The only courier who have managed to have a better successful delivery rate than Royal Mail are DPD.

Really??
Depends what you’re sending/receiving apparently. I’ve had no less than 3 iPhones go missing with DPD. The last one went missing on the day the iPhone 5 was launched. I had two ordered…..one came from UPS 830am. The DPD one went missing. Local depot is 5mins away. Went there got told to go away. Eventually after many hours spent on phone with Vodafone over several days, I was told that DPD had lost over 500 iPhones just on launch day and that they regularly lose phones and have to compensate vodafone for it. Whilst the DPD tracking service, 2 delivery slot etc is excellent…that depends on it not being nicked somewhere in the system. I now will not have a phone delivered to my house, I always get it at the store.

MV F4 tamborini has always been my personal favourite. Met a guy in France once who had one and had removed all the inners of the exhaust system….it sounded like a Ferrari. Awesome sound and piece of art rolled into one.

Literally just made the jump this week.

Went from XT 2×10 (36, 26) to sram XO1. The catalyst for me was trying out my friends XO1 while my bike was being fixed. My OH has XX1 and I thought I was no way fit enough for it yet but the difference was startling. I ran the gear ratios between my XT set up and the XO1 set up. There is too much overlap in the two ten set up, which is amply covered by the one eleven set up making it easier to find the right gear every time.

Wee bit of colour on mine….

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image[/url] by julmulvan[/url], on Flickr

There has to be a balance between pay, satisfaction and achieving what you want in life. at mid thirties I’d say that’s still the time to be laying the foundations for your family future. Putting in the graft now can mean better possibilities in the future and more balance as you get older rather than being stuck in the same old year in, year out.

The fact that you’ve been offered all three jobs you’ve applied for shows that you have something the employers want so if this particular role isn’t the one for you perhaps there is something else out there that might suit you better.

However, don’t rule out some hard graft for a few years as it might just be a significant turning point for you.

Someone posted the EWS stage maps on trailscotland forum recently.

All of my mates seems to love their SCs…..

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I have the hope F20s (third set for different bikes). Very good indeed ….had nukeproof electrons beforehand but they are lethal to the shins and too grippy.

I use my F20s with the standard pins, I’ll try removing my middle pins although don’t have any issues with grip on these as long as I have my feet dipped. The OH has DMR vaults super lights. Cracking looking and feel good underfoot but not quite so bombproof, they need a bit of loving tbh.

Anything with a hybrid version ….means virtually no company car tax. All you pay is p11d on any extras you opt for.

Different colour way other than the tennis yellow…..

Love this bike does everything that’s want it to.

[/url] image[/url] by julmulvan[/url], on Flickr[/img]

@tom B “the ruins” are the roman forum I think. Near the capitoline museum? That museum is something else. They have Marcus Aurelius original bronze statue on his horse.

DO NOT be taken in by any tour guide that say they will get you into the Vatican ahead of the usual two hour wait. We were duped by mike from Ohio although I ended up getting my money back by completely calling him out in front of everyone else.
Rome will blow your mind. It is an amazing place. I’m still baffled by how they managed to build the pantheon 2000 years ago.
Also be careful about buying ice cream in main tourist areas, it can be very expensive…..20euros for two gelato for us.

Deffo LBS for bikes, servicing, etc. (although my favourite LBS is 100 miles from me so not so local really). I will use tinternet for consumables though.

Definitely can’t ride. Broke my elbow at end of April. Thought I’d be able to ride with one arm…..try getting on and of a bike without using both arms, not easy….neither is turning the bike….and it’s sooooo sore!

You can only claim mileage allowance if you don’t travel to a single place of work, otherwise it’s just normal commuting. IIRC it’s tested by if you go the same place of work twice or more per week on average, you couldn’t claim the miles for that travel. However, if you work in multiple locations that’s fine and you can claim the miles then.

If she is over average ladies height (5’5″ ish) sizing will be a problem especially on shorts. It’s totally random so make sure that whatever you buy can be returned or exchanged.
+1 for altura
Endura is v funny sizing
Dakine (on sale at CRC) is excellent but can be pricy

Also +1 for start cycles extra 15% off this weekend with SAVE15. Got an email earlier ends Monday night.

Log into glasgow2014.com and it shows you the Scotland team. Dunno about the others.

I too have a small face….take an xs in a motorbike helmet. I wear ladies oakley radarlock path. Fit perfect.

If it’s a stealth it could be that there is a small kink in the cable inside the bike. Had this problem myself recently, 2 second fix.

Truvativ jerome Clements black box. Got a set on chain reaction for £95.

It may be best to select the climbing gear before a sustained climb as it’s not a good ideas to change gears when the bike is under stress. If you do need to change gears whilst climbing, try to slow your cadence first and then click it in with a smooth pedal stroke immediately after to protect your cassette from damage.

Swapped out alu frame for carbon …

[/url] image[/url] by julmulvan[/url], on Flickr[/img]

My OH had a Nissen fundoplication 3 yrs ago. He is a pretty fit guy but had a job which involved a lot of manual lifting at the time so he was off work for 4 weeks. It has completely changed his life and outlook. He has barretts oesophegus which can lead to gullet cancer (his dad died of the same thing) and he always said not to plan for retirement etc as he wouldn’t be around, now he thinks he’ll live forever and he can eat whatever he wants, although he does need to eat slowly as it takes a while to go down.

He had his done privately and it was done by keyhole surgery. 5 smallish (1-2cm) scars on his stomach but no other signs. Took me a long time to get him to look into alternatives but he is really glad that he did it. He lost about a stone in weight as he was on a liquid diet for few weeks and hasn’t been able to put the weight back on, that would be the only downside.

7stanes have an app with all the maps on it. You buy the maps individually but they show where you are on the trail so for your first couple of times good for orientating yourself. 7stanes website will also let you see maps. Trail maps available at all 7stanes which have facilities.

You can still cycle up to McMoab from the bottom of Rivendell. Turn left instead of right when you get down to the fire road and then follow the fire road right up ignoring the signs for Stairway to Heaven as I think that is also closed. At the fork in other road keep right and then follow forest road up over the bridge, shortly after that the road goes round to the left and it takes you straight up to McMoab.

I believe they are doing forestry works to cut down the larch trees as D&G has been badly affected by the larch tree disease and so they are having to remove them all to prevent spread of the disease; same reason why parts of drumlanrig are still closed.

I’ve got the POC VPD 2.0. Brilliant pads and hardly feel them on at all. They don’t move about and the dough stuff inside them gets soft with heat so moulds to your fit. Downside is that you can’t wash them so they can get very smelly when it’s hot and sweaty (I hand wash mine and then spray with febreeze before hanging out to dry). As a result, I only wear elbow pads on extreme stuff or when it’s colder or slippery. That said I wear my POC kneepads every ride. I’ve had quite a few offs with my pads (including one which resulted in a stress fracture of my elbow) but pads have stayed put every time. They are definitely worth the layout, there are some bargains to be had on the VPD 1.0s.

Officially all black so closed until 25 July. However last week I’ve ridden the “across the road” black bit, so heartbreak hill and black Craig’s coming back down to main road crossover. It was all fine. Not sure what it will be like during the week but heading down there tomorrow so will find out then.

An interview is as much about you finding out whether the new employers are for you as it is about them deciding whether you are right for them. A rejection of an offer is fine as long as it’s done professionally and quickly allowing the new employer to go out to the second best candidate should they wish to do so.

We bought some oakley fast jacket xlj recently from cycle store. Delivered in couple of days. Really good service.

Yep had that several times with mapmyride

Mine has to go into a VW. I’ve got a honda motorbike, it must hate the bronson cos it never gets to go out these days…..

@smatkins I’m only swapping out the frames, and then selling on my alu frame. OH has the carbon one and I initially didn’t think it was a good idea as I was scared of breaking it but now convinced on the strength of carbon frames so decided to go for it….

Plus the black and magenta is stunning IMO.

@Darrenspink suppose windows are a bit more important than a bike.

Got one of one each of our boys bikes. One is absolutely fine. The other has gone back for a warranty claim today, the inner has side to side play. LBS said they see this problem all the time. I have a reverb and it is much better quality IMO.

There is a really decent italian near Barnton st in Stirling. Old fashioned kinda place but can’t remember the name if it sorry. Bridge of Allan is a much better bet. Both cucina and bologna are owned by italian families and bologna in particular is a traditional type of place if you really want proper italian food (rather than chain restaurant type stuff).

Bologna BoA or cucina
Corrierries is more a cafe.

I work for prudential and know loads of people that have done this last year cos they really promote I through the company and it’s a big deal. Apparently its a really fantastic event. The guy who is in all the posters welcome pack etc is one of my mates, he posted last night that he is averaging over 20mph for a 50 mile round hilly Trossachs in central Scotland. He did it in 5hrs last year.

I’m planning to launch a campaign to get them to consider running an MTB event at the Olympic venue in order to be fully inclusive to everyone. It’s apparently the biggest global cycling event so it’s only fair we are represented.

Thanks somouk. Any tips on where to start with reading OS maps or is it fairly self explanatory?

Wee bits of kirroughtree red and black in the sunshine with tired legs after an epic whinlatter yesterday. Weather great, grin factor even better.

Why do some of you have issues with people getting coached? When you’re a kid, you learn things by trial and error because you haven’t learned things that will hold you back in the first place (e.g.The fear of the pain when you break a bone). If you learn the same skill as an adult, there are a whole load other things going on which can either hinder or help your learning process, everyone is different.

I started riding just over a year ago as a 40 yr old adult. I didn’t ride a bicycle as a child and rarely as an adult. I can ski, ride a motorbike and do loads of other sports but couldn’t bring myself to jump off a small drop jump. I got coaching from ridelines and he talked me thorough the stages and built it up for me. No issues now.

Not everyone needs coaching in everything, but everyone could benefit from coaching in some aspect of their life. To date I’ve never met anyone who is just instantly brilliant in everything they do…..why do even top sportspeople have full time coaches?!?

We took ours on Irish Sea ferry as an MPV. No issues.