Great photo Turboferret! If only I’d discovered buggy running when my kids were little.😃

Thanks NBITF! I’ve run at 19 different parkrun venues so I very much enjoy parkrun tourism too.

I wouldn’t expect to run sub 23 at Lanhydrock……

But I might at St Albans ( currently 23:09).

Like you I love running different courses and like you my favourites tend to be more undulating or cross country .

I ran at Wotton under Edge on Saturday which took me back 30 years and felt like running a school crosss country .😃

Enjoyed a good weekend of running. On Saturday I managed my first top 10 finish at parkrun, finishing in 9th place, admittedly in a field of only 95…….!

Yesterday I ran I the Bristol half. This was my fifth half marathon having only completed my first in February and I finished in 1:49:01 which is my best yet. Really pleased with that.

In awe of the guys here running sub 20 minute 5ks , I’m still aiming for and will be over the moon with a sub 23. Hoping to achieve that goal in the next few weeks.

I’ve lost 3 1/2 stone since last year.

It’s important to recognise what works for one doesn’t work for all.

What I did was to take up running. I only need 30 minutes to get a run in and run 5 days a week.

Exercise alone doesn’t shift weight but it provides a focus for me to eat well and as I shed weight the speed went up .

I’m out and about for work a lot and rarely at home so prepared meals do t really work for me.

Instead I use my fitness pal to monitor what I eat and it’s a really useful tool as I have a measure of exactly what calories I’m consuming whether I’m out in a restaurant, picking up a sandwich or early g at home.

It also gives you a macro showing carb/protein/fat and I quickly realised I was too dependent on carbs and not consuming enough proteins.

I’m never going to be able to follow a rigid diet and I can still allow myself a beer or a cake so my fitness pal works for me.

It is also connected to my Strava so I can trade extra run distance for calories.

I weigh myself a coupe of times a week. That way you get to notice normal weight fluctuations but quickly see if there isn’t an upward trend and can act on it quickly.

I asked for some advice on road wheels on another forum last week.

The advice I got was to for handbuilt and from two respected  wheel builders use Hope or Miche hubs for reliability .  Miche are cheaper but some concerns over freehub , Hope spares can be sourced easier.

The bearings in Novatec and Bitex don’t last UK winters due to smaller bearings though are fairly easy to replace. Think the Hunt ones have upgraded bearings and seals.

For rims I was recommended Kinlin, Dt 460 or the new Open Pro UST rims. All much the same by their reckoning.

Spokes was recommended Sapim, the more the better.

When I looked the Hunt wheels were similar money to what I could get handbuilt by a U.K. wheel builder.

i believe Hunt are assembled in Taiwan though most of the feedback I have seen is they are well built and are good on aftersales if there are any problems.

I use a Tom tom spark watch. Bought mine from there outlet store for about £50.

Goid second hand ones on eBay for around £35.

I bought a Supersix Ultegra last year. Lovely to ride, not an endurance bike like some of your other choices but it was that extra zip and sharper handling that I really wanted as I already had a Defy advanced.

Surprisingly despite having more race geometry I don’t really find it less comfortable than the Defy.

I used to live in Harpenden and now live 5 miles up the road.

Id start by heading out Kinsbourne green , Markyate, studham, Ashridge, then out to Berkhamsted.

I run in an old karrimor running cap. Lightweight so doesn’t make your head too sweaty. Cost about a fiver. Helps keep water out of my eyes when it’s raining.

i noticed Decathlon do a similar one.

If looking at liquid systems I’d also recommend you check  out Triflex liquid roofing systems.

The installer though is every bit as important if not more so than the system. Go on the installers reputation.

Single ply membranes for example are  often not well regarded in the industry these days more due to poor application over the years.

You can use a good material but it can be ruined by poorly welded laps and seams .Single ply is easily punctured too. Seen brand new roofs leaking like sieves in new builds where other trades have dropped tools or fixings on new single ply.

Liquids are fully bonded so if damaged the leak is limited to one area and is easily repaired.

The strap keep the Decathlon one firm so it doesn’t move about.

The light itself is tiltable within its housing so you can set it up to throw the light just where you need it.

I drive a lot for business and current car is a Golf GTD.

Its a great car, just the right size, I can fit my 3 teenage kids in,but still park it easily when in London, the  boot is reasonable for its class, great performance , handles brilliantly and its as comfortable to drive over long distances as bigger cars I’ve owned.

In many ways I prefer it to the BMW 320d I had for a couple of years.

I’ve driven a few mk3 Focuses and owned a mk1 and mk2.

The mk3 is a lot more refined but not as fun to drive as the earlier ones. Boot is small too and the interior is cheap.

I’m normally a Ford fan but it was an easy decision to go for the Golf instead.

The new Focus addresses my criticism of the mk3 though and I’ll have a close look at one next year.

The other car I seriously considered was the Mazda 3. They drive very nicely but they didn’t have a GTD equivalent in the range.

A few colleagues have had 1 series. They both criticised the lack of space and the one with an m sport the overly hard ride.

Another colleague had the V40. Very comfortable but boot is small. Love the styling  though.

I have the Decathlon “iron man” one. Use it 3 times a week and it went all through last winter in the worst conditions .

With a tiltable head unit it can give a nice pool of light in front of you on the trail.

In a group run I tend to just use the first setting. Second setting if I am running alone .

Battery life is good , it’s well made and nice and compact.

Very happy with mine.

I got 25k out of PS4s on the front end of a golf GTD.

I was in this situation for about 5 years. And like you always thought it would be difficult to unravel and thought lots about the impact on my kids.

Every day I’d go to work with this cloud above me pondering what to do and it had an impact on my mental health.Thing is my wife was thinking the same. Things came to a crunch and we went our separate ways.

We are both with new partners, me with mine for over 5 years now and I couldn’t be happier and importantly my kids are happy too.

And don’t think things are too difficult to unravel . Yes finances are tight for a while and I’ve downsized but what price your happiness?

Used to be a fan of Eagle F1s but now very much liking the Michelin PS4s.

They came out top in Evo magazines tyre test too.

Another option could be to take it to a place specialising in car bumper repairs that have plastic welding materials?

I’ve got MichelinPilot PS4s on my Golf GTD.

Awesome tyres. Confidence inspiring wet or dry.

Had Bridgestones before which were great in the dry but poor in the wet.

Base layer, cycling jersey, gilet and arm warmers. Versatile and can remove layers to suit conditions.

Gilets are a really useful bit of kit. Keeps the wind and light showers off, but easy to stash in rear pocket.

I did this once and just ran a bead of sikaflex polyurethane sealant down the underside of the split. Worked fine.

https://youtu.be/CBIRj3JW3h0

A reminder of what great musicians The Blockheads were in their prime.

I still find my steel core plastic Soma levers to be the best. They’ve been going for about 10 years now and work well on mtb and stubborn road bike tyres.

Think they are still available via SJS.

I have the Park blue ones too but find the shape awkward.

I had a gait analysis done a year ago having suffered from tight calves and shin splints.

Tried a selection of shoes on the treadmill and advice was to go for the ones which felt least intrusive.

Have a fairly neutral gait but weak ankles so was suggested to go with a mild stability shoe.

Now on my fourth pair of Saucony Guide 10s having run 25 miles a week in them over the last year.

Been injury free ever since.

As with most things I think it very much depends on the individual’s experience that assesses you.

Maybe I got lucky.

I have a Fabric Scoop Pro shallow in my road bike. Great saddle.

I did the SE Bavaria, Berchtesgaden and Salzburg  trip a few years back. Stunning area.

A little closer to home I’m off to The Ardennes on Thursday.

Have you checked out handbuilt wheels by cycle clinic? Malcolm has a good rep and will build you pair of kinlin rims onto bitex or Miche hubs for around £300.

Best resale I ever had on a bike was a trek mt220 kids bike. Bought it little used for £80 , our lad used it for a year and we sold it for £140!

Pearl Izumi have always worked well for me.

How old are your shoes? I start getting shin splints when my shoes get old and lose their cushioning.

Makes you wonder what bikes will evolve to in another 20 years……….

Fabric Scoop Pro is 200g and very comfortable.

Theres also a Fabric Line Pro with relief channel which is circa 180g.

I have Michelin Pilot Sports . Have clocked up 25k on the front wheels of my Golf GTD.They still have 3mm remaining and grip superbly wet or dry . Definitely recommended.

Massive improvement over the OEM Bridgestone Potenzas.

Started 2017 at 16st 10lb. As of this weekend I’m 13 st 13.  But that’s not as good as buying pair of size 32 waist jeans!

My parents had a wet room intstalled by wickes .It turned out great and they got a father and son local fitter who were extremely competent.

As stated above its luck of the the draw. I don’t know how much they police their fitters.

Lots of single track if you know where to look. Head out towards Wheathampstead and there are some nice trails over by symondshyde woods and the Ayots.

Dont know if they are still running but OTT used to do a Sunday morning ride from Harpenden.

Cero AR 24s seemed to be well liked. And £189.

I have a company car that I like to keep looking good but without too much effort on my part.

Gets snowfoam with my pressure washer, two bucket wash with meguiars shampoo, dried then Sonax sealant once every six months and topped up with Sonax detailer in between.

Quick but beads really well.

I’m also having a similar debate as to what to buy.

I’ve looked at new Ksyrium elite , look great, decent eeight, easy to set up tubeless but expensive, various kinlin rims with novatec hubs by various reputable online wheel builders but typically£300-350, the hunt 4 season, zondas,Fulcrum r3, prime pro via wiggle, and still not come to a verdict.

I have a Supersix Evo . Fantastic bike. Quick, sharp handling but still surprisingly compliant.

i looked at buying secondhand caad or Supersix and there wasn’t much price difference.

Ened up buying a Supersix Evo ultegra new for £1250 instead.

I’m currently at 49 minutes for a 10k. Want to try and knock 2 minutes off that by the end of the year.