10 miles or so up and down the edge of the North York Moors behind the house. Snowed a little this morning and thawed at lunch to add to the pre-existing mud fest. Cold wind but warm enough in the sun. Glad to get out as ice and work kept me off the bike for 10 days or so.

Racing Legends Colin McRae being broadcast now on BBC2

On a different take, I have been using Inov-8 Roclite 286 gore tex boots. Designed by the trail runners for the adventure racers I suspect. Lightweight, thin but size OK so thick socks allowed, goretex, full mountain sole but work well with flats. Not as good as Teva Links for grip – never tried 5 10s as it rains in Yorkshire – but a damn sight better for wandering around in the crud. Sportshoes were doing a deal recently and I snapped up another pair for half price.

My on-one merino is going fine as well.

Dare2B stuff, nominally in my size but only if I was deformed. Shorts were particularly badly cut.

As a clydesdale, all those manufacturers who believe that an XXL is a 32 inch waist, 36 inch chest.

Got out this afternoon for 12 miles up into Wykeham forest. Winter bike got through 3 tubes on Sunday so I was riding the backup and trying to avoid anywhere the hedgecutters have been recently.

I did indeed, many times.

Fair enough, I will have met him less often than you in that case but always found him to be courteous and professional when I did. I met him and his family through covering Rallies as a Doctor and also knew the members of the rescue units that covered his test sessions on numerous occasions all of whom spoke well of the man.

Apparently delayed because of copyright and licensing issues according to a post on one of the motoring blogs.

quote]At the time he was a legend…..[/quote]

I may be jumping to conclusions but I am guessing that rbstr/totalshell/pigface never met the guy.

Most of us, thank God, don’t pay such a high price for our mistakes and although I still find the manner of his death inexplicable given his professionalism in other matters, I don’t for a moment think it overshadows his ability or achievements in his chosen profession.

While for the most part I find the varied views of STW refreshing, in this case I am struggling to see any similarity between the case of Jimmy Savile, who was described by the Met as a predatory sex offender and Colin whose family buried him in the same coffin as his son.

So if you have any more info you could impart on this issue ratadog we would be most grateful
What my daughter is worried about is long term use of soya milk?

Sorry, slow to get back to this and catfood has beaten me to it.

Trekster I would suggest asking your GP to refer her to the paediatric dept of your local hospital for a consultancy and hopefully a skin prick test.

I am not a specialist in kids/allergy but the above is correct AFAIK. About 1 in 50 kids can get Cows milk protein allergy but most grow out of it so les than 1 in 1000 adults have any issues.

Allergy UK has some useful info on their website here and NICE ( National Institute for Clinical Excellence ) has produced guidelines for doctors and the NHS about the diagnosis and management of food allergies in children. That includes cows milk protein intolerance and other food allergies but not lactose intolerance because as we have already established that is a natural variant not a disease and yes, cg, cows milk is designed for calves not people but surely only fairly convinced creationists could take the view that any of our diet has been created for us to eat as its primary purpose.

About 5% of the adult european population is lactose intolerant. In other racial backgrounds the proportion is much higher. It results from a reduction in the production of a gut enzyme called lactase which breaks down lactose and without it the lactose cannot be absorbed and heads on down the gut fermenting nicely as it goes. Humans are AFAIR the only species whose adults persist in being able to digest lactose. The fact that a large chunk of humanity is lactose intolerant means that there is a significant school of thought that feels it is simply a variant of normal rather than a disease as such. There are tests, eg. Hydrogen Breath Test, but most people don’t bother because it isn’t a disease and if altering the diet deals with the problem then that is pretty diagnostic.

The amount of lactose in cow, goat and sheep’s milk is very similar, human milk contains rather more, so in the case of lactose intolerance switching to goat’s cheese etc. should not make much of a difference other than the fact that it tends to be a lot more expensive and as a result people eat less of it. As lactose intolerance is usually partial, in other words people can usually tolerate some lactose without geting symptoms, a reduction in intake of dairy products can usually deal with the problem.

There is also a condition called cows milk protein intolerance which is a true allergy rather than being as a result of a failure to produce adequate amounts of lactase. If you get gut symptoms with cows milk but goat/sheep etc. is fine then cows milk protein intolerance is probably your problem. Again the diagnosis/treatment is through altering diet.

Love my Evoc CC16, very comfy and well laid out, no bladder included though.

+1

Best compromise I have found so far and showing little wear after a year of use 2-3 times per week. I had a spare camelback bladder so simply used that.

Shadows – Wonderful Land

Who they? say the STW massif

There’s some youngsters on here these days!

My choice would be a 1.8T Octavia 4×4

That was my choice as well. It replaced a venerable Subaru Legacy which in turn replaced a very venerable Saab 9000 Turbo. Of the 3 it is by far the most practical, fairly civilized when you need it to be, shifts when you have to, swallows bikes and luggage, and cost a hell of a lot less than the equivalent Subaru or Volvo.

100+ in various rally cars on driving courses in my youth but by far the scariest was getting up to the national speed limit on the M58 very early one morning in my first car, one of the original 2CV6 Charleston special editions. 1980 vintage or thereabouts.

The time from 0-70 was measured in minutes and you knew you were getting close when not only did the canvas roof start to flap but the suction from the air passing the slab sided body started to pull and twist the upper section of the front doors away from the body allowing a fine and bracing breeze into the car and contributing a significant airbrake effect thus further prolonging the final push to 69.9mph. The time spent at anything over 60mph was limited by how long you thought the somewhat flimsy door catches were likely to stand the upper edge of the door being twisted 2-3cm away from the door frame.

Of course this degree of speed was only achievable with a clear run of more than 2 miles, a rolling start, a downhill slope and a favourable wind.

Tanglefoot

909 at 100%. Pales into insignificance against Mrs Ratadog with 8830 at 100% ( it is an excellent and comparatively cheap source of childrens clothes, patterns, cloth and sewing materials )

Best wishes to you both. I hope the outcome is good.

As lots of people have said, you need to see what the specialist opinion is and go from there.

The clinic should ask your wife if she wants a copy of the clinic letter that the specialist will write to your GP. It is her right to have one so ask if they don’t ask you, and even if some of the terms are not familiar to you, it is a good way of having a summary of all that is said to go back over later.

In addition, Neuro units often have specialist nurses whose job it is to make sure you both understand what is going on, although I don’t know if this is the case in Oxford.

Ventana El Rey or El Capitan if you want longer travel. Again it is a build up a frame from Riverside Cycle Centre – the owner used to frequent this forum – but frame is 1599ukp so may or may not be with in your price range. I have the previous model El Rey and no regrets.

I can see the plans for the truing stand in the Wheelpro book, it looks like I’ll be turning my hand to making that first.

Easy to do,cheap and effective – I speak from personal experience.

I use merrell chameleons – hunt around on ebay – or if you want something lighter and goretexy try inov-8 e.g. these boots[/url] got at least one good review in one of the other MTB mags, work great on flats and work great as boots as well. Again, hunt around to find deals.

Garmin are essentially poachers turned gamekeepers, so I agree with ratherbeintobago that they are pretty near the top of my list for clean.

Genotype is what you are programmed to look like. Phenotype is how you actually turn out as a result of the modifying effect of environmental factors.

e.g. genetically I am sure I am programmed to look like George Clooney but as a result of the hard life I have led I sadly look more like George Formby.

Proper definitions here.

In this case,if I understand correctly, it is being used to define different classes of individual, who may be more or less prone to a particular disease, on the basis of their physical characteristics.

Did a Cycle to work scheme with them and they were fine.

Tried the Ospreys and found them uncomfortable. Went EVOC 16L and have not regretted it.

Physician

Get everyone to chip in, and i’ll upload a lesson a week for the next 2 years and none of you will ever need to hire a brickie again

Could this be the start of the STW Summer School. Lessons from the University of Life and how to recover from them.

9 frame builds and 2 rebuilds now including kids bikes and a couple for friends. Started servicing my first mid life crisis bike and then built the replacement. Accumulated the tools over time mostly from ebay. Used Zinn’s book. Don’t save much money but can break even and get enjoyment plus something a bit different whilst I do it.

I need to learn how to build wheels now. I’m confident enough to have a go, but need a stand etc……

Decided this was cheaper than complete bikes. The Wheelpro book is excellent and gives all the instructions you need to build all the tools, the stand etc. Winter mud means that sooner or later I need to rebuild and that keeps me going.

Atera strada whyeel support racks have ratchet system and will easily take 2.5s. Looking at the pics I suspect the cheaper buzz racks will be the same although I have no personal experience.

Roof box company have a fair bit of info on their website and have been very helpful in the past when I was looking and/or needed spares. Also can have good deals on their bargain pages.

Any endocrinologists in the house?

At least one.

I’d always assumed that the thyroid wasn’t working, and so the medication is directly proportionate to bodyweight to compensate.

I wish it was that simple. Most people with no remaining thyroid function need between 150-250 microg daily of thyroxine but I have seen people with both higher and lower requirements. I am not aware of any study that suggests there is a correlation to body weight and certainly sitting in clinic I can’t detect one.

http://www.btf-thyroid.org is the website of the British Thyroid Foundation and is a source of good advice.

My email in profile but essentially, although Hashimoto’s is characterised by high antibody levels, in practical terms the management is the same, namely steadily increase the dose of replacement with Levothyroxine ( essentially T4 – see below ) until the blood levels are normal. Following is lifted from my contribution to another thread a few years ago:-

If GPs ask for a thyroid function test they tend to get the TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, produced by the Pituitary, does what it says on the tin) rather than the T3 and T4 levels which are the thyroid enzymes actually produced by the thyroid. The gland produces mostly T4, the work is mostly done by T3 and there is a mechanism in the blood which converts T4 to T3 as needed. That mechanism very occasionally doesn’t work but I can only recall 3 people in 20 odd years where that was so. Therefore T4 or levothyroxine effectively acts as a floating reserve and for the most part that is what is used for replacement letting the body sort out the T3 level for itself.

T4/T3 levels basically control the tick over rate of all the body’s systems so with a low level everything slows up and your body adapts to that level of hormone and activity. You tend to start on a low dose of replacement and work up every few weeks because to do otherwise is the medical equivalent of putting 5000 revs on the clock and dropping the clutch – might work, might be very expensive. By and large, most people get to the correct replacement dose of Thyroxine over 6 months or so and then need another 2-4 months for their bodies to adapt back to the level that the rest of us consider normal.

Body only cares that the level of T4 and T3 is right, doesn’t care if you make it for yourself or get it as a tablet from Boots. Most people do feel better however if they are slightly over replaced ( T4 in the upper half of the normal range and TSH, which goes down as T4 goes up, in the bottom half of the normal range ) and once that is sorted symptoms tend to drift away. Dose needed can change over time as often thyroid is still producing some hormone for itself for quite a while.

Used as a winter bike with some comparatively low end kit it seems to take everything that nature and I can throw at it. I got it as a compromise because road/cross bike was too uncomfortable to take up and down local bridleways and 26er with big fork was too slow ont he local backroads. Gave me a bike I could ride out the gate on and decide where I was going as I went along. Also works for MTBO which is the nearest I come to competition. If I had to have one do everything bike this would be it.

Didn’t have front mech issues despite using high not low mount albeit clearance was tight. As it is top pull I seem to remember that if needed shimano front mechs can be dremelled to increase clearance but I have not had to do so.

Only one I test rode was my first adult MTB and, on the advice of the staff at an LBS with an excellent reputation, I finished up with the wrong size.

All subsequent frames have been by internet albeit I do look at more than the seat tube length before deciding on frame and size. Most expensive purchase had almost identical geometry and numbers to bike that fitted me well and has been no problem.

Rata is in so you need one more.

Obviously, if you are boring she’ll unfollow you again in due course.

Got an LT and an ST, both on hardtails. Best of the suspension seatposts, I have used others. Agree they are a bit heavy but they do make things a lot more comfortable. Not a lot of difference between LT on a hardtail and full suss on XC from my perspective. Well worth a try.

Agree.

There have been occasions in the past when these kind of events have launched, or indeed relaunched, careers. I may be wrong, but I cannot see that outcome from last night although for the majority they did themselves no harm. I agree that GM was not the high point but I am sure he thinks he was great.

In fairness, I don’t think STW was probably envisioned as the target audience which I guess was a large group of 20-30 something year olds from 200 plus countries looking for something to sing along to as the kick off for a night of carousing in the olympic village. On that basis it was fine.

I think it is only natural to think “what if” after the event and imagine the worst. For what it is worth, I think you did the best you could for your son and I am glad for you that he is OK. Small children are accident prone and seem to be able to have these accidents despite the best efforts of their parents.

Sounds like you would have had to wait for an Air ambulance, it would have needed a landing place etc. and/or the land crew would have needed to walk up and find you and then you would have had to carry the child out anyway, all of which would have further delayed hospital and professional care. The advice not to move is a guideline that is sensible in most circumstances with serious trauma, but not an inviolate law of nature. It sounds like you made good decisions in highly stressful circumstances.

For what it is worth I give that opinion as a pre hospital care doctor with over 25 years experience of supporting the Ambulance service and pulling people out of badly parked rally cars.

Slipped a disc a few years ago. On balance find a 456 plus a cane creek thudbuster just as easy on the back as my FS 29er. Recommend the thudbuster as on option if you would rather go with a hardtail.

Not sure of the etiquette of this but a bump for the Sunday evening crowd

I tend to have one good month and a couple of disastrous ones with the rest middling.

Post on one of the local club sites a few months ago saying that she has closed for good. When I went past last week the wooden tea room sign had been taken down so as far as I know the post is correct.

I’ve managed to kill 2 Miele Cat and Dog’s over the years, but can confirm that they take some killing. Miele will also service for 60ukp and that prolonged the life of machine 2 for some time. Went for a Sebo when the second Miele died. It’s bigger and noisier as well as more expensive – we found a good deal on ebay – but it came with every attachment under the sun and seems more efficient in suction terms than the Miele particularly when it comes to picking up threads and hair. Tried a couple of cheap vacuums from vax and hoover in between the 2 mieles and neither lasted more than 6 months.