One of my colleagues was hit by a deer on his way home from work.
Wrecked his bike too. Oh dear :-)

it's my name with the middle cut out… (ie first 3 letters & last 2)

The leasing company just forwarded me the letter.
The letter is dated 16 August 2010 so the leasing company did nothing wrong & they've never charged me a handling fee on any of the tickets I've had in the past…

I can pay via Bank tranfer or credit card too. How helpful :)

I wouldn't risk not paying the Swiss because they don't seem to be a very amusing bunch of people when it comes to that sort of thing. As I have to show my passport every time I'm there I don't want things to become a bigger problem. (& it's only €38 after all)

I read that Schwalbe are introducing them too…

It's not that I ignored it.
This is the first notification after all 33 months!

I'm not complaining about the ticket – I perfectly accept that I was likely driving at approx 130kph on a swiss motorway at 2030 on a Sunday evening. With a long drive home I would be more ashamed if I wasn't.
I'm just surprised that I have only now received the ticket.

to get enough power out of a 125cc engine to actually propel a motorbike at real road speeds it needs to be comparatively tuned for performance rather than durability.
I recall the old Honda CG125 was reckoned to be very reliable but really struggled to even make the 12hp limit that was present when I was a learner.
You may have already done it but perhaps make a study from bike trader on typical mileages for 2nd hand bikes?

So what brakes are being used for CX disk combination?

drop bar shifters are of course cable brake…

Whilst you're mentioning Shimano I had quite some issues with my old LX crank. Repeatedly came loose….
I also have XT 760, 770, XTR 960, 970 amongst others all that have been faultless!
In the end the only way to keep the LX on the axle was to remove the little clip that sits in the slot on the crank end to allow more deflection & loctite the bolts in.

I've just fitted non-UST Maxxis Argent / Aspen combination to my new 29er crests.
They were indeed difficult to seat (far worse that UST rims I have experience of – SLR's & XTR) & I didn't want to go crazy high on the inflation pressure in fear of damaging the rim (there is a clear limit indicated though I don't remember it off hand – maybe 45psi?)

I ended up using very soapy water & a bit of jiggling by hand. They make a scary crack when they do finally seat!

My missus is charging £4.50 a bale on her farm at the moment, prices have shot up apparently and people are even nicking the stuff:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10985153

I read that on a recent car rally in Ireland, some of the big bales used for making temporary chicances were stolen overnight from the rally course! Not the smallest things to nab!

The childcare thing – you get by.

This is very true _ I am just jealous sometimes of those who have the option. :-)

300 miles isn't moving away!!!
There's no water between the locations :)

I guess if you plan on making babies any time soon you could miss the family support (grateful & FOC childcare service)

I assume you mean the 'top' part you can see here directly below the carbon pivot. This unscrews from the main part of the shock as you mention.

They maybe aren't chewing tobacco but have a snus tucked under their lip instead….

I am frequently in Sweden & was with one of my customers there all day last Thursday & he described his daily coffee consumption limit as 'until I get stomach ache'.
That is indeed quite a lot of coffee.
I probabaly joined him in at least 8 throughout the day without including breakfast coffees…..

I ordered some bits a fortnight ago on the Monday morning & they arrived on the Thursday (to Belgium).
I order far more stuff than the mrs would like & I've never had something take long than 5 working days.
The time from order to dispatch "processing" seems to be around 48hours with my orders…

It's not pavé if we want to be fussy :-) It's kasseien…

Where are you guys planning on staying? Gent is a good choice considering your plans.

The 160km is indeed a good loop even if the first part from Ninove to Oudenaarde is crap (except for a brutal section on cobbles that isn't included in the 265). I've never seen so many fallen drink bottles in one place before.

I think I will go for the 265 next year though, just because I've never ridden it.

Brakes on a trailer work by compression of a sprung damper on the hitch assembly. When it compresses past a certain point the brakes come on but of course then the compression reduces due to the braking effort of the van and the brakes are released again.
Don't know how vivid your braking 'bursts' 'were but perhaps your damper needs some attention. I've definitely locked the wheels on a car transport trailer before but only in unladen condition.

I'm a touch under 6'2" (1.87m) and ride an 18"….
I run a 110m stem & a 400mm seatpost almost on max.
Seems fine to me but I haven't tried a 19.5 so maybe it is?

It's just the best way to move around without the need for an engine.

Great exposure to the environment too.

Interested to read this as I am also thinking of getting a van.

Would really like a motorhome but the price is lots higher. I get a decently sized 140hp diesel as a company car so have no issues with a towcar.
Spent much of my younger years towing rally cars around so not bothered about towing either.
There is certainly no need for a caravan to be a major traffic obstacle if they are being towed properly. I can appreciate they can be a visual blockage for potential overtakers but good driving technique (hanging back for a better view) should resolve that.

What is the standard equipment in a normal caravan these days? My olds had one when I was a kid & that was really quite limited for facilities (no shower) & a horrible WC…

Tyres definitely get worse with age regardless of remaining tread depth. Anything over 5 years is quite a lot worse than a new tyre but it is not an exact science as it depends on the spec of the tyre plus how they have been stored during that time frame.
I've never heard a good answer why 1.6mm is the legal level. Any one who has ever tested tyres professionally can confirm that aquaplaning resistance & wet braking distances rapidly worsen below 3.0mm.

If anyone really wants to but 2nd hand tyres then I would strongly suggest they choose a premium brand. This is only because the premium manufacturers do make very thorough durability testing of their product.
I know for sure the tyre manufacturer for whom I work take it very seriously & makes constant market studies of used tyres to evaluate market robustness.

For me the difference between buying 2nd hand tyres & not replacing the tyres on a 2nd hand car comes down to likelihood that the tyres on the car have proven themselves to be free from durability issues. The 2nd hand tyres could have been taken from any crashed wreck… They might look fine from the outside but there is always a risk factor that you cannot see internal damages.

this might seem a daft/odd question but was does the 'taste test' prove?

If it was possible to disguise something explosive as baby milk & you were a suicide bomber why would the would-be bomber care about taking a sip of it?

I'm never made to taste my toothpaste….

And to anyone who has been stuck on a plane with their child & an unfamiliar milk you have my sympathies. My kids were equally fussy about their milk & I dread to think of the upset.

Spanish or Arabic seem the obvious 'world' choices but as already mentioned by others how the hell do you introduce that?
Surely the point of children picking up language is that it's in their surroundings & they pick up it by default?

I'm an expat with my kids speaking primarily Flemish but also english.
My eldest who is now 5 has french lessons at school 1 afternoon a week already but it's very different to his exposure to English & Flemish

I think if 2 people jump the same distance the higher position goes to who jumped that distance first.

I thought the same but double checking on BBC sport – the Portugese lady jumped it 9 minutes earlier…

"20:11 The women's 10,000m final is under way although there is no British presence because Jo Pavey is out injured. More drama in the women's long jump final as Latvia's Ineta Radevica regains the lead with a leap of 6.92m.

20:02 In the women's long jump, Portugal's Naida Gomes smashes the board of take-off and leaps 6.92m, a season's best, to take the lead from Latvia's Ineta Radevica."

wow – this sounds all a bit complex.
Plot line for CSI perhaps.

Can you not wait until his paypal payment is in your account?

I read Riis has a new lead sponsor in Sungard but requires a couple of smaller ones to fill the coffers.

I am surprised anyone could question the support that Bertie got from Astana. In the mountains he was the only rider with any real support. Navarro gave everything for him…

I don't think even Vino would be arrogant enough to think he was a TdF contender. Maybe he could squeeze a Vuelta or Giro out like Menchov but not the big one…

I would like to put forward a worst actor proposal.

Colin Farrell in Alexander. Blimey that's a piece of cr@p. Found it on a dvd in my travel bag whilst on a work trip yesterday.

I haven't done it but a mate has & it was very very tight on his frame….
He rides a Trek 8500.
Other than that simple & neat.

I saw that one from Truvativ too but the 1 customer review said the weight was bullsh*t…

Is that like the old dope test joke?
"yes – the test is positive – you are a dope" :-)

How tall are you?
(I'm planning on getting an early bid in for the frame :-) )

Hansen? He rode out the stage when he was pretty bust up….

Hard to tell with Evans – he never looks comfortable. He has either a really uncomfortable style or just the ability to did deeper. Last year when was riding after his big fall was just incredible.

Cancellara? Pretty boy. (a stunningly fast one though :))

I don't remember which exactly (Giro perhaps) but this is shown on at least one of the big events. They don't just show the gaps between groups but the speeds they are both travelling at so you can appreciate if the gap is closing & how quickly.

Interesting feature.

I've looked at the data on the HTC Columbia site a couple of times & they haven't been showing any heart rates. I'd like to see that data…

Van den Broeck – austublieft

Just wishful thinking. I hope he does nothing other than stick to the wheel of whoever is first to the top(s).
Schleck looked best on Sunday but then again Evans never looks comfortable. (face like licking p1ss off a thistle)

xcracer.com?

dirty-pages is another one. (honest – it's work safe)

Do you speak dutch Hans? Are you after a roadbike?

btw: Dutch girls = big all over :-)

I know this won't help but I'm delighted to say this is the first year in about 25 that I haven't had to take any medication.
Still have some symptoms but nothing too mental (nearly died once after a bad reaction in Scotland!)

In my job I get to drive all combinations…
It will seem weird at first but soon enough it becomes completely normal. Going for a test drive will show how you initially react but not of course how you will adapt.
As mentioned above, the only nasty exception is trying to turn out of acute juncions in a LHD panel van..

very true. There's not many successful 'quiet' sprinters out there.
McEwen, Steegmans, Old man Boonen – none have the passion they showed earlier & they're nowhere in the real sprints anymore.

You can't be such a prolofic winner without emotion in your body to drive you forward, be that in training or during a race. Sometimes that oveflows…

So are you all learning Flemish now? da's wel tof