Apparently the Anthem 29er will be available as a Frameset for £1199 with and RP23 shock, in 5 weeks. Seems a bit of a better deal than the Alloy Tallboy at that price.

Aeroleathers in Hawick, they are on the web.

Diminishing Returns is a brilliant Album, the 2nd disc in particular. Think is a radio 1 session.
Also worth checking out from DJ Krush is the album he did with Toshinori Kondo, Ki Oku. Trip Hop Ambient Zen Jazz, very chilled.
Shadows hew Albums not bad at all either, starting to grow on me.
Influx though that’s the one for me, love that track.

Liked them early on, saw them at Hammersmith Odeon supported by 10,ooo maniacs in the 1990’s think it was the week before Reckoning came out, one of the best gigs ever, after the lights went on and half the crowd had left they came back out to play some acoustic numbers.
Also saw them at the Barrowlands in Glasgow on the Green tour, never seen the Barras so busy, terrific atmosphere, albiet a bit scary as the floor was heaving up and down, thought it might collapse at one point, it was dangerously over crowded that night.

Thanks for the heads up on the price and the discount code, been looking for something to replace my Specialized 110 boots so these at £71.99 seem pretty good.Wish they still made the SL120’s liked them a lot.

It struck me recently that the price of four gels to ride the hilly 50mile route to my parents is only slightly cheaper than getting the train down.

a Double Pernod and Blackcurrant in a Pint of Cider,a Red Witch?
Woke up in hospital after a few too many pints of that mix.
Malibu, teenage experiment, cant even smell coconut without feeling sick 30 years on.

The specialized podium shoes werent available in the UK this year, however they can be sourced from Germany if you really need a pair.
Really comfy to wear and the Fluro Neon ones certainly get you noticed.

Something to do with the fact a Dutch Priest was at the Chapel up there when the tour 1st went up it in the 50’s.
That and the fact Peter Winnen won 2 stages there, Stephen Rooks and Gert theunisse also won on the Alpe, plus I think the Dutch like the irony of Holland being so flat but their riders have done so well on the Alpe.

Litte Axe
Echo & The Bunnymen Ocean Rain Orchestra Gig
Magazine
Alabama 3
Trailer Park Boys (not strictly a Gig, should be interesting)

All in Glasgow

The most interesting thing about being a veggie is the way it seems to wind up meat eaters, who cares what anyone else eats?
Rampant meat evangelists are as bad, if not worse than fundamentalist veggies.
Despite being a veggie I have absolutely no desire to tell anyone else what to put in their mouths.
As for the mince and the carcass thing, that surprised me as well as I loved mince prior to giving it up.

17 years a veggie, dont miss meat in the slightest, each to their own, used to enjoy meat prior to going veg for health reasons. After all this time though the thought of eating meat actually repels me, I almost boaked stirring mince for my mother a year or so ago,it felt like I was stirring a carcass.
I was actually shocked by my reaction as I didnt get into it to save the animals, quite an interesting side effect of eating vegetables I guess.
Only thing I miss are Wine Gums and a Midget Gem addiction, American Hard Gums are a poor substitute…

Mine came from UPS via Ireland to Germany to Edinburgh to Glasgow.
Puzzled as to why thats the best route btwn Ireland and Glasgow, but there you go.

Two pairs of Jawbones turned up today, free of charge, thanks again to Vinneyeh for the heads up, very happy 🙂

If only I had ordered that 3rd pair I was swithering over….

Merlin are doing them now, better quality build and cheaper price compared to the ones I got from JRA in the past.

Merlin are doing them now, better quality build and cheaper price compared to the ones I got from JRA in the past.

I did it years ago, self employed IT contractor with a LTD company at the time.
The Company purchased a Rockhopper Pro for £1000 for me to use as a commuter to work, as I didnt want to commute on my good bike.
No issues at all with doing this at the time, cleared it with the accountant first though.

Just Out Steve Mason vs Dennis Bovell:Ghosts Outside
Free Download of one track here http://www.dominopublishingco.com/publishing/blog/dominoall-in/23-05-11/steve-mason-ghosts-outside-/

Some good dubcasts available from here
http://www.dub.com/dubcasts/

I recommend this one in particular been skanking along to it since I came across it a couple of weeks ago, 1hour plus mix for free

Dub Fu Master | The One

Rigid Singlespeed, use it as my commute.

Geared with 80mm Reba

Great Bike, love riding it.

I had Bike stolen last Thursday, phoned M&S, my insurer Thursday PM.
They called back Friday to arrange an interview, set that up for Monday AM.
Had call on Monday am for an hour or so, then advised they would pass the claim to Wheelies Direct to deal with.

Wheelies called back on Monday afternoon, took a note of the build and advised that they would get back to me sometime today with a valuation etc

Bike stolen was an old Rockhopper S/S but it had 2004 Fox Talas Forks, mono minis, saint c/set, hope mavic discs etc.

This is the third time in 4 years I have had to claim, wrote off a Surly Karate Monkey in a crash, they replaced that via Halfords very quickly. Also lost my Garmin 705 and again got a payout for that very quickly with minimal hassle.

As the bike was stolen from a garage, I was worried about whether or not I required a ground anchor in order for the insurance to be valid, however this doesnt appear to be the case.

I am very happy with the service they provide.

Cheers!

Had to do an hour of weight training to get the adrenalin out the system.

That was a buzz fer sure, one less bike thief on the streets of Glasgow tonight, well until his mum picks him up….

Aye, adrenalin is the word Mr Tall, certainly got a buzz out of that. Still shaking.

TJ, I was remarkably restrained all things considering, body slammed him to the deck then restrained with a knee to the neck, didnt like the look of his face so wrapped his hoodie over it, he apparently was choking, or so he said to the police.
Police just been up for a statement, this is the third time in 3 weeks the garages have been done, quite impressed with the police response they were here in minutes initially and within 15 had flooded the area.
Apparently they know at least one of the others so hopefully they are on the way to his house to turn it over and myself and the other garage owners might get our stuff back.

To catch a bike thief…..

So working from Home today again looks out the back window and hallelujah the thieving bstrds are back, one lookout and three other youths forcing the garage locks, so called in the police rather excitedly to say the least.
I then went out the front of my house, up the back lane and there walking towards me are the 4 bike thieves,only one way out the lane, anyway 3 head over the garden walls, the fourth is wrestled to the ground and lands in a puddle, hood was useful for drowning out his bleats, so called mates ran off.
Within 5 minutes unmarked police car screeches up the lane, give the thief to the police, and me and a second policeman find one in a garden oand chase him across a number of gardens eventually cornering him in gardens off of clouston street. By this time a small army of police cars and vans turned up. I get stood down, come back to the garages, notice they broke into two, so phoned the owner of the garages to let her know, also returned a bike the tea leaves had stashed up the lane, not a bad afternoons work, just hope they havent broke my bike down to sell yet and the police get it back for me.

Still shaking with excitment, just glad I didnt got to town on the git.

Yup just got the cancellation EMail myself.

So thats a bike stolen and no Oakleys to compensate, christ yesterday was a disappointment.

I had heard that a sports sunglass company was in financial trouble, not sure if it is Oakley, and was kinda hoping they were trying to raise cash quickly, blame the pricing glitch it on a tech fault, no damage to brand, happy customers and cash in the bank.
Guess I was wrong.

Yes, back in 1986 or 87,I carried a rigid Saracen trekker all the way up, did some comedy falls every few yards on the way down, quickly gave up and carried the bike back down.
I was working in London, just got the bike, and thought well its my local mountain so came back up the road to do my first proper mountain biking session.
It was something of a disappointment to say the least.

I dont think its that great a ride,even with a proper up to date bike,the Merrick is better.

Thanks for the heads up on this Vinnyeh, two pairs of Jawbones cheap helps ease the pain of having a Bike stolen this afternoon. Well a wee bit..

Europcar take a £250 deposit off, not very clear on the website.
Furthermore if you pay by debit card, it takes about a week to get the money back from them, quicker return if its a visa credit card allegedly.
Enterprise are the same but only take a £150 deposit, which is clear on the website but again you have to wait for nearly a week to get the money back.

Trainspotting with Born Slippy, Eno’s Deep Blue Sea and Iggy doing lust for life. Off its time that album.

The Italian Job
Out of Sight by David Holmes
Vampyros Lesbos thats a good one…

Got a pair of 110’s to replace the SL 120’s from bike24 in Germany.
The advert says they dont ship to the UK, however I have purchased the 110’s and podium shoes from them without any issue. Based in Scotland.

http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;product=8060;page=1;menu=1000,18,58;mid=0;pgc=0

Just wish they still made the sl120’s great shoes, wore out 3 pairs over the years.

Chibs, machetes, buckfast bottles and axes are all forms of protection used in Glasgow, just take yer pick. 🙂

Tranquility Bass: Let the Freak Flag Fly

Liking the new Dangermouse Rome album, but was surprised it was so short at only 35 minutes.

I got an invite, I like some of the stuff, wouldnt be seen dead in Assos, and been have buying it since they started, mainly via the sales.
Not that much to get excited about to be honest, at the moment the collection consists of a reissue of the Blue Brive-Agen and the Pink Mortillo Jerseys from 2005, a Black and Gold rainjacket (sold out) and some crochet gloves (that look very similar to the £3.99 ones I wore as a junior in the 80’s, but not costing £3.99).
Having an original Brive Jersey I bought a new one and the pink one to boot, the jersey is a different design, it has side panels now and different lettering on the front, I dont like it as much as the old style one. The new Pink one went straight back to them as it had a hole right in the front of it, so must have slipped past quality control.

As per previous posters I like the classic styled stuff, the early merino shirts a la coppi and the wool trainers made in Hawick.
The new merino casual stuff is worryingly thin, made in china and expensive to boot, not been impressed with it, but the Merino Long Sleeve in black in clearance is a cracking shirt.

Religion?

In the west of scotland the Scouts were Catholics and if you were a prod you joined the BB’s, combined with segregated schools what a wonderful place to grow up if you are a religious bigot.
Coming from a mixed marriage I wasnt allowed in the scouts,I had to go to the BB’s, it always seemed to me the Scouts did the fun stuff while the BB’s were a quasi religious/military organisation. I eventually got kicked out the BB’s for not going to church enough, the club run with Ayr Roads was much more fun on a sunday morning than sitting listening to some fire and doom minister for a couple of hours.

Bob Crow is the best RMT leader in years, more power to his elbow and the more people he upsets the better, +1 for telling it like it really is and sticking up for the members, we need more of that.
Thats speaking as a former RMT member.

http://www.bikewearhouse.co.uk/

Up at clachan of campsie sells Assos, sale on ASSOS stuff as well at the moment according to the website.

Better off with Rapha 🙂

Its worth noting that Alpine and Dales tend to be busy, phoned Alpine to get a wheel trued the other week and there was a 3 week delay, similar experience with Dales with a 2 weeks delay.
Carl at Bike Love has always been very quick at sorting stuff out, i.e dropped off and wheel back in a couple of days.

London Boulevard – utter pish
Passenger Side – pish
Hot tub time machine – Wish I had a time machine to get the time I wasted watching this pish back

Outside Glasgow Central station,its funny when the dealers arent there and the crowds of thin grey folks build up, saw the police arrest about 30 of them at once a few years ago, had them all cuffed togethor in a huge line.
Sad sight to behold.
At least these days you can mix it with crack to ensure you have enough get up and go in the mornings to get out and support your local dealer.

Cocaine thats what happened…

Anyway some modern stuff I like:
On-U Sound, Ghetto Priest, Adrian Sherwood, Stone Love Sound System.

The NAS/Damien Marley Album is a good un, saw them live in Glasgow recently, gig of the year so far for me.
Easy Star All Stars are good as well they did Dub Side of the Moon, Sgt Peppers Lonely Dub Band and Radiodread, surprisingly good live band as well.

Also Marleys Welcome to Jamrock is worth a listen, theres also a rarities album of his thats floating about the internet thats worth tracking down.

Cheers Sanny, not been up the summit yet, but noted the route you detailed up Earls Seat and back down Cantwherry a while back, intend giving that a bash some time soon.