This is going towards the gutter, so now I’m going to suggest that you hide under the table that has the cake on it then lay some cable as the cut into the cake…

I’m all for inclusion but this takes the urine.
I lead rides occasionally and I wouldn’t let him on one of mine, probably through my own ignorance of what he/it does.
The stuff you want to demonstrate/teach/explore with newbies/intermediates won’t apply to him, so why is he coming along on a ‘normal’ ride. If he just wants a ride, mark up a map and tell him to get on with it!

My neighbour and part time EX8 rider used to teach diving for a living. The vibe I get from him is that it has a life-span, or at least teaching does. He was out on GBR in ‘Oz and shagged around, met his wife and had a thoroughly good time. That part is easy – people are there to have fun, but the repetitive nature can get to you, as can the increased H&S along with the occasional pillock who tries their best to drown.
It’s similar to what I do for a living in many ways, which is hot air ballooning. Customers enjoy themselves, you see amazing things and occasionally things go slightly sideways and you revert back to your training in a split second! But I could never work in an office or do 9-5, so it suits me.
If you go into it informed you’ll have fun and take it for what it is.
Good luck!!!

You MUST have been into the church by now… Are the bridesmaids any good?

OP – bad luck, hope you get it back or at least don’t get the run around from your insurers.
Onceinalifetime – sometimes its better to let people think you’re an idiot than open your mouth and confirm it.

Top tips from me… Cable ties – (big buggers) on the wheels, frame etc. stops chancers simply undoing the straps and walking off with your pride and joy. A lock is better for the more determined tea leaf that you might find in a motorway service station or other car park. I use a tow bar rack and I cover the bikes with an old motorbike cover and copious bungee cord, so that people can’t see that the rack and it’s contents are worth more than the car it’s attached to. It’s also worth noting that people can also simply remove most racks with either a spanner or flat bladed screwdriver so it is also worth securing your rack to the vehicle as well as the bikes that are on it.

I’ve snapped Bontrager xXx bars in the past and had bigger crashes with a set of Eastons, with no problems (to the bars!!!).
I’d buy Eastons again.

I’ve got one and it’s great fun!
Originally I bought it to practice gybing and it really helps. You simply chuck on a windsurfing rig and off you go. I can duck gybe, lay-down 360 on my speed sail but I can’t get close to that on the sea…

Things to look out for…
1. Soft sand! It will stop you quicker than a set of Brembo carbon disks! The problem with stopping the board at 20 mph is that you are facing sideways and therefore are not able to land in any controlled manner. I recommend using walking boots to save your ankles from snapping during sideways exits. When you first get going, do some slower sighter laps of where you will be sailing to find the nice hard sand.

2. Use old windsurf kit. Your nicest sails and carbon boom will get trashed on the abrasive sand.

3. Use smaller kit than normal. I have even used a 3.5m sail on my speed sail. It would have to be the sort of wind that rips up trees for me to get planing with that on the sea!!!

Enjoy!!!

I’ve got 4 tickets to the men’s race. I’m not sure whether to take my girls (4&6) who may not appreciate it, or a couple of mates…

Burt Reynolds – Bandit.
As in Canonball Run, not he is a…

I’ve had 4 Defenders and now I’ve got an ’03 Discovery. It’s newer than my last Defender by 3 years, cost £1500 less than I got for my 110, has electric mirrors/heated screen/roofs/locking/levelling lights, cruise control, parking sensors, self levelling suspension, aircon,etc etc.
All in all a much nicer vehicle to be inside and it does the same job, but better, 95% of the time. As a day to day vehicle I’d NEVER go back to a Defender.

We bought a motor home last month and have since had a couple of great little brakes away in it with our two girls (6&4).
We bought from eBay and the old chap ended the listing early to save himself hassle from tyre kickers however I think he was smarter than we gave him credit for as it was our first purchase of this sort and we went into it with rose tinted glasses!
It started off with ideas of wanderlust/serendipity/adventure when our neighbour spent £25000 on a T5. However when I approached the idea with HQ, she required a toilet and a shower and gave me a budget of £7000.
1990-ish and 75000-100 000 miles seemed to be the order of the day for our budget, but the one we bought had only 27000 on the clock and looking around it, the mileage seemed genuine. Its a 7m 5/6 berth based upon a Renault Master and is actually quite nice inside. Since purchase we have had a biking friend who used to service a fleet of Renault Masters (completely by chance) to give it the once over and we spent £300 with him and did the cam belt as he had the cover off to replace an oil seal anyway.
Since the purchase we’ve spent a lot of time putting little things right;
Water pump £49
Hob thermocouples £24
New curtains and seat covers £250
Fixing leaks / water heater / toilet door / step / shower / blocked drain / dripping pipe / lights and now it all works faultlessly.
Other purchased items include;
Carbon monoxide detector £20
Front seat (cab) covers £75
Front window blackout blinds £40
Air freshners / pots and pans / knives / electric hook up cable / £30
So apart from the fabric which wasn’t totally necessary I have come in around budget. W are also confident that as we only paid £6500 we can could sell it on for at least £7500. We have already had friends asking to hire it which would cover our costs for MOT/insurance/tax etc, so financially it’s a win win situation…
We love it and have really got into the whole camping/wilding thing and like the fact that we are completely self sufficient.
However when you buy get them to demonstrate EVERYTHING… Make sure that the water heater works, awning, drains, internal heater, water pump, all the taps, bog etc etc. Obviously you’ll do the usual things like oil, tyres, brakes, steering, lights etc but check that all the stuff inside the ‘home’ works or you’ll be spending a lot of time or money fixing little things.
Ours is a little on the large side but we both have our own vehicles so this will be only used for biking/family holidays. You might want to consider something smaller if it’s going to be a second car too.
My advice wouldn’t be to hire one for a week at around £800! Instead do your research, don’t buy a dud and you’ll probably get your money back.

The Griffin Survivor case makes my iPad twice it’s normal weight and is ugly and completely hides the lovely looks of the tablet itself.
I use mine in the field (literally!) so the case protects the tablet from mud/cow dung/dust/dew/champagne etc, my kids use it with sticky/greasey fingers and are pretty rough with it and yet with the cover on I can still use all of the buttons/ports. I also like the stand feature and the fact that because of the material the cover is made from, I can put it down on a surface (like a car dashboard) and not worry about it sliding off…
Horses for courses I guess. I bought an iPad to use it – in any given situation.

Griffin Survivor.
Bloody awesome and worth the money and hopefully means that my iPad2 will last longer than it would have without it.

Got thrown out of a music lesson at school for farting…
I can’t remember what I used to eat back in the day, but I was a prolific farter. It was always hilarious for me and anyone else not in direct contact with the fumes.
I’d like to think I’ve grown up, but I still find farting funny.

Was she wearing a helmet?

What will he do when he retires?
More money than I the average mere mortal could cope with…
A beautiful wife…
More talent in his turds than most people I know have in their bodies…

He’ll probably move back to Kurri Kurri and moan about how rubbish it is. At least this time his moan will be spot on!

St Austell Tribute.
Not as nice as Spitfire…

I had an A6 and I sometimes drive my parents Mazda 6. There is no comparison when you sit in them.
A6 all day long.

I use Motorola GP300’s at work. Probably overkill for what you’re after, but if you can get a set of secondhand ones from eBay, they’re awesome. Batteries can be bought on eBay too.
If you buy individual ones, make sure you are able to tune them all to the same frequency as getting this done can be expensive.

Good for you.
Karma will have its day.

I have a mate who fits Reimo conversions on T5’s and a neighbour who bought a cheaper interior. Needless to say, the fitter condemned my neighbours shiny 59-plate T5 by saying “I wouldn’t put my kids in there”.
You pays your money and you makes your choice, but I’d go for the TUV approved crash tested ones rather than the ones being held in by penny washers…

Danny MacAskill
Small fry compared to the world renowned names above, but I’ve seen other boxers, footballers do some pretty cool things but I think WOW every time I watch the MacAskill videos and they genuinely blows my mind!

If you previous trailer felt like it was going to lift a Volvo estate off the ground you must have had it badly loaded. Slight bias towards the front, probably 50kg – 75kg max over your hitch would be about right.
As far as the small ones are concerned, they are a bit of a pain, especially when you can’t see them in your mirrors. They are also much easier to jacknife the shorter the distance between the trailer wheels and the hitch.
Fiamma / Thule roof box?

I used a 2-man auger with a ‘work’ colleague who I couldn’t stand…
He was much bigger and taller than me and as the ground was dry and hard we had to really grip the bars and I had my torso pushing on the bar to really get stuck in.
We hit a rock/root and the auger started to spin me like a round-a-bout for a short time.
But I was leaning over the bar with it wedged in my stomach. Being taller and heavier he was a bit more relaxed before it hit the rock. When the bar began spinning on his side, it went straight out of his hands and straight into his nuts.
I’m not sure I’ve laughed so hard since! He went down like a sack of spuds and wasn’t able to stand for quite some time. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.

Keep north Wales and give them the Isle of Sheppy

Definitely get first in the queue, otherwise you will be stuck behind people who think Go Ape is like leaving Base camp at Everest…

Good fun and I think good value for money. We’ve done Bedgebury and Leeds Castle, both in Kent and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Also did segways in Bracknell Forrest last week, which was a laugh. None of it will set your hair on fire like going down a black run too fast for your talent level, but it is good family fun none the less.

UPDATE
After being fobbed off with “up to 13 weeks” for an appointment, a neighbour/doctor/biker got me an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon last Monday who operated two days later. Apparently I’d busted 3 ligaments with 2 being completely detached at one end. I’m in a wrist plaster cast for a week and then I get a smaller thumb/strapped cast next week. He also ‘wired’ the main ligament in a belt and braces way to make sure I don’t ruin his surgery as I do a manual job. I’ve been advised that he’ll give me yet another cast after the wire is taken out in 4 weeks to protect it while I’m working. No biking for another 7 weeks sucks and the turbo trainer does not exactly fill me with joy!!!
It blood hurts! Co codamol is my best friend right now!
I should make a full recovery in time, but there is a chance I may have tingling permanently or it may not actually attach, but the surgeon seems to think the op went well…
I’ll keep you updated and thanks for the replies…

Spitfire Hot Air Balloon
This is how big 17 400 00 pints of Spitfire looks…

There’s a kayak club in Guildford that have their own kayaks that you can try on the Wey…

This sounds like an attempt by my wife to find out what really happened in Vegas.
Sorry love, tour rules apply.

Only two things smell of fish.

Grips are not all the same! Perhaps that’s why Chain Reaction stock over 300 different ones and that’s just the manufacturers they use…
Grips should all be the interface between your hands and your bars, but how they do that depends on the shape, size, thickness, surface, materials used and the process that is used to manufacture them. The colour is obviously REALLY important, but I could always change my bike to match, if I found the right grips…
Has anyone used the Griddle Grips?

Depending on how old your kids are, have you considered a kayak (sit-on) instead?

Depending on how old your kids are, have you considered a kayak (sit-on) instead?

They’re EVERYWHERE!!! When motorway journeys are just getting too much for the kids to cope with, just exit the motorway, pull over, search for nearby caches and let them go wandering for half an hour!
I reluctantly purchased the full App and I don’t regret it at all.

Bring out the alter-ego. If you are Tina, it will be OK to read the manual!

I got quoted £750 for a week,so after a coupe of years including diesel/tax/servicing I think we’d get our money back…

Neal, what have you got and what would you change?

I think I’d use it a lot for kayaking/biking weekends away, as well as sneaky half term trips with the family…