Lugging a mat around on you bike might take the edge off your strava times :-)

A mat makes a good mattress for the back of a van for post surf, ride, climb kip.

I wouldn’t worry too much, as others have said, it’s a real full body thing climbing. For bouldering, technique is hugely important, and footwork being the important part of that,

Btw I have double jointed fingers and if I crimp really hard for too long the middle joint sort of goes backwards and locks out, doesn’t hurt but looks a bit weird. Hasn’t stopped me working my way through the grades though, you will be fine.

I go at the front so everyone has a good view of my finely toned legs and huge a*** :D

Phil, I know what you mean. I am pretty fit so I know what I’m able to peak at or maintain over what period, and it’s pretty hilly where I live so I am not unused to eyeball popping climbs!. The short interval training stuff is pretty popular at the moment and there is some much quoted research about the benefits of short bursts of anaerobic exercise. But then there is always research….

But I do worry about someone going along who is less used to exercise, turns up to a class, gets all macho and then drops off the bike half way through. Obviously as everyone controls their own load and it is impossible to tell how high it is then the amount of effort is in their own gift, but if you’re an alpha type and the instructor is egging on…

I too would be interested in an informed view on this, and more generally whether there is evidence of people keeling over in exercise classes throygh over ambition.

Phil, fortunately none of that arm pumping nonsense where I go.

I think the design of the class would seem to be hard intervals, very intense segments of varying length with periods of recovery and the way to do that is increasing load and mainting leg speed, increasing legspeed at a set load or really whacking on load and dropping legspeed all achieve elevated heart rate but work muscles differently.

It isn’t training to ride a bike as such, it is fitness training on an exercise bike, the “hill sections” are nothing like riding a hill, the nearest thing is perhaps pushing a progressively bigger gear maybe or maybe not.

On a real bike I rarely stand on climbs, preferring seated higher cadence, unless it. s very steep of technical. But in class it’s just another way of working the leg muscles hard to get the heart rate right up so I tend to just do as I’m told and just treat it as a short hard cardio session

As above, water bottle, towel. It gets very hot so I just wear my lightest running top and gym shorts, some wear cycling shorts, the girls all wear lycra. The bikes we use have spd cleats on one side of the pedals, but I don’t bother, mainly because my shoes tend to be covered in crud.

In terms of the class, make sure you pace yourself sensibly for the first one until you get an idea of the routine. After that aim to really push as hard as you can, it’s supposed to be a high intensity, quality, interval type training (assuming you don’t have any health issues, if you keel over clutching your chest, don’t blame me)

Lucky England. Italy one offload away from a try under the sticks and a draw. Then again England butchered two nailed on try opportunities.

They’ll be rubbing their hands together in the Valleys over next week’s game

Grado SR80 are fantastic nothing comes close for the money, or quite a lot more money. Check out the reviews. Not for the train though.

Just seen it’s on at the Cubby Broccoli in Bradford. Excellent, may pop down later

I want too, but it’s not on anywhere. Book is excellent

Socialised doesn’t mean socialist per se. It means run on a social rather than market norm. Driven buy a buy in to a common good as opposed to profit. And I, personally, definitely don’t see it as a negative thing, we do generally have socialised public services, albeit with a constant psh towards increasing marketisation.

One problem with this is the introduction of market drivers into a socialised system is that you burn the benefits of co-operation and common good very quickly and it is very hard to get back. If the efficiency delivered by the market doesn’t exceed this lost then it all becomes worse and nay impossible to retrieve.

… and US healthcare is a disaster, it’s hugely inefficient and expensive, and only delivers better quality at the top end.

Fundamentally there is no right answer, the NHS is always going to an enternal compromise between money, quality, volume, staff t&c, central control, local freedom etc.

For example, take targets. Targets work, in the sense of set NHS bodies a target, make it count, count it and the NHS will deliver it. But it may delivered at the expense of other stuff not covered by targets. What if it’s the wrong target, has unforseen consequences.

So set no targets, let the NHS locally get on with it. You end up with a real disparity between organisations, a mish mash of delivery priorities driven by individual powerful clinicians or local pressure groups.

But the number of times you hear that clinicians should set prioirities and that there should be no postcode lottery in the same article. In a money constrained system the two are unlikely to be achievable at the same time.

The irony of what Hunt is saying is that a commercial organisation would deliver to but not above spec. If there are minimum standards set for delivering NHS care, why spend more to over deliver? The only reason would be if premium added value attracted more patients to your provider and so competition drove up quality. But realisrically patients don’t use enough of NHS services to make an informed choice and outside ofLondon and a couple of other big urban areas real choice doesn’t exist

Another motivaror to over deliver to create a public service ethos where everyone buy into socialised healthcare and works to there best to deliver – in some senses this is the underpinning philosophy of the NHS. But this can be inefficient and unfocused.

Social norm versus market norm if you like

The right answer is in earlier posts – stop changing the structures of the NHS for dogmatuc reasons – no system is perfect but if left alone will evolve to operate increasingly effectively without the unavoidable limitations

Just my two penneth’s worth….

… unless he was too big and scary, then I’d run away and pretend nothing had happened

I would (a) phone the police then (b) steam in. Go to (b) if someone else is doing (a).

On reflection taking a photo, text to someone, then a and b is probably the right course

Coffee drizzle agency
Pictures daal ale

I would find a gentle blue rather than bother with the greens. That’s what I usually do to get my eye in. I think greens tend to be too flat to properly engage snowboarding turns and more likely to catch an edge kicking the board round rather than carving.

Also, something with a bit of unpisted snow on it as well, more forgiving. I am jealous, not been for a couple of years as a result of injuries to me and or gf.

Hangover, coffee, better

Essens, looking for a lightweight jacket. Already have a full on waterproof down jacket, but need something that is lighter and more easily packable and could act as mid layer at a push

When I was a kid, in the 70s, my parents brought some home with the “we used to have this when we were kids, it’s lovely just try some” line. I managed about two mouthful, about one more than my parents – truly nasty. And I never have been prissy about food, perfectly happy with others sorts of offal as a kid, but tripe is just a slimy mess of pukeness.

You can tell it’s bad because none of the current nostalgianaut chefs are attempting to push it!

If those y-fronts are pants – what are underpants?

Cheers mate, i’ll check it out

ride yoga ride

The idea of doing anything with avalance other than absolutely everything to avoid is madness to me. I’ve seen aftermath, swathes ripped through mature trees, roads brushed aside – bad bad bad.

I always check out the avalanche risk even though I ride in-bounds, this is why I like N America, they take avalanche risk seriously and close down sections if any credible risk.

Plently of fun on the in bounds off piste – Snowbird holds good memories to name just one.

Boom!

Thanks for the clarification on Italy, I last rode there in Md di Campiglio, even there very few people doing anything off the marked runs at all so I assumed the rules applied to all Italy. Anyway, outside of designated skiing areas I’d be hesistant to ride off piste without a guide or proper local knowledge and equipment anyway

I have spent a lot of time boarding in Canada and the States, and, in my experience, these are the best places to learn off-piste. Generally speaking they draw a boudary around the skiable area within in which there are pisted runs and unpisted sections. These are all deemed safe ( within the context of a sport that is inherently risky) certainly in terms of avalanche. Also it is easier to get insurance for this inbounds off piste, don’t need a guide, it’s patrolled etc.

I learned from a guide in Whistler, it was a three day programme which was mainly guiding for experienced boarders or skiers with a few top tips thrown in. The best advice I’ve ever got was don’t look at the trees or you’ll hit them, look at the gaps – I have now adopted this as a life philosophy! Don’t know if they still do this, it was last century, but anything similar is really worth it. My gf did the ski version and we ride the slack country happily together.

Slopes also much less busy that Europe, I’ve boarded off the back off Mammoth for hours in freshies and the only people I saw was my partner and the lift guy.

You need to check the rules on between piste eg in Italy I have a feeling that the any off piste at all is illegal without a guide, and the ski patrol can fine you.

And make sure you have the right insurance

I would really google “log book loans” and do some research on this before you buy second hand. There are some real risks out there not always picked by the checks

South East traditionally has biggest volatility in the market, so today’s growth can be tomorrow’s crash esp when rates start to go back to normal levels – but, averaged out, it is true SE growth has been highest over a number of decades reflecting labour market.

There is a lot of new housing stock being built, that theoretically should keep prices down – supply demand etc… But only to a limited extent, both in terms of volume and geography

Ultimately it’s a market, so prices are what people are prepared to pay and banks lend and people sell at. In theory the market will find it’s own level, if you really have to sell then you have to take what is offered, but the housing market isn’t primarily driven by people having to sell, more by people upgrading lifestyle. In hard times people are cautious, even though prices are lower and interest rates really low by historical standards people hold what they have, stagnant market. So it goes.

Predictions, buy what you can afford comfortably. Don’t bank on capital growth, anyway it doesn’t make you richer unless you can sell out and downsize, so isn’t a bad thing unkess you were unlucky and bought at peak.

And make sure you have enough left over for bikes and holidays.

…. but I am hugely lazy

All solutions seem to involve keeping bikes in that “look like never actually been used order”, if that was required I’d move. I kept mine in the understairs cupboard, and brushed up the mud occassionally when it dried and fell off the bikes. I now have a garage.

I always think about keeping the body long and smooth through the stroke, make sure you are going with the glide, easing through the water with minimum of resistance. Efficiency is all, learn to swim smoothly before you try fast. If this all sounds a bit gnomic it’s because I’m on holiday and a bit drunk. Other than that get a few lessons from a good coach.

Owned or underwritten? I have a feeling that although the state (taxpayer is an odd media term in this conrext as non-taxpayers have the same voting rights every 4 or 5 years) may own 80 odd% it does not take an active shareholder role. Also, it only has a 75% voting right or RBS would be de-listed.

Also the public pretty much owns everything one way or another through pension funds, bonds, unit trusts etc, very little of major value is in truely private hands.

Skiing (but I now board)
Climbing
Vegetarianism

Whisky
Surfing
Slobbishness

If I remember correctly the tyres for motorhomes are necessary for the amount of time motorhomes spend effectively near fully loaded and not actually moving. I think they have reinforced sidewalls so they last longer under these conditions – but this may be pants, I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I am making it up. They may run better as well, but I only had motorhome tyres.

I also have a feeling most tyres have to be binned because of age rather than mileage.

I do remember they are damn expensive

Want!

Will these take a standard sim-only contract sim from eg t-mobile. Sorry for the numpty question but I’m a bit old for this lark

Sniffy about white motorhomes hahaha – nothing the desperately insecure aspirational middle class types won’t be snobby about if they think it helps separate them from the masses.

Last job I had was killing me. Huge stress, long hours , limited time to exercise – getting fatter, unfitter, high blood pressure, canning the ale. Good money though, golden hancuffs…

Took redundancy, 12 months later, fit, lean, happy, chilled, normal blood pressure – still like the odd beer, but not using it purely as a way to unwind any more

Went to the agency this week to get some work, but will be on my terms this time …

Mushrooms