Cut out the middle man and buy direct from China. Winspace Hypers or Elite Drives if you want to buy “off the shelf”. Light Bicycle or Farsports if you want to spec your own.

So did you actually want bib tights then, not shorts?

Fizik x5 Terra are fairly “road” looking.

Lusso are another one worth checking out. Nice quality and decent leg length.

The Chapeau are decent. Probably wouldn’t pay full price but recommended when on sale. Quality is similar level to Pactimo Ascent Vectors. Decent for rides up to 50-60 miles.

Pactimo Summit Raptors (my faves) are a step up, done my longest rides in them. Enjoying the Albion too, extremely comfortable.

If you mean ones that fit long in the leg, I’d suggest any of the Pactimo ones that have a long leg option, Albion and the Chapeau Club ones. All work for me at 6’4″ in size medium.

Will you be able to check in to hotels that early?

I’m having good success with the Argon Skytec ones that are £6.99 on Amazon.

Always seemed like a genuinely good bloke.

Yep, carbon forks

Got one built up before Christmas. Very pleased so far.

Set up is Ultegra Mechanical, shallow carbon wheels and PDW guards. Not feeling like I’m being held back by the half kilo or so weight penalty over the carbon bike it replaced.

Lovely bike to look at too IMO – I went for the Iridescent Plum colour.

Into the home straight boys and girls…

Post January I’m thinking of trying to follow a “rule of threes”, I.e. maximum of 3 drinks, 3 days a week. That way I’ll be having at least 4 days a week dry and will hopefully avoid that “one too many” feeling.

Melted cheddar and Branston

Farsports are also recommended. Not sure how the price compares with LB. 

Spokesman Wheels build with Carbonal and he’s well thought of so would think the quality must be good. 

Ordered a set of those Skytec. Got to be worth a punt at £6.99 delivered.

18 days in and annoyingly I seem to be gaining weight!

Torsion of the testicle. The pain came on slowly, quite dull at first. But then it got worse and worse and worse…

Stilton on crackers with mango chutney this afternoon was most agreeable. 

Downfall

My parents did St Malo to Nice and spoke highly of the route. They only booked accommodation for the first night in advance and then relied on tourist information places to book each day. They stayed in some lovely places too.

My new Strael is 9.9kg in a size 61 – that’s with Ultegra mechanical, PDW guards and includes pedals, cages and mounts.

The standout for me from various tasting menus over the years was Kenny Atkinson’s mackerel dish that he got to the banquet on Great British Menu. The fish was cooked in a crispy tube made from some rolled out bread, served with several gooseberry elements. Just a superbly tasty and balanced dish. 

Drinks wise, a couple of wines stand out, an awesome Barolo at the Raby Hunt and an Amarone enjoyed with roast lamb in Verona.  

A bottle of Turntable whisky Bittersweet Symphony. An excellent blend including Craigellachie and Blair Athol. Very rich and plenty of Christmas flavours. Recommended. 

Any reason to discount the new Giant Defy?

Drain Reaction

Mumsnet?

Spent a fair bit of time with the many Oakenfold mixes on YouTube (memories of formative years at Cream) and have settled on this as the best. 

Worthy winner. Had wondered if Kasae might be the dark horse but her dishes were nowhere near the same level on presentation.

Sasha Maida Vale (2005?)

Definitely garage. Get a remote control fan or remote plug socket for the fan. Start off with a jacket on (on coldest days I’ve even started with a down jacket and gloves) and after 5 mins you’ll be stripping it off and reaching for the fan remote.

Santoku is just a style/shape of knife,not a brand as far as I’m aware. Think it means “3 virtues” – I.e. Good for meat, fish and veg chopping.

I tend to wear Woolie Boolies in winter which add at least have a size I reckon. 

Au revoir!

Winter boots. Get a good deal on a pair and they probably save you money in the long run when they last as long as 3 or 4 pairs of overshoes.

Bladnoch Whisky

The Maclean’s Nose blend is excellent. From the people behind the brilliant Ardnamurchan distillery. Available around 30 quid. Only lightly peated though.

Noticed Ledaig 10 is currently about 36 quid on Amazon. Very good stuff.

Charles T have annoying removed some of their options recently. For the last lot I bought I had to go up half and inch on the collar size to get the sleeve length I need. They also seem to have removed the super slim fit option. They are decent shirts but I’m not convinced the quality is amazing – all mine seem to develop little holes on the sleeves after a while.

I’ve got Fizik X5 Terra which are nice. Fairly narrow fitting.

For properly wet conditions neoprene ones are the way to go. Your hands are damp inside them but they stay warm