I have a 57 plate mk2 petrol.Ubiquitous yes,but still a great car to drive.Love the steering,gearshift quality,well thought out ergonomics and general handling and the consistency of all the controls.Ride is a a tad firm at low speed but smooths out nicely once going.
Doors a bit clangy and some hard plastics in places but other than that I rate the build quality.
Interior and boot space a big step up over the mark 1.
Not as solid,nor good looking as a Golf or the new Astra,but nicer to drive where it counts.
I went for the petrol,though as they handle better and I was put off about too many stories of DMF failures on diesels and I don`t do a big mileage.

Doesn`t have to be a case of the kids choosing.

I split up with my wife last June and the one thing we did agree on is that we would put our kids interests first.

I have my kids 3 nights a week,by having them alternate weekends (Fri,Sat,Sun and Wed nights),they stay with their mum the rest of the time.

It works very well,kids seem happy and both myslef and the wife balance a decent amount of free time and quality time with the kids.

Best advice is for him to keep talking and find a solution that works for both.

I recently p/ex`d a car which had faulty Air con,a cat which was going to require imminent rpelacement to name but a few faults.Tha garage still paid a good price for it, and then had it on their forecourt a week later for a whopping margin.

I`d p/ex it and keep schtum…….

Had my first Focus (mk 12.0 ghia)in 98 as a company car and racked up 80k miles in 2 years without a single problem.Recentky bought my second a Mk 2 57 plate 1.6 Style.
Fuel econmoy is only around 32-33mpg around town,but otherwise love the way it drives and handles.Very practical too.I manage to get my 3 kids,aged 8,6 and 34 in the back,with their child seats without any bother.

Reasonably sized boot too,much bigger than on the Mk 1.

Once delivered Ronnie Barker`s newspaper.

We had a 2003 147 1.6 Lusso.Great little car,better built than the 156 and Spider that preceeded it.

120bhp 1.6 is a sweet motor,not endowed with torque but use the revs and it goes quite nicely.

Steering is very quick,and takes some getting used to it,decent levels of kit.Had no problems at all with ours in 3 years of ownership,but avoid the main dealers and find tourself a decent Alfa specialist.

Have a look at http://www.alfaowner.com for more info

Running and swimming.I`m doing a tri in May…….
And I have been knw to do a bt of salsa. :)

I get to drive lots of differnet cars for work.Had a Mondeo for a day or so last year and it drove very well.

Email sent.Many thanks for the kind offer.

couldawouldashoulda,its a smidge under 35m and approx 1mm thick.If you did happen to a have a spare it might save a few weeks wait from DX……

Still loving my XTC.And if I do get another bike,it will be an Anthem.

Endura MT 500.Great bit of kit.

You can probaly buy a discounted Anthem X4 for not much less than the price of a Superlight frame……

I somtetimes ride around Symodshyde woods and surrounding area….
Also look at: http://www.ottmountainbike.co.uk/index.html

hooked by a mental.

Beautifully put there TF

2nd that! :lol:

Thanks all,some good advice there,which I shall try to heed.

Think I`ll avoid the bunny boilers for now,but if any of you are in this part of Hertfordshire and want to recruit a new riding buddy (road or mtb) feel free to give me a shout.I

Weekends may be tricky,due to time with the kids,but I shall have lots of spare evenings…..

I must admit,I have already window shopped the dating websites….
There

s

t quite muster the enthusiasm to sign up yet.

Which probably means my head isn

q

d meet a bunny bolier and make an already difficult situation a whole lot more complicated……! :lol:

One other question,at one point did you feel like you could move on?

Cried a few times the first week or so,but though I have times where i am very low,I haven

b

d feel better if I could but just can`t…..

Thanks for the advice so far.
I am trying to take one day at a time so far.
I am fine whilst I am out at work or with friends but can

s

d move out but until we sell the house and each downsize there is no money in the pot for me to rent and I don`t really have any options to live rent free with friends as that have families.

Some days I am quite positive about the future,and the possibilty of meeting someone new,but its too easy to get caught up with the issue of worrying about finances,kids,security of a roof ove my head,and so on.

Anyway,some good adive.Thanks to those that have taken the time to reply.

Thank you James.Bike is proving to be a great distraction at the moment.Even better with the good weather we have been experincing.
I am going to put my name down for a local 10k run,in October which will give me another focus.

I`m sure I will feel a bit better oonce I have moved out of the matrimonial home,but until the financial situation is sorted

MTE P7 torch from Deal Extreme with some rechargeable batteries is all you need.

Eastons seem to be pretty robust.My mate has some Easton Orions and he is 16 stone and they are still true as they were 3 years ago.

Fizik Gobi?

Rack………..

I started to swim a few months ago,and started to take it quite seriously about a month before entering my first triathlon…… :wink:
Had a couple of coaching session to work on my front crawl and have been going once or twice a week for the last 2 months.
Wouldn`t say it made me a better cyclist,and time swimming eats into cycling time too but it seems to do a good job of counter acting my leg only exercise regime,with a good upper body work out and has seen the return of my six pack,so its not all bad. :lol:

My wife has early onset of osteo arthritus in her knee (aged 40).Consulatant says she will need a knee replacement at age 50 so has bee taking Glucosamine and choindroitin and has found that it has made a noiticeable difference and decreased inflammation and pain.

Try these:http://www.carbonology.com/

XTR shifters

We got a 12ft one from B and Q last year.I think my 3 kids and assorted friends have been on it virtually everyday since they`ve had it,so it was £150 well spent in our book.

The surround that cover the springs succumbed to UV fairly quickly,but you can pick up replacements for about £40 on ebay.

Son was 4,rode for a bit witout them,then asked for them to be put back on again and stayed on untl he was neary 5!My daughter who is 5 still won

b

t always help to push them,if you want them to enjoy cycling later on.

My son is now 7 and is always asking if he can come on a ride with,me.

Used it on my roadbike,with the free smaple last Sunday.Very impressed by how it went on.A lot less messy than other lubes but will see how it goes over the next few weeks.

Buy the shoes you like and then you can get them resoled with the stuff they use on 510s.Can

r

m sure someone will be able to advise.

Ahh memories of being 18 again!

All great tracks.Bullet the blue sky is magnificently bombastic but love some of the more subtle numbers like Red Hill mining town.

Much nicer looking than my XTC!

I`ve lost 1 1/2 stone since January.
Its been mainly a case of common sense stuff like reading labels on food,cutting out between meal snacks and cutting out booze.
I am also training for my first triathlon,which has been,great as it has given me further incentive to lose weight and to train more.

I`d consider future wheel upgrades.With RS launching the Sektor,for the reason that Shimano and the like have supported the 15mm format rather than maxle light,the Fox option may give you more wheel chice.

You might fit the seats in but getting them buckled in can be a nightmare.
Bite the bullet and get an MPV!
They make great bike carriers….. :wink:

Used to know the area wellbut in the days before i rode MTBs.Think there are some woods near Rusilip lido which might worth investigatiing.

Recently bought some Asics Black Hawks for about £45.Wear them for 2 x 4 mile runs every week and they have been very conmfortable indded.
Did the wet foot on paper test which showed I had a neutral foot,(no flat foot or high instep) so didn`t need anything particular.
Have a look on the runners world forum for reccomendations.