I really wanted my eyes lasered, I thought it would solve all my sight issues when cycling, climbing and kayaking. When biking I will occasionally not see a tree route or similar trail hazard. My prescription is only minus 1 in each eye, so not too bad, but I still need glasses.

I tried contacts, but they weren’t for me. The thought of poking my eyes with mud or oil on my fingers filled me with terror.

There are several doctors in my cycle club and one of the lads is married to an ophthalmologist surgeon. He isn’t allowed to get his eyes lasered. My wife also works in the NHS and won’t let me go for the surgery. The reasons are simply there is no long term study of the side effects. If you need cataracts surgery in later life this becomes incredibly complicated if you have had your eyes lasered as the cornea is significantly weakened. Of course you might not live long enough to need cateract surgery, so the argument would be, why not have good eyes when you are young!?

All the doctors I have asked and told me it is a bad idea. When I was researching providers, one had a photo of their surgeons, most were wearing glasses! You would think the marketing department would have asked them to take them off for the photo!

Having said all that I know several people who have been pleased with the results of their surgery and I know at least a couple of doctors who have had the procedure.

I maintain the view a doctor will always act in the best interests of a patient, regardless if money is changing hands or not. With this in mind, if you aren’t suitable for surgery I like to think the medical staff would point this out and outline the full risks.

The end result is I haven’t had the surgery, despite researching the procedure for 10 plus years, perhaps I should have just had the procedure in my early 30s, but then again I may have lost my sight from a complication.

If you go for the surgery, I hope it is a success in the short and long term.

I had a 2012 Mondeo until this time last year when I decided to change it. The Mondeo was great in everyway. I phoned a few Ford dealerships and not one of them could supply me a bog standard 6-12 month old Mondeo estate. It seems nobody wants estate cars anymore!

I looked at the Passat and the Superb along with the outback. The outback was no more expensive and I decided to go for a year old one with the remainder of a 5 year warranty. The boot isn’t quite as large as the Mondeo, but there is more space on the back seats.

Fuel economy over the year has averaged 34-35 mpg, it is a petrol model. Subaru stopped Diesel engines a year or two ago. On long journeys my best fuel economy has been 42 mpg, but that was with cruise control at 70 and from Scotland to Wales.

I have just had the Outback serviced after having it for a year and 12k miles and the dealer charged £350.

Would I recommend the Outback, come back to me when I’ve done 130k miles! My first impressions are very favourable.

Happy to chat more about Outback ownership.

“Would I notice much of a difference between my 181 to the 231? Think there’s about 0.7 hp in it?”

I’m also interested in if the 231 is worthy upgrade. It is only 0.7 hp difference, but in percentage terms this is a large gain.

The 231 is the bottom of the Stihl pro range (white handle).

I’d be looking at running a 231 with a 16 inch bar, will I notice the difference over my 181? I need the saw for processing firewood, mainly hardwood.

Thanks,

Why are some teams only running one car? Is it just to save money? Surely once all your staff and equipment are there anyway you are as well running both cars to maximise data?

The only problem is if one household refuses to pay. It’s almost impossible to make them, even with legal proceedings. If the majority of households chip in it should be fine. A formal agreement helps, but I still don’t know the practicalities if someone refuses to pay.

Even if one of them doesn’t have a car, they still need the postie, ambulance, deliveries etc etc ! So they should all contribute if it is the sole access.

When people say ‘we used it to go skiing” is that drive to the alps and stay in a bite/air B and B ?

Or do you live in it for a week in -10 c? If so how much is it a night on a campsite?

I can see the attraction but just trying to get my head round the realities ?

They look great when new. But part of me thinks, if I come back from a day out in the hills covered in mud, do I really want to get into my nice clean £60k van, with no shower!

I’d be scared to use it! Occasionally I think they would be great, especially before and after long fell races, but where do you keep all your minging wet stuff?

Also in the market for new insurance cover. Currently with pedal cover but the renewal has gone up by 20% ish, with nothing changing over the past year. Also their policy doesn’t seem to cover as much!

E sure is coming out cheapest on comparison sites, but I’m currently on hold as they answer questions on bikes away from home. But they only cover £2k in out buildings, excluding bikes. So not much leeway for tools and garden stuff.

It seems very difficult to insure anything away from home! Or in an outbuilding!

Great shame for Williams. There was a rumour in the early 2000’s that BMW wanted to buy a major stake in the team, but Frank refused to sell. I always thought if that had happened they would be still at the top.

But fair game, he refused wanted to remain in control and carry on, full respect. But unfortunately something has gone wrong, and not just lack of £££ plenty of other teams are getting better results with less cash.

I’m hoping Williams will live, perhaps Williams VW group? Although that might be difficult with current engine regulations and a looming global financial crises.

Thanks for the link. 530 ordered. Decided, winter + gloves + touch screen + rain probably wouldn’t work! Hence I went for the 530.

Guessing the 540/840 are on their way then…..

A copy and paste of the email!

At this stage we are able to offer riders three options:

1. We will automatically transfer all entries to the new date. If this is OK for you, and any additional riders that you registered, you do not need to do anything and we will remain in touch as normal with event updates

2. If you are unable to make the new date we can transfer your entry to ‘The Distance’ (www.thedistance.cc). This 2 day introduction to adventure bike packing is still scheduled to go ahead in late August

3. OR we can offer a refund (minus £10 admin and the £1.50 card fee, as per earlier refund/transfers) To register for a refund please follow this link and we will collect your details. Refunded riders will also receive a link for early entry access in 2021.

Yes you were warned regarding the fee. I tried different cards, but they all wanted a fee!

Do you have a link to the euro zone ATM card? Is it a credit card or per load card? CertainLy no mention of it on money saving expert.

It was the Halifax Clarity card I used. 3.95 transaction fee from Raiffeisenbank ATM, which definitely didn’t happen last year.

Househusband, have you got a link to the forum regarding the dust ingress claim? My dad has that mask and thinks it is so much better than the bulky trend one he had before it.

But if it isn’t giving the protection required, that’s another matter!

How much more expensive than prescribing methadone

Fair point.

Some trades people are great others aren’t! I don’t understand the comments about not getting paid for sending invoices, tax returns, tool maintenance etc. Surely these are all costs factored into the hourly/daily rate?

Most people simply want a tradesman to turn up when they say they are going to. Then give a price without being chased for said price. Then turn up to do job at agreed time, or if they can’t at least let you know they are late.

Trades people are great and usually good fun and valued amongst those who need them /are prepared to pay for them

Thanks for the information. By handling I don’t mean driving like the stig, I just mean is it more likely to get up a snowy road!

Would changing the wheel size affect the warranty?

This is STW and nobody has suggested installing a wood burning stove in the conservatory?! A quick google search brings up plenty of photos of installations. And it is an independent system!

Pedalcover only cover £1k of stuff in your car (plus the bikes). So by the time you have a tent, biking kit, other outdoor stuff it adds up to well over £1k of stuff.

I queried this and they said there was nothing they could do to increase the level of cover of stuff in the car.

Does anyone have home insurance that gives decent cover of kit locked in a car?

Most travel insurance policies only give a low cover for possessions, the insurance is to cover your health costs, not kit.

If you look at the frame only price the Tripster ATR seems about £400 more than the Camino.

An acquaintance runs this blog, which seems to answer your question pretty comprehensively!

https://simon-willis.blogspot.com/2019/06/video-titanium-gravel-bike-trial.html

Simon is a great guy, and if you message him through his website he may even give you more in-depth thoughts!

He reckons there is a £1k difference, but if the spec is the same, surely only the frame price should be different?

If it were my money I would go for the Tripster. I did, albeit the aluminium version and it is great!

The mobile option sounds great. Go for it and good luck.

What I think would work is a competent mechanic who works from his shed/garage at home. So no /low overheads. You drop your bike off he looks at it, says it needs X parts, you order them from wiggle/CRC and drop them off or get them delivered straight to him.

He has no cash flow problems of having to stock lots of stuff. The customer is happy as they are getting internet priced parts, and the mechanic charges a decent labour rate, seems like a win win?

Or a bad idea? I don’t see it being massive business but I reckon there would be enough to keep a competent mechanic going full time with mid to top end bikes?

The new Stihl domestic cordless garden range seem good. I don’t have the strummer but do have the hedge trimmer and chainsaw and they use the same battery. When my current strummer dies I will replace it with the Stihl cordless one. Just b aware Stihl do a pro range and a domestic range and the batteries ( for some reason) aren’t compatible.

Looking back at Monaco, Lewis missed the chicane when fighting with Max. No penalty was applied and Lewis kept the lead despite leaving the track. Personally I don’t care who wins, I just want to see wheel to wheel racing.

The other thing, is like rucksack volume which is also measured in litres I wouldn’t be surprised if one manufacturer used different volume measurements to others.

The Octavia estate also has a lip on the edge of the boot for some reason, which makes sliding things in and out far more difficult. No such lip on the Mondeo. Totally agree the Mondeo seems to have a far larger boot, despite what the numbers may say. I wonder what test the journalists did to check boot size?!

It was tough, but brilliant. The wind made it even harder! Managed the 200km, just! Despite running tubeless I still punctured once at mile 45, and it was a pinch!

Well run and really friendly event. My only worry is what kind of bike are they going to invent next?! There’s now a niche which is expanding for gravel bikes!!

Can anybody find a link to the results? I can only find 2018.

SS gabba, arm warmers, bib tights, wool socks. I probably won’t bother with defroster boots and just wear spd shoes. In my new alpkit glider bag, I have a light weight ish waterproof, tube, whistle, gels, foil blanket and pump. Only the minimum from the kit list and it is full! Also a small saddle bag with another tube and multi tool etc.

Not sure how I could get away without the frame bag, given the kit list, and I thought the frame bag was probably a better bet than the camelback. I was hoping to carry spare socks but, the bag is stuffed!

Looking forward to it, the Tripster AT will be put through its paces!

Electric heating is sometimes the only option. Also air source or ground source electric systems can be very efficient in the right circumstances.

Not everybody has access to gas (even in cities)

Would be amazed if you got £2k. £1500 possibly, but depends on the year of installation and hence tariff rate. Would need to be one of the first batch of solar installations eligible for rhi, to get £1500. A quick calculation would suggest they would need to generate 3000 kWh a year, with a tariff of 50p /kWh, again possible but depends on installation and tariff.

Use aspen fuel. More expensive, but much better for the engine and environment. No mixing and you can leave the fuel in the machine all winter, so there is no waste.

Speculation about Paddy Lowes future at Williams. But if they sack him, where else would they get a world championship winning technical director from? I love Williams having seen Mansell at Silverstone in 1992, and really want them to do well, but presumably they are only going to be running car at testing?

The RICS guys seem to cover themselves by saying things like ” can’t establish if the floors are dodgy as they are covered in carpet.” Or “Unable to look in loft as it was full of insulation!”

One of the problems IMO is that many estate agents are also members of RICS. For some reason that seems to give confidence to buyers. When all it really means is they are sales people, interesting in selling the house regardless of the condition and there could be a conflict of interests. It always amuses me when the RICS give their view on house prices, they don’t disclose how many of their members make serious cash from selling them.

Nothing against the RICS, I have a friend or two with the initials after their names, but they work for conservation groups!!

What do you think the difference between residuals and depreciation is?

Residual is what the car is worth at the end of the term. Depreciation is the difference between the price paid and what it’s worth down the line. Two different concepts.

Where do you find a Skoda Superb with 30k mileage for £280 month?

That seems more like it!.

LING – is it genuine ? Looks distinctly like a dodgy website!

£535 pm for a 5 series estate, with 15k miles, beyond my budget!

Some leases seem to include servicing, but a better description would be

“we include an oil change, any consumables such as brake pads or tyres you will have to pay for.”

Or can someone point me in the direction of a lease where consumables are included?

I’m just trying to work out the cheapest way of using a car!

Audi, BMW, Merc – all cheaper on lease deals than equivalent priced Ford etc. Lease deals are all based on residual value, factoring that plus adding a bit of profit.

So it can be cheaper to leave a 5 series /A6 than a mondeo? Yes they have higher residuals, but don’t they depreciate at the same % a year, ?

<blockquoteNo MOT, no depreciation, no cash outlay from the business, (its better to spend my money on products and materials for sale to customers).
Reliable motoring for 3 years.
Then rinse and repeat in 3 years.

You still pay depreciation. There is no getting away with it in car ownership. It is factored into your monthly payments.

Good luck getting a brand new Skoda for 10K. I think thats the bit you’re missing.

Don’t think I would get a new Skoda for 10k, but this is about the most efficient way of car use.

£369/MTH
£2200down
=£15k+ over three years.
(Plus servicing from main stealer, tyres etc)

So £15500 roughly over 3 years. Yes the serving is included, even with a set of tyres that is probably worth £1k.

Or one of these for £14 k ish

https://www.motorpoint.co.uk/vehicle-search/ford/mondeo/options/-fueltype=0-showlocal=true-showimages=false-app=20

(Ok no estates shown, but I’m sure with a bit more shopping around they shouldn’t be hard to find)

And I get to keep it. Are all the fancy BMW/Audi’s then on very low mileage lease deals? Or do people really have mega bucks to blow on one? Just wondering how people manage it (obviously different if you have a large income)

Or the week?

As others have said, get a cheap branded one (ours is Bosch), £250 on offer when we got it 2 years ago, A+++ rated. And when it breaks we will get another cheap one, to last a few years. Opposed to buying a Miele or top of the range Bosch for £900 and getting 15 years out of it, and using old technology 15 years later! Of course some people will need/want/think a Miele is better value in the long run.

I’m sure having an outdoor lifestyle breaks washing machines quicker!