I was going to use 5wt fork oil as per the service manual.

I use a 2″ hitch receiver. It’s basically a big bracket with a square hole that you can slide various adapters into (such as swan necks, bike racks etc) and secure them with a hefty pin. I have a 2″ one on my Land Rover and am trying to find the right one for our Mini so I can use the swing-away rack we have on it.

A few of them on here as an example: Passat hitches

I don’t think it’s too outrageous. The wife an I are planning trip to the UK and one part of it will be spent in Wales. This morning I mentioned I could take the kids to Coed-y-Brenin for a day out and a spin around the forest, but we’d have to hire bikes. I wondered how much it would be and this thread prompted me to look up prices.

A very quick and lazy Google found Beics Brenin who have some pretty nice bikes in the same ballpark – 40 to 50 quid per day. Always fancied trying a Spesh Enduro Expert. No more expensive than a theme park day out or whatever.

Hilarious.

I was a subscriber from issue 1 of STW, had a gap of about 5 year and now have a digital subscription. As good as it’s ever been.

After reading some of the ‘Singletrack has lost its way’ comments, I raised an eyebrow and randomly had a quick look at Issue 3 from 2001.

If you’re interested, it has a review of a 200 quid set of lights on page 35. 😉

I write and research for a living. Could be of any use for those things (serious question)?

I’ll be using part of my tax refund to get an iPad3. The two main things that pushed me over the edge after spending a day borrowing a colleague’s iPad2:

1. I’ve taken up writing short stories and will be using a tablet to make notes, capture ideas and other creative gubbins. With an Android tablet, you could use Google Docs or Dropbox for this so it syncs with your main computer. I was comfortable after 5 minutes practice typing on a tablet.

2. I have digital subscriptions to various publications (some technical, some personal such as STW). Having them all available at any time instantly is ace. I have lots of distractions with three stepkids and baby on the way and the ability to immediately access STW when an opportune moment strikes is priceless.

I had a tungsten carbide ring for marriage number one. I generally liked the weight of the ring, the ‘mysterious’ colour and the fact that it was uncannily smooth.

On to marriage number two, I now have a palladium ring with a coarse brushed finish. I like it a lot more than the tungsten one, as it was a custom piece rather than off the shelf. Got it from a designer alongside my wife’s ring, which is a bunch of raw diamonds set in palladium. Going with a designer (in this case a guy called Todd Reed) is great, as you can get exactly what you want and it wasn’t as expensive as I thought.

Why all the talk about D4’s? The OP is looking for a 5 yr old car.

Wait, you want to keep the thread on topic? 😯 🙂

I’m on my second LR3 in 5 years and haven’t been let down once.

Regarding other options, I would certainly have a Subaru Forester – very capable.

Last year I bought an Audi Allroad 2.7t tiptronic. Ace car, but the tiptronic was a disaster waiting to happen so I sold it. It was a 2001 model with 110k on it and still felt fresh. The interior had stood up very well. The car handled snowy conditions (Michigan winter) with little fuss and the extra ground clearance helped. The 2.7 biturbo engine is addictive and so long as you realize the turbos will need to be replaced at some point it’s not a bad engine (chance for an upgrade, right?) They need a timing belt done in later life and it’s a big job. A 4.2 manual transmission would probably be the least expensive long term. The air suspension is not as scary as internet experts will have you think. I replaced one of the air suspension struts in a day including beer breaks.

yup the disco 4 – that well known off road capible vehicle

Well, yes. Unless you’re one of the “it’s not a real off road vehicle unless it has a 4″ lift and 35s”?

Straight out of the showroom it’s far more capable than most people think. I have a Disco3 and with the addition of some AT2s it has performed incredibly well alongside some well prepared/lifted Disco2s and Defenders.

Shoulders are complex things. If I can offer any advice it would be to press for a full and proper investigation into the root cause of the pain.

I had similar symptoms, but also had some aching in the shoulder joint. Bursitis was (correctly) diagnosed and cortisone injections administered. This helped short-term, but the pain came back. Went back to the docs and insisted on an MRI and referral to shoulder specialist (interesting fact: same bloke who does the Detroit Tigers baseball pitchers). It was about 3 years from my first visit to the surgery.

The MRI showed a torn labrum, arthritis on the humeral head and clavicle plus the bursitis.

The arthritis came from not treating an old snowboarding injury (6ft fall directly onto the shoulder at the Rossendale dry ski slope 15 years ago). Quite a few years of martial arts and silly sports further buggered it up.

Had surgery (arthroscopy) April 2011. During surgery, they found it necessary to relocate my bicep tendon, which meant an increased recovery period. 3 months not able to use it at all. 3 months therapy and gently easing back into normal usage.

January 2012 I got on my bike again for the first time and did a bit of muddy singletrack without pain. I hurt the shoulder last week doing some boxing training though. I got a bit enthusiastic with left hooks and it flared up. Need to rest for a week or so and take it easier next time.

A friend of mine had similar symptoms. He had his MRI, had surgery and was in therapy 2 weeks later. He should be back doing gentle training in a couple of months. The shoulder is complex and no two surgeries/recoveries are the same.

I thought that Homeland was outstanding. Lots of plot twists but all done with clear story arcs and very little contrivance. There are a couple of slow episodes, but the acting and the tension is enough to keep you watching.

One thing though – the character Sol is awesome and very well played, but he is never the same after you realize the actor was Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride. “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”

If they are publicly traded companies you would likely have found it on the SEC website via the EDGAR database.

In all likelihood, the companies are privately held and not required to submit accounts to public record. Finding detailed information on private companies requires jumping through hoops. Even finding out the registered address can be tricky and you have to know the state they are in. In Michigan, you’d go to the michigan.gov website and spend ages until you found this link: this link where you get some details, but only the name, address, date of incorporation etc.

What are the companies or is this secret squirrel?

Cyndi Lauper – Time after time.

Chokes me up.

I use these guys: UK Proxy Server[/url]

Configure a VPN connection and you can then connect/disconnect it at will and it won’t screw anything up. When you’re connected, all your web traffic goes through it.

It’s adequate for standard definition iPlayer gubbins, but won’t quite do watchable HD streaming. You can download HD versions on iPlayer though.

I’ve tried a few of the free proxies and downloading from various websites, but they are too much of a faff and I like the convenience of switching the VPN on or off with nothing else needed.

OP, you aren’t slow, just average. I just dug up an old results sheet from one of the 2006 Bedford Sprint Series triathlons.

The fastest swimmer was 5:08, with the average being 7:54. My time in that race swimming the whole thing breaststroke was 8:09. I got down to 7:30 a few races later once I’d shed quite a few pies.

As the majority of people say, technique is the thing you should be looking at. My freestyle 25m was about 22s. I studies the Total Immersion DVDs and had a training partner to dissect technique with and shaved off 3s per lap just by lengthening my stroke. I never swam a full race freestyle though, as I really struggled with the breathing for various reasons.

About me: I live in the USA, have a Green Card and intend to apply for citizenship. I lived in the UK for 33-odd years and have lived in the USA for 5. I think I was one of the first batch of subscribers to Singletrack and think I still have the first few issues somewhere.

I liked this from Stoatsbrother:

There is no one so educated as an educated American, no one so friendly and as polite as a polite American.

There is no one so insular and dumb as a dumb American, no one so violent or so bigoted as some other American pondlife.

The ‘educated’ section of the populace is unfortunately outnumbered by the ‘dumb’ section, but there are enough plus sides to the country to more than make up for it (for me anyhow).

Many of the people I meet on a daily basis are insular, xenophobic, devoid of logic, unashamedly selfish and greedy. Some of the people I meet humble me with their intelligence, honesty and compassion. My (American) wife is one of the few who truly humble me. I’m also lucky enough to have a circle of friends here with many and varied careers, each more than willing to give the shirt off their back. They also understand irony, love culture and gleefully lap up all my Northern British colloquialisms and swear words.

As has already been mentioned, America is a large place. Many of the states are truly like different countries, with wildly differing attitudes on many aspects of life. The driving alone is worlds apart from state to state. I live in Detroit and it’s like Death Race 2000. Driving in certain parts of Oregon on the other hand, can be a pleasure. The thread on riding two abreast made me smile. I do not ride on the roads in Michigan, as the attitude towards cyclists is abominable. To temper this, I have three managed 6 mile+ singletrack trails within 10 minutes drive from my house. They are managed by the state of Michigan and it cost me $10 for a yearly pass. No real hills though.

I can’t really defend America as a whole, as ‘the Bush thing’ is kind of hard to refute. What I can do at least is promise you that there are plenty of very smart, educated, friendly and genuine people here. The problem is, they are too boring to end up the focus of anyone’s scrutiny. Dumb rednecks, extreme politicians and greedy businessmen stick out a lot more and obscure the view.

I have three Franco-American stepchildren (their father is French) and my wife is half way done with our own Anglo-American effort. All are being educated to be respectful, honest and loyal, despite the best efforts of the American public school system (you have no idea the crap they are allowed to get away with at school).

I could go on, but I had a spare few minutes at work and thought I’d chime in and let you know they aren’t all bad. Not like those bloody Frogs… 🙂

Contemplated posting in the ‘most middle class thing’ thread.

I feel sorry for you zippy. Not that sorry though – Brum must be rougher than I remember. I currently live in Detroit and am making a cup of PG tips with proper milk. Yesterday after a muddy singletrack ride I had some leftover shepherd’s pie with some HP sauce and Haywards pickles. These little remnants of civilization keep me sane.