The OS is the latest version/update so curious how it can be unpatched. I also used to have a subscription but not of late – I’ll review that…

Switched to my Windows laptop now. I get the popup “Welcome google user (was using Safari…), you’ve just won this tech etc”, and also started getting Safari’s  Unsecure Site Warning, which i’ve never had before the latest update. So far Windows is fine ;0)

With difficulty, still happening…

The serious incidents I have experienced during dives were down exclusively to people diving without regard to the safety procedures inherent to the activity. Nothing negative happens for dozens of dives, people get lax and then shtf… I was a bit anal about checks etc so managed without incidents. Fail to Prepare – Prepare to Fail, as they say.

First contact

Nature finding a way to thin out the human population (she’s making inroads now…)

Cycle and component manufacturers agreeing on industry standards – oops, getting carried away there, silly me 😬

Mountain Morph for me too, had two as the first was nicked… had a Topeak Peak dx2 which failed after a handful of uses.

True Lies? But that was with Arnie…and mid-90’s

Do the padi course, the BSAC always used to be more in-depth and perhaps aimed at the more enthusiastic? Although cheap and cheerful Padi is perfectly applicable to basic holiday diving, imho. I did padi up to Rescue, didn’t want to do Divemaster, but at that sort of level BSAC would be a good choice.

^ this…

mine’s had an oil change every year (all at way less than the required mileage), and last year new plugs and air filter. And i’ve reduced the initial asking price, hint hint…

It’s been a few years since I was in the Zillertal checking out the riding (steep,technical’s my kind of thing ). Other than the Hollenritt trail into Mayrhofen and an enjoyable dh run up at Zell I didn’t come across much else and haven’t been back since, preferring other places in Austria to ride… The Zillertal markets itself as the premier holiday valley in Austria for family walking holidays so don’t really want anything to bother that, which is the norm for such places. Should be plenty of fire road touring though…

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trunkrecords.com%2Fturntable%2Fclanger%2Fclanger2_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trunkrecords.com%2Fturntable%2Fclangers.shtml&docid=Lvs-7AcE_ZfrhM&tbnid=Rq91OEH4zz68UM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjIqObr99vcAhUI4YUKHYYKCFkQMwjKAigoMCg..i&w=328&h=233&hl=en-gb&client=safari&bih=922&biw=768&q=clangers&ved=0ahUKEwjIqObr99vcAhUI4YUKHYYKCFkQMwjKAigoMCg&iact=mrc&uact=8

As a child I never doubted the earth was a sphere, and still don’t!

Mind you, as many of our colonial cousins believe in an impending zombie apocalypse and creationism I don’t give them a lot of my time…

Blimey, that does look good – much better than I gave the area credit for.   !o)

Some species grow quite large (up to 65 inches or 165 cm in length),<sup id=”cite_ref-4″ class=”reference”>[4]</sup> such as <i>Sphyraena sphyraena</i>, found in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic

…from Wikipedia. They’re fairly unmistakable when you see them, as least that’s what I find. The ones I’ve seen were loitering around piers and reefs.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201808059166596

Just put my Roomster on Autotrader today, petrol 1.6 so not budget car tax but not silly either. SW London area.

Getting my driving license back in (hopefully) March next year – bloody seizure…

“More freaky was night ride up there, no one about, deadly silent and my lights causing a dozen eyes to shine in the trees.”

…just a local Sasquatch group having a roam – a change of scene from Boxhill!

Whilst threading my way through some large bushes along a quiet trail on Holmbury Hill, came across a group of Orcs complete with large plastic swords waiting to ambush (presumably) some elves/dwarves/whatever… I was jokingly challenged then allowed to continue.

As it’s a Lakes bridleway I enjoy it for what it is, rather than what I want it to be. If it’s a flowy trail then Whinlatter would be more suitable, but as a technical natural hikeabike Lakes special it’s fine with me.

Similar to Scapegoats post, I hit a badger side on up a country lane at about 30mph two up on an old Kwack zx10. Bike left the ground but landed straight and I managed to stop without falling off amazingly. Distressingly the badger wasn’t killed immediately but took a few seconds to die after I got back to check it out. Considering the amount of weight that had hit it it’s testament to how robust they are considering it wasn’t dispatched outright, awesome beasts. I think the word Trundling was invented to describe the movement of a badger, so fitting 😉

oh, and as for Honey Badgers – you wouldn’t want to mess with those things at any level, truly the SAS of the animal kingdom!

Apparently Germany is the largest market for mountain biking in Europe but is also pretty pants to ride on the basis of singletrack trails, from my experience. This explains why many German riders travel to, say, Italy for their fix as it’s less restrictive. I find that annoying as I feel very comfortable with being in Germany, and it’s great value to boot as you highlighted. Saw my first anti-ebike sticker there last year on a jeep trail… interesting times ahead I suspect 😐

If you want to see the aurora but it’s not playing ball there’s an exhibition down by the harbour which shows some stunning 4K footage on big screens as well as background information. But I found the landscape the  star, just epic in an otherworldly sense.

You’re unlikely to find everything you need in one single spot. But you can base yourself in say, Chamonix or Aletsch area for the high altitude/glacier elements and travel daily to suitable riding spots in nearby locations such as St Gervais (for Chamonix). As Chevychase says the 3 Valleys is well equipped but some of the runs in Meribel are full on dh… Choose the trail carefully. Good call re the ebikes though, buy a good local topo map and go exploring!

There’s some cracking riding between Lynmouth, Rockford and Hillsford Bridge (albeit cheeky in part…), and  a nice out and back from County Gate down the Doone valley to the site of the medieval village (or as a loop taking in some moortop bridleways). It’s a beautiful area.

I congratulate the OP’s attitude re: not wanting to be a drain on the precious NHS resources

…fair enough were it something truly trivial e.g. going to a+e for a splinter in a finger, but an unexplained loss of consciousness is hardly trivial – especially whilst, say, driving. It needs checking out.

Spent last week revisiting Dartmoor. It’s got some stunning rides with Lustleigh possibly providing the cream of the crop, with an extension to Hound/Hookney Tor/Headland Warren a must-do. The Bowermans Nose descent is awesome at the moment with all this dry weather but heavily overgrown…

“but after it happened and I regained my sense, I felt almost (not quite) as if it had not happened at all.”

…this. You remember the buildup and the coming around, but not the distress of the event both to you and the witnesses – it’s hard to put into perspective. But it does need investigating, as unpalatable as it may seem.

Sorry to read about this episode OP, I know how distressing this will seem to you.

Just to say, I’m not medically trained (apart from various First Aid courses over the years) but have an interest in such things.

From a layman’s standpoint it sounds like a crash in blood sugar/pressure  as has been mentioned… but regardless, I’d see your GP and get your bloods checked (usually a fine way of keeping a check on your general health). Mind you, dehydration can be a factor.

As I suffered a full on seizure a few months back which has far reaching effects on day to day living even a simple faint needs investigation.

There was an item on Springwatch about them – was a fascinating watch. Apparently they’re solitary in nature, don’t sting/swarm and aren’t overtly aggressive. Fantastic pollinators too, we need to look after these imho…

Always regretted not doing the floatplane trip from Victoria (on the island) to Vancouver, should I ever get back to BC it’d be top of my list. If in Squamish the hike up the Chief is neat (and free…or it was several years back). I’m envious of your trip, BC is fantastic!

The Cortina area keeps drawing me back. Bike friendly lifts to Refugio Faloria and Som Forcia to use hiking trails 213/206(then 210 to Cortina). Falzarego Pass to b/f lift to Refugio Scoiattoli then follow your nose back to Cortina. And the stonking trail 431 from Croda di Lago back to Cortina – getting to the Croda itself is either a long but 95% rideable Road/track from Cortina or if you arrange it a Landy shuttle which is popular with hikers. I’ve only spent a day in Val Gardena and frankly was unimpressed in comparison to Cortina.

I have one. It’s a stable unit when fitted but as I’m not using it with the dedicated Alpkit bag I’m having to play around with a cross brace to stop my sleeping bag rolling off it sideways as it will be on top of the rail rather than hanging below – a wider platform would be useful.

There’s a garage very near me that specialises in 4×4 repairs/servicing, each bay has its own roller door which is usually open so you can see what’s being worked on. Invariably they’re Discos in 3/4 flavour – it’s a busy place… From someone who would have a D2 in their top 3 want list, a D3/4 doesn’t even register.

Simon_g – the course is run by the Builder Training Centre over by Croydon and they do it over consecutive weekends, perhaps it’s what you did? The diy/handyman aspect was the angle I was approaching from…

Feel free to hijack, if the result is positive then crack on!

single – yes, young – not now unfortunately…

cheers folks, you guys have confirmed my train of thought – thanks for the input.

Making a halving and mortice and tennon joint
Making a two panel door
Scribing in the beading with quadrant and practice mitres
Making up a frame to the door and fitting the door with hinges
Cutting a lock for the door
Building a stud partition wall
Boarding the wall with plasterboard
Fitting a frame into stud wall
Hanging a door in a frame
Fixing doorstops
Fixing architrave
Scribing in skirting
Glueing timbers and fashioning an edge and a side to timber
Sharpening chisels
Developing skills in sawing, planeing, chiselling, sanding, hammering, measuring and marking out

…no qual stated, other than some internal certification for attainment probably.

That was quite something last night! Without doubt the most intense display of thunder and lightning I’ve experienced here in Blighty – there was absolutely no let up for at least an hour. By coincidence I was watching Heima by Sigur Ros and was in totally the right frame of mind to absorb the experience.

It’s the loop that runs to the north of the yha, behind Liathach.

Solden is my favourite riding location in the Tirol hands down. The trails are nicely technical and certainly enough to entertain for a few days although perhaps not a week, but the valley is extensive if you want to explore.