I wouldn’t go back to riding a motorbike on the road if you paid me.

The amount of traffic on the road has increased incredibly in the last 20 years, but the number of dickhead drivers has gone through the roof.

Drivers WILL NOT see you on a motorbike.

Watched the Wigan v Newcastle game in the pub yesterday. Strangely my right knee is aching like a bitch following McManaman’s disgraceful tackle on Haidara… 8O

“Father Jimmy Rannable! What happened to him Ted?”
“You remember the Drumshambo Massacre?”
“Yes, Ted…”
“That was him.”

Been up Vesuvius. It was a bit underwhelming.

Better to damage a lens than miss a photo.

Personally if I’ve got several hundred poundsworth of lens hanging of the front of my camera, I’d be prepared to miss a shot rather than damage it…

Frankley on the M5 Southbound. Breakfasts are complete garbage.

One of my favourites is Norton Canes on the M6 Toll. Except that it’s bloody freezing in winter.

Replace with a cheap screw-in UV filter.

I was never that good to start with but now I spend all my time using computers to communicate, I almost find it painful to write. My handwriting is absolutely atrocious.

Possibly royalty/politician. Was there one or more blacked-out Range Rovers too?

Never mind who Barry Scott is, what I want to know is WHY HAS HE STOPPED SHOUTING???

And besides which, just how many cats does Kerry Katona actually own?

Perhaps if dog owners had dedicated, maintained areas to take their dogs then the situation may improve?

Wouldn’t happen. You only need to visit any caravan park or campsite that has a dedicated dog-walk area (many do in the UK) and you’ll see that it’s every bit as bad.

I can imagine the state of some of these peoples back gardens a foot high in dog shite.

Highly unlikely – not cleaning up after your dog is NIMBYism gone mad.

Death Magnetic is surprisingly good compared to the preceding albums. In fact, that’s my afternoon tunes sorted!

Hmm. Death Magnetic is probably slightly less atrocious than the three preceding albums. The production is appalling. Metallica completely lost it after the black album. I went to see them at the MEN on the Poor Touring Me tour in about 1996 and they’ve got progressively worse ever since.

Anthrax were one of my all time favourites but I think that they were at their best with John Bush doing the vocals. Taking Joey Belladona back on was a massive retrograde step.

Slayer – South of Heaven has to be their all time best. Diabolus in Musica was probably the most pretentious but I have to admit to liking God Hates us All and The Christ Illusion.

Slipknot – Iowa was probably their best effort. All Hope is Gone is so-so but not the greatest.

About the same as a round of golf isn’t it……

Bloody hell, where do you play??? 8O

Maybe i’m just reading too much into it and worrying about pointless stuff – this is also a possibility!

+1 for this. Everybody goes through phases sometimes where NOTHING goes according to plan or you keep dropping enormous bollocks with monotonous regularity.

Sometimes you start over-analysing and in doing so you become hypersensitive to potential faults and pitfalls before they’ve occured. This in turn knocks confidence and if you’re lacking in confidence…vicious circle.

I’d go for the holiday option!

How long is a piece of string? If you cane the tits off it and don’t service it, expect trouble quickly.

Drive conservatively, service it more regularly than recommended, don’t skimp on parts and it’ll go to the moon and bike. Twice.

It’s completely impossible to put a figure on these things.

Try aversion therapy – slip an elastic band over your wrist, everytime you catch yourself dwelling on negative issues, give it a good snap.

You’ll soon learn that negative thoughts lead to pain, so you’ll give up to it.

I went through a pretty hard time last year and was very negative about the whole issue which was affecting my work and my personal life. When someone suggested the above technique I just laughed in their face, but I can only say that it really does work! I still catch my mind wandering to darker thoughts occasionally but I don’t dwell on it any more, and can put it behind me far quicker.

Try it – you might surprise yourself!!

It’ll be hell on earth this year – 100th anniversary!!

Forget about finding accomodation along the route this year. I suspect that all the campsites will be fully booked by now too. Maybe next year!!

Why don’t Russians wear Y-fronts?

Because Chernobyl fallout!

Notwithstanding the fact that Chernobyl is in the Ukraine… :roll:

Do unto others before they do unto you.

Have a plan. Have a backup plan. Because the first plan won’t work.

NMPC (Not My Problem, C0ck)

If in doubt, say nowt.

I need to get my gear dusted off again, I’m fed up with paying over the odds.

I think a person’s terminal velocity is 120 mph or so. He jumps out of a plane with an initial (downwards) velocity of 0m/s. He then accelerates at 9.81m/s^2 until he gets to 120 mph or so.

Depends – if you adopt the classic skydiver’s spreadeagled position then yes. I have a number of friends who (cough) parachute (cough) for a living…they tend to jump very high (typically over 35K feet) and to lose height rapidly they will sometimes go “head first”. They can reach speeds well in excess of 200mph doing this.

Felix Baumgartner hit over 800mph on his way down but obviously this was where there was next to no air resistance.

How about “Picnic for Minors”?

Slightly OT but I’m fed up with horse $h!t everywhere.

I know it’s probably not as potentially toxic as dog-eggs, but it pisses me off that riders feel it’s acceptable to leave great steaming piles of the stuff all over the pavements.

Last time I looked, horses were supposed to be in the roadway :evil:

Started with mine just before Christmas last year. It’s probably only in the last month that I feel fully fit again – so, all told about 3 months 8O

If it isn’t marked as a public right of way, then no, you don’t have a legally enforceable right to use them.

On an OS map, roads which are coloured show that they are surfaced – blue for motorway, red for A-road, orange/brown for B-road, yellow for unclassifed/C-road.

No colouring simply indicates that the road is unsurfaced.

A good example is Mastiles Lane in North Yorkshire. The section between Kilnsey and Mastiles Gate is only marked on OS maps as a traffic-free route (i.e. no motor traffic – widely-spaced red dots). Between these points it is not technically speaking a public right of way, but it is an unsurfaced road. Only from Mastiles Gate to Street Gate is it a public bridleway, and therefore a PRoW.

Nope, it happens everywhere. As a dog owner who bothers to tidy up after my dog and bin the evidence properly this kind of behaviour makes my blood boil. :evil:

What will I get? Do I have any options?

Assuming you choose not to contest the notice, most likely 3 points and a £60 fine. Your licence will be endorsed with code SP30. This will stay in force for 3 years from date of conviction.

You must declare this to your insurance company. Given your record it should have no effect on your premium.

Couple hundred quid fine?
REALLY?

£60 tops + costs.

Not necessarily. £60 is a starting point, assuming the OP chooses to accept the conviction and not contest it. It can also depend upon the circumstances surrounding the conviction, and how the evidence was gathered.

they’re not obliged to show you any until/unless you go to court.

Not true. The notice will state this but in reality, if you are notified of a pending prosecution, the accused has the legal right to see all evidence that will be presented to bring the prosecution.

Just as an FYI, not being aware of a speed trap or “not seeing it” isn’t a valid defence – there’s a speed limit so you should be within it and its tolerances.

There are Home Office guidelines which state that speed traps must be plainly visible and set out in a certain fashion with adequate signage. In practice this rarely happens, but again it cannot be used as a defence. If you feel that the trap was unfair or badly laid out the only recourse you have is to write to the Home Office about it. They will then consult with the authority responsible, slap their wrists and tell them not to do it again.

+1 for a compressor with a receiver and don’t forget the moisture traps!! Two minimum, one on the receiver and one at the outlet/connection point. Drain regularly.

FWIW if it’s just for touch-ups, most proper car paint dealers will mix up the correct the code and fill a rattle can with it. Aerosol 2-pack lacquer and jobs a good ‘un. I did my front bumper like this last year and it looks fine.

It’s all about preparation though, you can’t prep the surface enough. If you think it’s smooth enough, it isn’t. Go back and rub it down again!!

Any better descents running down towards the Coniston > Ambleside main road?

IIRC Grizedale Forest only runs as far North as Hawkshead Bank on the B5285 which runs roughly West-East from Coniston to Hawkshead Courthouse.

Assuming by the “Coniston to Ambleside” road you mean the A593 between Coniston and Skelwith Bridge then no, there aren’t. Not legit ones anyway.

Just to confuse the issue, not all CroMo steel is the same; and some steel frames are a mix of CroMo and high tensile.

A CroMo steel frame has more “spring” to it when riding whereas a high tensile one will feel “dead”. And bend more easily. And feel like its made from gas-pipe. And put you off cycling forever.

Last time I got asked that I said “lesbian porn”. Didn’t get a second interview… 8O

if you dont have winter tires on your car – keep your car off the road in snow

Cobblers. I’ve never fitted winter tyres and never had a problem.

But I do live in Saudi Arabia.

Seriously though –

It’s always polite to at least offer a handshake – but DON’T use you best Optimus Prime vice-like death grip, it makes you look like you’re trying to dominate the interviewer/panel. This isn’t good.

On the other hand nobody (least of all me) likes the “dead haddock” handshake – i.e. cold, clammy and limp.

Firm but friendly is best, and make sure your hands are warm but not sweaty. Sit on them while you’re waiting if they’re cold.

Alternatively, just whip it out and start helicoptering.

+1 for toggle latch. Check rswww.com, they’ll have em.

Not here. I left the last job that I had because I was kicking my heels for three months.

My employer had begged and pleaded with me to work for them (I was head-hunted), offered me a ridiculously good package and then proceeded to ignore me when I got there.

I literally spent three months twiddling my thumbs and then they got all arsey when I handed my notice in. Tossers.

What format are the files? i.e. what is the file extension?

How to carry your bike hands free?

They don’t call me clever dick for nothing!!! 8O

I’ll get me coat…

6 foot on an 18″ Orange Alpine 160. 50mm stem, 740 wide bars and saddle more or less central on an inline post.

Not cramped when pedalling, easy to bomb it downhill.

Either you’re a weird shape or you’re bike’s way too small…

You’re carrying both a full-face and a normal XC lid around? This has got to be a troll.

Why so? I’ve done it – not often granted, but being proud of my boyish good looks I have been known to carry a full facer round with me if I deem the going to be a bit “gnar”.

Last time I did it was when I did the full Walna Scar circuit with the drop off Walna Scar itself down into Torver being the final descent. Provided you’ve got a pack that’s designed for this it isn’t a problem (Camelbak Havoc in my case which has straps/pocket designed for carrying a full facer).