When I first grew my beard it came through ginger, I’m over the moon it’s going white now! In all honesty we age, it’s what happens, enjoy it.

had any pine nuts? is the taste in the mouth metallic?
I found I had a bad reaction to pine nuts (in pesto) and did a bit of google doctoring on the topic found PNS pine nut sensitivity. brought on often by a slightly different type of pine nut grown in china or the chemicals the chinese nuts are treated with, one or the other…

Thru axles need to be the norm, they offer so much more security and stiffness if they’re designed correctly.

Another 1020 here, after an 800 something or other. I love the speed of the thing, the camera is awesome, the new functionality of the operating system is brilliant. Gorilla glass is phenomenal, the last one had one scratch in three years of pocket abuse, no protector, and the new one is still unblemished despite sharing a pocket with my house keys and a pocket in my osprey pack.
For me its way better than apple. The only thing that I haven’t found as easy as on an apple product is getting music onto the phone but for me it’s not a big issue.

Rubbish news, sorry to hear. The usual fingers crossed and hope it goes well greetings from an utter stranger!
A little advice, Bullheart is an inspiration and has baffled doctors and professionals for a long time, good on him. The advice is;
it is your storey, the chemo will affect you differently from how it affected me or Bullheart or anyone else who has been through it.
You will respond to other treatments in your own way and have your own concoction of medicines.
You will hear and read (try not to google it) about other people who have had this that and the other, that’s their storey not yours. They are them you are you and that is massively important.
Secondly be honest with the people you love, it will hurt them differently to how it will hurt you, remember everyone is trying to look after you, noone is looking after them.
Finally, this was the best thing my wife said, don’t make every conversation about the illness. Keep topics of conversation as normal as you can and it will help your head.
This year I will celebrate 3 years in remission and I since being poorly I have moved house, got a new job and have completed the Dyfi enduro and wasn’t last.
Sincerely good luck and say I love you to the ones you do.

brilliant timing as i’m looking the same issue. I like the look of the cotic escapade but want full cable outer routing. the shoreditch is the first whyte that i’ve liked but none of the above (except the escapade) have a secure front wheel, for me if it has discs it needs a bolt thru.

Burn it, are you mad? It’s such a beautiful wood, yes it’s a sod to shape and polish but it is so stunning when you put the elbow grease in. I made a clock/thermometer/barometer out of a chunk my brother in law gave me used a cnc router to get it flat and create the pockets for the instruments and then elbow grease for the polishing. Well worth it.

Oh for goodness sake, svalgis had it right, buy a bike and ride it. Regardless of the marketing and words attached to these machines we get so passionate about they are just wheels and gears and they rely on our ability and fitness. Just be thankful that we have the time, money, health and freedom to ride a bike.
My bike has 200mm travel front and rear and weighs 38 lbs ish. I rode it to the finish of the dyfi this year and wasn’t last, not bad for a 17 stone middle aged bloke who’s had cancer twice. The bike was superb and the feeling of achievement incredible.
Just ride your bikes people and stop worrying about unnecessary marketing sh1te.

I love my 1150gs and really enjoy the big and daft but if I had a better spine I’d be seriously considering this.

I finished! It was my goal and I did it, don’t think I was last either which was a huge surprise. It was fantastic, great vibe, great technical descents, lots of fire road which in all honesty is the only way to get 800 and something bikes and riders up enough to do the downs.
Loved the whole thing with two exceptions, people who can’t be ar*ed to pick up their old tubes and people who just chuck energy gel wrappers. Ho hum.
A massive thank you to Frazer and all the folks who helped and did the donkey work so that us idiots could enjoy ourselves. Thank you.

Do you want to look at the bike or feel safe riding downhill? Not a massive question in my mind.

lets have a look boardin

it’s so funny that people feel it is acceptable to tell others how to live their lives.
I have a piece of design on my leg, it took me 24 years to design the tattoo that i’d be happy with. It is an incredibly personal design to me, it is a combination of the people that I love the hospital and people that got me back to health, the idea of surf, being in the waves and the sea and the feeling of being free but also the book by yvon chounaird, the turner symbol not just because I ride a turner (dur!) but for the people i ride the turner with and the places it has taken me and the dragon. Now the dragon is a double pronged thing, it is the passion of the welsh (i’m not but much of my family is) and the beautiful countryside i know and love, but it’s also the beast which is cancer and the pain and suffering it can cause and how it nearly got me but didn’t.
So if you’d like me to cover it up the i’m sorry but tough, it is part of me, it means an incredible amount to me and when all is said and done we make choices. I’m happy with mine and i’m not asking you to like it but I am asking you to think about your sweeping statements.
if you’re offended by tattoo’s or cancer charities please don’t click here

Toasty, I test rode an 800gs and it was a lovely thing to ride, a doddle to ride slow in my opinion and nippy as a commuter style thing. It was the vibes that put me off. I ended up with a 53 1150gs which I love to pieces, not fast, not light but damn comfy and remarkably confidence inspiring for someone first big bike! I toy with the idea of going for a 1200gs no and again but enjoy the simplicity of the old bike, no abs, no fuel management, few electronics to go wrong. Maybe one day.
I think your height will make bike selection awkward but in all honesty you should be able to do the low speed stuff using technique rather than worrying about the bike. Yes some bikes would make it easier but they’re not going to make such a difference.

have you ever had any issue with the law and carrying the bike like that or is it a first time for you? I want to carry mine like that but it sticks out a couple of inches either side of the panniers and I was worried the peeps in blue would frown upon it.
My other idea which may be a goer is mounting the bike vertically as nothing overhangs the extremities of the bike then.
congrats on the bmw by the way, I nearly went for one of those but ended up with an 1150gs which is fab for me and less vibes than the 800 demo had.

That looks lovely, where in the world are you? Anywhere near Sheffield?

We found ours trough the border terrier owners club. Rang the local branch up and found a breeder. Not cheap but a great dog all in all, takes time and consistency to train but will run for ages and is great with kids. Can be an arse with other dogs if he’s on his lead but usually just Labradors! Like a full size dog but small enough to pick up and chuck over a stile.

Firstly, you weigh stuff? Secondly are you bothered about 11grams? Personally I think I’ve sneezed more than 11 grams! As the stw massive above have mentioned manufacturers tolerances will have a large impact.

Pilates is brilliant, it got me straight after slipping a disc (I was a desk jockey at the time). I’ve done it off and on for ages since and while it doesn’t make me a better bike rider it doesn’t make me worse and it makes me more comfortable during. I’d recommend it if you have the time.

Si, pass this on to your sister, I found it incredibly moving. Seeing people push their boundaries and do stuff they never thought themselves capable of was brilliant.

I was in need of a bucket last year after writing mine off. Had a bell, wanted the super but it was just before they came out. Tried the fox, ok, tried the poc, not a chance, tried a Kali, nope, met, nope, mavic, maybe but then found a specialized at Evans and it’s just lovely to wear.

Good luck and a dubious welcome to the club no one wants to be in. It sounds like you’re in the best position to face something like this, you’re fit but most of all your wife loves you. You’ll hear all sorts of advice and stories, love yours for you as there is no one exactly like you.
Trust the doctors, love your wife and be honest.

Just bought some endura mt500 trousers which seem to be fab so far. Really comfy and don’t move around unnecessarily.

Studied beat me to it. Was looking at one in Evans and it looks lovely, really lovely.

That is utterly bonkers. I hope all the folks that live in its path get their stuff protected.

Had one for nine years and it was superb. Just been able to replace it and got a octavia instead. It was a really difficult choice to make as the boot on the touran was vast, the individual seats was brilliant as mentioned earlier, it had a new clutch and single mass flywheel which was the best part of a grand to get done. Up to seventy to the gallon fully loaded and with winter tyres it was unstoppable. The change to the octavia was a circumstance decision, the touran was getting long in the tooth and I was fortunate enough to afford the change. The octavia is incredible with the exception of the individual seats in the back but it’s not an issue for us.
If the octavia’s boot wasn’t as good we’d have had another touran!

Had mine done on the nhs ages ago. Two weeks was about right for me being back on the bike, wouldn’t have done it earlier. Tight pants helped the healing as did bathing in a bath with a drop of tea tree oil in it. Literally a drop. As for the draining as you put it, you might as well have one last bash…… But the doctor may notice. When fixing a wheel I always preferred a clean wheel to fix.

66deg, that looks lovely but your lawn needs a good feed in places!

Pilates got me sorted. I was lucky in so much they offered me an operation but then waited six weeks for the consultation. By that time a wonderful physio had had me doing Pilates and I was nearly straight again. The six weeks was built in so they only operated on the ones that couldn’t or wouldn’t sort themselves out!
What do you do for a living? I ask because I was desk bound when mine went and I just wasn’t using my core muscles, after getting sorted I got a different job which I stood all day for. This is how the body is meant to work and the core exercises weren’t as necessary. Having said that I’ve changed my job again and am desk bound for half the time now so have started with five minutes of Pilates now and again and it’s keeping on top of it. Good luck.

There is an audible whir when they operate but it’s not intrusive and is a bit like the noise the fridge makes as in I don’t notice it anymore! I guess it’s similar to when you wind up a small clockwork toy.

You’re suggesting keeping them at a fairly constant temperature all day everyday? Plus or minus two degrees? Interesting. I’ll bear it in mind. It’s a bit of a learning curve so far but like I say fingers crossed.

Howies do it for me, Levi fit well but always wear badly at the crotch area. Not a good look.

Hospital waiting areas, honestly there’s nothing better than finding something different while waiting.

To get back on track, I had my first one done this year. Designed it myself and found an artist in Sheffield who’s stuff I liked the look of. It took me twenty years to come up with something I was happy with. Hopefully I don’t take as long to come up with my next one.
To the person with the dot work, it looks fab.

There is no way three can be enough. Three albums maybe but three tracks not a chance. Saw him live at bramall lane in Sheffield in the 80’s it was my first concert and ruined everything else ever since. Three and a bit hours of music and stories and good time.
The boss.

I did ours on my dads drive way. It is a dead easy thing to do, vw say to take the spring out because it allows access to the bottom bolt of the shock, you can do without taking the spring off as I did but it’s a bit of a faff. Other than that it really is easy. Just make sure your dealer has the bump stops in!

Not sure about the parking there, its a weird junction at the best of times.
Note to antigee, never proclaim any engineering knowledge, it will be trumped by in built bike shop training bs! Having been both sides of the counter and qualified as an engineer I’ve seen both bs and genuine engineering knowledge battle on the shop floor. Bs usually won but then some of the engineering claims were utter bs anyway!

Unrepentantly guilty here on the loud sneezes. They seem to have become louder with age and although I can try to muffle them I have no control of the volume of a natural sneeze. As a teacher I sneezed in class once and a kid fell off his stool in shock.

Do not live in Rotherham, worked there for eight years as a secondary school teacher and having seen the future it’s not looking good. I live in s6 area of Sheffield and commuted to Rotherham in twenty minutes or so, the hospital maybe half an hour from s6.
If you’re bringing up young and want a reasonable start in life don’t live there.
Pook is wrong, first time for everything, but the cleaners at school who where lovely said they never went to Rotherham town as it was horrible, they were born and bred millers.
Good luck.
Where you coming from?

There needs to be a sticky thread for this.
There are a few trails round Newport and the preseli’s but you’re better off taking a road bike or some running shoes or a wetsuit.
The area is gorgeous but not particularly good for mtbing.