Are there any decent mtb routes near there or is it’s all skinny rubber and peakless lids territory?

Yeah, I’ve a wonky Minion DHF (Exo casing) on my Cotic Rocket. It’s quite irritating to see but works fine.

Thanks folks, much appreciated.

There’s no shortage of rebel tories.

And yet not a single one vote against their own government/PM in the last VONC in January.

It’s the large number of labour mps that don’t want to hand Corbyn the keys to the country that are his problem.

And yet not a single one voted with the government/PM in the last VONC in January.

Far better to have people from The Derek Zoolander Centre for Kids Who Can’t Read Good.

Yes, because that’s the only alternative to an Oxbridge education right?

With comments like that I guess you’re speaking based on a limited experience of the world.

 Anything else?

Did ‘tjagain’ stutter?

It’s funny because I’m sure a number of you on here would consider yourselves ‘moderates’, but you display similar behaviours whilst banging the drum for centrist policies as you accuse those on the left and right of having.

There us nothing ‘moderate’ about UK politics at the moment, regardless of where folks think they stand on the political spectrum.

Non-gun person asking, would that get through a bear’s fur? I’m assuming yes.

Depends upon the calibre and load you use. Higher pressure loads aid penetration.

.45 ACP + P hard cast lead rounds have fairly decent penetration.

.45 ACP hollowpoint rounds (as preferred by the police and for ‘home defence’) would likely do very little damage to a bear.

Ideally you’d use a rifle calibre but carrying a rifle or rifle calibre pistol when mountain biking isn’t really practical.

what caliber pistol do you carry?

.45 ACP (a Kahr CW45). I usually use Buffalo Bore .45ACP +P ammunition with hard cast lead bullets.

Daft question, if it’s in your camelback whilst you’re hiking, do you need a concealed carry permit? (not sure if it’s required for ownership anyhow in your jurisdiction)

Not a daft question at all.

If it’s in your Camelbak its needs to be unloaded and in a hard case unless you have a concealed carry permit. Michigan has quite strict rules on what is considered ‘concealed’, which even means that when transporting a pistol in a vehicle ideally it should be stored away from the passenger compartment of the vehicle (in the trunk/boot). As I am not a permanent resident of Michigan I cannot apply for a concealed carry permit and thus have to open carry.

I am allowed to open carry as, when I purchased my pistol, I was legally a resident of Michigan and purchased it having passed the relevant background check with the local police (for which you are issued a Permit to Purchase). I have a small paddle holster with active retention, that I wear either on my left hip or at the small of my back.

As an veteran I take weapon safety very seriously and only carry when there is a risk rather than “because the 2nd gives me the right”. To this end I never carry if I’m riding in the south of Michigan’s lower peninsula as the chance of seeing a bear at anytime of the year is pretty low. If, on the other hand, I’m in the northern part of the lower peninsula or in the upper peninsula then, dependant upon how rural the trail is, I will likely carry.

The High Country Pathway I rode back in July is in the northern part of the lower peninsula and is both a fairly long trail and fairly remote (I spent two nights camped out on my own), hence I carried.

But if you are not an idiot, say a park ranger…

Or anyone else who has spent a large proportion of their adult life using various weapon systems in a professional capacity.

So just to be sure I’m reading this correctly, a loaded firearm you’re carrying on your person is less likely to result in injury than a bear you’ve never even seen?

Why would a loaded pistol result in injury? Until a round is chambered it’s not ‘live’ and I never carry it with a round chambered.

I didn’t see a bear this time but I have seen them many times before, hence why I take precautions.

When I’m back home in Michigan I always ride with a Timber bell as generally Black Bears will leave you well alone if they hear you coming, but just in case I also always carry a pistol.

I rode the High Country Pathway back in July and whilst I saw plenty of evidence of bears I didn’t actually see one, even with spending two nights camping wild.

Did you miss the bit where the ‘centrist’ Lib Dem’s won the last by-election, with labour nearly losing their deposit…

Did you miss the fact that it’s a constituency that has historically voted right or centre right?

I posted about it in the Boris thread, another one that you seem to be talking a lot of crap in. I’ll copy my post to here for you, as I’m a nice bloke.

The constituency hasn’t been held by Labour since 1979 ( 4 decades ago!) and in the 101 years that the current constituency has existed Labour have only held it for 42 years, with the Liberals/Lib Dems and Conservatives holding it for the majority of the other 59 years.

It is an extremely rural constituency, traditionally the kind that votes Conservative or Lib Dem.

Prior to the amalgamation of the constituent areas (Radnorshire and Breconshire) the individuals constituencies had only ever been held by Parliamentarians/Whigs/Liberals or Tories/Conservatives.

It was actually an achievement for Labour to hold the constituency as long as they did, one that went against historical precedent.

Your mistake.

Actually, given the post you are replying to, you are actually incorrect about the documents required.

If you have a company/salary sacrifice/lease car you are unlikely to have access to the V5 as you don’t actually own the car (the leasing/controlling company keep hold of it). What you have to ask the leasing/controlling company for is a VE103B (Vehicle on Hire Certificate), which is your proof of right to be operating the vehicle.

…unscrew the glands…

Huh huh, glands…

I brought one of these earlier this year and have been quite impressed by the quality given its price.

https://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/SPBAASPM/tranzx-dropper-seatpost-v2-(seatpost-cable-port)

The only thing I didn’t like was the action (direction) of bar mounted lever, so I brought a Ztto dropper lever to replace it.

I work in Intensive Care.

A common saying with us Critical Care folks is, “Critical Care, where we have something for every hole, and if you don’t have a spare hole we’ll make one, and put something in it”.

Sure about that? Most of them have likely bogged off to brexit party.

Back in June the following Labour MPs signed a letter to Corbyn asking him not to back a second referendum and to back a Brexit deal before the 31st October.

1. Sir Kevin Barron
2. Sarah Champion
3. Julie Cooper
4. Rosie Cooper
5. Jon Cruddas
6. Gloria De Piero
7. Jim Fitzpatrick
8. Caroline Flint
9. Yvonne Fovargue
10. Grahame Morris
11. Mary Glindon
12. Lisa Nandy
13. Mike Hill
14. Melanie Onn
15. Dan Jarvis
16. Stephanie Peacock
17. Stephen Kinnock
18. Jo Platt
19. Emma Lewell Buck
20. Dennis Skinner
21. Justin Madders
22. Laura Smith
23. John Mann
24. Gareth Snell
25. Jim McMahon
26. Ruth Smeeth

As I’m sure some folks will note, a number of them were Pro-EU previously, despite representing Brexit backing constituencies. It’s really not as simple as stating “they were Pro-EU so will always vote that way”.

I love how Jess Phillips…

This Jess Phillip’s?

https://medium.com/@hwalker2476/jess-phillips-narcissist-477d1c833fe

A moderate is someone who isn’t an extremest. Also see centrist.

Incorrect.

There are Centrists who are equally extreme as those on the left/right and won’t countenance any opinions outside of their rather narrow neo-Liberal viewpoint. Blairites, for instance, were/are as cult-like as any other group faced with that accusation within politics.

Since Corbyn was initially elected leader of Labour the so-called moderates/centrists have spent more time and energy attacking their own party leadership than they’ve spent going after the Tories. This was most obvious when Umunna, Leslie, Gapes, Berger etc flounced off to form their own political entity/party, having spent so much time obsessed with bringing down Corbyn that they lost the backing of their CLPs.

How many 70 year olds actually go in for a circumcision though?

Quite a few.

The risk of developing Phimosis (the main reason patients have circumcisions) increases with age.

Let’s see if we can go two pages without a monty python pic, or use of the words sixth form, bunker, comrade, or cabal.

Sadly these kind of posts have largely come from a single poster, who no doubt sees himself as an otherwise level-headed person. It’s almost a ‘chewkw’ level of repetitive, troll-like behaviour.

…and set up free trade agreements with Venezuela and Iran and use the permanent seat on the UN security council to destroy NATO etc

You were doing so well but stopped short of the usual anti- Corbyn cliches.

– No accusation of him being an IRA supporter.

– No mention of him having an allotment

– No accusation of him being a Soviet spy.

– No accusation of those who support him being 6th Formers.

– No suggestive comment regarding his friendship with Diane Abbot.

– A distinct lack of a photoshopped picture of Corbyn in Red Square/stood next to Stalin/with a swastika on his arm* (*delete as appropriate).

3/10, please review and resubmit.

Got to be honest, given the stories on East Midlands telly about mistakes at Leicester hospitals, I live in fear of being in an accident and rushed there.

You know how parliamentary democracy works, right?

You need people to actually vote for you?

This coming from the guy who is throwing his support behind the perennial fence sitters?

How many MPs do they have again? Few enough that they can go to their party conference in a single minibus?

You honestly think that they are the party to challenge a Tory party that is lurching increasingly to the right?

At the national level the Lib Dems are almost completely irrelevant and, at the moment, are as much a single issue (pro-EU) party as the collection of idiots Farage is responsible for. If anyone scratches beneath the surface of this single issue they’ll see a party whose remaining MPs were largely responsible for ushering in austerity, with voting records to support this.

So if (when) the UK is dragged out of the EU on the 31st October the Lib Dems will actually become a complete irrelevance, given that aside from their pro-EU stance, many of their policies echo those of the centre-right Tories.

Talk about middle class self-indulgence…

Rather rich coming from a nailed-on centrist such as yourself.

Enjoy throwing your support behind the yellow Tories, I doubt anyone to the left is sad to see the back of you. Perhaps you could do one useful thing whilst your at it and take Tom Watson with you?

So you don’t want your £3 back then?

Are you trying to imply I’m one of those ‘antisemitism enthusiasts’ you sneeringly associate with the £3 membership charge? I will hold my hand up and admit I am a critic of the state of Israel, but that does not make me antisemitic, no matter what your rather simplistic understanding of the subject tells you.

As for the £3 membership (which I didn’t make use of, having joined the Labour Party in 2007 when I left the military) what’s the issue? When it was brought in the Labour Party was repositioning itself as a party of the people and trying to encourage wider participation in politics. Should such participation have a potentially onerous financial barrier or should a party that claims to be of the people only look to cover administrative costs?

Expelling the antisemitism enthusiasts who bought their way in for £3 would be sensible.

Antisemitism enthusiasts? Many are individuals who are quite justifiably criticising the apartheid regime in Israel and its brutal actions against Palestinians. Unfortunately people such as yourself jump on any criticism of Israel and label it antisemitism.

Of course there are undoubtedly antisemitic individuals within the Labour Party, as there undoubtedly are in every walk of life, but the problem is nowhere near as bad as the likes of yourself and a disgustingly biased press are trying to make out.

The MPs can not replace the Party Leader. They can vote, every single one of them, that they have no confidence in him… and he can just shrug them off… and ask the rest of the party to keep him in his place.

I mean heaven forbid all party members have an equal vote eh?

Perhaps we should go back to the old system where everyone was equal, but some were more equal than others…

Funnily enough those who made the most noise about us plebs getting an equal vote to MPs were Centrists and Blairites such as Tom Watson, Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie, individuals who were parachuted into safe Labour seats by their previous lord and master.

Funny that Corbyn’s critics accuse him of navel gazing when they’ve spent four years doing nothing else.

I wouldn’t say they’ve spent four years doing nothing. They’ve sniped at Corbyn from afar, fallen over themselves to be ‘a Labour source’ for any two-bit tabloid hack who is dreaming up a story, stoked the flames regarding ‘antisemitism’ when the majority is justified criticism of Israel and generally just done the work of the Conservative attack dogs for them.

The Centrists/Blairites are like petulant children. Sulking because they are now finally being held accountable to the rank and file of the Labour Party by democratic means, and upset that can’t have their ilk parachuted into safe Labour seats anymore, just by just chucking on a red rosette.

Centrist/Blairite supporters chuck about the word “purge” as if its a thing, but what we’re actually seeing is democracy in action. CLPs are the bedrock of the Labour Party and it is only right that they represent their members interests, ahead of the self-interest of a few MPs who have overstayed their welcome.

Proper grown up thinking, right there

Says the poster who constantly calls Corbyn “Magic Grandad”, mentions the fact he has an allotment in a patronising manner, infers people who support the shift of Labour back to its socialist roots are “6th formers” and sneering uses the term “comrade” to belittle those who don’t hold your seemingly staunch centrist beliefs.

You attempt to disguise your posts with superficiality learned looking waffle but your child-like debating skills shine through.

At least it’s not an airport in Berlin.

The ultimate counter to the German efficiency myth.

I know it’s hard to resist, I’m worse than most for falling for his ducking games, but please, do not feed the troll.

It’s odd that he’s kept it going for so long and still isn’t bored.

@chewkw – You need to do a bit more reading around this.

Currently it is largely the French and Germans who are pushing for closer military ties within the EU but any such move would require unanimous agreement by EU member states.

As it stands the Irish are not interested in such a force (due to their policy of neutrality and some Eastern European countries, such as Poland and the Baltic States are very much against the idea due to historical experience.

The other overriding concern is the an ‘EU Army’ would undermine NATO, with which many EU member states have far more invested.

It only takes one state to veto the formation of such a force and, as it stands, there are many who would use their veto.

The ‘EU Army’ is nothing more than the wet dream of France, Germany and Brexiteers who need an easy soundbite to attack the larger EU.

Somewhat surprisingly the constituency used to be a Labour stronghold.

The constituency hasn’t been held by Labour since 1979 ( 4 decades ago!) and in the 101 years that the current constituency has existed Labour have only held it for 42 years, with the Liberals/Lib Dems and Conservatives holding it for the majority of the other 59 years.

It is an extremely rural constituency, traditionally the kind that votes Conservative or Lib Dem.

Prior to the amalgamation of the constituent areas (Radnorshire and Breconshire) the individuals constituencies had only ever been held by Parliamentarians/Whigs/Liberals or Tories/Conservatives.

It was actually an achievement for Labour to hold the constituency as long as they did, one that went against historical precedent.

…so they call for the help of EU army to assist them…

What EU Army?

https://fullfact.org/europe/hunt-eu-army/

Grammatical differences are one thing, attempting to get away with posting absolute rubbish is quite another.

Get over it.

Spoken by someone who no doubt is the epitome of “I’m alright Jack, pull up the ladder”.

As a white male with a profession, I personally suffered very little (compared to many others) through the financial vandalism enacted by the Tories and their Lib Dem lap dogs, but you know what? Some of us think about others and fight their corners.

I will never just “get over it”. Austerity was and is an ideological attack on those at the opposite end of the spectrum from those who were to blame for the financial crash.

I expect Tories to be scum, it goes with the territory, but the Lib Dems sold a promise that they were somehow better. When their moment came though they decided to jump into bed with said scum.

I will never forgive the likes of Swinson for her actions and I view those who act as apologists for her conduct, such as yourself, with nothing but the contempt you too deserve.

not feeling particularly foolish. Just vindicated

Vindicated? Oh please.

No matter where a Sodastream product is made ultimately they are an Israel-based company and pay a large amount of tax in Israel. Thus buying the products of Israeli companies helps support an apartheid government.

Israel under Netanyahu is increasingly displaying the trappings of a fascist state, especially since his ‘Nation State Bill’ became law. If you’re happy to fund such a despicable regime then I’m afraid that doesn’t speak much of you.

I’ve never bowed to the marketing and brought a bike with pointlessly large wheels, just stuck with 26″ ones.

The British version is older and simpler than the American one. The American version has the underfloor space filled with computers and wiring…

The UK-spec Chinooks have had a fair bit of electrical equipment in the underfloor spaces for a whole now, especially so since the HC2/2A variants were upgraded to HC4/5/6 and eventually 6A.

Where the UK-spec Chinooks differ from the vast majority of US-spec ones is that during the many upgrade programs a degree of marinisation has been included. Its salt water, rather than just water, which is the biggest threat to aircraft electronics. All Chinooks can land in fresh water.

There’s fine line between deep enough to drive a rib in…

RIBs aren’t cleared to be carried internally with UK Chinooks as there is insufficient room. What can be (and is shown in footage) is a MIB (Medium Inflatable Boat), a flat and soft bottomed variant of the RIB.

The usual procedure ‘post-swim’ is to raise the nose for a short while to allow water to drain backwards out of the aircraft (to avoid lifting off with excessive extra weight) before transitioning into forward flight and climb away.