once you show up with the car?

I've got a shimano XT (MTB) BB on my road bike with FSA cranks…never had a problem (touch wood). Its a Specialized allez elite if that helps…

apparently banks are taking ages to put offers out and getting everything in order….

If you are heading from London Bridge then you could also try around Borough market – same deal with early market workers.

If you have time, the best breakfast is at the tapa Room in marylebone http://www.theprovidores.co.uk – dont limit yourself to full english 🙂

Had the opposite happen to me this morning – light went red and I stopped. Not slamming on brakes stuff at all, light had been orange well in advance etc. Just about got run over by the van behind me who had decided to run the light, he just managed to swerve around me luckily

i've got a pax wadrobe stuffed to the gunnels and its fine, its got stuff on top too. Having said that, I have two identical drawer units bought 18 months apart, one is flimsy and the other fine…wondering if there is differences between manufacturing batches??

make sure you tripadviser any smaller B&B type places – some of the ones around paddington / bayswater (ie hyde park) are nasty, think bed bugs and infectious disease in the bathroom.

I looked for a mate a while ago and the travelodge in covent garden was pretty reasonable – bit of a walk from the park though

+1 for the Torq guys – got me through the transrockies 🙂 best part is they will tailor their advice to what you need / want / budget

Try Kathmandu when they are on sale – their own brand stuff is awesome value (on sale c.50% off). they have sales all the time, just keep an eye out

not quite bakewell but Crowden is nice – we were there last weekend. Its only small but it has a lovely, relaxed family feel

Quantock Orchard, also has statics for those who dont want to tent. Blue Ball inn is tops but you will have to book in advance, and its a longish walk

looks like the Peaks are going to be corwded this weekend – found what is probably the last site going near Glossip. So, slightly modified request on the route tips requested since not moving the van would be preferable 🙂

thanks Jim – it appears we are too disorganised though, all booked 🙁 next time!

awesome Pook – cheers

Get a job first

I started looking for another job after 6 months of my first job out of Uni. Wasnt a problem, just explained to prospective employers that after 6 months the job wasnt what I was promised etc etc BUT you should make sure that the next job is one you will keep for a good amount of time (2 years+) or is different enough for you to justify ie in my case I went from a small company with limited opportunity to a large one with a structured grad programme. Ended up with 5 jobs in 2 years but on CV was same company and promotions each time…