I do a fair bit of that route every day for work. To be honest 95% of the time you’d do it at rush hour in under 2 hours. Yes there can be delays but they aren’t as bad as they used to be. It has to be a fairly major problem to make minor roads faster.

One way to reduce the time as much as you can would be to pack everything that he needs in a bag and leave near front door. Make sure there’s always a set of clothes he can jump into if in bed. 10 mins saved getting ready means more time for the journey.

“I never knew it could be too wet to woo.”

LOL!

“applause”

If you use decent trade paint designed to be watered down it’s no harder to put on and it covers very well. In my example above I think I need just one more coat and it’s done.
If you use cheap nasty paint it makes it harder and doesn’t cover as well.

Why on earth would you put wallpaper paste on? Completely unnecessary.

Definitely the Flatiron building, one of the must do’s when we went to NYC last year. So much more detail in that building than you notice in pictures, and just as striking in real life.

I went from 15″ alloys to 17″ steel wheels on my Volvo 940. Looks miles better but blimey you can feel the edges of those bumps!

Looks fantastic though. 😀

Like my brother (Petrrpoddy) I am scared of flying. Going to the USA as my first foreign holiday was very stressful. However you’ve at least flown. You can do it, ok you depend on medication a bit but at least you are still doing it. I think that’s really positive as lots of people wouldn’t even entertain the thought of flying they are so scared.

I deal with turbulence perfectly fine. Why? The first time I experienced it I was reading I think and I instantly thought it felt like when I was a kid on the top of a double decker bus as it pitches and rocks going down the road. So I just imagine that instead which helps most of the time. If the turbulence is bad I just have to imagine harder!

It’s the takeoff and landing which I still struggle with but it gets better.

As part of my job I was asked about the water flooding the southern end. It can’t be pumped into the surface water without some treatment or it has to go to foul sewer. Yeah I know its rainwater but it has generally come through the tunnel so isn’t as clean as you’d think.

Its also 12m deep – see here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-26238939

Personally think £3m would be used up to sort out the flooding issue alone…

A lot of the press about making it into a cycleway shows pictures at the north end which looks a lot nicer, and I could believe £3m might do it if all i saw was that end. However the south end deposits you straight into a manky industrial area.

I do want it converted into a path, and I know railway enthusiasts would like that too as its a pretty amazing tunnel, but the odds are against it – if it was between 2 nicer places it would stand a better chance – not nice to say but it doesn’t help matters!

Here’s hoping…

You could seal it with SBR, which basically does the same thing as PVA but doesn’t rewet afterwards. It’s generally what tilers use.

I was advised to use it before tiling, don’t ever use PVA before tiling!!!

I used high coverage Macphersons trade white emulsion watered down 40% as per the instructions to paint this wall. Only 1 coat on this wall.

Wait until the plaster is PROPERLY dry first too, be patient and don’t take shortcuts with heat or dehumidifiers.

Bigh – I’ve always thought that – use the proper trade emulsion watered down (it’s designed to be watered down) and it’ll be perfect.

If you don’t water down the paint to start off with the first coat has all the water sucked out of it by the plaster – new plaster is very thirsty!

This can result in the paint peeling off later on. Do it properly!

Do what the plasterer recommended. You did ask him didn’t you? 😉

PVA is crap. If you re wet it after it dries is becomes wet again. New plaster should only need a watered down coat of emulsion – I used MacPhersons high coverage trade emulsion watered down by 40% as that is what the tin says. Standard DIY emulsion doesn’t have as much pigment in it (and frankly is crap) so you don’t water it down as much,maybe 10%.

Does the car not recharge the battery during braking etc? Surely it must do for that not inconsiderable outlay. :/

Unfortunately I know a fair bit about that tunnel. It’s been flooded for a long long time and the cost to keep it in one piece has been a bit mental. It wouldn’t be a great use of the huge amount of money it would need to basically turn it into a bridleway.

I love bikes like that. Go for it!

I would be ringing them up every hour until they bucked their ideas up, creating merry hell with them. They might get away with it if you let them.

Find out their complaints procedure and start with it right now, follow it to the letter. You should be having a hire bike until you get that cheque in your hands or cash in the bank. If you aren’t getting it take the matter further, go to ombudsman if you need to.

Get quotes from a couple of bike shops for a direct replacement bike.
If there is any damage to your kit get quotes to have it repaired or replaced to the state is was before the crash.
Does a bike helmet need replacing like a cycle helmet when it is knocked? They need to replace that too.
Document every phone call and letter, ask for everything in writing.
Make sure you get checked out by a doctor and photograph every bruise and cut.

I know it sounds like a lot but it’s not hard to make sure you are treated fairly. Which at the moment you aren’t.

I was treated the same way after a cycle crash and I managed to get what I was due after doing all the above.

That person could have seriously injured or killed you. The insurance company should be glad it’s no more serious than it is, but they don’t care about you and just want to save money by treating you like crap.

“We too have a Toast N Egg. Very pleased with it. It does toast n eggs

When I grow up, I’m getting their flagship Toast N Eggs N Beans model. “

Surely the flagship model must include bacon in some way???

” and definitely manages to loosen my wallet”

Is that local slang for something else? 😉

Velocity cycles are good but don’t hold much stock. I’ve bought from there and will again but it’s nice to browse sometimes and they don’t have enough stuff to do that for more than 20 seconds!
Not a fan of Wheelspin, been going in there on and off for 20+ years and they never have what I wanted and service has never been great. Been trading for a long time so must be getting something right for some people.

Can we all have a quick drool on that Pace please? Oof I want one.

Someone needs some anger management therapy.

Perfect. No words, just actions!

There’s a guy in the USA I think who throws discarded ashtrays and fast food drinks and rubbish back in people’s open car windows’s when they drop them. Beautiful!

I just wish I could get a hat that fitted me.

My head is absolutely massive. Nothing of any use in it though, pah!

Please tell me it was insured. :/

Shibdon Wall?

Yikes. I’ve ridden up that. It’s difficult to drive up never mind cycle.

I’m more worried that these houses look more like a private dentists waiting room rather than a home! Probably due to pics being taken by proud owners just after they’ve been done up.

To be fair it’s unlikely people will take pics when it’s filthy. 😀

The ability to know if a fart is going to be safe or not, so you know when to really go for it without risking having to buy new pants.

I love petrol cars and can’t wait for the tide to change and diesels be phased out.

Might have to get something more modern than my 18mpg petrol stinking Volvo turbo beast though. 🙂

Sounds like you acted well in the worst of circumstances.

A riding friend tried to talk someone down off the high M62 bridge in west Yorks but he jumped to his death. He said he still thinks about it and I think that’s the key – you’ll never ever forget it, but the distress you feel will fade, even more so if you get help and let others help you.

Best wishes.

2 hours riding a day plus working plus normal calories you’d burn just being alive means you’ll probably be able to eat everything you see and be ok!

You’re probably just not eating enough.

When I used to ride to work that far I didn’t do it often as I got very tired.

Not helpful I know but I looked at quite a few bugalows with conversions like that when we were looking for a house and putting the stairs jnside was always a huge compromise. Not easy to move plumbing upstairs for bathroom, stairs have to be squeezed in somewhere so unless there’s a huge hallway one downstairs room is made useless or tiny. I went to one where a half width stair had been put in the hallway which you had to squeeze up – it made the hall very narrow so you had to squeeze down that too!

The cost will probably be tens of thousands, unless they are particularly attached to the house it would be cheaper to move.

Westfire is £900+ 🙁

Go for any light which is German road (TUV?) approved like the B&M ones are. They are designed to light up the road and help you to be seen. Which is what you want on the roads, not some stupid bright pinhole LED which does neither of those things, just blinds drivers and makes them annoyed.

You might struggle to get one before Xmas. My plasterer who was in last week has been working 7 days a week for a few weeks. After Xmas he says it’ll be easier to book someone.

I bet no ones taking the mick out of for doing them. They would if it was me!

I have a friend who is a semi professional baker and has a kitchen Aid and a Kenwood chef, she would use the kenwood every time mainly as the KA doesn’t scrape the bowl very well. As a thing to keep out on the worktop though it’s the best looking!

Any ikea product – get a search going on eBay within 25 miles with the model name.

Be patient and you’ll get a nearly new bargain.

I got a £500 ikea sofa which was basically brand new for £50. Patience is the key but I would have thought there would be loads of Poangs up for sale.

“House renovated in 2009”

That might be a clue. Has it been sealed to death with everything waterproofed and sealed and insulated and not allowed to breathe?