dont get me started!

I for one think she's OK. Her winter Olympics coverage was very good and she seems to be more 'real' than alot of image obsessed TV presenters. There are few enough women in prominent positions in society, yet they make up 50% of us. It seems unkind for her to be judged on her looks.

as the son of an ex beef cattle breeder i'd say that you should be ok as long as a) you don't get too near him b) don't get between and amongst him and his girls c) don't spook or surprise him. like most animals they get aggressive when scared or threatened. over a short distance they can move surprisingly quickly. there should be only 1 bull in the group, easily spotted by the size of his muscly ass and his massive knackers! the farmer shouldn't put a dangerous bull in a field where there's a footpath.

personally i'm concerned about the farmer's reaction if he sees you cycling the fp through his stock …could you outrun a quad bike?

moo!

I used to have a recurring one in my cycle commuting days.

If it has a head on it it's almost ready to pop, which is (not) nice but you might be best waiting for that to happen naturally rahter than squeeze it.

If you sense one developing (they do recur, especially in dark haired men …something to do with hair follicles) then use a hot compress followed with magnesium sulphate paste under a dressing pad to help draw it out. I used some small dressing pads stuck on with micropore to give some cushioning relief during the day. Once it has naturally burst I'd recommend you try to squeeze the rubbish out, keep it clean and carry on using the pads with a topical antiseptic until it's healed.

Your GP will prescribe Flucloxicillin which also helps.

Nice to meet and ride with you all, thanks to Pook for arranging and Jules for guiding. Looking fwd to the next one.

Cheers,
Iain

Just checking in to see if this is still on for tomoz …and it is, great! I'll be at Sett Valley car park for 08:45 latest.

Pook – Good to see your back's healing. I'm a longterm bad back crock, mine's been OK for a while until recently so I've not ridden much in the last month. I will be the numpty at the back puffing like billy-o.

Iain

me also please & thank you

Sounds great, Sett Valley VC at 08:45 Saturday it is, see you there.

Iain

hora – just off kings road, the section between edge lane and the quadrant, nr cromwell road.

I deffo fancy this. I'm not the fittest at the mo' so a peaks pootle would be just what my recovering bad back needs.

Will be travelling from Stretford if anyone needs a lift.

I had a standard 'mesh' repair to an inguinal hernia (crotch bit where front of leg joins torso) a few years ago. TBH it was more comfortable before having the repair! When I went to visit GP >12 months after the op' complaining of slight discomfort and numbness/sensitivity around the area I was waved away as suffering with minor dysesthesia associated to the incision rejoining and the nerves being sensitive. It's still the same >2 years later but doesn't bother me.

I've never had a problem cycling, but be careful and discuss the likelihood of rupture caused by MTBing with your GP.

Take care & get well soon.

I'm 6'2" and have a bog standard 2010 Pitch Pro in L and it fits me fine, feels very 'chuckable' too as it disguises its weight and length well. You'll have to take an inch or two off the seatpost if you like to move the saddle out of the way.

Mine is for sale in STW Classifieds if you're interested

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-2010-specialized-pitch-pro-in-large

OK hora, I'll cover Stretford Arndale to Edge Lane to Whalley Range via the Quadrant! I'm off that way right now in fact; keep 'em peeled.

+1 hora. I'm in Stretford so it's possibly somewhere around here!

I think a good classified advert should be easy for the potential buyer to find. And bargainous, obviously.

I imagine that eBay is certainly a less preferred option amongst those on here, we'd rather support the forum. I'd say that STW Classifieds sometimes feels a bit untidy. Does the section get house kept, are adverts over a specified age archived, can the person placing the advert remove it when sold? I'd like to see a better search facility and better grouping / classification on STW Classifieds (eg Frames, Suspension, Complete Bikes, Lights etc.); that would cost money to develop and we'd all have to pay, but if the fees were reasonable that would be good and worthwhile thing, wouldn't it?

How about it STW? Is there a proprietary, customisable forum classifieds package that would give richer search and classification functionality and would advertisers be happy to pay so that STW make a few quid on the side? Or is the established informal approach more about the community we're in, and would tarting it up cause us to lose that?

Blue Pig, Peckett Well (A & B) to name but 2 (and a bit) well known Calderdale classic descents. Problem is, it's not always easy to link trails unless you know which ones you want to ride and where they are on the relevant OL map. Or you have a local guide, or you join a clued up group ride.

Lots of Calderdale is technical, you shouldn't need to ride alot of humdrum between the steeps & the steps.

>Oh and the ladies love them<

That was my first thought – ladies shorts.

How odd that a woman would (attempt to) belittle a man with an unkind, some might say sexist, reference to her own gender just because of some cycling shorts.

Besides …ladies' shorts, surely?

+2 for Bonnie "Prince" Billy and The Cairo Gang – Wonder Show of the World
Dirty Projectors and Bjork – Mount Wittenberg Orca
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record

I have a Feb 2010 Pitch Pro in large FS in the Classifieds section on here that's within your budget.

Great, comfy!, do-it-all bike.

Pitch Pro

The Dirty Projectors & Bjork EP called Mount Wittenberg Orca that I just downloaded via donation to the National Geographic Society Oceans Project.

Superb, quirky, whimsical. Happy.

I have to say that some Yiddish words are just beautiful, eg. mishuggenah, bupkis, chutzpah.

Or how about kerfuffle. Slight deviation, but a friend of mine, after eating a felafel sandwich for the first time whilst very drunk in Amsterdam, asked me the following morning, "What was that kerfuffle stuff we ate last night?".

It's weird. I've noticed recently that once you focus on one negative thing, it's really easy to slide into focusing on all the negative and none of the positive at all

You always get more of what you focus on. Sounds corny but it's true. So, try to focus on +ve things, enjoy your ride, discuss your fears and frustrations with others and be happy with your current limits because as you become experienced your limits and horizons will expand.

I really wish I could like Arcade Fire but I just can't 'get' them. Most folks I know who like what I like also like AF, so I can only assume I'm missing something.

Aaaah, Pavement. Best band ever? Certainly top 5. Malkmus is a genius.

I quite fancy ATP this December too. I went last year to the My Bloody Valentine curated weekend and saw 1 or 2 great sets; Sonic Youth, Sereena Maneesh, Joe Mascis and The Fog and the unmissable highlight was Lightning Bolt – twice!

Broken Social Scene at Manc Academy 2 last Monday – brilliant 2 hr set!
Broken Social Scene at The Corporation, Sheffield this Friday …I wouldn't normally go and see a band twice on the same tour but the missus missed the first show
Bonnie Prince Billy and The Cairo Gang at Manc cathedral in August
End Of The Road festival in September (I hope)

fids – there must be lots of small engineering shops in and around sheffield, try yell.com and look for machine shops

try this linky

Dunno if it has changed much as I've nothing to compare it with, but I do believe that it has improved mapping, updated text and 1 or 2 extra routes.

It is only a dangerous road for those who have limited skill & ability or who have made a mistake; all of us sometimes fall into the latter category, those in the former category should just slow down a bit and take time to learn their craft.

The memory foam toppers are useless, as far as I can remember. 2" is just not enough (fnarr) to mask whatever your current mattress's problems are, the foam will just follow the contours of whatever it is on top of.

Seriously, don't waste your money.

Get a Tempur mattress if you can swallow the cost, they are brilliant!

Indeed. I don't post much, hardly at all TBH, partly because whatever is written can be taken the wrong way, taken out of context, misrepresented etc. and partly because it boils my beans when folk get shirty over something trivial. It'd be different in conversation of course, you get a more animated, coherent and freer exchange of opinion and argument face-to-face.

Very few things are absolute or constant. I was on Cutgate yesterday, bits of it definitely can be pumped, pretty much like 99% of all trails. I too had pedal strike but insufficient to report on here, just a normal amount that I'd expect on rocky Black Peak trails.

I'm not sure how shorter cranks would affect the pedalling input and feel for you. I'd be tempted to play with fork and shock pressure / preload / compression damping (whatever settings you can play with) and really concentrate on setting your speed on approach to large rocks that you have to get over. If you've got speed you might get away with a manual to put the front wheel on the rock, keeping body weight forwards and then a shove on the bars to bring the bike up underneath you, all coupled with a stab at the pedals at an opportune moment. Easy! 😉

Wouldn't trust the electrics on the Duc 😆

+1 for Pendle, they work well and are made in the UK.

ChunkyMTB …you should've 'paid a visit' before starting to pack 😀

I've spent some time in Delhi and would describe that city as mad, and I hear that Mumbai is even madderer. If you're a sensitive type you'll feel upset by the incredible poverty that's all around you; coupled with the sheer chaos, mess and the consequent smell of the place it's quite something. However, it is worth enduring its many shortfalls to witness and experience a culture so far removed from what we in wealthy western europe would consider normal.

Do it!

+1 for BillMC's post.

I've suffered with periodical, chronic lower back pain for 20+ years so feel qualified to comment. Chiropractors on the whole are a waste of money, osteopaths are much better, but a decent physio will usually sort you out. What a physio understands is that the 'recovery' exercise must be gentle and gradual. Most chiropractors just want to 'crack' your back and pronounce you well; on the other hand I have a friend who throws the hammer for England and he swears by his chiropractor …horses for courses I guess.

Anyway, you've got an acute injury so should treat with pills while it mends, but whatever you do DO NOT lie around on the floor or in bed as you will simply make it worse. Keep the injured area warm, keep moving and listen to your body.

i use redskin peanuts and dried apricots and/or figs, you can always add some rolled oats too. cheap if you buy in bulk, nutritious, good quality fat, fruit sugar, carbs and it doesn't matter if they get squashed.

Good luck to you, it's an admirable and brave thing you do.

Teribly chavvy, yes.

What I fail to understand is the reasoning behind the trend for mass market tattoos. Why do people do it, what does the image mean to them, what is the appeal? You've got to want to live with them for a loooong time, so shouldn't they say something about you as an individual? Or is it just that you find the aesthetics pleasing and don't mind looking like a million others?

Some body art is amazing but the stuff you pick out of a catalogue at the tattoo parlour, to me, displays a lack of thought and individuality..

Sorry to be so serious.

How about three ickle care worn teddy bears holding hands instead? At least that would be original.