Maybe Brendog should have realised what was needed if that is what the comp is about and just mainlined like quite a few of them.

By his own admission he doesn’t have a bag or tricks like the other riders so has to think differently.  I feel that his personal disappointment is less in the lack of a podium finish (in a year of banger runs), and more in the actual score being so low, regardless of where he positioned.  I wonder if he’ll be invited back having not auto qualified given that what he brings clearly does not align with the judges expectations and it clearly a different style to all the other competitors (regardless of the fact the public love it).  At the end of the day, regardless of the results, Brendan has been the most talked about rampage competitor of recent times and the exposure can only be a good thing.

Re 2nd runs I think it’s a shame they don’t keep it running until everyone has had a chance of 2 runs. But B Semenuk decided to go ahead in the wind whilst others backed out, so fair play to him for having the balls.

I think the 2nd run thing needs more scrutiny and should arguably be all or nothing in terms of scoring.  I can understand a competitor not doing a second run by choice as they are happy enough with the score they have vs the risk, but for a competitor not to be able to do a run due to the wind being too high, whilst others have had a better weather window seems unfair.  Take Isted, apart from BS he had the most ground to make up on a second run and could arguably have been a podium contender if he had stuck it (plus as a rookie, the auto invite back and all the additional exposure), he’s clearly got a huge appetite for risk (at Darkfest his first hit this year on the 100ft jump was a backflip), but there was no way he was going to send that canyon gap if the wind was blowing too much so arguable denied a second chance by conditions (and let’s get real, a serious risk of death) rather than choice.

Finisterre Beardsmore is excellent. I’ve got 3 but 2 were from Reskinned (used or returned under warranty and fixed)

They’re lovely things

The Beardsmore is brushed cotton and not very heavy though (I do have one and it is lovely and soft) so may not meet requirement of the OP.  I also have a Gylly shirt from Finisterre, it’s cotton again, but midweight (thicker than a normal shirt) and the fabric weave is very tight which makes it warm and windproof.

Well I’ve been browsing the available options and have a couple of candidates, how do people find the whole process of getting insurance for Leased cars?

No different really though remember that the finance company is the registered keeper and not you.  This did mean for me on my lease car insurance policy I was not insured to drive another car unless I was a named driver on its policy.

Enjoyed that, similar and different enough from the original at the same time.

Just read an article in the Guardian with post VP debate opinions from swing states, there were quite a few considered opinions, but this was a gem;

I almost kicked over the TV when the moderators started factchecking Vance. I thought that wasn’t allowed in this debate.

I mean let’s not let the actual facts get in the way!

Have they changed it? Headlone now says e-motorbikes, whereas under the photo of an “e-motorbike”, it says “e-bikes”. Journalism ain’t what it used to be.

Yes, it’s been changed now, an editor has got their hands on the ‘find and replace’ function.

Got last minute release tickets to Blossoms tonight at Banquet Kingston,  We’ve seen them there before (2020, time flies), they’ve got 5 albums now so put together a cracking set.

My lease car went back last week (BMW X3), initially I’d got it on a 3 year lease but extended by a year twice as it was such a good deal at the time and I was getting nowhere near the value on the market (for the same price it was going to be an uninspiring Kia/Nissan/Peugeot type car).  Back when I leased finance companies were buying a load of pre-registered vehicles and leasing at good prices (my car was one of 50 identical (in various colours) pre-registered X3s the finance company had at the time) – I still was not seeing a lot of well priced ‘premium’ manufacturer cars available when I was looking back in summer (I’ve since PCP’ed a Model Y with Tesla as got an interest free finance deal).  I assume there are still deals out there but are harder to find, as others have said be prepared to be flexible, have an idea of what you want (eg. SUV, Auto, Petrol etc) and then see what options come up at a good price.

My car was fully maintained including tyres, given that a full set of tyres is around £1K (large run flats)  this can make a lot of sense and helps budgeting, I’d do FM again.

Finally it’s worth understanding costs on return.  Most lease finance companies (reputable ones) will use the BVRLA guidelines which can be found with a quick google search, but their application of them can be interpreted differently by different lease companies.  I have a good chat with the guy that turned up to inspect and take my vehicle away.  I’ve always tried to look after my cars, but after 5 years you will pick up the odd scratch and car park ding, I was flapping that I’d end up with a big bill as noticed marks that I never knew existed when preparing the car for pick up.  Fortunately the guy took one look and said it was a ‘minter’ (I had spent time cleaning it properly inside and out), he did the inspection and then showed me how each mark was entered on his tablet and how that translates to a charge (or not) – there is a separate form for the different lease co’s they work with so charges can vary.  End result was £0 additional, which was his first of the day.  That day he’d had inspections that looked like bumper cars, people who had no idea of the service history (4 unaccounted for services charged at £240 apiece unless they can be evidenced) etc – if you don’t look after the car you can end up with a decent sized bill.

There is a whole page of graphs and stats in the menus which I stopped looking at after a week or so

Is this on the in car menu, I can’t see anything via the app?

Need to pump the tyres up now the temp has dropped…

Same here, noticed that little symbol at the weekend.

Good stereo…

Also this, was very happy to find the Berlin RWD still have the Premium stereo (US models don’t) and it’s very good.

Specialized Power saddles on my drop bar bikes (full cut out), Specialized Bridge on my eeb (channel but no cut out), and Ergon on my enduro (channel and small cut out).

All of them are comfy, though I’d look at non full cut out on the mtb due to spray from back wheel (I use mudguards on my non best (dry weather only) drop bar bike).

EDIT: I also had a WTB Volt on a bike with a comfort zone like on a post further down, this was also comfortable.

The saddles that I have not got on with are SDG Bel Air (one of the older versions) and a Fabric Scoop (one ride and sold).

Maximo Park at Banquet Records last night.  Played the new album in full with some nice commentary from Paul and then played a few of the classics as an encore.

Growing up in the 90s Cannodale Mtb’s were items of lust that I’d never have a chance of owning to know how good / bad they were.

This year I bought my first Cannodale (dark side, not Mtb) a Supersix Evo 1, it’s a fantastic bike, already one of my favourite ever.

I was shocked to see mine come down this year, even more that my new car is even cheaper to insure than my outgoing 5 year old car (Tesla Y replacing an X3).

@deperatebicycle yes PSB, get googling ;-)

P4 b&w one for kids. Massive young teen girl fanbase. Ask one of them if you can. My daughter said my version was ridiculous but recognisable.

Folklaw by Taylor Swift – I did a bit of a Google cheat as I suspected her from the original clue, but I’ve not paid any attention to her album artwork.

I have 2 teenage kids, they listen to music all the time, I don’t think they’ve ever seen an album cover (and are more ‘urban’ music vs Tay Tay)!

yet some arse can go hammering past at 30mph on a bike with their feet up because they are delivering food

Not just delivery bikes, I got quickly gapped by a Brompton of all things the other day, on the flat and I was clocking 40 kph on my Garmin, the Brompton rider was definitely no Chris Hoy.

I’m not convinced with either but…

Yak P4 animal – Snoop – Doggystyle

Yak P8 glove – Chemical Brothers – Push the Button

@FB-ATB got it

No one’s got mine at the bottom of page 8 yet.

I had my Ohme charger installed via Octopus last month, turnaround was about 2 weeks (though I am in Greater London) and the guys that did it were fantastic.

I won’t buy baggy shorts or riding trousers without decent pockets.

With zips on the pockets too please.  I only need to store my phone but i don’t want to have to wear a bag to ride my bike.

As someone who did a whole ride once with a broken reverb (stuck down and not up) I can vouch that any decent distance spent riding in a less than optimal position is not going to be very comfortable at all.

Ah bummer, Yaks was too abstract for me to remember.

No monkeys were hurt making this picture!

W

After months of agonising, I joined the EV club today ?.

A five hour journey up the accident clogged A9 is never going to spark joy, but doing it in this car was probably as nice a place to be as any.  It’s superb!

Well, apart from the climate control, which made me curse a few times..

Ditto, picked my Y up on Saturday too (from a very busy and chaotic Brent Cross collection centre – it’s certainly not a premium buying experience).  A traffic laden journey past Wembley (boxing was on) gave some time to start fiddling with settings and figure out what was what (this is going to take some time).

Charging all set up at home fine and on Intelligent Octopus without issue.  Checking specs in the car it was also pleasing to find Premium Audio in my RWD model (sound system is much better than the one in my outgoing 2019 X3).  Was also surprised to find a granny charger included having been told by the sales rep it wasn’t (and having bought one I’m going to have to take a hit selling it on ebay as too late to return as bought when I ordered in July).

Young Ted on form :)

That Ted section in the pub was marvellous.

Very happy with my OneUp bars and stem, I also liked my previous Burgtec set up.

Good one, I just had a moment of inspiration on that one.

@yak The Streets – Original Pirate Material?

@yak Genesis – Invisible Touch

Glasvegas?

Last 24 hours has seen tickets booked for Maximo Park later this month and then Corteeners in October, both at Pryzm / Banquet Records Kingston.  Therapy? Troublegum 30 years in Shepards Bush not too far off now in November.

@burntembers – Yep, Arctic Monkeys AM

Lighting effect courtesy of the skylights in the loft room.

Putting the artists dummy to work again (and that’s not a pair of knickers!)

Foo Fighters

An unusual interpretation of Automatic for the People?