Technically the property of the insurance company but they are unlikely to want it. Wait till they’ve paid out then ask what they want you to do with it. Chances are you will get to dispose of it

30×36, 26″ for local (Notts) trails
30×42, 27.5″ for Peaks, Lakes etc
32×32, 26″ for winter/papershop bike

They sent me a waterproof phone bag

No, just add some antiseize compound when you fit them and don’t overtighten like most (self included) do

A(nother) flexible cystoscopy. If you don’t know, it involves a v small camera, a bent coat hanger and a penis

I knew I was getting old when I told the lad at the bike shop I’d come to collect my Bronson. He thought I said Brompton

+1for running the lot till it’s dead, now I run 1x this means an inevitable spoilt ride at some point. When I ran 3x or 2x I coyld always use a different chainring to get home. I would always only replace the middle ring when it started skipping because generally the others were fine, and would only get replaced when they wore out. No need to replace all chainrings at once

I’d definitely recommend going for a cnoc 16 because your priority should be to buy a bike that fits now. My grandson has just gone from a 16 to a Beinn 20 L and finds the reach a bit of a stretch and complained that it made his arms ache initially (he was 125cm at the time) and this put him off a bit. Now he’s grown a bit he loves it, especially with gears, but a 4yo would struggle. If you buy 2nd hand you can recoup your costs, so IMO it’s not worth the risk of getting a bike to grow into

+1 for the non-protect version, light, comfy (I have broad feet), and better grip than 5tens. Not as weatherproof though, I use them whenever it’s not too wet

Replace the Ardent (with something decent?). The HR11 looks like it has
a bit of life left but they are deceptive I find, need replacing when they still look like they have plenty of tread left

DezB, to get more hotter chillis, use poor quality sandy soil and don’t water them much. Putting them under pressure concentrates the flavour

Nukeproof electrons here. Cheap, light and strong

+1 give it a go yourself. It’s not difficult, the info on how to do it is available online if you don’t know anyone to talk you through, and the knowledge and satisfaction you acquire will be well worth the head scratching. Tools may cost a bob or two though

Lakes. Sounds like you’ve already decided. S. Wales nowhere near as good

Revs are a great fork but I find my Pike gives me much more control, which I think is down to stiffness and better damping. This translates to calmness when the ground gets choppy. Only really matters in bigger rock gardens though such as you get in the Dark Peak or Lakes. Local rides or the White Peak are fine on my Revelation-equipped b8ke

Is it possible to not pee in the shower? Soon as that spray gets going my bladder goes “ooh..”.

Being 62 and having had a uti, I’ve been going through the checks, thankfully all clear but this afternoon I’m facing a flexible cystoscopy as my final “investigation” after the infection. Even when results come back clear it’s worrying enough so all the best to you lads who aren’t so lucky. Roll on 5pm, it should all be over by then

@chiefgg, +1 for taking it easy for a bit, hopefully by not crashing over the next few weeks you can reset your ‘bottle’ switch. Recently back myself and I’m finding simple lack of fitness makes me nervous. Been out today 6 weeks after my return and for the first time I had great legs and was hitting all the lines, just when I was wondering if it would ever come back. Take your time and take it easy, chap!

Got the topeak one and it works well. Several mates think it’s inaccurate based on their supernatural ability to squeeze a tyre and work out the pressure but whenever I’ve checked it using another gauge I know to be accurate it’s spot on

We’ve got fed up of acquiring endless stuff so have a ‘consumables or experiences’ rule for gifts. Only exception is music, so I’d say more vinyl

New chainring bolts, or rather old ones from my bolts tub. Shorter bolts needed anyway, though at a pinch you can space the bolts you have with washers

I did exactly this with my last bike, it was as simple as swopping the chainring and taking off the surplus bits

There is inevitably a bit of a learning curve initially but once over that it’s easier than using tubes as Podge says. Tubeless tyres, rims etc are better these days too so make it easier

I usually manage the stress of not sleeping by telling myself “at least I’m resting..”, and once I stop worrying just drift off. When this doesn’t work I get up but avoid tv/screens because I’ve heard that the light they emit switches on your “time to wake up” switch in your brain.

Yes. Next.
Slightly less snotty answer is definitely, especially if puncture protection on your commute is the main reason, tubeless (almost completely) consigns punctures to the dustbin of history, a real bonus for commuting

You have my sympathy, fella. I had 2 spells in hospital in June due to infection, thankfully all sorted now but alarming at the time. Glad you’re into the “lucky it didn’t turn out worse” phase, but counting your bless ings only takes a moment then it’s just boring/can’t wait to get home/when will they let me out. Any progress yet? I found it was just waiting until all of a sudden you can go. This didn’t help much because you know it could happen at any moment, it would almost have been easier to resign yourself to a fixed period. Anyway, give us a progress report?

Yep, I’ll keep on biking until it’s no longer fun, which hopefully will be years yet. Even in my current slow, unfit, inept state I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be than on a mountain with my bike. My wife comes with me on my jaunts and goes for a walk while I ride. She says she used to worry about me but now realises if I kill myself at least I would have died happy!(her name isn’t Louise btw)

Been to a couple recently. My wife’s mum was a real character and we all felt we didn’t want the anonymous life-of delivered by a god-botherer who didn’t know her so we arranged for family and friends who wanted to to tell stories and memories. Even one or two of her (young) great grandchildren joined in with tales, and brought tears to our eyes. Such a satisfying feeling to celebrate a unique person. Second one was my brother who died recently at an early age because of his life of fun, sorry drink and drug abuse. That was even more informal, as befitted his character. We had him cremated and held the wake at his house, out in the garden down from his cannabis farm, sat around under a tree he had saved from my mother’s neglect, and scattered his ashes there while telling our stories, laughing and crying in equal measure. So much more satisfying to diy to reflect the life of the deceased, from both funerals we all came away feeling much better

Cheers nobeer, always good to have a perspective, especially given I’m used to being able to take this sort of day in my stride. I was more impressed that I managed to stay off the booze the night before

Had a weekend at Glenridding a couple of weekends ago and me and chums have a Lakes weekend planned for the end of the month. Twas cold overnight last time, but that’s cos it was a clear night so the payoff was glorious weather the next day. On the Saturday night a lot of triathletes turned up for an event on Sunday and overnight the weather turned…

Closest parking spot is on the A57 next to Cutthroat Bridge, but it’s on the A57 so would be noisy. You could also try one of the car parks on the roadside on the minor road up to Fairholmes, which would also be almost on your route. Only guessing though, car parks and laybys have “no overnight stays” restrictions and I’m not sure if this is policed. Only place I know people sleep over is on the broken road just the other side of Castleton

Lockerbrook=Gores

I was unlucky enough to have to consume hospital food recently and was amazed/apalled to find they still serve those mostly-circular school-dinner-type scoops of mash. Just another reason to avoid getting ill

I’ve had a couple of months off the bike in June and July due to illness, and lost all of my hard-earned fitness on the sofa/bed, so since the beginning of August I’ve had an agenda to get back to fitness. At my age (62) though, it feels like a long slow haul. So far I’ve just dropped into my usual habits of riding and am finding, surprise surprise, that I’m really slow, run out of what little energy I have quickly, and take ages to recover afterwards. Took on a big(ish) mountain day a week ago-up Dollywagon, over Helvellyn summit and descend Sticks, and I really suffered, not just from lack of fitness but bottle too, feeling weedy made me reluctant on the downs and so walked loads I’d normally ride.
However, this isn’t putting me off, I’m just going to keep on keeping on, I’m at the use-it-or-lose-it time of life and my enthusiasm for biking is undimmed.
Great thread, I’ve enjoyed reading what others are up to

Retired doesn’t mean tidier. When my wife worked I would do housework to make it easier for her. Now she’s retired it’s nobody’s responsiblity and we operate a brinkmanship policy towards housework and we are both messy sods. She’s worse than me for leaving stuff out but neither of us can be bothered mostly. Also we’ve lived in the same house for 35 years so lots of stuff. A couple of years ago we had a big push to declutter, got rid of stacks of stuff but that just meant the stuff at the back spilled forward. Who cares?

I’ve never enjoyed the Beast, can never get much momentum going. My faves change every few months and include most of the Dark Peak classics, cheeky or otherwise

Now insured with Pedalcover. Their quote was actually cheaper than the renewal quote I got without bike cover from my previous home insurance company

Doesn’t surprise me about the Cane Creek, I’ve had similar experiences when they come with a new bike. Soon as they go, like you I swop for Hope, problem sorted.

Cheers chaps, just gave Pedalcover a call and, in between chatting about bikes, got a v reasonable and helpful quote. Just being able to phone up and talk bikes makes me want to use them!

Go, of course, and deal with the consequences (if any). It’s booked and it’s an uplift day!