I get why he’s doing this. It’s a challenge that he’s set himself – doesn’t matter that it’s the SDW – it could be any epic route. Top respect from here.

There’s a huge number of people who don’t get why we ride bikes. Doesn’t make it bad or wrong, just different. I love the fact that there are some people out there who want to push the boundaries of what is possible.

25,000 calories – that’s like eating a fat person!

The insurance company are not insuring for risk, they are insuring based on taste.

The trouble the authorities (VCA) have is that it is easy to test at the MOT for gaseous emissions (that are reduced by the catalyst), but very difficult (expensive) to test for particulates. DPFs only filter out the particulates, that are not measured in the MOT. They are measured though during the manufacturers certification testing (which is witnessed by the VCA). The Cert testing happens with the car aged to circa 90k miles, so the deterioration is already taken into account.

It is illegal to modify your car by removing the DPF, but the likelihood of getting caught is tiny.

As much as I hate the lazy ****wits who drop the litter, how many people who hate seeing litter pick up other peoples and take it to a bin?

We can all do our bit to help – if everyone picked up a piece of litter every ride/walk/day there would be a lot less around.

There is no minimum standard, in fact, most people are not fast (as in, Liam Killeen type fast!). You will get a complete range of abilities and fitnesses, and in my experience, everyone is treated equally and with respect.You can take the event as seriously as you like, but be aware that others will take it seriously, so let people past if they ask, and let people know if you are passing them. You’re not working hard enough unless you cannot speak, and feel sick at the end. Enter and enjoy it!

Do you know which pins on the GPS connector to wire the 5V and ground to? That was the other thing I wasn’t sure about…

I googled this the other day so I could extend my Edge 800 battery life for a multi day trip. There are battery packs out there, but there needs to be a firmware update of the GPS for the unit to think it is connected to a battery, not a PC. The Edge is voltage sensitive (don’t go over 5V), but the current is not important. The 1A battery will just allow the GPS to work for longer (it is like Amp/hours for lights batteries).
I was then thinking about advertising on here to hire someone’s who has bought one, so if you ever think of buying one, consider renting it out (I am sure there are a few people who would hire one for £10/time for 24 hour events, multi day trips, etc).

Konabunny
you’re right, you may as well turn the engine off. FFS. :roll:
You can save even more money and not buy a car. How far do you want to go with ridiculous and unnecessary suggestions?

An AC compressor on full chat in a high spec (luxury) type car can take up to 15bhp. In a low spec car it will easily be 4 or 5bhp.

Given that at 70mph an average car is probably using somewhere between 50 and 70bhp, the additional load of AC is considerable.

So, reducing the load on the AC system will give fuel economy benefits, but the biggest benefit is to turn it off.

With a name like yours, shouldn’t you have carried it?

There’s some good stuff here, thanks for your help.

Spin – I might hit the turbo, but as I like to enjoy my riding (even the uphills), it won’t be a habit – just if we get snow and ice between now and August!

Mrmo & others – I guess I am missing the target a little by trying to recreate the climbs here – I think the alternative approach of reps on smaller hills is more appropriate – Bredon Hill and Edge Hill are 2 local hills that offer 100m climbing at 10% or so, so I’ll be building up on those. I have been doing some weights and leg strength work over the winter to prepare my legs and upper body for the pain of 1000m climbs and 1000m descents – that has started to work well already.

I have the Dragon Ride in June, and have done that a couple of times, so I know the climbs it offers are about right.

For the effects of altitude, I am going out a week early, so will be getting a few 0.5-1 hour sessions as high as possible during the preceding days.

Hadn’t thought of time trials as a potential training aid – I’ll search out some local 10 and 25mile TTs and have a crack. I’ll be doing a few MTB races also, but these are only 60 – 90mins long, so limited benefit, but any riding is good riding.

Whatnobear – I have done the climb to Wanlockhead – during a Lejog 6 or so years ago – was quite long, and as I was encouraging a mate who was having a bad time, it didn’t feel anything like 8 miles. Did take a while though at less than 10 mph. The descent the next morning was fun though!

Thanks for the ideas. Mrmo – was up Bredon hill the other weds night ( is the local farmer having a Purge on cheeky trails?).
Speshpaul, will drop you a line.

Am thinking that a couple of lakes and peaks big days out are called for, and a weekly hill reps session

Good to hear from a few that have done the cristalp. – first hand experience isalways helpful.

Bust my tib and fib 2.5 years ago biking – it took 6 months for the basic skills to come back, and 2 years to forget I ever did it. I am back to how I was now, and am probably riding harder than before. Still can’t resist those flat out descents though.
Start gently and work up, ride with friends, enjoy the biking, then slowly it will return. Avoid gravel on the road bike, and white lines in the wet, and manhole covers, and potholes, but there are some enjoyable bits in between that lot.

Speshpaul,
did a few round Church Stretton last weekend – the main climb out of Church Stretton over the tops, then turned right and up and over the east side of the Mynd – that was 600m of climbing in 25km – what got me thinking was that the race will be 8 times the climbing in 5 times the distance, so a tough ask!

Tavistock is a good one, but nearly 200 miles from me, and have done the Pont Scethin loop before, but the grassy climb to the top was more of a push than a ride. There’s a few ideas around there though

Thanks, keep them coming

Secret singletrack……. Not much of that,sorry.
Best bits – Hay Wood near Wroxall – there’s a loop round the outside that’s quite fun, but PLEASE be polite to walkers as it could easily get destroyed by the FC. Through Poors wood from Fen End to Kenilworth is OK, and there’s a bit around Brandon woods (but I haven’t been there for years). Search out the Godiva Trailriders – they seem to have a big following, and do a ride once or twice a week.

Good luck with finding some good riding – there’s lots of bits, and some good cheeky trails, but when wet it’s just muddy field edges. Be prepared for lots of road sections to link up the off road.

On the bright side, Cannock is only an hour away, Long Mynd 90mins, Bredon Hill 45mins and Malverns 1 hour – all easy reach but are a good drive to get there.

if they’re anything like the Roval SLs I have, there is a spacer in between the bearings, but you can push it sideways out of the way, then drift the bearing out from the opposite side. It turned into a very easy job on my SL hub.

MTG, glad you’re OK, that sounds like yet another knackered bike (or at least part of it).

CTC membership costs £12 through MTQ – drop Mick a mail – it’s so cheap it’s not worth not having.

there is meant to be a way. Never tried it myself but keep meaning to. It involves shorting the NiCad across a car battery for a second a few times. Sounds quite risky hence my reluctance……

Try googling for nicad battery saving or something like that. Lot’s of people are selling the instructions on ebay for a couple of pounds, or you can find on some of the powertool forums or DIY forums a link to a site where some kind soul has pasted the instructions.

All the usual disclaimers apply if you do try it though……

10 years or so ago fuel prices went over the £1 per litre and there were fuel blockades etc.

So, if fuel prices have gone up 40% in 10 years, that (in very simple maths terms) is 4% per year. That’s not a lot.

OK, maybe it’s 40% in 8 years, or 9 years, but it is still only 5% or 6% per year. This is hardly a massive increase.

Although we have 4 cars in the family, and I have changed my cars to have fuel efficient cars (easy on my car scheme), I would say that there is still a big margin until fuel prices are “too high”. Fuel’s expensive, but not too expensive (yet).

Any ideas for SPD compatible lightweight pedals? (I need SPD compatible so all my shoes work on all my bikes).

So far my list is:
BBB MTB SPDs – 299g (£25 or so on ebay)
XTR M980 – 315g (£85 plus)
XTR M97x – 330g 2nd hand only available
M959 – 350g what I alread have

Are there any others out there who sell good light SPD pedals?

I have a pair of Ashima 180mm rotors if you want them – 112grams per rotor – £10 each posted.

Unused and as new condition

Weigh everything before you start spending as otherwise you risk wasting your money. I bought some cheapy ebay scales that weigh 0-2000grams – as all the weighing you’re doing is relative, rather than absolute, accuracy is not that important (although mine seem to pretty close to actual weights)

Then, work out what gives the best £/lb and go from there.

I have, over the past year, spent a lot of time taking my Stumpjumper hardtail down from 24 lb to about 21 ish, and mostly through 2nd hand stuff:
MT Zoom bars, KCNC stem (new) – £100
DT Swiss forks (only saved 100g, but have lockout and only cost £150)
Roval control SL wheels – £250
XT Brakes – £75
KCNC Foam grips – £10
KCNC seatpost clamp – £10
Ti bolts – only done a few so far, but once all are done, will save 50-60grams!!

Next on the list – XTR cranks (2nd hand only), XTR pedals, Woodman seatpost (170g), XTR cassette (2nd hand), Rocket Ron tyres.

I started on the big saves first, then am working through the smaller but cheap saves ( like a seatpost clamp – only saved 40grams, but only cost £10 or so). Foam grips save 70grams, but only cost £10. Removing shifter windows saves 25grams, but is free. The weight is in the details, but you need to be meticulous.

Good luck with it – and try to get out before it gets addictive!

lots of pigeons, blue and great tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, blackbirds, song and mistle thrushes, redwings and fieldfares, chaffinches & robins as well as my favourite, the nuthatch.
And the buzzards overhead and pheasants, it’s great here!

Not seen any greenfinches for ages though.

And the sparrowhawk isn’t around much either

Use 2nd hand parts – a 2nd hand drivetrain etc shouldn’t cost you much more than £100. A commuter should never be too nice anyway – it might stop you using it when the weathers crap, and it makes it more nickable.

Mine is my 1st MTB – a 1999 Dawes Tekarra, been resprayed, 2 sets of wheels, 2 drivetrains, lots of chains and cassettes. The only original parts are the frame and seatpost – I guess that I have spent £900 over the past 11 years on my £300 bike. Still, it’s a known quantity, and it is quite a good spec (now).

The end decision has to be down to what you want the bike to be. A good bike never needs to die!

had the same on mine. One of the pivots will be tight, strip it, clean and grease and unless you have 3 hands, struggle like mad putting it back together. Once you’ve done the front the back will be easier.

2002 Stumpy FSR and a 2002 Stumpy Hardtail. Both great bikes and they’ve still got years left in them. Both are a bit triggers broom type bikes though.

On busy roads wobble a bit (doesn’t have to be much). I find I get a lot more room then.

Look at the drivers face/eyes at T junctions etc. If they know you have seen then see you they’ll be much more likely to stay put.

Don’t take chances that save a few seconds. Turning right at traffic lights between cars and having your chain derail is really inconvenient, as well as possibly painful as your knackers hit the stem.

Don’t just have lights, wear suitable clothing. Hi Viz when it’s early/late daylight, and reflectives when it’s dark.

VW garage cost for abrake bleed is about £50. Not much to pay for reassurance – your brakes, tyres and steering are the few things to really cosset.

Please please please make sure you fuse the split charge feed at both ends. You need a 60/80/100A fuse at the vehicle battery end and the same size fuse at the leisure battery end.

You can never have too much protection in a circuit.

Also, for the 240V circuit, make sure you use an RCD (a small home/garage consumer unit is ideal) and connect the earth to the camper body/chassis. Again, make sure overcurrent protection is designed in.

If the MIL keeps coming back, there’ll be freeze frame data present. There is no record though of the first occurence (the RAC man cleared the codes, and with it all history). A half decent mechanic with the correct kit will easily get to root cause, as the fault seems to be there all the time, but convincing the trader that it was there when you bought it will be down to you/your approach, and the mechanics knowledge.

It may be very cheap to fix (loose vac pipe etc), but it might not be…..

Ratchet screwdrivers – the ones about a foot long that you push and they do the screw up or down. Not seen one since cordless screwdrivers came out.

Also, cars that need servicing every 1000 miles, door hinges oiling every week, tyre pressures checking, head under the bonnet every other day, tweaking the choke to get it going on a cold day, etc etc.

Question:

How will telling him his driving is poor make him improve? It’s far more likely to make him defensive and it will be difficult to make the conversation constructive.

Going down the “we should improve our standard of driving within the company to lower insurance premiums blah blah” is far more likely to get him the help he needs without actually telling him he is crap.

Watch the film “Horrible Bosses” – there’s some great ideas in there.
—————————————————-

Maybe suggest that the firm sponsors an Advanced Driving programme and he could take first go?
You can go down one of 2 routes – the first that many have suggested will not improve his driving – even if you are not in the car his driving will always be poor.
The 2nd is to try to improve his driving, or at least get a professional to point out his shortfalls.

(I had a new recruit whose driving was awful – I put him through an Advanced Driving course and after 3 days proper tuition his driving is now acceptable. Wasn’t cheap but then accidents often cost more!)

Mach n Back
Grand Raid Cristalp
Pennine Bridleway double

there – written it down now so I have to do it

Nice one. I can cope with wet!

If the oxygen sensor has failed then it is not possible for the system to diagnose a failed catalyst. The dealer will be relying on fault codes, and a catalyst failure is normally a P0420 or P0430 fault code. The oxygen sensor codes I can’t remember, but make sure the dealer isn’t replacing bits that don’t need replacing at your expense.

If he says the sensor has failed, ask which one (upstream or downstream). The upstream controls the short term fuelling, the downstream the long term adaptations (and monitors the catalyst).

It is possible though that a common cause has affected both sensors and catalyst (really really crap fuel, misfire, oil being burnt, leaded fuel etc)

You shouldn’t need one. In between the bearings is a threaded bar that the clamping bolts screw into. Screw a long M6 (or M8) bolt into this and tap it, and it should push the bearing out. Then do the same from the other side.

Do not wang it with a hammer. Tapping should be enough.

Reassemble with lots of grease to help waterproof the bearings from the inside

Decalring your self bankrupt is another option, but be aware of all the pitfalls associated with this – your creditworthiness will be affected etc.

However, as all the posters above, you need to look at what you need vs what you want. You want a day out now and again – you don’t need it. You want to spend £60/week on food – this is quite a lot – you could cut this by shopping cleverly. Use your bike instead of the car (or don’t get in the car for a journey of less than 5/8/10 miles). Set some hard rules and then live by them. The pounds will drop off, but it will be hard going.

Can you get a lodger/rent a room out, sell your body or take on a bar job in the evenings? It all could help, and aside from the ability to pay, will demonstrate to the bank/legal lot that you are taking the debt seriously so they may go easier on you.

Rickon,
try finding a cheaper repair place that can do it quickly and in cash. Whilst technically you do need to declare this “loss” for future insurance quotes there will not be any record that you had a loss, so your premium could fail to increaase.

My daughter put a dent in the tailgate of another car, and I thought the £200 cash it cost her to pay a small back street repairer was quite cheap. The other car owner was quite reasonable about it, as he dropped his car off to get it repaired, went on holiday and I sorted the rest out with my daughter. See of you can do something similar, especially if you know the other person – they may accept that you hire a car on their behalf (don’t know how much it costs to hire a small car, but there’s an option.

Not sure how to say this, but thanks to the kindness of the OP, and the “commit to buy” button on the Halfords website, the kids are now going to have a thrifty Christmas, I will be in the doghouse, and there will be moody silences throughout the Christmas holiday. Still, I’ll be happy with my new toy!

Does anyone want a Magellan 500 Explorer GPS with all mapping software included for, lets say £256? It’s got a colour screen, the whole of the UK mapping, and is, quite possibly, the worst GPS anyone could ever have designed. Bargain though as it would have cost over £400 new.