If you could do 36 months delivery instead, could I pay twice as much?

Thanks all. Lots of good suggestions there. I’ll have a look at the various bits over the weekend. Not something I’ve given much thought too seeing as I’m rarely on the road.

Thanks again.

Used ’em for cranksets and bits, service was excellent. Highly recommended.

Sorry to go back to the weather, but I made it until this week before having my first winter rant about bloody mud. It’s so deep now it’s practically unrideable everywhere – I hate it! Every trail is just a battle to stay moving. Even swearing as loudly as possible at it doesn’t make it go away.

And breathe……

Dodgy eyesight – tick (Still refusing to wear glasses though, but it can’t be much longer)

Bald – tick

Rapha – resisted to-date. Cords – had them when I was 19 (I was old before my time) but no longer.

You can’t have enoiugh books.

Was going to do +1 for The Forgotten Soldier, bit it looks like you’ve read it already.

Cripes! Actually looking for staff….that’s a novelty in these times!! Not heard of that for years.

Good on you.

Very local to it. Did the 121 in 2009 and did the 84 last year with mrs ononeorange. Doing the 84 again thogether this year. Ridden on a hardtail and I always know about it afterwards – as above, lots of roots and ruts.

Great ride, and places are limited this year.

I can’t understand why Lazlo didn’t ring Chipps directly…..?!!

Glittergary – did you get your Mint Sauce keyring?

I miss the awesome one too. His pearls of wisdom wrapped in a bejewelled coating of consideration, humility and understanding for others’ points of view.

Hopefully back soon.

Lowish annual mileage here (5,000 or so) but would stick to Diesel out of strong personal preference. Haven’t done the maths but I hated the petrol cars I’ve had (except one, admittedly). I tend to buy older cars so I suspect the intial cost difference is lower.

+1 for Cotic being helpful.

6′ 2″ riding a large.

I like mine. I can leave some of my geared riding buddies behind at this time of year (but not the really fit ones).

I really, really like the fact that I can just chuck it away filthy and it works perfectly the next time I take it out.

I also really like the absence of a “Make it easier now” lever – knowing that makes me work hard to get home as I have no other option.

Mackem – Member
Oh, bog off.

Excellent response!

Spilt crown races should be mopped up immediately using the nearest magic moggie to hand. Fact.

Brilliant! STW to the rescue. Thanks guys.

(Why couldn’t I fins that – I looked under Shimano tech docs and all I could find were exploded diagrams).

Thanks again.

Only recently been introduced to it. Find it a real faff to have to stop, fiddle around etc then can’t get clipped in before messing the descent up as I feel I’m all in the “wrong” position. Then can never find the right position afterwards plus the seat post keeps gently slipping. I can see the advantages though, even if I’m rubbish at descending. To sum up, I won’t be bothering as I’d rather get on with the ride than faffing.

Condolences. As someone said above, it’s not your fault so don’t think that it is. Hope you can get started with the next one soon.

So sorry to hear.

As above, go and give your second Digit the same chance in life.

Absolute classic! Ezekial Bathfire, indeed.

Time to actually do some riding.

Put me down for a frisbee / bucket-coaster key ring!

Miserable walk as above. 205 goes from Euston (out the front near that dire-looking pub in the “bus station”), or 5 minute walk to Euston Square for the Met, H&C or circle lines. Tubes are few and far between today.

Whatever it is that “Awesome” people do.

Seriously, Park Ranger would do me. But obviously done in a way that would involve rescuing lots of stranded and attractive women and marching across mountains in a manly way looking rugged at sunsets and stuff. Probably.

You might have to move it slightly from its storage place if you ever need access to fridge or cupboards, for whatever reason.

That’s the first carbon bike I’ve seen that I like the look of. It looks good – you’re right to avoid colour. Impressive weight. (I have an aversion to carbon bikes as I know that if I ever sat “on one” it would break in two immediately).

Finally, finally, finally got a wireless connection! Only took 3 months…..The moral of the story is don’t bother with Virgin tech support, just ask the IT person at work and they can set up whatever a “hexadecimal password” is in about 10 seconds! Also any instructions supplied with the Virgin kit will be guaranteed to be totally different from what you actually see.

Mental trauma now over. And no more phone cable trailed across the kitchen floor for tripping purposes.

Whatever it was I thoroughly recommend it for that stuff alone!

Had one a couple of years ago. +1 on the pain being the cost! Even if you have dental insurance they don’t cover much of it.

That aside, they give you this weird quasi-anaesthetic where you are sort of awake but have little idea what’s going on or how much time is passing. That was great! Came to properly back at home with a bit of a headache – just like going to a party. It hurt a bit for about 24 hours, a week of faffing about with some kind of disinfectant then that’s it, frankly. The thinking about it beforehand was worse than the actual procedure / after-effects.

I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to get the wireless thing to work. I admit I’m an utter numpty at these things and after several very long emails, calls etc we’ve now all worked it out it’s a security password thing. The explanations they sent me were for a different make of router that they sent – it took a weekend to work that out. What is really frustrating though is that you can never get through to tech support on the phone (someone from sales picked it up once – handy), the chat thing is not working and now the emails just tell me to call.

And breathe. I am hoping to have wireless set up in time for 2020 new year’s eve, but I do need to do it soon as the modem they sent is bust and works intermittently.

chapaking – do you wear clown’s trousers, by any chance? You’d need to to have any chance of getting that in the pockets

Alternative would be a minority tory government

Oh God no, anything but that!

She helps me spec mine.

Only 6 months before she’s heading back…….

“Mat, turn it down a bit for christ’s sake.”

+1 (and I’ve not contributed yet to this thread).

I think an important but subtle change that is very important is to shift the culture in this country that someone is somehow superior if they’re in a car and second or third class if on a bike / public transport / or on foot. There are a lots of these unspoken attitudes – eg those cycle lanes that give way to every little road, pavement parking, general attitude of cars etc etc. In say Holland or Germany you really notice how non-car drivers are treated as equals. I do believe that these attitudes here need to change before we get anywhere; this odd car superiority thing (so beloved of The Daily Mail and that twunt in The Times who was banging on about knocking cyclists off their bikes) is a strange sign of insecurity to me.

OK I’m done. Carry on ranting, Mat!

Find smokeless hard to light too – we’re using coal merchant coal – had a big load delievered.

As above though, have foud performance of fire disappointing – hardly chucks any heat out (burns OK though) and when left, it never burns through the last lot so leaves a rack full of half burnt clinker. It is a bedroom fireplace though.

Want to get a woodburner but put off by quoted installation cost (£2,000+!!!!) plus all the H&S gumph that now seems to go with it. But the front room is very cold (radiators give out as much heat as an unlit candle).

Leave it as it is. And I certainly don’t see why what is fundamentally a bike forum needs a car section.

Crooked Billet in Newton Longville (I think) was the best pub food I’ve ever had. (Mind it was about 5 years ago).

What’s wrong with 1970’s Triumphs?

Richmars – I think they feel that they’ve been fleeced somewhere.

Used to go the Kent tent (which rhymes alluringly).

Which boxed set did you get? I’d like to get one but most of the ones reviewed on Amazon got low marks as they were just obscure films from their solo careers.

First car was a Ford Fiesta 1300S (to my Dad’s horror – he was firmly a BL man) – lovely car, I adored it and was gutted when it finally went. Different coloured-doors as they rusted badly but the rest was really solid. It was on 105,000 miles when the engine finally and rather spectacularly blew on the M1. Replaced it with a Ford Escort 1.3 Popular which was the worst car I’ve ever owned. Never touched a Ford since.