ExaForm (Kind Shock’s cheap brand) posts for 90 quid here.

15 quid more for a remote, or remoteless gravity droppers (very servicable) around the 135 mark. Should all be above the free postage threshold too I think.

+1 for over the golden gate bridge, round the bay and back again on the ferry. There’s also the option to hang a left after the bridge and go up a big hill to get nice photos of the bridge, and the ferry back goes within a couple of hundred yards of Alcatraz if you’re curious but not bothered about actually setting foot there.

Did that on a hired triple tandem with a couple of mates when I was a student, we got some funny looks that day 🙂

“In life”

Used more on Facebook than at work (sorry, “in the workplace”). It adds absolutely nothing to any statement, it’s just a poor attempt at sounding deep. Brits and Americans equally guilty.

L’Eté en Pente Douce is nice if you’re near Sacre Coeur and it’s very reasonably priced. I’ve never booked there but I’ve never been on valentine’s day either, so maybe best to. Good lunch option without booking though if you’re out seeing the sights.

Somewhere with no sales tax. Oregon seems like the best bet, you could fly to the north and drive to Vancouver afterwards. There’s New Hampshire or Delaware if you want to ride the Appalachians. The others are Montana and Alaska, Montana might be more of an uplift/gravity place due to ski resorts.

If your dad flies back often why not get him to bring a bike back?

I called Colin Murray the C word at Glastonbury one year. Apparently he mentioned it on the Colin and Edith show afterwards, I feel a bit bad about it now cos he’s quite good on MOTD2.

Terminator 2

KCNC Bear Arm 25€ delivered, 50mm.

I’ve done 16/8 for a couple of years now, being strict with myself to various extents depending on my weight, amount of exercise etc. I’m currently 87kg from a high of 103, and 87’s about the highest I let myself get i.e. I’ll go back to being stricter about meal times and calories now until I’m around 83kg.

When I’m not really trying it’s basically just skipping breakfast, doing more like 14/10 if it works out that way, not worrying about timing if I’m on the beer. When I’m being strict it’s alternating rest days at about 1600 kcal with “workout” (riding or going to the gym) days at around 2400-2600 kcal and no beer. Jack Daniel’s and diet coke if I’m out for a drink. I find it’s a sustainable lifestyle, probably even sustainable at the stricter end of the scale if you’ve got more will power than I have.

Usually with the TGV you can change the ticket any time using the machines in the station, and they will either charge or refund the difference. You might be better off just booking both tickets separately though, use http://www.voyages-sncf.com/en for the French side.

The only realistic home use I can think of would be to distill your own spirits and use it as a filter bed. Otherwise if its biologically derived could it add some nutrients if composted or dug into the garden? I wasn’t aware there was any great non-industrial demand for it though, why have you got a 50kg bag knocking about?

After a bit of research I went for a Hario hand grinder for espresso, though apparently it’s good for other grind sizes too. I use a hand drill on it if I’m in a rush, only takes 3 or 4 minutes to grind by hand for a couple of double espressos though. 20 quid posted on amazon.

I think the disagreement here comes from the dropped R in a British accent. Just imagine an American saying “taut” or “taught” and then saying “tort”, they would sound different in his accent and near identical in a standard (i.e. BBC) British accent.

I suspect the same is true of a Scottish accent (they pronounce their Rs, where the English don’t).

“Will you sign this petition for the Stop Hinkley campaign?”

To be fair, the old dear wasn’t to know I worked on the project. She could have had a better reason than “because I just don’t like the idea of nuclear” when I asked her why though.

Trollope.

Kunst-Wet is also one of my favourite place names, it’s a metro station in Brussels.

Just to point out, it’s coming up as 108€ if you switch to euros, discount is 10€ off 99€ so works out at 98€, £81 according to Google. If you’ve got somewhere to get it delivered to and have a Eurostar trip coming up anyway it could be worth it…

If you can’t fly to grenoble you can fly to Lyon, not too much further and there are trains too.

To be honest if you’re looking to move about I would hire a car. Train connections are good from larger places, but then it’s buses to get up into the mountains. You’d be looking at a bus into and out of Alpe d’Huez, bus into and out of Morzine and a train from Grenoble to somewhere like Annecy or Geneva in between. Car would be a lot less hassle.

That said, if you want to pick the car up from the airport it probably limits you to flying into and out of the same place, as there’s often a surcharge for returning a car to a different location and it can be pricey.

http://www.utagawavtt.com/
for France. Open in Chrome and it should auto-translate to English well enough to get by.

Not sure if you were looking for one site that will cover the whole world, but this one’s really comprehensive if you’re ever over here.

It’s true that France isn’t cheap for bike stuff from a real shop, but seeing as wiggle, crc etc deliver to France for more or less the same price as the UK it’s never been a problem for me.

The real problem I’ve found living in central Paris is finding a proper good LBS for mountain bikes. There’s a fixie/vintage type one just down the road that I buy most bits for for my 70s tourer in, but even there a bottle of good chain lube will run you 8€.

I admit I do take advantage of alps trips to try on stuff in their lovely shops and then buy it online when I get home, for both MTB and snow gear. Don’t feel the least bit guilty about it either considering their “RRP minimum” pricing policies.