At the same time, bringing up well-rounded children is in no way dependant on taking them on holidays their parents enjoy.

Still not sure where I said it was dependent (or a requirement)? The only point I was making is that it is consistent with the objective…

That also sounded very judgemental where you say “taking them on holidays their parents enjoy”. Clearly we do enjoy skiing/boarding or we wouldn’t even be thinking about it – but a holiday that the kids didn’t enjoy wouldn’t be enjoyable for any of us! We hope that they do enjoy ski holidays in the future (I would have loved to have gone skiing when I was a kid) – and we’ll invest plenty of time in the early years to try and make that the case – but if they don’t like then we won’t do it.

And? You choose to have kids, there are consequences and restrictions that go with that choice. It’s really not difficult. The time I’ll be a bit more sympathetic is when teachers are allowed to act like this.

I can see I’m wasting my time here, so no point debating!

and there are designated times when schools are closed that it is possible to do just that.

erm… very limited times, at high cost and very crowded… (I think this may have been covered at some point during this thread ;)

No one has said that family ski holidays aren’t a good thing, but it’s hardly a requirement for bringing up well rounded children is it.

No one said it was a requirement, but if parents enjoy skiing/boarding and want to do it as a family, then it’s consistent with that objective…

Plenty of obnoxious responses on this thread!

There is another good reason for skiing outside school holidays – less crowded slopes are much safer and pleasant (we really want our kids to be able to ski and enjoy it as safely as possible).

When the kids start school, we won’t take them out during term time purely to save some money (even though that does matter) so we’ll take the pain for summer holidays as there are lots of options and alternatives if required… skiing is different though. I am hoping that we can find some smaller quieter resorts that offer enough variety for all of us to be happy though, even during school holidays.

We’ve been going through the school application/visits things for our eldest and a major objective of the primary schools seems to be to produce well rounded confident kids – how on earth is a family ski holiday not consistent with that?!

(and yes – definitely want them)

cb – you’re a star! will drop you a mail :)

she’s not OK with the balance bike unfortunately (she’s of the can’t do – won’t do persuasion…) and prefers her little sister’s scuttlebug (despite her knees being up near her ears!). so I’ve had to accept the tactic of getting her interested first by making it easy…

jonathan – the bolts are skinny enough for me to think twice and I’m not known for mechanical sympathy. but it might be a temporary solution (as I can’t see her putting much force through them!)

I asked about using longer bolts but they said that it hadn’t been tested and there was a risk of shearing the bolt (the bolts aren’t as strong as a solid axle that you’d generally fit stabilisers to)…

Tonyd – just phoned them back to check whether the CNOC 14 stabilisers would fit the 16 and unfortunately they said not… but thank you anyway for the offer (and it didn’t sound harsh at all :)

Aldi fruit & nut biscuits…. hands down! (think they might be Fox’s in disguise)

We’ve used the meet and greet thing a few times now and it’s been very convenient – especially with babies to lug around and early flights(priced a bit more than the jet parks but less than multi-storey)

I have a set of barely used Alpine on Stans hubs, alloy nipples, DT revs built by justriding along that I’m probably going to sell. Very light and nice…. drop me a mail if you’re interested (rodmason AT gmail DOT com)

Carbon is subtly comfier – whether you really notice depends on the bike (travel, tyre size/pressure) and the riding conditions. I could notice a lot of difference in a 24 hour solo race, but less so for a couple of hour blast…

We’re up to £130/month now… I wish it was still £49! (And that’s with the excess bumped up)

Any past claims will bump it up and the area is a big factor as well.

It went up another chunk this year despite an extra year of no claims and reduced cover – but the alternatives are pretty limited (especially when you have a >£2k claim for burglary in the last 5 years)

I got Velocity A23 rims on XT disc hubs from JRA with DT comp spokes. Around £230ish I think and lovely.

A bit heavier than you wanted but I guess it depends what you’re using them for. I’d be wary of DT Revs or the Stans Alpha rims – might be a bit floppy!

Don’t forget to check the spacing for your rear wheel before choosing the hubs though…

Good call on running the ethernet cable with the electric cables…

I’d thought about the stud wall behind the garage door to provide a bit of screening – I think that would be a must.

House insurer is M&S – they’re happy as long as the bikes are secured (outbuildings are fine).

I think I’d want the internal access to the utility (but I would make this an external door and it would be alarmed – as would the other doors).

Still not decided though :)

I’ve asked M&S about this recently (given the new £2k limit for unspecified bikes on renewals) – they said it is what it would cost you to replace it (so I’ve based it on best price I can get for each part – given that I want to minimise the value!)

As a general rule, keeping track of the RRPs is probably fine – it’ll then depend on what price Wheelies can replace it (and if they can replace like-for-like).

The Punchbowl is ace (same ownership as Drunken Duck but nicer) but also a bit southernly (more rolling countryside than ‘proper’ Lakes – but still worth it).

Gilpin Lodge is fantastic too if you want to go more upmarket (tell them you’re on honeymoon and you might get upgraded – we did (but we were actually on honeymoon!))

We’ve eaten at the Samling – very nice but proper pricey and not quite as relaxing.

Wander up Queen Anne hill for a coffee whilst enjoying the views. There a music museum at the space needle (go up there as well) which is primarily about Jimi Hendrix. There’s some great restaurants at reasonable cost and some really good happy hour deals too…

Are Dutch ovens made of tin?

I think it was Ed Coyle rather than Dan Coyle (author) who did the stuff on the physiology of LA – but that study is supposed to be a sham. He had a pretty mediocre VO2 max (by the standards of the top riders) and he didn’t lose that much weight either.

There is a partially interesting thread in the cyclingnews clinic forum (if you ignore the usual in-fighting on there) titled “From Donkey to Racehorse” – basically, someone was challenging the widely held view on there that LA was just a donkey (I think the broad consensus that he was naturally a talented one day racer, but would have been lucky to win a single TdF).

Essential reading includes Tyler’s book and “From Lance to Landis” by David Walsh. The latter covers Lance’s early years and the system he came from – which alledgedly involved Chris Carmichael and other coaches giving the young US riders injections that were described as “extract of cortisone”, but were actually cortisone (there’s a case about Greg Strock who rode with Lance in those years).

EPO use became common around 1994 and Lance started using Ferrari in 1996 (he didn’t like losing apparently…) The world champs win was before EPO became widespread and was in nasty weather conditions – so winning that says more about the fact he was a strong competitor and could deal with foul weather (rather than being the most physically gifted).

I think it’s been said elsewhere on the forum (in the last week or two amongst other occasions), but if Wheelies can’t provide a like-for-like replacement then you should be able to request the full cash value (otherwise the cash alternative will be reduced slightly – around 20% versus the replacement value).

B@stards…. We’ve had a couple of near misses, but it would be gutting (even if insured).

With Wheelies, just persevere and you’ll get there in the end!

If you wanted to try it at lower cost/risk, I have a pair of Pro 3 on 355 rims for sale…

Another Torq vote from me. Tried many others which all upset my stomach or tasted rank, then discovered Torq and they’re good for everything (including 24 hour solo). If your stomach is on the edge, you might just need to drink more plain water to redress the balance.

It’s worth a day in the bike park for the experience, but there are tons of amazing xc trails around Whistler (and beyond). The Lost Lake trails are pretty good for easing yourself in (mainly blue grade) but the classics include River Runs Through It (fairly flat but lots of trail features), Kill Me Thrill Me and Comfortably Numb (that is 25km of continuous technical singletrack – really stunning). Locals can point you in the direction of the trail heads (navigation is easy once you find them) or there was a free leaflet/booklet when I was last there.

Given it’s your honeymoon, definitely eat at Rim Rock in Creekside – our favourite restaurant anywhere (consistently voted best in Whistler). You can get good sushi (Sacchi Sushi or Sushi Village) and there are plenty middle of the road decent restaurants like Earls, Keg etc. We’ve not done much in the way of higher end restaurants in the main village as they are mega pricey and we’d rather go to Rim Rock. GLC patio is great for beer (and decent bar food) and Merlins in the Upper Village has the best nachos. Cinnamon Bear Lounge and Crystal Lounge are nice chilled out bars. Make the effort to find Wildwood for breakfast (in the tennis club) – it’s fantastic.

If you’re riding in Vancouver, Seymour is a pretty good starting point – blue/single black level trails like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin are great and not too extreme(and Deep Cove is a lovely spot too – if I remember rightly, you can rent bikes from the original Cove Bike shop which is in Deep Cove).

Gutted – really lovely friendly bloke. Always had a good natter with him at Mayhem/SITS. RIP Nick :(

Long slightly downhill sections are your enemy… ;)

(but I’ve never done a race less than 6 hours so can’t really comment on proper xc races – it was 10 Under the Ben (almost an XC race) where the long slightly downhill bits were irritating for me, as geared riders came past in big ring).

I always prefer(red) it on a lumpy course when you’re either going up or properly down.

I thought the same about gels before I started using Torq gels… give them a whirl before you write them off! (and the rhubarb and custard flavour is AMAZING :)

The eating/drinking is an interesting one… some people seem to like “real food” but it’s more efficient if you can find energy products that you can get on well with (it was Torq stuff for me – to the extent that I could go a full 24 hour race eating little else). Over or under eating will make it horrid…! (and SIS gels will make it explosive in a bad way ;)

Training rides are the time to perfect this…

Doing the first 100 miles in sub 5 hours would be a sure way of blowing up in the second half :)

You want to be doing the whole thing at a nice steady effort, which means keeping it aerobic (also means that eating and drinking will be easier to keep reserves topped up). Weather might complicate things, so probably best to mentally prepare for rain and headwinds (then anything better is a bonus).

I’d probably base it on 15mph, so that’s 10 hours for 150 miles or 13.3 hours for 200 miles… (if you can minimise stops then 15mph should be comfortable (as comfortable as 200 miles can be ;) and you might be able to better it)

Yep – smoked paprika is the way forward.

I found a Kona catalogue from the early ’90s amongst a pile of old MTB mags from around that time. Still look good!

It is relatively flat – but also deceptively tough (you’re riding faster and the climbs tend be quite sharp) and it gets the braking bumps from hell if it’s dry (rubber arms are helpful)…

It also rivals Eastnor for the worst mud in the world if it rains and then starts to clag up (2008 was the closest I have came to quitting during a 24 hour solo race).

It’s less busy than Mayhem so less issue with faster/slower riders.

The rich used to do a lot more tax avoidance 10 years ago (no doubt some were evading as well but jail is a bit of deterrent!) The introduction of the 50% tax rate also gave more incentive to avoid tax.

Non-rich people also avoid tax but the cost-benefit is lower so less incentive to do it.

It’s not specific to this government – if anything things are getting tighter. But back to the original post, is anyone really surprised at a politcian feigning shock or lying? :)

Hora – most operating costs are actual costs incurred (usually deductible if wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade) so you seem to think they’re also partaking in fraud?

My original point is that saying a company made £x bn revenue and only paid £x m corporation tax is too simplistic and sounds like tabloid press headlines…

It’s pretty clear that they (like many other companies) are operating through headquarters in a low corporation tax jurisdiction and organise their affairs to minimise the overall tax payable (which is probably not that much anyway in the case of Amazon). It’s pretty hard for the UK to close up international loopholes though and if they’re creating lots of jobs in the UK (and paying UK payroll taxes) I doubt any government would be worrying too much about that.

Aggressive tax avoidance is another thing altogether and the general anti avoidance rule should help reduce it… (IME, rich individuals are the most likely to chance their arm at avoiding tax)

Hora – they’re pretty well established for tech companies, but it’s more complicated than that

Amazon had total revenues have $48bn last year but it’s net profit before tax was less than $1bn. They operate in Europe through a Luxembourg company so finding out the profit made through UK operations will be impossible…

Anyway – it’s discussed here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/forum/deals/ref=cm_cd_ecf_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1DEIHNWYF5SA9&cdThread=Tx14R7K0GBKZ39D

It’s a rubbish example, but I think the point is that if you’ve got enough money and can operate globally, there’s likely to be relatively easy ways to reduce your tax bill (some of which are impossible to close down, whereas the “aggressive” avoidance is being addressed).

Hora – stop mixing up revenues with profits… companies pay tax on net profits (with various adjustments for additional taxable/non-taxable items and reliefs). For fast growing companies like you mention, profits will be a small proportion of revenues (most of the value in those companies is in the potential for future earnings and they’re also likely to have made losses in earlier years). The fact that they’re US companies and have global operations will complicate it further (making it impossible to make simplistic statements about what they should be paying in the UK or globally).

Just saying for future reference, like (wouldn’t want you sounding mis-informed ;)