Maybe some useful ideas in these books?

Bikepacking England

Big Rides GB & Ireland

and Gravel Rides Scotland Not out until April though!

Lovely photos from everyone. I would upload way more but the usability of the STW drives me to needing a stiff drink!

Chapel-en-le-Frith

Just outside Innerleithen in Scotland

Both at Burbage Rocks

Enjoying the beach so much at Sandilands in Lincolnshire she ate it

Wyming Brook just outside of Sheffield

funnily enough (not actually at all funny) we just found this hanging over the neighbouring fence this afternoon and had it confirmed by an expert by photo that it is indeed Japanese Knotweed.

Surprised how much of it is there is in the UK and pretty amazing this is the first time we’ve had a first hand encounter of it.

We have a Tractive GPS. Can share a link for 15% off if you think you might want one.

We bought ours after our dog took off after some deer a couple of years back and had no idea where she was. It was only thanks to a dog walking stranger who picked her up, that we ever got her back. She’s never done anything like it since, but it’s worthwhile peace of mind for us. See so many stories of dogs going missing in the Peak District.

It’s pretty good, we only occasionally have issues with it being unable to connect but I think in the event that your dog goes missing and travels a distance we’d be able to roughly pinpoint where she was again.

Would recommend the White Peak book from Vertebrate Publishing as being a good place to start.

Here’s the Netflix documentary that Onzadog referenced Pet Fooled

Like he said we feed a variety of Paleo Ridge complete minces, but give her additional raw bones a few times a week (watching her eat a raw chicken foot, talons and all, leaves you in no doubt that dogs are 100% carnivores and they are made to crush and digest bones perfectly!)

She is in great condition. Would never go back to feeding carb-rich dried kibble rubbish now.

Paleo Ridge Raw FAQ lists a lot of the benefits :-)

I really agree that it’s difficult to generalise dog breeds. I’ve known same breeds of dogs show such wildly different personality traits, it’s like they aren’t the same breed. We had a rescue staffy x lab for 14 years – great trail dog and with other dogs, didn’t like children or fireworks, no separation anxiety, soft as fudge.

We went a year dog-less before getting another (and in that time did voluntary dog walking at a local little rescue and got to know a few of the ‘inmates’) and that doggo that came to live with us was a so-called bull lurcher (greyhound x staffy with very possibly a bit of collie).

She’s honestly like no dog I or Onzadog have owned before. Super smart, crazy fast and agile, a bit reserved at times but getting more cuddly, very very quiet when the previous dog would have borked and borked and borked (not even realising what he was borking at!) and she only makes a noise when she’s feeling playful. She loves children, balls and doing zoomies,couldn’t give a rats @rse about fireworks and supposedly had separation anxiety (was cited as one of the reasons why she was surrended to the rescue) but given the right mix of exercise/mental stimulation/boundaries/training we’ve given her she’s never shown a sign of it with us.

I would say go and meet individual dogs and see what their personalities are and how they’d fit in with your lives – there’s definitely a rescue pupper out there for everyone :-)

Argh. Trying to post a pic of Zippy taken today with mine and Onza’s long doggo and loading photos on your phone via another site is proving to be  nightmare….

I’m posting this under my wife’s username as I can’t get in on my phone.  I’ve tried following the advice above for android phones and it’s not working.  Like other above, I don’t want to clear every single cookie on my phone.

So, if anyone is on here who can sort out a pro rata refund for the P that I now can’t use, that would be very much appreciated.  I’ve had enough of this place of late.  At £1.50 a month, I currently feel like I’m being ripped off!

By the way, the account I can’t log into is Onzadog.

This is mine and Onza’s greyhound x staffy girly – she’s been with us almost 4 months now and it’s actually a little weird to think we went almost a whole year without a dog. I’m sorry you’re going through this though Mog – it’s definitely the hardest thing about having a dog, I think. But the time they are with you makes life so much richer, that it’s always worth it (even if it maybe doesn’t feel it right now).

They look like great doggos! I love the uniqueness you get with a cross breed woofer (not to mention the potential extra longevity). This is Bella that Onzadog and I looked after for the weekend and are umming and aahing about offering a home to after being dog and commitment free for a year!

I’ve got a pair of the XVIs. Super, super sticky soles (sometimes too much – so it’s tricky to shift your foot on the pedal) and so far so good with being pretty waterproof.
I mostly bought them for the wider toe box though – definitely more roomy than others so great if you have a wide foot.

We use ours for all our food shopping and fuel etc. Now clocked up enough Avios points for two business class return flights to somewhere sunny in Europe for a winter MTB holiday. The only two places I’ve found who don’t take it are Aldi and B&Q.

My sister’s just got the Diploma qualification with Premier, as mentioned before – she did an intensive 6 week course but then she wants a complete change of career rather than teach the occasional class!

He’s a dog, he lives with us now.

We’re told he’s approximately 18months old, and some kind of staffy/mastiff mix. He needs (quite) a bit of training, but he’s a lovely animal.

anyone else care to share their re-homed pooches?

(yes, that is a sweet potato, he loves them)

Some time ago we rehomed this 18 month old staffy x lab x who knows what else.

We sadly finally lost him to a brain tumour last year after over a decade of love and companionship and he was such a cracking little trail dog too in his yoof.

For the last few months we’ve been filling the dog-shaped hole in our lives by doing voluntary dog walking at one of the local rescue centres, which I would so totally recommend to anyone who works full time.

In actual fact, OP, if you’re local to Sheffield, I’d put money on your Parker being the 18 month old Simba we used to walk and fell in love with at the rescue

I’ve had dealings with a few different rescues over the years and found them to be so wildly different, if you have one bad experience with one it’s definitely still worth persevering and trying another.
I used to do voluntary dog walking at a fairly big one years ago before we got Bailey, and always found them to be a bit offish with me, like I didn’t know what I was doing or wasn’t to be trusted. Same thing when I dropped off some of Bailey’s things at a few big national rescues after he’d died – leads and toys etc. They didn’t seem exactly friendly/sympathetic or overly grateful. The one we volunteer at now couldn’t be more different though … am sure it’s only a matter of time before we suck up the costs for doggy day care and rehome one of the inmates ;-)

Mrs Onzadog here, to add that this is the one we saw yesterday round a friend’s house and it looked spot on.

Samsung tellybob[/url]

I don’t think we’d need a firestick or the like with this one though as it already seems to have the apps installed in it I think?

stilltortoise – Member
Sorry I missed you all for a pint but I had a deadline to get back for.

That’s okay, I think NBT had one for you ;)

We thoroughly enjoyed today (first venture out on a bike in 3 months!) – so glad we managed to mostly catch you up and apologies for being a bit late :oops:

(Thanks Onzadog for helping me out of the puddle that claimed me by the shooting cabins)

Am so sorry, it’s so hard regardless how long and fantastic their lives might have been, as me and Onza are finding. No escaping from the fact that we just miss our boy terribly :(

Someone sent me this which I found made me smile and weep in equal measure and really just summed up a lot of what is bloody ossums about dogs.

Thinking of you and your family.

Here’s a few of mine and Onza’s darling boy. Have the sofa to myself for the first time in over 13 years tonight and it’s not a good feeling :(

As a young un with sparkly eyes and boundless energy…

And in more recent years after his trail retirement…

And the last one taken only on Thursday evening before he took a turn for the worst

We popped in there for a bit of brunch not long after it opened. Probably not fair to judge them completely on the strength of one visit but it’s fair to say we weren’t overwhelmed by the service or food served and it all seemed a bit overpriced for what it was. The surroundings and decor are nice though and seems set up for walkers, cyclists and a bit of mud.

It was such an honest account of what Motor Neurone Disease can do to an otherwise fit and healthy person in a frighteningly short space of time.
I found it especially emotional to watch as my mum died just 8 months after her diagnosis of MND, only she died ‘naturally’. Seeing Simon’s experience with his last moments in comparison, I definitely think he chose the better option, even if his wife, family and friends didn’t agree with it. I don’t think they would have wanted to see him go through what my mum did.

I think it’s a bit of a shame they’ve used such a ‘glam’ photo of DvO for the promotional stuff but I guess with a helmet on she’s not so recognisable and that would kind of defeat the object of getting a sleb to promote it.

I think she’s done some charity bike rides across Vietnam and the like recently and got into cycling then. To be fair I saw this pic posted to Twitter this morning and she was rocking the dorky cycling look as much as I was.

We got some Tour De France themed jersey shaped biscuits and coffee and smoothies for us on arrival at work this morning :)

Has anyone got any experience of the Peugeot 5008 MPV ?

I have this[/url] Garmin Vivofit bundle with the heart rate monitor included.

I use it with the HRM for running and cycling and sync it with the Garmin Connect app on my phone but otherwise just use the wristband for tracking steps and monitoring sleep (it just gives you a rough idea I don’t think it’s desperately accurate!). The garmin connect app also syncs with MyFitnessPal if you use that for food/activity logging, which I do so find that pretty useful.

One thing that appealed to me about the Vivofit was that it’s a plastic strap (I’m sensitive to nickel so don’t want any nasty metal bits on it) that doesn’t irritate me and it doesn’t need recharging every five minutes. The little battery lasts for a year and you then just replace it.

I’ve got one of these at work. Didn’t suffer from a bad back before but they were being offered at work and I’d read a bit about the benefits of standing more anyway in general, so it seemed like a good thing to try.

We’re with MoreThan for ours – Marks & Spencer became prohibitively expensive and as he’s now nearly 14 many other insurance companies wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole. I have only just put in a couple of claims so I can’t yet vouch for how good they are when it comes to coughing up though!

You haven’t claimed for anything while with your existing insurers have you? Be very wary about changing insurance companies if you have – the new one will treat anything remotely to do with that as an existing condition and not pay out a penny towards it.
I’ve always gone with a ‘lifetime’ policy for our dog – certainly not the cheapest option, but in terms of peace of mind (and actually payouts for operations and conditions over his lifetime) it’s been invaluable.
Lifetime policy comparison[/url]
I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve seen at the vets who’ve looked pained when they’ve come to pay the bill because their dog has reached the limit for their condition.

He sure is handy with his fingers and a bit of kitchen roll that onzadog.

8O

Puppies in rescue[/url]

I used to volunteer for a rescue shelter and every January and February there was always a massive increase in the number of dogs that would get dumped there, especially puppies. Apparently many were bought for Christmas and then when they realised how much work was involved, they were no longer wanted. So if you can steel yourself to wait until January you’ll have a lot to choose from.

jim.dixon@peakdistrict.gov.uk

Sorry Simon … jumping the gun a bit there :oops: