Time, again. 15 year old carbons still on the bike. A few quid every 3 or 4 years for new bearings – sorted.

06 plate from new, replaced April with 162k on clock.
Engine never missed a beat.
Ridiculously roomy for class, though lack of spare worried me.
Flimsy build (eg relative to Golfs).
Number of niggly little faults – handbrake, fuel flap, rear suspension.
Best I ever managed on a single trip was 69mpg – so yes, economical.
Interior understandably got very tired latterly.

Thanks Charlie – just had a browse round your web-site. Wallet says lucky you’re way down south.

At 9 years old, as long as the child is enjoying it, fulfilling parental ambition can wait. Just my opinion, like.

Too many plebs in 2nd class for Sir Gideons liking?

Exact same problem – how did you get on when you gave them a ring?

Ruark R1 with battery pack

We used Le Creuset cast iron for about 15 years, and yes they last, but are very heavy: Mrs S really struggled to lift the larger pots safely. We changed to their stainless steel range and have found them to be excellent. Wait ’til they are on sale though – we got a set of 3 from Richmond Cookshop around 5 years ago and are very happy with them. Since added a large soup pot from one of their outlet stores.
Circulon frying pans – avoid steel implements & be sensible & they should last well. We’ve just replaced our 1st one – had it over 12 years, which we thought pretty good.

Pretty much anything off Darkness on the Edge of Town, Like a Rolling Stone & another vote for Waterloo Sunset.
Guess who’ll be in the 3rd row at Ray Davies Southampton gig this Saturday!
Woo-hoo, indeed.

This isn’t a Bruce thread, is it?

Original Endura 3/4 bibs excellent – current (not MT500’s mind) v poor. Replaced with Pearl Izumi’s – top kit.

Bag of crisps in The Diggers?

Times here too. Bought my first pair in 1997. Still going strong. Replaced the bearings 3 or 4 times, but otherwise indestructable.

Done a lot of running this ‘summer’.

Yeah, Northumberland, and in particular Holy Island. Had several holidays there. Absolute peace when the tide’s in.
Alternatively have a look at the Fife coast between Elie & St Andrews: quiet coastline with a fine coastal path, rock-pools, beaches, harbours in each village etc, but a short train journey to Edinburgh.

Just got up & still grinning ear to ear.
The Born to Run/Darkness/River material brought great memories flooding back, and thought the Wrecking Ball material stood up well alongside older classics.
As per Matt the first sax solo was a hairs on the back of the neck moment, and I will willingly admit to tears in the 10th Avenue break. I wondered how the Big Man not being on stage would be handled & thought it was done well: he’ll be there every night…..

Taking the family to Hyde Park – see y’all there!

Osprey +1

Had a couple of similar experiences with barn owls – also followed a badger along a 100m or so of singletrack last winter. Get a real buzz out of it when it happens. (Please assure me Cougar isn’t Chris Packham . . . .)

I cheer up for just a few days a month . . .

Thanks for the recommendation – same contact number as ‘racemechanic’. I’ll give them a bell tomorrow.

10 miles outside Oxford & a few hundred metres from a major trunk route and the mobile signal is appalling, irrespective of network.

Phone them up and tell them you want it reduced. No problem with SSE.

Mazda 3 1.6 petrol

Ordered a new waterproof on Thursday of t’internet in the knowledge it would trigger an extended dry spell. Keeping the Mud-X’s on just in case tho’.

If it helps, you only have to read the first half of the John Peel bio – the section written by the great man himself. Balance is poor, IMHO.

Spent a week at Pendeen beginning April.
Agree that Cape Cornwall is preferable to Lands End.
Geevor & Levant mines worth a visit. Former will easily fill an afternoon. Don’t miss the mine ruins on the coast path below Botallack if you’re over that way.
St Ives very pleasant, but Penzance seemed very run down compared to our last visit 7 – 8 years ago.
A couple of sections of the coastal path if the weather is half decent? Porthcurno and Minack section is nice with some secluded little coves.

Keen Newport H2 – http://www.natureshop.co.uk/Footwear/mens-sandals

4/5mg a day for life, following 2nd lung clot. Possibly a bit more cautious now, tho’ advancing years may have reduced my need to show off anyway.

Has anyone suggested Mazda 2? Mrs refuses to consider anything else, primarily due to reputation for reliability after a couple of bad VW experiences.

Haglofs Shield pullover? Have a look at Craigdon website. Great spring/autumn windproof.

06 plate 2.2 diesel here. Remarkable space in the back. Seats down, bike in, no problem. Good performance and/or economy too. Felt a bit flimsy compared to previous VW’s. Also had lots of niggley problems – tho’ may have been ironed out in later models.

+1 Stornoway

A flick thru & 60 pages in and . . . it’s a thicker, different shaped, better paper quality version of the old magazine, but sadly with out Mike Ferrentinos column. Guess I’m missing the point. Didn’t think there was that much wrong with the old one if you accepted that some issues were inevitably better than others: across the piece it is/was preferable to the alternatives available on newsagents shelves.
If I want something bike related but a bit different I’ll read The Ride.
All IMHO of course.

If it’s resurfacing your first port of call should be the Highway Authority. Have they got warning signs up: ‘Warning – raised ironwork’, or something similar. Should have. If not then I’d certainly expect them to cough up.

Run & Become

Still using Times I bought in 1998. Strip down & replace the bearings every five years or so and say goodbye to pedal angst.

Springsteens Darkness on the Edge of Town means as much to me today as it did 30+ years ago.

Race Face Deus well reduced on CRC at the mo, Hope BB?

Forget NHS. Start by finding a good physio to diagnose the root cause and lay out a programme of treatment/rehabilitation. Then get your wallet out.

+1 for Airport Extreme. Didn’t realise these things broke.