I’ve done this route, start in Ruthin. No reason you could start in Mold, but itll be a bit of uphill and roads, probably jump on the route at the lower Mt Famau carpark.IMit definitely won’t be as much fun that way as the “normal” way ends with a great down hill and you’ll be heading to Mold, which will also include a bit of uphill and roads. Good luck with the weather.

PHD kit is fantastic, top quality and they’ll customise most of it.

Also great people, my oldest is wheelchair and they’ve made him a custom blanket for when he’s in it. Nice people.

Mine “was” about 150, when it was measured. Although as people say I think it mostly means I was good at the tests, I’m dyslexic and although the bit of my brain that does spelling reading etc is a bit muddled, the bit that does the maths, visual learning etc is fortunately very much the other way and I found the tests pretty easy, at the time. But this was over 30 years ago and a lot of water has passed under that bridge.

Some days I now recon it feels closer to 50, just below the dog. 🤣🤣🤣

But it’s okay as now I’m “worldly wise”. 🤪

OP. If it goes down I think it may help you. Sounds like you could do with some time off it. I know it’s easy to say, but worrying about things that may never happen doesn’t help anyone.

As a wise man (probably a women) once said, “Its not the things that keep you awake at night, that will hit you. It’s the shit you never even thought of that will wake you up at 3am and totally screw your life up”. Or something like that.

Anyway even if the worst thing happens you’ll either get through it or you won’t. Worrying won’t help.

Double cancer survivor and an eternal optimist.

Also, as a network engineer, pretty easy to take down big bits in the short term. Hard to take down all of it forever.

My advise (network engineer), if its possible, for every one you where planning to run, run 4.

We built our current house and I put at least 4 to each room, more in most.

Gives you loads of flexibility later on.

So in the end. Left a bit early, did an evening Glentress. Camped and Innerleithen and had and early ride there in the morning, happy days.

I was worried there would be nobody there and I did t fancy staying if we where the only van there. Didn’t need to worry, must have 30 of vans.

As you say, doesn’t help me, but some real forward thinking and should be applauded.

It was just a thought, but looks like it was t a good one

Lack of toilets and bins wouldnt have bothered me, our van has both 😉.

Going to just to stay in Edinburgh and get them all up early, seems the easiest option and I have paid £30 for the privilege.

Thanks

I love inners, probably my favourite Single trail in the UK. But I promised him GT as he wants to ride it now he’s a much stronger rider. He was probably 12/13 last time and was hanging on the back of the mates we where with , he’s 15 now, probably stronger and faster than most of us now (**** that happens quicker than I thought it would).

The reason for Buzzards Nest is the ability to leave the “others” in bed for a few extra hours and I can’t move the van with them in bed.

I bought a hydroshot last winter when my lad started doing cyclocross. I’ve never seen so much mud on a rider and bike in my life and I’ve been Mountain biking for 30 odd years.

Awesome for both the bike and the rider. Can’t recommend the tip of filling it with hot water before you go, highly enough. The lad actually enjoys it.

That is all we need

Definitely open for business. But I know they are snowed under with orders and low on staff numbers.

I’m trying to see it as more of a hobby than just needing the end result. Some of it is fun at least and I’m really learning a lot.

Same for me really, Ive wanted to build one for years, but Mrs hasn’t fancies it. But the last year or so the children have started doing Tri’s and cyclocross (as well as all the other stuff) and every event you go to there are loads of campervans. One day we where sitting in another muddy field for 8 hours and she asked what I wanted for my 50th, I said campervan and she said “sounds like a good idea”, happy days.

I’m loving building it and like you learning new skills all the time. I’m “okay” at DIY, played with cars a lot in my youth and an electrical engineer by trade (we’ll I was about 30 years ago). But this is so much more. YouTube has been invaluable, but it’s a rabbit hole you disappear down for days on end.

Starting the kitchen units this week. Gone for a track saw to try and get my cuts straighter.

Are you going for DVLA re classification?

Getting 2 extra beds in kept me awake at night for weeks, literally. I was always thinking something in the cab for my daughter, I’d seen a few designs in that area and something around their seats for the lad. She’s 12 and about 5’2, he’s 15, currently 5’10 and probably heading close to 6’.

In the end I realised that the van isnt going to be used too much for long (over a weekend) breaks (apart from this summer), so I’ve just gone for a cabbunk (goes on your swivel seats, if you’ve not seen them) for her (hoping she doesn’t get above 5’6) and I‘ve fitted their seat back far enough and stopped the kitchen, so I could get an airbed length ways in front of them. Not the elegant solution I had tried to envisage, but looks like it’s going to work surprisingly well.

Alex

Really cracking on. I’m 3 months into mine (Boxer, but still L4H2). I like your design, I went for the bed across the back over the garage, really pleased with it TBf as the garage is massive (maybe a bit to massive), I’d probably take a bit off it if I do it again. I was after getting 4 bikes in and I can easily do that.

Your seat construction is very impressive, I cheated and when for the Ford Tourneo seas option. It’s a lot easier to do, but comes with its own restrictions on where you can fit it and how much room they take up raised the height with box section to meet the swivel front seats.

It’s a bit of a god send in the current lockdown. Gives me something to slip away and do. Although the first planned trip to Norway in July is now unlikely I guess and I have a few road blocks with parts (I’d be well stuffed without Amazon) and a bit of help with bits, but plenty to do.

I’d offer to race you to the finish, but I don’t think you every completely finish them.

Enjoy.

Couple of hours of my holiday well spent. Lots of great ideas To “borrow”.

Thanks Mike_D

I’ve got 2 of those Latham doors. Only the single ones.

One is outside for access to the room above the garage and one is inside the garage leading to my bike store.

I have the mid/higher level type. Having fitted them and haBing a good look at them, I’d say it would be easier to knock the garage down than get through them (which people do). Even if you did get into them, it would take you a good while and you’d make a shit load of noise.

I’ve not posted pictures in ages (clearly). I’ll keep trying, but I’m hoping the link works at least.

What no picture of my Garmin.

Rotary looks so small compared to my other watches now.

Not sure you can see, but the winder on the Rotary is not the original. It was the bit they repaired, tbf i thought it was very “clunky” compared to the original, but didn’t want to change it as that’s how she had it replaced. It’s not long had to have the strap replaced again, the other just fell apart.

Note, my arms aren’t as hairy as they look in the photos

https://www.flickr.com/photos/185838450@N04/shares/DxC70u

Love this thread. Always have a read when I get a chance. So I thought I’d share my watch history.

Always been fascinated by watches. I got a Timex digital watch for my 8th(ish) birthday. One of the LED ones that you had to push the button in to see the time and the battery lasted about 2 month at a time, no idea what happened to it and I regularly look for one the same on ebay and can never seem to find one the same, maybe after all these years I remember it incorrectly, so I never will.

I was then hooked, I remember being obsessed about getting a calculator watch after my uncle got one with tiny buttons you needed a pen to us, he gave it me a few years later and I still have it somewhere.

Once I started work one of my first purchases was a Seiko divers style watch, another uncle had a Rolex and I converted from the day I saw it.

Then things got serious, I got a Tag 1500 for my 21 birthday. I still have it, wore it pretty well every day until I was 30. Unfortunately I swapped the strap out for some trendy surfer Velcro one at some point and although I still have the original metal strap I can’t find the “shoulders” to put it back on. Again they are on an eBay search.

I went for an Omega Seamaster for my 30th from a shop in Australia. It was a very good deal, good discount and with the exchange rate at the time it was hard to say no. Although I liked it to start with, I always felt I probably bought it because of the deal and I never really likes the wave lines on the face.

On my 40th I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to trade in the Omega and get the watch i had wanted for a very long time. A Rolex Deepsea Seadweller. I still love it as much now as the day I got it. I’d saved hard for a good few years in order to get it, it wasn’t just some whim. I’m 50 next birthday and my wife asked if I wanted to change it, but I don’t think so. On the plus side it’s worth a lot more now after 9 years than I paid for it.

I don’t wear it all the time, a day or 2 a week. I currently wear a Garmin Fenix 3 most of the time (maybe I’ll update that for my birthday). I also have a Casio G-shock GNW-1000B as my holiday watch, great watch. Solar and radio adjust, so always accurate and I never have to worry about it.

Although my Rolex is very important to me, it is just watch, it’s on the house insurance and could easily be replaced. Therefore it is not my most treasured watch and I am not being flippant in anyway.

For my 18th birthday my late Nan asked what I wanted and knew instantly. My grandad had been given a watch for his retirement, it wasn’t some mega money thing but it was a nice Rotary and he’d worn it every day. He’d past way nearly 10 years by then, at one point she had leant it to my dad while his was getting fixed or something, so I knew it was around somewhere. So I cheekily asked for it, we have a big family so I was well down the pecking order for it, but nobody else had ever thought to ask(there where comments after the fact) so tough. Turned out it was broken by then. So she had it fixed and put a new strap on it for me. I have worn it to every wedding, funeral, christening, graduation etc I’ve ever been to . Years later my mum told me I’d made my nan cry when I’d asked for it, she was so happy (is it’s dusty in here). Truly love that watch, keeps shocking time though.

In my experience, I’d say no. Although I’ll add I don’t have a 120.

I’ve a 90 Rx. In spring and late summer/early Autumn I’ve had 120+ miles on electric only but…. things that kill it

A/C
Heating (more than A/C)
Motorway speeds (I drive at 75j

My journey to drop my kids at school is 26miles each way, 70% motorway speeds. In perfect conditions I’m getting there and back easy with over half the better left, this time of year not much over 1/4.

I’d say you going to be fine on the good days, but you’ll be very close on the bad ones.

All that said, love our i3, way more than I thought we would. 3 years old next month, 56k on it and never had any issues.

Puts **** into perspective.

RIP

My first car was a Chevette in YELLOW, GLS no less 🤣

A year or so later myself and my mates started buying hothatches (back when 18 year olds could insure them).

One of of them got a MK2 escort RS2000 and another bought a Chevette HS. If I’m being honest they where both not great cars to drive or own (especially the HS as I recall) compared to the GTE/XR/GTi’s etc.

Eventually they gave up on them breaking down and not great to drive in the wet and joined us “boy racers”.

I now take great delight in sending them copies every one that now comes up for sale at prices over £30 to £40K.

Turns out we didn’t know shit.

More like 8k a term!

I was going on it being about £14k a year (one by me is only £12k) and current state fees are around £6k, thus an £8k up lift.

I can’t be bothered reading all this thread, but I e had a skim and here’s my thoughts.

I see the problem being the head line “abolish Private schools” being a head line grabbing manifesto type of thing. It appears to have little or no thought to the second half of the policy, that being use “the money” to make the rest of schools better.

But once you’ve got shut of them there seems to be no extra money, just more pupils in the state systems.

Sounds a bit like a “let’s leave the EU” thing that’s been going on. Easy to say up front, but very few think it trough to the end.

You will always have parents who are more willing, and/or financially or time rich and chose to invest that wealth in their children and thus give them an advantage.

I recon they will try and get shut of them, waste loads of money doing it and then abandon the idea.

I see 2 possible solutions.

Either

1. Take kids of their parents at birth (so parents cant read to them at night, that would be an advantage) and raise them by the state.

Or

2. Shut all state schools and make parents pay the extra £8k a year to fund their kids to all go to private schools.

That way everyone is the same.

“Bumper crop” for me too… also £25.

This is the first thing I have ever written down on this and I’m planning on it being the last.

I was and am a remainer, even though I know the EU has its problems I believe we are stronger in that out and I was very pissed when we lost, but I came to the conclusion that even though some people seemed to based their leave vote on lies and half truths, we still lost and therefor we do have to leave.

The list of people I blame for the result is very long and there are many ifs and buts, but the vote was democratic and that’s that. That said, I will say say I said to everyone who would listen, that Northern Ireland was going to be the sticking point in any negotiations. I’m old enough to remember the “troubles” and have no wish to see them return and just for that reason alone I believe we should have never voted to leave.

We have negotiated poorly, it should have been a cross party team, with agreed goals. This would have given us some sort of strength at the table. But everyone, on all sides has only been interested in petty politics and point scoring and doesn’t give a shite about the rest of the country. The EU can clearly see the devisions and it would seem they have always know we couldn’t get any deal or a no deal through parliament, so they have held all the cards from day one, well played by them I say.

If I’m being honest my hope was we could get a good deal, although I never for a minute believed it would be “the easiest deal in history”. I secretly hoped a case could be made where we could have a vote on it, but even that feels a bit of cheat.

I’m forever an optimist so I’m going to try and look on the bright side. Although not remotely a fan of Bj, I think what he’s done is pure genius (im not sure if it’s by design or he has just stumbled on it), he has scared the hell out of everyone and I mean everyone that a no deal can now happen and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it… other than work together and find that solution before we leave. I’m hoping it focuses the hell out of some minds.

If (and it a big if) we do leave with no deal it will be a bumpy ride (a really bumpy one), but do we really think there will be civil unrest, mass food and medicine shortages. Please note I have a very poorly son who has 4 medicines that he relies on to control his seizure, so as they say “I have skin in the game”, I can’t see it. His mum works in pharmaceuticals and she’s not worried either.

I am worried about some things that could happen, yes, but as in life the stuff you worry about very long rarely happens, it’s the stuff you never saw coming that hits you full in the face at 3am. So it’s not worth worrying about.

If it goes south and the politicians really screw it up, there are millions of real people with jobs and businesses who will be looking for real solutions on day one and in them I have complete confidence in.

It’s the blue dot effect.

I think Boris as a PM is the quickest way to a Brexit cancelation.
He is going to make suck a mess of it, it will have to be canceled.

This was sort of thing I was hoping for with Trump, Give him enough rope and he’d hang himself before he really made a mess of everything he could. As a way for the world not to see he was actually lining the pockets of him and his mates, unfortunately that’s not going to plan.

I worry that Boris will still be able to push through some crap or another, with no care for who or what it damages, just so he can get his moment in the sun…

Hope very much, that you are right and I am completely wrong.

We’ve had an i3Rex for 2.5 years. Bought it originally for dad taxi trips to and from swimming/rugby/football etc. But it quickly became the car of choice 95% of the time.

Since September the kids have gone to a school over 25 miles away, so I’ve been racking up over 100 miles a day extra on school days.

I have hardly used the Rex, but do find it comforting to know it’s there and makes it easy to push the range. My brother got a non Rex and doesn’t us it as much as we do.

Up until this weekend I’ve only charged it at home, but did a 280 mile round trip on Saturday. I was a bit concerned about using the chargers, it turned out to be unfounded and I was very impressed with them.

Currently also run a discovery sport as well, but I think I’ll be putting a deposits on a Model Y as soon as they become available.

One of my children did the same. I called them and they asked lots of questions and eventually re set the password.

This is such sad news. I always read his updates and even offered the odd word of hope from a fellow cancer fighter.

He always came across as a guy trying hard to live every day as well as he could, something we all aim.

My thoughts are with his what is obviously a loving family and friends.

RIP Mark

That’s so sad, he was such a nice bloke.

Many years ago I had my garage broke into and the “naughty people” took my lights as well as most of my bikes. I got in touch with Chris to see if had any lights I could buy. It turned out he had sold the last one of the batch. But he really wanted to help out so sold me one of his personnel lights (with a big discount I didnt ask for). I’ll never forget that generosity and how nice he was to chat to. I use it to this day and will now treasure it even more, thanks mate. RIP

I’ll have another go this year. Got a couple of injuries last year, hoping for better this year.

I have Surly Krampus fitted with a Bafang kit. It’s over 3 years old and I’ve used it in all weathers, on and off road. It has a really big (compared to normal ebikes anyway) 2100mAh48v battery. Works fantastic and I’ve done lots of rides over 60 miles on it (it’s very hilly where I live) and it still has loads of power left.

Gogogate2

I use it on mine, does my gate and 2 garage doors. You get an app on your phone,l that lets you can see if it’s open or closed and can use it to close it.

you can even add a camera

Off there Friday. Looks pretty easy to get around. We

Hand on heart I’d honestly go EV and just change my habits. The infrastructure we would need is there. Our long trips are either to London (and surrounding areas) for my wife with work or Suffolk way for her family. With the charging points on the M6 toll and we have a 13amp charger we can just plug in (us a 7Kw at home) both would be okay thanks to the REX. Just need to plan a head more for unexpected trips, but I bet most could be done with a bit of thought. I think this year, other than above, the ICE has been to Swansea, Leeds, Sheffield and the Lakes, all do able with a bit more effort (I was to lazy to bother).

We could do trains for anything out the blue or at the very worst hire a car if I unexpectedly had to go to the top of Scotland for some reason.

We live rural although not to far from a city, so we use the car for lots of trips every day, kids to school, sports stuff with kids, shops, mtb centres (I could get fitter and ride there, but I won’t).

When we started to look at EV’s it was supposed to be the other car and just do some running round, but it turned out to be so good it has just taken over,  I will only use the ICE if I absolutely have to.

i honestly drive it with a smug smile on my face. When I drive the ICE I am constantly thinking “that press of the pedal cost me X or Y”.

They won’t be for everyone at the moment, but I don’t encounter any pitfalls at the moment. Since we got ours, 2 friends and my brother  (all of whom where very sceptical when I told them we where getting one) have got them.

So, you basically use an EV for short(er) journeys and use ICE for longer ones if you want to max out efficiency

This is basically how I use ours. Although the “short(er)” journeys will get longer with every upgrade in tech.

We have the i3 with the bigger battery and range extender, very  rarely used but gives the confidence  to go to the max distances. We use that for every journey we can up to say 120miles, I’ve never charged it anywhere but home so infrastructure isn’t a problem. I’d say would cover 95+% of main traveling we do.  We then have an ICE vehicle for the rest. We’ve had it 18months or so and done 23k in it and it’s been perfect for reliability. The ICE car (same age) has done about 5k, also gets used when we need 2 cars, I’m thinking of changing this to PHEV as most of its trips are less than 20 miles, but will cover the longer stuff as well.

im hoping EV’s take a while to catch on, because I’m getting the benifits of cheap running. If everyone went EV tomorrow the government would have a massive budget hole from fuel duty and would have to fill it some how.

By £40k I guess that should read £15k for a basic model because otherwise it is just scan expensive non luxury car. If manufacturers can’t work out how to hit the low price points the only market is rich westerners

Under £30k was probably a better guess. EV  costs are going to be a lot higher than ICE cars for a long time,  but your running costs are then considerably lower, so costs are front loaded. But think of the penguins your saving.

Well I’d say 10 years for that one

i3x (x3 electric) due in 2020 and underpinning exspected to be used for 3 and 5 series. Range estimated to be 250 miles (I get over 120 out my i3). So I’d say real world 300 miles isn’t to far away. Also  much faster charge times coming.

New Nissan Leaf is getting around 170 miles real world and a bigger battery is meant to be coming.

Charging infrastructure is improving all the time, but still has a long way to go.