I knew there’d be done golden (fleece) humour here. Thanks for making me smile.

So, @timber the area where the sheep are is a quiet village, one road in, one out. There are houses nearby and everyone knows everyone (which is why we are confident who the owner is, although they have allegedly denied ownership -this is being checked today hopefully via phonecall). We need to make sure that any movement of the sheep is done properly as it will be witnessed I’m sure.

The land opens onto this main village road. It would be silly and dangerous (as well as illegal) to even think about letting them loose. Plus cruelty to animals never plays well in court!

Someone is feeding the sheep “out of the goodness of their heart” but has denied being the owner or knowing who that is.

@nuke, we are unable to find out the CPH number on the land due to GDPR as the CPH number is linked to the flock owner. They won’t even search for us to see if there is one.

@welshfarmer that’s pretty much what we’re hoping to do under Sec 7. Good to know, thanks.

@longdog, that’s the route the estate solicitors want to go down, quoting 2-25k depending how far it goes in court!

On it trundles, hope for a positive phone call today!

@garage-dweller yep, we have the details of one. But as we only found out this needed sorting asap this evening, I thought I’d call on the collective to see if they have experience of this kind of thing.

Mainly to give me something to do when I can do nothing else!

@scuttler you and me both! But as this is a 30 odd year story in the making I fear none will be forthcoming in the required timeframe.

But hey, I’ll update when I do know what happens.

@TheBrick alas that is not an option as it is illegal to do so.

@ads678 I know, but I’m an optimist!

@tabletop2, yep pretty sure we do, and they are being contacted tomorrow. No idea why the solicitor hasn’t already done so (but that’s awhile other story).

There are concerns the owner is trying to block the sale of the property as he has a friend who wants it, but not for what it’s being sold at. Which is why I want to know if I’ve understood section 7 correctly, and the sheep can be detained asap as long as we let relevant people know.

@bikesandboots DEFRA prointed us to Trading Standards Animal Welfare who told us about section 7. They also said that ear tags can be well out of date due to sale, but if we found what they said they could pass the info on to the tagging information people.

The field was rented to alocal farmer for his sheep. They were removed after the death of the relative as the permission to keep them there ended with their death. Everyone knew about it.
A lock was put on the gate once the sheep were removed.
Lock was broken and sheep put in the field without permission.
I think they still fall under the definition of stray as they are in a private place where they’re not allowed, even if they were placed there.

Well, from a personal point of view it means I have to be really careful if the bike stops at speed. I’d need platform shoes to be able to stand over with clearance!
The other thing is unweighting the front end, going uphill the front wanders a bit unless I’m right down low, a higher front is likely to wander more.
I’d still like to test ride one to see what it’s like to loft for manuals and wheelies as I’m rubbish at it on my current one.

I ride an old style 2017 5010 in a small because I’m 5’2″, I struggle enough hefting the front wheel about because I weigh 50kg and I’m a weakling, can’t imagine the trouble I’d have lifting an even higher and heavier front end!

Does look pretty and of course I’d not it out of the shed though!

I was convinced I’d heard that Prince had died and couldn’t understand why people weren’t going on about it more. Then he actually died about 2 days later and everyone really did care about it. I’m still a little freaked out by my prediction!

Cheers all. @JonEdwards and @VanHalen I weigh 51kg (absolute top whack 55kg with full water and pack) hence being able to get away with lower pressures and not have it squirm about. I raised the back tyre to 22psi and nearly got bounced off the trail yesterday but it was the lower pressure that screwed the tyre initially last time I was up here! I also run a Huck Norris in the back which is awesome and has stopped the majority of issues.
I suspect it’s a mix of me being unsympathetic in my riding plus the flimsy Spesh tyres, although the last cut wasn’t sidewall.
I was a bit hacked off the tyre sealant didn’t seal the miniscule puncture in the sidewall though, so will be looking at other options for that too.
Quite happy to move from Spesh and will check out the recommendations.

So, just me who always tries to set the speed camera off on a particular section of road that tends to be on a return of a regular ride? 30 limit, not managed it yet, even with a prevailing wind and near killing myself!

I find any conversation about collarbones and plates etc very interesting. I had mine done in 2006 and it looks like the local blacksmith did it. I’m quite petite and guess they are one size fits all. There’s no hiding it if I’m wearing a vest top or open necked top.
I opted for the plate as my surgeon basically said it’s what he’d have done in my situation! I was also told 9 months for bones to heal even with the plate and be back to pre-break strength.
It healed perfectly plus I’ve had a couple of big crashes in the years since and it’s been fine.
I would love to have it removed but suspect it’s way too late now as everything will have bonded around it, but I’d be interested to hear what others have had done.

We have just fixed for 7years at 3.14% with our current provider at the earliest opportunity we could (current mortgage deal ends in Nov).

Prior to accepting the deal I locked it in whilst I checked all about and no-one could get us a lower deal.

Two days later, the best deal went up to 3.44% so it was arise move to lock the 3.14% in. We had 14 days to accept it or let it lapse.

We went for 7 years instead of 5 as my thinking was it is unlikely that rates will have dropped back to the current level in 5 years so may as well go with 7. We’ll have 3 years left then and if we overpay may even end up with only a tiny mortgage to pay off. What I do know is I’d rather have the security of knowing what I’m paying when everything else is going up.

Blimey @poopscoop got to this thread via this week’s newsletter and it reminded me of all the good reasons why I visit this forum.
Good luck with the treatment, your member, your mental health, your mum, your lad’s new career in the force, you lad’s family, and everything else I’ve forgotten.
Seeing the cost of your meds makes me think that perhaps an extra couple of pence on my national insurance is worth it.

Personally I can’t afford a new bike but as time goes on, and I get more time poor, I completely get the idea of an MTB that I can ride the 6 road miles (most of which is up a steep effing hill) to my local trails without being spent by the time I get there. The trails are on a ridge and I know loads of riders who have converted purely due to the ability to ride more downhill in the time they have available. I’ve definitely cut a ride short because I won’t have time to do the down and then the up and get back in time.
However, whilst the specs suggest the Small will fit a rider sized 5’0.2″ – 5’5.6″, 29″ wheels mean I’m riding a clown bike! I have enough trouble popping my 650B that weighs 10lbs less, I dread to think what this would be like.
In case you’re wondering, I may be protesting too much, I really want one but won’t be test riding one in case I realise how good they are and how much all my concerns are moot!

I’ve got a 2018 5010 CC that I got at trade when I still worked in the industry. It was eyewatering to me then and I couldn’t afford to buy again now, especially at full price. However, I got it because it was 650b and I’m 5’2″ plus I had spreadsheets of geometry charts and tested loads of bikes out. It just felt great. I love it and it is way more capable than I ever will be.
I just wish it had the little mudflap over the rear link, because that’s a pain to keep clean!

Oh hell, it’s a bit dusty in here isn’t it?!
Get in Xavi, Dad, Mum and Monty, well impressed.

It’s something when you realise you’ve no idea what an acroymn means and everyone else does.
LLS = Long, low, slack?

This is such a great thread!
Kip Jr is about to start secondary school and we believe had “the talk” at primary school last term. They shared the resources they used (clips of the videos) which left us unsure just how much had actually been covered.
She gets massively embarrassed talking about it with us but we’ve been assured they’ve been told it all at school.
We do talk a lot about relationships, consent, respect etc. and she’s pretty clued up on that.
Puberty and body changes were discussed a long time ago and she’s happy to chat about that with me.
The biggest concern for us is boys and warped views of girls from porn. We can only do so much about that sadly. That’s up to you parents of boys to teach respect and consent.

Here is the website you need: www amaze.org

Read Bounce by Matthew Syed Waterstones link He’ll say all of the above but much better with great examples in a very readable format. Excellent book, highly recommended.
Edited because first link didn’t work as I wanted!

Well now. This thread got a bit strange …

I think I’m in the wrong forum. Checked my pension pots the other week and I’ll still be working into my 70s at this rate, although house should be paid off, so who knows.

I try not to think about how much having a child and changing career more than once has stuffed my financial future.

I’m a fan of Linda McCartney’s Mozzarella burgers.

@mcnultycop I agree. I’ve learnt a lot on this thread and admit to being envious of the ability to ride the uphills with less effort (local riding spot is on a ridge so ebikes are very popular).
I can see one in my future, just not yet as that sort of money will go to a house move which will save my sanity more than a new bike (but that’s a whole other thread!) and I like my current bike.

Came back to the thread to post the link to the Guardian article but many before have beaten me to it!

Good to see levels of not listening to each other are still high though.

My kid is trained to not pet dogs unless she has asked the owner, I expect the same sort of thing from the dog. Friends have trained their dogs thus or keep them on a short lead when they are in situations where their dog instincts stop them listening.

All sounds pretty simple to me, not sure why anyone else thinks differently as IMHO anything else is ignoring the needs of others and, well, that’s just selfish and a bit rude.

Ah, ok, I haven’t read it all yet, that was all I noticed.

I reckon riding a television would be *much* harder than riding an ebike

Could’ve been worse, I could’ve called it a muscle bike!

Cheers @thisisnotaspoon, I’d find the psychology of that particularly interesting.

I ride road and MTB, MTB for fun, road for all sorts of reasons but that that tends to be the fitness bike. I can see the benefits of an ebike for the fun side of MTB and suspect that one day I’ll get one. Finances and bloody-mindedness mean it’s a while off though.

To throw another question into the mix, I’m 5′ 2″ and weigh 51kg soaking wet, just how much upper body strength would I need to ride one properly?

Thanks all for your responses, I’ve been out with child all day and am just checking back.

@docrobster, yep, that article in a newspaper was referring to the scientific article I posted a link to. I’m not that lazy, I did do a bit of looking into it but instead of just clicking on the first page of Google results I actually looked for the source data.

I know there are a number of studies out there looking at e-bikes, fitness, commuting, increased number of rides or length of ride, I just wondered if anyone else knew of any articles or studies I hadn’t found that was looking specifically at it under lab/research conditions.

I did find an article which showed that e-bikes are good for high intensity interval training but the point mentioned by @thisisnotaspoon re:

here’s a different study done where the participants were put on an exercise bike, but one was calibrated to under-read (i.e. the opposite of an e-bike, everything feels harder). The group given the under-reading bike beat their real targets whilst trying to match the false numbers on the screen.

sounds interesting. If you have a link to the article is be interested.

Cheers anyway, all interesting reading, even if it’s only from an anecdotal point of view.

I found this article from 2019 which found that yes MTB e-biking will give similar fitness benefits to experienced riders: Pedal-Assist Mountain Bikes: A Pilot Study Comparison of the Exercise Response, Perceptions, and Beliefs of Experienced Mountain Bikers

Wow, this thread escalated in exactly the way page 1 predicted.
I haven’t read all 9 pages but will say that every responsible dog owner I know expects that people should ask permission before petting their dog, they also expect the dog to be given permission before saying hello to people.
Simple rule, but not everyone gets it.

Also, in my experience of growing up and living around dogs now, it’s the little ones you gotta watch out for. They are often seen as less risk so people don’t train them as well because they can be dragged around.

But I don’t currently own a dog, so what do I know?

I spotted it, a missing word in a sentence, but I also do a lot of proof reading in my line of work so tend to spot things like that.
I do remember thinking you’ll be gutted when someone tells you about it, but couldn’t bring myself to do it and ruin a great anniversary issue.

We’ve just bought Kip Jr a 24″ Wild bike from Go Outdoors. She loves it, and the old 20″ Islabike was sold for enough to cover the cost of £240!
Once I’d compared spec etc with, amongst others, Hoy, Isla, Vitus, this was almost identical and by far the best bike for the money.
It’s apparently made by the Calibre people and it’s light too.
She’s almost 11 and 134cm with long legs for her height, so not standard dimensions (like us really) and it has resparked her biking enjoyment.
Also, I have a Genesis Core 30 650b in XS that she can almost ride (if it had narrower bars and she was confident with feet swinging off the floor). Was going to sell it, but probably won’t now.

Well @tjagain and @sandwich you live and learn. I have short arms and a tilted forward saddle slides me forward and places all my weight on my hands and wrists. However I am a shorty with a wrecked neck so my bars are pretty much level with my seat anyway regardless of the bike I ride.

As far as I’ve found over the years, it’s the cutout that makes the difference. If it’s a full one like the Spesh then it’s way better than a covered one like the Charge.

If @40mpg is local to Devon then their lady is welcome to try a variety of the ones I have on my bikes.

Have a word @tjagain. Have you actually tried that? Surely it would put the saddle in such an uncomfortable position as to be unrideable. I know that having my saddle tipped forward just slides me forward, it doesn’t make me balance on my sit bones more!

Sooooo, interesting topic and I’ll put in my twopenn’orth based on years of cycling and many different saddles.

Very interesting article a while ago about ladies’ pubic bones, hip socket placement and the effect on the protuberance of the vulva and labia, basically are you an innie or an outie.
This will affect how different saddles feel and why one might work for one person and not another.
In my experience,
Spesh Power saddle – awesome for MTB comfort when I’m in and out of the saddle or more upright on the long slogs, no good on the road bike purely due to the plastic at the side of the cutout applying weird pressure on extended rides.
Charge ladle – again great for MTB, poor for road due to soft tissue pressure.
WTB diva – amazing saddle for everything.
Spesh Aldia Sport – great for upright commuter.
Spesh Lithia Comp gel – amazing road bike saddle that is my absolute favourite for road even though it looks a little bulky. Forgotten chamois cream a couple of times when in a rush and it made no difference.
Hope that helps.

Haldon outside Exeter busy yesterday and the local kids were still at school. Will be heaving the next 2 weeks.