+1 interested in this. Haven’t heard the theory before but it mirrors my experience of intermittent fasting i.e. I find i become much less sugar dependent.

Why? Just why?

Filter machine coffee is rank at the best of times, let alone with 40 year old coffee!

I like to poach them in a tablespoon of olive oil….can’t fail….

I’d have an i5 windows 10 refurb elitebook over a brand new chrome book any day of the week. Far more rugged and capable…

A lot of workplaces offload elitebooks at 3 to 5 years old. They are LOADS better than the plasticcy packard bell rubbish you can get off the shelf in pc world. Shop bought laptops come crammed with “free” samples of bloatware too. If I needed a laptop Id do exactly what you’ve done.

From the JW that I went to Uni with, i got the impression that the door knocking was more about occupying otherwise spare time than genuinely hoping to convert anyone. Having heard her stories about being verbally abused and having dogs set on her etc i swore i’d always try to be nice.
Unfortunately, a big crowd of them turned up on my doorstep once and rang our too-loud doorbell just as I’d got jr down for his afternoon nap and was about to set off on the bike. I’m a bit ashamed that I carried on shouting until the front gate closed. I’m also annoyed that they probably took some perverse strength and pleasure from my over-reaction.

My gay co-worker tells me that declaring a fondness for “sucking tail” gets them off the doorstep fairly rapidly!

I have 9, 6 and 3 year old boys but am still a year off 40. All good here – wouldn’t change a thing at home. Work is stressful, not sure i can sustain it for ever, but we don’t worry about money and can cope with our pretty hefty overheads. I do have to accept though that i can’t always have new toys!

Anyway,back to the kids. No1 was unplanned – we jumped the gun on our marriage by a couple of weeks! Luckily he has been a breeze. No2 was planned. He was hospitalised with meningitis at 3 weeks old and although he was fine, has been higher maintenance ever since.

When No2 was just over a year old, we found that unplanned No2.5 was on the way. That sent me into a similar meltdown to you. I really felt like i had nothing left to give, was worried about money, physically and emotionally exhausted and really didn’t want any more. I used to wake up each morning for 2-3 months with a feeling of dread and worry. I would have aborted if it was purely my decision. Nature took that decision out of our hands in the end and the pregnancy miscarried. Then I had to deal with the emotional impact of getting what I’d been wishing for.

Fast forward another year. No2 sleeping properly, starting to look less like a baby and guess what happened? Yep no3 on the way. Felt completely different this time round. This time we’ve really been able to enjoy our parenting and the little hooligan has brought so much joy to everyone in the family.

What am i trying to say? I guess that its normal for circumstances and timing to give you feeling of dread and worry. But it’s generally ok. You know what you’re doing now, it should be easier. You don’t have to sacrifice the small amount of time and toys you take for yourself – they’re probably more important than ever.

Make sure you’re claiming whatever help you can.

Oh, and get the snip! My GP agreed to book me in before no3 was even born!

I’ve always found rear brakes with the longer hose a bit less positive than the front. Braided hoses dont’t give more power, but are a bit tougher and can look nice in addition to making the brake feel a bit more direct. So I’d perhaps in future use a braided hose on the rear only to equalise the feel front and rear.

Co-incidentally I was just watching Crufts with the stupid overgroomed poodles. I was just thinking there should be a decent dog in there somewhere! I quite like a standard poodle as nature intended. What are the breed and behavioural characteristics?

Hmm, tricky one, this.

Wouldn’t happen at my place because if you are off sick there are times you are not permitted to leave the house without permission.

This is completely outside of UK employment law. Whereabout are you Cranberry?

Don’t think an employer can touch you for any non-work related activity whilst off sick. Having said that, from what I have seen others go through, if/when i melt down because of work i will be keeping the details of any recuperative activity to myself and well off social media. I saw team perception of our stressed out golfer head through the floor…

Civic, auris or mk3 mondeo

Is it possible that they’re too clean?

Why not get em properly filthy then just flush out the excess with the garden hose?

Legend has it that with old-school Hopes, the factory downhill team engineers used to take jars of Barnoldswick clag all over the world for bedding-in purposes.

If OPs brakes are Avid, can also heartily recommend binning them and getting cheap Shimano or nice Hope. I lost loads of riding time trying to fettle em for things like this.

Footflaps….thats kind of what i was getting at….I think in a lot of cases its a matter of “don’t call us, we’ll call you”.

Obvs don’t mean to be insulting to the OP but its not just a matter of “wanting in”. I’ve heard of one or two outfits that are very cliquey and can easily get enough folks from their own circle without entertaining unknown quantities. One recent example is a married fell running and climbing couple who on paper would have been great assets to the team. They got turned down without much of a justification.

Availability is a big thing too. You need to be able to drop everything and turn out consistently 365 days a year. They can build in some redundancy but need a certain level of predictability of who will turn out. Next door neighbour is a medic for our local team and hearing their land rover taking off in the middle of a work night is not uncommon.

If i wanted to get involved, i would spend some time volunteering in non front-line roles such as fundraising and maintenance and gets known as a committed and safe pair of hands. Also join whichever outdoor/climbing/running club a few other rescue team members attend and quietly demonstrate confidence and resilience in a range of situations and conditions. Couldn’t hurt to do outdoor first aid and basic ropework courses off your own back too.

Love that, faustus. Just needs low profiling with a bit of tape over the decals.

Out of interest, what do you see as the pros and cons of your front basket vs rear rack or panniers?

Colournoise – you’ve taken that under the radar look to the nth degree there!

More generally, what do you reckon the key aspects of making a bike look less nickable are? (Assuming you want some paint on it….)

I was thinking no decals or suspension forks….what else?

Malvern….yes that is very non-UK, as you put it! See loads like these on the continental campsites. Didn’t realise they were that heavy though!

Spot – love both of those. Trying to source a LOCT also crossed my mind for the youngest.

I think for Spanish campsite duty i’d probably go for small blocks or semi slicks.

Anne – is the toptube mounted lance for promenade clearing purposes?

Maybe one gets a false impression as a mountain biker, but I think i’d feel happier with some volume between heavily loaded bike / casually attired rider and the road

TJ – did you buy that as an ebike or convert it yourself?

Do the slicks on that on-one and cannondale take everything you throw at them when fully loaded up?

Nice bike, OP, by the way!

There’s some obtuse gits on here….

STW seems to go through narky phases when nobody can say or ask or share anything. Its like the blummin kids…

Rest, brufen and ice now they have already flared up.

When back into training, keep your running speed down initially and try to take quick steps with your stride length short to minimise impact. Slight uphill gradient if on a treadmill.

Get your running gait checked and make sure you have the ideal footwear.

You can get exercise bands to build up the shin muscles on the front of your leg. Never tried them but heard positive things. Makes sense to balance typical cyclists over-developed calves.

I too have this now i run as well as cycle. It doesnt hurt so havent felt the need to get it looked at yet. I have also suffered from patellar tendonitis, which does hurt. I keep on top of that with squats and toe in/out leg raises prescribed by physio.

Never thought this thread would be so polarised, i wonder how much silent middle ground there is amongst those who have read and not commented.

For me, always got on well with my late Dad. I took the path of less resistance than my older brother, got my degree etc and felt he accepted me as an equal as a young adult. I was deeply traumatised when i witnessed him collapse and die when he was 51 and I was 25. It was then that i realised that he probably knew far more about me than vice versa. Bizarely, i learn more about him as time goes on and I spot his influence in me as i try to be as good a Dad for my own young lads.

sacrifice layer.

i bet you could use some old wooden pallets for that….

How about (from ground level up) slate chippings or other coarse aggregate, bricks or breezeblock under all floor structural members, layer of DPC, shed?

Got the same conundrum for kids playhouse. Can’t be arsed concreting. Only issue i can see with putting on blocks is potential for vermin underneath. Maybe some fine metal mesh under the aggregate?

If theyve been there for any period of time and been painted or papered upto multiple times, youll struggle to get rud of the evidence without reskimming. I quite like plainish ones, painted white.

TBF with house prices and rents at the level they are now, there are not many in their 20’s who can afford their place.

So, to take this to its logical conclusion, why not let him live there on condition that he puts the going rate of rent into a help to buy ISA?

You dont really need his money. Your Mrs needs to feel like she’s putting a roof over his head. He needs life lessons in the cost of living. Win win win.

More reassurance here….I found a chocolate chip sized and shaped lump on the front of one of mine. Was a young teenager at the time and the thought of an exam couldn’t be worse. I stuck my head in the sand for the best part of 20 years. Nothing much changed. After my first kid was born I started taking things more seriously. Inspired by the various losses of dignity I saw my wife go through, I went and got it sorted. 1 Male GP appt and 1 fit female sonographer with matronly receptionist chaperone later and I got the all clear. No big deal at all. You’re doing the right thing and are much braver than I was back then.

Cool thanks for tips.

I can guarantee that we both think that the other one is an absolute ****.

But the difference is that one of you paid a not insignificant amount of money to take yourself and loved one(s) to the other’s place of work. The other one gets paid to provide a certain level of service with a certain level of courtesy. Of the course the public can and will be k**bs from time to time. It’s just basic level professionalism to be able to cope with it. Especially if you or your organisation have failed to meet reasonable expectations.

Or (I guess) just memorise the next couple of turnings and stick it in a pocket?!

If we put ourselves in the position of the worker, would it be reasonable to expect to stay in employment after seriously abusing an already aggrieved customer? I’d certainly be dusting off the cv if it was me.

In fact, I wouldn’t expect to get away with saying that to the face of ANYONE in the workplace.

The OP is right to expect this to be dealt with. What the actual consequence is to the individual is their problem, not the OPs.

The whole “loaded gun” matter was dealt with effectively in There’s Something About Mary, wasn’t it?!

When I was a teenager, my parents insisted on door open, 1 foot each on the floor at all times rule. The latter was just an invitation to be more creative. At my GFs house, her dad insisted on leaving the dogs in the room with us at all times. Fear they may be mentally scarred to this day!

Do you encounter many of the middle of the road, cushion-type speed bumps? Honest John reckons these can cause this type of damage, either directly or by inducing suspension damage or misalignment that then causes wear.

It amazes me that some performance models are setup with suspension settings that, in the name of grip or feel, wear tyres unevenly and prematurely, but your issue deffo sounds like there is something wrong.

West Yorks Police recruitment for new officers opened for the first time in a good while this week….

Frog 62 here, followed on from Isla 20. Just as well specced (the “exclusive kid-specific parts” is BS). Paint probably better and still nice and light. Would recommend!