I think STW represents an exceptionally formal audience, at least.

Jambalaya – water meters are a regulator-driven thing.

Meter is in the pavement outside the house so not sure I can even get to it to see the figures?

There’s no way it is or should be inaccesible to you. It’s under the small square flap.

Not nearly enough capitals for a full rant….

…..but seriously, we had suspiciously high bills when we moved into a flat. Turn everything off, and see if the meter is still going round (ours was). Then you speak to the water company. We couldn’t engage ours, but they managed to engage the landlord, and it turned out there was a very large leak under the driveway (it also explained the deepening crater in it!). Landlord’s responsibilty, and he eventually reluctantly fixed it. We did eventually get some of the hundreds of pounds we’d paid back.

Erm, I’ve never actually “warmed-in” with my riding….

No. Let’s ask whether £32,450 is a suitable level for the 40% tax rate to kick in (or whatever it is) and let the random squabbling run for another 5 pages – while the rest of us can discuss in a civilised manner elsewhere.

Couldn’t agree more, Binners. On both counts. Start paying a civil servant well and all the envy-hackles will go up in the media.

I would think the key factor for overall costs will be whether First takes legal action.

Having seen a number of government contracts, I think the key issue ruunning through this is the public sector’s weakness in such contractual/procurement matters. They rarely seem to negotiate robustly, and as stated above somewhere, don’t have a well-thought through process. If this could be improved throught (eg NHS etc), I think a very large sum of money could be saved.

Just my opinion, mind.

Well done, chojin. 5 pages! And we’re essentially on the pretty subjective “You have more/less money than me and you’re not in the real world, I have a better way of organising tax” – it could run and run yet.

I do miss TJ though – he could have taken this to 10 pages easily.

As above. It sounds a very odd way to go about it.

Did he sound like George from Phonejacker by any chance?

This really is a top thread! Much better than other threads debating things that no-one really knows about. Keep ’em coming!

I thought that this was another 29er thread….. 😉

Did they actuslly fly? The wings seem a little, erm, stubby.

Oh yes. I forgot Ryanair for revelling in rude and atrocious “service”.

And Addison Lee for that appalling anti-cycling rant.

Tesco for their general underhandedness in planning and consequent dominance;
Tobacco companies as I detest their attempted cynical manipulation of people’s minds;
McDonalds for their business ethics;
Coke & Pepsi;
The Times partly as it’s Murdoch, partly as it’s poor in my opinion but mostly due to that Matthew Parris anti-cycling rant;
Eric Pickles if I possibly could.

If I don’t roll out of bed the moment the alarm goes off, I know that I will miss my train and potentially have an hour and a quarter’s cramped standing on the next one. That’s very powerful motivation to get up, especially if one is claustrophobic.

Can’t post pictures, but my Simple looks like Haze’s, above. Another vote here for 26″ bikes.

Gweilo – not far away, I’m more towards London (Amersham way). The golf balls I was referring to are on the Chess Valley ridge (nearest ones are just above Chenies). Happy to show you round my way but my time on a bike tends to be a little erratic!

“Rio
I own the whole of Buckinghamshire…”

You don’t own my garden – so not quite the whole.

Kryton – been wondering about doing this for some time. Did you have to fill in a tax return (something I absolutely dread)?

Efffefefffeffeffffefff…..Sminky Pinky Lipostic.

That’s all you need.

It’s all codswallop.

thestabiliser – much better effort, well done. Almost totally unintelligible. I particularly like the lack of punctuation, although you lose one point for a full stop in there. 8/10. Keep it up!

Random capitals and areas of utter incoherence would have improved it vastly. Hardly even a rant, diffused, solid or otherwise. 1/10.

+1 for the Museum of London. Brilliant.

I suppose it depends on the size of writing that you use.

Can we have that picture of the rabbit with a cake on its head now?

Black…..all black…..Father! They feed me pins!

You’ve surely read the excesses and cover limitations? That’ll probably be where the biggest differences lie.

The outliers (eg the chap above adding his wife) will probably be for business that they really don’t want as it doesn’t fit their desired risk profile, so rather than refuse to quote they give a very high price.

EBB = Eccentric Bottom Bracket

Everyone round to stormtrooper’s house to watch it!

Why’s Caroline Flint being broken up into 6 pieces? Seems a bit harsh.

Yes

We don’t live that far from Dagnall and there’s a heck of a lot of mini golfballs around us (sort of small Fylingdales things) that seem disused but no-one seems to know what they are. I’ve never liked riding past them (visions of James Bond-like death rays being zapped at me from them etc etc).

There it goes, slipping off the front page and into the sunset…..

That’s amazing for me

And Johnny Nice Painter. And Channel 9.

“Apparently everyone who owns an Audi is a knob, has a £3k bike and lives in London and rides in the Surrey Hills.”

Audi – tick;
Knob – Not for me to judge;
£3k bike – fail;
Live in London – fail;

Surrey Hills – fail.

“Does anyone on here mountain bike anymore? I thought everyone had taken to the road and brought even more expensive road bikes.”

Not just me either.

Just a thought – I know nothing about this – if the OP goes alone to see the GP as I think is suggested, could that not automatically put the brakes on the IVF by the medical profession? Doing it that way may be seen by her as underhand. Would it not be better to tell her first and say the IVF shouldn’t happen with the drinking out in the open?

The end result is the same it’s just getting there is different.

I really don’t know but it was what occurred to me.

Where do you mean by “south”, Johnny? Summit are based around Chalfont St Giles / Gaerrards Cross area.

Death march too preferred here – and a desk job. Commute on the tube though is definietly not cushy or in any way comfortable.

Andy,

I read it all. Great write-up, very thoughtful and you rightly pointed out that it had flaws. I have been wanting to read something like this for a while – you clearly don’t have a drum to beat for either 26″ or 29″.

(Somebody will be along soon to tell you that of course it’s all rideable and you could easily do the last section at 82.4 mph…!) 😀

Thank you for posting.