It’s been interesting to see the different opinions on negotiating and other stuff to do with notice periods.  I’ve never had it yet, but if a company got uppity with me for discussing things in the contract with them, then that would be reason enough for me not to go there – by the sounds of it, it would be mutual with some.

nice going on getting back out there… must be nice coming back to it and finding it easier than expected !

I think everything in a contract is worth negotiating if it doesn’t suit you.

In the past I’ve negotiated from a flat 3 month notice period to a 1 month contract for the first year, to be extended to the 3 months after the first year.

now and then

nice going OP !

I’ve been looking around lately at the non GoPro action cams, and wondered what people thought of the Apeman ones?

Amazon Linky

Sorry to hear that you’re giving up the MTB riding ton… it’s hard to accept the changes that come with age and body damage – I’m fighting with arthritis in my knees, restricting how far I can walk / stand.  And I know I’ve got the same decision to make as you have some point down the line.

As has been said, enjoy the things you can do, and don’t ponder on the things you can’t.

I reckon the Royal Mail has it over Yodel for the OP’s deliveries.

Lots of things arriving for me here today…

XT brakes from ‘Coogan’,

RS Pikes, and Eagle groupset from bike-discount.de

… and for the geeky side of things, a dice tower

I had a Tredz voucher, and a few other bits, so figured I’d give them another try. My previous order for rockshox fork spacers were completely wrong, and went back – no fuss though.

Will let you know in a few days if I raise a glass to the OP ;)

Post a link when you find some

I was hoping to use Paragon Tapes, but they’ve informed me that they don’t stock it anymore :(

The search continues

What 8/10mm things are you hanging a spanner off on the bike? Not sure what I used mine for last

true enough, but then why carry them ;)

https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/108050/products/crank-brothers-multi-17-tool-red.aspx

Have one for each bike

This looks good – but not sure the 8mm/10mm spanner seems like you’d have much of a lever arm – what’s it like in use?

cheers for that… off to look for some matt invisiframe stuff :)

cheers RogerMellie – worked for me too

I tend to stick with Shimano, and whichever one I can get at SLX or above.

No reason not to use the others.. just habit I guess

yep, I’ll be picking up one of these for my Whyte 905 build I’m just embarking on… plus an almost free £10 item too if you use a BC code to take it up to £99

out on a Bird Zero demo bike at Swinley… haven’t seen it that busy for a while.

When I got back to the car I realised I’d forgotten to put my lid back on after one of my stops… so had to retrace back to where I thought I’d left it… turned out that I was so <span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>excited about the demo ride that I completely forgot to put it on in the first place !</span>

Bird Zero TR by LittleNose[/url]

Taking the Bird Zero demo bike out for a ride this evening… The marketing blurb seems to have really worked on me, and I’m looking to see what I’ll have more fun on rather than which is fastest.

But what BigDummy says resonates and worries me a little; I’m just hoping my body isn’t too broken in it’s old age to enjoy a hard tail again

I’ll add “The Alchemist” (Paulo Coelho) to the list

Happiest ride of the year so far… wasn’t a hard ride, just a bimble about over Redlands and Ranmore on the gravel bike, but with some lovely views, and nattering with lots of people along the way.

Looking back towards Boxhill by LitttleNose[/url]

Great news SaxonRider

i also enjoyed my happiest ride of the year so far, not so many miles, but stopping and chatting to al sorts of folk along the route really put a smile on my face

Happy to report that my 318d drives well in the MPS4’s.

driven ~75 miles and it’s a so much more relaxed drive now.

Similar boat to a few of the discussions above, I’ve a 2012 zaskar that has always felt a little small for me, and any time I head out I tend to ride the FS instead.

Thinking now that I’m going to buy one of the long slack HT’s to pay with at the likes of Swinley, or Leith Hill.

i think that everyone who has one seems to think they’re a lot of fun, and let’s face it, that’s certainly what I’m looking for… I’m too old and drink too much beer to be chasing strava KOM’s

let us know how you get on OP

I think they’re still 2 weeks away here… looking forward to seeing them for sure

If you are using glitter, read this.

Fair play to that.  Do you know if the biodegradable glitter mentioned suitable for the same job?

Oh so its not that you have ragged the existing tyre and wear is uneven, or that your tracking is out, or that alignment is out?

Yep, that’s the current state (give or take), the front pair are quite worn, and one back has just picked up a slow puncture.  It is more noticable now compared to when I’d just had the 4 RFT’s fitted and aligned.  So I’m giving it a go with some MPS4’s… let’s see how it goes.

Also get tge dealer to code the start stop function to “last setting”. Its crap having to disable the SS every time you get in the car.

I have the opposite issue, my auto SS isn’t working at all anymore… it’s slowly getting to the top of the list of to-do’s

LittleNose – did you consider the details in the comments above or are you just slamming on some tyres and hopping for the best?

I spent some time reading on bimmerforums, and from what was said there it seems that this should transform the drive somewhat.

It has gotten to the point where I’m ready to sell the car if this isn’t an improvement.  The car feels great when driving on a nice surface, but the state of the roads around here is awful, and the car does not feel planted in any shape or form with the patched up patchy & potholed roads

Totally sick of the ‘tramlining’ issue, so I’ve just ordered a full set of normal tyres to replace the runflats on my 318.  Getting them fitted on Friday – will let you know how I get on.

I’m going with the tyreweld, compressor, and breakdown cover option.

where currently is the best place to buy one of these Hydroshots?

It can be anywhere to stop… Over the winter, I was night riding at Swinley, and usually stopped at least once per ride to look at the stars and have a sip of coffee

damn that’s cool !

Weekend of tinkering with bikes, and a couple of local rides near Boxhill & Newlands Corner. Cheers to the lads showing me the ‘learner lines’ where they’d done some digging over the winter.

Turns out that I shouldn’t have been where this pic was taken… shame as there’s a lovely track down off that hill.

Was Never There by LittleNose[/url]

Had one…

quite liked the functionality and bought it to try and help me get into swimming, I’m a sucker for tracking data.

…but hated the form factor, I felt like I was wearing an ASBO tracker.

All said, a bargain for what it does at £139.99

I concur with Andy_K

The main roads and some of the back roads west of Keswick are fine.  The road in from Penrith to Keswick was also fine last night, and there’s not been any real snow today that I know of.

I think it depends on what road you’re thinking of using off the main A66… for instance I wouldn’t try Whinlatter just now.

This ‘George Fisher’ webcam in Keswick is handy to judge conditions

https://www.georgefisher.co.uk/webcam/

for info.. the roofs were still covered in snow yesterday… but you can see the walkways still have some snow down.

pretty snow here (Woking), but nothing-aggeddon yet.

MTB sat in the lockup – I think it’s hoping the car gets too scared to drive home later

As a suspension luddite I find my Shockwiz excellent value, it has transformed the feel of my bike.

My thoughts are with your wife’s sister and the whole family.

Could it Ben the same principle as cycle helmets in that they break first, and the energy absorbed during that break reduces the chance that the stronger glass underneath is exposed to a lower energy?

now that I like :)

good result… I expect you will find all the programs opening and switching etc a lot quicker than it was too :)