even with a mudguard

people can recede from a political purpose or abandon or adjust their former positions – actually it’s a quality I like as it indicates a receptiveness to change

Are you his former intern, Nick Clegg?

and who wasn’t afraid to re orientate himself and change his views when he felt necessary

Or as BBC news puts it:

He supported the Iraq War and backed George W Bush for re-election in 2004.
It led to him being accused of betrayal: one former friend called him “a lying, opportunistic, cynical contrarian”, another critic said he was “a drink-sodden ex-Trotskyist popinjay”.

RIP another waffling middle-class MILLIONAIRE transient revolutionary warmonger.

julian wilson,
is that Get Carter?

Stevelol, that Sov looks nice . What size and type of stem do you have on it? I have something similar and am thinking of changing my 70mm stem for something shorter, but not sure whether a 50mm one would be too short.

All the above sound good.
Personally, I’d hang on for 10-14 days hoping that something like this drops a bit further in the January sales :
http://www.bicyclechain.co.uk/productdetails.asp?productid=20494

I agree with the boxing day sofa idea.
Shut the tubes, shut the shops as one of these much needed Austerity Measures, all stay home with your families and finish those turkeys.

Hi scud. Nice one, I like the sound of a January Swinley ride too, I’d be in if this happens.

Hi ask1974

I’ve now sent you an email to you profile adress. any time from 8am is good for me for Swinley/ Surrey Hills, maybe a bit later for Devils Punchbowl depending on transport.

Sounds like you know yourself what you really want to do. Good Luck.
You (and the other new company) have both put time and effort into developing a rapport, and establishing that you would be suitable to work for them. Don’t let that go to waste, keep honest with them, you have a contact there.
The Construction Industry can be more fluid than most, with regards staffing. People move as different companies win and lose contracts, you will cross paths again, you may even meet if they join you. Good managers remember good people, and want to work with people that can get the job done. People that have worked in construction for 20+ years will verify all this for you, talk to you senior colleagues.
Ignore what was said above about options closing, it would be very small-minded of anybody to hold a grudge over you not joining , and bad management on their part to exclude suitable people in the future.
TBH, you’d be better off not working with a person like that anyway, but most people are not so petty.

The rest of last night’s kebab washed down with that half full tinnie of white cider.

Let them know ASAP so they can start looking. Don’t burn any bridges , its a small world.
TBH, it wouldn’t look to bad if you’re honest with them and say you had a better counter-offer from your current employer. At least they’ll have a good reason why you don’t join them, and “its not their fault”. Also, they’ll know that you’re back in Cheshire, for if anything else comes up in the future. Always assume that your paths could cross again, so stay friendly.

Edit: what batfink says is sound, he beat me to it. And chewie speaks sense too. Whatever you do, don’t try to play them off against each other, you’ll make 2 enemies. Choose whichever is best for you, then be honestwith the other.

Nicest Orange bike I’ve seen in ages :)

I’m free next week and would like to come too. All the locations sound good, I’d enjoy any of them. I’ve been to Holmbury/Leith Hills and Swinley, but not Gibert/Devils PunchBowl. What I’ve ridden in Swinley was great fun, but it’d be even better with someone who knows where they’re going. Finding the trails is not a problem, but last time I went there were a few moments when I realised there was a “better” direction to be going on some.

Build them a working speeder-bike

+ 1 for singletracksurfer
Unfortunately the trails are a bit too muddy at the mo’ and the water-bottles don’t taste so good through the layer of muck thats been splattered all over them.
If you want something that takes your falling off into account, look into evoc packs. built in back protectors in some and seem pretty well built.

grahamt1980 – Member

How do you find a bike that you skill set has outgrown? Surely this is backwards, a really skilled rider is going to be able to outride most people on a shopper, let alone £4k’s worth of full sus carbon.

i) Why would you want one? ii) No its not backwards. iii) What’s that got to do with the price of fish?

Get as many of you workmates in on it too, safety in numbers, they can’t sack you all.
Turn it into some sort of indoor Mega-Stairvalanche style race, and when you get good challenge the office block next door. Pretty soon your team should be at a sufficient standard to challenge some of these 40 story city skyscrapers.

I love riding my bike and I’m happy my bike is more capable than me.
I enjoy it that way, glad its not going to let me down. I’m not particularlly skilled at this, but I’m learning and trying new skills as I go. I know my limits (and try to expand them) but I also know the bike’s limits are greater, and I feel safer that its not going to break and injure me. I’ve got other responsibilities now (like most on here) and I couldn’t afford for my hobby to put me in hospital. I also ride “better” with confidence that my bike won’t let me down. Personally, I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want their next bike to be one they can “grow into”, or develop with. Why would someone get a bike that their skillset has already outgrown. That said all bikes are fun, I’d just prefer not to find their limits in practice.
If this makes me, in your opinion, “all the gear, no idea” then fair enough.

Draftsight is good and free. It sounds ideal for what you want.

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/?xtor=SEC-6-GOO-%5B%5D-%5B%5D-S-%5BDraftSight%5D

Fairly similar in layout/inputs to AutoCAD LT, and uses the same file formats.

don simon,
My point remains :
The relevance of location and nationality is explicit in the OP’s question, by asking about Britain going to war with Iran.

I apologise if my choice of example causes issues for you and offer to retract it. I wouldn’t want to get into an argument about Why / Why not a theoretical Iranian Would / Would not think the same as a theoretical American on the subject of Britain going to war with Iran. I accept it is not beyond the realms of possibillity that they can think the same. However, there is also the possibility that they don’t and this could be influenced by their position within this hypothetical situation. In fact, I fully accept that the impossiblity is for us to know how others are thinking without asking them and listening to their response.TBH I did not claim to know whether the two would agree or not, merely raised the question (which you answered with two questions).

Should Britain[/u] go to war with Iran[/u]?

I believe the nature of the original question, and the inclusion of two specific countries, makes the nationality and location of anyone posting a fair topic for discussion in this case.

For example, would an Iranian agree with an American on this topic?

Fun is the enjoyment of pleasure and, according to Johan Huizinga, “an absolutely primary category of life, familiar to everybody at a glance right down to the animal level.”[1] Fun may be encountered in many human activities during work, social functions, recreation and play, and even seemingly mundane activities of daily living. The distinction between enjoyment and fun is difficult to articulate but real,[2] fun being a more spontaneous, playful, or active event. The perception of time is shortened when one is “having fun”

From Wikipedia

Northshore Tricycles

Jacket Potato
Central eating.
mmmmmmm

tandem unicycles

you’ll know before us, but it could go either way.
I’ve got a 32 tooth SLX composite chainring that doesn’t fit on my SLX crank-arms because the tabs inside the bolt holes are too thick. I’ve also got a 32 tooth XT chainring that does fit :)
Sometimes it makes no sense

Tazzy,
Like Hammy from this Stuart Lee sketch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0i0RXMvzMs

5thElefant – Member
I think No….. but a sneaky bombing of all their nuclear sites might be a good idea…just don’t admit to it…blame Israel!

I got the impression we just did that.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Explosion+Iran+raises+suspicions+attack+nuclear+missile+program/5779476/story.html

Should we not “Means Test” our warmongering rather than just hand it out to any Tom, Dick or Ahmedinajad.
Some of these countries we attack don’t even need our warmongering and could get through the winter just fine without it.

If you can hang on for 2-3 weeks, there were a lot of discounts about in January Sales this year as shops tried to get rid of there old stock and get some money through there tills.
The run up to Christmas is probably the time when you get least value for your money.

No. We should not invade Iran.

If we really need to go to war then surely the more sensible and economically viable option at present would be to invade France.
A lot less travelling, and their Leader made ours’ look like the muppet he is yesterday so we have our valid reason for “Regime Change”. We could also point to the fact that we believe they have weapons of mass destruction. And apparently, there’s still plenty of “religious types” over there and they can be pretty dangerous and extremist, best to do it before they attack us.

Does look a bit like a game of Chicken, but “neither driver” suggests only 2 cars. Maybe a bit more accurate Chicken would be our Dave standing in the way of a roller coaster at Alton Towers with 26 cars heading his way.

aracer
On the figures, latest news now shows 24
(Hungary added to the earlier 23 from here http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/126658.pdf )
with 2 (Sweden and the Czech Republic) putting the proposal to their respective parliaments.
I’m not “making assumptions” about scope for Cameron to negotiate, just observing that 26 other national leaders , all with their own complex political issues and independant agendas, found scope to negotiate before forming a mutally acceptable agreement.
Cameron did the opposite and chose to have no influence on the formation of the ageement, just veto it. Choosing that option is completely different to ” walking away from an ageement he had no influence on”. It also severely undermines the UK’s power of veto in future European negotiations, as now there is a new Treaty under which 26 members can hold negotiations without UK representation.

(BTW I’m not surprised you’ve not been challenged on anti-German rhetoric, there’s plenty more of it in the British media today)

EDIT: I agree our Euro Sceptic media like a baddie, hence my comment above.

aracer
Sorry to pull your leg on that one, this does seem to be one of the more open minded STW debates I’ve witnessed. :)
I do like binners’ Law of Unintended Consequences and think it quite appropriate for the complexity of all the different interwoven issues here.
There was a theory on BBC that maybe Cameron and Merkel over bluffed each other on what they were prepared to accept in the treaty, leaving a stalemate neither really wanted and no room for manouvre at all.
On the other hand, perhaps he had other reasons to want out completely.
Whatever happened, it doesn’t reflect well on his negotiating skills to come out of a meeting of a 27 parties without having had any influence on the agreement, and know that he’s effectively uninvited himself from the next meeting which now looks like being 26 parties.

GW does make a good point here.
If wider bars are used to bring your weight forward, then bending the elbows achieves the same but with more control (your arms aren’t locked) and the option to take your weight backwards on the bike too when that’s needed.
Of course, we’re all different shapes and sizes so I expect they suit some people more than others.
685 and 720 to answer the OP :)

aracer
Why would a polarised opinion be better than thinking about different issues and possibilities with an open mind?

Einstein had plenty to say on the subject:

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” Albert Einstein

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Albert Einstein

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein

This seems relevant:

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illustion of knowledge.” Daniel J. Boorstin

or, for a biking twist

“Really new trails are rarely blazed in the great academies. The confining walls of conformist dogma are too dominating. To think originally, you must go forth into the wilderness.” S. Warren Carey

Effin’ who?

To balance some of the emotive opinions expressed on this subject, here’s the facts of the agreement summary signed by the 23 countries:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/126658.pdf

Here’s the source (bbc.co.uk)
“0920: To read about what exactly the eurozone leaders have agreed, see this statement from the summit last night.”