And for the laydees… http://shop.themountainfactor.com/section.php?xSec=491

Ok, he’s based at Longmorn, near Elgin and his phone no is 01343 860 382. He also does wierd and wonderful custom frames like recumbents and bikes for people with various disabilities, eg hand pedal bikes. His work rate is rather ‘non-commercial’ but the quality of the wheels he builds is excellent, you could play ours like a harp when we got them. :)

You’re probably thinking of Charlie Ralph, Master Wheelbuilder, who is also a frame builder. He works out of his garage near Elgin and is a well kept secret. I’ll try and find out his contact details. He built us a set of wheels that have never gone out of true or needed spokes tightening for 3 years of regular off road use.

I have 5 or 6 Icebreaker tops all bar one are the bodyfit 260 gauge. I think they’re fab and have had no problems with them. Some have developed holes but that’s when they’ve been snagged by brambles, but I’ve just darned them and carried on using them.

If it’s nearly new I would have thought they would/should just replace it.

I don’t think it counts as a ‘relationship’ after only 8 dates. Meet the new one and see what you, sorry, he thinks. Make sure ‘he’ doesn’t keep the other girl on the back burner for too long, that’s just not right.

Devs, I reckon the giant’s steps will ‘go’ one day. They’re an ambition of mine.

glenh – Member
There are some interesting wives out there it seems.
Mine hardly ever tidys anything up.

And her bike is in the dining room.

I think my partner has a log in that I don’t know about, cos that’s me that is… except that my bike is in the kitchen.

I’d keep you Druidh. You could be my little ageing pet :)

Maybe, Druidh, but in my experience, those who might do it ‘just’ for the money don’t stay long. There are easier jobs available that pay the same, if not better, eg the classic ‘shelf stacker’. There’s also a disparity between client groups, people working with clients/service users who have learning disabilities, physical disabilities or are children seem to receive better remuneration than anyone working with older people. Maybe the country should just face up to the fact that we don’t really care about old people and introduce a scheme of involuntary euthanasia? (tongue in cheek here folks!)

Supply and demand doesn’t seem to work in the ‘caring professions’ We desparately need home carers, yet they won’t/don’t raise wages sufficiently to stimulate and increase in applicants and retention of those already in the job. There are not enough places to accommodate older people who need care because it doesn’t generate enough income. The people who ‘care’ about what happens to the old and vulnerable only seem to act as individiuals, IE, it only matters when it’s their child/granny, and they’re not interested in the overall picture of inadequate services and resources.

And as for it just being common sense, well a lot of it is, or should be, but some management muppet put in place so many nonsense procedures and policies, that we’re not allowed to do much of any practical use.

Ridden one? I own one :) I love it. Depending on how you kit it out it can be burly or relatively lightweight. I have happily thrown it down rocky trails in the Sierra Nevada and also use it on longer hill days in Scotland.

Call the Department of Work and Pensions in your area, they often have a discrete department for over 65s and certainly in our area they do home visits to do benefits checks for older people and also help them to complete any paperwork required for applying for benefits. This service helps save older and often frail and vulnerable people from the need to queue up with some of the undesirables that hang out at the ‘dole’ office.

Most of my income goes on bike kit and bike related activity (travelling to races/rides etc). Each one of my bikes is worth more than both vehicles of the household put together.

My kids are still reasonably cheap to run and I view day to day food as simply fuel so I don’t spend much on that although I do like to splurge on nice/expensive food now and again. I also have a clothes and shoes habit that I’m trying to curtail.

I don’t have the answer either, it just seems a sad sign of what’s important to our society.

In our local authority you get less per hour as a home carer than you would stacking shelves in Tesco. Just because some jobs are more vocational than others, shouldn’t mean people are exploited.

When I read threads about what people earn, I’m always stunned by how much more people earn to look after computers and suchlike than to look after people.

In my school it was “throw” them over your shoulder rather than “roll” them over your shoulder, and it was always balls, never boobs, ears or hair. Hair??!! WTF?

I think that the Casco looks ok and certainly looks better than a Met parachute. If I were in the position of the OP, I’d shell out for the replacement chin piece. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence of the chin piece of the Met shattering on impact and causing additional lacerations to the face.

I believe you cn get quite cheap clip on tt bars which is what I was advised to get if I wanted to make easy/cheap changes to a standard road bike for improvements to speed.

Quality thread drift here. Worthy of Mlehworld, only you haven’t started talking about cake and bumlove yet. :)

So if I ask ‘Nicola’ for advice on what chamois is best for my delicate ladyparts, I won’t get a proper answer?

Oh and do you have any ‘fixie’ pre/suffixes for when you want to appear uber cool?

Really, Snigle? I was so envious of Nicola’s superior mechanical aspirations, skills and independence of bike fettling that it gave me an inferiority complex. I may have to sue you for distress!

*starts doing press-ups*

Thanks Conor. My boyfriend is coming to ride, but doesn’t want to do the race, and the others are my children and sister who are doing their own thing. I might drop you a line for more info.

JoeBones, pretty horrible then? ;)

Top class ones might, but perfectly servicable ones can be had for less.

We recently bought a memory foam mattress, it is wonderful. I now find it even more difficult to get up in the mornings. To get anything like a half decent mattress will cost upwards of £250.

Story tapes are great.

We used to have them when I was wee. I now can’t listen to the McDOnald’s ad with the whistling in it without thinking of Robin Hood.

And I know who his LBS mechanic is… I wouldn’t… ;)

Toys and lots of em! Get a tray thingy for his seat too, so he can do the crayons and paper stuff that Druidh suggests. Food helps too.

Is that including the bike wallah service where they run round sweeping the trail in front of you?

JoeBones, although I’m going over with people, I’m the only one entered, are people friendly and helpful, eg: during practice and on the start line?

And the moon on a stick please!!!

2Pure, was it the Moab I was using? What do they retail for? Anyone want to buy some Lumis?…

Jeez, I’m having enough trouble choosing between the two suitable bikes I already have! Dinnae confuse matters more :)

Which DH tyres would people recommend then? I currently favour High Rollers, any other contenders?

Where!!???

At present I’m deciding between my Bullit with Lyriks and putting the Lyriks on the Titus Motolite (6ins rear travel) for something more pedalable on the flat/ups.

On another forum I saw someone saying take a more DH bike for the qualifier and a lighter one for the main race.

I’m happy with the ‘speed is your friend’ concept :)

I’m nervous about being in the right place at the right time for stuff like qualifying runs etc as the translations on the website of information doesn’t inspire confidence and my French is not good enough to understand the necessary detail in the French version.

Juan, I’d love you to come and be my pom-pom boy! :)

Slip of the tongue, Foxy! ;)

YOu want Scottish rain too, not yer wimpy English stuff. Proper PHAT rain that never ends. ;)

The bad weather makes it more of an adventure than a slog I reckon. Needs the course to hold up for bad weather not to turn it into misery though. (and the course really did hold up well, IMO, compared to previous years).

Gorgeous, sunny, winter day here. My only complaint is that I have to be in the orifice :(

Pro plus taste absolutely gopping, like ear wax only more bitter. I suggest you just neck them with some water and keep your bars yummy.

Re caffeinating useless decaff coffee with carefully crushed pro plus was always my Viz style ‘top tip’.

I may well be buying some Druidh. I was that impressed :-)

I liked the lack of endless mud and the sheet ice that scared me witless last year, but I would have liked more technical descent. Hey ho, you can’t have everything though!

The thing with the puffer is that it’s not the riding that’s the challenge, it’s the bits inbetween if you’re in a team. I intensely dislike getting changed out of wet stuff in cold and uncomfortable conditions. The solution would be to go solo and not get changed very often. I did enter as a solo, but my lack of training due to endless colds over the winter put paid to that effort. I’ve also sworn “never again”. Got the 1,2,3 set of cups so I should be happy to let it lie….