I had the most fun on the way to and back from a ride. Mx5 is definitely a bike car. Infinite loading bay.

Ride was not bad – did the croft trail in Swindon for the first time. I’m impressed with what they have, wish I had something like that a bit closer!

youtube link

I’ve used Chemist-4-U for the last 2 years, really good service and cheap.

I also tried a nasal spray, avogel luffa, which seems to make the most effect. expensive though, although it’s lasted 1 year and only used half a bottle so far. YMMV.

My local national cycle route I use on the commute has been closed for about 8 months now after it was only supposed to be for 5 months. Still avoid it though as they are clearing potentially radioactive material from the neighbouring site.

Record 24, as above, the daddy of vices. Quick Release is instant, minimal backlash, and beefy enough to hold big car bits. Painted hammerite red by the loverly missus and me. 2 litre coke bottle for scale in background.

here’s something that’s been in it and is bike related

Not a sporting win for Vettel. Quite a spectacle though to see two teams facing similar scenarios.

Rosberg shouldn’t have been let past. Letting past would have included a change in strategy and increasing risk for no team gain. Didn’t piss of Hamilton certainly, so it’s not a lose all situation! Hopefully Rosberg would see that, and Brawn showed excellent skills in managing it.

Vettel and Webber should have taken the same strategy of trying to support each other to get to the finish line and consolidate the points.

If they wanted a proper race, RB should have said both drivers: limited engine, kers etc maps, race on but be gentlemen and respect each other. That way nursing the cars to the end but allowing racing. Vettel unscrupulously took advantage whilst on multi 21 (code for hold position), not really sporting in my book, and as said above, gone down in my estimation.

relevant hijack – I want to clearcoat some forks of mine I’ve stripped back, what’s the durability of the above coatings like? I’ve asked local powdercoaters and they’ve all tried to steer me away from clear powdercoat. Plus I’d like to do a pattern on the steel, and then clearcoat over it (a bit like over stickers) so a hand applied product would be better as powdercoating would destroy any paint underneath. Any recommendations?

So far this morning I’ve had cereal with jam, a fry up at work. Got paella for lunch, cake break at 3, followed by home made pasta for tea, with fudge beer and wine for pud. Can you tell it’s. My day off the diet today? :D

Sam’s bag looks like a carradice from the green with the orange leather strap restraint.

I was the team principal in our formula student team at uni. I couldn’t tell many of the guys names by the end of the first week, but it was easy to tell who had been on a placement, and who hadn’t. They guys who had were keen, eager and handy.

I did one and it was the best thing I did by far at uni. Engineering degree so hard graft, mostly academic rather than hands on annoyingly, so bit of a drag a lot of the time. Placement put it all into perspective, the skills you get from uni are just tools, don’t forget to actively try and develop your attitude, as many above says get stuck in, be conversational, inquisitive and you’ll get a good reputation. And try to be incredibly thorough in your work (depending on area), although a couple of mistakes always get through, it makes a managers job far easier if they can learn to trust your work.

Finally on job prospects, it depends how hard it is to get a job in that industry. A good engineering graduate won’t struggle currently, so the contacts aren’t essential (I didn’t go back to my placement for full time graduate job, they offered but I took something else), but it’s good to build them up anyway, as the world of work quickly appears to me, very incestuous. Everyone knows a lot of people all over the place, which is where your personality comes into it, building up a good reputation.

I agree, looking at the seat movement, the people movement, out of time/severity with the perceived motion and the gaps, and also full screen there’s a bit of aliasing around the edges of the car rear windows that is out of place. A well done video with a couple of real shots in (from pavement view), but the overlaid looks like a moped/bike video I reckon.

How do you make your living? Engineer in the fastest paced industry there is (probably).

Are you happy doing it? Yes.

Would you considering a change of career? I will do in the future at some point, but I’m still ‘fresh’ out of uni, learning so much, and have real responsibility and excitement at work. The hours (whatever it takes to do the job properly) don’t leave time for much else, so I can see that being the push factor towards another industry, but not for a while yet.

Does it pay enough for you to mtb comfortably? Yes, but as above, not enough time to mtb properly, and cars are starting to become a big part in my life again, which reduces available time further.

Favourite bike for it’s durability, comfort and handling. Picture just after I bought it, changed a bit since then, but haven’t got any more recent pics! Never liked the paint job though so I’m going to strip it and get it coated.

Commuter, again really comfortable and nicely made frame. Plus it’s in my favourite colour!

Appears to be an offer above but feel free to email me the details I’ll give you a specification. You need to know the ID (shaft ) and OD, assuming it is a piston style seal rather than plate and bore seal. Also fluid medium (to ensure comparability, for example dot fluids eat normal seals) and working pressure (guesstimate will do).

True Ginger Beer Plant

I’m sure MTG you know you are after this, but for those who read this thread, the above is the correct proper ginger beer culture required for true ginger beer. I’ve made the normal kind – ginger, yeast, sugar etc, will try the proper stuff this summer.

14 miles long way home, took 2 hours, with snow drifts up to the axles at some points!

Best commute ever! Oxfordshire mud frozen solid for a change. You can call me SS icebreaker after the frozen puddles I ploughed through :-)

Here’s the four hour body:
here

and here’s the diet
here
not sure if it works (edit: the link! not the diet – I’ve been on it and saw positive results)

4 hour body is a bit tedious but interesting, and i believe idave provided a little advice to the author. Read it with a pinch of salt and if your interested then look into it with proper published journals to back up what’s said. It’s not proper science, but I admire the chaps’ supposed empirical approach.

If anyone wants me to remove the links feel free to contact me, just trying to help those who’ve asked for it.

My current list of things to make/do, you might find something interesting:

Workbench
Refurbish a record vice
Bacon Jam
Ketchup
Pesto
Salted Pretzels (german style)
Fix Car panels (learn to weld again)
Kitchen utensil hanger rail
Shoe rack
Ductape Wallet
Wine Bottle shelf [/url]
Arduino Daft punk table [/url]
lawnmower racer
Kit Car (got an mx5 until I can afford to build what I want)
Refurb a kayak (fibreglass)
Pedal go kart
Balloon to go to space and video it
RC car
Plan lejog off road route
plan european road trip (actually doing this one soon!!!)
Biltong maker
Respray bike frame (by myself, design done)
Homebrew – put another brew on

I asked for one for Xmas and got an imperio proper one. Broke the cheapo one I had before so it was a considered choice and worth the expense. Plus food is one of my main hobbies, and cooking is how I relax in an evening. fresh pasta tastes amazing!

Can you guess how old I am today?

First ride in a while, clagfest central!!!

Just as an addition, the Porlex is pretty quiet, only emits the sound of the beans being crunched. Would be fine in a family home, unless you grind your beans in bed, then it may wake someone.

I’ve had a Porlex for over a year now and it’s great. Good quality and adjustable grind, easily grinds enough for my 2 cup Bialetti. I don’t drink more than one cup a day of proper coffee, and I reckon going above that volume an electric burr grinder would more likely fit the bill. For counter space and low noise it cannot be beaten. Plus it’s significantly cheaper so if you’re just getting into it then an excellent starting point.

I’m in Didcot and would appreciate being shown any areas around here at some point. All I’ve managed to explore so far is the ridgeway between didcot and wantage, and it’s not been great… Big claggy clag-fests is all I’ve found.

I went this summer in a 1998 fiat punto 60sx. 60hp when new. it wasn’t new.

Coming back from an event at Hockenheim, thought it would be rude not to. Without doubt the most intimidating driving experience ever. The comment about tuned golfs is very true, loads of cars passing you at very high closing speeds (me doing 70mph, others a wing mirror distance away at 140mph+). There was a crash on the 1 lap I did, was enough to put me off doing another.

It was absolutely nothing like the games that I’d played to death: elevation, grip level, bumps, kerbs, visibility, traffic etc. There were a couple of corners where it was so wide I could have some ‘fun’ at slow speed with low grip, but a faster car would have been so much safe, counter-intuitively.

I did it for the experience and it was brilliant, exciting and still makes me giggle that a fiat punto 1.2 went round 2 up with luggage. Just go with your sensible head on, and be aware that you could be held liable for upwards of £10,000 of damage.

Peel then Cut into thin wedges. Chuck in oven dish, cover with olive oil by shaking about, then loads of curry powder and roast for about 40 minutes. Par boil for 3 minutes before roasting if you are in a rush.

Could not recommend autoaid enough. It’s you the policy covers, no particular car. You can be a passenger in your mates car and your covered!

I’ve successfully used it 4 or 5 times now, claimed the money back each time and got it within 2 weeks. Only downside is your down cash during that period, but it cost so much less that that’s not really a problem.

Tbh, I don’t know how they make money with it!

I recommended (and still do) this one, although STW forumers didn’t seem to like it, probably because it’s only £7.50!.

Does the job for me, sprays off most kack, if I want a thorough clean I wouldn’t use a higher powered jet washer anyway, I’d do it by hand.

Wilkinsons weed killer sprayer

I bought this one – tis great, although not the answer to the q you asked.

Here (this model, not this particular supplier etc)

12.2 miles on national cycle network ‘roads’
10.5 miles with a bit of off road (summer route only as I found oxfordshire mud broke my mudguards today!)
10 miles by car. Cycle in about 2 days a week currently, going to up it.

Started a new job just over a month ago, doing what was a passion/interest of mine. It still is and now I get to see the professional and business side of things, all the tech insights, and the work that goes on behind and into what makes my hobby/interest what it is.

I can see why it could become a conflict, but as long as you’re learning, are passionate and interested, I don’t see how it could? Same as any job I’d imagine as said above, if the people/activity is painful, it doesn’t matter what the topic is!

I appreciate drivers may not enjoy being flashed by a helmet light, but often it prompts a cautious reaction rather than racing out in front of a cyclist (me!), and I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’d rather be flashed to attract my attention than pull out unwittingly in front of a dimly lit person.

It’s a tactic I use only at junctions where I have priority ( cars approaching me from side roads), and if a driver (including myself) decides to pull out whilst dazzled and not with full visibility, causing an accident, then it’s clearly their fault!

I know it’s august, but I’m working silly hours in a new job, and a couple of times I’ve been driving home and come up against a cyclist who wasn’t lit up properly and so more difficult to see than they could have been. My plan is to commute as soon as I pick up my new bike tomorrow, so I want to get set up soon as with good visibility, and ready for the dark nights or late working!

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I love the revo light, may even try making my own! Keep em coming!

On a side note, Oxfordshire is amazing for cycling in! Almost all drivers I’ve seen have been courteous around cyclists, overtaking with loads of space and allowing plenty of room, a huge improvement on Uxbridge (my former abode). Gives me enough confidence to cycle in the dark, just want to make myself stand out.

Ha, I could have written this post, I won a Day 01 on ebay last night, picking it up tomorrow! Looking to commuter it up and maybe tour in the future. Will be reading with interest the responses!

If the above photo’s aren’t enough,

bike was locked to the car through the door handles with a d lock and cable lock, so neither door could be opened. The locks were brightly coloured and visible, the bike was low down on the back seats (not visible unless next to the car), and covered with a cloth, only a handlebar and pedal maybe poking through.

The thieves came at night so probably didn’t look properly, just saw the bike and thought they’d have a go. They didn’t get my bike, but obviously there was the hassle of fixing it, and my million pound punto has now depreciated significantly due to the damage.

To those who said lock it to the car inside (mine was locked through both door handles so the doors couldn’t be opened!)

So the result was armour plating much to the amusement of my mates.

Still on there 1 year later, pretty happy with it. Got the replacement glass but haven’t bothered to put it back in!

there are biltong makers on ebay but for £30+! like this one

Pretty simple, and I have access to a laser cutter so I’m going to knock one up after moving house. I’m sure you could make one using a plastic box from wilko, a pc fan and light bulb for under £15.

With the same box, you could make other cured meats and sausages and all sorts!

MSE Parking Charge ‘Snap’

The link above has all the letters from parking companies and the following ‘debt collection agencies’.

I like to play ‘snap’ when I get them, and as mentioned above the same signature is used by different companies with different names – clearly falsified documents.