Stu170. I don’t really understand where you’re coming from. I worked on farms in my twenties, would love to have carried on but there I’d very little money in farm labouring so I found another way to remain working outside and became a gardener. I’m hardly rolling in money!
I do try and do my bit more and more, but I’d also like to try help change things on a bigger scale. Thought it’d be a good thing to do rather than just shrug my shoulders.

I used to work on farms, loved it. But couldn’t see any way to make enough money to live. I worked out I was earning £1.42/hr. It was a great lifestyle though.

I have been very impressed with ER. Didn’t want to charge headlong into it without looking into all my options. I guess you can be part of more than one group.

I’m a gardener by profession so grow lots of things. I’m more interested in feeling like I was doing something towards the massive sea change in policy that’ll be necessary across the world to halt then start reversing humankinds destruction of our ecosystem.
Obviously this is an overwhelmingly huge ambition so just looking for a place to start right now.

Cheers guys. I’ll find a couple of those book suggestions to start. I think the one I was talking about was called old mans war.
P7eaven, I watched and enjoyed most of the films on your list, especially District 9.
Interstellar though? I loved how it started but got cross with the tidal wave scene. It just looked all wrong. I need to totally invest in the scenario.

Can I point out whilst everybody (except Tired) is ranting and raving, that at the beginning of this, right back in March, we were told that the second wave which would come in winter, would be worse than the first wave. Hell we even had 1918 to illustrate it for us.
Yes politicians have messed up a lot, but so would you. Hell, I’d have opted for the herd immunity approach.
So now, yes, it’s all pretty bad but looked at another way; you’re not living in a refugee camp, you’re not being bombed, you’ve not got a life expectancy of 30, your species isn’t on the brink of extinction and your habitat hasn’t been bulldozed to produce stuff to make filthy cheap muck to feed another species so it can proliferate across the planet and destroy everything.
Just saying.

Hold on… it was the Baron something.
If only there was a searchable database…

😆

Who was that enormously fat guy in the original Dune film? That’s genuinely what I see in my mind when I read a post from an e-evangelist.

P.s. sorry for my rudeness. I’ve had a drink and have been keeping a lid on my off the cuff remarks for so long due to the actual, real troubles in the world.

Just when I’d started to accept the presence of ebikers in the world, then they further antagonize me with their use of the words clockwork and analogue.
Back to hating them now. (Well mainly the ones on this forum who’ve used those terms).
God people are irritating!

Now I’ve been suckered into arguing.

I preferred this thread when we all sat in a circle and listened to the experts teaching us things.
Ranting and exclaiming ‘madness’ at the end of every post, doesn’t really further my knowledge.
Love and hugs to you all this Christmas.

And sometimes Steve, a bruise is where a drunk parent is abusing their child. Teachers do an amazing job of watching over their children from my experience. They really care and have the protocols in place to alert the relevant experts when things go wrong.
Which they do.

The schools thing is a pickle for sure. I was at home today and my wife was teaching online as well as trying to sort countless issues (she’s an assistant head).
“Have you seen you’ll be doing a staggered return?” I yelled up the stairs at lunchtime. “Oh!” She replied. Where did you see that”? “Singletrack forum I think!”

Virtual hug AA. It’ll be ok.

We’ve almost done a year now. Another year and it’ll be done to the extent that it’ll just be one of the many things in life that will eventually kill us.
Right now I’m feeling a lot of love for the human race. My God it’s flawed but it does produce some dazzling moments and on the whole despite being populated by idiots (and I’m not saying I’m not one of them), the sheer number of caring gestures I’ve experienced this year trumps even the king of all the idiots; Trump.

Everyone has their own take on this thing. Have the courage to stick with your convictions. You’re ok. Not mad or weird. You’ve seen the evidence and drawn your own conclusions.
P.S. You’re doing it right, they are idiots, but the world is full of idiots so what you gonna do?

It was the same on my road ride first thing this morning. A few greetings from other riders but one guy totally blanked me.
I tend to give a full on wave along with a cheery good morning so this guy probably thought I was a twunt. He’s quite likely correct. 😁

And don’t get me started on the variety and severity of children’s mental health issues she’s had to deal with this year. We’re talking front line first responder stuff.
So yes it does grate to hear all the moaning about schools.

Good on you teachers.
My wife sat across the table from me this morning at 6am, eating a piece of toast whilst continuing with her marking. “All the staff are so tired”, she said. “I know we always are by the end of term, but this is so much more”.

Thought my reply was more diplomatic AA 😂

Nope no support down here in Kent. Schools relying on social media it seems to find out government objectives.

Oh yeah, and they also feel responsible for the kids who would do better not being home too much. Not every family is that great.

Please consider before slamming the schools, that they are under immense pressure from parents and the government,both pulling in opposite directions a lot of the time. They are being told to run both online and in person lessons whilst constantly contingency planning and dealing with complaining parents.
This is on top of their normal workload that they’ve been overworked and underpaid for for years.

This thread is great. I’ve only got to about post 30 and have already listened to Underworld whilst riding on the turbo today then Leftfield whilst running and now The Orb whilst lying in bed!
All with nice big over ear headphones.

On my feet I wear oversized Lake mx303s with two insoles and two pairs of hiking socks. I hate having cold hands and feet.

Legs castelli winter bib tights

Top, either soft shell or thin fleece next to skin and proper wind/waterproof jacket.

I use bog standard ski gloves all winter. Max £20. Work so well.

I was lucky enough to get two cx races in during October. I was joyous to see my racing buddies again and smash myself silly for 45 minutes. Reminded me why I race.

You could always get one of those little single serving bottles of sealant and carry it with you. That way you can top it up out on the trail if it has gone dry.

There’s a tread on Trainerroad forum. Lots of love. Described as really strong and sturdy feeling, no frame flex or squirm at the rear end.

Appreciate the advice. Hard time to buy especially with electric becoming more mainstream. Anything else seems like a waste of money.

I absolutely laughed from the bottom of my stomach when I watched that cat thing. Think it’s captured the moment purrfectly.

Guess it’s the hassle of pre booking, finding the right storage compartment, limited availability and extra cost, versus the hassle of stripping the bike down.
I build all my bikes from parts so the wrenching side doesn’t really worry me. A cup of coffee and a quiet hour would see it done in my book.

Biden’s said his major goals are to restore international relations, re-sign to the Paris treaty and pursue alternatives to fossil fuels.
That’s good enough for me.

Just so you know the CAA test is really simple and you can refer back and forward to their documents and take the test as many times as you need to for no extra charge. Basically the test is to just make you read the rules. The rules themselves are logical and straightforward. Quite interesting to actually know where and how to fly safely. You’ll also get a number which you can write on your drone so it can be returned to you if you lose it (or they can hunt you down if you use it for terrorist attacks 😉)
I think the charge is about £15 for a three year license.

Oldgit. Have a look at flying model gliders on the Downs. There are loads of people doing it and it gets you up onto the hills. I’ve even been known to strap a 4 foot plane onto my bike and ride over to the slopes. Evenings can be spent building models. It’s a great hobby

How about planning a tour? It’s a different way to enjoy a bike

Let’s hope we get some cold, frosty mornings soon. We’ve had to endure a lot of rain and mud over last winter and this autumn. A few rides over crackling ground would be mint.
Forecast looks vaguely promising.

Thanks for all these lovely replies guys. It’s lifted my spirits enormously.
Off out now for a run in the wild sounding weather. Bet I have the trails to myself seeing as its pitch black, raining and howling.
Bliss!

Man I was the worst about ebikes. Then I spent an hour in Friston forest with a guy who’d suffered a knee problem. He showed me a bunch of awesome trails and encouraged me to try beat him up the climbs. Felt my prejudice dissolve in the face of actual human contact.

I went to London’s South Bank last Friday to see a one person play about being a homosexual asylum seeker in the Midlands. (Bridge theatre, it was very good). Walking back to the station I saw groups of people enjoying each others company. Back in my home town I walked into the local kebab shop for couple of Shish kebabs (I’m married, not a piggy). It was only as I sat there waiting that I realised I was supposed to wait outside. ‘Oh God! Sorry! I exclaimed. “It’s no problem, they said, “Sit. Be happy”.
Stuff like this is so important to me. I know some might consider my actions irresponsible but I didn’t and I enjoyed sharing time with my fellow humans.