+1 for Asda delivery being ****ocks

Try Ocado … They match Tesco prices on most things and I’ve never had a late delivery or grumpy driver!

What brooess said. A good shop will analyse your gait and recommend shoes that won’t spanner your ankles/knees/hips

Parkwood Springs (Sheffield’s very, very short urban trail). Dry and dusty trails, 4 laps and fun on the berms and jumps. Less fun avoiding the attention of the local scrotes in the carpark … They were “admiring” my bike and car a bit closely :-/

I’m glad I’m not the only one then!

So.. Explanations as to how a brake pad travels so far? I thought I heard a rubbery sound so I guess it could have pinged off my tyre but 2.5m seems an incredible distance for it to fly. And what made me look under my front offside tyre eh?

Strange forces at work..

Spooky – fair enough really!

Patriot .. Contract eh? Hmmm.. Mine’s very, very vague as are the “terms” of my on-call ..

I would never get drunk on-call but I reckon one or two would be ok..

BEB – sounds like it wasn’t that after all .. Just as well really!

I am paid whilst on call (an absolute pittance) and then am privileged enough to get my normal hourly rate if I’m actually called, regardless of when that is .

I don’t have to go anywhere but last time I was called it was at 11pm after 2 large glasses of wine just as I was going to bed… I remained on the call until 7am and then rejoined it at 11am. I’ve never felt so utterly b*llocked in all my life ..

(Oh and unfortunately I know literally nothing about databases anymore but suspect the first reference might be on relation to a massive c0ck up by a b**k? )

Close!

Network design nerd for .. um.. Financial services :-/

I won’t be at work, I’m at home but can be called anytime between now and Monday 9am and then from 5pm to 9am throughout the week.

Thing is.. I’ve seen my boss on call in the pub with me deflecting calls after 9 pints so it’s not like a good example has been set (I’m impressionable).

It’s not s3x line work but it might as well be considering the huge hole where my soul used to be..

.. Just stick a 203mm rotor on it. Anything else = instant injury/humiliation

*peers in*

ACTIVE speakers and a read of Audio Electronics by John Linsley Hood

*runs away*

Nothing you Tory voting BMW driver

Nothing you socialist flag waving Prius driver

Nothing you non cyclist – call yourself a cyclist?

* delete as per appropriate stereotype

Get some air to it, wait until it dries off a bit and then scrape with an old razor

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/27406/run-flat-tyre-test

I can’t find the article but it showed the comparison between two bmw’s which normally have run flat tyres – on of which had standard and the other runflats.

Basically there was quite a scary stopping distance difference between the two which was put down to the suspension being tuned specifically for runflats ,

I was told in no uncertain terms by the dealer that if I fitted non runflats to my car then my warranty would be invalid!

There’s also an interesting article by one of the car magazines somewhere about the problems of fitting standard tyres to cars designed for run flats..

Alice the Astra followed by Bertie the Beemer

I blame the wife

.. A modest 320i coupe here but quick enough really.. Accelerates to 60 sharpish but does require some revs and on motorways it just keeps going ..

It also does 46mpg on long runs if treated nicely

#slight tangent

Although I’m not young exactly (32) I’ve only had my licence a year a managed to get cover for a 3 series coupe after only 8 months of driving for £780 ish from Admiral. Prior to this Tescos was by fat the cheapest for my first car – a beaten up old Astra..

We went on a mini-safari in Senegal when we honeymooned in Gambia.

It’s worth considering if you don’t fancy a full on Safari and want the beach as well (loads of tours into Senegal operate from places like Kololi in Gambia)

3.0L Z4??

Hmm the closest MTB to the door has 2.3″ super tacky rubber and 150/160mm bouncy bouncy each end weighs as much as a small car (probably).. I don’t really fancy a daily 900 feet or so of climbing on it.. Not with my lack of fitness, with my knees, in my condition and with my excuses ..

A couple of the DH routes are still more than do-able for mere mortals i.e. no unavoidable drops

It’s still worth a visit if you fancy a play.. As is grenoside and parkwood springs for a quick play right in the city centre..

Thanks for the replies chaps. Si – that’s an option too but I’ll be commuting to the wife’s workplace not home so there’s a bit but not a huge amount of off road stuff nearby.

I’m actually now thinking that doing up the hybrid might be a sensible idea and then I could *gasp* buy a cheap £400 road bike for *gasp* fun!

The next challenge in that case will be overcoming my complete fear of cycling on the roads out of Sheffield into the peak(s)… There’s been a couple of horrific accidents involving cyclists and motorists do seem to floor it as soon as they’re out of Sheffield :-/

Blimey, thanks for the responses!

So… A CX bike makes some sense actually as there are a few semi off road routes I could use.

I’m 6’2″ and ride a Large Tracer and a 19/20″ hardtail (when it has brakes and forks) .. If that helps with the sizing?!

Can some explain the level of groupsets to me I’m terms of equivalency to SLX, XT, XTR etc?

I must admit I am a little worried about wimpy brakes given the long fast descents, my fairly large size and cars pulling out of side roads etc :-/

The owners of the Bunkhouse mentioned above also have a little cottage they rent out. We had it in March a couple of years ago and it was a bargain price. It’s worth asking Dorinda about it..

Well I drove up to Parkwood this afternoon and completed a couple of laps. It was good fun.

However, I didn’t get my car burnt out, bike pillaged or bottom molested.

Almost disappointing..

I dont know you but I’n thinking of you dude, manhugs x

:-) well I’m not a total newbie – more that I haven’t ridden much for a good couple of years.

I ran 4 miles in the snow today but my running fitness seems somehow different to my cycling fitness!

Cheers guys,

So.. How long do you reckon it’d take for a (currently) non cyclist who runs once a week to plod from the city centre back up t’hill to greenhill then?

I know it’s not far but I don’t want to add too much time to my travelling as I already have to drive the wife to work before I’ be cycling and afterwards in the evening..

(Oh and I’m not on a reign anymore – choice of a tracer or cheap hybrid!)

Thanks Ian, was the hill utter hell on the way back? It’s looks horrible coming up Chesterfield road!

I’ve not done much cycling of any type for about a year :-/

Simon – that’s a very good point and for reasons I can’t explain it never once occurred to me that I could ride the less than 4 miles to Parkwood!

:-S

Yes Ian! Yes yes yes! I studied electronics years ago (as part of my audio technology degree) and am frankly getting flipped off by some Flippety hifi types and their erm.. Misunderstanding :-)

Hmm a mains conditioner containing the relevant inductors etc I could see providing some benefit. However a passive cable on its own isn’t going to filter anything!

I’m intrigued as to how a nice, pure power lead can make any difference when it’s connected to a filthy, creaking national grid.

I’m also intrigued as to whether those that hear a difference between such things do so under a double blind test..?

:-/ and I was looking forward to making a mini RopeyReignRider with the wife too…

Oh and there are “audiophile” rj45 cables too which is even more hilarious given Ethernet error correction etc..

…just remember where Hi Fi magazines get their money from i.e. advertising.

Have a look in them for sure …

..but then go and listen to a set of AVI ADM’s … Internal DAC , 4 amps individually designed for each driver and all the other myriad advantages of an active set up :D

… What about directional cables? Personally I find my elections zapping backwards and forwards at up to 20000 times a second work best when the little arrows point towards the amp…