When I asked Islabikes about this for my daughter's Cnoc I was told that it's more involved than just removing the metal torque arm. I think you have to remove part of the mechanism in the hub, but it can be done:

http://www.troubleshooters.com/bicycles/1speed/1speed_overhaul.htm

How about The Magic of the TT by Mac McDiarmid? He knows how to write and he did a great job on the authorised Joey Dunlop biography.

Make sure you know the where the turns and finish are. Get to the start nice and warmed up with 2 or 3 minutes to stretch/chat/fidget. I usually sip apple juice and water beforehand but no solid food for 2 hours.

Start steady with a lowish gear in the big ring (saves changing chainring) and build up speed. If you start too hard you'll be shagged out by the 7 mile mark, or maybe even after 3.

I don't go well using too high a cadence, but everyone's different. If it's a rolling course keep shifting gears to find a comfortable cadence but don't ease up the pressure on the pedals or change down too early, any speed you lose will be hard to claw back.

Stay on the drops, try to keep your elbows in and your back flat. Shoe covers don't make much difference (5 seconds over 10 miles). Concentrate as best you can on a strong, even pedal strokes and steady, deep breaths. Divide the course into chunks and just focus on the section you're doing, don't worry about what's ahead or a messed up corner.

Have a good one, I'm off to do our club 10 tonight too 😀

Plenty of people find a recovery drink immediately after exercise helps. Some people argue a shake or similar using cow's milk isn't going to be very good for you but others disagree, depends where you stand on the dairy debate.

Some info on protein intake:
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/basics/protein_-_how_much
http://www.theproteinmyth.com/good-sources-of-protein/

If the outcome of supplementing with Creatine are inconclusive I'd suggest that means it isn't necessary or even beneficial for most people. There are lots of snake oil sellers claiming that x supplement is a magic solution for weight loss / weight gain & muscle mass / endurance sport etc etc etc. A degree of scepticism is useful when confronted by these claims (e.g. fish oil[/url]). Supplements cannot replace unprocessed food and riding your bike to improve your fitness. Spend the money on fresh fruit and veg instead.

+1 for Lezyne mini pumps. I have a Pressure Drive, a tiny but well made piece of kit.

Don't waste your money on supplements, you don't need them.

+1.

Sounds like you're doing it right.

For anyone worried about their Omega 3s bear in mind that there are real doubts about the claims made for them. Often those making the claims are connected with those selling the product (I smell a rat, or the aroma of snake oil). Why not buy mixed nuts and seeds to add to muesli/porridge or as a snack. If you are still not sure you could always buy 1 jar of fish/linseed/other oil capsules or multivits+multiminerals and give them a try. If you feel no benefit then don't bother buying them again. Bear in mind that processed vitamins (from unknown sources) in a tablet will never be as good for the body as fresh food.

Supplements like Glucosamine, CoQ10 appear to be effective for individuals with a specific medical condition but that doesn't mean they will necessarily benefit the rest of us.

The Medicalisation of Everyday Life

I would suggest City Jets, I've been commuting on them for a few years. Cheap, fairly tough and quick rolling.

However, there's no tread to speak of so I would not recommend them for a muddy bridleway.

Thanks muchly, I will pass those on.

Thoughts: Marathon Racer, Specialized Crossroads Armadillo or perhaps a CX type tyre e.g. Conti Speed King.

Creating a new profile can help, I'd be tempted to do what AndyCh suggests.

10.6 is apparently a performance improvement. Reformatting isn't needed as much as on Windows but reloading from TM can improve defrag.

Interesting article from the makers of Cocktail app:

http://blog.maintain.se/2010/05/defragmenting-or-not-defragmenting-that-is-the-question.html

Have you run Activity Monitor to see if it's RAM/Virtual Memory/CPU?

I've lost 4 auctions in the last few seconds by pennies

But you don't know how the other bidder's max bid – it could have been a lot more. All they did was bid more than you.

Others have suggested what I do – decide how much you'll pay / what you think it's worth and leave it run.

When I finally get a house with a garage, I'd love one of these:

Best bike I've ever ridden (because I've never swung a leg over an RC30). A VFR800 is more practical, esp. 2-up, but the handling on the 400s is truly sublime.

I agree that pre-VTEC VFR is the better bike than its successor. Sometimes Honda are too 'clever' for my liking, they make things different and it's not always better – downgrading the V4 cams to chain from gears is an example.

The VFR1200 is a replacement for the blackbird, so of course it will be less nimble than a Blade and more sporty/less toury than a Pan. That's why it's not a Blade or Pan. Duh! I'd look at a Sprint ST first or even a CBR600, I don't see the need for the gadgets or the top end speed (or the price tag!).

Talk to Beics Betws, they can surely give you some suggestions as well as rent you a bike. Betws-Y-Coed is 30 mins down the A5 from Bangor.

I'm with Kato.

IMHO the Creig is big for a 14" frame. I took one around the yard at the shop and thought it felt almost as big as my late 90s 16" Kona. I'm 5'3" and didn't find it at all cramped.

About 5° and some drizzle earlier this evening (Sat) in Shrewsbury. All the snow has gone here, I'd expect 'pool to be similar.

The question was a joke, right ?

Yep.

Like all the what’s the best/which/what flavour crisps questions that get posted on here.

The answer BTW is whichever you prefer or have fitted already as it’s already doing the job. Oh, and cheese & onion (or West Country Extra Mature Shaken-Not-Stirred Cheese and Finest Hand-Reared Onions for those who buy expensive crisps).

Unfortunately too many people don’t like to have to choose, they want some stranger on they’ve never met make their decisions for them. Which underpants? Should I tell my Mum where I’m going? Where’s my comfort blanket? Oh, just found it, I can go back to sleep now.

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9052001

Some nice photos there, Rob.

Torq riders Kathy O’Shea and Dan McConnell were over at our time trial last Tuesday (it starts a matter of yards from Matt Hart’s house). Dan went round the 10 mile course in under 23 minutes. On a mountain bike. He was faster than most of the regulars using TT frames, disk wheel, smurf hat etc. Not bad!

You’re far, far more likely to be killed or injured by a car while walking on the pavement than killed or injured by a bike.

Absolutely. Last week a chap was killed waiting at the pedestrian crossing[/url] by our estate. Big trailer hit the lights which fell on him. He wasn’t even on the road.

rob, road cycling is safer than it might seem, it’s the perception that makes it look scary. The press jump on accident figures and ‘bad news’ stories. They never report the thousands, millions of journeys that are made without a problem. I get intimidating things happen but I’ve been riding on the roads since I was 12 or 13 and no t0sser in a 4×4 or any other tin box is going to stop me asserting the right to do so. Cycling is such a fabulous form of transport I shouldn’t have to give it up through fear.

http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/cyclists-live-longer.html

http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/cycling/how-dangerous-is-cycling/

Assessing the actual risks faced by cyclists (PDF)

Riding round woods and down rough tracks is probably a statistically more dangerous thing to do.

Can you call it Space Rock? Synthy, swooshy stuff for dopeheads (and like minds) with keyboards and plenty of unusual guitar work from Ed.

http://www.myspace.com/ozrictentacles

http://www.last.fm/music/Ozric+Tentacles

Being a dad too, I feel for you lowey.

The sensible part of me thought the same as Drac – “could have been alot worse.” Hopefully you’ll be able to look back laughing about it in time.

I gave my parents a nasty scare when I was younger (m/cycle crash). After 5 weeks in hospital I was still so weak my Dad had to lift me in and out of the bath, the first time in over 20 years. Kids, eh.

A response to that Guardian article, on the same site, rubbishing the NAO’s method:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/08/cycling

pushbikerider, for those who might want an alternative to cowfruit perhaps you could have included soya choccy milk. So Good Soya Drink Chocolate 1ltr is 96p/litre at Tesco and Sainsbury’s. No animal fat or lactose. Per 100ml:

67kcal, 2.0g protein, 10.8g Carb (Sugar 7.3g), 1.7g fat (0.3g sats, 0.4g monounsats, 1.0g polyunsats), 0.06g sodium.

Half a carton would give you the 50g carbs and 10g protein suggested in the Milk Race articles.

I bought a mate’s D70 shutter that had been replaced at 250,000 actuations. Cost was £145. However, I’d keep away from secondhand without a guarantee and new models are so cheap I’m not sure I see the benefit. And no, they\re not like old manual film cameras and don’t last indefinitely. Dirty sensors are a nightmare; damp ingress, heavy-handed cleaning or drops can all mean it dies without warning one day.

If buying new you can’t go wrong with any of the main brands. Canon, Nikon and Pentax all have a strong reputation and good choice of lens ranges. All the current and recent models do an excellent job of producing photos. 10 megapixels will give improved image quality over 6, but you’ll only see it printing around A3 or larger.

Olympus and Sony don’t convince me quite as well but I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with them! Ive tried the Oly E-400 (images have a 4:3 ratio, same as digicams, unstead of 3:2 of other SLRs) but I find the viewfinder even smaller than most. However, the camera works very well and fits well in smaller hands. In fact, how it is to use is more important than tech specs. If you go pixel-peeping (i.e. trying to find the best performance via online test reports) you’ll go mad and never be happy.

Shooting raw is great but I’d get the hang of using the thing and the software first. There’s a lot you can do with one lens. I suggest you do what you can with that and only when you regularly find it’s not getting you close enough/you can’t fit everything in should you buy another. It’s one less choice to make, one less thing to carry.

Always, always, always back up your files. Even if it’s just copying your jpegs to a USB memory stick (8Gb ones are about £15 now). I promise you’ll cry one day if you don’t do it.

I happened seeto Ski Sunday the other week and thought “they put skiing (yes downhill skiing) on the BBC every week yet cycling gets naff all!”. Skiing is about as common as moon landing in this country. Eddie the Eagle was the pinnacle of British ski-jumping not so long ago.

But most people in the UK are not interested in cycling, in fact they are actively disinterested. They view commuting cyclists as annoying road obstructions to be obliterated from their path (or an excuse to lean on the horn) and mountain bikers as self-harming adrenaline freaks. Despite the success in both track and mountain biking the bulk of the population care not for cycling as viewing material, whether for leisure or sport.

Nostalgia is sometimes spoiled by reality.

But it can also be about what you’re used to, “you don’t miss what you’ve never had”. I’ve never owned a bike with bouncy forks and discs so my ’97 Hahanna is what I ride offroad. I’m sure I could go faster (downhill at least) and stop much more easily with a newer bike but I like my Kona, and anyway I don’t have money spare for another bike. I can imagine that once I’d ridden a suitably equipped modern steed I’d also find my old nail somewhat primitive by comparison.

joe, keep your eyes peeled, you will be sure to find something that fits your bill. You could set up a favourite search on ebay and restict it to 25 miles – that way you know every ad is something you can consider going to look at.

There’s also bikeradar’s classifieds to peruse. You’ll definitely save quite a bit of money secondhand, new prices have gone up noticeably since 12 months ago. I’d suggest a sound frame and smooth running wheels are the most important bits to start with. Every brand has different sizing so a 56cm Trek won’t be the same on a Giant (the latter has sloping aka ‘compact’ frame geometry). Trek 1000, Giant SCR 3 and Allez will be similarly specced bikes for the money – double or triple Sora 8-speed STIs. Double chainset is OK unless you ride steep hills. Tiagra is 9-speed and may cost a little more.

You can’t put any old ‘additives’ in meat sold as organic. Salt is permitted.

If you want mail order try http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

The box schemes e.g. Riverford do organic meat too.

My kids love going to Enginuity in Coalbrookdale. Blists Hill is fascinating but more enjoyable on warmer days than we’ve had recently.

Walking: Wenlock Edge, along the Severn Way riverbank stretches, Caer Caradoc and The Lawley nr. Church Stretton. A number of walks around the Gorge and Silkin Way towards Telford, google Silkin Way to find PDFs etc.

You could pop into the Bikehub in Jackfield if you need a two-wheeled fix.

More ideas: http://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk

You can’t go wrong with XTC or Rockhopper (nothing against the others).

Last time I looked Inbred stocks were zero.

I use the imperial/metric converter widget and sometimes I find clicking into the entry box to type a value too soon stops it working – it’s as if it hasn’t loaded yet. When I try to be a little more patient it seems fine.

jova54, do you need to upgrade?

A friend’s HD was zapped recently when her PC’s power supply went bang. All her files and photos – her daughter’s wedding, a holiday, her grandson, files for the Mountaineering Club and saved info from online banking – are all unrecoverable. Always, always, always back up your data regularly, not just when you upgrade/update your software.

Zedsdead, remember you may want to copy your address book, any document templates if you have Office and other software settings (bookmarks/favourites, RealPlayer downloads & library).

Results like this one are near the top of a Google search for: “outlook 2000” folders. Also try backing up outlook.

In Shrewsbury last night’s snow was only a dusting (again) and has melted in a lot of places already. However, weather on top of the Mynd is often very different.

Recent snowy pics (tho’ not mine) from midweek here[/url]. It’s not incredibly thick so the tracks and roads may be rideable with caution. Let us know how you get on if you go.

You really ought to speak to someone who knows the law and procedure. A friend of hers in HR isn’t necessarily clued up (though it would be good if she is). Others here have outlined some of the questions raised by the dubious manner in which your other half’s redundancy/offer appears to have been decided and tabled.

If she doesn’t like the job (you said “she hates it”) then why the hell would she want to stay there? FFS there’s more to life than working all the hours in the day for a bunch of jerks. She’ll have a full time job soon enough anyway! You’ll find out that sprogs don’t eat, clothe, toilet train and educate themselves properly without parental supervision until they’re at least 25 years old.

Regarding fairness and your own situation, well life isn’t fair. It can be pretty cr@p. But, you know, people manage. Sometimes a kick in the teeth like this leads you to do something you wouldn’t have done otherwise, which later turns out to be not so bad. All clouds have silver linings.

I’d still consult at length with someone who knows their employment law.

What persuaded me to start wearing a helmet on the road late last year (apart from heavy duty nagging from 3 generations of my family) was that, in my estimation, the risk of injury without one is greater than wearing one. If I hit a car door or lamp post with my head I expect it to hurt more than while wearing my helmet. However, I am under no illusions about the magic properties of a cycle helmet.

Until research can PROVE wearing a helmet will make then no-one should feel compelled to wear one. I don’t want to attack those who choose to wear/not wear – it’s down to individual choice.

That chute descent is above Carreg Ddu reservoir, Elan Valley.

The Bontrager hardcase 28s have been doing the job efficiently since the summer. Pumped to around 85psi ’cause I’m a softie.

Can be found cheap too – £10 each in a range of sizes from All Terrain Cycles.

Hohner Gruhn OM-size steel-strung acoustic and Ibanez JS100:

[/url]

(the Ibanez is for sale, along with a 120w Laney amp).

A mate of mine tried the Genesis Altitude bikes and thought they were great value. He reckoned they felt like a nice take on classic Kona geometry.

Someone has already mentioned the iO but there’s also the 853 and Ti. Both are available as complete bikes or frameset. Don’t appear to have horizontal dropouts, though.