Well, despite all the testosterone fuelled answers above I would respectfully suggest that if you are not confident to deal with a potential aggressive dog attack then if possible avoid that particular area until you have an update on the situation regarding the other dog being exercised off the lead.
In the meantime, try to attend a local puppy/dog training course and ask the trainer to include as part of the course dealing with other aggressive dogs whilst out walking.

Well, they’re probably expecting you to cook it and invite them round on xmas day…

Edit: my fingers are older and slower onzadog! :wink:

I bet he wished he was wearing protective wear when you came across him… Disgusting behaviour by the trollOP 8O

Hmmmm? Good friend just had 21 week scan and will now be carrying dead baby ’til due date :(

On the other hand we have celebrated the lives of some very dear friends who have passed this year, I am giving cutlery sets to my daughters and their partners this xmas and the dishes are still washed by hand here. You have to be as positive as possible and thank your blessings for the world into which you are born.

Balls. Sad news. RIP :(

andrewh, you’ve overlooked one important piece of information that reindeersrenders your calculations worthless and that is that Santa’s technical staff are able to send him through time portals thus effectively making time stand still for as long as it takes to complete the task right down to digesting the last mincepie crumb 8)

Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody but you may have to sell a bike first…

I actually spoke to a motorist just the other day who was sounding his horn all the time and shouting at inappropriate bike riders (although he was ignoring the cyclists).
I respectfully suggested he get out and ride a bike himself to which he replied that he had bought many but couldn’t decide which one to ride and had therefore subsequently sold them.
When questioning why he needed to educate everyone else on the road he said it was due to the stress of his job as a sex agony aunt… 8)

Had a similar situation about a week ago. Driving to work in the dark along unlit rural road, came up behind a colleague also driving to work who had turned onto the road a couple of hundred yards in front of me.
Before my colleague had pulled onto the road I had seen a bike some distance further up the road and when I passed the cyclist I muttered to myself that he could improve his own self-preservation by not riding in head to toe dark clothing with only a single, dim rear light.

When I got to work my colleague was having a right rant about the idiot cyclist he’d only seen at the last moment and had nearly hit; it would have been his own stupid fault for riding in black clothes with no lights.

I pointed out that I had been following behind him and had seen the bike light from some distance. His reply was “yeah, but you’re a bike rider”.

The outcome was that we agreed that the cyclist could have been better lit and wearing more visible clothing but also that my colleague should have seen him in any case and he conceded that he should be more observant driving rural roads in the dark.

The one difference to the OP is that my rider was actually riding within the law; he did have (minimal) lights front and back.

I wonder if the refs will have targets for the most bookings. Or league tables even, maybe with trophies for the most money raised through fines…

Well, finally had a chance to sit down and watch the film.

My take on it is of a pretty honest account of a group of people enjoying all the experiences of their first ‘out there’ road trip. It’s not just about the riding, it’s about the complete experience and the impression I get is that she seemed to be enjoying that experience, warts and all.
She got out there, she did it and I’d be surprised if it isn’t the first of many similar trips that she’ll be doing; such experiences have that effect on some of us 8)

Yes. Do a series of stretches most mornings and have done for years since a serious back injury. Includes hamstrings and glutes which I feel helps to ‘balance’ my knees as well as my back.
psling – nearly 60, 200lbs +, 38″ waist 8)

theotherjonv – amen to that 8)

Words of wisdom rich! I’ll aim to bugger my eyesight up!

Now, let me think. What can you do with one arm that’ll make you blind? Erm… :?:

Nah, night in around the radiogram listening to Sing Something Simple before an early night… 8)

Sounds like it’s time to put slippers on your xmas list 8O

I take my hat off to you Ben, those are the longest legs I have ever seen 8)

In colder weather I regularly wear a cap or beanie, in wet weather a broad-rimmed hat, in warmer weather a sun hat or baseball cap. I am well over 35 I’m afraid but that probably gives me an air of function over fashion even though I have a good head of hair.

I would agree that enclosed vehicles and better working & living conditions have reduced the need for hats over the years.

How did ‘Swinley’ and ‘remote’ get into the same sentence?

Erm, they didn’t! (except possibly in your head) :?

Mmm, Blackwood to Ludlow… reckon you’re going to have to bite the bullet and slog through Hereford :(

Via Talgarth wouldn’t be too much fun towing and probably won’t save any time.

Hopefully you’ll be lucky and get past the Asda rbt and Edgar St in Hereford without too much trouble.

Where are you going from/to?

You could always take the Ross-on-Wye to Ledbury road and cut off left on the A417 (419?) towards Leominster. Depending on the above of course 8)

“when the weather prevents proper biking”???

However its easy to strip the EXIF data by re-saving the photo in photoshop etc.. It usually has an option to preserve EXIF or not.

You what!?! Some of us struggle with modern technology 8O

I have lots of good bits I should sell but wouldn’t have a clue how to host or post a picture :oops: I can however just about manage to email a photo.

As a surveyor I have visited houses with cat and dog faeces in them, often homes with young children in them.
On more than one occasion I have been in houses with human excrement about the place. Without wishing to generalise, the people living in their own filth were elderly alchoholic males living alone.

Well, lowering the age of consent at which the law applies is quite a major change.
A lot of people would consider that 13 to 15 year olds would be put at risk as they are likely to be often too young to give considered consent, hence the protection of the law. Changing the age at which a law applies is effectively a change to that law, surely?

Lol at wrightyson.

My cardboard at £0 trumps your cover at £3 rob jackson :wink:

It’s not just old men that prey on the young.

I’d disagree Three Fish. Statutory rape can be committed with consent; that is the purpose of the Age of Consent – to protect those considered too young emotionally to give considered consent.
Rape without consent is rape, whatever the age.

Hey trail rat, you’re a 4×4 man… I remember getting out with a spanner on the drum snail to lock a wheel when getting cross-axled or losing traction at one wheel on the old Series Land Rovers! 8O

Maxtorque, another useful skill is to left-foot cadence brake as a diy limited slip diff.

A lot of driving is instinctive based on how we drive 99% of the time; when the road is slippery it can be difficult to trust engine braking, to not drop the clutch when braking… these things are unintuitive. And it can be intimidating trying to concentrate on the road ahead with an ‘expert’ tailgating you in snow as you proceed with extra care!

There’s no doubt that winter snowflake tyres are better than normal tyres in cold/snow conditions but for a lot of people in GB they’re not really essential on a cost/need basis IMO. However, if you can meet the cost or really have the need, invest in them. They’ll be worth it but remember, they’re not magic!

Doesn’t look very shy to me.

Pictures of Matchstick Men was brilliant 8)

I find that poor spelling really can be the difference between being affluent and being effluent…

If you enjoy being ‘out there’ and big views, do it. The track is re-graded every few years because vehicular access is maintained for the sheep grazers; it soon washes out again after a couple of winters 8)

Great 5 hour ride in the Elan Valley area yesterday, in glorious sunshine but wet under wheel 8)

There were quite a few out; ‘hi’ if you were one of them!

Red Bike = Good Day!

Sorry, come a bit late to this thread; the only bits I could offer have already been covered.
He’s going to be one lucky lad at Christmas.

If you lot think it’s crap now, you should have seen it in the 70’s.

I studied and then worked there for a while when the brewery was still in the town and The Hexagon was new. Great years but then I wasn’t really concerned with shopping and the road system in those days; the nightlife was pretty good :-)

No use to the OP sorry. Sweeney Todds was popular then too, great that it’s still there.

Footnote: I now live overlooking the Wye Valley!

Keef – Member
because PQ did…

There’s a blast from the past! It was sofaking and salsaboy that inspired me. Oh, and to meet ssstu… :wink:

And, I’d just like to mention the Aviemore SS Worlds; it wasn’t just men in the ‘best beard’ line up 8O

I too can come up with all the reasons under the sun but at the end of the day it boiled down to peer pressure 8)

Well, the sunshine pulsing during daylight hours doesn’t really come as a surprise… 8)

Blimey, a 26er road bike 8)

I used to take courses and carry out assessments for one of the older-established MTB Leader awards; most attendees in the early days were people working or looking to work in Education/Outdoor Activities/Services but as time went on more and more attendees were MTBers looking to formalise some of their existing leisure activity.

To my mind, that is a major change as MTBing has become more widespread and popular; more experienced riders are seeking formal qualifications thinking of them as just an extension of their existing riding. IME, some of the best riders have had the least ability to manage a group, especially a group of lesser riders.

That is why things like understanding and being able to produce such things as route cards and being able to produce a proper risk assessment are often disregarded as not really necessary because ‘I’m a good rider’ or ‘I know the area like the back of my hand’.
Which misses the point entirely. If you are not able to (or indeed not prepared to) take on the responsibilities of carrying out the management required by the role properly then you probably shouldn’t be awarded the qualification.

Blimey, I thought this was going to be another problem-page marriage thread… 8)

Is that like a 5-day-Anniversary-since-his-death-was-announced-on-STW thing then?