I’ve done alright this year but my Nan had a friend who used to give her presents back.

Apparently this ladies birthday was in August and for years my Nan used to give her a present that she would receive back at Xmas.

Took her a couple of years to suss it out but, one birthday present she sent were some chocolates and she drew on the corner with felt tip. Yep, that Xmas they got sent back.

Well that ride has been freezing and it’s sent the gunge out of my nose back into my left ear so I’ve now got muffled hearing on that side.

Really enjoyed it though, stayed off the roads as the couple of short sections I did had drivers behaving like its national be an idiot day.

No socks here.

3 x T Shirts, 1 multi pack of boxers and shower gel etc.

I’m gonna leave it an hour or so, just been out with one of the dogs and its impossible to walk to the footpaths due to ice so ended up walking in the road but even that’s slippy at the edges.

The guided busway was even better before the buses started running on it!

I’m still not sure whether it was worth the money though, not seen any real benefit to having it and the St. Ives car park always seems on the empty side. It is a nice cycle route though.

They are building one near me at the moment. The route is an old railway and was good for a fast muddy ride, could get from near Wigan to Trafford Park without going near a road till the very end.

All blocked off at the moment whilst Balflour Beatty work their magic and has rendered some nearby loops useless till this thing is built.

Been shopping on the bike and it was a struggle loaded up against a head wind so looks like turbo time after.

Still rather go shopping on the bike than the car though despite the weather, so much easier.

Hopefully :-

Dog walk

Bike ride

Bit of a drive round

Xmas Dinner at my mates with him, his wife, daughter and his Dad as he’s at his in laws Xmas day.

Relatively early night in prep for Xmas Day bike ride

I’ve just done my Xmas shopping on my rubbish bike. I gave £40 for it earlier this year from our local ” bits of everything” bike shop.

It says savage on the frame, plastic everything and I sometimes forget how long it takes to stop.

It’s parked outside right now with a lock on it that’s worth more than the bike and I’m watching my CCTV and people are not even looking at it.

Got to admit to putting mudguards on it and a rack so them cost more than the bike but they make it what it it’s just a kack bike.

Cheers for the replies.

Yeah I’m going to take the £40 ” shopping ” bike as I call it and my big lock. The bike looks really crap and I’ve parked it in various places and it’s always been there when I’ve got back.

My local Tesco used to be a Co op which was demolished and the new Tesco built. All the staff from the Co OP are still there and they find them a good employer.

I could get loads of vouchers but I won’t put their fuel in as a colleague had his car go faulty through their Diesel. A mate of mine works in the Fuel Station and she says fair enough then, but let’s not start a debate on that :wink:

Another former neighbour works on the fruit and veg section and, if I time it right, he reducing prices around this time of day, got my Tea for 30 p a while ago, full pasta salad and fruit pot…..

I bought a road bike ( Triban 3 ) back in August and have had a few good rides further out than I’ve ever been on the MTB.

I don’t know if its where I live which is just busy with idiot drivers, but it’s now made me more fond of the MTB.

I’m not dismissing the road bike, but I just feel more comfortable on the MTB and I worry about bombing it in the dark on the road bike and hitting a pothole that the MTB would just shrug off.

Lastly whilst I really like the edge 200 is basically a 500 with features turned off. If I was to buy again I would go for a 500 its worth the extra to have time displayed if nothing else.

I press and hold the bottom left button and it takes it back it the home screen but still records a ride so I can see the time.

I rather have it like that else I would be tempted to look at it all the time and would probably crash and die.

Some answers from last week

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/garmin-edge-touring-anyone-got-one

I’ve been toying with getting one but, after some googling of reviews, it seems some software issues are leaving some with frozen screens. I’ve heard of this before on the 810, which the touring basically is, without the bells and whistles.

Proton Gen 2 – horrible thing.

I had one as my first instructor car when I worked for a driving school. It was 4 months old when I got it.

What went wrong :-

Drivers window fell down into the door like a guillotine

Had a consistent large bang from the front suspension when straightening up, dealer couldn’t fix.

Handbrake rachet snapped leaving me with no handbrake.

Tyre developed a large egg and a replacement under warranty had to come from Korea or somewhere.

All this on a car only a few months old. Horrible, horrible thing. The seats looked like anoglipta (sp) wallpaper, the heater controls from a 70s cooker and the buttons on the key to open the doors stick out so, if a student stalled, it was easy to catch the buttons when restarting which happened in the middle of a junction and the immobiliser and alarm came on.

That was embarrassing. I’m sure the wipers started rusting as well. Was I glad to hand that thing back…..

Customs have always scared me as have VOSA.

Years ago my mates dad was using red in an old escort diesel. Now these things sounded like tractors at the best of times.

He went on holiday to Spain and, as I’d been doing some work on the car for him, he allowed me to use it as it was better on fuel than my car.

I knew he was running on red but stupidly started pottering round in it. Went to blackpool and they were pulling all the taxis and vans in on the prom and customs were there. I panicked and turned the engine off and rolled past them so they couldn’t hear it was a diesel 8O :oops:

Got away with it but took it as a warning and parked the thing up and never touched it again.

Cheers for the advice.

He’s very easily distracted and, to be honest, I’ve not tried him off the lead much as he just legs it. He does come back if called, but its a worry as there are loads of roads near me, and a motorway at the end of the fields.

Think he’s giddy because he’s not had any puppy time. He was stuck in a house with some moron till he was rescued a year ago when he was between 12 – 18 months old. When I got him he was really nervous and can still be that way but he is improving.

Think I may try some basic dog training.

Same as above, mines on the road bike.

Had mine about 2 years and its a cracking little light for pottering on bike paths etc, but it gives no warning at all when it’s loosing power and just turns off.

Happened to me descending George’s Lane Rivington, luckily my mates light provided enough vision to stop safely. Could have been nasty if it had gone off on anything techy.

Any tips on initially atarting the dog out running with the bike ?

I’ve a 2 ( ish ) year old Lab that loves running but I’m a bit worried about just letting him off the lead and hoping he will run alongside as he’s a rescue and is easily distracted.

Tie the lead to the top tube and gently go along ? Could be interesting………

Chips, scraps and soup
Scraps!
I had to look it up that sounds ace shame they don’t do that down south

They feed us proper up here :wink:

I survived on that meal for a few weeks when I was setting the business up and had no money. Try it with a barm as well and add some HP sauce…..

Reminds me of an incident when my mate was an apprentice. Barms are barmcakes, bread rolls, flour cakes around Bolton but in Blackburn they call them Tea Cakes. Now Tea Cakes to us are things you toast and have currants in. My Mate was asked to do the butty run and one lad asked for a bacon and egg TeaCake as he was from Blackburn.

He ended up with a bacon and egg TeaCake as in Bolton TeaCake, currants and the lot. He ate it 8O

Chips, scraps and soup ( pea juice ) £1 can of pop 65p

In Bolton.

Never mind excuses – you WALKED Potato Alley???

Not excuses, explanations :wink: :D

We climber up jaggers clough to a cross roads. We then split into two groups but both went the same way. That track which finished with a decent covered in small loose rocks is potato alley. We then went down the road and crossed the A57.

Does that help?

That’s the bit I was thinking of – defo gonna go back for another go at that.

Probably that bit I walked then…….

Guessing it was the bit down to the road where we stopped to reunite someone with their Garmin – looks like good fun I will look forward to having another go on it.

My leg was killing as it was the first ride out after crashing the road bike and a bloody rock flew up halfway down and whacked my other shin.

Did we do potato alley on the slow Pootle last week ?

Very tempted especially at £139.99

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/garmin-discount-code

I didn’t get as far as finding out how much the postage was but that seems a bargain. Putting the credit card away before I spend too much……

Through the bulkhead from inside the car or under the bonnet ?

Is the old one still in place in parts so you can tie some string to it and pull the new one through or has it snapped ?

There’s 3 cameras on the M61 northbound midway between the Services and Junction 8 that are simular, they are all on one bridge and cover every lane.

I’ve been up on the bridge on the bike, and they are defiantly not Traffic Master or simular.

Map of where the ” not as fast ” group went

[/url]
Peaks Pootle[/url] by S1mmy1[/url], on Flickr

I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole. I wonder how metal they took out of the already flimsy shell to make way for the running gear?

Should be impounded and crushed to make the world a tiny bit safer!

Looks like they have cut the floor and inner wings out of a Sapphire and took the same out of the RS Turbo and welded them together.

Provided it has been done along the original weld lines, like where the inner wings meet the bulkhead and the floor meeting the inner sills, it won’t be any weaker than the original shell, especially if its been seam welded.

But yeah they are a lot more flimsy than modern day body shells

What an introduction to the Peaks !!!

Thanks to Pook for looking after us all and organising, really didn’t feel like the pub at the end as I’d woke up feeling crap as I’d not slept well after hearing about the sudden passing away of a colleague yesterday :| but I am glad I came along.

Home now just chilling on the sofa with the dogs – I’ve some photos I will upload in a bit.

Simmy: 10 mins maybe.

OK cheers

For anyone coming over from Stockport / Chapel-en-le-Frith, be aware that the Rushup Edge road is closed from the CHestnut centre onwards so you will have to go round via Sparrowpit

How much longer in time will this add to the journey ?

Cheers

Put me in for the slow group, my ankle is still swollen after my crash on the road bike last Friday.

I’m not missing the Pootle though, I’ve even got a new Battery for the Car as it was playing up a bit.

I’ve got Heart Arrhythmia otherwise known as irregular heartbeat, loads of people have it and don’t know about it.

I’m fitter than ever thanks to the cycling but I used to get really worn out easily.

It doesn’t really bother me now whilst exercising, but when I get tired in general, I get tired and can sleep for hours and hours. Sometimes I just know not to push the cycling too much when I’m feeling a bit tired or under the weather.

I think its easy done when you have different cars.

I stupidly went into auto pilot putting fuel in the Polo and put about 80p worth of Diesel in before realising. Think its because I put £60 – £80 a week in the Fiesta at £20 a time I’m just so used to picking the Diesel pump up.

The Fiesta and most Fords these Days have special caps that can only take Diesel or Petrol that stop you mis fueling.

They don’t have a screw on cap and on the Polo, Ive left the cap open and the screw on cap on the Roofrack, drove off and its blown off on the motorway :oops:

I am now more careful.

I don’t venture too far away from civilisation whilst riding solo at night and I only go where I know like the back of my hand during the day.

The mind does tend to go overtime with vampires and stuff around every turn but, in reality, it’s more likely to be druggies and Alchos around where I live.

My mate and I had a ” experience ” up Rivi whilst climbing upto George’s Lane from the High School and we heard Kids voices as if they were playing in a school yard.

It was 11.30 at night. I said nothing initially and my mate did the same. Eventually he told me to ****ing stop making daft noises and I told him to **** off and for him too stop it.

I know him well enough to know when he’s messing around and he was genuinely scared. We both took off like Cav and hit 45 mph down Chorley Old Road towards McDs 8O

My Road Bike is staying on the Turbo for the time being as I’m not confident about going out in this cold and slippy roads after my off on a roundabout the other night.

Also I’m sick of drivers doing daft things. Pity I’m feeling like this but where I live its a hell hole on the roads. Had one character overtake then turn left, I braked, obviously too hard locked the back wheel and nearly came off and I got the horn off one women simply as I’d gone through a gap as she was stuck behind a car turning right.

MTB again for a bit I think. I’ve ordered some better tyres for the Road Bike so gonna put them on and nip out in the day on a quiet road near me and try the grip out.

I just normally stand in the background and wait for the off and stay at the back.

Looking forward to jacobs ladder

It was what I’d call a ” midi ” roundabout, not a massive one but with a kerb and signs in the middle not just a circle like a mini roundabout.

Think it was the speed it happened what shocked me, one second going at what seemed a sensible speed then next on the floor.

It happened in a dodgy area so just pedaled the 5 miles home rather than wait for a lift and it also gave me chance to make sure everything worked :wink:

I’ve not come off for ages so think it just the reality of how quick things can go wrong. Won’t stop me riding over the weekend but may just take the MTB as the road bike has a few battle scars now.

Some guy near me built a house and blocked off an old footpath that loads of residents used to get to the railway station.

Needless to say, this guy wasn’t popular. It saved about a 15-20 minute walk and he blocked it off as his driveway was literally part of the footpath and he didn’t want to put a fence up to separate the drive from the footpath.

Took ages to get it reopened and even included the local papers and Facebook pages being set up etc. Think it was about 2 years or so till he removed this bit of his fence.

Because of his stubbornness the fence he erected all round his garden now just has a panel missing to reopen the footpath. Looks stupid, but you can get a bike through and blast through his garden whilst he’s having a BBQ :lol: