Good luck to everyone going for it, the weather and crap news right now might make it difficult.

I gave up booze for January once (2018). Still not back on it yet. Be careful or it might be you!

Had to stop drinking back in February 2010 after a severe concussion, started back slowly in the September and didn’t like it much, was basically a complete lightweight again (a big night was 4 pints before so not exactly a heavy drinker). Had my last drink up in Dolgellau with a mate on a biking trip on October 9th 2010 and haven’t touched a drop since.

Don’t miss it at all and it’s actually quite scary how much you notice people who obviously use it as a crutch or as a replacement for a personality!

You have to put it on to retention then sell it. When there were local offices you could do it all at the same time but now you have to di=o it in two steps.

Mickey Mouse Horror Movie!

Some people have been planning stuff for a while.

On a side note, just watched Steamboat Willie for the first time ever, Mickey was a horrible animal abuser!

Could only vote for one category sadly.

E – Sausage in batter (x2) and chips from the local, annual tradition and the regulars get every item they order for £1.
D – Pepsi Max Cherry, got a crate for xmas and I’m teetotal so might as well use it up.
L – Currently some Silverchair but I’ve got a load of music from my youth lined up so will be varied!

All that tells me is that just over 20% of the British public are so ignorant and/or stupid enough to still think it was a good idea despite ALL the evidence to the contrary.

Really hitting me as we close out the year. 12 months ago I was full of optimism and looking forward to a decent future, now all I can think of is how I’m way, way back down the path I’ve already been down. I’m further back than I was 2 years ago for various reasons and it’s really getting me down. No job, fitness is horrific (struggled doing 2 miles of an easy blue trail this morning I used to race round for fun) and so many other little things are making me wonder why I should push and challenge myself when I make no progress.

Maybe Monday will bring better times.

What a daft complete waste of time.

Jeremy Clarkson writes in the style of Jeremy Clarkson because that’s his USP.

If he wrote articles saying cyclists are brilliant he wouldn’t be popular or get paid

The irony being he now sees that Climate Change is real, understands that resources are finite and accepts that cycling had it’s place in cities and short journeys. All thanks to becoming a farmer. Even his writing style has evolved to reflect this.

One year older.

Every scheme, new or upgrading existing trails, in Wales for the last 15 years has heavily relied on EU Regional Development Funding. BPW had a lot, the Cognation Project was 50% funded by it, Antur Stiniog had a lot too. Now that has all gone and the replacement funding promised has never materialised nothing is happening. There are two projects that I know of that are ready to go once funding is available, one just outside Cardiff to make the rider-built tracks at Forest Fawr official and one to legitimise the trails at Twrpentwys, but there hasn’t been any movement on either for a long time. The last bit of EU funding was spent on upgrading Cwmcarn but only a small part of it went into the trails, most went in resurfacing Forest Drive and building a few picnic spots.

It will be a long wait before any new projects materialise, places are more likely to close.

Seeing as the weather has been so bad over the last 48 hours I’ve cracked on with the LCG build.

Most of the parts from the Element crawler swapped over easily enough, the only minor issues was I had to get a different input gear and shaft for the gearbox so that it could run the other way round and having to fight a few rounded screws while disassembling.  Took the opportunity to fit screws with 3mm hex heads rather then the 2.5’s, should make maintenance easier as they’re more substantial and also not domed so easier to deal with if I do round one off.

Upgraded the brushed motor setup to a Hobbywing Fusion SE while it was apart plus some +20mm spacers on each hub to widen the track.  If they improve the handling (will test against the standard ones) then they’ll be replaced by some high offset wheels at some point, keeping costs low right now plus the original plastic wheels are decent and light which is a goal of the build.  I’ll add weight to improve the performance if it needs it but hoping that the limiting factor will be tyre grip rather than centre of gravity issues, the draw to put some copper alloys on it is rather strong though!  Will need to find a shorter steering link at some point, it’s about 10mm too long but works fine.  Just means it steers better right than left and has the possibility of pushing the servo horn too far but works fine as long as I’m wary of binding the drivetrain up.

I ordered a JConcepts body for it too but that got damaged in the post and I’m awaiting a replacement to be sent in the New Year, have used the damaged one to try for fitment though.  The damaged areas means it sits too far back and too low at the rear to be perfect once I had cut them out but it works and means I can at least run it for the time being.  Took the opportunity to try a bold colour too, sort of like it so might be the colour I go for rather than something a bit more subdued that I normally favour.

Can already tell it’s much more capable than with the original chassis, can climb steeper and side hills better trying it on a cardboard box.  Hopefully get it out and test it back-to-back with the Gatekeeper over the next weekend.

GT85 is your friend, a quicks spray of it where bearings and driveshaft joint are before and after wet running makes a massive difference. Just a small spray using the straw is enough. Keeping out of puddles that don’t go past the bottom of the rims and steady speed to keep flinging off the tyre to a minimum and you’ll be fine. The weak point of the electrics is usually the receiver, just go sensible and you should be fine.

I’m definitely an animal person, preferably cats, but a good dog is awesome. No way could I have one of my own as my lifestyle is just not conducive to one, out all day and the tie of having to work life around it’s needs would be too much but do enjoy caring for my mum’s dog when I go to see her. Just walks and stuff but he has a calming effect on me even if he is a stubborn daft sod at times.

This is him after a solid head rubbing session while waiting for the dog groomer to arrive for his 8 week trim.   He’s the first dog we’ve had a s family since I was born, always had cats before,  and he thinks he is one as he grew up with out last two. Yes also friends with a few of the local cats too so has a hard time understanding why all cats aren’t friendly to him!  He is 13 now so starting to slow down, still demands I walk him within seconds of me walking in the door though.

Sat at home and have managed to avoid it this year. The first time I’ve gone the whole way, very pleased.

Banksy probably counted on someone stealing it, it draws attention to it’s meaning the same as the council removing the freezer did with “Valentine’s day massacre”.

Just don’t get the whole banksy thing TBH.

You have to have an understanding of the current political issues that he highlights, sometimes surreally and sometimes on a very local level. Without that then lots of his work doesn’t make sense. That’s not a dig at you at all by the way, more a comment on society as a whole. Lots of people didn’t ‘get’ the one he did in Port Talbot, “Season’s Greetings”, but anyone with any knowledge of the history of the town and the then current battle around the Low Emission speed limits surrounding the place plus the fight to keep the Steelworks open knew exactly what he was highlighting. The use of a child actively catching the snow in their mouth was very powerful in the argument for the battle between jobs in the town and the right of local kids to grow up in a clean environment. The work provoked conversation around the issues and that’s very powerful.

I’ve known a number of graffiti artists, and every single one has been arrested, most many times. So the idea that someone as prolific and globally active as Banksy is still somehow anonymous, is highly unlikely to me.

He originated from the Bristol scene where graffiti artists have a plethora of legal sites to play at, plus there is virtually no policing of the illegal sites too. He stayed anonymous for a very long time and even now you have to hunt his name out as the community keeps it quiet.

So that’s a new PB for me, 81 out of 100 completed. Well done to all of those who did the full 100, genuinely don’t know how you keep finding the time and motivation to do it.

Having had to do this for my dad most of this year I’ve got a few tips:

Get a big plastic container to use as a makeshift sink and something to scrape with too. Deal with it quickly before it dries. A small board can be handy for using as a flat surface to work on the soiled clothes.
Use doggy door bags to help pick the bad ones off, pick lump off then spin the bag inside out and tie. They are literally designed for this and some even help mask the smell too. Check with the council how to dispose of them (I was ok to put them in general waste black bags).
Wash the container out after every use, a quick spray with some bin deodoriser keeps things in check.
Use a proper anti-smell detergent when you wash the clothes. Nothing I’ve found can touch Halo Sports Wash but it is hard to find currently, I found this HG additive is nearly as good but gets expensive when you add the cost of regular detergent on top.
When clothes get to the point that cleaning won’t get rid of the smell or stains, even slightly, just get rid of them. Las resort can be one of the various Vanish sprays but they tend to eat the fabric if you need to sue a lot of it.
If you possibly can have a washing machine set aside for doing just this dirty stuff it at least do a few washes in a row, it can sometimes take an empty cycle with cleaner to remove the smells, otherwise that can transfer to the next load of washing. Also keep on top of filter cleaning too.
Have a set of your own clothes you can change in to quickly that you don’t mind ruining, splashbacks are a hazard!

Most of all try not to get disheartened about doing it. They (presuming your parents) cleaned you up when a baby so it’s only fair you return the favour! You do eventually become desensitized to it, ask any nurse.

I avoid them as much as possible after finding out what they actually are, even though I knew they weren’t crisps or anything else naughty but nice!

Doesn’t stop me hovering up a tube of Paprika though if I get presented one, and when I say hoover I mean handfuls in a conveyor belt style. I always feel bad and slightly nauseous afterwards but they really do taste amazeballs and are like crack cocaine.

Toad In The Hole this year, with the sausages wrapped in bacon. That’s just for me as we’re not doing a family Christmas this year, mum is having a few snacks like Scotch Eggs and sausage rolls while my sister is doing her own thing with her young family. I’ll be keeping mum company on the day but no-one tell my uncle otherwise he’ll call in and expect a full traditional dinner just for himself (he’s a selfish, ignorant, racist ****).

I hate to say it, but I’m not sure this forum helps?

There’s a lot of gloominess in posts, and if I were feeling down then I’d be cutting down/out how much I visited.

Whereas I find reading about stuff in here gives me perspective on the bad stuff and I like reading about the positive stuff people post. Far better than Facebook etc.

Go see your GP,

Seeing as I’ve been trying for well over 6 months to do just that for a consultation about my asthma (and that they send letters out every month asking me to make an appointment) and every time I can’t get one then that’s not always an option for everyone. My surgery is down to 1 GP instead of the 5 it should have after 4 left thanks to racist abuse after the Brexit vote.

Think that goes in the ‘General crap’ file.

I’ve had mild depression and anxiety for years. I can usually manage it, but it’s got on top of me this year. Starting CBT in the new year.

Imposter Syndrome is a big part of my issues, has been an almost permanent part of my life and depression and anxiety is a big part of it. It affects everything I do and I’ve become incredibly good at hiding it under a persona that a lot of people I know think is ‘Me’ but is actually a shield I have built up to protect myself. It’s not healthy to do it, has elements of bipolar about it, but at times it’s the only defence I have against the world. Strangely when I’m out on my bike or with people I ride with regularly is one of the few times the ‘real me’ comes out, doing almost everything else means I have to put on my ‘Public Persona’ as a coping mechanism for stressful or unfamiliar situations.

Not healthy I know but that’s what a lifetime of bullying does to you, coping mechanisms become ‘Normal’.

Been teetotal for over 12 years now so don’t have to worry about that side but I do know people who use it as a crutch, they worry me sometimes.

I was just about to book a few days away over Christmas to North Wales (we went a couple of years ago, was the only Christmas I’d enjoyed in years) she tore her calf muscle and so basically that was totally off the cards…

I’m up there right now, having two days to escape everything and just mooch about. Last day tomorrow and I’m in two minds whether to just stay up here, not helped by I really like it here anyway but when it’s all moody and full of weather it’s spectacular in the hills. Been rather cathartic driving past people piling into the shops for festive food etc and heading off to the wilderness.

I’m not usually very good at this time of year thanks to SAD, the Christmas build up being ruined after multiple years working in retail and the general crappiness of the weather but this year is already particularly bad. It’s not one thing, it’s the cumulative effect of multiple levels of shit. Dad passing away a few weeks ago, not currently having a job, all my hopes for 2023 coming to nought, no certainty about anything for the future and various other little bits of crap all add up. I can safely say I’m already at the lowest point I’ve been for a few years and I normally get worse right until March, worrying about that doesn’t help!

However think everyone is just fatigued with the level of shithousery out there

It’s been a non-stop assault of it since 2020 started if we’re honest, the cumulative effect of that has got to be taking it’s toll on a lot of people. There’s a mental health time bomb ticking thanks to the lockdowns and a virtually complete lack of support for people suffering thanks to govt cuts and ideology.

Wait until inflation* pops up again too.

*Speculation.

Seeing as the current drop is pretty much all down to the drop in fuel prices and that it will go up again the inflation is pretty much guaranteed. If you take fuel out of the equation everything else is rising fast.

Yeah, there’s no deciding about it.

Had a pretty crap year on the whole but have had one or two positives now I think about it.

Ticked off two Bucket List items:

Did a lap of the Nurburgring at full speed in a Ring Taxi.

No photo of the lap, just the car I did it in (have the onboard video which still scares me!) but as a bonus I managed a lap, at a lot slower pace, in my daily driver.

Also did the London To Brighton Mini Run, something I’ve wanted to do for seemingly ever and as it was the last one I made a massive effort to get to it.

That’s the end of the fun stuff.  The big ‘Achievement’ this year has been, according to my mum and sister, holding the family together through the passing of my dad.  Doesn’t feel like it but they both assure me that they wouldn’t have managed to get through it without me basically putting my life on hold for a few months and doing everything I could to make his and my mum’s life as stress-free as possible.  Puts a bit of a positive spin on a crappy end to the year I suppose.  Normally I’d have a few bike-related things to brag about but that’s been a big Fail this year.  I suppose surviving my first day at Dyfi Bike Park may qualify!

Christmas feeling, absent.

More that the temperatures and weather lag behind the Solstices, so while it may well be the start of the run towards the summer it never feels like it until nearly Easter!

I know it’s meant to be satire but that Honest Government Ad is just telling the truth. I very much doubt any satirist could come up with anything more deranged than what the Govt are doing on an almost daily basis.

What I always wonder at this time of year is why does she take twice as long to reappear than she does to go away? Does she not like returning?

(yes I know about the thermal drag of our climate, hence why January and February are coldest and July and August are warmest. Still doesn’t mean it sucks.)

Sadly I fell completely off the wagon midway through November thanks to personal issues so I’ve had the perfect combination of poor diet and lack of exercise to give me a finishing weight of 90kg, 4kg up on my start weight and 7kg up on my lowest.

Must try harder in the New Year.

I imagine the people who own the cafe are less than impressed if someone is sat there sponging off their wifi for an hour and a half having bought one coffee?

I know of a few cafes, mainly independents, which have a No Laptop rule to stop this exact thing.

Having just started going through this and having a few solicitors and accountants in the family the general rule is this:

Outstanding debts first including any DWP repayments.
Funeral costs second.
Family last.

I’ve set up a separate account to deal with all the costs, just a current account in my name but you can get an Executor’s Account, all bills are processed through that and documented. What was left of my dad’s assets were transferred into it directly and any bills are either paid out directly or a payment to the person who paid the bill is done, everything is documented with references and receipts are kept safe. This way my finances are kept separate and it’s easy to see what the state of play is, especially if the estate won’t cover the whole lot. I have had it lucky as there’s enough to cover everything plus a decent bit left over so I haven’t had to worry about paying anything, just had to keep costs under control.

If I was you I’d gather all the bills and costs paid out with documentation and create a spreadsheet of it all, that way you can show where every penny has gone. You will be in a much better position then to know exactly what you owe or otherwise.

But if the executor spent the deceased’s money on the funeral, and then finds there was an uncleared debt, they may be liable for that.

They can be if they can be proven to have acted against the will or to have benefitted in any way. As long as you are not completely incompetent at it it’s unlikely a debtor will come after you as the vast majority of people undertaking the Executor role are not experts at finances. This obviously changes if they are a professional like an accountant etc. The key part is that they have to be able to demonstrate they they have enacted the wishes in the will and distributed the resultant Estate of the deceased correctly to the best of their knowledge and abilities.

One of the things people like to say is, ‘Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.’

I’m sure it’s well intentioned, but it just makes me want to punch them in their smug, ignorant faces.

For some of us this is not a temporary state, it’s a core part of our being. For us as individuals it’s as permanent a thing as it’s possible to be.

We can put structures in place and learn techniques but this is something that is always lurking in the background waiting for it’s opportunity.

Very few people understand this, partly through ignorance but also as they’ve never had to live with it. I’ve been ‘lucky’ in that my mum fully understood what I say about my struggles as she goes through them too but I’ve had to jettison a decent amount of ‘friends’ out of my life the last decade as they just could not understand that it wasn’t a temporary thing that could be solved by a night or two down the pub etc. The struggles of dealing with the Pandemic, losing my job, struggling to find a permanent new one, trying to move in a bonkers rental market, dealing with my dad passing and the resultant struggles to get my mum set up to live comfortably afterwards has really brought home who my true friends are as only some have been in contact that while time. People who have known me for my whole adult life and that I struggle with mental health at the best of times haven’t even been bothered to text, message or call me throughout all of that. A further round of cutting ties with some of them is called for in the New Year I think.

I don’t know what’s worse, the people who give bad advice or the people who just aren’t there at all.

Didn’t strike me as that sort of post but yeah, you never know. Besides, there are plenty of places on the web that will have details of some very inventive and painless methods that none of us here would think of.

Something that means you go to sleep but never wake up is the best but that’s just not really possible legally. If there was an ‘Easy’ way out then you wouldn’t get the Jumpers on bridges etc. Strangely the quickest and least impactful way is to go in a big impact, I’ll let you imagine scenarios.

It’s in The Guardian, it’s definitely real!

That is unbelievable, even for this lot.

I was holding out for a discount code being active when a set of wheels was in stock for the trail bike but had my hand forced today when I found a cracked axle on my current set. Still, £250 for a pair of DTSwiss wheels that are £350+ elsewhere is still a good deal as there doesn’t seem to be any deals on 29″ compared to 27.5″ stuff.

Yes, has been OTC for a while now. Since 2015 according to Google. Surprised me when I found out.