I have nothing I like about my physical self, absolutely nothing. Inside, yea I think I have some good traits, but those are probably just the bare minimum needed to be a nice enough person.

Tesco wrapping paper.

Highlight for me is on two wheels, just not quite the regular. First trackday at Pembrey is my pick, and bike related picking up my new Ripmo AF back in Feb. I was back racing this year but no action photos of that unfortunately.

Me at Pembrey Circuit by Colin[/url], on Flickr

IMG_4230edit by Colin[/url], on Flickr

It’s been a solid year. Globally I think we finish around 25% up on orders in, but about 15% on sales. Still a bit of a backlog due to the supply issues. Personally I’ve just finished ahead of target as I got lucky with a few nice orders going out in the last couple of months. Will be the first time in a few years. Very much up and down in our industry. Next year will be more of a challenge I think.

I was a member of an MTB club when I moved here. They seem to be very clicky affairs, you’re either one of them or you’re not. Just joined one here in Congleton and first impressions are much more positive. You need good ride leaders, people who can ride with all abilities. Can’t say much about registering with BC/CUK etc. Membership costs, well I’d say it needs to be enough for people to commit, but be affordable and attractive. Whar the are members going to get back from their membership? If it’s just lead rides then the appeal wears off quickly. Good luck.

I’ve spent most of the last 5-10 years regularly thinking of the past and all the memories that carries. I think it’s because I’m lacking a lot in my current life, whether it be through relationships or doing the things you usually enjoy. Music tends to pull at the heartstrings easily. Probably why I still listen to dance/trance music, it makes me think of my teens and all the things that were happening in my life then.

My life has hugely changed since I moved to England. Parents getting ill, growing apart from family and friends, and work being a different challenge.

It feels like there is no opportunity left to have a happy life and no I’m just seeing out the years. Is that how it feels?

Just come home last night from being away this weekend. We set the heating to come on for an hour in the morning and in the evening. New record low of 10.4 in my office over the weekend. This morning it is 11.5 outside and it was only 12 inside. Even now with the heating on for an hour it is not climbing much. Beginning to wonder if there is an issue with the house other than the leaking garage…

EON is telling us we have used £172 worth of gas in the last two weeks since the last meter reading. Considering we never have it on all day only in the mornings and evenings for a couple of hours, I’m miffed. Though it could be an error as they have continually buggered up our last two bills. Our statment is page on page of credits, refunds and debits. It’s all over the place. They have no idea what causes it all. I thought I’d never deal with a company as incompetent as EE, but EON are charging to the top.

Whats teh EPC rating?

It’s 84, so pretty good. There is a decent internal door to the garage that seems to be sealed well, even with a draught exluder at the bottom. Sticking some seal strips is a short term fix. I’ll look into getting an insulated door for next winter.

He definitely needs to take that to the police. Shouldn’t be too difficult to trace the owners. Scary scenes.

Those are my thoughts. To be fair, I’ve just been to the car and it’s currently -8.

Well our brand new 4 bed detached with internal garage is certainly not what we expected when it comes to keeping warm.

I think we are bleeding heat from the garage door. There is a 10-15mm gap on the sides. The hallway thermostat dropped to 9 deg C last night, and my office which is upstairs and at the end opposite side of the house dropped to 12. With the heating on for a few hours we struggle to get it up to 18 with the rads wide open. The bedroom above the garage was 10 last night. I’m off to B&Q later to buy some insulation strips to try and solve the garage door issue.

Yip, that’s been me since around the end of October. Not felt 100% since then, just a long drawn out thing. Mostly manifested itself with headaches, aches and sore throat. Covid tests have been negative. It hasn’t affected my ability to exercise though, so that’s a good thing at least.

Weird…. this happened to me on a night ride last week. Clipped a tree on the side of a shoot, and hit the deck. Very sore for a couple of days and still have some pain. Getting better everyday though but when I sneeze or cough it is pretty painful. Mine is confined to a small area though.

We usually end up about £200-£300 in credit after summer. Just moved so it will take a few months to settle.

Very sad day for aviation. They will be still be flying for years to come thankfully.

It hasn’t been painted yet for anyone wondering why it’s green.

Well if they can get to the bottom of what is really bothering you, then give it a go.

If not and it’s just textbook rubbish, then it’s not going to work. I’ve had several rounds. None helped.

What is really bothering you? Most stuff I get angry and stressed about isn’t actually the cause of the anger and stress. It just manifests itself as everyday problems.

I’m saying nothing!

Thanks Mick. Yes, I have been in touch with the Congleton MTB club on Facebook. I will likely join up.

I’m going to head over to Macc Forest in the morning with plans to do a bigger ride over towards Errwood, but I struggle route over there. I’m trying to figure a way from Errwood back up to the Cat’nFiddle which isn’t on the road. Then descend down Cumberland Brook and back into Macc to finish. It’s bloody complicated riding in this country!

Couple of short trials, nothing much to write home about, but nice to have them local to me. I’d imagine it will be a mudbath at the moment. I was there about a month or so ago before this recent spell of rain.

I was thinking of heading over to Macc Forest actually, but would like to suss out some riding from the door. Getting to Bosley Cloud is only 3/4 miles for me so no big deal.

I have one of those, it’s a white/red colourway from 2019. Nice bike, fairly comfortable. The 105 groupset is still going strong after 3200 miles. Currently sporting some mudguards and Conti GT’s for a bit more protection in the winter.

Aaron Ramsey is rubbish.

I hope this helps.

Yip, scentwork. Most of the time when we feed him we hide it around the house and he loves finding it. In the summer it gets hidden in the garden (I know that doesn’t help you now) and it can take him half an hour to find it all. Some good play time, tug of war, and getting them to learn a new trick will stimulate them really well.

The officiating has been really bad so far in that regard. Thought the same in the England game with the Iran keeper.

Argentina have been poor.

That was a serious smash there at the end, hope the player is okay. They fully deserve the win here.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Poetry is shit.

Stcolin showing they no little about football and probably just on the anti-england bandwagon

So my little opinion on the internet means I know nothing about football and hate England?

I’d like to see England do well, and Wales. I like a lot of the players. It was great to see them make the Euro final.

Can you come every game St Colin and comment about how shit we are, if that’s the effect 😉 ?

Sure no problem, I can easily manage that ;)

I am pleased for those young lads.

Only scored one and made one, what is he playing at?

This is his 18th cap?

Glad I have this on mute, the sound of Micah Richards losing the run of himself during the break is cringeworthy.

Yea, that was an absolute farce.

England are so utterly boring to watch, is there a team that plays the ball backwards as much as they do? And I’m not basing that all on the first 30 minutes of this match, I notice it any time I watch them. Also, Jude Bellingham, I really don’t get the hype so far he’s given it away and had poor touches.

Well that didn’t age well did it!

I got Ecuador in the work sweepstake. So that’s the final nail in the coffin.

Well maybe my lowly FTP of 210W says a lot then (according to Zwift). I do get the point though, I just need to keep riding at those low zones and it will sort itself out in the end.

Interesting video. I do sometimes find them a little condescending, but then these riders are what I would class as pro-am at the very least.

I turned 40 last month, and I feel I wasted my 30’s not getting fit enough to see me through the next 20/30 years of riding. I worry that I can’t get fitter at this stage, or at the very least it takes a serious effort compared to doing it 10 years ago.

My other thing, about Z1/Z2 rides. For him and the likes of him, he can do more on his ride than me. I would literally need to ride at 12mph on the flat to stay in those zones and that’s not easy even on the flats around Cheshire. I bet he can get quite a few climbs in and do 16mph+ and stay in those low zones.

Would quite like a new TV, but think we’ll just wait.

amtico/karndean flooring

We have that in the new house. Hate it, absolute bugger to clean, stains really easily.

I still can’t see anyone touching City this year. We’re top now, but it’s only a matter of time before we start to slip. I think we will be battling for the top 4 spot by March.

How long is a piece of string. I’ve done two. Second one was much better after getting a few things wrong on the first one. Listen to your body. Mix up your training. I swapped a couple of long runs with MTB rides. Stretch. And keep stretching. Do some core strength stuff. Generally most plans will mix all the different paces and distance building up over the weeks and months. Maybe fire in a half marathon somewhere, and a few 10ks. If you’re doing a 1:30 half you should manage to get close to a 3:15 marathon. I ran a 3:23 with a 1:32 half during training.

I’d love to do more, but arthritis in my knee says no. Do it while you can.

My Octavia iV plug-in hybrid has been on order since late September. I believe Skoda has stopped taking orders for the plug-in hybrid indefinitely. Supply issues continue to bite hard. Lease company said 6 months delivery, but it’s looking like that was pie in the sky. Skoda forums are suggesting it’s more like 18 months.

Things have really moved on, I have an old Joystick for helmet use that is 400 lumens!

Well it appears I share something in common with most on this thread. I’ve made matters worse now I’ve moved a bit further south. I really need to make a more serious effort to ride over this winter. I have the gear, I just need to do it.

Anyone here live near Congleton?