This could work

Congratulations to Dan Martin too winning the Combative Rider of the Tour award.

[whisper] pssst  bikebouy, it’s Geraint btw (I know you like your own pet names for the riders but…)[/whisper]

Was nice to see Brailsford show a bit of emotion too. That obviously meant a lot for him too

Welsh boys together, isn’t it.

Great result. Not sure what happened to the couple of seconds for the stage win but that doesn’t affect the overall result so probably isn’t an issue.

How come Mitchelton Scott riders weren’t wearing helmets…? ;-)

It’s a lumpy course and any one of the top four could take the stage.

The thing that crossed my mind though is that if Froome has the legs and really goes for it to get in front of Roglic and Dumoulin then they will have to push harder meaning Thomas will need to put in an even greater effort and maybe take more risks. If Froome holds back a bit it could make Thomas’s ride just that little bit easier. Just wonder if this is something that has been discussed on the Team Sky bus?

Looking forwards to it and even the mainstream media seem to have caught a whif of something special happening today!

Just caught the slo-mo replay of that start.

Ah, no I didn’t – it was actually live…

Ground Effect make jerseys that meet your spec. The Stingray for example:

“The Stingray delivers hot-weather cycling performance without requiring you to squeeze into a body-hugging mobile billboard.

• Stand up collar to block UVs. Who wants to be labelled a red neck?
• UPF 50+
• Outrageously long front zip for turbo charged ventilation.
• Regular fit and no-elastic hem lets the wind ‘blow up your kilt’.
• WhaleTail™ covers your back when you’re stretched to the max.
• Rear security pocket coupled with elasticised pockets for on-the-go access.”

;-)

Call him what the **** you want, it’s the internet not a Q&A

Cav first called him G, preceded by ‘Oh’ in a Gavin & Stacey kind of way apparently. “Oh, G” as a piss-take, and it has stuck because a lot of commentators can’t pronounce Geraint correctly.

Old friends call him Gez btw,

[His book is a good read, amusing and quite informative ^^]

When you get to the wedding, can you let us know if the house has a drawbridge??

[laughing emoji]  What, like made out of sticks?

That’s some really fine sportsmanship.

It’s good to see sportsmanship amongst the riders on the tour (when there’s no fisticuffs!!) – I noticed that when Gilbert dropped back to the peleton, all the lead out riders (read Sky) spoke to him / checked on him.

and pleased Phil Gil is still with us.

Lucky escape really having seen pictures of where he landed! I hear though that he won’t be riding tomorrow, don’t know if anyone is able to confirm.

Tomorrow will be a damp squib too. When there are lots of strategies, there is no strategy. Normally handicaps run in reverse order. I assume the ones at the back just have time added rather the traditional TT timing?

Isn’t it meant to just be like a F1 GP start; all starting together, no neutralised zone. Once they’re away they’ll form into team strategies as normal.

I’d have thought it’s do or die tomorrow for Dumoulin, Roglic, Bardet. Short stage, big climb to mountain-top finish, can’t see when they can attack otherwise. Having said that, the TT on Saturday is going to be seriously tough on tired legs – 1 in 5 on the final climb?!

That being the case it looks like he needs to arrange a meeting with his direct boss / ceo on return from holiday to discuss his position and how they can grow his role. He is obviously able and keen to work as long as they can give him the work. That can only be positive for them.

I wish him luck.

What sort of distance are you looking for?

Borders 220 – https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1938400409 – ? Stretching my abilities for a couple of days but might be a walk in the park for you?!

I would have said the forwardmost wall (the bays/porch) as that is part of the original dwelling but you are right to ask your local Planning Dept. because it could be open to interpretation and they can give you a definitive answer.

Other things of course affect “Permitted Development”. Is it a garage conversion / single storey or are you building upwards too? Are you extending rearwards?

he has passed the 6 month probation period with no issues, it was only a few weeks ago the CEO told me what a great job he’s doing and all the team love him.

Has he told you why he is unhappy there then? Everything appears to be going well and he would appear to have fitted in well with other employees. It seems his ‘unhappiness’ is key to this and may need to be resolved both in his own head and with his employers before the resolution you would like might be achieved?

I’m struggling with this one.

Your son has worked there for less than a year, he is unhappy there and he is looking for work elsewhere.

So you’re getting all precious about his rights because his employers on finding this out are suggesting to him that maybe neither he is right for the job nor the job is right for him.

He needs to move on under his own volition or take the job seriously. The only other possible course of action is to establish why he is ‘unhappy’ and address that issue if he sees a future in his current role.

Waitrose get it right.

Yeah, but your average Morrisons customer isn’t going to understand that…

15 years, eh Dave! Still got my Air Ambulance T shirt, you and Russ’s friends put a lot of time and effort to supporting him back then. Great to see he’s still active and enthusiastic (and hopefully doing well?)

+ 1 cheers

Double wrap the bars?

OK, she may be a bit thick but she’s honest and encouraging her kid to eat fruit and not sweets/crisps. Two out of three ain’t bad.

I guess from Nailsworth you could head up over Mincinhampton Common and down to Chalford then up to Bisley, The Camp, Birdlip and then down Leckhampton to Cheltenham?

All the pure sprinters out…….

So is this route just too tough for a weighty sprinter or is there just not enough juice doing the rounds to ride not normal?

Faster average speeds, shorter stages and tough climbs one after another mean the cut-off time becomes harder to achieve for the heavyweights so out the back door they go?

Champs Elysees will be quiet this year…

Blimey! Froome probably owes Dan Martin a pint, or is it Dan owes him a pint! Bring on tomorrow.

Start at the finish and do it in reverse saying ‘hello’ to every bike rider you meet going the opposite way. Plus, that 1400m of climbing will all be downhill. It’ll be a fun day out.

I’m not sure if G will be allowed to go for it today; Froome will need all the support he can get tomorrow and G is too important for that. I can’t see Sky pushing too hard today given tomorrow’s iconic climbs.

stop with the stupid names

Isn’t that kind of where OO came in though; they started with “stupid names”! I mean, come on… Pompino, Inbred were names of their era. OK, maybe not pc these days but still fun in a schoolboy humour kind of way.

The St in Strava stands for Straight line. A lot of the beautiful winding, twisty single track round our way has had the lovely flowing twists and turns taken out by shortcut straight lines created by strava busting speed nobs seeking ever faster time placings. The K in KOM stands for ‘kin !

Have they had a medical check-up? Possible whiplash injury or other after effects plus loss of earnings. If the next bike up front was running disc brakes on a road bike then there is a definite claim there; it is well documented that these are not safe for use on the road. Plus, cafe stop? What’s that about then?

Being more serious – unless there was obvious bad riding / pi55ing about then, as others have said, suck it up IMO. Wonder how they deal with it in the TdF?!

And….is there a girlie specific chamois cream?

Charlie the Bikemonger’s Bum Butter is claimed to be female friendly; my daughter uses it and is complimentary about it.

If the old rockers want to carry on for the love of it, let them. If you don’t like, don’t listen.

But… what’s with all the clean-living, tea-total, cr@p. I know these guys are old but what happened to die before I get old, eh? It’s hardly rock and roll [rolls eyes]

Assuming you  are in England or Wales and that it is a recent development.

There are many and varied things that may affect your situation. It is obviously of concern to you and I would suggest that you make an appointment with a Planning Officer at your local Planning Dept. to discuss the development with regards to both Planning and Building Regulations requirements. You are allowed to view the public details of any Applications. There are a number of things to consider: was Planning Permission required, was building Regulations Approval required, were there any specific requirements/conditions regarding the windows, have the Approved Plans been adhered to, were there any approved amendments during construction.

Building Regulations are pretty much fixed what can and cannot be done, Planning Approval can be at the whimsey of a Committee with complete disregard of the T&C Planning Acts! This is why you are better discussing the development with a Planning Officer; stuff you read in the Planning Portal and other places is for guidance and may not necessarily apply in your specific case.

It’s not as simple as hollow vs solid – there are good and bad in both! I would say the higher quality hollow extrusions with thick outer and multi-chambered are best. You might expect to pay £30-£40 per 3.6-4.00m length ( x 145mm wide) for the best quality!

Most manufacturers advise 300mm c/s for joists because composite or ‘plastic’ extrusions expand along their length in warmer temperatures – as much as 1.5-2.5mm per metre (wood tends to swell across its width with wet). If any warranty is offered with the product this is probably a requirement, It is also why clips are required for fixing for composites (to allow the boards to move longitudinally) rather than screws / nails through the boards. Again, probably a requirement of any warranty.

It’s going to be like the Hokey Cokey all this week!

At the end of the day the Tour is ASO’s baby and I guess it’s up to them who they allow to play with their toys irrespective of all the other official bodies that may be involved [they also own l’Equipe so a good story is always good for publicity]. There will be a few lawyers better off by the end of the week, that’s for sure.

Sorry to read this Stu, Best wishes to Amanda, hope she’s feeling a bit better and heals quickly, both physically and mentally.

On a more positive note, at least you’ll be able to beat her up the hills for a while… ;-)

As others say, my experience is that it depends on the site. We have a galv. bucket BBQ which was actually bought in France and have often used it with the dried twig-like, grassy stuff you can buy in France for BBQs rather than charcoal (no idea what the stuff is called!). The bucket BBQ keeps the fire off the ground and contains the ashes so in that respect is site-friendly.

I was searching for blow up dolls and found an image of some bloke using a track pump to blow up an airship, followed the chain back here to find some angry badger getting some stick. Being an animal lover thought I’d join up.

Doethie Valley is probably going to be as dry as it will ever be. (*)

(*) waits for someone to come along saying it’s crap because you have to open a gate

One of my favourite bits of singletrack but last time I was there (last Autumn and wet) a lot of it had been totally wrecked by pony trekkers.

That said, it’s a very good circular 1 day ride starting and finishing in Llanwrtyd.

<div>fadda

Anywhere around Symonds Yat (Forest of Dean, Glos…) – try the Biblins campsite, which is after the rapids and so on a nice calm stretch of river.

An evening walk upstream (over the rickety bridge, or the hand-pull ferry) will get you to the Saracens Head for good beer and top nosh…..

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Biblins is not a public campsite (schools/youth groups/etc.).

The site by the Saracens Head is however ;-)

Another suggestion is Pont yr Onen on Lake Bala http://www.balacamping.co.uk/ – you can camp on the foreshore and slide straight into the lake from your tent!

Recently returned from the long weekend there.

It was a great event, plenty to see and do and a good atmosphere.

Definitely a steep learning curve though for the organisers. Not enough marshals (who were doing a great job with what little information they seemed to have), poor communications between organisers and marshals/staff, terrible organisation of crossing points across the main competition track – especially for the XC race which split the arena in half – although to be fair they must have realised this was a major problem and improved on it through Saturday. Only one entry point to arena causing long queues on the busy main access road to get wrist band etc. (queues are expected but multiple lanes/check-ins may have helped) though again this was partly picked up on and a 2nd entry point for those already having bands was opened on the other side of the race track,  registering / getting timing chips was very poorly organised, and timing of some of the minor events was very hit & miss with marshals not knowing what was going on half the time!. Like I say, a steep learning curve for next year.

Don’t let the above take away from the fact it was an excellent event though. The above moans are things that I’m sure they will have taken on-board and other than some inconveniences and frustrations didn’t detract from a great laid back fun weekend! We had a great time :-)

Sectioning has been mentioned and is probably a consideration to protect her from herself but… please discuss the implications yourself privately with the doctor of her being put in a position where she is separated from your daughter which could lead her to consider your daughter being no longer dependent on her.

Good luck.