Much of my network (law/tech/ethics) is now also on Mastodon, although grumbling about complexity/functionality. Not sure British Airways customer help will have a presence there anytime soon though.

Neither riding god or eejit here, but yes, I spend too much time readjusting, and not necessarily because of bumpy terrain. Reckon it’s a perfectionist thing: position is adequate, but could be better, “doh that’s worse”, go again…

Thanks all, and do keep it coming. Income will deffo be less than £85k, more likely in the region of £20k annual. I was wondering about the likes of Xero, but in reality there will likely be 10 or so speaking gigs of a few hundred pound each, plus a report or two. Good point about corporate endorsement, but it isn’t that sort of thing (more along the lines of forecasting tech issues, harms, ethical matters, and how to address these if possible).

On the VAT side, steering clear looks good!

No, sole trader will do it. Glad to hear not a nightmare – I had visions of days wasted going down HRMC rabbit-holes.

Yep, another who gave up – no glasses of sherry at Christmas, or anything! I’m guessing that was 15 years or so ago now (yikes). Deffo a positive change for me, but that was starting in a different place to you OP. Fair to say I wasn’t just having a few cans on the weekend. I decided to stop for a month after the monster of all new years, but then decided to stay stopped. The weeks/months after this were trickier, oddly as one feels better (and slimmer). I decided to stay with it though and alcohol is just something I don’t “do” now. My partner has a glass of wine most nights though. Still like going out for drinks with colleagues and pals too, but if things are getting very messy I’ll part company for the night (and be fresh for a ride the next day!).

Interesting thread and mix of views. Obvs not having in the house/drinking at home/alone is the first step, but just to add that life goes on if OP or anyone else decides there is a problem. Over 15 years since I’ve had alcohol and I can confirm that banter, laughs and socialising are all still possible! The yoof have done us a favour too in normalising low/no drinking and AF beers. I totally get the pleasures, but it’s really not that much of a loss if one decides it’s not doing them any favours.

It’s two wheels and pedalling which is always a good start. A solo rider and happier for it, the joy part for me is when niggles and troubles clear, views open up, quads are powering, and the mind shuts up. All very blissful, but still not a patch on rolling nobblies onto dirt.

At risk of suggesting ideas considered and dismissed as dumb, how about a Swap Shop next to Classifieds? This might help create traffic to the site and (this is a bit hazy) could involve 5% of an agreed value between the two parties going to STW. Not all would pay, but most hopefully would.

@OP I’d pitch up here for the other couple of days. Betws has the follow your nose riding (Marin + Penmachno) and you’re also in easy reach of Antur too. Lots of steep/”Enduro” stuff in the Gwydyr woods too (where the signposted Marin trail is). Lots of pubs/eateries a 2-min cycle away from the site.

Looks like others are more knowledgable than me but I too have wide(ish) feet and have had niggles in the past (with feet). Along with a little rest, Nike Pegasus have been super comfy on a mix of tarmac, slate and muddy trails. Great at none but good enough for all – and comfy!

Very regionally biased, but it’s CyB, Penmachno and Marin for me. All pretty close too so OP could stop in one spot and make short day trips out.

Road Dalby earlier this week as I was in the area. Really weird! Very odd to have no proper climbs or extended descents. The World Cup sections have some spicy bits though with one almighty drop-off (15ft?) that, safe to say, I did not attempt. Quite a surprise for a trail centre.

The more unpleasant or expensive it is to fly the better. It’s unsustainable etc. Let’s hope it gets worse.

Indeed. While the push to escape all-things Jubilee is understandable, climate change isn’t licked because the news isn’t talking about it.

£34 for 2 nights as a solo traveller in what is still [just] low season, but that seems cheap to me. Despite being in a van, I’m not averse to paying a few quid more for hassle free and cleanliness! Interested to know what others think, but a good booking system really goes a long way too. A little spent on this would pay dividends, esp. for repeat custom.

Bugger, sorry @welshfarmer, just booked – sounds great though. Thanks all, Pencelli it is (cheap too for solo traveller).

Liking the idea of raving with travellers at Merthyr, but sites near Brecon and Talybont a good call. Good mention of BMCC for riding too, hadn’t thought of that.

Really surprised that anyone would condone flying, including OP’s workplace. Glad to hear that insurance firm is supportive. Fingers crossed it’s a case of feet up on a balcony in the sun with a bike mag for OP.

Don’t disagree with the BPW diagnosis, but interesting that popularity of the Marin trail hasn’t gone down since Antur opened. Perhaps context plays a role, i.e. stuff to do/buy/eat after riding.

I do think there is merit in treating it like a tourist attraction now – not as a ‘wild’ mountain. Facilities. Signs. Support.

I live nearby and agree, this is a good idea. Llyn Elsi above Betws-y-Coed for example already have emoji on the way up, flagging effort levels and how far left to go. Sure, it’s Disneyfication of what was once a rugged mountain, but why not? N.Wales isn’t exactly short of empty mountains. On funding for it, blimey, so many missed opportunities with that amount of “footfall” of folk on holiday, looking for things to do and buy.

I hope the tory’s get decimated come may 5th.

Just emailed my MP politely noting that as non-ideological voter, Boris Johnson and his Cabinet are certainly not swaying me to vote Conservative.

Shameful, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought about the racial dimension.

Another who cancelled a sub due to what is frankly a privacy/GDPR ****show. More positively, interested to know whether there are plans to wean off current illegal adtech, esp. given Google plans for ’Topics’ based ads (much more privacy friendly as sites visited are not shared with third parties).

Good shout on Marina restaurants/area: Hull has come on a lot! On local chippy, Cave St gets my vote, but I grew up nearby. Tbh though, if visiting The Deep, stay in the Marina or head into Old Town.

If so, you’re a boil on their arses an’ all.

Nice. The other way of looking at this is less about aversion to ads that are relevant, just as in the magazine, but very suspicious, if not illegal use of “consent”, to install trackers on people’s devices used to browse not just STW but the entire Web. To be clear too, Recital 32 of the UK GDPR specifically bans pre-ticked boxes.

I understand that it’s tough being a publisher, and that once one has gone down the dubious adtech route it’s hard to get out if it, but that does not make people wrong to not want adtech installed in their devices, especially given that the entire premise is to surveille and track behaviour. Obvs a bigger problem than STW, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the problem is not advertising or marketing, but privacy-invasive means.

Thanks for posting and publicising. I must admit, despite being very local, and a regular rider at one the spots mentioned, I hadn’t heard about the Collective. Some really good points in the articles, esp. need to reimagine and decentralise legit riding, to cater for more “advanced riders,” and to better take landowners safety needs into consideration. All of this sounds very doable. Point about who gets involved in building/maintaining is a good point too. Yep, there are “rippers” and “shredders” but there are plenty of others too, not least my better-half who loves to get out in the woods, remove fallen obstacles, and to otherwise make riding safe. Presented right, I can see wider communities getting behind this initiative.

Sad to say I withdrew my membership as a result of the approach taken to consent/cookies here. Less about the UX than the abuse of ‘legitimate interests’ (which was not designed with adtech in mind) and pre-ticked boxes.

Interesting times ahead as IAB Europe’s (the trade association for the adtech industry) consent popups are proven unlawful. Second bullet point in link very relevant to sites relying on “legitimate interest”.

GDPR enforcer rules that IAB Europe’s consent popups are unlawful

Yep, similar story to many above, an unhealthy relationship that got knocked on the head after a massive blow-out. Originally aimed for a few weeks but, testament to not being able to do anything in moderation, here I am 15 yrs later. No temptation at all now, just not part of my make-up. From the POV of post-ride/walk pints, AF is very refreshing!

Surrey, […] oddly this area is way better for mountain biking.

Really?!

I wouldn’t overthink the language and integration part (and ignore all the “I walked into a pub…” anecdotes). To generalise, folk here are not anti-English, but pro-Welsh, just as other regions feel strongly about their identity. From the point of view of the kids (esp. the eldest), perhaps give a school a call to explore whether it’s an issue they’d be a year or so behind?

Short answer, yes, it’s great. We’re now in Menai Bridge and had 10 years in Bethesda. Fair to say it’s pretty different from Cambridge but weather in N. Wales is surprisingly variable. Anglesey gets a lot more sun than mountains, although I loved the changing cloud types in the Ffrancon valley.

Language matters here and kids will learn it in school. For adults, I think sensitivity matters. A “diolch!” on the running trail if a walker stands aside goes a long way. Rule 1 applies.

If the job is based in Caernarfon I’d be casting my net wider, mindful of the bypass soon to open. For your partner’s job, maybe something related to the nearby university? There’s also a science park that has startups that are recruiting.

Culture, well, it’s not like a city. Still, Caernarfon has an arts centre with stuff to get involved with. Pontio in Bangor too has a fair bit going on.

As pointed out above, it’s not an easy one. Child pornography, criminality, terrorism, cyber-bullying and online harassment are all real issues. Yes, most bad folk would use a workaround, but not all, and some would be caught.

That said, the costs of of special keys and backdoor access butt against international human rights as well as nuts-and-bolts of business security and how the world works today. It’s easy to see this as uncaring libertarianism but, beyond the security concerns outline above, if you give keys to one state, you (in principle) should do it for others. For those advocating backdoor keys, is this OK? Cards on table though, esp. given how quickly the nature of democratic governments can change, I don’t want any government having access.

Low-hanging suggestion: 10+ mins of a full body stretch/yoga (apps like Sworkit are a useful guide).

If you like it, get it to 20+ mins and simultaneously work on breathing.

Roads not sketchy at all, really nice and quiet at night. A 2-3 hr road ride: Llanberis > Pen Y Pass > Capel Curig > Bethesda > Myndd Llandegai > Llanberis.

Working at a uni’ we do have some world-leading stuff going on, but then we have to go and debase ourselves with quantum leap projects (bleurrgh) that have sweet FA to do with physics or computer science.

Neither for me and I run most days. I do try to make sure that I do 30mins of yoga every other day though, to keep things fairly flexible.

I know he was on GBTV, but never watched it so don’t know his views. Still, given descriptions above, having him back could be a good way for the Beeb to appease Dorries/DCMS by having him back presenting stuff he did prior (i.e. non-political).

Marin/Gwydyr in N.Wales also in a state. Would deffo check before setting off before the weekend.

I succumbed too: the medium ‘Extreme’ is mahoosive though. Will be returned for a small.

Yep, those A roads aren’t too bad. The stretch of the A470 you mention over to Blaenau is a main road but it’s wide so vehicles can pass easily. Views are amazing too, which will hopefully take your mind off the climb! On your return leg, plan it so you come back through Beddgelert and Rhyd Dhu. Really nice views, with cake stop in Beddgelert if needed/wanted.

Y’know there’s something wrong when minorities learning new skills gets more flak than a Rapha breakfast! ;)

Seriously, this is a good news story. Less gulag and more dignity please.