Snaps is truly the top source for all local knowledge!

Sorry to Hijack – Snaps, How much were the bearings for your HT2 bb that you got from Eryks?

Am I right in thinking you believe you may have had a stroke and would rather ask people about it on the internet than go to a hospital? :roll:

Saints alive! Are there any more questions regarding SSC pads? Lets have a run down of the possible answers:

they fall apart
they don’t fall apart
they squeal
they don’t squeal
I like them
I don’t like them
They’re cheap
buy cheap, buy twice
etc
etc
etc

I can tell you that the surf is not shit. The locals area also not shit at dropping in on you and then punching you in the face.

I need my car for work 3 days a week as I have to travel about the community for outpatient clinics, although I’m trying to reschedule my clinics so I can cycle betweeen them on one of these days. I cycle into the office on the other 2 days (the ride in is 14 miles through some beautiful Devon countryside and includes a 1:6 climb/descent).

I love the idea of being able to cycle into the office and then jump into a shared motor. I’m not sure about an electric monkey bike for my 120mile round trip to Exeter/Plymouth/Exmouth for meetings though – makes me think of the moped scene in Dumb & Dumber.

Oh, don’t forget to tell eveytone that the NHS also offers an excellent Stop Smoking service. :D

I’d say Julian has it pretty spot on. He’s certainly covered everything I’d suggest. How about having a local shop mechanic come in a do free bike servicing for a day?

I work for a PCT and am getting involved with obtaining bike facilities for our office building. We presently have a really nice shower but nowhere secure to lock bikes and store kit. I keep my shiny new road bike in the office (much to my manager’s displeasure) and have to leave wet, stinky lycra all over the place. There are a few people from my team who cycle in now and again, but it’s probably to be expected as we work in health promotion and aer a fairly healthy bunch.

Devon PCT, in conjunction with the council, have been running cycle courses for adults for about a year now. They’ve been really popular apparently, although I don’t know much about the content.

The hair thing is apparently quite important for the ladies (and probably all those metrosexual men in That London). I read an article in Cycling Plus recently that stated (from a research article) bad hair was the primary reason women wouldn’t cycle to work and wear helmets.

I’d say the reign doesn’t offer any real benefit for UK trails and just adds a butt-load of weight and slower geometry. Trance X would be my choice of the two (I have a 4″ trance – my second – and I love it).

kissing cousins?

see sponging machine off of here thats what he does for a job

What, smoke fags?

Cool…

Just made me laugh a lot. :lol:

As has been mentioned twice now, I have a specialist interest in smoking cessation and run the NHS Stop Smoking Service for North Devon. If you’d like to have an informal chat, please feel free to call me on 07966 9one4462.

As you don’t live in North Devon (we’d probably have met if you did), I could refer you to your local stop smoking service (if appropriate). Our service is free and confidential, so the missus need never know, unless you choose to tell her!

21st March – I’m on board. There’ll be a few of the Plymouth lot keen too, I’d imagine.

I’m keen, but has a date actually been decided? I’m holidaying for the 1st two weeks of March and racing in Plymouth on the 15th. Anytime after that and I’m on board.

New bearings all round then!

What particularly bugs me about Shimano stuff is the fact that you can’t replace the bearings in a HT2 BB. £50 for some cheap bearings and a couple of aluminium shells is just bonkers!
Better for them to sell a whole new unit. Better for consumers and environment to just replace the worn bit.

‘Cos her hands are tied by lots of ‘bright ideas’ from politicians in That London who seem to think that setting targets mean better patient care.

I had a little session on Tuesday in Barnstaple. Found an old lengh og pipe knocking about so just played around on that for the afternoon. First time I’ve ridden a snowboard in 5 years and seems to have given me the bug again.

I went there on a snowboard trip about 5 years ago. We got a really good deal on flights and hotel (£7 per night B&B) as it was January and out of season. Everything else was crazy money though. I payed ~£24 for a pizza and coke. Ended up having to pinch enough food from the breakfast buffet to last the whole day. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to jump the barrier for the ski-lifts (local hills have a brilliant park, by the way).

As far as cities go, it was okay, but I muched prefered Stockholm(which has the highest concentration of hot women I’ve ever come across).

It’s spelt paediatric (unless you’re American).

Bodyboards are great until you break your arm (past experience).

Just follow it through for a BS180. SWEET!

I’ve a mate who may be keen to swap his Bomber 88s for a pair of Pikes. Email me if you’d be interested.

Maybe it’d be good to do a 12 before doing a 24hr to get an idea. If you’re going to be totally alone, come and have bbq at the trail snails super-camp.

It could be argued that the choice to smoke is actually removed from the smoker once an addiction has been established (normally around 6 fags). It is still legal, as is driving a car. However, there is a purpose to most car journeys, while smoking remains a purely irrational pursuit. Obesity does present a huge burden to the NHS and society as a whole, which is why so much money and time is being invested in treatment and prevention. Still, the point of this thread wasn’t to debate whether people should smoke or not but to ask how people are coping with their quit attempt.

Don’t be mad with Rudeboy or any other smokers. Get mad with the tobacco companies and their manipulation of a large section of society.

Never mind Haldon and Exeter. How about some all-weather trails in North Devon (mainly ones that don’t turn to clay at a hint of moisture)!

Also, when did Haldon start charging? I was there a couple of weeks ago and no-one asked me for money, although I never use the car park.

Further to Millsonwheels’ post, I’m the Stop-Smoking Specialist for the NHS in North Devon.

The thing with smoking is that it’s a hugely complex addiction that affects people in different ways, meaning there’s no specific ‘right way’ to give up. People will always tell you that they tried this and that but the way they gave up is the only way to do it. The fact is, that’s the only way THEY could do it. You’re an individual with specific needs.

What everyone’s got right on here though is that you really have to want to give up. I meet a number of people who try and give up because they know they should, but don’t really want to. This is particularly common with pregnant women, a lot of whom start smoking again once the baby’s born.

The purpose of my role is to offer an objective view of people’s addictions, , and provide evidence-based advice and planning. Coming from a medical background, I also have a thorough knowledge of smoking-related disease. It’s definately not my job to tell you what to do or make you feel guilty if you don’t succeed. If you want to speak to someone like myself, then call the national helpline on 0845 169 0169. The number for your local service can also be found on the gosmokefree website.

With regards to your specific post, it sounds like you’re not too happy that you had that one, although it’s a good sign that you didn’t really enjoy it. Giving up smoking is very much a learning experience. I’d suggest you reflect on this and use it to plan for similar situations in the future (unless you’re never going to have a drink again). Otherwise, just keep up the good work.

For the folks who say they’re not bothered ’til they coughing their guts up, it’s worth remembering that smoking doesn’t just affect the respiratory system. The multitude of toxins in cigarette smoke affect every cell in the body (bladder cancer is a right laugh). And if you are smoking when you’re out riding, please take your fag butts home with you. :wink:

I’d be cautious with mobile broadband. I’m with Orange and it’s awful. So much slower than my parents’ dial-up. This is apparently because I live in a rural area and, according to their customer service dept, to be expected. It appears the Westcountry doesn’t get any kind of 3G cover, except in Taunton, Exeter and Plymouth (it’s still pretty ropey there). If you live in a big city, it’s probably really good.

It’s also slowed down considerably over the last couple of months. I’m informed this is due to an increase in users. Again, I’m told this is my problem and not theirs.

I’ve spent hours on the phone trying to cancel my contract but am never able to speak to anybody who can help. I wrote and emailed them yesterday morning, telling them I’m going to cancel my DD at the end of the month unless someone rings me. 36hours later and I’ve still heard nothing.

I’m on Orange mobile brodband and it’s f*cking useless! Spoke to someone at their tech-dept who told me that nowhere in North Devon can actually get a 3G service. Been trying for months to get out of it but because I’m able to download something (hotmail takes ~7-9mins to open), I’m receiving a sufficient service.

W*ankers!

I’m in the middle of building a new one. 08 frame with 09 Rebas and the stuff off my old trance. piccies to be posted when it’s done.

Knocked rugby on the head before I got any major injuries. Used to snowboard a lot (few seasons in the Swiss Alps) but going for 1 week a year just doesn’t appeal anymore.

Nowadays, it’s surfing, bodyboarding and road cycling. Thinking of joining the local surf life-saving club for some paddleboard racing this Spring.

Creg, whereabouts do you surf? Interesting to see you’re a sponger too.

I’m the Stop Smoking Specialist for the NHS in North Devon. I like it a lot (but would rather be riding/surfing).

If anyone wants to stop smoking, I’m your man!

…and no, I’ve never smoked; and no, I don’t need to know what it’s like to quit smoking to be an effective clinician.

CRC are selling ’05 Handjobs in 21″ for £200. Nearly went for one myself but picked ud a new trance nice and cheap.

I also really like the look of the Kinesis Maxlight xc>120. 54cm/21.5″ could be ideal for your lad as it has a relatively short TT (24″/60cm). Really nice looking too, especially in blue.

This is on a ’05 Trance, so maybe Fox have changed the seals since. Gonna sell the frame so I’m happy to give the shock a service beforehand anyway.

Can I ask why the rag helps? Do I have to clamp the ends in the vice or something?

Steel hardtails with a Deore groupset for everybody!

I recently got a Garmin eTrex Legend. I only wanted one to give me information on routes, rather than worrying about HR, cadence, etc. and it’s been really good. Didn’t take me long to figure out how it works and was esy to configure to memory map too. Garmin also offer all the upgrade software and manuals on their website, even though they don’t make them anymore.

I got mine cheap off ebay, but had to spend an extra couple of quid on a serial to USB convertor. All in though, cost me less than £60 for the whole package. I’m really happy with it.

The only problem I did have was that it kept turing itself off if I rode over really rough ground. Easily cured by sticking a thin strip of inner tube onto the back of the battery cover.

mboy, that would be great. Email me your phone number and I’ll give you a call. There’ll probably be about 5-6 of us coming.