The bit by the sand spit is actually owned by the golf club below the high water, apparently so they could dredge for sand for their bunkers or something. A few years back they were worried about liability issues arising from kiting accidents on their land – so Chris Bull set up the club to help regulate the safety aspect of the spot to ensure continuous access.

West wittering similar – but mainly down to the shifting location of the beach means that technically the deeds extend into the sea (where the beach once was but since been eroded back). Again, regulating who goes where isn’t a bad thing in the south east where there are so many folk. that beach for instance can have 20,000 people on it on a busy day in the summer so you can imagine the effect that a beginner getting dragged down the beach by an out of control kite would have.

Anyway, it’s windy now, so I’m off for a kite before the rugby. 🙂

I’ve kited for nearly 15 years now. I love it, but I live by the sea, and can walk to the beach – can’t count the number of folk who have driven down from london only to be disappointed in the conditions. But living here, well I use the analogy of it’s like living in the alps and not being into skiing.

a solid new set up will cost you around £1k, plus another £300 for a wetsuit, helmet, harness.

Get lessons. don’t skimp on them – you wouldn’t go paragliding without lessons, and kiting is arguably harder to master (I’m told). It will also teach you good etiquette, and save you from pissing off lots of other water users – Kiters have had to work hard to maintain access to beaches and the popularity of the sport is becoming an issue – especially with people not considering the safety of themselves and others.

don’t buy old kit, however much of a bargain it is – safety of kites has increased enormously over the past 5 years.

I recommend these guys:

http://www.brackleshamboardriders.co.uk

top quality kit and really professional advise and service. better than buying online and so worth buying from a bricks and mortar shop who will help you out if things go wrong.

Just in case you are still thinking about buying some old kit and giving it a go:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-39177468

not saying this is what happened to this chap, but, it remains a dangerous (and awesome) sport, and the less knowledge and experience you have, the more risky it is.

Have fun!

It’s great! I’d liken it to a bike ride on water, you can go super hard or take it easy, we live on the beach so it’s easy enough for us but red paddle isups are the way forward if you have to drive to get to the water. Loads of disciplines, but for general sauntering around, get something around 10 foot, and it’ll still catch a wave of you want it to.

Invest in the best paddle you can, the difference between ok and shit is huge, and heavy, flexy ones are a waste of money.

As i type I have my three week old sleeping quietly on my chest while wife has a nap too. it’s a brief moment of bliss.

my advice for dads well being:

get out and ride as much as you can pre baby

try to protect a day an evening a week for doing something active – it’s very easy to put on loads of weight once they are born

get an amazon prime subscription. the best things ever for nappy purchasing.

take as much time off as you can

realise that babies aren’t as hard work as we think they should be. I know this because I have two, and the majority of the work is keeping a 2 year old occupied and happy.

Try not to take things your wife says/does too personally. Pregnancy/motherhood sends em round the twist!

The first few weeks will fly by – take videos and pictures. lots of them.

Thanks team – I am now a wiser man 🙂

I think it would be brilliant to get nominated. There is often a relatively unknown on the list – no – she won’t win, but wouldn’t it be great to showcase mountain biking to young women on a major platform?

This one is better – actually reminds me of the pre hammond and may top gear. nice to involve the new presenters – they know what they are doing.

went for this – gawd bless amazon!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsonite-Suitcase-75-cm-black/dp/B000S5JLFM?ie=UTF8&keywords=samsonite%20hard%20shell%20suitcases&qid=1459287175&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

Thanks Chaps – looks like samsonite is the winner.

Now – to the sales!

After a 3 year hiatus into being a pub landlord (which went very well), I decided it would be nice to see my wife and daughter occasionally. So now I’m back in the travel industry, working as a product manager for a luxury holiday company. Essentially investigating cool new places to go and stay, exciting things to do there and negotiating rates and contracts. Really enjoying it. Mauritius Next month, Antigua after that – interspersed with some London time which is nice as well.

All in, I think it’s great.

ps sent you an email 🙂

Indeed I am flashy – hopefully not for too long though!

bargain. groupset and fork is worth more than that….

such a shame – I’m with sneaky – I grew up for Rickman baddies, and then later watched his other fantastic films such as truly madly deeply.

Brilliant actor….

Neilson? Brilliant holidays. Lots to do, missus will be dead happy, plenty of riding to be had. Vassiliki and messing for best off road riding. Good deals early season. http://Www.neilson.com

it’s what road bikes are for…. I don’t mind the mud, but the chalky slip-fest interspersed with razor sharp flint of the south downs is the main reason I’m avoiding getting on the MTB today….

We had our honeymoon at the colony club (Flashy our paths cross too much in this world!)

Been to barbados a few times now, mainly for the surfing. West coast is lovely – just to south of colony club there is now a marine reserve with lots of pretty fish….

Best snorkelling in terms of seeing stuff is carlisle bay on the south coast – jump in from the public beach and there are two big wrecks 100m off the beach. usually some big turtles hanging out there too.

We have stayed at surfers point too at Zeds place – super chilled and lovely people, but does take a bit of getting used to as the surroundings feel a little bit dodgy, but once you realise you are not going to get mugged it’s lovely.

Must do:

Oistins on a friday night –

Hometown on a saturday night.

see if there is any cricket to watch in bridgetown

have a look at concorde (if you are a plane geek – I didn’t)

Bathsheba for raw beauty and proper surf

Brian Talma’s spot on Silver Sands (de action beach)

dammit I want to go back!

I think he’s ace, clearly tongue in cheek, and very funny.

Very rare to have someone so talented in a sport so centred around misery like cycling who is genuinely happy to be silly.

All hail Sagan!

I’ve got one and it’s great – I have no idea about the ethical considerations though, in fact I never even thought about it. doesn’t feel like it will have the longevity of, say, a big brand jacket, but does the trick for cold dog walks.

so are the holes in my Mavic shoe just in the wrong place?

nope – growing family = I wasn’t at home enough and needed to move on – currently unemployed as of last week actually (my choice). If you know of anything suiting my particular set of skills get in touch!

Jimbo

alls well flashy old bean. all is well – how’s the family?

It’s cheap!

call it a £2k bike (but you could be on a bike for a quarter of that)

no clubs to join,

no fuel to put in,

a good bike will last years (has anyone really worn a bike out?)

I dare say that most on here (myself in clued) will spend more in the pub per week than on riding their bikes.

As flashy said – sell a kidney!

Merlin have always been excellent in my experience.

FWIW, they fulfilled their obligations to you completely according to your version of events. For them to offer ‘something extra’ I would always advise that you adopt a less threatening tone when complaining. From my experience (in hospitality, but the principle is the same), nothing irritated me more than someone threatening to go online and slag me off, and then demanding freebies.

I think OP probably needs a bit of a reality check….

Similar position myself. Enjoy christmas, hit January with a bit of gusto, and make the most of the extra time you’ve got for now. I’ve got roughly 6 months worth of funds in the bank, so not bricking it (yet).

Thanks all – we end up going for a Canon G7x in the end – mainly due tot he compactness of it, and it turns out it takes very nice pictures. Thanks for all the advice!

over the last 4 months:

Publican – have been for the last few years but onset of family and marriage made it too much of a burden and I wasn’t seeing my wife/daughter at all. Good fun and glad I did it but towards the end I hated it!

National Trust Ranger – easily the happiest I’ve ever been in a job. outdoors in the woods/on the beach with the dog, extremely low stress – lots of public interaction, knowing that you’re doing something good. company vehicle is a quad bike and I get to play with lots of noisy toys.

BUT, it’s only a 3 month job I took for the summer, before I go back to school to do a PGCE in primary education. Start a week Monday. Hopefully I haven’t made a horrific mistake 🙂

doubt you’d need the sub. FWIW I’ve got a pretty big lounge (>100sqm) and 2xplay 1s does the trick for general listening. I’ve got a play 3 in the office – plenty loud enough, so a play bar and a coupe of play 3s would be pretty hectic I reckon…

+1 for Cockapoos – they rock! most of the poodle crosses turn out very good. loads round this way. As long as you’re prepared to be the subject of some derision. We’ve got a cavapoo called roger – though for the record he is referred to as the £300 mongrel in this household. he’s great with our 18 month old. Great dogs – we found ours from a family in kelsey who owned both dog and bitch. Also, being ‘mongrels’ tends to give them a bit more resilience to the usual ailments associated with pedigree dogs.

ended up getting a gerber suspension. great deal on amazon, good reviews. thought about leatherman wave, but pricey.

Thanks for the comments

Thanks all – looks like it’s worth doing. quite like the idea of a 1×10 set up if I can get the easy gear!

words can’t do it justice. just make sure you’re there for each other. Really feel for you.

deadlydarcy – Member
So no evidence that it’s dangerous. That’s not much of an argument.
Here’s a tip. It’s quite a nice happy thread. Go somewhere else and argue – that might help.

wot deadlydarcy said. You’re making yourself look silly Ransos!

yeah ACE. honestly, I found it amazing. As a publican I see my fair share of blood, piss, shit, vomit and goo, so maybe I’m more desensitized than most.

loved it!

Reflections on a year of fatherhood:

the cliches are true – you love them more and more each day

mums need more support than they ask for – so give it without asking

the birth is ACE – don’t listen to retards saying it’s like watching your fave pub burn down. think more along the lines of realising you’ve found a new function on your swiss army knife.

The birth is both boring, scary and eye poppingly weird . but overall, ACE.

take every second of paternity leave you can and then some – my biggest regret from last time round was not taking enough time with the family. WORK CAN WAIT.

you will recoil from baby poo like it’s molten lava initially. then you won’t.

don’t buy everything you need – you will almost certainly get it bought for you.

but DO get the essentials.

Invest in a good buggy.

invest in amazon prime – cheap nappies & wipes, on your doorstep tomorrow. you’ll also get another source of online TV when you/baby can’t sleep.

don’t give into the breast is best bullies. if your missus finds she can do it, great, but don’t let the **** demonise her if it doesn’t. do whats right/best for you.

keep a very close eye on your missus for post natal depression. it’s nasty, and it’s common.

I can honestly say it’s been the best thing that ever happened to me, and in the days after my daughter was born I was genuinely worried that I wouldn’t be able to think/talk about her without tearing up. This passes! But now, at a year old, I can have the worst day ever, and it’s all put right by a smile from my little girl.

Enjoy it!

I love Kitzbuhel – great ski area across 3 mountains, lovely town with plenty of places to eat, and it’s also great for a beer or two as well.

Plenty of accommodation available, and access to other ski areas as well. great fro driving between resorts, and not a ball ache because all the surrounding roads are comparatively low altitude, (and it’s austrian, so lift queues are tiny, and everything runs like clockwork)

Alternatively, have you thought about the dolomites? austrian precision and high quality lift systems, one of the biggest linked ski areas in the world, and an italian flair for the finer things in life, i.e. excellent food). Arabba also has a glacier.

presenter – bad – I mean, really, really irritating.

Rollapalooza – a good steal from the top gear concept.

boris bike up ventoux – liked that

pendleton interview – not bad

would have liked more new on whats going on in cycling – issues such as safety/access/race results.

Finally, does anyone think that the graphics bear an uncanny resemblance to Chain Reactions Cycles logo?

this is the closest you can get.

chain wax

Nibali was a courageous racer today. incredible effort from a non classics rider to lead his team through those conditions today.

Great to see bike handling becoming an important part of the tour.

The most exciting stage I’ve seen in a long time.

1: going up north to see family – so ITV2 for me may only get the highlights.

2: col de holme moss. not sure where or how difficult it will be to get there, but only riding bikes from my folks house in brockholes so shouldn’t be too bad.

Very much looking forward to it!