It always confuses me when businesses complain they have to pay VAT. Because they don’t, the customer pays it, they’re just entrusted to pass it on. It would be very cumbersome for the customer to calculate it and pay it separately.

Tonight, people blowing leaves (and other detritus) into the road before mowing the verge. Yes I love riding in all that crap, thanks. Just wait for the next car to pass and it’ll be blown back again anyway.

People (mostly my mother) saying we’re going UP to Wales. Being generous, only the very tip of Anglesey is North of where they (she) lives, possibly. My late father was a lorry driver too.

It’s made a terrible mess of your car too, get a claim in!?

There’s no need to clamp up tight enough to crush. Just hand grip tight will be fine as long as there’s no point-loading. Or get a load spreader as mentioned.

One of the most dangerous and time consuming aspects of roadworks is the setting up of traffic management. Yes there will be times when there is no one working in the carriageway but, as has been said, cones flying around at 70mph isn’t fun. For major works, motorways and dual carriageways will have to be closed to set up.
So yeah, that’s why you’re doing 50mph.

It’s a bit like the not-so-few on here who ride cheeky footpaths. Granted, motorbikes are a bit more intrusive, but being polite goes a long way.
We end up with rules and restrictions because people are arseholes.

Any way up will be good. I did it with a friend anticlockwise from Sablet, southwest from Vaison la Romaine. Descending to Malaucene was one of the best 40 minutes of my life. Only drove through the Gorges de la Nesque though, but wished I had my bike. Enjoy, there’s nothing quite like it.

Just be aware that the sealant could be hiding/blocking little thorns or bits of flint. Have a good check on the inside where there’s little damp looking patches on the outside.

Not mastered it, but I can whistle pretty loudly normally. Until recently I could whistle high and loudly enough to control a sheepdog. But since I had a front tooth bridge to replace a temporary denture, it’s a skill which now eludes me.

I had a similar issue, but with balancing. Had 4 new tyres having booked online at short notice, took over 2 hours to fit, which didn’t fill me with confidence. Big vibrations over 60mph. Bit the bullet and booked into my usual ramshackle looking joint for balancing and alignment. One wheel was apparently 80 grams out. I didn’t have the energy or time to fight with no guarantee of success given the original poor performance.

I think you have to exhaust all other routes of mediation first. 10 meters sounds a bit far away for the council to want to get involved.

Had one repaired via keyhole surgery a few years ago. My knee initially swelled up so was sent for MRI which confirmed a tear. The pain did subside for a while until I accidentally put too much force through it and I then walked with a constant limp. The surgery was like flicking a switch and I felt like a fraud when they gave me crutches to leave the hospital. I’ve had no issues since with my 50 year old hardworking knees. I know I’m only a sample of one, but the study that suggests operations aren’t worth it overall would have left me limping forever.

Dropping to the drops is not done to get weight over the front of the bike. If you’ve already entered the slippy downhill, leave your hands where they are, drop your heels to stop you going forward. This will help you brake without fear of your hands going over the hoods. If you know there’s a tricky descent coming up, get your hands in the drops early – braking is better modulated with your index finger and leaves the rest to grip the bars for control.

I ordered some bits the other day from a recognised bike store, but the delivery was by Amazon. But I couldn’t have it delivered to a locker, so as with Amazon there was no tracking or any vague idea of delivery time. Luckily someone was home when it turned up. I’ve also had a DPD delivery diverted to a local shop (their most environmentally friendly option apparently). I had two photos of the shop stating it was closed both times, but it’s open 7am-10pm. I can’t believe it was closed both times. It was eventually taken in my my neighbour.
It shouldn’t be this difficult.

They are push on IIRC. I think I put a rod or screwdriver in and wiggled until there was a gap to pry them off. I don’t recall them being any more complicated than that.

That front end looks quite a way from the back end! We used to use stems that were measured in centimetres back in the day.
Only kidding, I think I saw some dust today, can’t wait for some fully dry rides.

Don’t forget about your position on the bike. It’s a lot easier to get aero going downhill. I suppose it depends on the gradient on the climb as to whether you’re dancing on the pedals with a full frontal resistance or grinding up a 5% drag whilst biting on the stem.
I once had to pedal all the way down into Llanberis due to a pesky northerly, which was mildly annoying.

A nice dust cap just looks neater IMO, matched to nipples or hubs for the win.

He’s released a statement to stop speculation. Cue the Beeb speculating for the next bloody hour!

Takes me back to being parked up in my mate’s Nova GTE, er, relaxing 😉.

Butter and lemon curd, fricken heaven

Mental note made, I have some Fortnum & Mason lemon curd, but currently no crumpets.
I do concur with butter, marmite and cheese (grilled if I haven’t wolfed it down already) though.

-4 on my 15min commute, I wear 3/4 shorts all year round though. Keep thinking about troos, but I don’t want to lose any man-points.

Post COVID Christmas constitutional.

My cold/flu symptoms didn’t seem to be following the usual pattern so I tested for COVID. Positive for the first time. So avoiding vulnerable parents this Christmas. Was also planning to start Fred Whitton training, that’ll have to wait a bit now.

I should be clearing the highways of Nottinghamshire of fallen trees. Instead I’m at home with COVID not infecting the rest of the team just before Christmas. They can thank me later. There have been quite a few trees down to be fair.

A bradawl I somehow acquired from my late father in law. It does the making holes thing and many delicate prying and separating and clearing out cleat bolt heads as well. It seems to be made of proper steel that doesn’t bend or chip no matter how much I abuse it.

It was a stunning sunset tonight (East Midlands), which seemed quite fitting. Was too busy to find somewhere for a decent photo though.

Yes, in a word. I have an adapter, possibly from sjs cycles. Might be easier to buy the correct size funnel though.

Depending on species, it might sprout from the stump or surrounding roots. You can spray these with normal weedkiller which should eventually kill off the stump. Don’t use oils or creosote, unless you want to preserve it for longer. There are stump grinders that will fit through a garden gate, obviously not as fast as a big machine but a lot quicker than waiting for it to rot. Digging stumps out makes you realise why trees don’t fall over all the time.

Ours gets used as either an oven or microwave. I think there are ways to combine them to make things quicker, such as crispy jacket spuds, but have never bothered. It’s great for small oven things, but you have to remember it will be very hot still when you want to microwave something as well.

No. It looks fine.

Support plates for the front mech if using a braze-on bracket. Stops it twisting for a better shift.

I’m currently at Chatsworth having been for a hike, was going to road ride but the forecast was crap. It’s turned out a nice day this side of the hills, (sorry @crazy-legs). Happy with my choice though, the roads are manic, not looking forward to getting out of here.

For those regularly removing chains, do you reuse the quick links? I’ve just got a new road bike with 12 speed SRAM and need to work out a maintenance plan. Replacing Force drivetrains regularly won’t be cheap.

URT; check

2x; check

Adjustable stem; check

I’m in.

Kinesis Fend-off user here. The wider size will suit you best. Might need small bracket or careful bending for your fork though

Funny this. They were bad here in North Notts (somewhere between morecash and fazzini) a fortnight ago. Probably could do with a entomologist to explain their life cycle and why they all appear at once in certain areas. They don’t hurt, but they’re sure annoying.

I love a classic trail centre, and climbing,but BPW definitely isn’t one. Most TCs are designed to make the most of the hard-gained elevation, BPW drops down too quickly for me to think I’d love to ride back up again. YMMV!

Fr
Friday’s weather better than forecast. Pindale