MNPR = Monday night pub ride

The historical home is Prestwich but the rides move about. One day I may make one when work allows.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mnpr-–-monday-20th

You have just got to have faith in them…..

This is mine being fitted a few weeks ago and it is a bit worrying when they take the jigsaw to it.

Yeah, it was the exhaust I had taken.

Mentioning the Vivaro in the thread has reminded me of when someone took the front indicator out of my works 53 plate vivaro over a bank holiday weekend.

They were only £12 brand new from Vauxhall

White Hillman Avenger.

I remember being taken quickly out of my child seat as it filled with smoke from under the dash 8O

OP, I’m in Hindley, where’s the Mechanic based mate ?

I don’t know of any Bike Shops locally apart from Mike at ML, Birkett Bank

Help To Buy ISAs can be withdrawn from after 3 months to get the bonus 25%, but has lower deposit limitations, the upcoming Lifetime ISA must be open for 12 months to get the bonus but you can whack in the whole year’s allowance of ~£4k in one hit.

As far as I know, the Lifetime ISA is more of a retirement thing as the bonus is paid annually on the first year then monthly after.

So the £4000 will then boost to £5000. But, from what I have Googled, if you decide to withdraw any funds before you reach 60, you will lose the bonus. You will still get the interest, but the 25% is deducted.

Living with parents ? How’s about when you buy the house of your mum, she moves out, her ” gentlemen friend ” dies and the place they were in gets given back to the council as that’s what his family wanted and she then moves back in ?

Sponging off me, but then again she is getting to the stage health wise where she couldn’t be alone.

Probably a Parcelforce van originally.

I’ve van envy with that one. If I had the space, I’d have one of those for trips out and have my Vivaro for days out and tip runs etc

Is there any option for him to extend his service another 4 years to retire with the dog?

My exact thoughts.

I know a few Dog Handlers and the bond between Officer and Dog is massive, they really are a partner to them, but did this guy not think it through when he took Ivy on ?

End of the day, she is Police property and, like has been said, a huge asset to the force which costs a lot to train up and unfortunately not his pet.

When I left my last job, they didn’t let me keep the van.

I except that they have good prices and I am signed up for their E Mail newsletter thing but, like has been said, I once ordered when I first started with MTB and I ended up chasing them up only to find they had no stock.

Only reason I keep on their E Mail list is I can then get Evans or Halfords to price match.

OP my mates 55 plate Passat died after the classic oil pump failure about 5 years ago and when the engine etc was out it must have upset the electronics as when it was started up it was lit up like Blackpool Illuminatons.

It settled itself out after being driven around the garages yard.

When I was a Delivery Driver I used to joke I was a ” field logistics manager ” quite a few young ladies fell for it.

Now I’m a Driving Instructor, I don’t go round telling people what I do if I meet them away from work. I just tell them I do driving risk assessments for fleet based corporate clients.

It’s not a lie, I’m qualified to do it, it’s just its a lot easier teaching learners.

If I say I’m a driving instructor I can’t get away from people, ” how much are lessons now ” , ” oh I remember when I took my test ……..” , ” I’d never pass now, what should I do when I come upto them new roundabouts, you know those…….”

How about this for a Bus Lane

If they had a camera on this they would make a fortune. As you can see, it’s very short and ends just before the traffic signals meaning, if you drive correctly and want the left lane, you have to come over at a 45 degree angle to stop in the left lane at the lights.

It’s the only 24 hour bus lane in town, the rest being 7am – 10am then 4 pm – 7pm so guess how many motorists drive in this short bus lane ? I’d say 80% of people drive straight through it.

I took the Dog out at 1.20 this morning and there was no one around, no traffic for at least 10 mins which round here is a massive gap.

Just being able to see about a mile down the road to the next curve is a weird view that you just don’t get any other time due to the sheer amount of traffic.

Amazing how different times of the day can change places.

I know that exact feeling. Sick of the rat race.

Suppose it depends on where exactly you live and how busy certain areas are. I’m lucky that within 5 mins from here on the bike, I could be in the town centre or the other way, sat on my own near a pond with no one around apart from the odd dog walker.

I still get bored riding the same routes. Yesterday, I put the bike in the van drove out somewhere quiet and set the Garmin for a 20 mile round loop. Nice to see things I didn’t know where there before.

Alpine in Wigan as well.

I remember my great uncle always saying how expensive their pop was. My mate next door but one was allowed alpine but we weren’t. Can’t remember it tasting any better than any other when I did have some at my mates.

There is still a guy I see around in a old Sprinter with ” Sugar free pop 5 bottles £3 ” splattered all over the side of it. Last saw him going onto the housing estate near me which is as rough as Jeremy Kyles waiting room :D probably a front to sell other stuff……

Another thing I remember at my great aunts was the ” potato man ” as she called him which was basically a mobile store like that one on Postman Pat. Bloke called Joe ran it and he only recently passed away. He must have been ancient as he was old when I was a kid. He retired about 2000, and his round got taken over so we must have been getting the mobile shop thing till about 2005 ish.

Could understand it somewhere rural, but this was Wigan. Told my great aunt to stop buying of the new guy as all his stuff was from Aldi and he was adding 20p to everything.

If you are near Manchester, give me a shout if and when you are selling the Golf.

Might be interested for Mum.

Cheers

Thread hijack, but Andy are you part exing your Golf or selling private ?

I would get the rears checked by an indi mechanic, not a chain, before committing to getting them changed.

Just had the fronts on my Fiesta changed ( rears are drums ) Discs and Pads £120 fitted by my local mechanic. The discs were on their last legs and had started vibrating when braking from 40mph + but I got 111,000 miles out of them, town driving with learners stamping on the brakes too hard….

Been through about 4 sets of pads in that time, but the discs were original. When you consider most of the braking is done by the front brakes, I’d definatly get your rears checked out.

Gary and Phil neville’s Dad was definatly Neville Neville.

He sadly passed away not long ago heading to Oz where his Daughter Tracey was coaching the Netball team I think.

But, c’mon, Pebbles… WTAF?

I thaught a Kid last year called Pebbles. None of my my colleagues had the courage to say anything till the one guy who just can’t keep quiet clocked the name in the register. He said out loud ” pebbles ? Do her parents know she’s gonna be an adult one day…..” 8O

Did a First Aid course back in the summer and the guy was called Alan Bent.

He told us he used to be a sales rep and it really broke the ice with clients when he handed his business card over as it read ” A Bent – Salesman ”

I followed that Spa video but used cable ties instead.

I was expecting a fight with it but it was simple. The idea of the toe straps / cable ties is to get one side of the tyre into the very centre of the rim which effectively makes the diameter of the tyre smaller then the tyre will go onto the rim then pop back ( if that makes sense…..)

I use the Ultimate or V Power fuel in mine
why? Is it any different ?

Mine runs better on it and needs the DPF regenerating less when running on V Power. It’s more expensive but works out the same as normal fuel for me as I get a couple of MPG more and fuel vouchers on the loyalty points.

I’ve checked it Over the last year and 25,000 miles and it works for me.

Only £20 a time for me when filling up. Easier to remember for my accounts, leaves me loads of receipts that my accountant has to go through :D but I’m a tight git so if the car engine explodes or it gets written off by some clown and the tanks is full, that’s £25 wasted that’s going to be drained by some grease monkey into his old Transit recovery wagon :D better in my pocket.

I’d tank it for a long journey, but I’m mostly round town.

I scratched a lease car badly once dragging the pump across as the hose must have been full of dirt and grit and it scratched the rear quarter.

Had to get it touched in before it went back, cost about £80.

I use the Ultimate or V Power fuel in mine and at a few stations near me, they only have this on one pump so I sometimes have motorists queuing behind me when their is a pump in front which doesn’t have my fuel.

Well it’s tough, not my fault I can only get the fuel at one pump it’s the garages so take it up with them.

Marathon pluses here, couldn’t believe the change in the bike they are really hard and bouncy compared to the original tyres.

Took some getting used to but I’d rather have reliability than anything as I can’t be late for work and getting a puncture whilst teaching bikeability with a bunch of 9-10 year olds to control would be a nightmare.

Wish I had time for hobbies and I’m single, kid free. Running a business takes up so much time that even on my day off there is catching up to do, shopping etc that by the time that’s done there is only time for a quick bike ride.

Suppose my only daily hobby is walking the dog.

New van day tommorow

I suffer depression and have my own business but i work completely alone so if I don’t do it, money doesn’t come in and the bills don’t get paid.

It’s not as simple as that though. The main issue I have is the isolation. When I was employed, it was easy to just vent off to one of the other lads about ” the ********** customer who is a nightmare ” now it’s just keep it all in.

One thing I have done though is cut the hours back a bit. I was averaging 5 x 11 hour days and about 6 hours on a weekend which left me no time for anything apart from work and just put me in a bad mood as, by the time I was getting in, I was too tired to go out for a ride.

I got a Swann from Maplin a couple of years ago when I had a idiot renting next door and had my window smashed by her son.

It’s 4 channel but I’m just running 2 cameras at the moment. It’s not too bad but I only really use it just to see who is at the door and to keep an eye on the cars and van. My neighbour had his car stolen a while ago and the police viewed my footage and said it was better than a lot they had seen.

There is an I phone app so I can view it remotely.

do you wear a badge with your forum handle in or do you just spend the whole ride asking ‘who are you then?’ and saying ‘hi I am…’ ?

When I’ve been it’s been a case of just pottering ( pootling ) along, introducing yourself by first name, asking their forum name but forgetting that and just carrying on calling them their first name so, when you come back on here, you can’t remember who you have met

I’ve got the Halfords £40 SLA one

Do they still do these in Halfords as I can’t find them on their website ?

That’s about the size of it. Location wise it’s absolutely brilliant, you’re in spitting distance of the M66 to Manchester and the M65 which runs between Preston and Colne. Pick a direction and drive for an hour and you’ll hit a national park (or the coast). Preston and Manchester both have regular mainline train services up and down the country. I’m five minutes from an ASDA, Tesco Extra, Lidl, Aldi.

Sounds exactly like my town but I’m near the M61 not the M65 and it’s just a base for getting to places.

No problem mate.

If you think of anything else just ask. I’ve probably forgotten a lot as I ride it that much !!!!

I’ve got the Litium 3, 2015 model and I’ve just had a quick look at the current model and it’s similar spec to mine.

Love mine.

It’s fast compared to the MTB but I’m always left behind by roadies. I’ve put a Topeak rear rack on, evans fitted me some mudguards FOC when I bought it. When I say FOC, I still bought them they just fitted then for nothing.

Remember they price match so find out what accessories you want, get the cheapest price online and they will fit for free on a brand new bike. Might sound lazy but if they offer it why should I do it :wink:

Only thing I have changed are the tyres as they were rubbish, some kind of generic make. I noticed the new model comes with contis so that should be ok. Changed mine for marathon plus as I commute and need reliability.

The spec was the best I could find for the price and I went for the bright yellow as I’m a Bikeability instructor so need to be visable.

It can cope with a bit of off road but in mine the mudguards are pretty tight and they clog up quick with mud. It’s a bit of a heavy bike but I have 2 full panniers at most times.

The half hour looking for a dropped Garmin that had already been found was a highlight for me

Was that the one found at the bottom of potato alley ?

Anyone fancy a little ride on the 22nd?

A little ride as a warm up or the proper peaks pootle ?

Think my Bangernomics polo may be dying, it’s noisy on the engine, thought it was the alternator bearings so took a punt on a alternator from the scrapper and it’s still noisy.

Bought in 2009 for £1400, 50,000 miles later it’s cost a few hindered quid in that time.

Scrap is at a low at the moment, got offered £70 scrap for my van yesterday.

I don’t know if he will go as far as Stretford, but give Les a call.

about

I’ve never used his services, but I’ve known him years and he’s a good bloke.

I’ll give the number you posted a try tomorrow.

They will be there 9 till 5 normally and you get straight through to a real person. Only trouble is if he has taken his page down or its been taken off, have you a screenshot or anything of his reply to you ?

The lines that are manned 8am – 12 are the booking lines I think. We have a shortcut we use but it’s like getting hold of the queen to the general public.

Andy Rices office on my previous post are really helpful.

I agree 100 % Junkyard.

Shame it’s ruined by the Motorbikes as its a cracking road to ride and the Sheephouse climb certainly gets the blood pumping.

Weekdays mid morning or mid afternoons only for me as well.

OP, out of interest, who did you speak to at the DVSA ?