I did a full Christmas dinner a couple of weeks back for my Mom’s birthday. Jnr is veggie so I made a stuffing for the turkey using locally gathered sweet chestnuts and chopped up veggie sausage, cooked separately in a baking tray. It took me about fifteen minutes to knock it up using fresh sage and thyme from the garden, baked in the oven for about an hour.
It was lovely with the turkey and Jnr said it was delicious on its own.

I’ve just done an hour of weights that I didn’t do yesterday.
Jnr has just asked if I want to go for a run? I’m not sure what to do.

I was cooking dinner when I received a message from Jnr, “ fancy a run”?
I was going to do an hour of weights but took up his invitation and we went out for an hour while dinner was cooking. I enjoyed that!

sandboy I’m 68 how long before the wisdom kicks in ? 🙄

No offence! your username prompted my comment, hence the smiley.
In reality I should have gotten more, it’s just a spare for my fat bike, gravel bike and Jnr’s hardtail. Great offer and I’m happy so many others took advantage.

With age comes wisdom. 😀 I had the foresight to get three. In all my years of riding bikes, I can’t ever remember a cassette for £10!!

Just for context, due to flooding I was forced to ride across a field of sugar beet a couple of weeks back. I would have preferred to be on my fat bike but the gravel bike got me across. I wouldn’t have even considered it on my road bike!
Most of my rides are on a mix of river bank, bridleway, fire roads and restricted byways, a gravel bike is perfect. I’d happily ride it on Cannock Chase.
As Kramer said, great until it gets too technical.

Bonus day today.
Went to bed after reading Kramer’s sleep thread and woke up extra early!
Decide that I would cycle to the beach with a tailwind, meet the wife and mates. We had a two and half hours on the beach with the dogs and a lift home.
Now with feet up watching the football.

I love seeing barn owls when out on my bike. I’m very lucky that we have a healthy population of them and I’m almost guaranteed to see one if I’m out at dawn or dusk. Magical!

Just 11!
I’m happy that this is proof that I spend more time riding my bike than reading about them.
I’m slightly disappointed as I thought I was a bit of a bike geek.😀

I did manage a ride yesterday, a very gentle hour and half, my breathing restricted due to completely blocked sinuses!
Out again this afternoon for another ride which was a little easier but still lots of snot. I definitely feel better than I did and now confident that I can get through the next week.
Tomorrow, the plan is to meet up with friends for a dog walk on the beach which will be fun and also a chance to aid recovery.

@cougar, I get what you are saying but manners cost nothing is what my parents taught me. I genuinely can’t understand how you wouldn’t say thanks if somebody delivered your dinner?

A young fella who I used to teach, lives locally, recently had a nasty motorcycle accident which resulted in him spending the last few weeks in hospital. When he returned home I went to see how he was doing and asked if there was anything I could do to help.
I offered to make him his dinner because cooking was going to be a challenge. Each evening after we had eaten, I would take him a meal, after a fortnight, I was still waiting for a thank you or a message to say that he’d enjoyed it. Nothing was forthcoming so I have made the excuse that with Jnr home from Uni, there were no longer any leftovers. You just can’t help some people. I feel bad but something tells me that he doesn’t appreciate the gesture.

We moved to Norfolk over twenty years ago for Mrs Sandboy’s first teaching post.
I quickly learned that riding on roads was my only viable option, and at first, I enjoyed exploring my new surroundings, going out at weekends in different directions and soon discovered that North Norfolk is far from flat.
Fat biking has given me a lot more options for riding off road and I thoroughly enjoy riding my local beaches and dunes. Gravel is probably what I ride the most often and can easily link together some trails, tracks and bridleways to make a fifty mile loop through some lovely quiet countryside.
I’m lucky to have family on the south coast and in Carmarthenshire so I regularly get my fix of elevation however, the retirement plan is to move somewhere else. I have definitely got to the point where I need some hills!

Eau de dead seal is just the worst stench ever!!
Don’t ask how I know.

I’m full of lurgy and really struggling.
Monday morning I went out first thing for my usual run and it was hard going but I carried on and finished but felt rough for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately it’s been just extended dog walks for me since then, feeling a little bit better now so I’m hoping to get out for a gentle ride tomorrow.
This time last year I was off my feet with flu, which meant I failed at the final hurdle. I’m determined not to let that happen this year.

We’ll meet again
Don’t know where
Don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day

Mallorca has lots of beautiful beaches and mountains in the north. It’s one of my favourite places!

This time of year definitely doesn’t help motivation!
The 100 days challenge is what keeps me going this time of year and if I’m honest, I enjoy riding in the dark and feel much safer on the roads.
As above, running is great because of less faff and that I can get a decent workout first thing in the morning. Finding your window opportunity is the most difficult thing especially with little ones.

Egg in a lamb keema is lovely. Definitely remember it being an accompaniment to Biryani’s when I lived back in the Midlands.
I’m definitely going to try it out with other curries, no reason not to if you’re boiling water for your rice.

So many classics over the years!! Some excellent work already posted.
This mix sticks in the memory because she did it at the beginning of lockdown and for the first time ever due to no traffic, I played music while out on the road bike.

Another POETS day ride this afternoon but no sunset photo this week as it didn’t really happen. Two hours just pedalling out in the countryside which gave me a good appetite for dinner tonight!!

This week has been tough, the weather has meant that running or cycling have been difficult due to freezing conditions before and after work.
Yesterday and Tuesday were weights sessions at home and today was a day when this challenge really counts.
Wet, cold and blowing a gale but I decided to get out after work for an hour on the road bike. It was a case of thinking it’s just an hour, I’ll feel much better for getting out, I can’t fail now!!
It was great to get out, I was cold for the first five minutes and once in the shower afterwards, I felt it was well worth the effort. Had it not been my commitment to the cause, I’d have cracked a beer and sat in front of the fire. Exactly what it’s all about.

My thoughts are with you. Very special words from your daughter, beautiful and brave.
So sorry for your loss. X

That’s a question which could possibly not have an answer.
It’s a great question!!
What does original Lucosade taste of? It’s difficult to say.
Edit, obviously, TJ has the only answer.

😂 sorry, bit slow tonight!

@fasthaggis, it’s called covering one’s behind.
One of the reasons why I went back on the tools is because common sense isn’t that common and unfortunately, parents want someone to blame rather than seeing it as an accident and hopefully, learning experience.
Risk assessment and method statements are in place for students to follow.
If for some reason they didn’t watch the demonstration or listen to instructions then it’s on the individual if something like this happens.
Unfortunately it’s the way these days.

The students should have been given a full demonstration on how to safely use the sander and the teacher should have given explicit instruction to keep fingers well away from the belt/disc at the very minimum. One to one tuition or peer observation would be a good idea.
Find out from your Son what information he had been given before using the sander before going in all guns blazing.
We all make mistakes and have accidents, hopefully he learns to keep his hands away from anything sharp.

I had Araya Aero for racing, Sky Way Tuffs for general mucking about. It was the way.
Tough Neck stem and seatpost, Dia compe MX pro? Haro No plate, Jt Racing gloves and face mask?
I just remember looking through BMX Action bike and in the early days, BMX bi weekly magazines trying to source the best bits I could find.
When I think about it, nothing much has changed.😀

Gravel can be whatever you want it to be and – regardless of whether the bikes are basically just 1990s MTBs or not – it basically makes you feel the way early MTBs did.

My thoughts exactly, last time out. A bit of road, then a farm track or tow path.
What’s down here? What’s over that hill? And away we go. Just like BITD.
For me, it’s about exploring our surroundings, finding places you would never know were there, just out in nature, riding a bike.
Riding on the road is tougher than ever, in my experience there’s a growing hostility towards cyclists and my life has been threatened twice this year.
“Gravel” is now my preferred way of getting out on my bike and as a result, I’ve found miles of Restricted Byways very local to me that I didn’t know existed. Linking them up with a bit of road, bridleway or cheeky footpaths has given me a welcome boost.
I hadn’t realised just how stressful road cycling can be. All of my road riding is on rural country back roads where People driving at speed and not expecting to come across a cyclist around the corner make for some hairy situations. My body was getting a workout but my senses had been on high alert the whole time.
Just cycling, off the road, on any bike, on any surface is all good, being out in nature without the fear of traffic is good for me!

How old were you when he did that?

I was 13 when I had the frame and forks for my Christmas present and built it up spending all my money on the best bits I could.
If I remember correctly, I paid £130 for the Flight’s and £70 for the Bear Traps in about 82-84? I loved it!
At the time I earned £13 a week for 7 days delivery paper’s morning and evening. Looking back as as a cyclist now in my 50’s, the skills I learned in those formative years stood me in good stead for my future.
Great days when looking back.
Edit- I dread to think what it would be worth now?

If only!!^^^

As a Wolves fan, I have recently become very cynical towards refs and VAR.
It goes to show that even the Champions are subject to some bewildering refereeing!

Just to give you an idea of the market, a couple of weeks back, on Facebook, I purchased Jnr a carbon framed gravel bike with hydraulic brakes, hardly ridden in almost new condition for £400.
The seller told me she’d had no other interest!!

Sadly, not the snow I was hoping for but a whole day of freezing rain.
For me, this has been the most difficult of the whole challenge. I have forced myself to get out in it for the last hour to walk the dogs. Properly grim!

Way too icy for cycling today! It’s about a mile on the road to the woods or the river bank and I concluded that it wasn’t worth the risk of an injury this late in the challenge.
As a result, I’ve had a bit of a recovery day, a lovely walk this morning along the river, made especially memorable because it was white over with a dusting of snow and the frozen spider webs were amazing!
I have spent an hour using the foam roller this afternoon whilst watching the football.
Determined to get out cycling tomorrow hopefully on the fatty with a nice dump of snow.

Good work 👍 ^^^

Another POETS day sunset ride yesterday afternoon.

Third week on the trot. Great way to start the weekend, I can feel a habit forming!😀

If only I still had my old BMX!!!

PK Ripper, Redline flights, Hutch pedals, it was the absolute dogs nuts.
Every penny from my Paper round was spent on that bike and my Dad gave it away to some bloke at his work that wanted a kids bike, I don’t think I will ever get over it!!🙁

Is this just in the road or do you have designated parking bays off the road?
Which was parked up first? If you had parked your bike before their car then you could argue they parked too close. Had they given you more room, there’s a good chance that your bike wouldn’t have hit their car when it fell over. Proving who parked first could be difficult?
If they were parked up first and you squeezed your bike Into a tight space then I think it’s on you to compensate.
I have absolutely no idea about the legalities of insurance but if it was me, I think it’s the angle I’d approach it.