NickC, I think it was available in the UK. Our local mini dealer had one on display a few years ago when we looked. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on a car outside of the dealership.
Think storage could be an issue with them. It didn’t appear to fold down much, so off the car it looked like it took a lot of room up.
But they certainly were expensive. A lot more than a thule rack if I remember correctly

Not sure if its a bmw/mini rack only. But I nearly bought one for mini a few years ago, but the cost through the dealer was crazy. Just lived without it as I couldn’t justify it. But from memory they did look like a well built rack.

It was neat in that you didn’t need a towbar to mount the rack, just pop out the two plastic circles in the bumper and slide the rack into the mounts in the chassis. So was much better and safer than one of those racks thats hangs of the tailgate.

My dad was terrible for tailgating. He didn’t do it to try and make the other people drive faster, he just didn’t leave enough room. To make it worse, he use to complain if someone did it to him, but he couldn’t see he was doing it himself. It was really scary being a passenger with him, I use to hate it. After been caught speeding and having to do a speed awareness course, it improved his driving massively and stopped his tailgating.

Not sure if any other van drivers find this, but i find when driving my van i get lots of car drivers that sit close behind and to the right, so they can see round the van. Often they will be sat right on the white line just to be able to see past the van. I don’t seem to get this when driving a car. Even when they can’t overtake, they still sit to the right. It’s like they have to let me know they are behind.

There are some complete idiots on the road. Now I am glad that I don’t drive half as much as I use to.

If your want to trail center Hamsterley is closer and quicker to get to from darlo than Guisborough. And there is more to to ride at Hamsterley

If you want a day out in the hills then either swaledale or the north Yorkshire moors, carlton bank would probably be the closest starting point for the NYM.

There are plenty of bridleways around darlo and you can make a long ride, but they are more suited to cross/gravel bike than mtb.

Have a watch of Sigma sports cafe ride with Phillipa York. There was some real insight into the loss of strength following transitioning from male to female

For real cheap I bought a new wheel for my mtb, it was designed for a hybrid, it cost about £65 from my lbs. Was very heavy, but worked. It was no brand so can’t help, but possibly was supplied by madison. So cheap wheels are available.

I replaced it with a Hope rear wheel, as I was struggling to get any wheels with 135mm qr unless I went for custom build

This works on my aero seatpost
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/lifeline-aero-beam-rear-bike-light/rp-prod161238?gs=1&sku=sku805401&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=base&gclid=CjwKCAjw9LSSBhBsEiwAKtf0n_EaNio69UKukQQeGJsAnWKWW8fK04LtGK5Cq_AUqciuwtQ-cEvY4RoCgoEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I bought a some of these for a solo 24hr race last year:
https://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights/lumenator-20/

I think they are very good value compared to other more expensive brands. But what I did was buy 2 sets (to have a spare light just in case, but was never needed) plus 2 extra batteries. The total cost was much lower than something like an exposure light. But with a total of 4 batteries it meant I had more than enough runtime, didn’t need all the batteries, even running them on full power. So just needed to swap the battery pack over and no worries about charging anything back up.

Mark from Mtb batteries was really helpful.

My way was probably a bit overkill, but meant that I had no worries and had more than enough lights.

A Civil servant. I get no satisfaction from my job. But it pays the bills so I just suck it up and hope I will one day win the lottery so I can escape and do something that I enjoy.

Has anything changed position wise on your bike, saddle height, cleat/foot position or something?
Or it could just be a bit of over use. And they need a little rest and recovery.

A polar bear walks into a bar and says “can I have a …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………pint of beer?”
Barman says “what’s with the big pause?”

There has been suspicion of Roglic and a lot of other Slovenian cyclists as they were reportedly linked to Operation Aderlass via a team coach/trainer.

Looking at the drug history in sport and not just cycling I don’t think I could believe anyone is 100% clean. There is always those who will try and find a way to cheat. But it doesn’t stop my enjoyment of watching it.

I’ve never ridden it (but hopefully will be this year) so I can’t really help. But I do have two questions on the this:

1. Is that route that Hannah put up an actual official footpath? Reason I say this, is when I look on the OS map App, that solid red line to show the route is not following any marked route on the OS map in the 1:50k scale, which looks like the scale shown in the picture Hannah put up. Then when I zoom in to the 1:25k scale it appears to be following one of the black dashed lines on the OS map. Which when you read the legend, a black dashed line indicates a path but not necessarily a right of way. So is there even a right of way for it to be a footpath? So this could be one angle to go at to get it reclassified.

2. This may seem an unpopular point. But just because for over 20 years cyclists have ridden on it, why should it be reclassified as a bridleway? All that proves is for over 20 years cyclists have failed to respect the access. It doesn’t prove they have a right to ride there.

Now before I get flamed for this point, I often ride on the odd footpath and I would like to see all footpaths become reclassified as bridleways to allow cycling on them all.

But my concern is not the cycling, but what if this proving use for over 20 years principle is used for other things (it might already and I just don’t know of it). Such as:
•dirt bikes riders proving they have ridden a particular bridleway/footpath/playing field etc. for over 20 years, do they have a right to get access rights reclassified to allow them to ride around and destroy areas where they currently shouldn’t be riding?
•cars parking illegally, if motorists proved they have always parked illegally on double yellow lines for over 20 years in the same spot, could they have double yellow lines removed?

Thats just two examples and I’m sure there are many more things it could be applied to. I’m sure someone will tell me a reason why this is not the same as the footpath-bridleway reclassification, but in theory it could be used on many more things, and not always for the better. Just a thought.

I have suffered with them for several years.

When they start I tend to get bright white spots in vision when looking at anything bright, then after a while my vision goes blurry, best description of that is its like having water running down your eye. Can take from 10 minutes to a hour to clear. And then I get really bad headaches afterwards.

They seemed to go away for a few years, i prevously thought it was all related to stress and my old job, as they stopped when I started my current job about 3 years ago. But then I had a few at the end of last year.

The last few times it happened is when I’ve not drank enough water or had too much coffee. So it’s mainly decaf coffee I drink now. And try to drink plenty of water through the day.

I find that you get less close passes in the dark, even in town where there are plenty of street lights. I think people struggle to judge the width more in the dark so they give you more room.

Just make sure you have at least 2 rear lights on your bike. If your back light goes of you may not know as you don’t always see it. Especially with some of the rechargeable lights, a couple of sets I have don’t really go dim, they just suddenly turn off, so there is no warning the battery is getting low.

There is something enjoyable riding out in the dark on the roads. But saying that I tend to use zwift a lot more now mainly due to time constraints, so only really head out on the road when doing mtb ride and linking up the off road sections.

If you don’t have an indoor trainer I’d definitely say it’s worth it.

Is it car the dog doesn’t like which makes him bark and whine or being separated from you?

We have a small dog and if he is in the back of the car he whines and barks most of the journey unless he is worn out, as he wants to be up front with us. But in the van he sits on the middle seat between me and the wife and hardly makes a noise. Its the same in the car if he gets to sit on someone’s lap then he won’t make a sound. Obviously this approach may not be practical with a big dog.

5lab, could one of these or something similar work?
https://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/red-hook-test-clip-probe?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2sqOBhCGARIsAPuPK0hmPGx9ptIPq1kWLLf3Fmu6oOBdt_0Cx2Js3fxM0SMNvMGjuHQCjfgaAjbyEALw_wcB

Thanks for all the clues on the cow and balloon. But it has several of us completely stumped in the office. Despite all the help, we still can’t work it out…

Thanks Nick, but I’m feeling really stupid. Still can’t get it!

1 to go. Stuck on the cow and balloon clue. Even despite my best googling I cannot work this out, but will probably kick myself once I get it.

Any hints?

Not sure if it will fit your frame. But you may be able to use a seat clamp like this

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.M-Part-Seat-Clamp-With-Rack-Mount_91949.htm?sku=321205&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Seatposts&gclid=CjwKCAiAp8iMBhAqEiwAJb94z_NrV0GvQj7l1N0ufjvKsWtx-RY8_GkN72D1evRGo8pWp77PDjmocxoCLx8QAvD_BwE

You might then be able to use that rack

@Drac that is something I’ve never come across before, didn’t know it was a thing.
I’ve always been paid travel time in the actual journey time in both public and private sector roles.

Thinking about it, it is actually a bad thing to do from a companies point of view, as it could easily encourage faster driving (and breaking speed limits), as it becomes an incentive to get paid the same for less traveling time.

I wouldn’t use my own vehicle for 11p per mile. For that price it wil likely cover your fuel costs, but nothing to cover any general running wear and tear costs.

Personally i would have declined using my own vehicle for that. Unless it was a course that is really beneficial to yourself that may help with a new job in the future and you were desperate to attend.

Out of interest do they pay you overtime or give you lieu time for any travelling that was outside of your normal hours? If so, I would claim for extra hours to cover running costs. After all, if you were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes a day longer how would they know?

Have you looked into how much you’d get from Webuyanycar (or similar sites) in its current state? Could you at least get some money back out if it and put towards something else?

Sunrace do some. But not sure if 10speed.

OK, so doesn’t need to be anything specific?

@rickmeister what lube do use use when setting up tubeless? I’ve never used any lube on my cross or mtb when setting up tubeless (didn’t know I was meant to).
Is there anything specific that I need to use? Do I just put it around the whole.bead if the tyre? And does this just help the tyre bead seat to the rim?

Glad it won’t be an issue with the tyre, especially due to the very high price of fatbike tyres!

Scotroutes, I already bought the super P nuts following issues with tubeless on other bikes, but compared to double wall rims the valves don’t seem to sit the best on the single walls. Will give your idea a try cheers.

Yes, between tyre and rim. Like I have burped the tyre. But it is only a very small amount of sealant, and doesn’t seem all that much compared to the amount of air lost.

No. I still have a hardtail XC bike, plus road bikes.

But my hardtail hardly gets ridden nowadays. And if it wasn’t for a bit of XC racing I probably wouldn’t have used it at all after buying my Surly ICT back in April.

Still use my road bikes a lot.

Mate of mine has. Turned his gas off months ago.
He has air source heat pump for the hot water and central heating.
Electric oven/hob.
And both him and his missus have EV’s
He does have PV panels on the roof, which will help reduce energy bills.
Not sure how much it costs compared to when he had gas, but he’s all about saving money, so would imagine it is cheaper otherwise he would never have done it.

Just stick a waterproof jacket on and crack on if you don’t want to get wet.

It’s no different to actually pre riding the course in the rain, so just continue as normal. Unless you get too hot on turbo/rollers and have to strip down to base layer.

We did it in March 2020, just before everything closed down with Covid-19 restrictions.

Had 5 days there based in Reykjavik. We did a few excursions on bus trips, was good and got to see plenty, but it was a long time sat on the bus, not something I’d want to do nowadays, so I’d recommend hiring a car to go visiting any attractions.

We loved Reykjavik, it was great place to chill out in and have an walk round. Would definitely go back. It was more expensive than some places, but didn’t think it was as bad as it was made out to be.

I really want to go there to live, but can’t see it ever happening.

One thing I found about tyre pressure set up, is if using a track pump, the gauges are not that accurate, as they are designed for higher road bike pressures. I have two track pumps and they read very different, over 5psi different at low pressures and well over 10psi at higher pressure. So you may think you are putting the right pressure in, but it can be a good way out and effect your grip.

So for checking accuracy one of those handheld digital gauges is useful, Or alternatively get one of the battery powered compressors with the digital set point. I found these much more accurate and can get desired pressure time and time again.

Try Iron horse cycles in Darlington.
They had a Salsa Beargrease and a Surly Wednesday a few weeks back. Think they were both large, but not 100% sure

A few years ago me and a mate did LEJOG. We did it in 7 days, but really should have taken a few days longer, but we just didn’t have the time to do so. In the end we had to average well over 130miles a day, so long days in saddle.

We found was being on a tight schedule meant we couldn’t take a lot of the nice quiet county roads and alternative routes as it just added too much time, as they were usually hillier and longer. So we used a lot of main roads at times, as it was quicker and usually less issues with navigation. So by the time we got that far north, the A9 wasn’t as bad as some of the other roads we’d encountered in England.

We rode most of the A9 from Dunkeld to Latheron. We used the cycle path for lots of the sections south of Inverness where there was one, but some bits you had to be on the A9. These bits were pretty scary with the amount of traffic and the speed they go past, and wouldn’t like to do it again.

Most of the A9 after Inverness wasn’t too bad. I would say a lot of the road is decent size so plenty of room for traffic to overtake safely, so it didn’t feel too bad at all.

Given the chance to do LEJOG again I certainly would, but I would take longer and do it on much quieter roads and avoid the A9 where possible.

But I can totally understand why some use the A9, especially when they are on a tight time frame as it’s often the quickest route.

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I’ll need to get saving.

It’s the Chiller24 in Kielder forest. There isn’t any mention of Exposure as a sponsor, so don’t think I could hire any.

The Railway track is a good idea to make an anvil if you can get some. There is a good YouTube video of making an anvil from a bit of old bit of track https://youtu.be/UB1KBBWWeYg

I think this is a good YouTube channel https://youtube.com/c/TheArtofCraftsmanship
He makes some interesting stuff.

I have a load of equipment needed, forge, anvils, swage block etc. I just don’t have spare time or garage space to use it all at the moment, one day I will hopefully have both the space and time to use it.

There are some great bits at Hamsterley (both official and unofficial trails), unfortunately the blue route isn’t one of them. It is mainly boring fireroads.

Its one thing the place is seriously lacking, there is no technical progression from fireroads to red route.

I do, bought my first fatbike this year, a 2021 Surly ICT and I absolutely love it. Hadn’t even rode a fatbike before buying mine, I’d been wanting one for years so decided to treat myself. Every ride on it puts a massive smile on my face!

Genuinely think that if I had to get rid of all my bikes and only ever have one bike, it would be the fatbike I’d keep.