…is typically ski touring time

“Fortune favours the brave”

“It’ll be alreet”

“You want to watch that, it’ll have your eye out”

An analogue watch is far more useful for navigating than a digital one.
Any old analogue watch correctly set will tell you where north is.

Unless you need to aid with astral navigation where a digital watch will give more accurate time.

Stef McDef:

We’ve toured along the N Brittany coastline from Roscoof to Aberwrach you could then continue onto Brest, or extned befroe Roscoff to do from St. Malo. We were only doing small days of no more than 40km as had the kids and weren’t really too well set up then. Also every day or so I would spend a morning retracing steps to leapfrog our car down the coast with us. Some really good bits, some flat cabbage patch bits. But it’s definitely worth doing.

Back to Denmark for Mrs Mugsy, Etienne (5) Pia (will be 3) and myself in the summer for 3 weeks. Planning on going up northland and getting there by train from home near Grenoble (riding to the train station I hope). Might be our last tour with a trailer.

Last year we island hopped from the German border over to Copenhagen and back. Camping all the way sometimes in the free nature (nature not naturist!) campsites. Great times, hoping and planning for more.

drilling nearly finished
18m to go
after 19 months
going home soon
:-) :-) :( :-) :-) :mrgreen:

I’ve used a wolfcraft saw guide and a apparently fine cut blade fitted to a circular saw. Made a nice job of the worktop I cut with it.

Saw and guide were borrowed, so not sure on the detils of the blade.

My son went through a phase of demanding that I buld him stairs from Duplo. I think he must have been around 3 but he was obsessed with them.

Old Dungeon Ghyll pub at end of Langdale.
National Trust campsite at Langdale.

You also have the Stickle Barn and New Dungeon Ghyll within staggering distance of the campsite.

It used to be great this time of year, even more so midweek mid winter.
Langdale too popular at other times.

Great times there climbing upon Gimmer and the Langdale Pikes.

Ah those Halcyon Cragging Days finished with several pints of Yates honey beer and drunken fumbles…….

Footflaps,

I built something similar. The worktop had internal braces, and was also completley filled with sand. The sand acted as damping; the design breif included the requirement that a mug of tea on the bench would not have its contents ripppled by heavy hammering on said workbench.

Worked a treat, but it did nearly kill me when I decided the legs were too long and flipped it on its side to trim them…… Sadly it remians in our now rented out property in Sheffield as I couldn’t convince my mates to lift it in the back of the truck when we moved to France!

Isalnd hopping across the southern islands of Denmark.
Quite simply amazing.

We did 3 weeks this summer with our children camping. Sometimes used the nature campsites: basic, sometimes water, sometimes toilet on beaches, at farms etc. Sometimes in posher full holiday style campsites.

Weather was warmer than UK and had 3 days of rain in 3 weeks.
Some small bike round in a day islands, some bigger. Hop on the train when you want. Have some days cycling around Copenhagen etc.
Fantastic micro breweries too. I had the best ale I ever tried there from Aero.

Going back this summer to go up North.

Singletrackmind:

You could do that from lots of places.

Grenoble: you have Villard de Lans, Chamrousse, Les Sept Laux all no more than an hour from the centre.
Alpe d’Huez is manageable as are others.

Edukator,

I know you live in the Pyrénées. I was alluding to whether home was at the top of the hill or on the plain. It’s different to being stuck out of resort to being stuck away from home!

… and home is?

Many Congratulations to the NZ family!!!!

Ah but vin with a meal isn’t drinking.. it’s merely part of the eating experience…. :lol:

My MIL always offers me a whisky as an aperitif, makes me laugh all the time and it’s become a legend between Mrs Mugsy and myself.
But we got all paranoid the other night and started to wonder if it really was that odd.

One thing’s for sure, after today’s skiing my lurgy that the whole family has had and has been lurking with me has fully stood up. Felt so grim when I got back home.

Decided my Bandit B2’s are dying. My first skis and 9 years old. They don’t seem as springy as they used to be, and the edges are constantly going out of tune. Thinking of getting some K2 wayback’s: anyone got them?

I think that’s kind of Edukator’s point. Most of those amounts would seem a lot to your average français.

Great time skiing today in the Vercors, almost too much snow. Not bad considering I took Etienne to school and picked him up and managés just under 4 hours skiing.

Hmm reminds me of leaving South Georgia in sub antartica and making acqaintance with a storm that recorded the lowest ever pressure recorded on SG. All in a homemade badly kept steel ketch. The ketch has recently been tarted up and has been starring on the BBC programmes about the Greenland Ice.

48 hour sewing parties anyone?

It was 20 degrees at 700m last Wednesday near Grenoble. Was a nice change from the Uk ish grey of the last couple of weeks.

Anyway had a great day skiing* in the Vercors and drinking chocolat chaud and eating crepes with Mini Mugsy today. Decided to keep the sunny days before I head back to Borat land for work for bike training so going skiing by myself in the clag tomorrow.

* in the snow garden, we nearly undertook his 1st button lift but he opted for valour and stuck to the tapis roulant.

Have fun all.

I had several ‘moaning’ meetings to my boss, mostly around the state of the prfession and where it left me. I was proactively trying to find a way making it work as I had had discussions with him re. doing a phD. part time etc.

Then followed a long period of walk in to office, be grumpy for 7.5 hrs, sitting in a corner and then going home.

I then said “I’m moving to France, either I’m leaving the company (and looking after the children) or we find some way to make it work.” That was 4 1/2 years ago. Ok after 6 months I ‘left’ the company, and now am a sub-consultant but with many unwritten benefits and am basically still treated like a full time member of staff. They are my sole client. My professional life has really been turned around and I am massively motivated in what I do.

Very forward looking guy that said yes, and I will always appreciate it and be reminded of his attitude. Sad I don’t work with him anymore and he has moved upwards and sidewards.

The french telemark champs was cancelled at Auris en Oisans last weekend.

TN, try contacting Sheffrec CC to get them to put word round their members. Contact Marc Etches via their website and tell him Dan Heywood suggested you get in touch.

I’m no longer in Sheffield, but I wish you the best of luck.

Also you could try Rutland Cycle Club.

If it’s stainless steel, then it can always be rubbed clean with emery cloth.

Was Gatecrasher ever at the Wicker Arches Damo?
I thought it started at err the club on London Road that became Bed?

Anyway Headcharge at the Wicker Arches

Edukator, hmm it’s evidently crazy in the Pyrenees, I’m sticking with the Vercors, Chartreuse and Belledonne! Not that I’ve been out in the snow for 4 ish weeks… Hope to escape the mundane on Wednesday.

Anyone stuck at Grenoble airport: pop in for a coffee. We’re only 15 mins away up in the hills behind!

I bought some last June and they have been à révolution coming from time road pedals for about 6 years. I had one foot fairly well stacked and wedged and with the speedplays have now removed the stack.

Sole difficulty for me is they are twist heel inwards only to release unlike spd’s etc and I have limited ankle mobility in that plane on the foot I clip out first and in last. But they are only on my road bike and I don’t commute etc on it. Also best with 4 bolt shoes, and the cleat screws are ‘fussy’ about torque.

Ultimately, really glad I made the switch.

I would take as much care in a French medical institution as possible, rather than return to have to deal with the NHS.

More sensible, more useful and less political response: make your own travel plans and claim cost back. Rather than sitting around at the mercy of others. Take care of your family, money matters not.

Hope you get it sorted. Just come home from a hospitalisation in Azerbaïdjan myself.

Donation made. Shed many tears over this at the weeknd without knowing anyone involved. Time for another dram in salute to everyone. It’s times like these that I’m proud to be a stw’er.

eh?

I used to do walkley side of Sheffield to Chesterfield via Chestefield rd in 50 minutes….

I’ve been getting posts immedaitely after a photograph having their text displayed on top of the photograph

I’ve toured on my pre disc mount version twice. Both times have been with a mini mugsy in a trailer, a tent and a 35l drybag bungeed across the top of the trailer, two rear panniers and a thermarest across the top of the rack.

It didn’t flex to the point of being unrideable and I put up with it.I can;t remember flex being an issue. Pinch punctures were a pain but that’s my fault for running the weight with 25mm tyres…..

However this summers tour was done similarly loaded on my singlespped rigid inbred with 1.5″ tyres. I know which one I’ll be riding for next years tour whilst the kaffenback has been stripped down and replaced with an Uncle John.

I will also say this, Mrs Mugsy on all these trips has taken her road rat. the 1st time (pre micro mugsy)she had 2 rear panniers. The 2nd time a child seat and micro mugsy whilst I had mini mugsy, and this year she had mini mugsy on a follow me tandem and front and rear panniers. She won’t be taking the roadrat next year. I’m supirsed she and the bike managed 10km from our start point…..

So the kaff is flexy, but I think less flexy than a roadrat, and I would concur that 4 panniers will probably cause more handling issues than 2 panniers even with same weight.

…..get a touring bike, or a rigid mtb for touring unless light weight touring.

‘Bad Wisdom’ by the guy from KLF. It has a rather disturbing scene involving Nuns on a train, on the way to the north pole…

hmmm.It hurts to lose someone like this.

My deepest thoughts with family and friends of all involved.

Play safe.

Decided during A-levels to take geology degree at university. Failed all A-levels. This was no suprise as I insisted on going to a local 6th form college which had a bad dossy attitude but my choices were beyond me academically: maths and physics, and I was never good at writing essays so failed geography, and scraped an N in AS geology.

Anyway rather than re-take I decided to take the clearing offer of studying HND in Geological Technology at Luton. Cruised through that. Got to start at Sheffield Uni straight into the 2nd year. Handled that ok, depsite regretfully sometimes not understanding the difference a 2:2 and a 2:1 could make.

Applied to the nearest ‘geological’ companies to Sheffield and ended up describing soils for a site investigation company. Worked myself up during my 2 years there. Got lucky breaks with the projects I worked on so got some failry unique drilling experience. Went travelling, worked for a small backward consultancy, did MSc in Engineering Geology including a niche work placement in nuclear industry, met Mrs Mugsy, ended up working for a bigger global consultancy for 6 years doing slope stability and earthworks designs etc.

Mini mugsy born, time for Mrs Mugsy to move home back to France, moved to France,left company, signed them up as a client, worked from home for a year. Reivsited my practical hands on knowledge form my early days and now carved a nice niche working on overseas projects and working from home. Have a good list of contacts and chances to work for other clients on projects all over the world.

Love working overseas. Love big technical drilling (not tin pot 30m holes). Love being hands on. Don’t like leaving Mrs Mugsy and the children, don’t like the new company i.e. my new client that bought out my client, but this means many colleagues have left and aware of my skillset and contct me about beoming involved with their projects. Not made the jump yet, but prob will soonish.

Yay! :lol:

I do have a weird sense of humour…but I swear it’s true, the parents can opt out, but it’s the nursery’s default stance. It’s a worthy thread topic but OT here.

I didn’t say it was unfair, I said I was going to say it was unfair…
(I work in a consultancy so used to get out clauses;))

I do think it can be a little unfair to all at times though, in terms of a compromise for all. Maybe I didn’t mean ‘unfair’, but a compromise.

That said we had 3 days at les saisies form the 25th Dec, with our children (mini and micro) and our extended french family including one other micro.

micro= less than 3. mini= nearly 5, so only micro didn’t ski. She won’t even sledge so ‘snow time’ was a bit limited for her.

Most of our skiing time is day trips from home, and previous experience has taught us that the best option is for either me or mrs mugsy goes and the other plays with the children at home, evn of for a 1/2 day rather than all going and both trying to ski 1/2 a day each. So we’re lucky, we don’t really do the standard ‘ski holiday’ because we don’t need to.

As for french childcare, well in our experience (as in living there) french childcare is so much more friendly and accessible and laid back than in the litigation mad UK: our friends nursery in UK as standard makes them all wear helmets for playing indoors…….. Our experience is that the french certainly do not skimp on safety, but are realist and appreciate that the odd bump or graze will happen and we agree with that. However it could be a diff kettle of fish in a resort creche with all nationalities and probably overworked carers.

Completely 100% agree with jfletch. I was going to be the first responder to this thread and say “Don’t take young kids who will not be having ski lessons, i.e. less than 3 on a ski holiday, unfair for all”. But I bit my tongue.

I would add unless you are with a multiple family group with others the same age then it can work.

Some don’t even have a volume control….