If you are tearing UST tyres with 35 psi in them then there is very little that can be done for you.

I dunno about the LUST versions but the normal version of the Larsen has much thinner sidewalls than the Ignitor.

3/4 bibs and a jersey with pockets on the back.

Slash.

Charlie Tuna.

Jagger (on stage)

BT, in general.

I had a conversation with a solicitor recently, she couldn't understand why our mail forwarding service didn't include postage costs, for next day, international, signed for deliveries, daily, for £25 per month. When I politely suggested that this might not be a profitable piece of business for us she tried to argue that our website was misleading.

Anything that involves "going forward".

Cold calling and the tactics they use to extract contact details or to get put through. We had somebody call up from the states recently who assured the receptionist that she had "just been speaking" to my grandfather. I strung that one along for a while before breaking the news that grandad has been dead for 3 years.

Zara.

Only place I've found on the high street that has "fitted" stuff.

Any recommendations for waterproof trousers, shorts or 3/4s? I was going to wait but I might as well have them as an option for Kielder.

Usually I just layer up, base layer, thin fleece if necessary, windproof jacket. If its minging I have an old shell jacket for snowboarding that I don't mind getting muddy.

I never really get cold on the MTB but I always seem to freeze my hands or feet on the road bike.

I had a similar problem when I tried to stick an SLX bashguard onto a set of XT cranks, it needed a lot of filing to clear the crank arm. The inside of the guard was fouling the chain in the middle ring, they have that honeycomb inside edge on the SLX bash which I presume helps stop you from dropping the chain (when its on the SLX double cranks it was designed for). I have a couple of Gamuts and they see to fit everything and are nice and light.

I'm 6'3 and ride a 20" Blue Pig, he should definitely go for the 20".

You shouldn't be entitled to DLA for a snapped cruciate because there are countless other jobs that you can perform perfectly well without one.

Get yourselves on the DLA.

Unable to work for 15 years due to snapped cruciate

I was about to post this in the knee injuries thread. 15 years on the DLA for a snapped cruciate, there are people playing professional rugby with no cruciates at all FFS!!!

Those Arbors are beautiful but if you were riding one in Europe you'd get sick of people tramping their rental skis all over it in the lift queue.

I did a fair bit of touring on a pair of MSR snowshoes, if you're fit you will keep up with skiers on anything other than bottomless snow or extended flat sections.

Wingnut works great for me, 3 litres of water balanced between your shoulder blades doesn't make much sense when you think about it. The length in the straps shouldn't be a problem, if you need to shorten them you can hold the excess in place or trim it off. I got mine direct from Propel and the service was great, I'm sure they will be reasonable about returns if you don't like the fit.

If your ligmaents are alright it shouldn't be too bad for snowboarding, as long as you have it tidied up. I haven't played football for a couple of years. As for cricket, perfect excuse to bowl spin, stand about in the slips having a chat, and pass up on those quick singles in favour of swinging for the ropes.

When you flare it up it will hurt/swell like mad and take time and RICE to settle it again. You can manage it pretty well if you are just wanting to cycle, I have pretty much sacked off running due to constant frustration and more time spent managing the injury than making progress. Tears that break the side of the meniscus can be harder to fix. You need to get sports-specific advice when you have the MRI.

Those would go lovely on an mmmBop. I like being able to stick the Talas at 120 on my Bluepig, it sharpens it up nicely on the flat.

I've had an ACL reconstruction and I haven't had any problems with 5.10s. Mine lasted about 2 years before the soles basically wore through, they grip very well but they are heavy and hard to keep dry in winter. I have AM40s now, they still have a lot of grip but are a bit lighter and stiffer in the sole.

As a few people have said, repositioning your feet on the pedals makes a big difference, on clips you tend to have the axle in line with the ball of your foot all the time. If its rough having the axles in line with the middle of your foot and a bit of flex in the sole puts less pressure on your knees.

I've used Shimano clips which were the best from a functional point of view, but gave me mystery knee pain after more than a couple of hours. Time Atacs gave me less pain but were harder to get out of in a hurry. I ride Look Keo clips on my road bike, I don't get any problems with them unless I push myself too hard and my technique goes to sh1t, but that is my own fault.

Sweet plan, looks foolproof to me.

op why will changing shoes help your knees ? Spd's only hurt knees if set up incorrectly

If you have a pre-existing knee problem then SPDs can make it worse, even if they're well set up. You can put more torque on your knee, you can pull as well as push through the joint, and you can pedal over rougher ground without losing your footing. All these things put more stress on your knees.

I had a Ride Yukon a couple of years back, it was a very stiff freeride board, great for off-piste or choppy snow but not really an all-rounder. A board with a bit of flex will be easier to progress and learn spins on. I would go for something wide and mid-range price wise, from a big brand, you can't go far wrong.

I am going to have a Wingnut. I'll probably not fill the bladder right up and will aim to drink a litre or 2 at each food stop. I'll be bringing a decent amount of spares, food and an MP3 player, I am just focussed on finishing and avoiding a bonk so I don't mind carrying a wee bit of extra food and water. I'll be doing it on flats, on a Spitfire, so I'm not likely to set any speed records.

Maybe you shock bushings?

I gave this a lash for a couple of days but I just folded, total lack of energy. I still found it beneficial to analyse my diet and see where I was being lazy or making excuses for myself.

I will definitely cut way back on bread and be a lot more conscious of over-consuming carbs when I'm not exercising. It also made me aware of the massive amounts of dairy I go through, so I will try and be more sensible with that. I thought I would take to it pretty well as I eat a lot of salads, stir-frys etc, but it just wasn't working for me.

Dakine/Hydrapak, they have a ziplock-style opening, very easy to fill and clean.

Is 500ml a "large" bottle? Its a bit vague in the list.

I haven't done anything over 5 hours yet, due to some injuries and time constraints. I was out in the Alps there and have done a mix of 4-5 hour road rides and 2-3 hour XC rides with some tough climbs. I reckon I have the pace in the legs but I haven't done as many long rides as I hoped. I'm doing some long steady routes over the next couple of weeks and then planning out the nutrition, as long as I finish I'll be happy.

Tax codes are a bit of a pain in the arse when it comes to budgeting unless you know how your payroll system is set up.

If there are no changes in allowances or benefits between your jobs, it sounds like you haven't paid enough tax on last year's income. You might have been on an emergency tax code with your new employer, which didn't consider your total income and tax paid from your old employer?

Any reccommendations for a decent shim? I need to go 30.9-27.2.

If they write the bike off in their P&L then take money for it they will need to reflect the "gain" in their accounts.

There are loads of ways to interpret the scheme, which makes it very hard to give specific advice. In the case of a £1000 bike you are still saving the VAT, and the income tax on a large percentage of the purchase. If you need to make a one-off payment to the tax man to take ownership of your bike it is unlikely to be more than £100 and it will probably come out of your tax code over the course of a year which you will hardly notice.

Luckily there is a concept of materiality in accountancy, which basically reflects the fact that there is no point pissing about worrying about small amounts of money. As long as your accountant can justify the treatment of the transaction it is unlikely to be flagged as an issue in an audit.

I found the Dainese a bit short, I've got Race Face Rally which has good protection and doesn't rub, it can be a bit warm though.

Those Snakes from Natural Confectionery Company

I have a couple of guidebooks here, they both mention a steep climb out of Courmayeur that might actually be a carry. It also looks like there could be a lot of traversing on rockier ground after the Bertone refuge, and then a choice of traversing further or descending from the Bonatti refuge, which also looks like a possible carry.

It looks like a nice part of the walk, but it seems like you might have to be prepared for a long day without covering a lot of kilometres.

Surely it is priceless?

I play every now and again in the kind of mates games you are talking about and the following has always stood me in good stead, I am usually in the top 3 out of 6.

Learn the hands and what beats what, even if you are going to pretend to be clueless.

Constantly evaluate what potential hands are possible with what is on the table – beginners often get obsessed with what they are holding.

Conserve your dough – don't be tempted to throw money in unless you are sure what you are doing, most people expect beginners to be clueless so bluffing is dangerous, but this can work for or against you…

There is no harm in folding for cheap and watching how everyone else is playing.

Don't throw good money after bad – fold and conserve the money for a better hand.

Don't get involved in hands with lots of players involved, it is far more complicated, it can get expensive, and you have less chance of predicting the outcome than you have in a one-on-one.

With a bit of self-control, playing your hands on their merit, and with the odd bluff, you should stay in the game long enough to get an idea how everyone is playing.

Most of this advice is only valid for games with mates playing for a decent amount of money and wanting to make an evening of it. I hate playing for too littl money, everyone gets bored and bets like idiots and there is usually a couple of player with a massive chip-lead based on a couple of lucky hands at the start.

Don't throw all your money in and go and watch TV, stick at it for a full game, learn a bit and then decide whether you want to play again.

A triple and a chain device – you sound like an extremely aggressive rider.

I think I walked down one of those last summer, about 9pm, in a thunderstorm. 😆

For Cavendish yesterday, do you reckon he got too caught up in his position relative to the riders around him and let the corner "sneak up" on him a bit?

I wish Eurosport would just stream the **** thing on their website.

The Tour de Suiise crash was strange, he went past another guy on his left and cut across the front of him with room to spare, he must have thought that he could carry that momentum to take him in front of Haussler. Unfortunately Haussler was much closer to Cav's pace and was holding his line with his head down and never saw Cavendish coming.

That one yesterday looked like really terrible bike handling, or some form of tantrum.

You need to try it on to be honest, especially if you are unusually tall, fat or skinny. I was happy to pay for the Dainese but when I tried it on the shinguard only came halfway down my leg, I ended up with Raceface Rally.

What was the verdict on Cav's crash yesterday? I watched the overhead video a couple of times and somebody just failed to make the turn, was that him?

Watching the climb into Avoriaz on Sunday, can't wait.