not a direct answer but…. i remember reading about Arctic convoys in WW2. Sailors got really constipated by the extreme cold and the best answer they seemed to find was a warm bath to relax their innards….

The Youth Hostel nr Hawkshead is good – plenty of rides from the door and only a short walk into the pubs… get a group card (our club uses ours every year)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/969116_10152532020076729_425216321_n.jpg

Manchester Airport earlier today….

450 is roughly my average reading. i used to be reasonably fast (and slim, but that’s another matter…) and currently i’m 5’6″ 85 kg *cough* which doesn’t help…

the nurse lives literally down the road, cycles and runs and was very good explaining that SMART might improve my peak flow…. – had a test last week and apparently my lungs may not be getting ordinary inhalers all the way to the bottom, but the turbohaler dry powder may do a better job…

oh, and Harry Potter World makes Universal worth a visit – our family tended to like Disney more than Universal, but plenty of families with teenagers prefer it the other way. Seaworld can be good, and Cape Canaveral is worth a punt….

Worth visiting at Christmas if you have kids or am s/o into M.Mouse & co…. We’ve done 4 trips and the Parks put 110% into it. If you go with Virgin you can sort everything out with them. Appts near both sets of Parks or stay “on site” if you’re not bothered with driving as Disney do free shuttle busses around the parks/hotels all day.

Americans seem to go @ Christmas & Easter. Try the end of May if you like Star Wars as Disney’s Studio site has a SW weekender. Brits also get 2 weeks tickets for the price of 1 for the parks usually.

There’s a Brits Guide to Florida which is worth reading….

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brit-Guide-Orlando-2014-Guides/dp/0572044194

– you might find a copy in your local library maybe????

he’s an old hand in disguise and will be missed when he escapes :(

we were stopped in traffic @ Braddan Bridge whilst they were puttering past – sounds like fun….

well worth a trip over “here” – bring your bike and some earplugs and rennies…. fair number of work colleagues (and my FiL and from that my s/o) came here because of the Races….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p01np1b8/Sherlock_Series_3_Sherlock_Mini_Episode_Many_Happy_Returns/

if you look on the iplayer there’s a 7 minutes intro video – worth a look….

our PS3 has just wiped my son & mine friends lists – just as all his mates have finally bought Ghosts….

Benromach miniature from the last 10@ Kirroughtree :(…. and 3 drops of water. Saving the Bah Humbug and Wainright for Boxing Day when my FIL is around…..

Check you local tkmaxx – i got a Dakine Dispatch for £15 earlier this year to replace a very tired Camelbak Cloudwalker… 29 litres – and there were other Dakine bags in my local this week again plus lots of Dakine ski gloves….

seriously some times you just need to do “x” that you’ve been putting off. it’s very easy for a mental block about particular issues to pop up, and for want of better way to put it i can easily awfulise stuff. When i do make that call, or deal with the file it’s a real relief to at least partially clear my desk, or stop my s/o from going on.

good luck – assertiveness is part of the issue too for me…. i find it too easy to defer to other people when i often have equally valid viewpoints….

i might answer this tomorrow…. maybe

in my job it’s upto 13 days annual leave carry forward now (IOM Civil Service) plus we have upto 18 days flexi leave each year. nice when the tracks start 2 miles from work :)

…..and rides a mtb (but normally very early)….

in which case sell both kidneys to get a boat ticket and at least 1 child for accommodation :(.

TT time is frighteningly expensive like Brazil in the World Cup will be – its supply & demand…..

oh, and you did see the nice articles/pictures in stw about the End2End and Privateer (sob) about the Legs of Man 100 ????

yep – though you may just miss the Castles etc for the winter as it’s nearly end of season. have a look http://www.visitisleofman.com/

Also look @ “Closer to the Edge” on Friday night on ITV to get a taste.

can be expensive but there are lots of decent pubs doing food (ie”Creek” in Peel across from the House of Mannanan interprettive centre has decent beer & good food)and the fairly famous Creg Ny Baa pub on the TT course is good i saw Cameron Donald in a few weeks ago…

http://www.manxnationalheritage.im/plan-your-visit/groups/house-of-manannan-group-travel/

Lots of decent beaches sandy up north and rocky every where else and places like Cregneash folk museum; we’ve got history everywhere…..

And the ferry will probably be cheaper for you than “us” here on the Rock :)

There is also lots of biking opportunities and regular night rides if you’re free and want to – try Manx Mountain Bike Club’s forums, or Loaghtan Loaded too on facebook…

duplication!!!!!

oh, and you can get accommodation packages with boat/hotel too. If you’re a distance rider the local MTB club chair also organises the “legs of man 100” as covered in Privateer (rip)

definitely stay over if you can – there is a lot of riding over here using hills, trails & plantations beyond the E2E…. there’s a lot of work behind the scenes but everyone who survived seem to like the course & event. i’m biased as i hand out Tees’s @ sign on and did the finish too this year. When i do ride i always find someone of roughly the same pace to ride with. there were several big groups over this year too i noticed…

At least you can buy a new bike: £4k on the roof & a new stove means no road or cx bike here mate….
:?

18 yrs married next week – known each other 20yrs…. and i’ll get her riding mtbs and enjoying it if it kills me soon…

last time i cleaned my colleagues mug whilst he was on holiday(15 yrs ago) he came back to work, saw it, and dropped it on the floor. The replacement i had to buy him (deer with a target on – Gary Larson???) is still in use. Looks like a sooty stove chimmney to me but as he says it gets boiling water in it several times a day so it MUST be alright….

Paul Carrack last Friday, and also again in Preston in November – rock’nroll!!!!!

i’ve a Met Kaos and a Bell Sequence (in the Yojimbo green) and swap them as my mood takes me – currently back on the Sequence and I would suggest it’s wortha look – comfy and adjusts well to my head….

congrats to all who attempted it on Sunday – i was bag van man and general Finish dogsbody until about 6.15pm. Seemed like a hard year but every one seemed to like the new course bits. Several bad crashes tho’.

Must definitely ride next year (after i’ve lost a stone in weight :(…) to avoid being recruited….

i take it you’ll all be back (apart from Rob & Nigel who hang around a bit…) PS if you like it Nigel organised the only 100 mile MTB race in Britain this year….

congrats to all who attempted it on Sunday – i was bag van man and general Finish dogsbody until about 6.15pm. Seemed like a hard year but every one seemed to like the new course bits. Several bad crashes tho’.

Must definitely ride next year (after i’ve lost a stone in weight :(…) to avoid being recruited….

i take it you’ll all be back (apart from Rob & Nigel who hang around a bit…) PS if you like it Nigel organised the only 100 mile MTB race in Britain this year….

i’ll be there @ sign on handing out tees probably both days – look for a Hobbit telling you what you can squeeze in a medium tee. It’s quite a lot of cake and choccy :)… `Say Hi!!

And a dodgy knee means no actual riding being done. Just don’t tell the organisers or they may give me a proper job on Sunday….

Isla Bikes 29er????

Big UP for Peter Kennaugh, another Manxie doing well on Tour. Can’t wait for a Radio 2 “top tenuous” for him as my father-in-law lives across the road from his Gran….

stem and carbon bars here too – better than the 685’s i had on , though i’ve clipped trees at Cannock and the Singletrack weekender last year :(

mine worked out about 23 for a year by the time you add postage as i renewed at the start of May

Second the Hope replacements – my old 2011 Trek 8 was “indexed” straight ahead, and the replacement Hope parts do the job – and i know i can get new bearing fairly easily. PS if your headset’s gone the BB will probably follow just shortly afterwards – i can recommend the Hope replacement one too….

done, too – we had lots of them as videos when “our lad” was young…. Anyone else ever been caught watching Thomas the Tank engine by the other half when said lad is in bed???

Had an ATTACK for 3+ YEARS – great -my Endura waterproof 3/4’s had both pockets go in 2 rides and tape falling off. – attack still going strong even if it some times takes 2 goes to get the zip to lie flat – pity – if it went i’d have a new blue one from Cyclestore…

a must have for the Rapha generation roadie? i just keep nudging my std mount whenever it tilts too far….