Hopefully they’ll be pretty reactive.

Very good.

There’s 45-55% off a lot of Castelli shorts/tights @ Merlin Cycles. Reasonably good size availability.

Thanks for taking the time – great inspiration.

Thank you so far. Partially upgrading due to weight – 29″ wheels to me feel markedly heavier than their 26″ counterparts. And, perhaps its the wheels or perhaps its in my head, but the current forks do feel slightly flexible to me on rougher downhills. I am not hitting any huge jumps or rough terrain – I mostly ride natural trails around Hampshire/Wiltshire or easy trail centres like QECP and Swinley with friends. Anything serious I would be on a different bike (I rent at BPW for instance), so having something light-weight and “fun” is more important than anything really burly.

On my previous 26 Cube LTD bike I had Rebas and was really impressed with them, so had a mild preference for them.

Ribble have some decent reductions on their bikes:
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/black-friday-bikes/

I’ve ridden this a few times – great little route

Thank you – I’ve saved that route, if we’re after a shorter one because of rubbish weather that’s going to be a winner!

I’d take you out to Badgworthy water and down the Doone valley to Malmsmead then up to Hawkcombe head and into Porlock, then over and up to Webbers post and around Dickies path onto Dunkery and then back onto your route to join wellshead lane at the cattlegrid.

Brilliant thanks, have revised route accordingly.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/138139277

If you take the right fork off the Exford road and head straight towards Porlock hill after 100 yds in the bottom of the dip you’ll find yourself at Hawkcombe Head, the top of a very nice downhill that will take you straight into Porlock.

Thank you!

Thanks for the replies, it sounds like other than being shot at and having to rocl-climb out of Porlock the route is perfect!

The plan was a clockwise lollipop, only because we’re staying in Simonsbath and wanted to ride from the door. We could easily drive somewhere to start with if that would be better.

If the trail south-east from Simonsbath is really good, perhaps I need to completely re-think the route and not take in Porlock at all? Does anyone have a route they could share that has less howling errors in it?

I made the same step of 4a->6a and think it is a far better phone.

Just the reassurance I needed – taking the same step. Offered £149 on trade-in too which is much more than other sites were offering.

Well, thanks everyone – I plugged the above setup in as a test before pulling the cable through the existing conduit, expecting to have to fiddle around with the settings. However, it worked first time straight out of the box. Even better, I forgot it came with PPoE which also worked first time, saving me needing to find a plug for the AP in the garage. The conduit won’t be carrying power, so it should be absolutely fine.

I’ve turned down the power of the Range Extender, so now what was quite a flaky connection is almost non-existant – which will minimise chances of devices in the garage picking the “wrong” network to connect to at random.

A rare case of something going far better than I expected!

Thanks all, reassuring, I think. Would definitely test before pulling any cables! Thanks for the tip on cat6, didn’t realise it was so much stiffer.

My plan was to deliberately have a different SSID name for the network in the garage – that way I could force the devices to connect to that network, rather than the scraps of the RE505X network.

The BUPA Health Assessment is expensive, because you are paying not just for the ECG but for all the other services they offer as part of that assessment. A cheaper option would be to just pay privately for an ECG.

The private cost of just the ECG is relatively low (compared to £725!) – typically between £75-150. A quick google suggests there are companies that offer direct access to that service. The key question I would want to ask any provider ahead of booking is who is going to be interpreting the ECG, and how much it will cost to have the consultation pre or post that ECG to provide you with the information you need, as I assume you don’t have the expertise to interpret one yourself.

I would still consider if you want to see a GP (you could always see a Private one) for a longer discussion around why you would like the tests.

This is long overdue good news, thanks OP! For ages it actually stopped me buying a Sonos system.

Having recently had to do far too much research on this to get a 4G home braodband connection up and running, I came across this website which seems to give really good and up to date information on all the different networks and deals:

https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/smarty-review#Unlimited_Plan

Good news is Smarty looks like it is at least unlimited in the UK. I was surprised to find out that some networks limit both the speed and total usage on their “unlimited” deals!

If you know in advance where you are going to want to access the internet from I would also go to the trouble of checking cellmapper.net – From my home there is in fact zero signal possible from 2 out of the 4 UK networks, so could easily rule those out as options.

Just to add I also solved my PlusNet issues (drop-outs and random slow downs) by using a TP Link router. Think I went for a slightly fancier Archer VR2800, but since then I have had next to no problems. I now also enjoy rock-solid reliability in the garage on Zwift, where previously it struggled to even connect to the internet, let alone reliably (tried 2.4 and 5ghz).

Well, I survived my first race without causing or being in a crash!

Lining up on the start-line it was evident that the warnings were true and despite this being “just” a cat 4 race almost nobody who turns up to a race does it on a whim and indeed most of the field looked as though they’d done quite a few of these. They had matching kits, very shiny bikes and expensive looking carbon wheels, which made me and my lowly Specialized Allez look a little outclassed, but at least I’d remembered to take the pump and saddle bag off! Although it was a bit intimidating to see so many people who clearly knew each other and had raced a lot, I found good company at the back of the grid with somebody who just like me hadn’t even ridden round a track before, let alone the one we were about to do 10 laps of.

I have no comparison to make, but my impression of the event organised by Behind the BikeShed Racing was that it was well-organised by a friendly team.

Waiting in the warm late evening sun I did find myself wondering what on earth I’d let myself in for when I could be going on a perfectly nice amble down some country lanes. My partner who was also racing their first race snapped me out of my daze by suggesting we swap places as she’d lined up in front of me and thought I’d be faster, but I did my best to look knowledgeable and calm and suggested it would make no difference as soon as we set off. By blind luck, it happened I was right and we were led out for about 1/4 of a lap by a car at 15mph. No crazy all-out Zwift style sprint whilst I was still getting clipped in then – phew!

Having read the threads on here, I knew my positioning was key, but that not “holding my line” was likely to get myself shouted at. For the first couple of laps I was very polite – far too polite and any gap I left myself or others to move into was immediately filled by someone I hadn’t intended or left me with work to do to get back into shelter. There was a stiff wind on the first 1/4 of the track which I was caught in immediately for instance. After surviving the chicane on lap 1 I decided that overall I had the legs/power to stay with the bunch and I needed to think about how I could make some active decisions. Just as I had experimented with some positioning and got the wrong side of the pack I saw my partner slowed and pulled to the side… “You ok?” “No, but keep going!” so I did, and in one of many slightly unecessary efforts sprinted back to the pack. I found out later her chain had come completely off the cassette – race over, but luckily no damage to bike or rider.

I spent the next few laps trying to find where the shelter was, then all of a sudden I found myself on the front of the race after I found a bit too much shelter on the downhill section and didn’t slow down. I had lost track of what lap number we were on, but knew there was no chance I’d be wanting to be there for long, so after having the luxury of picking my line through the chicane I slowed on purpose. Within about 20 seconds I found out how easy it was to go from first to last with yet another hard effort required!

Next period of the race was broken up with a crash in the chicane in the cat 3 race, followed by a lot of having to move over to allow various breakaways and other races past. Then it was 2 laps to go. Breakaways were attempted by some riders who looked a bit bored, but they were all quickly closed down. Everyone had a sprint finish up their sleeves it seemed. Moving up on the downhill section was easy again having been a little more assertive about holding the position I wanted on the top corners and before I knew it we were on the final uphill into the chicane, probably in about 20th position. A group started to go on the right, but a person I’d marked out earlier as being handy with a creaky bottom bracket went left – I followed them as I wanted to be on the left to prevent myself being squeezed out into the crash zone from earlier. My tired logic was that noone turns up to a race with a creaky bottom bracket unless you were really confident. Terrible logic my sober self realises and as he started to fade into the chicane I started to “sprint”. I passed a few people on the way to the line, but through my bleary vision I think I could make out at least 10 finishing before me. I honestly have no idea if I finished 10th or 14th and understandably the results are a little manual and aren’t released yet.

The result is mostly immaterial, the takeaways were: It was fun, fast and no harm was done! I’ll definitely be going back just a little bit wiser.

How did anyone else get on?

You really ought to get some group riding experience before racing for the first time, preferably at a fast pace too (chaingang etc). Not to mention developing some real world bike handling skills.

Completely agreed! I re-read my post and should have mentioned, I have done many (mostly) non-competitive social rides with my local group. I am sure being in a race situation is different. My bike is valuable only in the sense that it is difficult to get new ones right now, my collarbone however i’d really like to keep intact for a while longer.

What happens when riders get lapped? I assume that’s a very real possibility.

All great threads – thanks!

Just a point from the start last night as we had an issue. With such a long delay the trainer going to sleep is a risk if your not pedaling. To avoid that after the event starts you can open the pairing screen and keep warming up. As long as your in the pairing screen your avatar well not move and you can pedal away.

Yes, that was me. Huge apologies to the team.

I don’t have much luck. I was in the pairing screen, and my devices did go to sleep after 10min. However, I succesfully woke them back up and zwift said they were all paired and connected ok. When I went to come out of the pairing screen with about 20 seconds to go Zwift decided that it needed to do some “Searching” despite everything being connected. Nothing I tried could get Zwift to do anything other than endlessly search. So frustrating.

The reason I didn’t keep spinning whilst in the pairing screen is I understand the theory that you don’t move forwards whilst in the pairing screen, but in the past…. I have. Other than avoiding TTT with huge delays (wouldn’t we all like to do that!), I’m not sure what more I could do.

Did a ride of the loop tonight, and I was surprised that for a flat course there were some surprise little ramps. Not enough to cause huge problems, but enough that both groups will want to remain vigilant through them, and perhaps a little flexible depending on who ends up on the front. I think I briefly saw 8% at one point!

At least 11.5 minutes delay might be enough to remain vaguely warm!

Done. Don’t mind which team I’m put in.

+1 for intervals.icu – Great site for analysing rides/training. If you don’t have a Strava premium then it fills a nice analysis gap and actually provides even more given how flexible it is to setup your own charts. I think it can drag data in from Strava or Garmin now. Oh, and it’s free unless you want to give a contribution to the developer.

Another technology test! This time I could see you all (and hopefully you could see me) all the way round, but I lost audio after about the tenth time @phil56 reminded me that we were supposed to be riding as a group and could I please stop letting gaps open up… This was entirely reasonable (and excellent) DS work though, and really appreciated.

Really enjoyed it once things settled down after the lead-in, I even took my jumper off. There were points however, that I doubted whether the concept of drafting actually exists in Zwift, either that or the people taking long pulls on the front where absolutely creaming it at 380+ watts. I set several all-time PBs tonight, including one for 30min power (298W) -so thanks for that!

Was very motivating continually catching teams, even if a couple of them were a bit cheeky. Although as scaredy pointed out, the person using us as a way of catching back up to their team must have been chuckling to themselves as we gave him a free ride.

Nice strong finish (and a negative split) too, would hope that would be a top-100 this week. Thanks everyone.

TR will let you continue the plan, but it will keep your FTP the same until you do a new ramp test. Personally, I would be looking to do a ramp test as soon as possible on your new Kickr Core, if virtual power has been overestimating then you are going to find the workouts too tough.

A different set of equipment, but when i moved from Saris Magnus measured power to Garmin Vector V3, I had to take a 6.5% drop in FTP. Demoralising!

Well done @DrP – a fantastic effort, you should be really proud.

Was strangely compelling watching your avatar climb – it helped to be able to see you (seamingly not) suffering as you went. Couldn’t believe all those gloves though!

Thanks for posting the video @Nixie

I was with you the whole way round, but only appear on the video at about 24:50, about half way round lap 2. From memory i think this coincides with my phone finally exiting its boot loop and restarting the companion app. It’s a bit odd as i didn’t think the companion app was a necessity, and it still doesnt explain why you all disappeared off my laptop screen on the back straight each lap! Discord on the phone was what caused the issue – seemed to clash with the companion app, as someone above has mentioned.

I’ll get something sorted for next time. Found the person issuing instructions really helpful – thank you for that. FElt like each lap we did we got better at staying together and passing other teams.

Looking at the results it looks like, not too far off top-100 for our class.

Well that was a voyage of discovery. Thanks to all in TeamSTW for bearing with me. I could in fact hear you all the way round, and see you most of the way round (but never on the back straight after we went through the mountain and past the waterfall – so I just had to guess how much power to put out at that point. So that, coupled with my phone decided to go into a boot loop for 2 our of 3 laps and not being able to reach the laptop keyboard to type, meant I just had to get on with it!

Have never used Discord before, I think I need to have it in my ears, but then I would need a push to talk function or I would drive you all crazy with my heavy breathing! What is everyone else using?

The actual bike riding seemed like a sideshow compared to solving all the various technical issues I had!

I found the link posted on the previous page giving some guidance on how to do them (and specifically things to look out for in Zwift) really interesting. Hopefully get to put some of it into practice tonight!

I guess I should be aiming for 30-45 second pulls @ 110% of FTP and see how I go?

Would like to join in on Thursday for the first time.
I’ve only used Zwift a handful of times, so hopefully I’ve done this right – I’ve joined the “STW” team up on Zwiftpower and I have entered the event Savoyad posted above. Do I need to do anything else at this point?

Can someone explain the results to me? https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=1596293

What does the “F” mean against the (STW) part of the “STW” team, compared to the “A” against the (MoreSTW) part of the team?

Not entirely sure on how the team filtering is done, but it may be more appropriate to slot me into MoreSTW first time out? I’m still trying to figure out how everything works – the bit that seems like I’ll get wrong is not going when it says GO, and thentrying to make sure I don’t lose all my sensors in the meantime!

Sobering story. Done.

They should stay open – they’re key workers

Outstanding. Thank you for that!

Agreed – great service. I bought an original V1 type light and had great service from Smudge. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one as a helmet light if i ever need to, or whatever his latest model is!

Justgiving have changed their fee structure in the UK (Following GoFundMe’s lead) so that they only take a card processing fee, which is 1.9% + 20p. The platform fees on both sites are now optional, albeit you need to pay attention when donating. Money Pools looks as though it might be completely free.

OP, so sorry to read about this – the force of water is terrifying. Most important thing for now is that you are both safe. As others have said, help will materialise, have faith.

Thanks OP. Been waiting for this to go sub £170 again after the Amazon deal, and this is substantially under. Ordered!

Have had two 1.4 TSI, both in VW Golf mk5, both in the smaller single turbo form.

Manual 6 speed: Great engine and box. 40mpg+ without trying. No oil consumption between services. Generally quite fun to drive too, as much as FWD 120bhp family hatch could ever be.

Auto dry-clutch 7 speed: No end of problems. Timing chain went due to manufacturing intolerances. No contribution on a 5 year old car always dealer serviced. Then the mechanatronic unit went. Painful.

I’ve had a Nexus 5X for a couple of years since release, can’t fault it. Other half needed a new phone about 6 months ago and couldn’t find better than the G5 plus. It is equally ok, although the camera is not as good.

Most of the new phones in the £200-250 range are not very compelling I found. There’s also a lot of glass-backed phones around which I’m just not careful enough for!

To my knowledge, no private hospital has A&E facilities. However, plenty of private hospitals have the ability to cope with complications during or after surgery.

Not suggesting that the particular Nuffield in question would be able to cope, but you can’t draw a conclusion on that from the absence of an A&E.

An NHS patient has a lot less choice over who performs the surgery, that’s one of the perks of opting for private. That same perk extends to patients who use the e-Referral system to go to a private hospital for NHS funded treatment. The vast majority of NHS funded treatments in Private facilities are reimbursed at (or below) the National Tariff which is freely available.

As I think someone pointed out, the NJR will tell you which hospital performs the most operations in quite a broad category. This may or may not be a good way of picking your hospital.

Miele C3. You won’t miss Henry.

Now over £33k, lovely to see the support he has from the community.

Have they fixed the Freeplay that they borked in Forza 5?

Freeplay in Forza 4 had the ability to do splitscreen, with AI and with Kudos points rather than times.

Freeplay splitscreen in F5 is very dull.