Oooh, and there’s even a cycling link – how on-topic is that?! :)

Yep, I find out on Wednesday who from my team’s gone. Then there’s the 90 day consultation, and voila.

Well I’m back from the pub. Next Wednesday we’ll find out which of the 4 of us is out, and then the consultation period will start. On the plus side, 3 months consultation plus notice is not a bad run at the job market, and the redundancy pay is… reasonable, even with my meagre 18 months for the company. Still, it’s a frustrating position to be in, and one that’s genuinely new for me.
If I do get the payoff, I’m planning to get some new Rebas (w Maxle) and Blue Hope Pro 2 wheels with the cash… :)

I have both in large. They’re cut slightly differently from each other – the Humvees are more relaxed fit, which is great, but when they get wet they sag a lot more. They’re definitely durable (apart from when getting caught on Ti hose guides) and comfy, plus the liner’s great.
The Singletracks are more durable, I’d say, waterproof plus with Lycra in various panels. The cut is a lot closer, though, so I definitely need a large for the STs (but could get away with a medium for the Humvees). They look a bit smarter, do rustle a bit (but not so you’d notice especially) and I think just feel a bit more quality than the Humvees. Personally I wear both on and off the bike, although I prefer the closer fit of the Singletracks on the bike because they don’t flap about or drag as much.

Lol – I love that people were banned for mentioning Dig Dyke Dash (or the other one). I mean, it did seem to pop up a lot in conversation, but even so!

I had Juicy 7s for a while, as the reviews I read suggested that they were great. Unfortunately, I also had problems with the pistons and constant drag, and in the end decided that life is simply too short. When it came to time to build up a new bike with parts from the old one, I just switched to Formula ORos – never looked back.

Probably the biggest factor is how much moolah you have. I put Air u-turn Revs (’07 model) on my Soda, and run them at 130mm. However, if you have more wodge then you might want to check out some of the ’09 offerings – Rebas at 120mm with Maxle Light, Revs with Maxle, wound in to 130 or less, or even Magura Thors. But they are quite a lot of green, so it depends….

Basically main European countries are free of this visa fee; all other countries, including most places I go on holiday, there is now a c1% transaction fee.
It narks me off – Nationwide pays no interest on its current account, so the fee-free foreign transactions is its only USP…

Second the Formula Oros – K18 are £100 per end and powerful with lots of modulation and genuine fit and forget. Love ’em

Quite a nice car, at that. Only this morning I was thinking an Audi S3 should be attainable for about £8-10k. But Jebus that Scott’s pricey – I’d be bricking it that I’d wrap it round a tree and trash it

I’m out running before the place gets filled up with fat unfit jokers fun runners doing the marathon. Then having a snooze. Yay!

can’t see your email address, btw Hungry-Monkey on your profile page.

Yeah, I think the only time I got stung by officials was when on the bus from Osh to Kashgar, at the Kyrgyz/ Chinese border. The bus driver was taking something pretty dodgy through the border (we never saw quite what it was, but $100 bills were changing hands), so ‘negotiated’ a deal for faster process through the border, where everyone on the bus paid about £20 in cash as a bribe to this one guy. There were 3 of us Westerners and we were really unsure but went with it. Border crossing still took 10 hours… :(

I have a Soda with air Revelation, 100-130mm travel, although I keep it wound out all the time at 130mm. I’m keen to switch to something bolt through, as on cambers and some roots you can really see the deflection as the wheel takes the path of least resistance (sometimes throwing me off in the process).
But as you pointed out, there’s a real gap in the 100-130mm market this year, with Revs moving up to 140mm and most other similar forks also headed that way.
For your needs, I reckon a new Reba might do the trick – one of them comes with bolt through option(?) and 100-120mm travel, I think. For me, the Magura Thor (140mm, 20mm axle) or Revelations, either of them wound in to 130mm. But they’re hideously expensive this year, so I’ll probably be waiting until there are more secondhand ones going…

I don’t know most of the women on the other A&A thread! Although I do feel slightly uncomfortable when they’re clearly better known for their baps than their ability – ref Kournikova, for example.

I haven’t tried them, but have been looking at reviews with a view to buying them – how about Maguras? Some come with travel adjust, and I understand the RCL remote is a remote travel adjustment, handlebar mounted.

I wouldn’t let the lack of Russian worry you hugely – I knew none when I boarded the plane at Heathrow; by the time I got to Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) I had picked up enough to haggle over the cost of a taxi and took it from there. I haggled mainly in Russian (and you might need to do a lot of that), said hello and such pleasantries in Tajik, partly because it gets a better reaction. I found that Tajikistan was where they spoke least Russian in the stans (well, apart from Pakistan…), but it still came in handy.
Didn’t know that there was a Tajik embassy in London – 2 years back I had to send my passport to Vienna.

To be honest round that whole area the soldiers and coppers are always trying it on – within 2 minutes of going to the Metro in Tashkent I’d had 2 coppers pull me over to ‘search’ my bag. I think the key is to know at all times where your passport and main bundles of money are; police have been known to snaffle one or the other (or camera etc) in the process of ‘searching’ your bag. The rest of the time I just played the dumb English tourist – smiling, but doing the ‘I am so stupid that I don’t even understand you demanding a bribe!’ routine, so that it’s just not worth their time hassling you.
Unfortunately I didn’t make it out to the Pamirs – having gone by road from Khojand to Dushanbe (18 hours for 300km), I was quite happy to get back to the closest thing to civilisation round there (ie Uzbekistan).
Anyway, rather than bore the pants off everyone else, I can send you everything I remember by email. And Thorntree (lonely planet forum) is an invaluable source of info.

I too am strangely captivated by this thread, not sure why.
Does it make a difference that Cipriani isn’t actually that good at his chosen sport? Not half as good as he thinks he is, anyway…

And of course think of all the weight you’ve shed by scraping off the excess paint!!
I always found my Avid Juicy’s to be a pain in the bollix. They worked for about half an hour a month, and the rest of the time dragged like one of those old dogs whose back legs don’t work. It was horrendous, and on the new build I went with Formula Oro’s instead. Voila – they just work.

Yes!! I spent 3 months a couple of years back travelling overland through that entire region, and am constantly disappointed that nobody seems to a) know where it is and b) particularly want to know about it.

Drop me a line and I can bore you to tears about it.
Russian would be useful in Dushanbe; outside there it’s not so common, so worth learning a bit of Tajik, if only hello, bye, thanks, please – I seemed to manage the rest by pointing and asking stuff in Russian.

For training, you should definitely check out Halo or Gears of War – meleeing is a good way to save paintballs when in close quarters. Also, it’s acceptable when someone’s down to roll them over and shoot them in the nads. Arguing about where you’re shot is generally fine – for example, pointing out that you were hit in the arm and hence would be OK as long as you had a tourniquet to hand is certain to make you lots of friends.

Oh, and take your bike – being able to ride through the battlefield quickly is a definite advantage.
That should cover it all, I think

Edit: a guy at work’s just told me about his mate who got hit in the nads and plssed himself as a result. So take a cup, I think*!!
*-to cover yourself, not to plss into

Buff or Animal cap. I bought an Animal cap from crc to go on holiday with to replace my rather old Animal cap

I had a Setavento custom Ti hardtail and just didn’t feel it – it didn’t feel as fun as I’d expected. So I took a bit of a gamble and replaced the frame with a Soda, and the Rebas for Revs and voila! Job done, and it only set me back £1200! :)

My take is that HS33s are so powerful, compared to V’s, that you are much more likely to get through your rims. Best plan is to either get ceramic rims (if you can still find any), or perhaps consider some decent V’s, at least at the back. They’ll be mostly as good at stopping you, but slightly easier on the rims.

Mine’s a Soda, but same same. I’m 6′, 32″ inside leg, ride a medium Soda with Revs at 130mm (U-Turn but I never wind them in); 90mm 10deg(?) stem, with Oro K18s front and rear. Love it – easily the best bike I’ve had and probably the most fun to ride, too.

er… bit more balls going downhill, and the ‘technical’ stuff, like manuals and suchlike. It’s actually harder going downhill with the brakes on, but I can’t seem to MTFU and just go with it. Maybe I need to smoke a fat one before heading out… :)

Oh, and it was about £12 or so

I always used Senditnow – it’s a cheaper Parcelforce offering. If it asks what you’re sending, I’d suggest not saying ‘bike’, as they apparently have a different pricing range for bikes….

I do feel inspired by seeing photos of male athletes! I think ‘cor, impressive six pack, but I’m happy with my keg. Now, where did I put the xbox remote?’ ;)
Actually, let’s face it, if we’re fit enough to get out on bikes reasonably frequently, none of us is actually Rick Waller…

Meh, based on previous form they’ll close ranks; one or two will be suspended on full pay and quietly shuffled off to a desk job.
The government will make a fuss, say that they’re backing down on allowing the police all the powers under the sun, then wait a few months to quietly reintroduce rules that mean you can’t photograph police, ask them why they’re stopping you, etc etc

Pay it in, wait for a coupla months; if you don’t hear anything, fillyer boots!

How severe is it? If you stop for 5 minutes until your heartrate drops a bit, do you still struggle to breathe?

Personally I think I may have it occasionally – certainly I have a bit of trouble breathing easily after about 8 miles of running, but then I slow down a bit and stop thinking about it and it goes away – but I do realise others probably have it rather worse than me!

Guys, FWIW if you keep arguing I can’t help thinking Mark et al will close A&A for good, simply for an easier life!

Personally I’m not particularly fussed either way – I’m not particularly bothered by sportswomen with their fur(!) showing; equally I know I’m far from the finest male specimen and don’t feel threatened by pictures of other men.

wow – how grown-up do I sound?! ;)

Used to be a man. Seriously – big jaw, big hands – it’s all there!

dude, chill – you have to give people more time to answer!
Personally I’d recommend some Formulas – I’ve found my Oros to be v powerful, with good modulation and not too much maintenance required. The mtb mags love ’em, too, and you can get various options from superlightweight to freeride suitable.

Please send suitable offers of serious positions to my email.

Oi Oi! Well, she could try the cowgirl, for starters….

Sorry, I’ve always had a soft spot for French girls

Spag bol – a pound of cheap mince, 4 tins of tomatoes and a pepper (plus the spaghetti) will give you 3 to 4 meals for a total cost of under £3 (depending on the kind of mince you go for). It freezes well too.
I’m also a fan of lentil stew – half a cup of lentils, 400g of diced beef, 1 tin of tomatoes plus a few herbs (bay leaf, mustard etc) and an onion and a carrot – 3 meals for about £4.
Chili – similar to spag bol.
And tbh, pasta has so many potential variations – one £1 pack can last you a week with a variety of fresh veg, frozen prawns, leftover sausages etc.
Oh, and last week I got some cheap chicken thighs, put some honey and orange on top, baked them in the oven til they were really sticky and had them with mash. All for under £2, very tasty and I felt like a cooking god. :)
Don’t get sucked in by readymeals, as it’s usually cheaper, and not much more difficult, to cook it yourself from scratch

er… I think the point of the baggies is that nobody can see whether you’re wearing lycra or not underneath. So it’s a bit of a moot point about whether it’s a fashion faux pas, as it won’t be obvious anyway.
Personally I have lycra to keep my legs warm (and for the padding) and baggies to keep everything decent. If you saw where the hole in seam of my lycra shorts is, you’d understand…

I’ve never used Fox forks, and obviously the self-selecting nature of rants/ raves means that we’re only going to hear about the most awful or amazing performance but…. I absolutely love my Revelations (’07, I think, Air U-Turn). They’re plush and just work, and given my generally ‘zero maintenance’ approach to anything beyond brakes mechs and chains, I’ve not had a problem with them.

druidh – with descriptions like that, my obvious thought is ‘where’s he getting these frames from’…