The cheese n’ onion Fangs remain for me the most delicious crispy snack of all time ever.

Me too!

there was the parmesan cheese in the little red and yellow tub that smelt like puke

Still can’t eat parmesan – even shaved straight off the block – because of this, and sitting beside others eating it is a challenge.

Creamola Foam. Raspberry flavour.

I’d forgotten about Creamola Foam – definitely raspberry. 😃

mogrim – wow, this is impressive to me. I have that same feeling I had the day I stumbled into a third year maths class as a first year. By the time I realised my mistake it was too late, I had to sit through it — so, so out of my depth! But I guess we all start at the beginning.

Anyhow — a question if I may (to anyone listening) — I finished couch to 5k some weeks ago and have spent the time since then trying to get comfortable with 30 minutes continuous running. I’m ready to move forwards now and would like to increase my pace (still pretty slow) and also my distance / duration. Which would be best to focus on first? — or both at once (on different runs)? Very grateful for any replies. Thanking you.

+1 Angel Delight.

Favourite sweets from jars – strawberry bonbons, chewing nuts (very chewy, not a nut in sight), soor plooms.

Crisps called Fangs, Bones and Bats – just looked them up – the Bats were Batburger flavour!

These thoughts of gorgonzola et al. have reminded me of this other cheese we sold in the deli … the smell was other-worldly, and not in a good way. Imagine … you’ve stuffed your filthy cycling kit in a bag – the kit you’ve just worn every day for a week’s riding and wild camping in the mountains of Morocco in the sweltering heat; the kit in whose pocket you absent-mindedly left a banana and marmite sandwich you forgot to eat at the start of the week, which has started to release vapours potent enough to burn a hole in your kit bag. When you got home, you wrapped your fetid kit in the old blanket you once used to towel down the dog after it went splashing into a swamp to fight a skunk who, rather annoyed at the intrusion into its relaxing afternoon doing skunk things, sprayed its shocking stench all over your bewildered pooch. To top it off, you scrunched up your bag of mouldering kit / blanket combo and left it to mature for a year or two crammed into a crevice in the floor of your local sauna, to be liberally watered by the sweat of a thousand feet.

I think that’s a fairly accurate description of the steps which surely must have been involved in creating the horrifying stink emanating from this cheese. Nothing in this world could have induced me to take a bite. Some brave souls did buy it; some even came back for more – clearly folk with a less keen sense of personal risk and a stronger constitution than myself.

Used to work in a deli some time last century – cut some gorgonzola one day and inadvertently touched my nose before washing my hands – last time I did that – the smell was atrocious and couldn’t be shifted. I don’t understand how blue cheese can be considered ‘food’. See also – roquefort, dolcelatte – especially when wet 🤢. Sweet milk? … sweet Jesus!

+ 1 mushrooms. YEUCH!

I realise I am showing myself up for not having the most sophisticated of palates 😃. I LOVE nutella … on hot buttered toast. Hold me back.

eastcoastmike / mogrim – spectacular pics.

It was a very easy 12km effort with friends up to the tallest peak

What?!? 😃 (I’m a beginner currently managing 30 min mostly flat runs).

I got back to running this weekend after taking a week off … and found that I actually missed it – which is something of a surprise since I’ve never been much of a runner. Think I’m on the slippery slope now though … finding myself checking out running gear as well as biking gear!

Great pics. Glad you had a good time. 😃

Brilliant – thanks for sharing x 2.

Love that wee house in the middle of the loch 😃

Abiding memories of Golspie are the simply gorgeous view from the top, the insects up there with the teeth-filled jaws, nearly coming a cropper getting my front wheel stuck in a drainage channel, and the extremely pleasant person who sold me something or other in the wee shop in the main street after the ride. A good day.

Yup – I also found it hard to find the car park – even having been before (for some type of dusk to dawn race – some time in the 2000s – can anyone remember what that might have been?). Anyway, I ended up parking in a wee lay-by parking area I found on the map, and started the ride part way through. Arrived at the car park and pay machine pretty near the end of the ride, with a climb back to the car. Very good value.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Here’s a recent thread which might be helpful …

Ladies of singltrack, help my wife!

I like Fizik Vitesse.

Cheers lunge.

lunge – thanks for the encouragement – very much appreciated.

Also, will look up this author – sounds interesting – thank you for that too.

I read some advice on this thread a while back …

When you get to half way ask yourself “can I hold this pace for the rest of the distance?” If the answer is “yes”, you’re not going hard enough. If the answer is “no” you’ve gone to hard. The answer you want is “maybe”.

I just looked back and it turns out you posted it. This has been working for me – not from the halfway point as yet, just for the last 5 minutes of a 30-min run, but it has helped me to try to push a wee bit harder and find some confidence with a little more speed and a slightly greater stride. It’s all good!

lunge – I’m new to this thread, and to running in general so, for me, you’re preaching to the not quite converted! I do need encouragement – and this tale was encouraging – thank you. Glad it brought a good end to your day.

I just finished couch to 5k (for about the 4th time!) a few weeks ago, and this morning I ran uphill for the first time – got home feeling pretty chuffed. When I say ran, I really mean shuffled as slowly as humanly possible without breaking into a walk! – but we all have to start somewhere – right?!

There’s a PDF glossary on this page to help with translation – humorous and educational!

The wife from Fife says “Chittering” to mean cold & shivering which seems peculiar to her.

I say chittering too – I’m not from Fife, but from Scotland.

My partner picked me up from work on a Friday with bikes in the car for a wee summer evening spin round the red at Glentress – turned out he hadn’t brought my xc bike … but my Norco 4by … he said I needed the training. 😂 This was in the days before the freeride area, and when Spooky Wood was still skinny, rooty singletrack. The climbs were brutal, but I rode the descents like a pro (relatively speaking). 😄

A moment passed. Galaxies could have formed and died in the length of time I felt passing. Then he suddenly gave a big drunken grin, went “well, here ye ‘kin go then laddie!” and thrust a gallon container of ale into my hands.

😃

I feel your pain. I am extremely cautious when overtaking cyclists, and wait until I can overtake safely, giving them maximum room – often to the discontent of the impatient folk behind me who probably consider me to be a dithering fool. My partner was killed while cycling on the road – enough said I’m sure.

Personally I like the Scots word “footer” meaning to fiddle around with something.

I like this too – even though I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to stop footering with my hair, jumper, … &c.

I also like toty … is that a toty wee mouse running around inside your sofa?

Oh and I heard someone using “jings” the other day – not even ironically.

I often says jings (without irony) … probably picked it up from Oor Wullie in my early years and it’s never left. Can’t say I know anyone else who uses it though.

One I can’t spell tho and no one has been able to help me. a fool or numpty – its pronounced like “tube” but how is it spelled? Tube? choob?

I don’t know the answer to this. If I had to guess, I’d go with choob … the ch sound in choob seems slightly harsher and more appropriate (to my ear anyway) than the ty sound in tube … somehow seems a bit refined for ‘gonnae no dae that, ya choob.’

Please feel free to pay me no mind – I’m just idly speculating. I’m sure someone else will be along soon with the real answer. 🙂

I like (and use) … braw, drookit, wheesht. Also bonny.

Luckily we’re all different eh.

sockpuppet – this, absolutely.

I suspect a common reason we do what we do – even if it seems absurd to others – is because it feels good at some level. If make up &c. works for a person, then … great. It’s just not something I can personally relate to as a means of feeling good.

tj – again, refreshing.

I am deeply unfashionable, still riding 26″ wheeled bikes (and the same 26″ wheeled bikes I had 10 years ago at that)

Same here.

Hi mountainmonkey – hope you get an mtb sorted soon. I’m another who is getting back to riding after a few years away, and will continue to ride my old bikes. I’m also on the small stature end of the scale (5’2″) and suspect I’ll be happiest to stick with 26″. Like you, I’m swithering over which bike (for me, to fix up first) – FS or HT – will probably go with FS … HT is singlespeed at the mo – was considering going back to geared, but the gearing changes have thrown me a bit!

Makeup (“Make-believe”).
Fake tan (“Knacker lacquer”).
High heeled shoes.
Non “medical supported” cosmetic surgery.

You’re right and grand as you are. Anyone thinks otherwise can jog on.

You know, it’s refreshing to hear this. I don’t ‘get’ make up, fake tan, high heels (or false nails) either – and I’m the gender most often associated with the wearing of these things – but sometimes I feel like a different breed, and have spent most of my adult life resisting the subtle pressure to conform.

gnusmas – good to hear from you – lovely blog post.

Glad to see this thread resurface. I was reminded of another kind stranger yesterday, when I had to phone a well-known company to sort out a household issue …

… Some years ago now my partner died suddenly and, in the aftermath, I had to phone a lot of companies to change all the household bills into my name – not an easy task at the best of times, but in those circumstances it was pretty horrendous – having to explain over and over what had happened, and then jump through whatever hoops each company had in place to deal with these sorts of occurrences. Most were helpful enough, but the lady I spoke to at one place listened patiently to my story, and then, instead of going straight to the detail changing, she told me she had a son the age of my partner, gave me her condolences, and chatted sympathetically for a bit before sorting out my query. Then, as she was hanging up, she said … if you need a chat any time, just give me a phone, my name’s M-, just call the number you phoned today and ask for me. It was powerful at the time and has stayed with me.

“Hang on, so let me get this right, you want me to pay you to fly on a plane, cover myself in oil and than roll in grit, you’re taking the mick now aren’t you?”

😂

just go exploring, relax, pedal, head held high, swooping down country lanes along hedgerows matching the speed of hedge-sparrows and yellowhammers, maybe a tune on the ipod, sun on leather and steel, peanut butter sarnie and water stop on the Common or by a stream, lie back and watch the buzzard wheeling above? No rush to anywhere other than here and now.

Sounds pretty perfect!

Love this thread. Great stories. I have a few – this is my favourite.

I was in my late teens and got the bus into town one day to buy a frame for a poster (Frank Zappa IIRC) to give to my friend for Christmas. I bought a 70 x 100 cm aluminium frame which, along with being mahoosive, weighed a ton – I really didn’t think it through! I got to the bus stop to head home, when I realised it would be extremely impractical to try to wrestle it onto the bus and fit it into a seat with me without causing chaos for the other passengers, so I opted for the train home … momentarily forgetting the mile plus, somewhat uphill, walk at the other end. By the time I got off the train it was pouring down, and the wind was a howling fury – this proved problematic as the frame was more than half my height and double my width … I couldn’t carry it in front of me due it’s less than ideal aerodynamic properties, and it was too big to fit under my arm. I had to walk half sideways, holding it out to my side, stopping every dozen paces or so to rest my poor arms which were being stretched to orangutang proportions. I battled on, cursing my congenital lack of common sense, when a driver, sporting a vaguely visible halo, pulled up beside me and offered me a lift. I’m not in the habit of getting into cars with strangers (unlike Edukator ^ 😉), but it turned out he was the father of a boy I had known at school (who, incidentally, had been the subject of a moderately severe crush in my hormonal years – although I didn’t mention that to his father in the car that day 😊). I still say a quiet thanks for the man’s kindness whenever I happen to walk past his house.

Good to hear from you.

I know I’ll probably never be the same again, but I have to find a balance and maybe find a ‘new’ me amongst it all.

This too. Someone I consider to be wise told me (and I’m paraphrasing due to a fairly sketchy memory for details) that I would come out the other side of my own challenges stronger, wiser and more compassionate. He was right, and I’m not even fully there yet.

I hope you can find your way to your own new balance. It may be a better place than you can imagine right now.

😂

leffeboy – I’ve only just realised you posted a link to a forum too – very helpful, thanks. I was distracted by the talk of frozen sausages and had wandered off to find my hammer.

Brilliant – thanks so much. Even a quick look tells me I may lose many hours there. I will not look for you!

chercher un forum français qui correspond à l’un de vos passions

Edukator – I like this idea. Would you happen to know a VTT one you could recommend? Merci.

My front (mechanical disc) brake detached itself near the start of Ten under the Ben one year. I have extremely limited mechanical knowledge and ability (awaits stoning) – so I tied the brake hose in a knot and finished the lap – brake bumping off the wheel, heart in mouth.

I’ve had that eggbeater one-legged comedy pedaling problem too – shoe attached to pedal, pedal constantly slipping off axle – not much fun on the technical descents.

I’m so sorry you find yourself here. I can’t relate exactly to these most challenging of circumstances, but I do know that feeling of drowning, the constant battles just to get through the day, and the repeated loss of that tiny glimmer of hope.

I developed PTSD after the sudden death of my long-term partner and am finally well into recovery after a long, hard struggle. It took determination, and sustained and focused effort over a long period. From everything you’ve said on here, it seems clear that you already have inside of you the things you need to pull through this – maybe most importantly, the desire.

Some things that helped me:
A good trauma therapist
Emotional support from a good friend
Regular meditation (I practise TM)
A good routine, early to bed
Regular exercise (just a short walk at first)
Over time, learning to accept setbacks, and each time to steady myself before starting again to take small steps forwards – I found my resilience increased with each cycle
Writing down even the smallest good thing that happened each day (at the start this could just have been eating my favourite biscuit, or watching a good show on tv). I think it helped subtly shift my perspective in a more optimistic direction. The list grew with time, and became a record of my achievements, and a reminder of the progress I’ve made since the darkest of days – I still do this

I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones which sprang to mind at first. I guess I just kept trying, and finally things started to come good.

I hope something here helps, even if it is just the support of a stranger. I truly wish you well. Please keep posting.

Nailed it.

Did someone mention Poirot? 😃

Have owned one – the one I’m in – but would consider a future move to somewhere with good biking / walking a bit nearer my doorstep.

Some of you have moved a LOT!

perchypanther – I like a riddle. Here’s my guess … You bought a semi-detached house, and then 8 years later bought the other half – and still live in the whole house. You moved from the family home to this house as your one move. Your wife moved from the family home to elsewhere, and then moved for a second time to the house in which you both currently live … which happens to be her original family home. Am I close?

faerie – thanks for sharing.

Beautiful! I’ve just planted a load of poppy seeds saved from last year – looking forward to a spectacular display even in my tiny garden.

Ton….?

ton popped in just recently … https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/just-a-message/