IMO it's also important to vary your riding. This tends to not only increase weight loss but also improve all-round fitness. E.g.

4-6hr endurance (decent pace without being full on)
2-3hr spin (faster – using lower gears to get revs up, i.e. spinning)
2-3hr roll (possibly fater – using higher gears)
2-3hr hills (decent pace – with as many climbs as reasonably possible)
2-3hr interval (decent pace – sprint at various intervals including shorter climbs)

Mix those around and you'll find sometimes you'll need 3-4 days recovery, other times you can head out the next day. We all have different lives and priorities, but the above generally works for me when I keep at it.

Remember to work on your diet as well though …

One of my mates is (IMO, and that of others) a seriously talented drummer. I've seen his band live 3-4 times and although their material overall is pretty good, it's his drumming that steals the show for me. There's a touch of the Keith Moon about him, especially in the energy of his performance. He's just a natural "livewire."

Yep, there's something special about jumping on your bike and being "out there." I was explaining it to someone tonight, and said it's almost like an addiction (as if being seduced by all all the different components that make up being "out there"; the trails, the scenery, the pain, the gain, the therapeutic nature, being in the zone, and so much more).

Was thinking about "the ship" earlier today … glad to hear calmer waters have been reached. Let's hope things develop positively from there.

Up until the 2006 WC I could honestly say I'd watched at least part (and in most cases all 90 mins) of every England game since being a kid in the early 80's. And then I got fed up with the way money was killing the game and creating the greed culture etc. Since then I've not really been bothered about us. I don't expect us to win this WC and I won't give a monkey if we go out. The players have long since lost touch with the real world and I just can't be ar5sed anymore.

The Wire – **** brilliant
Sopranos
BOB
Deadwood
Cracker
Generation Kill
The Lakes
Mad Men – haven't seen it yet but people keep raving about it

I can't say I like the look and feel of Tiger, especially when compared with SL. However, I'm yet to be a Mac convert full stop. Recently picked up an 18 month old 4Gb MBP with SL and it's proper quick and very slick, so you should be pretty okay if you upgrade.

PS Mac hotkeys are a **** nightmare when you're used to Windows.

Call Specialized – they're renowned for their quality support. Just explain the situation and see what they can offer.

I like the MyProtein choccy recovery drink. No idea if it "works" though.

Excellent – tvm.

Years ago I was out one Sunday evening getting to know the section around Holmbury/Peaslake. For about an hour or so, I kept bumping into this wild looking bearded middle-aged guy in army gear on some kind Halfords-type retro steed. Not a particularly pleasant experience because I didn't know the area in those days and therefore had little or no knowledge of "escape" routes.

I think I'd rather bump into Ken than Commando-Man again.

Doh! You're right brassneck – I forgot about the need for the loan in the first place.

What if you have a deposit (now) and an endowment that matures in say 10 years? Does that effectively mean you can add the two together and say "There, that's my deposit (deposit + endowment)"?

EDIT: I don't mean "There, that's my deposit" as in a pure deposit because naturally the endowment will take 10 years to show. What I mean is, that endowment will come off the value of the loan, even if you were to start a new mortgage with a longer term?

It would be nice if I could get it plugged in somewhere away from home (like work or parents) and just link to it over the net to drop the pictures there.

Dropbox[/url] is great for storing online and accessing from any machine (PC or Mac) with a DB login. Works for me.

?

I definitely think we experience fluctuations in weight/mass that most of us don't understand, e.g. water, muscle, fat, food intake, etc.

I certainly haven't made sense of it yet because after a week or eating/drinking sensibly coupled with say 10hrs on the bike, I can be 1-2lbs heavier – WTF? Other times I can be 3-4lbs down. I'm now starting to go by "feeling" and shape/appearance/clothing fit.

I also don't read too much into it (or get too hung up) because even though I eat more than most people I know, my intake is generally pretty healthy … and I'm shed loads fitter than 95% of them too. So I guess it's about balance and the bigger picture.

We bought our first house (in Derby)

My gf's cousin left uni last year and did pretty much the same thing in Derby – picked up a 3 bed house for £95k! You wouldn't get a treehouse for that down in these parts though.

Leftovers from the night before, especially pasta, spag, chilli, chinese, thai, etc

As I write, I'm tucking into scrambled eggs, ham, tomatoes and mushrooms – nom nom. Lunch will be mackerel with salad, and supper will be be salmon, asparagus and some other veg.

Taken from my recent posting on this thread:

Not sure if someone's mentioned this already, but you might like to consider this:

Seems capable of helping you lose fat as opposed to just weight/water, etc, and also enables you to change/understand your eating habits so as to keep it off.

I'm giving it a go for a month to see if I can lose a stone (and sustain it). Only difference is I'm carbing up a little before/during a ride. And I'll probably have the odd blow-out once a week or so. But I figure that because I vary my training enough (stamina, intervals, hills, etc) I'll make up the difference and generally lose/burn fat as well as improve definition and fitness.

…

See my post above. Cutting right back on non-exercise days, and eating only minimal before a session, e.g. peanut butter sandwich, banana, energy bar.

All others carbs/starches are out: sugar, cerals, breads, cakes, biccies, pasta, rice, potatoes, crisps, chocolate, pizza, beer, white wine …

Hasn't been a problem so far (5 days in) because I don't miss any of them. Subsituted with more of the healthy stuff that I like eating anyway. I'm just curious to see if it works and how genuinely sustainable it is.

EDIT: oh yeah, and fruit's off the menu as well – substitute with vitamins. But the whole low-carb thing only applies in full while you're in the weight loss period, e.g. 4-6 weeks – you then introduce them on a balanced level thereafter. By then, your cravings, especially for the unhealthy carbs, should be either manageable or completely eradicated, hence enabling you to maintain size, shape and healthy diet.

A few years ago I gave up swearing for about a week – and the weird thing is I felt a lot less stressed/angry during that time. But then then old habit kicked in again.

I think there's a connection between verbalising the expletive as a means of giving ones self a rush of emotion, whether it be negative (anger, stress, frustration or whatever) or positive (elation, etc). Therefore, if you're the type who likes to swear a lot because you're too **** lazy to compose a more articulate sentence, then you're more likely to be raising your stress/anger levels, which becomes self-perpetuating in that you keep doing it because you're addicted to the whole thing/rush. Innit.

Warning: everyone will immediately hate using the new Ribbon interface. Purely because it is different to what they are used to.

Not everyone – I got right into it from the start because I was so bored with the 2000/XP/2003 tabs.

BTW, if you want an example of IT illiteracy: I deal a lot with public sector, and one particular person is an IT Training Manager – she called me the other day to ask how to install an update, "Does that mean I have to download it to the RAM first?" FFS, you're in charge of IT training and you come up with stuff like that?

It's not particularly mini but these last forever and are seriously rapid: Topeak mountain morph with guage.[/url]

Yeah, we all know STW has its fair share of c0ckhead comments at times, but IMO there's enough humour and random sh1t going on that you just find something else to crack on with. It's almost like being down the virtual pub …

I've calmed down now.

There might be a fair few things I'd do for money, but batting for the other side isn't one of them. And no, it's not MSE – I've used it in the past (can't remember what for) and all was well.

I should add that this isn't some petty b0ll0cks – it's £20000+ worth of issue I'm looking to sort out. Hence numpties with nothing valuable to add can FRO … hence the rant …

name, shame.

It's on another forum and I'm not one for naming unless it absolutely warrants it.

i never try to upset people, well not everyone.

Same here.

Anyone else had a great day's riding…….

Pretty much. Was supposed to have been heading out over the South Downs yesterday but ended up on domestic duty – but managed to cash it in this morning and do a 45 mile road loop in perfect conditions. Only downer was seeing a roadie just after he'd crashed, but other than that it was tip top.

You need this linky …

Anywhere but Carlisle – it's a sh1thole. Stopped there en route to Peebles and it was **** horrible.

SDW in 2 days
Weird loop of Surrey Hills > down to Devils Dyke > SDW to Steyning > back up to Surrey Hills

spacemonkey calm down.

Ggrrhh, yobbish behaviour (when it's rude and/or aggressive) riles me. Not so when it's larking about, etc.

I'm mostly on your side Mr OP, although I agree you should've asked to move or at last made a point that you would only be paying X amount unless the rowdy crowd were sorted. However, for the staff to behave the way they did is IMO a disgrace and I'd never return unless through change in management.

On the supermarket side of things, I had an altercation a few weeks back with a foul-mouthed pr1ck in M&S. Basically he jumped ahead of me in the queue, so I said politely "Excuse me, you can't just jump ahead of people, I was in front of you", to which he start getting really sh1tty and saying stuff like "Who the **** do you think you are … Don't fkucing start mate … That's just the way life is … Give it a rest mate … Oh just **** off …" Staff did nothing (as you'd expect) and I so wanted to just deck him and walk out.

As I recall it was Fri night so he may well have got a slap elsewhere.

So yes, I agree that foul-mouthed twunts do ruin the ambience a little, whether it be in a shop or a restaurnat, and IMO it's the manager's/staff's responsibility to sort them out.

Haven't ridden flats for years and don't want to – I feel faster, more efficient and more comfortable with my pads properly secured. I am a spinner though so that possibly makes a difference.

Home made flapjack
Fruit
Mixed nuts
Leftovers from the night before, especially anything with noodles, rice, pasta/spag, etc

Check out Game Rankings too for loads of reviews.

+1 Hardrock

Also check out second-hand bikes – you can easily pick up something 2-3yrs old for 50% less than original RRP

Resident Evil 4 – **** brilliant
Okami – original, fun and colourful in a weirdly kaleidoscopic way
Zelda TP – good in parts but will takes years to complete if you only play now and then – can also drag a bit though
Sports Resort – good with mates and family
Sonic and Hedgehog Winter Olympics – as above
Metroid Prime 3 – pretty good at times

I thought it was excellent too – definitely a break from the norm.