Will I have one of those pumps as a spare and think it's rather poor! Paid £3 I think so don't really mind but would never have it as my only pump.

I think it's a bit harsh to call Amway a pyramid scheme even if there is a pyramid in there…! At the end of the day it does rely on real sales to real people so does work for many – doesn't work for many more I'm sure! I did go to a presentation about it and found it interesting – not because I wanted to join in but because it's such a huge thing. Overall very much feels like some sort of a cult – e.g. if your friends don't support you they're not real friends.

The woman who made the mistake is gonna get into trouble – help her out….

A mate told a bank about a mistake they made in his favour and he got a case of wine!

Lance seems pretty fond of him….

My MSc (IT for Manufacture at Warwick Uni) was a bit odd really. We did 12 subjects, each one done in a week 9am to 6pm, then there were 12 weeks in which to do an assignment for that subject which was supposed to take 40 hours to do. Finally we had a project worth 1/2 the course which was supposed to take 24 weeks to do. On top of that were a couple of weeks of other things which we were supposed to attend so this came to 50 weeks for a 1 year course which is fine really but not a lot of time for holidays….

Got a nice grant from some sort of government body to pay for it all – EPSRC?

Jacko was never convicted of any offence though right?

Is there still a recommended parental contribution for better off parents? One year my Dad was 'supposed' to give me a few hundred but I said I didn't need it – I seem to remember later saying that actually it would be useful but he said I'd made my decision! A bit harsh perhaps but I managed my money well and have been pretty good with money ever since – I do wonder if I could have had more of a laugh though If I'd been willing to go into debt!

I fitted a normal granny using some spacers and is fine; 44t chainrings are fine too though I had to take a fraction off the inside of the arms on mine using a dremmel.

stealthcat – my parents would have made me pay them back I'm sure! Not that I'd have done it as would have felt like I was stealing from my parents. People really can vary a lot at 18 – I was boringly sensible I suppose. I worked out what I needed to spend on accommodation and food then could see what I had spare for drink and CDs – no drugs for me…!

My time at Uni included the end of full grants and the introduction of loans. I got by fine without working in term time though worked as much as possible in the holidays. I thought students are supposed to be too poor these days to drink too much and do drugs?! Suppose nothing changes….

if you are a reasonably fit MTB'r allow 3 hours or so.

Well I think I'm classed as 'a reasonably fit MTB'r' and I'd be happy with closer to 4 hours! The stats of that route are similar to one I do quite regularly though I suppose if you can ride on someone's wheel a lot that'll help keep the pace up.

Well Shawshank is rated no.1 in IMDB and The Green Mile no.111 – so both considered good films by the common person…. Those on here that saw Shawshank is rubbish have suspect ideas about what films should be IMO…!

That’s interesting – so are you saying that there are codes that reduce the 40% band?

I think staying with my company’s scheme has got to be the best option as it seems to be that it has all the advantages of a private SIPP along with the salary sacrifice benefits though they might be small. H-L’s annual charges are definitely lower so probably worth transfering it over at some point.

Well the NHS just put my arm in a sling and told me to rest it. After a few weeks I started physio at the local hospital to restore range of motion. Not sure there are other options other than having an operating to get it pinned but may have to go private for that.

epicyclo – the pension options I mention are invested by myself just in a pension wrapper; I suggest you might want to investigate as sounds like you want to do the same sort of thing:

http://www.h-l.co.uk/pensions/SIPP

My company’s scheme is with Scottish Widows and I choose my own funds so is the same on that front as the H-L SIPP. I have a feeling, but need to check, that the Scottish Widows’ scheme has a 1% annual charge whereas the H-L SIPP has none – I assume they both keep the annual commissions from the funds.

I do need to see how much (if any) of my employer’s NI gets added to the pension. Another consideration is that as a 40% tax payer I’d have to wait to get the higher rate of tax back from the taxman if using the SIPP whereas this tax obviously goes straight into my employer’s scheme.

Most of what I know comes from my gym rat days but maybe my assumption that most know taking fat soluble vitamins in excess could cause problems is wrong.

And simonfbarnes – no that man is not for real! I’ve met Dorian Yates though:

gonefishin – do you know anything about this? I’m unsure from your response. I think most know that fat soluble vitamins shouldn’t be taken in excessive quantities?

Your response to my comment about athletes taking supplements is a bit odd – if they’re eating more calories then hopefully they’re doing it in a balanced diet sort of a way so are taking in increased vitamins through their diet. But maybe they still need to supplement as the demands placed on them require an over supply of vitamins – or at least some of them? Or maybe they’re wasting their money? I did of course end by saying that IMO there’s little benefit to most of us so your comparison between the calorific needs of sportsmen and average people is a rather pointless.

There is belief by some that large quantities of antioxidant vitamins can be beneficial. Does Vitamin C help with protecting or recovering from colds? Some participating in demanding events, such as the TdF, take vitamin supplements.

For the majority of us I’m sure there’s little benefit but I take a multi vitamin/mineral supplement sometimes.

Wasn’t it Lance’s usual thing for others in his team to ride TTs before him so that they could give him feedback? I think yesterday he was the 1st rider from Astana so maybe this means he feels to prove himself before he can get the others to ride for him?

Or into gold….

The average person really is rather clueless about money – a statement such as rent is wasted money is just wrong; it’s a waste only in the sense that paying interest is a waste, which some people do appreciate. However less people appreciate that there’s an opportunity cost associated with owning a house; instead of owning the house the money could be invested elsewhere and give a return. If someone who has the cash to buy a house decides to rent then they could well cover their rent with the income from their capital – of course the income depends on the risk level taken. So anyone who has been renting since the time that house prices started to fall has not lost money in the way a home owner has but if that person has rented for a lot longer then they may have not made the returns that they would have made if they’d owned a house – but, if you understand what I am saying, you will see that they may have – unlikely though.

So if your house is worth less now than it was at some point in the past then yes you have lost money as your overall wealth has depreciated. But that isn’t necessarily a concern as if you’re not going to sell then no problem. Of course the renter may be able to afford a relatively more expensive house now than before. Be aware though that not owning a house is more of a gamble than owning one assuming that house ownership or rental costs are a significant part of you overall costs. Once you buy a house your total assets value moves up and down with the market but if you don’t then you may find house prices go out of reach – of course if you get it right then you beat the market and can later buy a house better than you could have afforded earlier.

So to conclude(!) my opinion is that house ownership is the least risky approach so buy when you find something that suits you and you’re happy with and don’t worry about how it’s value might change over time – if you buy something as you think it might be a good investment but don’t really like it you may regret it if prices fall.

As for me? I bought in ’96 and have moved twice and am now in the house I hope I’ll be happy with for decades to come with no mortgage.

On my recent mini-tour in France:

Thomthumb – that makes sense then!

FWIW I was a bit of a gym rat for a good decade and completely transformed my body but obviously(?) all that extra weight would be a big negative for cycling. These days I figure cycling is the best training for my legs and my upper body is best left alone however I do still push weights in the winter months. But then I have a reasonable level of all around body strength so don’t know if someone much weaker would benefit from specific weight training or not – mtbing tends to give you some upper body exercise though.

If you are doing low rep high weigh this will bulk you up – but this is slow twitch muscle fibre – which is not a great deal of use on the bike.

Well that’s a curious comment…slow twitch fibres are exactly want you want on long road rides!

What is the meat like, is it free range etc, or intensively farmed?

Well Lidl have free-range chicken – I buy them sometimes but my wife doesn’t like the pork as has a curious flavour for some reason.

I like their ‘sort of’ Parma ham, their cheeses and their yoghurts but get all sorts of stuff from their as it’s all good. I tend to do the shopping on the way home from work and like Lidl’s small stores with less choice as quickish to get around. I tend to do smaller shops and visit Tescos and Sainsbury’s on other trips as like different things from different stores.

I recently put a compact chainset on and find the jump between the rings a bit big however I do appreciate the smaller ratio on the 21% climb on my regular loop.

Also, will the rear mech hanger be long enough for such a big sprocket?

Willie the Pimp – FZ; it’s my ring tone!

Suprised no-one has mentioned “Under the Bridge” by the Chilli Peppers

Er, that’s Chili….

Under Pressure by Queen.

The Subways – utter shite, never seen such pap in all my life, only reaction from the crowd was the massive cheer when they announced this is our last song

I saw AC/DC in ’88 with Dokken supporting who are pretty good really but the crowd mostly seemed uninterested and just wanted them to finish to let the proper band come on….

I’ve always been happy with mine until I took my Inbred to France for some touring. Many hours in the saddle resulted in a sore botty; saddle was new though which might not have helped.

you either believe it or you don’t. at the end of the day, its sub 25lb as per the requirement of this thread, curious seat angle also known as “perspective” is actually almost flat

Well I was hoping for a bit of justification as I can’t see anything on your bike being lighter than on mine except the tyres and possibly the fork as I can’t see what that is. Obviously if my scales turn out to be inaccurate, and my bike actually lighter than I think, then that’s great! BTW, the saddle looks wrong compared to the window sill so thought I’d taken any possible perspective issues into account.

How does that On-one weigh 22.5lbs pinches? I’m suspicious…. BTW you have a curious saddle angle!

Just been building this up today – weighed in at 23.4lbs without bottle cages; tyres are well over 600g each so could save a bit there. BTW, the zip-ties are helping the chain protector stick properly….

Maggie made Britain great again.

Hmmm…I wonder how Britain in ’89 compared to Britain in ’79? Also ’99 and ’09. Makes me think that does….

Reading French Revolutions earlier this year made me want to go touring which I did a few weeks ago. Would love to do a TdF route and wonder what year’s one would be the best to do – one that is as close to a continuous loop as possible I suppose.

The Kimmage book is very good too and think it’s good he continuous to do what he does.

Death of Pantani is another good one.

My wife’s Chinese and now has a permanent residency thing – which included doing the test – but not citizenship. This is a pain as has to get visas to go to countries in the EU – don’t really understand that as we’re in the EU right?! – but if she does get a UK passport she won’t be able to stay a Chinese citizen which I think is a bit rough really as presumably would have to get a visa to visit her own family. Dual citizenship seems the right approach to situations like this IMO.

It’s frustrating to have received no support for 12 months and then be told it’s my fault.

Hijack…

My wife has just lost her job that she’s had for a year due to her boss saying she didn’t do her job well enough. Trouble is he didn’t have the knowledge to support her and told her not to get help from another manager who could have helped seemingly as he didn’t want to lose face. When he decided my wife’s under performance reflected badly on him he arranged a meeting with HR as a 1st step to get her out; in the end it seems they decided that my wife wasn’t really to blame and suggested she take 3 months salary (tax free for some reason) and leave as they didn’t think it was a good idea for her to carry on working for her boss. Seems a bit unfair to me as she essentially got forced out.

ACAS aren’t a TU!

(ACAS) DIDNT tell me to strike which was a surprise and they didn’t call me “comrade” even once!

ACAS would never tell anyone to strike I’m sure!