Cars are too easy to drive these dayd. I have a classic mini and if I looked down for a split second it’ll try and kill me.

I did very similar to this in 2011, saved like hell, sold everything that had any value and walked the 5 miles to work to get my deposit. Every time i got a pay rise from getting the property 75% of said pay rise or bonus went on overpayments. I moved this year with my partner and we borrowed as nuch as we could (4.5 times joint income). The bit i haven’t seen here where people are comparing it to renting – rent will always go up with inflation. A mortgage payment will only ever go up with an interest rate rise or by choice. I find it bonkers that anyone who is in their 20s or 30s not doing all they can to retire by 55 or sooner. I feel bad for my parents having to still work to pay for where they live at an age where they would love to be able to slow down.

My protein hurricane xs works well ive found.

As much as people say they get plenty of protein in already I find I recover much quicker if that protein goes in immediately as I finish training

Some very different bikes there, what type of geometry do you prefer?

I have an Aithein as my winter bike and the geometry is quite agressive.

Id personally recommend some heavy lifting if that is your goal. Squats and deadlifts mainly

I have a propel and it has been a great bike for the last 3 years. I was looking at a TCR pro 0 disc to replace it as i had the chance of an ex demo but the one thing that really put me off was the brake hose just cabletied to the fork, it should be integrated and looked really messy for spending £3k on a bike.

On the other hand though i think the propel disc looks too integrated with the fairing on the stem and those silly rubber spacers that didnt return back to their correct position on my test ride.

Overall though I am really not sure I feel much aero benefit from the propel frameset unless at 30mph, the giant aero wheels are the biggest advantage and even turn my winter bike into a rocket

I’ll follow this with interest as I’m moving in the next few weeks and go from no garage to a double.

I have a rough idea in my head but it’s got to still take 2 cars (a classic mini and potentially something small like an elise) the bikes and tools. Im wondering with the work bench if its worth going full width or realistically will 2m be enough. Im also thinking cheap fitted kitchen units and a laminate worktop for the bench to get storage and a decent surface. Havent thought about racking yet though…

In the process of selling at the moment and the bank undervalued mine by 2.5k

My decision was to hold firm and the buyer had to make the short fall as I had 3 people offering the same and I got away with it. Ultimately I’ve found the banks have a bit of software they all share so all other lenders would have the same conclusion.

Recently used leyland trade satinwood and was impressed fwiw

I’m in Newark so only 20 mins away from Lincoln but feel it has the added benefit of being closer to Nottingham and train links etc.

Mountain biking as above and over the past two years ive gone to 90% road riding. I really enjoy the Lincolnshire roads, plenty with very few cars and some nice rolling hills in the wolds.

Witham St Hughes is nice and a bit cheaper than Newark or Lincoln but obviously a little distance away.

As others have said if you want any local advice just drop me a message.

Another vote for the SLR kit carbonio. After struggling with numbness and saddle sores I took a punt on this and it has been perfect. Theres the right amount of flex in the shell to keep things comfortable.

I went from a 63 civic to a v40 fwiw and hated it. Got rid after 12 months. Look for another Honda.

I’ve just packed and going straight from work tomorrow. 7th year on the bounce. A great, cheap weekend away with mates and the Friday night party in the town is a highlight

Two double sockets on all walls where there is a sofa / bed. At least 4 sockets by the tv, maybe 6.

Its also the time to install some outside lighting neatly, personally id rather go without than have visible cables then also maybe worth installing a high capacity cable capped at a junction box for a future outbuilding so you dont have to go chisseling plaster or pulling floorboards in the future.

Have a couple of the spexcel jerseys and they’re my favourite from what i have, fit me really well

Probably just not used to sustained efforts, i had the same problem and have managed to up my performance on the flat by just grinding in the hours. This year ive managed a bit more pace by getting my positioning sorted a bit lower which helps.

Eat for health not for weight.

When picking foods think is more nutrient dense, a piece of fruit or a breakfast biscuit. Nourish yourself and everything will take care of it self to some extent.

A great place for research is a guy called Ben Coomber who has a podcast on itunes/spotify etc with some incredible information.

I would reiterate the above though about ensuring you get enough protein, excess doesnt get stored in your body and its quite tough to get protein in your diet without nutrients but it very easy to get empty calories in the form of carbs and fat.

Id 100% recommend weight lifting for weight loss whereas on the bike you’ll recover quickly, I find in the gym the muscles stay in a recovery state consuming more calories for a lot longer. The bonus also os building a little muscle means that when you do lose a bit of fat it’ll unveil some good muscle tone.

My topeak mini 20 has been ace, compact and haven’t been left wanting with it.

I’d be really happy to do an event longs this on my whyte t129. 120mm with lockout if needed and fast rolling 29er tyres. Perfect

Enjoying reading the reports of ftp increases, getting set for a good summer.

I decided to enter the 19:15 wbr 4 lapper of the volcano and see what i could chuck out after not being able to ride yesterday or today. Set out far too quick and held with the A’s until the first proper kick up where a bunch of A’s and 2 B’s got out of sight. Not much else to report other than I thought I was going to get dropped each lap on the rise but somehow hung in each lap. I then missed the kick on the last lap and got gapped slightly but managed to grind it back to 6th in the group amd 8th overall in B. Really happy with an FTP increase from 261w to 271w as I hadnt raced for a month but have been trying to chuck in a vo2 session and an sst medium session once a week along with outdoor club rides. I don’t think ive got any weight i can shift without looking unwell so need to keep grinding it out and try to hit the magic 300w. I am wondering though if i should sign up to trainer road to get a bit more structure and hopefully faster results.

Thanks for the feedback. Current bike is a 150mm cannondale jekyll 26″ so either will give a lot of feedback compared to that. I’m guessing i cant go wrong with either option, just trying to work out if the orange is worth the extra cash. Both bikes I’m looking at are 2016 models

Awesome effort Weeksy, keep going with whatever you’re doing its working.

Tonight i had my first go racing in over a month as i had a grim cold and seems to have taken a while to find my legs. My pace IRL is miles down so was all fitting. Starting the week I’ve been doing low power cadence work which seems to be doing the job freeing me up a bit. I entered into SZR group B as i figured theres plenty of wheels to hold once i get spat.

Off the line it was clear the first group was too quick so settled into the second one. By the time we got to the start of lap 1 i was thinking of just dropping back and using it as a z2 ride. I then questioned wtf i was thinking and said I’ll keep in until i get properly spat. After 15mins things calmed down and we started reeling people back in as they got dropped but couldn’t be sure how many got away. Something then happened, even though my HR was sat on its rev limiter my legs were starting to feel better and i was thinking where abouts i could kick on the last lap. Turns out i picked the same time as everyone else and it went to a bunch sprint with nothing left. I still managed to finish mid bunch, 24th out of 63 in B. The bit i am most pleased with is that my average power for the full race is 4w above my ftp. It’s got me excited to get back riding again, well done zwift.

Having moved from a senior technical position to a sales position it is seriously tough but then the buzz of an order is very rewarding. I am lucky though that my basic makes up 3/4 of my total salary to ensure i don’t compromise the technical side too much.

Really enjoy reading the race reports Weeksy and Blader, really wish my cold and cough would do one so I can get back involved again.

I jumped into the castelli C group ride to help with the monotony of z2 riding and at least think about sticking in a bunch. Deffinitely made the time time go quicker and thoroughly enjoyed the sprint at the end. Out of interest what numbers have people seen from their t2240’s. The blurb says a max of 800w but I saw a peak of 880w tonight and pleased with holding over 750w for 20s. No idea what these numbers are like compared to the seasoned racers in this thread but it’d be interesting to know

Had my t2240 for a couple of months now and would recommend it to anyone looking for a wheel-on turbo

Have struggled with saddle sores previously and I use some that seems to work. If I forget to use it they seem to come back.

A bit of broscience but my chest grew well a few years ago when I was on the following plan, a few friends have had similar benefits.

12/10/8/6/4 chest press (pick one dont be fussy just do it properly). At the end of each set you should feel a bit broken

12/12/12 dumbell flies

10/10/10 cable flies stood up straight with a big contraction at the peak of the movement

Dips until you can do no more.

Try this twice a week with good form and you’ll see benefits.

Always do any weight training in a calorie surplus or neutral with minimal sugars involved. Look at most people who put on muscle mass, it isnt that difficult to get quite a way with it you just need to be consistant. Forgot to say make sure you do an decent volume of training with your back.

OT: Also interested in the P1S when you come to sell.

Yesterday was my first proper chance of being tested on the road for a long quickish day since starting zwift.

The pace went out where i’d normally be fighting to hold a wheel but instead I was feeling fresh and top end of zone 2. Then on to the climbs, I rode these at a similar pace to how I would normally but my recovery was so much quicker. I know I’ve seen numbers increasing on screen but amazed how much difference they make IRL.

I think I’ll jump into TDZ tonight in D cat just as a couple of hours to gently spin some very heavy legs

Immomdium, buy it there its unreal stuff.

Chiang Mai is awesome. Hire a car and take 4 days to do the Mae Hon Son loop. Single favourite part of travelling Thailand

I did TDZ in B tonight, my first go at moving up. I havent had a day off the bike since the 2nd Jan and I could definitely feel it. On the warm up strip I thought about quitting then I pushed on thinking I’ll get to the end of lap one before I z2 ot to the finish. Ended up finishing in the top 130th out of around 400 and put another 5w on my ftp score.
Ftp seems to be climbing every time I do a race but it is early days of following any structure but tomorrow is most definitely a day off

Personally id ask for a 15 year term on the mortgage to get low payments but then with no penalty for over payments. This way you can get rid of the mortgage very quickly but if you need the cash for something else one month then you arent going to get penalised for it.

Im just trying to learn to pace myself, my last race was the first time I hadnt been significantly dropped – average hr was 7bpm lower than my max and was a mess all day long from it.
In my opinion it’s a learning process and just working out what I can and can’t do at the moment

Well my TDZ worked at least.

Although i got dq’d last race in cat C i thought thats where I’d try again as i had a 5 hour day in the saddle yesterday and felt pretty stiff.

The start was bonkers as per and found myself right at the front of the group. Dropped back in with the intention of minimal wattages to hold enough wheels to finish top 200. This was my first time having a go at a race that hasn’t been an all out suicide mission. I thought I was riding pretty smart with lots of time to recover and get the watts sub 2w/kg to bring the average down. Once the first 10 mins was out the way people stopped overtaking and i was still top 50 to my surprise.

To cut a long story short I finished feeling really good and worked but not overly and could have kept that pace going for double distance. The biggest shock though was that I averaged 3.5w/kg and put another 2w on my ftp so DQ again but amazed and very happy my numbers have risen again. I’m unsure if I’d be able to do the 3 sisters course in cat B but the shorter races I’ll need to upgrade. Really enjoyed the race as it had some elevation so wasn’t a glorified time trial.

@cycle86 I must have been in the group just one in front of you, I was holding on for the pace to drop a little before lap 1 was over, shocked it stayed at full beans for the whole race.

I dont think it helped the way they staggered starts, there were A’s in my group that I think pushed the pace up. I notice for the next stage they are letting the faster groups go off first.

Glad to hear your back on the road to recovery, that accident sounds grim!

Would it be worth organising a stw group ride at some point?

I really enjoyed the ride today although it was bonkers with so many people.

On screen i came 55th in cat C but got dq’d as i rolled over the line at 3.4w/kg. There was a group about 15secs in front that I felt needed bringing back and led a charge out to it. Unfortunately once I made it to them there was a slight incline and I had nothing left to stay in the group. I think if i didnt try and bridge my w/kg wouldnt have gone over which is frustrating.

One other thing I got a new max hr on the ride of 176bpm, avergae hr was 167bpm. Dead.

I have a 155mm Romin expert evo that I didnt get on with that we can do a deal on. Email in profile

Today I ventured outside for my slow spin ride as ive been on zwift all week and figured some fresh air may do me good. I got bored having to think about potholes and traffic wishing I was back on the trainer. Addicted.

I’ve entered into the tour de zwift ride tomorrow morning, 530 people in cat c so far, I can see it being carnage!

Thanks for the info MrBlobby, its the first time I’ve thought about riding my bike other than just smashing myself to bits and struggling to get home again.

I had a mate come over with a pioneer power meter tonight to check out the accuracy of the T2240. Results were surprisingly close, within 5% all the way through the range from 170w up to 350w. Makes me feel a lot happier about my numbers as i was sure it was over-reading.