buying running shoes is best done in a runners shop where they have a good range of different makes in lots of sizes. The good places have treadmills so you can try them out. There’s a lot of bullshit in running shoe marketing but the right pair will feel comfortable and fast. I recommend trying them on late in the day when your feet are bigger. I didn’t do this, put them on to run that evening and realized my big toe now hit the end.

Another recommendation for those who like Banks (with or without the M) is The City and The City by China Mieville. I don’t like the rest of his stuff but that one is brilliant

now run the speedtest recommended by Stoner
Down: 2.95
Up: 0.10
Ping: 53.38

Upload and ping were slightly better when I tried again but not by much

New filter is the next step. And I will go hunting the other threads for tips.

Any other recommendations for ISPs while we’re here? BT are the easy option, and I’ll be happier if I can avoid giving my money to the dirty digger.

I can reach the master enough to change the plug so done the test using the master. A quiet line test using the master socket comes up pretty quiet so looks like that is probably OK

re-running the test with the phone plugged into the ADSL filter gives a whole lot of crackly noises. New filter needed? Or is that to be expected?

Not that horrific was it

the master socket is behind a bookshelf containg several hundred LPs :(

the router is plugged into the master socket already so it’s not internal extension wiring but I will try a quiet line test…

another vote for spesh nimbus here. I can remember two flat tyres. One was a broken bottle that went in one sidewall and out the other. The second was when the sidewall of the rim blew out so not strictly a puncture anyway.

not tried beeswax but other waxy type proofers were absorbed better in the warmth. I’ve even resorted to turning a hairdryer on them. EDIT: my boots that is

Not sure I want to know about thegreatape’s castanets

once was enough. the manics cancelled (Ritchey had carved 4 REAL into his arm), failed to get the Nirvana tickets, same for Henry Rollins. It was Carter I did get to :cry:

i hope they’re everything you want

didn’t crash as it was up hill, did wind up puking in the ditch after I finished :-(

it’s currently ankle deep in mud so I reckon the KOM is mine at least until it dries out again

Terry Pratchett isn’t to everyone’s taste. Some of it I like but it can be a bit not half as funny as it thinks it is. Not liking discworld doesn’t mean you don’t like other sci-fi. Also doesn’t guarantee you do like it but there could be something you get into. I’m a big fan of Alastair Reynolds’ stuff.

never been in the slightest bit interested in Sci-fi in the past – a 10 page dip into a discworld novel put me off the whole genre for life.

but discworld is not sci-fi :?

Surface Detail isn’t one of my favourites. Much preferred The Hydrogen Sonata.

another happy and tired here. The washing machine has been loaded but bike cleaning will have to wait until the morning after I prioritized watching the rugby (aka a bit of a lie-down in front of the tv).

I will also try to organize something in my neck of the woods if it ever dries out

I will hopefully turn up. I went somewhere quiet the day of the last pootle (30 something the time before was enough) but if the bike is working and I can get out of bed on time…

another vote here for drops/jumps in increasing sizes. It helps to avoid the situation where everything is either “easy peasy” or “I’m not trying that”

it may not make me more manly but the pulled pork sandwich I had at lunch today was bloody lovely

A question for the driving gods: are you saying I should be the stopping distance behind the vehicle in front of me? i.e. leaving a 100m gap behind the vehicle in front if I’m doing 70?

If that’s true, then those chevrons dangerously underestimate the gaps we should all be leaving, and we need to make every motorway 20 lanes wide to fit all the traffic on.

linky

my arse may have been female and lycra clad but it’s not *that* shapely!

40 minutes since posting and no offers to be the judge of that? standards are slipping round here…

slow cooked chuck with roast spuds.
and just finished spotted dick and custard.

shall we assume today is cheat day or are you no longer following the one true path to weightloss?

Cod curry. It’ll be very nice but I’m feeling envious of the various varieties of stew. Living with a veggie piscatorian can be frustrating at mealtimes.

you’re not the only one it’s happened too. I was in full strava mode, turning myself inside out to beat my best time, and some unnecessarily chirpy bloke accelerated past putting in no effort at all. I’m used to being passed, it happens often enough, but he could at least have the decency to do it under his own steam or look like he was trying

there’s a lot of sheffield people on here, though you may find them to be a lot of fat, old mincers (that could just be me). where are you based?

going back a few posts to my exchange with peterfile…

I was never a bold leader, my best climbing (technically speaking) was on boulder problems with a mat underneath, and I wasn’t especially good then… But from experience of my climbing (and climbing with some very good people) if you want to improve your leading then leading lower grades with the gf on second won’t help (YMMV). Getting confidence in your placements will help a lot as will lots of mileage. And if you have the chance to solo lots of easy routes it will improve your head for making moves you know are easy even if the consequences of failure are bad. I had a bad habit of faffing about, placing more and more gear until I got pumped and had to rest. Mileage on easy routes and easy soloing helped to get in the habit of keeping moving. A dozen diffs & VDiffs after work on a Friday is an amazing way to clear your head of work before the w/e (obviously this is more difficult if you don’t live on the edge of the peak).

I’m now wanting to get back to it if I can find the time…

I can second up pretty much anything my buddies are willing to lead, so up to about E3/4. But can only lead HS.

if you’re genuinely seconding E3/4 and not being dragged up on a tight rope then you’re pretty competent and HS should feel very easy. I was always a wuss when leading but that’s a big gap! Are you taking a “leader must not fall” attitude? Getting used to the occasional lob can be quite liberating (so long as your gear placements are solid)

it’ll soon turn around once I’m spending my evenings elbow deep in sheep.

one of the best lines i’ve read in a while :lol:

Does any such person exist as a lot of people on here claim most drivers to be like this but I’ve never witnessed such people.

Absolutely not “most drivers”. Most are good people,a few are simply careless. Only a very very very small minority are culpable but it only takes one. I’ve had enough incidents to know they exist.

I got run into from behind while stood waiting at a red traffic light. The driver then drove parallel-ish to me swerving around the road shouting abuse out of the window. Or the guy who did half an overtake, cut in on me, then skidded to a halt and wanted a fight in the middle of the road because I’d touched his car. His missus had to do the whole “he’s not worth it” thing before he’d back off. There are nutters out there and some of them think me being on a bike (or god forbid, wearing lycra) justifies their actions.

i got an email from the mailroom telling me there was some “swimwear” for me. The email definitely implied i was some sort of perv. It was 3/4 bibs so they were probably right :(

all depends whether it was some horrible accident (e.g. if there had been a car coming the other way when the rider in front of me decided to pull out from behind a bus onto the other side of the road with no visibility) or one of the “he doesn’t pay road tax so it’s OK to run him down” types. if it’s the first, it could have been any one of us, if it’s the second he/she is a murderer, never mind what happened legally

if you’re “starting to commute” and looking at 38 miles a day I’d be making plans for alternate days and the like (you might be more fit and less fat than me).

Cooling down *before* getting into work clothes is good advice. I usually log on and clear overnight emails before changing and starting the day for real.

The other bit of essential advice (poss not relevant if you’re taking a full week of clothes at once) is the emergency undercrackers left in a drawer at work for the day when you realize your rucksack contains trousers and shirt but no kecks. Commando or chamois is a poor choice.

minimise bike cleaning/ maintenance time.

try just not cleaning / maintaining the bike? works for me…

NZCol +1

though actually I’m happy if I wake up needing a slash at 3 because then it means I won’t wake up needing one at 6 when it’s too late to go back to sleep

I guess that means I really am a weak bladdered old fart :(

when female news readers become attractive

depends on the newsreader, I’m surely not getting on a bit just because I’d happily spend all day watching this newsreader even if I can’t speak the language

B******S. Why should anyone yield to someone breaking the law?

so are you one of the self-appointed vigilantes who drives in the overtaking lane parallel with the car inside at exactly 1 mph under the limit and refuses to either speed up and complete the overtake or get the **** out of the way?
[/audi mode]

Yep, down from the Owler Bar to Baslow road below Big Moor heading towards the bottom of Horsleygate. I never rode up it, always used it as a route back home, but it would have made a good challenge in the other direction.

it’s been done in the last week or 2 so the rain should get to it but the list of flattened trails seems to get longer by the week :-(

I feel like I should run a public service by announcing the days I will take the bike. I always decide the night before and it always pisses down :-(

Shoes, gloves, trousers, pants etc are currently steaming on radiators

thanks for posting the link. I know some of those trails but now have some more ideas for a day out when it stops raining :-)

I’ve a colleague who works in Leiden though not sure where she lives. Seemed like a nice place to live albeit not if you want a big city feel. There’s lots of riding if you like canal-side flat cyclepaths with crosswinds. not sure there’s anything interesting to ride

EDIT: and anyway, the only reason for not riding a Dutch sit-up-and-beg bike is that you’re riding one of those things with a huge box on the front full of children, shopping, and perhaps a dog

Seeing her talking with her own accent was a bit of a shocker…

I wish i’d not seen that interview. My fantasies are ruined :cry:

EDIT: I may have to resort to watching the previous work of this lady :twisted: