Lower the nose of your saddle very slightly – only needs 1 or 2 degrees.

This helps rotate the pelvis forward slightly and relieves the strain on the lower spine.

You’re more likely to get this during prolonged periods of ‘pressing on’, so it’s quite typical that you’ll experience it during racing but not so much during pleasure rides.

I’m in again. Completed last week’s in 4hrs 36 mins without too much bother. I’m aiming for 4:15 next year, a bit of specific training and (hopefully) an earlier start time so I don’t get tangled up in as much traffic on Leith and Box Hills should help matters!

Cheers Stoner, that thread is great!

I’ve found something a bit more like I’m planning…

I’ve got the remnants of a very strangled (tall and straight) chestnut that I felled last year, plus some big hazel boughs.

I’ve also got a decent sized ash than needs felling. I was thinking of something along these lines…

Linky

…but built with more useable space rather than being simply a place to sit…

Where’s McMoonter when you need him???

Do you come from a troubled home background? Sympathies.

This has to be a contender for most patronising post EVER on STW, no?

This thread has such potential, please don’t let it fizzle out…

I’ve been dive-bombed by lapwings, on and off road…

Ride that stem for a few weeks before you buy another… 100mm isn’t very long, it’s not going to adversely affect the handling of the bike.

You might just need to adapt to the position a bit…

One thing nobody has mentioned, if you only have MTB shoes, then SPDs are the only option. If you’re using a road-specific shoe with smooth soles, then Look-style pedals are far easier to get into.

MTB shes tend to have a raised sole tread that helps locate the small cleat but if you put them on a road shoe, in spite of them being double-sided, they can be a right pain to get into and if you miss, there’s a tendency for the old top-tube/knackers interface.

Look style pedals don’t take much getting used to, they offer a far more stable platform for climbing/sprinting out of the saddle, and you’ll probably only clip/unclip a handful of times on a ride.

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of ‘looking cool’. Always close your mouth and breath through your nose when passing oncoming cars, cyclists or pedestrians – you’re aiming for the totally-effortless-like-you-were-born-on-a-road-bike look.

I quite like the fact that people can recognise me riding my orange Soul from a mile away in Pennine mist…

Do antihistamines make any difference? I thought it was formic acid that made the sting, so not an allergic reaction?

I quite like the feeling of nettle stings, reminds me it’s summer… Just enough pain to bear and that ringing, tingling feeling in the legs afterwards is quite evocative… Learn to love it!

(Does this make me weird?)

(For the record I think he was deliberately hit but the police are probably correct in that a jury would show sympathy to the mourners so nothing would stick in court)

If those pricks were so bereft that they can’t drive safely, they shouldn’t be on the road. There’s no excuse for using a car as a weapon, drugs, drink, grief, non justify potentially killing a guy on a bike!!!

Since when has a funeral cortege had any rights over and above other road users??

The driver drove dangerously to try and keep up with an informal convoy.

To be honest, funeral processions REALLY grind my gears as I live and work near a large crematorium, so traveling anywhere during the day becomes a nightmare.

I regularly overtake them, and until they have Police outriders and a change of law, I personally would not treat a hearse, or any other cars following, any differently from any other road user. Why the hell should I??

And for a Police officer to claim that this mitigates the driver in some way is utterly ridiculous!

All straight forward – the Hope line is at the top of the first big climb – you’ll see a big picnic bench at the junction and it drops back down the hill to the right.

If you miss anything, just ride round again – it’s only about 1.5hrs to do the full route. Hully gully is a bit cut up – a lot of braking damage – as is a lot of the trails (typical during heavy traffic times).

The slab is something of an anticlimax, just enjoy the flowy singletrack through the woods.

It wouldn’t be my perception. But then, I’m not a ****.

Rubbish. You’re quite clearly and asterisk x 4 if you you don’t see that.

If I was working my butt off whilst the new starter was sitting at home watching TV, the majority of people would feel a little miffed, broken leg or no broken leg. It’s human nature. Not very good at empathising, are you Northwind?

Same as Reggie, worth reading for although I didn’t follow it religiously. I find just having a bit more knowledge on the subject influenced my habits enough to make a difference.

but NHS will have minimum staffing ratios so I assume they got cover

Haha, now that’s funny! 😀

Compassion counts for nowt when you have to do the work of an absent team member for no extra pay. Then when that person returns and is asking questions about stuff he should be an old hand at, it would be human nature to lose patience.

THAT, my friends, is true empathy. Not bad for a self-confessed sociopath… I must be softening up in my old age. :p

I used to have a car that broke down a lot and had to spend a lot of time in the garage…

It wasn’t the car’s fault, but it was freakin unreliable!

Jeez, how do you people get through life???

Put yourself in his colleagues’ shoes panda: he’s got a job (presumably the department needed his input) and then went off sick for 3 months leaving a huge hole in the workforce and no doubt putting extra strain on the remaining staff.

So he’s proven himself to be unreliable, and he’s also admitted to suffering from hypertension, so their might be further reliability issues.

It doesn’t sound like they’re undermining his work, just showing the fact that their patience is wearing a little thin, and if he’d not spent 3 months sitting at home*, he’d probably be up to speed with procedures by now.

I’m not saying they’re right, but there’s 2 sides to every situation, and it might help for him to recognise this and work at rebuilding his reputation within the department rather than whining about bullying!

* Right or wrong, this will be the perception of his workmates…

I’m with Ton on this, why is every clash of personalities automatically deemed to be bullying??

To be honest, if someone joined a department I worked in, then took 3 months off sick, I’d probably be a bit annoyed at being put under additional pressure during their absence.

On that person’s return, I might be a bit inclined to me pretty annoyed if they were asking questions on things they’d have been up to speed with, had they not gone off for 3 months.

So rightly or wrongly – although perfectly understandably – you’re not the most popular person in the department, despite your self-proclaimed affable nature.

So in this situation, as in life, you’re gonna have to work that bit harder to win your colleagues over. And whinging, whining and accusing them of bullying isn’t going to help that cause.

MTFU, change your attitude and crack on.

Give them the guilt trip in your letter. Stress that you wanted a friendly solution but the actions of some have made you go down a more formal route, although you still want everything to remain amicable.

They’ll know deep down that they’ve not got a leg to stand on, so as long as you’re seen as being the nicest, fairest Mr Nice Guy ever, they’ll come round. Good luck!

Hmmm… I want to keep my parking spaces available for me and my family to park in, so I’m gonna turn them into flower beds? Genius! 😀

My neighbour said “Sure, no problem at all, just give me the nod when you’re moving in.” He respected my ownership.

These twunts have basically said it’s communal, which doesn’t respect the OP’s ownership at all!

Are you able to see that difference binners? I’m not suggesting bollards – they’re a last resort. I’m suggesting firmly asserting his ownership and letting them know what concessions/permissions he’s prepared to grant.

Daz, reread his original post. They don’t give a monkeys about becoming valuable friends, all they’re bothered about is p*ssing against trees!

I bought a house just over a year ago, it’s the last house down a cul de sac, so it has the benefit of a massive corner plot with parking for 6 cars. The other houses have shared drives for 2 cars and there are all kinds of problems.

My house had been empty for 18 months and next door neighbour had been parking on what was to become my drive. I made it very clear to him that I was happy for him to keep parking their UNTIL I MOVED IN, as it made the property look occupied, but as soon as I took ownership, this wouldn’t be necessary.

I did it in a polite but assertive way and it didn’t cause any aggro. However, I had plenty of even firmer lines ‘rehearsed’ in case he’d dug his heels in.

I know how easy it is to be cowed by others, especially when you’re the new kid on the block and you want to appear to be everyone’s mate. But if they’re spoiling the enjoyment of your own property, you have to nip it in the bud. Be Mr Nice Guy once they’ve stopped using YOUR property.

Not being funny, but if someone moved into my street and started sending official letters asserting their property rights going against a decade of previously amicable and orderly cooperation between neighbours then I’d tell them where they could go.

He’s already tried having a polite word and they’ve made it clear that they feel they have a right to park there. The OP needs to assert his ownership and the fact that he’s being more than fair in letting them have limited use of the space.

A politely worded letter leaves no room for ambiguity, or opportunity for them to brow beat him – which is what it sounds like happened when he challenged the grand daughter.

As I said, they’re only bothered about the parking, they clearly value it more than good neighbourly relations. So keep everything formal but polite, and on the record.

Is it the Deng Foo R5 replica? What do you think?

They’ve already been unreasonable by not respecting your ownership and your right to say who parks on YOUR land.

Problem is, numpties like this hear about things like adverse possession, assumed rights, easements etc and think they’ll find a law to suit their needs. Rubbish.

Even adverse possession is very difficult, and that’s a very black and white concept – they have to ‘deprive’ the rightful owner of access for 12 years (IIRC), so they’d have to fence it off in a way that meant that only they had access to it.

In this situation, there is no possible law, or rights, legal or moral to allow them to use the land. The land was conveyed to you and your ownership is now enshrined in law.

Be firm, but polite. They’re not bothered about your friendship, otherwise they wouldn’t have been arsey about it. All they’re bothered about is where they park their cars.

As a way of appeasing them, I’d offer (in writing) the use of the furthest and least useful parking space, on say weekday evenings, never weekends, and they must be available to move the car if you need the space. I’d say that’s more than neighbourly under the circumstances.

Is it a Hong Kong Phooey frame?

I finished in 4hrs 36 mins, got snarled up in lots of traffic in Richmond Park and on Leith Hill.

Someone should have a word with them southerners though, Box Hill is NOT a hill!!

Brilliant event, brilliant atmosphere and the most amazing organisation I’ve ever seen. I’d absolutely recommend it to everyone and would say a massive thanks to anyone that turned out to cheer and the marshals, they really did make a huge difference.

Reckon I could have gone much quicker if I hadn’t tried to wave to everyone! 😀

I shall keep an eye out Slimjim! Sounds like a lot of people will be lining the route to give their support which is fantastic for an event like this… I reckon 100 miles will fly by. 😀

I suspect it’s gonna be porridge pots and the Premier Inn kettle for breakfast!!

Right, I’m booked in at the Premier Inn in Stratford… I’m just going to take some shorts and a t-shirt in a small rucksack that will go in the kit bag.

Very excited now!!

Shibboleth – Surely the easiest way in from haslemere is to jump on the train to waterloo and cycle to the start from there?

We’ll have to leave earlier than the first train. My friend has just booked us a hotel near the start so we’ll just have to take rucksacks…

What’s the deal with having bags transported to the finish?

Check out my recent post on the “So what do people look like” thread and say hi if you see me… I’ll most likely be in roady mode but haven’t ruled out the full on Katy Perry pink wig ensemble…

Going to be a looooong day for me, staying with a friend in Hazlemere (I’m from the NW) so we’ve booked a minibus to get us as close as possible then we’re riding in.

Christ knows what distance we’ll have ridden by the time we get out of there in the afternoon but I suspect it might be closer to 200!!

Yessss!! I’m aiming for 5hrs so I need to recruit some like minded riders… I’ll be on a grey/black Cervelo R5. You?

I’m riding the ton too, start time is 6.54… I’m so excited about riding up the Mall… Can’t wait!

In roady mode in Majorca…

In muddy mode in the Trough of Bowland…

And the obligatory drag shot… With Frank Gallagher in Benidorm 🙄