So if I am trashing HT2's every six months, even with the upgraded BETD bearings, should I being going with these ? (I think I know the answer 😳 )

Ok, entry in, plus two mates.
That South Downs event in early September looks pretty good too.

Good pimping. I like the look of that – I've just emailed the boys to see if they fancy it. Should have got over the HONC by then (or maybe not based on yesterday's very painful ride 😥 )

Always a good listen – it gets shown on BBC 24 too. There was a great one a few weeks ago on the PR business and one guest (Tim Bell I think) was clearly getting the other male guest really hacked off, and vice versa. Sounded like it was getting close to handbags.

I'm just jealous. I had to give up rowing after 20 years when my back gave up for the third time. I don't think it ever really gets out of your system. I've done quite a few sports over the years and it remains the best. I generally rowed in eights at stroke, and being in control of a boat full of meat-heads ready to serve up a beating is something else. Happy days.
Can't have been much fun training this winter though.

Stephen Fry delivers an erudite smack down on the Catholic Church

Worth 19 minutes of your life.

Nice. I was doing a more rural version around Compton Verney way. One detour needed to get around a river footbridge that was underwater, and the Warwickshire clay was more runny gloop than sticky gloop, with a nice deep ford crossing to clean things off at the end. Mojo restored after feeling a bit low for a few days 😀

It's as simple as described above. I rerouted mine from a tap in the garage to one outside a few weeks back when the pipe burst during that freakishly cold period – I had been meaning to do the job for years and never got around to it. As DIYers know, getting a round toit is the answer to all such jobs.

We walked the full length and back yesterday on the ridge. Beautiful, and rideable all the way (but I was doing my duty !). We tried a few of the side tracks and it was over knee deep in places.

We had a couple of hours in the Cotswolds yesterday and it was surprisingly ok. Only one short section completely trashed. Careful choice of route mind.

I owned one of these (130ps, auto, fully loaded) after having three Galaxies. It was definitely a firmer ride, and I switched because you got a lot more extras for you money, but the trade off was the build quality was sh1te – hard to believe as they are all (Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra) made in the same factory.
I'm now driving an S-max, much better by a long way and just about the same amount if interior room (but small back row seats).

We went to Vancouver to go skiing over Christmas/New Year 28 years ago. Couldn't get to Whistler as the roads were washed out by floods, and the local hills (Seymour etc) were grass. We were walking on the hills in Tshirts in the sunshine 8)

Uplink said

My thyroid gland doesn't work too well so I need to take a hormone supplement [Levothyroxine]

Me too, for the past 25 years. Resting heart rate about 40.

Graham – will you be publishing the route in advance as normal ? I know most of the area and like to get it in my head beforehand…and have a few (legit) off-tarmac detours where I can fit them in.

Topeak for me too. But put a zip tie round the bung/bolt thing to ensure it can't fall out.

Tuck in close behind a truck for the cameras and then rag it to the next one. That seemed to be the M6 policy yesterday for those with phat exhausts.

jimw….Teos ??

When I got in my wife said the back door had frozen up. Not that I wanted any mind.

I asked about this yesterday re a Fox shock. There's a Youtube vid showing how to do it which was very reassuring – have you checked there ?

-15C this morning in South Warwickshire, -10C when I got back in just now.

OK, so I'm really ashamed now, having read up on this and watched the youtube stuff.
Seal kit ordered, hair shirt in place.

Good suggestion. I'm pretty handy with the spanners but tend to leave this sort of stuff to the pros. I'll have a look around.

My Trailrakers have been doing pretty well. Reliable amount of grip on ice and chomp thru the snow ok – but they did struggle a bit this morning with 12" of fresh stuff from last night 😛

Death ? I'm getting my brain transferred to a Na'vi. Can I hold out to 2145 ? 🙂

"cutting out some road and slapping in some real cheeky bits" – that's my approach as a local too…causes lots of confusion !

I'm in. Done it loads of times but missed last year due to man flu 😥
Also got the form this morning for the Bucks off roader. But I'm going to miss the Rough Ride this year due to a clash with twin daughters' 21st (could be locked in the dog house if I mess up on that one)

Just back from Avatar in 3D. Brilliant.
Ok, so the story line is a bit hackneyed with stereotypes a-plenty, but sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Carpe diem.
I was going to work, but I'm off riding instead. Nicely frozen again.

Trailrakers for me too. They are good on ice too I have discovered in the last week. More slidy stuff tomorrow morning I think. Then more snow for midweek 😀

You seem to missing several hammers

It's got to be the pipe-smoking "Velvet Bulldozer"

It's eased off to a F5 here in the Shire, so I'll be mostly windsurfing this afternoon. Work's over-rated 😉

He was driving on Edge Hill too. I have never been passed so close by a vehicle – three of us fully lit up.

Windsurfing. Not sure where yet. It's gonna be big. 😀

Ten of the best decisions from the Dear Leader

Given up on Firefox as it kept hanging my PC – mostly when on STW 😆
Now gone via Chrome, which seemed a bit slow, back to IE, and IE8 seems to be ok.

MW80s for me too. Haven't used them yet this autumn, but they'll be on as soon as it turns wet. Thick socks and summer shoes fine for today.

Yep, we saw that sunset from the top of Edge Hill. Lovely.

Anybody care to pontificate on the effect of bar ends on such an incident. Seems to me that the load would be spread over a larger area, so less damage done ?
Nasty injury, and as someone who has a bit less (ahem) "padding" I dread to think what such a fall would have done to my insides. 🙁

Willie Hague had this about right: classic