Soon you’ll be holidaying in Vagnas. You need to remember about sheets and bathtowels. They can offer you a housekeeper for 120 Euros. You need to call one of the listed numbers on Thursday to arrange for keys to be handed over.
See you soon…

I think that’s the gist of it… sure someone who didn’t fluff their French A level will be along to correct me soon…

My main concern is that unless you really tie down permissions you don’t really have control of downstream sharing of data.

That said I actually find it useful myself for simple transfer of large (size or volume), non sensitive files – a case in point being last year when we had a guy scouting properties in France and transferring photos back to us.

Horses for courses really – fine for transfer of non critical data between people you trust.

I’ve got reservations but have not blocked it here (yet). I always make people aware of the security issues when they ask for it but I’ve only had a couple so far, and they’re generally the ones I’d trust to use it sensibly.

Never met him but it feels like losing a mate. I’ve avidly read his books since I was about 14 or 15. Really don’t think there is another contemporary writer who can touch him for imagination, use of language and sheer bloody good storytelling. I love them all particularly the family sagas (Wasp Factory, Crow Road and Garbadale).

We did a bike tour of the Western Isles a few years back – I had a copy of Raw Spirit in my panniers and it was our nightly guide to the whisky we’d drink at the end of each days riding.

Will be sadly missed…

“The point is, there is no feasible excuse for what we are, for what we have made of ourselves. We have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality, dividends before decency, fanaticism before fairness, and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others”

Sounds like it may be a bit tight to get in the basket unless it’s in a thin sleeve but guess you could strap a laptop case across the top of it though?

I quite fancy the rear rack for my commuter 1×1.

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-the-payload-rear-rack-1135-p.asp

Blackburn front pannier rack here for £20, but you’ll need the eyelets on the fork leg.

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/584725/products/Blackburn-MTF-1-front-pannier-rack—silver.aspx?origin=pla?kwd=&gclid=CMzpioDd27cCFRMPtAodAV4AQQ

Might still be pricy but I rather like the look of these though:

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-portland-design-works-takeout-basketrack–bag-1245-p.asp

Looks like they just bolt onto the bars.

Funny, I never get any crap in the water- even at the odd notorious Spanish and Portugese break I’ve surfed. Maybe it’s because I’m pretty easy going and always say hello in the local language, or maybe it’s because I’m 6’3″ hairy arsed old bloke.

I don’t really get any crap as such – it’s just the unfriendliness of some other surfers. They tend to be the try-hard types who think they’re ‘core but actually struggle to catch a wave. Very few of them are locals.

If I paddle out anywhere I’ll always try to be friendly and respectful of other folk in the water and at least acknowledge them by saying Hi or passing comment about the conditions etc. All too often in the South West you’re met with a stony stare if not ignored completely. North coast is worst for that in my opinion – tends to be a bit more chilled further west in Cornwall and in West Wales.

As Jam Bo says, early morning and evening surfs are the only times I’d consider at busier spots.

Oh and for the OP’s benefit, in case you haven’t already picked it up, the 26er v 29er debate is nothing compared to shortboards v longboards! Personally I’ve got a foot in both camps but some people seem to get themselves really agitated about it.

It seems to have got worse in the last few years…especially in the summer months. One of the reasons I prefer to get up very early to get a break to myself.

Can be brutally addictive if you get the bug properly. I know people who’ve given up work / partners etc to move to the coast to surf regularly.

I took it up in my late 20s and am now lucky enough to live in the SW with any number of breaks within an hour or so drive. I get in pretty regularly but nowhere near as often as I’d like to due to work and family commitments.

I don’t think the skiing analogy mentioned above really works for surfing – to get to a good standard you need to put in a hell of a lot of water time, be prepared to travel – a week or two a year really won’t cut it, and you have to be prepared on occasion to have a lot of really frustrating sessions due to the vagaries of weather, tides and your own ability (or lack of it).

I’d still class myself as an enthusiastic intermediate even after all these years and still spend some sessions foundering in the soup but still love it.

The good sessions you’ll have will really stay with you forever. My best memories include surfing with seals on a solo winter session off Sennen Cove, riding Famara in Lanzarote in beautifully shaped overhead clean waves in January in a shortie, catching an absolute freight train of a wave and riding it for what seemed like ages during a dawn session at Rhosilli after a big storm…biting off more than I could chew off Lacanau… the surreal experience of riding my longboard for a full mile upriver just outside Gloucester on the Severn Bore. All priceless memories which made all the freezing changes in windblown carparks, washing machine hold-downs, ice-cream headaches and crap days in sub 1ft slop worthwhile.

Enjoy, but as the saying goes, be careful…it could change everything :wink:

The Big Apples work find offroad in the dry for non techie stuff if you run them at a lower pressure.

Another option would be Conti Race Kings perhaps…not sure how they are in 26″ flavour, but on my 29er they are surprisingly fast rolling on the road for such a huge tyre,

Schwalbe Big Apples?

As above. If its carbonised it’s wrong. I use our Weber year round even if we eat inside. Absolutely best way to cook a steak and I do a killer chargrilled aubergine and pepper risotto so it’s not even just about meat.

LMT – Railway options are a good call. I worked in the industry for 10 years (on the IT and Engineering side for NR) – certainly on the TOC (Train Operating Company) performance management and retail sides of the business there are lots of transferable skills from what you do currently.

In some parts of the country they struggle to fill some vacancies since the rail industry, for a number of mainly historical reasons, is not seen as a desirable employer outside of the traditional engineering and operational roles. My experience was that if you’ve got a bit of nous about you, there are loads of opportunities to learn and progress.

I’m not sure where in the country you are looking but NR in particular is going through a huge transformation at the moment with a lot of offices relocating and centralising – this has actually led to a bit of glut of vacancies as a lot of folk have chosen to take early retirement / redundancy. Worth a look perhaps?

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/10846.aspx?JobSearchCriteria=%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c%7c0%7c%7cFull+Time%7c%7c

Beautiful morning here…. first opportunity to ride into work for a few weeks. Lovely morning to be out for a ride.

..or you could just keep on carrying a 26″ tube. They work fine on 29ers.

Links to earlier threads on this very subject….

Between Dartmoor and Exmoor….

Haldon Bike Park / Dartmoor

We were looking at these last week – seem like a reasonable spec for the price although I suspect the RRP is a little on the creative side:

http://www.millets.co.uk/activities/108330-vango-horizon-sleeping-bag.html

Another Travel Contact fan here…. they’re a bit heavy but pretty much bombproof. Bought some for both our bikes for a Hebridean tour 4 years ago and both sets are still going strong without a single puncture in all that time.

We will leverage the task-loading deficit in the delivery phase to flatten the engagement curve

Had genuinely forgotten how good it can be… Weacombe in particular was riding brilliantly – never ridden it that fast on a rigid bike.

Lay off the brakes if you can. Try to keep a bit of speed on the approach to a rooty section – Attack position – weight back, arms loose, pedals at quarter to 3 and heels down a bit. Try to unweight the bike and float it rather than drive the front end through the roots which will only end in tears.

Heading south after coming off the A30 at Whiddon Down there is a great view of East Dartmoor (Kes Tor, Meldon etc) which opens up as the road drops down into the Teign valley. Always a genuine heart in mouth moment after I’ve been away.

In the lakes there are some gentler routes around Claife Heights or fire road routes in Grizedale with great views of Coniston etc.

Family route at Coed Y Brenin is really good with plenty of interest en route – lovely rivers, waterfalls, old gold mine etc.

EDIT Carbone’s link above is the one I was thinking about at Claife

@edlong – yeah, that was one of my concerns with a wider trailer.

flowerpower – Thanks, if we were coming up your way to tour then I’d take you up on that!

The Skidii trailer seems to get pretty good reviews on Amazon at least:

I may take a punt…

I don’t think EBC do them anymore unfortunately. There are a couple of similar ones on ebay, but they’re a good bit heavier etc:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-SKIIDDII-SINGLE-WHEEL-CARGO-BICYCLE-BIKE-TRAILER-FREE-BAG-/160746899907?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item256d4309c3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SINGLE-WHEELED-MONO-CARGO-TRAILER-WITH-WATER-PROOF-STORAGE-BAG-/271168202269?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item3f22e2661d

+1 for pressure sensor. We had a recurring problem with the warning light reappearing in our Octavia Scout a few months after our DPF was replaced under warranty at 80K.

We rang Skoda Assist who sent a tech around to our house and he replaced it there and then for £50 (we paid upfront as it avoided us having to take it into the garage for a warranty fix). He advised that the OEM version of the exhaust pressure sensors was prone to water ingress causing faulty readings.

We travelled with bikes by train from Kent to Oban and then by ferry out to the Western Isles for a 10 day tour a few years back. It wasn’t without some challenges (we missed our first connection due to a delayed train on the first leg from Kent to Victoria which then had a knock on for the rest of the journey…) but was great fun to do.

We travelled during the day as we got return tickets for around £65 by booking ahead. Flying is definitely quicker but you do have to factor in the faff factor of having to be at the airport early (and getting there in the first place!), queuing etc – all that drives me up the wall and even with multiple delays our journey wasn’t too bad at all – we left home in Kent around 9am and were in the pub in Oban, having checked into the B&B, by around 9pm in the evening. Read etc on the way up so it was all quite relaxing and very scenic for the last bits in particular – we went up via Edinburgh on the ECML and then came back down the West Coast. Probably best for a longer trip though…

I’ve travelled on a separate occasion to Fort William on the sleeper (without bikes) and it is a great experience if you like train travel – we had a few beers and a meal in London after work on the Friday, hopped on the train around 11pm – had a couple more drinks in the bar before bed and then woke up the next morning to breakfast on the West Highland Line. If you’re organised you can get bargain berths – see links below:

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/caledonian-sleeper-bargain-berths.html
http://www.simonvarwell.co.uk/2011/07/six-ways-to-get-scotrail-sleeper-bargain-berth-tickets/

In both cases, booking ahead and ensuring you’ve reserved spaces for your bikes is the key thing.

EDIT: Regarding costs, remember you’ll also need to add in airport parking / other travel to airport, car hire or train / taxi fares when you get there, and a suitable bike bag if you don’t already have one and can’t borrow one.

Seen this done quite a few times, although mainly to convert MTBs for road use. 700c wheels with skinny tyres are going to be a similar diameter to 26″ knobblies so it probably won’t mess up the handling all that much.

Remember rear hub spacing may be different for 700C wheels though.

Interesting how few of these have gears.

<drool>

In previous guise. Now sports Midge dirt drops for extra niche points…

Mind you, the lada was fun in a perverse sort of way.

Folks had a couple of Rivas. I loved them as a kid.. felt like you were driving around in a tank. Always fancied a Niva after hiring a soft top one on holiday in Greece.

Had a couple of bangers from the age of about 14 to learn about engines and mess around in the fields and on the farm tracks where I grew up. First was a ’65 Morris Minor – lovely car, surprisingly fun to drive, and very comfy inside. Picked up for £50 from a mate of my Dads. Intended to be first proper car when I passed my test but sadly needed too much work….would be worth a fair bit now. Got swapped for a ’73 Cortina estate in bright yellow with a brown vinyl roof which was known as the flying banana and was truly vile. Again expired well before I passed my test.

First proper car of my own was another Cavalier – a silver 1987 1.6L handed down from my Dad. Really nothing special now but as above, loved that car – comfy, loads of room and could be hustled along pretty well. Not been a fan of anything they’ve done since though.

Car I loved the most (apart from my current T4) and the one I most regret selling on was my Red ’92 Golf Mk II Driver. Just such a solid car, with bags of character and also great to drive. My father in law took it off our hands with 190K on the clock when we “upgraded” to a Mk IV (which I never really got on with), only for it to get nicked and totalled a couple of months later…I almost cried. Would have another tomorrow if I could afford it.

Graig Wen is a great spot on the Mawddach Estuary – incredible views, close to the coast, handy for CyB, Mach and you can ride Cadair Idris from the site. Also right on the Mawddach trail – nice pub a few minutes ride upriver, or you can head across the bridge to Barmouth in the other.

Pretty sure they allow fires in the lower field (Great composting loo with a view!). Also have Yurts and self catering accommodation on site.

Home

What about one of these?:

http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/drybags-lightweight-3l.html

Some cracking prices on the bigger bags too.

If you keep an eye out a last generation, Surly Karate Monkey frame would be an ideal platform. Quite retro geometry, canti studs included and more fun than a bucket of kittens.

Heres mine – not properly retro as I’m running disks.

Not much decent offroad locally but the Tarka Trail is jolly nice for a pootle, and you can link up a few more challenging routes with it with a bit of plotting.

Bear in mind you’re only just over an hour from Dartmoor though if you fancied a day trip over this way.

Snow here on Dartmoor overnight. Princetown got a fair covering overnight.

Cougar – Moderator
Poor attempt at a troll…
…
FWIW I’m an only child.
You appear to be finding criticism hard to take… (-:

;-) I think it’s my constant search for positive affirmation that I’m worried about more.

Bobbin Birdie looks lovely (retro lugged frame) and seems to get positive reviews. Reasonable too.

http://www.bobbinbikes.co.uk/wordpress/