Then I had what seemed like a simple break but without proper rehab now have a mallet finger that doesn’t work.

Pretty much the same here, but I escaped the mallet finger by a fraction and also avoided the little broken bit wandering into the joint.

Hand fractures are complex. Lots of little bones, little ligaments and little tendons. There’s a lot going on and impaired dexterity is not something to live with unnecessarily.

There should be a follow up to assess healing and if there has been any soft tissue damage that would be difficult to pick up as it would be too painful to test for at the time.

Also, hand injuries can be a weird one. I had what I thought was a minor break in a finger and was told it could have required a full scale operation (volar plate).

Something to ponder on – seeing as she is the actual thread topic.

How does the most successful political party in history end up with Liz Truss as leader and a 42 day premiership as a result?

That’s not the product of a movement that is a roaring success.

Well, looking at it objectively in 2023, the success of the Tories is truly mystifying. Hopefully enough people realise this by the next election. But as mattyfez said above, we are getting what we deserve after brexit and our subsequent departure from reality. If we end up with the Tories again I’m not going to bother voting again. Why go to the swimming pool if people keep crapping in it?

having a day off and feeling guilty ?

Is a massive flag for me that I’m slipping back into anxiety/depression mode. Purely from my own experience, but the whole feeling/world that is encapsulated in that expression really sets me on edge. I’m probably being dramatic.

Sorry I was replying to the being unsurprised if we end up with the Tories again…

Well, if that is the case then you can count me out of any political opinions, voting etc. If, given where the last 13 years have landed us, we opt for more of it, then **** it. What would be the point?

At that point it just comes down to backing myself and my family to be OK and sod the supposed bigger picture, because it isn’t worth the time.

I only joined for a bit of tech and route advice in any case – but Saturday night beers have kicked in. Talking politricks on a bike website is odd and won’t change a thing.

A stunned mullet at least has some integrity. Truss is just an opportunist scavenger. Ah well – general election next year. If we end up with another tory government after all that has gone on in recent years then we will have what we deserve. If not, we might be able to salvage something.

The secret to their success lies in convincing voters into accepting their stated aims, whilst ignoring their very obvious actual aims.

The big con. I think there is a bit more to it than that, though. I think their success largely comes from engendering a fundamentally selfish outlook on life. Even their attempts at some kind of common good are based on the notion that if ten percent do unbelievably well then that drags the other 90% up with them. This has been shown to be demonstrably untrue for the last 40 years. It defies logic, but it seems to work. I don’t know who that speaks worse of – the exploiters or the credulous exploited who desire to join the exploiters. It is quite a sick outlook and it doesn’t bode well for upcoming challenges where multilateral cooperation will be vital – environment, population growth etc.

Has the bead ruptured somehow? I’ve written a tyre off by getting too aggro with the levers and being an idiot.

So if the Tory party only exists to serve the elite and the few, how come the masses keep electing them?

I’m starting to think that un-inventing the Internet would be a good thing.

Is that a visible step on those rotors above – between the spoke and the braking surface? If so, blimey.

I know that Mindfulness was/is a bit of a fad with the usual quack types banging on about it, but…

If you strip away a lot of the sales pitch, some of the disciplines are good if you can make them work. I found it frustrating as hell the first few times I tried to do it by the book, but I found one exercise in particular (the body scan) to feel very good in its own right. I can now use it and it often helps me to get to sleep if I’m struggling – so long as I haven’t got too worked up.

Is it mindfulness in the purest sense? Probably not. But it means more sleep (can’t be a bad thing with anxiety) and it is something I know I can do. In essence it is very basic meditation and deep breathing.

Also, does anyone else notice that brake pads bedded in during the summer are the worst for braking howl when they get wet?

Yes. I took a pair of cheap Shimano brakes down the Snowdon Ranger. The discs were blue by the end, then corroded extremely rapidly from that point on. It was like they had some sort of top layer that couldn’t cope. They were just rubbish TBH.

I don’t think you need mega-bling rotors either, just not ones that are utter crap.

How on Earth did a country as supposedly developed, respected and great end up with the likes of Johnson and Truss* as Prime Ministers? It defies belief.

*And their coteries of idiot ministers.

After 13 years, not a single thing I can think of has got any better. Many things are much worse. Any Tory door knockers on my front step will be given short shrift.

I’ve found the dhf to be a fantastic front tyre. A true all rounder in my opinion. I was running a Hi Roller II, though, so not much to do to be better as a front tyre. 🤷‍♂️

Another vote for the Otex with bulb syringe kit here. It isn’t a one-off blast and you’re done. You have to leave the drops in to soften the wax and do it every few weeks, but it definitely does the job. Feels lovely too with that warm water!

Three Passes – Garburn, Gatesgarth and Nan Bield.

Brilliant, thanks. Obvs that is the other way around lever vs caliper but it means the volume of fluid in the push must be the same.

Ta.