Morris Minor ?
And are those Plimsoll Line markings on the door ? Is it going to be amphibious ?

"…privatising parts of the Forestry Commission…"
Most of the tree felling and road construction is done by contractors anyway.
This may not be as serious as it first sounds.

I'm not sure you're doing the right thing and I don't want to be encouraging you, but I've seen enough people living the wife and two kids, mortgage and mowing the lawn on Sunday morning life to know that I couldn't put up with it. I'd have walked out years ago.
I'm in the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, somewhere on the border between a conventional and an alternative way of life.
If you happen to be passing this way, call in.

Or to put it another way…
If a bike costs £1000 and insurance is £100 a year, I can make a guess at whether my bike is likely to be stolen within 10 years.
If AA membership costs £80 a year and I've been towed home once in the last 12 years, and that from only 10 miles away, I would have been better off saving the cost and paying a garage to rescue me privately.

I don't know enough about medical costs and sports injuries to make that decision with regard to private health care.

I've just skimmed through the recent reply as I'm about to go to work, I'll come back and read them properly later.

Just a couple of points…
To repeat again, I am not expecting private cover to sort out my CTS, if that's what it turns out to be. I understand that insurance doesn't work by taking out cover after the incident I want to claim for. I am trying to prepare for any unknown, unrelated future problems.

What's the difference between outpatient and inpatient ? Is it simply whether you stay overnight in hospital ?
For example, my tests last Monday where I turned up at 10am, had the tests and left at 11.30am the same day.
If I only had inpatient cover, would they have paid for that, subject to the excess ?

Being vegan and straightedge and exercising regularly, I am far less likely to get most of the usual illnesses that are common amongst overweight middle aged men. It's mainly sports injuries I am concerned about.

I never took out pet insurance on either of my dogs. They both needed expensive treatment towards the end of their lives, but overall, I reckon it cost less than a lifetime's insurance premiums.
Any insurance is a shared risk. If I consider myself a better risk than average, then I will be subsidising those who are a worse risk.
I've just got to work out whether the benefits of a healthy lifestyle outweigh the risks of mountain biking and weightlifting to decide whether I am above or below the average.
In other words, should I just wait until something goes wrong again, then pay for private treatment if I'm not happy with the NHS.

I had a look at General & Medical and it was round about £28 – £33 depending on level of cover and excess.
I'm still not decided one way or the other.

Supposing I already had private cover and I had gone to my GP with suspected CTS.
As it is, on the NHS, I have had to wait two months for the tests at the hospital, another three weeks for the results, then an unknown wait for the operation, if that's what's needed.
What would have happened with private cover ?

What I meant was, if this turns out to be CTS, the NHS will fix it permanently for me, although it may take some time.
What if, in 6 months or 6 years time though, I get some other unrelated medical problem, whether it's a cycling injury or an illness. Will I regret not taking out insurance beforehand instead of being stuck on an NHS waiting list

I get the feeling that even when the NHS sort this out for me, it won't be long before something else goes wrong.

I'm hoping that what I've got does turn out to be CTS as there seems to be a simple and permanent cure.
However, there is bound to be something else in the future, so I'm wondering if I should take out insurance in advance.
Can anyone give me a rough guide on the price ?
£10 a month ? £50 a month ? Or is it really so dependant on circumstances that it's not possible to make a wild guess ?

“My wife is a larger lady…

Thanks for all the replies.
By 4th and 5th digit, I mean ring and little finger. Not the classic symptoms and combined with having no night time pain, it does look like maybe it's not CTS.
Those fingers are still numb now after doing SITS solo last weekend. I've been driving in to work all week to try and give my hands and wrists a rest.
I just tried that Reverse Phalen's test. I think I was doing it right. It made no difference.
I guess the best plan for now is wait for the full results, keep taking the Naproxen and give up on the fully rigid for a while and ride with suspension forks.

"eating animals is what made enabled us to grow big brains"
Row 5, Column 3

Orienteering on mountain bikes. http://www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk/

"I hear vegetarians are particularly susceptible to it"

Serves them right, the chicken period eating, cow suckling bastids. They should go vegan.

Sounds like surgery is a once and for all cure then.
I've got no problem sleeping in odd positions, that's one of the questions the doctor asked me, it's definitely only mountain biking that brings it on.

I ride a fully rigid 29er mostly. Is it really that simple that suspension would help ?
I'm using Specialized's copy of Ergon grips, although I'm not sure they make a difference.
When the doctor first suggested it was a neck problem, he told me to sit more upright. I fitted a shorter, higher stem and that seems to help.

Trail Centres are lame.
Trailquesting is for real men who aren't afraid of getting mauled to death by foxes or falling off the edge of the world if they stray from the waymarked route.

I try to exhaust the topic of trailquesting, but nobody else seems interested. :cry:

"Just mix em, I would – all ends up the same in your tummy."

So do custard and fried onions, but I wouldn't put them in the same sandwich.

I'll give it a go. What's the worst that could happen ? :P

Come to think of it, is there any reason why I shouldn't mix Nuun and Plain Torq in one bottle ?
One's a carb (maltodextrin) drink and the other's an electrolyte drink.
Would there be any advantage to mixing them or maybe carrying two bottles and drinking from each alternately ?

Yes, I've only ever used the plain one. I buy it in big buckets and didn't want to risk buying a flavour that I might not like.
Maybe I'll try some smaller quantities of the different flavours and experiment with dilutions and mixtures as you suggest.

You should have mentioned this at SITS, Mounty.
I was swapping between SIS, Torq and Nuun on my laps. You could have tried any or all of those.

My preferences…
SIS is too sickly, a bit like flat pop.
Nuun is too salty.
Torq is bland, a bit like lukewarm water out of a plastic bottle.

I can put up with bland. I keep meaning to try mixing it with orange squash, but haven't bothered yet. It's tolerable as it is.

Singlespeedism.

I went to hospital yesterday (Monday) for some tests as it's looking like I've got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The doctor was asking me about my specific symptoms and I mentioned it was particularly bad that day as I had just done a 24 hour mountain bike race.
She then asked me if I had got another job or if I was a professional mountain bike racer. :lol:
As she entered my details on the screen, alongside "Bus Mechanic" she wrote "Serious mountain biker".

I am now officially a "Serious mountain biker", it's on my medical notes and everything. :D
How cool is that. 8)

Well, everyone who's got an iphone can. :roll:
As a solo rider,it would have been nice to hear the commentator remind me how many laps I had done and tell me I wasn't last.

" And of course, if we didn't eat meat, most livestock would exist only in zoos."

Row 2, Column 4

Thanks, notjustabike.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/103903537466136881545/SITS2010#5503380269082019554

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/103903537466136881545/SITS2010#5503380556437436802

Heavy vehicle would be C+E or C1+E.
Although, if you pass a C+E test, it automatically gives you B+E entitlement. And a big belly and a fondness for Country & Western music.

"The way I see it unless everyone stops eating meat (which is not going to happen) its still going to be farmed and then get killed so we ought to eat it really otherwise the poor things are going to waste."

Row 2, Column 4

"it takes more farmland to sustain a vegetarian diet than it does to breed cattle"

Row 3, Column 2

"…I feel an overwhelming desire to find an answer"

42

Yes, a caravan is a trailer.
She needs to take a trailer test to get B+E on her licence.
Or buy a tent.

Hacksaw, or dremel & thin cutting disc, through the bolt where it's exposed by the slot in the clamp.
As long as the bolt head rounded because it had been overtightened,not because it is seized in the thread, you should be able to get the stub out.

After my question about people hanging around near the end of their last lap, I was determined to follow both the spirit and the rules of the event.

Oh, and roving marshals handing out a one lap penalty for anyone caught dropping gel wrappers.

Midday start and finish would be better and more logical.
Extend the course across the camping field in an out & back loop so there is more trackside camping for those who want it.
Better commentary at the finish line. It's nice to get a mention as you cross the line. Could the commentator have a screen in front of him so he can call out the riders name, lap number and position as they pass ?

Now the controversial bit…
Cut the really tight, twisty bits through the trees out of the course.
Look at any trail centre or popular unofficial trail through trees. they've all got a nice flow to them where you can maintain a reasonable speed. Nobody chooses to ride one hairpin bend round a tree after another at walking pace.
I know it's all part of the course and it's the same for everyone, but SPAM biking pick some first class single track for their events, the sort of stuff that I go looking for and ride by choice. MM and SITS both put far too many unnecessary twists in.

On my 15th lap I noticed something wobbling and clicking around the cranks or pedals.
I stopped to have a look and found my right hand pedal loose.
I didn't have an 8mm hex key with me and it didn't look like it was about to fall off completely, so I carried on.
I got back in at 23:49.
It turned out it was the threaded insert loose in the carbon crank.
No chance of repairing or replacing it on site in 11 minutes, so I got the spare bike out of the Land Rover, swapped the saddle bag over and went back out about 3 minutes before the 24 hours was up for a final lap.

16 laps for me as a solo veteran.
15 on a fully rigid plus one on a hard tail.
The support from the spectators and words of encouragement form the other riders really makes a difference when riding solo, thanks to you all, although I do feel a bit guilty reading about pairs doing 32 laps without that support.

They just turned up today.

<content removed> – new romantic

The most dangerous thing I can see in that video is the cars.

Oh, and hello Bob.