as no other male rider is mixing 3 disciplines at a World class level. And as for trying to compare Pogacar’s CX National title in Slovenia ( that hotbed of CX..) as demonstrating his technical skills…….blimey, I’d expect better on a MTB forum.

The Slovenia cx remark was in response to some gibberish that pogacar will “never come close” to Pidcock on bike handling. Whilst Slovenia may not  be the pinnacle of cx racing you’re not going to be National champion if you can’t handle a bike to a reasonable degree . We could also add in winning Strada Bianchi and being fairly rapid down alpine gt descents, hanging around at sharp end of tour stages and racing classics as indicating he’s probably fairly close to Pidcock in handling a bike

Obvs though I forgot to allow that only our plucky little TP can truly handle a bike in the pro peleton.

TP has real technical bike handling talent especially off road that those 2 will never ever be able to come even close to.

Pog being a former national cx champion seems quite close.

Tom seems to be (and I’m speaking only of his racing, not his personality) aggressive, selfish/not a team player and easily bored/needs motivation. None of which seem to be compatible with being a GT GC contender.

I think Bernard Hinault would disagree with the aggressive selfish elements not being compatible (and a lot of the big gt winners were selfish racers).

they don’t give a shit about him

I’m not sure being a domestique is a career where you can decide to lead the team leader hanging – there’s plenty of competition for contracts so sabotaging a team’s race isn’t going to go well at your mid-season personal development review meeting :)

Pack cases of beer against the shopping to hold it place, it’s a win/win solution.

I’m sure this is a MTB website, so forgetting Nino’s 2017 is a bit of a fail.

Yes obviously a top drawer rider with one season on the road and never having won a top level road race – big fish in a very small pond in 2017.

Same here, logged out and can’t login on iPad, logged in on iPhone

Another vote for galibier, I have the foul weather one and the insulated one; both are very good and the usual Galibier good value.

I had them as a Sinn rip-off with those hands.  :)

They kinda fall into a why bother price range for me – not cheap enough to be a real beater, not good enough to be a best watch then add in not particularly stylish or inventive.

that if DP / P&O are prepared to throw their toys out of the pram at this point, they were never serious about investing anyway.

Yes, if there’s still a profit for them and a return to their shareholders they’ll progress – they are a business not a wilting violet.

The TRG are very much an old school tory thang,  and used to be quite large, no doubt they’ve withered as the conservatives lurched towards a brexit / gammony/ racist fan base  – there’s no place for “moderates” now.

It’s a little phrase used by apologists for racists to down play the offences rioters were convicted of by falsely equating offences such as racially aggravated intentional harassment or inciting racial hatred with using hurty words on Facebook.

Unprofessional yes, but nothing to get excited about.

But in the work place you’re supposed to be professional .

Glerups

Slip-ons

Airport was chaotic, bring your own biro for the immigration form.

Worst airport I have ever been through – absolutely terribly run place.

Marrakesh – shithole.

Mountain biking – went fifteen years or so ago, was great going through little villages etc but, imho, that would not outweigh the burdensome nature of the rest of the country. On my list of places I am never returning to (with Venice and Middlesbrough).

 I don’t know if better grip would have prevented it but it would be fairly simple to require minimum tread when the surface is wet.

Not sure how that works on a 200km stage going through various changes of weather, not all of which could be expected.

which rule did the UCI change (not leave unchanged) to make the sport riskier and more of a spectacle?

Riders seem to think it increases risk;

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-confirm-trial-ban-of-team-radio-at-2024-summer-races-and-yellow-card-punishment-plans-in-2025/

https://road.cc/content/news/race-radio-spat-pro-cyclist-breaks-back-horrific-crash-309887

And yes, @brucewee radios have ruined the spectacle of racing

Really? I think power meter head units and displays of your output have led to more dull races than radios.

We have wooden sliding doors between the living room and the rear living room (office / snug /dining room – delete too taste) . They don’t judder, possibly as they hang from their runners.

Ours recess into stud walls.

It’s a flying gate according to that drawing

Stem is fugly, and it’s a cockpit so a minus mark there, top tube slopes upwards so it’s not my idea of nicest ever. Long cage gear mech is never going to win any prizes for aesthetics too.

Out in surrey hills for the first time in months. Lovely day and mainly dry trails (apart from some monster puddles scattered around – I don’t think i’ve seen yoghurt pots as wet as it was today but most of the other trails were bone dry ).

That’s rank. Please don’t

What in case trace elements of bicycle infect people’s tinned goods?

then the next user puts their artisanal sourdough loaf into that trolley

But nobody on STW buys an artisanal sour dough loaf, they all curate them on their panasonic bread maker.

I always ask if I can enter with a folded brompton, even put it in a trolley.

My default with the brompton is put in a trolley, I have wheeled it around the local sainsbury or M&S with no issues but it’s much easier to just stick it a trolley.

Innerleithen co op probably being a good example most on here will know

Most on here will know – eh?

However the unnecessary doom and gloom from the Labour party has been cited the reason for UK investment funds to have had outflows of 666million in September.

Like everyone here I am not an economist but I do know someone who has been trying to raise a £3-5b UK based fund over the last couple of years and it has been slower than on previous years to get to this target long before the GE.

Use a spring compressor, you can buy them at screwfix?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/hilka-pro-craft-coil-spring-compressor-kit-2-piece-set/45986?tc=DX3&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD8IdPzP4GQEIlibuwIb5eRa6aWz1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgfm3BhBeEiwAFfxrGy953F3cVjsnhCQSa26uI8fPygKNlGYYEKLT_WaFNXwacx3lDSZsSBoC300QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would add, it may not be the case for a bike shock but springs being released from shocks on bikes and cars can be pretty dangerous!

No idea, but it wasn’t a TT.

I just bought one with good reviews of Amazon, when in a similar position, seems ok.

Is yours secured into the drop-out? This one isn’t secured at all, there no thread in the drop-out.

If it came up at all, it was an idea suggested in a meeting and dismissed out of hand then they all partied, got pissed together and forgot about it

He’s a fraud ****

FTFY

Cranes are very rare birds in the UK! And they’re found on marshland, usually.

Yes meant heron, twitchers can stand down! (was talking bout cranes earlier in the day and must have got it stuck in my mind)

Have you seen the Little Egrets in the Wandle? I once saw about 4 in different locations going up the Wandle Trail to Merton Abbey Mills, but I haven’t seen any for quite a while.

The Kingfishers in the Wandle by Beddington are quite easy to see if you sit on the river bank on a warm summer’s day and wait patiently for about 10 minutes. Although they just appear as a streak of electric blue as they fly past.

We’ve see the kingfishers and the little egrets but out on the river (Hogsmill or Tolworth Brook?) by Horton in Epsom when heading out that way on the cx bikes, they’re pretty cool. Morden Hall Park had a few nesting herons in it last year.

A few months ago Mrs K was walking along the wandle by Colliers Wood and stopped to watch a heron when it suddenly lunged into the water and came out with an eel in its beak. Pretty cool for SW London.

I can remember as a child this bit of the Wandle being pretty turgid with. bid waste paper site polluting the area in general.

Cheers, cormorant it is. Never seen one around here before (river wandle in Merton) . Not a pretty bird.

Cheap amazon here, run of a battery pack. Had it a few years now and only really wear it under my motorbike jacket. Works well, keeps me warm and not had any issues with it. It is a core bit of my winter bike kit now.

currently thinking Premier Inn London Bank Tower

Having worked in that area in the past i would suggest maybe looking due south of the river. Borough market will have better burger options too.

walk a few 100metres and youre at granary square which is fine, you can also do the tourist thing up in Camden

I was up in Camden a couple of weeks back, I don’t remember it being such a shit-hole tbh. Must be getting old!

The area around Euston is not particularly nice, imho, down on the South bank area would be better. Euston down to Waterloo is a fairly short hop on the tube.

as per @z1ppy

IFarm WeFarm – Irish diary farmer
Marty T – NZ guy who fixes plant kit, usually where it’s been abandoned for 20 years.

Both very good and strangely relaxing.

Watch Wes Work – US car mechanic

2Vintage – guy fixes motorbikes

JC Smith projects – bloke builds and repairs trucks, welds a lot

SuperTruckerDan – American HGV driver – delivers things in a big lorry.

Another new series to watch – Perfect Couple directed by Susanne Bier (Bird Box and a load of Dansk films) and starring Nicole Kidman as rich American woman (as usual)  and various other well known actors in other roles Bono’s daughter from Bad Sisters

Started off good but thought the ending was a bit weak.

I found Bono’s daughter to be a really weird actor, only seemed to have a few facial characteristics and to display them at the wrong time.

Rove and stump shooting

Yes, there’s also masses of freshly harvested forest land i could use – although if you miss you will never find the arrow!

Insurance and memberships – won’t be in UK

Well a bow has been ordered – Samick Sage kit, with 25lb draw weight.

The idea of setting up a field archery run sounds quite interesting to mess about with next summer, as well as a biggish yard I have a very long drive, an overgrown field and it’s all surrounded by commercial forestry which is not used by anyone (horrible pine trees) for leisure purchases all with no neighbours within a 1/4 mile so sounds a good area to use.

Thanks all.

Agents become less reliable if they are motivated purely by money. All it requires for them to become double-agents is for the other side to also offer them money

Not really, because they know if exposed they’ll probably get off’ed in the first instance and if handled properly they have little opportunity to blow back/ stitch up their handlers so aren’t of much use if discovered.

Yep find someone with access, explain that they and every relative they know will be killed…

Or just pay them lots of money, everything is easier when people are happier with a tasking and want to help.