Could never vote Tory. They are the enemies of everyone apart from the rich – they don’t give a stuff about ordinary people, because they simply have no idea what it’s like to be one.

Have voted LibDem in the past, especially after the Iraq fiasco, wouldn’t now because they got in bed with the Tories – see above.

Would like to vote Green if they were credible. Or a decent independent if there was one.

Sadly Labour seems like the best of a pretty bad bunch. I don’t like Ed Miliband, but at least he’s not a smarmy git like Blair.

On the question of who ruined the economy – let’s get this straight EVERYONE had a hand in it not just a political party, there weren’t that many people who weren’t taking the loans and credit the irresponsible greedy banks were dishing out when they shouldn’t have been to do home improvements, take on mortgages for houses they couldn’t afford, and buy stuff they couldn’t afford. People I know have lost their homes or ended up in negative equity, ended up on IVA’s or facing bankruptcy because their entire lives were on credit!

I include people at every level of society, as well as businesses, who were greedy, and greed and mindless consumerism as well as those who glorify it are responsible for the crisis.

Where I work, 3 separate occasions of sickness within a 12 month period would trigger a meeting with line manager and HR – not disciplinary, just a “you’ve had 3 absences due to sickness, is there anything going on we need to know”. An absence management plan may be put in place if deemed appropriate. If that was then breached, then disciplinary process could be initiated.

I agree the short self certified absences tend to be regarded as more suspicious than a block of time signed off by a doctor – it becomes very difficult to discipline someone under those conditions, as it also does with someone who has a long term health condition which is known to the company when they employ that person.

I worked in the healthcare sector too bigdaddy – the level of absence was quite shocking, and p1sstaking was fairly widespread and blatant.

It should be universally accepted that mass termination of human life is recognised as an uncurable sickness and the perpetrator terminated.

The irony I am finding in your proposal is that the very people that were harmed by Breivik are the people who hold the kind of “leftist” views of “tolerance and acceptance” you seem to be advocating are detrimental to society.

I agree with richmtb.

The only idiots here are those that subscribe to the view that tolerance and appeasement are the answer to incidents like this, all it does is to encourage more of the same.

And your evidence base for this is…..since the death penalty is not proven as a deterrent either.

I don’t think that life imprisonment represents either tolerance or appeasement. He may well, in the minds of some people, deserve the death penalty for what he has done, but what would it solve?

If you want to “put down” people who commit crimes due to ideology, then what’s to stop society going after people who express the same sort of views, just in case they commit a massacre later?

An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

I’m in the same situation with a dog. A lot will say no, but sometimes landlords will consider if you offer extra deposit. I find that landlords are more accepting of dogs than puppies or cats due to less likelihood of them doing their business in the house. My dog goes to “doggie daycare” mostly when I am at work as well so he is not left alone in the house much.

Statistics indicate that the death penalty is not a deterrent, despte what some people claim, and it certainly isn’t a deterrent to the criminally insane, if that is what Breivik in fact is.

I agree with anagallis – if the dog is already used to living outside in a kennel/run and you can do this then perhaps for the warmer months this would be practical, so long as you can walk before and after work. The winter months may be a bit more difficult though.

I hate that my uni tutor says “diss” short for “dissertation”, as in “how’s the diss going?” Academics are not cool and should never try to be – cringeworthy!

Boom Boom @ aphex!

Would they be able to start divorce proceedings though if they were made a ward of court? Surely that would stop them from doing major things that could end up with long term consequences when they are not able to exercise proper judgement?

You’ve reported it, not much more you can do if they are saying the dog is no longer at the property.

If you see the dog again, report again that the owner still has the dog.

I am a dog owner and have a Rottie cross, but I can’t abide irresponsible ownership and badly trained dogs. if you want a dog, you have to be prepared to put the work into training and socialising it.

Oh my goodness what a sad situation.

I don’t have any legal advice, but I think contacing Mind would be a good start. There may be some support through them for partners/family coping with a person with severe mental health issues.

In terms of liability for debt, he cannot be held liable for debt that the partner runs up in their name only, he can only be held liable if his name is on it or if the debt is secured against a joint asset (house, car etc).

I have a Rottweiler/Lab cross. He is very gentle, a lovely dog. I know Rotties have a bad reputation, but a dog is what you raise it to be. I would tend to recommend cross breeds as they are generally less prone to genetic illnesses, and cheaper to insure.

I work full time now, so I use a combination of a dog walker and a friend who will look after him on the days she doesn’t work, so he is not on his own for a long time. If you are out all day 2 days a week and can afford it, a dog walker would be a good solution.

My dog won’t trot along with a bike – gets too distracted. I do see dogs doing that though when I’m out and about.

I enjoyed it as my first ride after a few months off because of illness, and I did like the skills area for brushing up on technique after some time off. The long draggy climb at the start is a bit of a bummer though.

Didn’t see many families on the red bits but the parts where the blue and red are the same there were quite a few. But if you want to avoid families, you can ride later in the day when most of them have gone home, just you won’t catch the cafe after your ride!

Buy a house and probably take a nice holiday!

Having worked with the unemployed before I can echo the statements about the hassle of signing off and on again to do temp work – it’s not worth it. As soon as you tell them you’re working, all benefits get stopped while they recalculate. I knew people who took low-paid temp work (but still better off than on benefits) and they suddenly became liable for all their rent etc even though they were still entitled to housing benefit and council tax benefit due to being on a low income. By the time it was recalculated and the benefit paid they were already in arrears with the rent and the temporary contract was over!

I can’t even believe he quoted the “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – the cheek of him.

I hope he remembers this if one day he loses all his millions, becomes destitute, sick or disabled, and he has to live under the rules his own government made, go through the humiliation of an Atos assessment, experience the ineptitude of a Jobcentre, or stack shelves for free in a supermarket.

It’s not likely to happen of course, but I’d love for this guy to experience what it’s like not to be rich and privileged and have to muddle along with everyone else, and then he might understand that quote he is chucking around to try and make himself look good.

Being a Christian is more than just going to church or paying nonsense lip service to Bible quotes it’s about living your values, Jesus valued everyone no matter whether they were rich or poor, Cameron doesn’t give a monkeys about anyone who isn’t in his millionaires club.

Camels and eyes of needles anyone?

*Gets off soapbox for the day.

Not riding on Friday but planning to take a newbie on a local Dales ride on Sat

Mon – maybe a jaunt out in Calderdale but I have Weds off work as well so might do something then instead

I didn’t get on with SPD’s at all on the MTB. Love them on a cx or road bike but I never felt right with them on the MTB at all.

I bought a set of DMR V8 flats and really love them. I do wear them with walking shoes and I’ve only had a bounce once when I landed badly off a drop and I know that was down to poor technique.

Am considering an upgrade to MTB shoes now I’m fully employed again!

Have to say last time on a camp site I didn’t appreciate people in the next door tent bringing a small baby that definitely did not sleep through the night as well as a toddler that was running riot and trying to open up other people’s tents in the morning!

My nephew number one was fine, he’s a pretty placid sort but number two is a livewire who never slept more than 3 hours at a time until he was 2, so it was a no-go with him.

Before starting off or pulling out you must look up and down the slope and choose an appropriate moment to execute your manoeuvre, so as not to endanger yourself or other skiers (riders).

THIS

The only bad experience I’ve had at a trail centre involved an absolute tool riding up behind me when I was relatively new and still very cautious and yelling at me “stop f-ing braking”

People should ride within their limits and it is irresponsible of faster/more able riders to push people beyond them and endanger safety.

I’m trying to help a friend at the moment get a bit of confidence on a bike, however I cannot convince her that her feet do not need to be able to touch the floor when she is seated on the bike and that the reason it hurts is that her saddle is too low!

Sore, after riding the whole Dalby red route yesterday plus black north shore trail. Hamstrings and quads mainly.

Only my second ride this year though so I did feel quite proud of myself just for getting round it, and staying in middle ring, no going down to granny!

@ nick – not recently no!

I did my rear mech too, bad luck I think.

just replaced my rear sprocket as well but other than that I’ve not really had anything except the usual brake pads, cables and chain links. My bike is 3 years old.

Have to say I was a bit bored by the end. Great endurance/fitness building but some of the sections are a bit samey…

my OH enjoyed the bomb holes but he’s more into his freeride than me – either it’s age or fear of losing pay if I have to take time off work due to an injury!

If they’re anything like me when I was young, they probably don’t see it as a “sport”, just what they enjoy doing.

I think there’s some truth in that too….

XC riding doesn’t have the same “cool” appeal as DH/freeride – some of them would see it as what their parents (and youth workers) like to do, and therefore very uncool! It worked the same for me when I was younger, my parents were into their cycling but it was touring bikes/hybrids and off roading for them was a canal path….when I was 11 I was determined to have a MTB and go off roading and I wouldn’t have been seen dead doing the type of cycling they did! However I had mates to ride with and we just used to go off and explore.

And yes, it is also a health and safety minefield to take groups of younger riders out and get them enjoying the trails. Maybe if they did get a chance to see what’s out there on natural trails and in the countryside they might see more appeal in it….

Me too :-D ashamed to say though I bailed half way down that descent in the woods with the ridiculous corners. Had the bonk and was a bit shaky.

Lesson learned = carry more food. We did the whole thing yesterday. I have more or less spent the day eating so far today.

that descent you’re on about, trying to think which one it is as there are two that are similar-ish on that section of the trail after the long fireroad bit that joins up with the green. There’s a decent descent and then a couple of nasty slogs over rocky paths and nothing particularly fun for a while!

I do think you have a point there. The whole point of the youth forum in my area was to give some agency/ownership to young people and some responsibility for achieving the things they wanted and not just having it handed on a plate. That way if they wanted a jump track locally they could get the money, build it with some help and shape it into what they wanted.

I agree that our generation was different (I’m aorund the 30 mark). We used to happily ride off for the day into the countryside but most kids I work with would not be allowed to. Parents seem to be much more risk-averse. Lots of schools where I live have banned riding to school because of the problem of expensive bikes being nicked/trashed, as well as the safety issues of traffic round schools and inconsiderate idiots in 4×4’s dropping their kids off and no consideration for speed or road markings in school zones.

Parents seem happier to ferry their kids almost 2 hours to a place like Dixons Hollow at Dalby so they can watch them do their thing and somehow it makes them feel better about the prospect of them having an accident than if they had an accident whilst riding with their mates in the local woods unsupervised.

I was actually at Dixons Hollow yesterday on a separate note and was disheartened to find adults behaving quite aggressively towards some of the kids there, not leaving enough time for the kids to get round the tracks in their own time and coming up behind them quickly, railroading them. Disappointed me – we should be encouraging the younger generation of MTB-ers not pushing them off the tracks because they get in the way of those who want to go faster.

Its on the red section that has the black loops and sections coming off it, between Dixons Hollow and the start of the Adders Back climb I think.

[/quote]ian martin – Member
Approach the council or local ranger about arranging trail building days for the youths.
Teach them and get them involved use schools, clubs like the scouts or local cycle clubs.
There’s bound to be a piece of land that needs clearing up nearby ie old brown field sites etc.
That’s what they did local to me, there’s even moneys there just for these projects.
But we all need to get involved more in our community.

I totally agree with this, the problem certainly in my local area is that cuts to youth services have severely impacted funding that is available to do these things with young people. There was a young people’s participation forum which used to discuss the building and maintenance of amenities for kids and young people but they axed it, so of course the local yoof are pretty peed off there is nobody to listen to them and what they want/need in the local area anymore.

Doesn’t make it right for them to stick things on footpaths, but when they say to us “so where are we supposed to practice our skills and freeriding” nobody has an answer. The kids who are from wealthier families get taken to trail centres in the car with bike parks to practice at, but for the kids who rarely get out of the city and whose families can’t afford to do that, they are more likely to be the ones building their own.

Don’t get me wrong I’m absolutely not advocating people doing antisocial things and spoiling other’s enjoyment I just know from my work with young people that they can feel frustrated that there is nowhere for them to do these things and no resources to help them do it safely and out of the way of others who may be annoyed by it.

The answer is more official bike parks/freeride trails for them who wants to do the crazy stuff

to be fair (as someone who works with teenagers) I’d rather they were out building unauthorised jumps in the forest and getting out on their bikes than shoplifting, drinking, experimenting with drugs, or simply sitting on their behinds playing videogames instead of being fit and healthy and enjoying the outdoors

That’s not to say it’s not annoying for people riding the trails though and I understand the gripe.

Stick to the trails in the Yorkshire Wolds in the spring and autumn – they get very overgrown during the summer, we also got mobbed by wasps after riding past a wasps nest, very unpleasant :(

You should be alright on the Moors though.

Filled up last night, because I was in the red and had to get to work the next day. Passed 3 petrol stations with small queues but nothing too crazy, though I heard the local ASDA which has the cheapest petrol was rammed and ran out last night.

To be honest, I’m kind of liking this at the moment, because it’s exposing the Tories for being a bunch of ridiculous morons.

Bought a dress for my friend’s wedding next month.

Can’t say I’ve ever really had a problem, mostly ride in the Dales. I like hillwalking as well and have a dog, and if I see bikers I’ll usually get my dog on the lead if I have time, so he doesn’t get in anyone’s way and cause an accident. He’s not so bright, bless him.

A bell helps to warn people particularly if you’re riding on a towpath or narrow path used by walkers.

Picking up poo is just part of owning a dog! I’ve got a Rottie and his poos aint small, which is why I think it’s especially important to clean them up.

I’ve had a winter of CBA but as soon as the clocks going forward came in sight, I recovered my enthusiasm.

I know what you mean about the faffing though, when you finish the ride and you’re tired and just want to go home and not have to deal with bike racks and hoses and peeling off wet/muddy clothes.

I used to do Tangfastics but I find now the fizzy stuff on them can give me a stomach ache.

Torq gels are my favourite because they don’t taste like s**t, but I take jelly babies or haribo strawbs on my shorter rides.

Did the WC last year. It was fun but some of the climbs are a long hard slog. As boxelder says if the sun is beating down, don’t forget to hydrate properly.