For me at 6’4″ a large 905 that I tried would have been plainly too small – felt like my knees were going to hit the handlebars.

https://www.peteblandsports.co.uk/buy/asics-mens-frequent-trail_7614.htm

Another option.

^ Exactly this.

I’m doing this event in April but treating it as an opportunity for a nice long weekend with the wife. It was rather easier to sell to her than my other option which was a wet weekend in Northern Europe for one of the cobbled classic sportives.

Flights and accommodation were pretty reasonable and the event entry itself wasn’t too bad bearing in mind it is a very long ride on closed roads and you get a jersey included.

As far as I’m aware the event is fully sold out this year though.

Butcher,

The 25% is a one off bonus paid by the government on any money you invest. So if you put in the maximum of 4k per annum, you get a bonus that year so it is topped up to 5k.

That is quite separate to the interest you receive. You can have a cash LISA or a stocks/shares one. You’ll get paid your tax free interest each year just as normal. That is paid on your full balance (ie your initial investment plus the top up).

Are you of the appropriate age to get a lifetime ISA? Bit of a no brainer really if you accept that you can’t touch the money until retirement. 25% bonus paid more or less straight away on everything you invest to a maximum of 4k per year until you’re 50.

I claimed for damage caused to my bike after hitting a submerged pothole.

Total claim was about £130 to cover a replacement rim, blown inner tube and the labour costs for my LBS sorting out the wheel.

Sent a detailed letter to the council setting out the circumstances of the accident and including a map of the location and photos of the pothole including measurements. Paid in full by Durham County Council without argument.

Henckels/Zwilling are excellent and deals can be found if you shop around, e.g.
https://www.hartsofstur.com/henckels-four-star-3-piece-sale-set-35168-100.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlq70xvjT3wIVR7DtCh1WFAbmEAQYByABEgJMbfD_BwE

Three Kings got to be worth a mention.

Allendale Wolf.

Is it something to do with the Eiger?

The Fred Whitton is the classic road sportive. Not mega hard but still a tough day on the bike and an amazing event.
Entries open next month and you have a better chance of getting a place if you’ve never done it before.

Have you made sure the seat post clamp isn’t done up too tight?

FWIW the Kore dropper on my Clockwork is pretty stiff but it has loosened up a bit over time.

I believe that DCR’s own branded hubs are based on Bitex. Mine have been excellent in 4 years of (summer) use.

Worth keeping an eye on Amazon for decent deals on scotch. They have a good selection and always a few reductions.

I guess if you order today it should arrive on time, especially if you have prime.

A quick look reveals they have an Aberlour 10 for £20.40 today, Auchentoshan for £19.95 and Tamnavulin for £18.00.

2 years of filming and it appeared they’d never managed to capture that tiger actually making a kill. The near misses were pretty spectacular though!

Tigers last night. Some stunning footage but possibly the weakest episode in terms of the depiction of the story.
An inevitable consequence I suppose of the sheer difficulty of finding and filming the animals, which was addressed in the “On Location” section at the end.

Sportful Giara.

I’ve had decent results in the past from the plans in the book Run Less, Run Faster. They are based on three sessions a week, one of intervals, one tempo and one long steady run.

I use Mountain Equipment Ibex pants. Cheap, stretchy, accommodate knee pads. Pockets have their zips in a daft place for MTB but otherwise great

I love Mountain Equipment gear but sadly their trousers are no good for the taller among us, as their “long” leg fitting is a measly 33 inches.

The Quarter Cask is £26.90 on Amazon at present which I reckon is pretty good value.

If you want tubeless you need to look for the “2Bliss” version of those Specialized tyres.

Edit: beat me to it!

Galibier Barrier winter gloves.

When it’s really cold though I prefer lobster style gloves but they do take a bit of getting used to.

I was a big fan of the Hal and Roger Willard Price books as a child.

Not quite sure how they would play out now – the main premise as I recall was Hal and Roger going to various locations to catch as many wild animals as possible to take back to the zoo!

Regarding maintenance, I have the Zinn book but to be honest the videos on YouTube (GCN or similar) are much better. Far easier to actually see someone doing the job in question and talking you through it.

DCR hubs

DCR’s own hubs are also based on Bitex AFAIK, so you can get different colours if that matters to you. They also have “UK weather treatment” whatever that is!

Bitex RAF12 or RAR12 light weight bicycle road hubs front or rear

Extra 10% off with the code on site if you order today.

Go for the newer UST Open Pros, not the old style ones.

Wiggle and CRC had them for 40 each recently. Sigma Sports seem to have them in stock for 42 quid each.

Bitex are a similar level to Novatec, probably slightly better IMO. Spot on for a light, economical hub for summer use.

The Mavic Open Pro UST rims are pretty light and available for a good price at present.

If the wheels are for summer use then Bitex hubs will do you nicely, pretty reliable and very light for the money.

Maybe 24/28 with D-lights or CX-rays if you want to splash out.

Should come out at 1400g or thereabouts.

Calibre.

https://www.cyclesurgery.com/p/gore-bikewear-men-s-phantom-2-0-windstopper-soft-shell-jacket-N1134131.html?colour=3651

Phantom jackets for £60 in small and medium (an extra 20% is knocked off when you put it in the basket)

Good stuff. Been really pleased with mine so far.

https://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/orange-clockwork-129-s-hardtail-mtb-bike-2018?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInomP77rs3gIV6b3tCh0JRQjGEAMYASAAEgJthfD_BwE

Large in stock here.

https://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?product_id=6820&8421=40345&9048=43386&8681=41576

Here you go then. Orange with less travel, 29 inch wheels. Extra 10% off with the code. Just hope it’s your size…

Gore Phantom jacket (the one with the zip off sleeves) and tailor the base layer to the conditions.

Orange Clockwork 129S here, reach…483.

48

Another one in Durham here.

The city itself is nice enough and the location is fantastic. The Durham Dales provide arguably the best road cycling in the country and we’re 30 minutes from Hamsterley.

Loads of lovely areas within striking distance, Northumberland, N York moors, Lakes etc. The Durham coastline itself is pretty nice if you avoid the towns!

Being brought up in the Lakes though I will always hanker after being back there even though it wouldn’t be practical for us to live there at the moment.

Can you set up polls on here?

Now that this thing appears to be into its death throes it would be interesting to know how many are in each camp.

I would predict 2/3 to 1/3 in favour of 1/3!

It would also be interesting to know how many minds were changed one way or the other during the course of it.

Language which invites treating as individuals validates the 50% answer as legitimate.

The 1/3 ers which suggest naming the dogs or using individual identifiers are actually undermining their own position.

Only if you know which individual is male. Which you don’t.

TIME FOR EXPERIMENTATION!!!

Take 2 coins (“two Beagle puppies”)

Tails is male, heads is female.

Toss both coins say 100 times, recording your results each time.

Strike out all results where you get 2 heads/females (“asks her if there’s at least one boy. She says yes”)

Work out the proportion of double tails/males versus the mixed results (heads/tails or tails/heads)

“What is the chance there are two boys?” – you have your answer.