will there be ostriches?

I don’t really give a toss about IWH and his scammery/incompetence/tragic family issues.

On the other hand, BD’s inspirational contribution is one of the highlights of my life so far, so I will always be grateful to IWH for making it all possible. I feel sorry for all the people in the world who will never read this thread and therefore will miss the sheer poetry of the rally car and the ostriches and the penguins with brooms.

We had an email after about 3 or 4 days. If you haven’t heard by now…

As someone doomed to spend a lot of time riding the much despised field edges, every time I see one of these I can’t help but admire the design.

Opens both ways, selfclosing by the offsetting of the two hinge pins. Simple, elegant, reliable.

’89 on a Trek 830, but in the early 70’s I frequently broke my Sun racer riding offroad.

I’ve posted 3 rides from Warwick on OS Explore .

There’s not a lot of singletrack around Stratford but these routes keep me amused.

I have Scorch with photochromic bifocals – they are ace from a comfort and function point of view, but look pretty geeky when the lenses are clear – OK when they are dark. I think I’d have chosen a lighter frame colour if I’d tried them with clear lenses (I visited the shop when I was passing on a business trip).

I tried one and didn’t like it at all – too short, too tall and too heavy. But it isn’t really my sort of bike.

I’ve just bought an Anthem X1 to replace my ’99 Mount Vision – admittedly only the frame and seatpost were original on the MV, but then the question was about the frame. I still ride my ’92 Eldridge Grade from time to time. The MV is still a perfectly capable bike, so I’m forced to conclude that bike replacement is basically about fashion rather than function.

No one has commented on the OP’s last paragraph – I don’t see how Danny could pull some of those moves on anything except a fixed wheel – particularly the riding backwards bits.

I used Candy SLs for years, afraid of the small contact patch of the Eggbeaters. Recently switched to Eggbeater SLs on the grounds they they are definitely the least weight for the money and they look really hardcore to non-cyclists, and I can’t feel the difference (Shimano shoes). So I’d say that the contact patch thing is a non-issue, as long as you are using decent shoes. If you are gluing your cleats to a pair of espadrilles you might have a problem.

Giant Anthem X1?

I’ve got two hens, Paris and Britney (Thelma and Louise got eaten by a fox). We’re middle class Eglu owners too – not sure I’d do that again as it is a bit pricey but it is very easy to clean and our hens have always been very healthy – can’t prove it but the two may be related. They are the easiest animals to look after that we’ve ever had (cleaning the Eglu is easier than cleaning even a goldfish tank) – and as everyone else has said, the eggs are fantastic. They are entertaining to watch, and keep the slug population down. What’s not to like?

chrism, apologies, they were 1.9s. So, I’m not upset about the lack of Continental Cross Country 1.8s, but I really miss Continental Cross Country 1.9s. Better?

Oh, and thanks for that link, Gordymac.

Oh, and Continental Cross-Country 1.8s – the only tyre you ever need. Except that you can’t get them any more.

Odi Tomac grips – the mushroom pattern ones. Light, grippy, comfy – why don’t they make them any more?

I still use Vs. With clean cables and well set up they are almost as powerful as disks. Used off-road a lot and you’ll wear out a lot of rims.

Avid work much better than Shimano in my experience and they are lighter. I use Single Digit Ti but they are expensive – the SD 7 are better value.

Dunno what your budget is but an A6 is huge, and you don’t have to worry about the mileage – my last 2.5Tdi was still mechanically fine at 170000 miles.On the longlife service plan it only asked for a service every 25000 miles or so. If you want driver involvement avoid the SE, as it’s a bit soft – the S-line is much tauter.

I test rode a Giant Anthem X1 at the weekend – that had a very low BB. Very nice bike though.

I still use Vs, and I’d love a set of these – but £335 for v-brakes? I just can’t bring myself to do it.

This thread prompted me to go and weigh my bike. I found that my 10 year old Marin Mount Vision is 25lbs with pedals, mudguards and computer. Progress? Pah!

Two examples of old technology

Thanks Eldrik, makes more sense than uplink’s answer :-)

@TJ he said he would keep it tied up – I guess I’ll see next time I’m riding that route.

Trouble is, it’s the best Mayhem training ride around here, and I really don’t want to stop using it.

Wound-wise, I’ve cleaned it up and given it a good splash of TCP, and I think my tetanus is up to date. It’s not much worse than some of the damage I get from the carnivorous brambles around here.

Oops – linky

None of the ‘click here’ links to download the forms work yet. 11 hrs 50 minutes to go.

I simply don’t see the point of them (working dogs excepted). Seems like a lot of hassle for the owners and a lot of unpleasantness inflicted on society – for what?

So if there aren’t any Alchemists around, what are the alternatives? Light, 100mm travel, around 2.5 kilopounds?

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Dhalgren by Samuel R Delaney

and funnily enough, another vote for “Systems Thinking in the Public Sector”, if only because it gives you a hint of how much better our lives could be.

Bugger all in Warwick. Hasn’t stopped them closing my kids schools for today and tomorrow, just in case.

I’ve had a Classic for 7 years or so – makes great coffee. If you like cappuccino, getting the frothing right takes practice. Sainsburys espresso beans (gold packet) are amazingly good for the price. This is the tamper you want – and it’s almost as useful as a set of Bombers in an emergency.

I have a Braun 8985 360 complete which does a pretty good job. Every now and again I either leave it in a hotel or the foil wears out and I have to wet shave for a while. The wet shave is messier, takes the same length of time and feels slightly smoother for about half an hour. Also tends to give me a rash. Wet shaving also works out more expensive – the price of those blades!
I found the service from shavers.co.uk to be excellent.

I’m still in mourning for the Abbey Crunch, the ultimate dunking biscuit. Hob Nobs are not an adequate replacement.

blip.fm can be fun too