thanks for all the advice. I think we went up to the Gorges d’heric too. Found a good site for places to swim in rivers / lakes (http://www.creme-de-languedoc.com/Languedoc/beaches/river-lake-swimming.php) and a few of them are familiar. Think we may be better going a bot further south but somewhere we can easily drive into the mountains from.

jambalaya. That site looks good. Lots of very nice looking places on there.

monkfinger. went to Pont du Diable and Saint Guilhem-le-desert last time. Liked it a lot. trying to find somewhere we can stay for a couple of weeks. Have little kids with us so not after nightlife!! Just somewhere good to chill and go to rivers, some days at the beach and easy to get to small towns for days out. Do you think Roquebrun would be a bit limiting for two weeks?

thanks. Was looking at Roquebrun. Have you been Donald? worth staying in? Lots of nice accommodation there, but is there much else there apart from the river?

Kingwilba

No I don’t think it is posted anywhere. I only have paper copy of it somewhere. to be honest, I now work in transport infrastructure engineering and last time I read what I had written it seemed a bit naïve! Although I did get a good mark for it.

Cycle infrastructure is obviously a hot topic at the moment, as is how well perceived different types of facility are. It might be worth getting in touch with the road safety team at Transport for London to get information from them on road safety performance of their newest infrastructure…I know they do good monitoring work on it.

I would be very interested in reading your dissertation when you complete it…I did my dissertation on a very similar subject …. improving cycle infrastructure to Man Met Uni on Oxford Road, back in 2001.

got some flanders for £6 the other week. pretty good. Not warm enough for when its close to zero but good for early spring.

thanks Legolam…that’s the kind of thing I was after.

there was website a few years ago that you entered what you want and it emailed out to chalet owners and they came back with a quote if they could offer you it…i.e. if they had free beds. I think I used it for a prior trip there. thought it was a good idea.

Only chosen morzine as its very close to Geneva and next to some higher(ish) resorts)…and I like it! Might ewnd up in Chamonix instead through as the options there are much greater.

Anyone got one of the Aqua Pro jackets? Any good? What about sizing?

Theres a lot of diabetics on here! I developed type 1 aged 28 and have got through the last 8 years fine. I have to admit it was a lot to get my head around initially (mainly in the fact that I didn’t want to have a chronic condition for the rest of my years!) so your son may also experience the ‘why do I have to deal with this?!!’ too.

I would echo what a few people have said about developing a good relationship with the diabetic specialist nurses. They will give him a massive amount of practical advice…particularly about controlling blood glucose, and hypos. I found that GPs were next to useless in knowing about how to deal with the day to day living with diabetes. Essentially it is a condition that the individual living with it learns how to manage themselves…and eventually he will become a bit of an expert in his management of it….with guidance learnt from a good care team.

It hasn’t stopped me from doing much….still bike, ski, surf, have done long distance open water swims, got through a medical for an Australian work visa without comment. Some of the sport stuff (particularly anything involving water) I make sure that I am careful to monitor my blood glucose carefully as a hypo might be more likely and a problem if swimming about in the sea!

Someone else mentioned earlier about ensuring that your son and his mates are aware of the signs of a hypo. It can be a bit like being drunk…and appear like that to other people too. my hypos have changed over the years from being really full on (sweating, shaking etc) to now more subtle (blurred vision, bit confused!) but as long as theres some sugar handy (sweets, drink, biscuits..)….and maybe someone telling me to eat it (if I don’t clock on I am having a hypo!)…its back to normal quickly.

On the bright side, he is now pretty much an adult…most of the long term bad effects as a result of poor diabetes control occur in younger teenagers who are unwilling to come to terms with the fact that they have to deal with the condition themselves.

http://www.essatigaragedoors.co.uk/offers.php

im thinking of using these guys for a roller door. They have a couple of not so happy reviews if you hunt about….but mainly people getting hidden costs for extras. The sales guys came round though and I went through everything and seemed ok. £699 for the most basic electric roller door fitted. Extra for another key fob, and other bits n pieces.

the Russian virus could be a worry! Don’t use my tablet for anything other than spotify, and (non banking) internet browsing….but still a worry.

contact your regional (Asia I guess) Oakley distributor and ask for a returns box….send them back and they will likely either fix them, send you a new pair or offer you a very hefty discount on a new pair. Oakley’s may be pricey but their customer service is worth it. had quite a few pairs of glasses and snow goggles and whenever I have had any issue, even if its down to wear and tear from a lot of use, they have come up with something.

Did my AC in 2012. Not sure of the grade but the physio said it was to the more severe side of it. The initial injury ( and associated muscle damage) was bloody painful. At the A&E they told me it was likely they would operate. When I went to see the consultant he just said it would be best to give it 6 weeks and see how it repairs. It was fine. Took a good few weeks in a sling being very painful before I could use it much….did a couple – few months of physio (NHS which was good), and now as right as rain.
I did quite a bit of research on it and I think if the injury had happened in France / Italy / Spain, they would have operated as soon as they could….however the results aren’t any better statistically. Therefore I reckon that I was better off just seeing how it healed itself rather than go through the surgery that might not be a success. My consultant did offer me the option of getting surgery done if I wasn’t happy 3-6 months after the injury.

Ive got a lumpy shoulder now with the collar bone stuck up!

nice one. Got a box from CNP. annoying that the codes they offer (105 off first purchase, and £1 off by liking via Facebook) don’t work. And then the spam you via Facebook with the fake enticement!

Bristol is lucky to have Ashton Court / Leigh Woods on the doorstep (plus lots of other good spots) but they can get pretty dull after you’ve ridden them a lot. Also very good access to Quantocks, S. Wales, and FoD. Brecon Beacons / Black Mountains are good, but not as much riding as the Peaks. From Manchester the Peaks and Pennies are very close, plus all the riding to the north and southeast, North Wales, and the Lakes / Dales up the road too. Plenty of jobs up there too…and cheaper that Bristol.

Ive lived a good few years in both and they are both fantastic places to live. Bristol is a much more relaxed city in comparison….but with far less going on culturally and economically (jobs). Manchester defiantly has the very large, urban feel to it…in many parts of Bristol you can live within 20 mins walk to the centre or 15 minutes on a bike to the countryside.

St bees isn’t quite in ‘the lakes’ by the way!

Sallys are good. used them for a place to sleep 12 in the western lakes last Easter. We rented a place in St Bees that’s was nice…..although quite far from the Dales if you want to be half way between.

Sykes cottages are good too for finding places.

I am with PO, whilst they are cheap, they aren’t good. the phone bill sometimes seems erratic when I check it with certain calls that we thought we in our package seemingly not. The router and other hardware they supply is very poor too.

I had a problem with one router and called up to ask advice. The tech support guy I spoke to said he would talk me through the testing / fixing of the problem. He immediately jumped into overly complicated ways and means of testing the hardware, using unintelligible jargon I struggled to understand. When I kept asking him to slow down and that I wasnt sure what he was on about he just went faster and added more jargon…eventually instructing me to take apart the socket on the wall. Was an unbelievably frustrating experience so I asked to complain. He refused to put me through to anyone to lodge a complaint for a good 20 minutes of me telling him I wanted to complain. The customer service manager I spoke to and explained how poor the service was (for someone who isn’t scared of IT / anything technical) didn’t seem to give a toss.

Cheap? yes, good? no.

hmmm, maybe a second hand more expensive one might be wise.

blimey, theres always a little tiff in these threads!!

I reckon a brake cant be a bad thing so will probably get one with. Thanks for input, defiantly given me something to go on.

Has anyone got one of the decathlon ones (for their kids obviously!)? Any good?

cheers guys. I guess having a brake is probably less important earlier on, but might be more useful later. I like the look of the decathlon one. 35£ is a bit of a bargain. Islabikes Rothan looks like a good option too. might keep an eye on ebay for one of those.

btw….don’t think shes ready for anything too ‘enduro’ just yet….

just spoke to specialized and they told me its a specialized hub and freehub body (its from a 2010 pitch pro). I have vaguely ok mechanic skills and decent tools so think ill probably give it a go myself rather than pay £40 for the shop to do it.

its a specialized own job. Trying to find out the exact spec of the hub / free hub from specialized at the moment.

if the above link doesn’t work (which I think it doesn’t!) its the pacenti / switch am wheels reduced to £149

what’s the deal with suoperstar wheels? Do they make them themselves? Have heard bad things about superstar generally.

This is good news. From what I understand a huge barrier to this (stem cell) research in the USA was the US government’s reluctance to allow the creation of human stem cells for research purposes (probably due to the pressure from pro life type campaigns). So in the last few years since things have progressed a lot has been achieved….and perhaps we might see some human trials in the not too distant future.

I was diagnosed aged 29 in 2007, and although I am always sceptical of ‘the cure’, advances like this could actually mean so form of treatment in the next 10 or 20 years that could have a real and last effect upon peoples lives and long term health.

looking at one of their carbon bikes, a Xeon CSL.

don’t. worst retailer I have ever dealt with.

I’ve got some meindl Lhotse boots that I bought about 10 years ago and have used them loads from the lakes to the Himalaya. Absolutely amazing boots and still going strong. not sure they still do the Lhotse anymore but other very similar….Burma boots I think?

My passport is a bit threadbare….although not coming apart on the photo page. I never kept it in a protector for years and have travelled quite far on it. The only places anyone said anything was the USA where they said (on the way in I think) that I would need it replaced before my next visit. In Europe no-one seems to care if you are travelling on another European passport.

I came back (to Bristol) from Leicester yesterday on mainly A roads…sat nav took me down the A46 eventually. took about the same time.

its like the bike of choice for Saddam Hussein or Colonel Gaddafi.

is it still possible to get any one those insulate your walls / loft for free deals?

Ska. I travel up and down the M4 all the time. Whats your email? It doesn’t come up in your profile. Or email me…in profile.

Ludlow is a bit out of the way from me.

Ska – where you based at?

Where is Epic? BW don’t have them in stock unfortunately….neither do evans. I think I defiantly need to try one….more so now!!

cheers! Im 5’10 so generally on the cusp of medium and large. ride a large boardman comp at the moment but not sure if its slightly too big for me.

I am looking at this at the moment and have been into Planet X a couple of times to try the RT58 and the 57. Never do they seem to have in stock the sizes / models I want to try in fully built bikes. As I am between two sizes they may have one size but not the other so actually trying them as the STW massive (rightly) suggest, is not always possible. Plus they always seem pretty disinterested in actually giving anyone much time….and in the end just say ‘you’ll be fine on either size’ when what I think I need to do is actually ride the bike in both sizes to get a feel for it! Moan over.

have also been looking at Pauls cycles at the Giant TCR but was concerned that the wheels might not be great. They also do Dales….but again within the £1000-£1400 price bracket the wheels dont look too clever. Have been recommended Scott CR1s by a few folks but always seem to miss out on the deals when they are getting sold off.