Cannock is champion, and definatly worth a run

Couldn't agree more, but I would take advantage of the good conditions in the White Peak and save Cannock for another weekend

Gorillaz. Another great call. I kept seeing/hearing the ads for the latest album and thought it sounded ACE. Got it and haven't found much to inspire me at all

The fat-padded-up-middle-aged-middle-manager-STWer who left before you could have stopped on a corner for a energy bar!

😆

+1 Oasis
Definitely (maybe!) a singles band, or at least were. Now they're just dull all the time

Good call on Snow Patrol too. I have 3 of their albums and their more recent lack of imagination in their song structures is quite baffling

So do we think there's room for trail centres that are biking only? Is it reasonable to expect the World Cup downhill course at Fort William to have only bikers on it? Should you have to ride that at a speed that allows you to avoid a dog/child around every corner or under every jump? Hardly making the most of the track, is it?

We're (mostly!) all getting faster and faster on our MTBs and we all like to ride singletrack. Surely there is an argument for at least some of it to be bikes only, is there not?

you wouldn't be allowed to film him in this country 🙄

my daughter is just three and is using pedals better than him

😆 How can you say that? He wasn't even using pedals. He might be even better with pedals 😯

seems to me these days kids dont have time to be kids any more

Cynic. I spent 15 minutes this morning p***ing myself laughing at my little 'un as he just ran and ran around in circles on the trampoline, absolutely LOVING it. He can have all the time in the world just to be a kid (but if he wants to do it on a bike his Dad won't mind)

PS Cannock is great fun and worth a visit, but save it for when the White Peak is veiled in mud

The route in the V-graphics book that start from Linacre reservoir and good old fashioned XC blasts that will be great now they're dry. Nothing too technical but – I think – very rewarding. You'd be able to make it there in about 2 hours from Peterborough. I'd recommend picking up that guide and making your plans from there. Loads of good stuff that's perfect for dry summer days

Is it all that impressive?

er, yes

My 1yr old does half of that stuff.

+1 DezB. Let's see the vids. I have a 20 month old who I think is pretty bold and adventurous, but he doesn't even fit a bike like that, never mind do 360's on it.

I've been thinking of getting my little lad one of those bikes. He looks quite similar too. Mmm…

36 miles is not really a long road ride, is it?

Did anyone say it was? I said a decent ride.

er, yes. Cynic-al:

I wouldn't buy rubbish for riding that amount of time in the saddle

Sitting in my back garden in front of the chiminea with a beer and/or whisky

My lycra is either Aldi or Halfords. I'd take the opposite POV in that I'm not sure why you need to spend loads. The Halfords ones are a better fit for me. 36 miles is not really a long road ride, is it?

Fawlty Towers.

Just tell the truth Basil you idiot!

spot on 😆

I quite like these crossover vehicles. I don't want or need a 4WD, but I think my wife's Suzuki SX4 (2WD) is a cool looking car and a really "easy" driving position. It got me to Fort William and back very comfortable thanks, and with good views of the hills too 🙂

The jury is out for me on this Evoque tho'

Ginormous. Seems to have become a word on kids tv these days. IT'S NOT A F%^&iING WORD!

It's called the evolution of language. If the internet had existed hundreds of years ago they'd be moaning about the thousands of new words that we use day in day out today.

Still annoying though, I agree

Probably already said, but spotted it in one of Chipps' reviews…

"Neat" as in – adopts best Britney Spears voice – "that's really neat"

I can't recall any one book making me who I am. As for Catch 22 and Catcher in the Rye mentioned above, I thought they were both over-rated. Crime and Punishment was a v pleasant surprise, but again hardly something that moulded me.

The book that I could not get enough of as a kid and still recall fondly now was an Usbourne book of the Sea. It makes me wonder if I should have been a marine biologist or something similar

the joy of sex. Not me, my folks

{EDIT} oh, I see 😉

All I can offer is some advice. After using it in the freezing cold, make sure all the water is out of the pipes before putting it back in the shed. That way the water won't freeze, expand, then knacker it. I have had the same washer for a couple of years now

It would be nice if one of the magazines did some impartial scientific testing of components now and then…
Why should they bother though, when they can waffle on about "super stiff construction" and "race proven technology"

I've got to say, I'd rather buy a race proven component than a lab proven one. If component X can hurtle down the Nevis Range in under 5 minutes without breaking then I ain't going to break it. Granted lightweight XC race stuff may be a different kettle of fish, but I suspect the majority want to hear/read about real life riding experiences of bikes and components and not lab facts and figures.

…but when my White Brothers carbon fork snaps I may change my opinion 😆

Even if knew how to pick locks/break locks/hack locks( well i do know) do you think i would publish it on a internet forum?

er, yes. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked 🙄

Locksmith?

As per OP, I was hoping to exhaust the FOC (sensible) options before paying for a locksmith

helpful highclimber, helpful

Pretty much all locks seem to use the same key. try any other keys you have in the house, you may well find they work.

been down that route already, along with all the keys that look like window keys 🙁

a hammer and/or a flat bladed screwdriver will be your friends.

…and then what? I assume it depends on the locking mechanism as to where and how they're placed

i think the alps with it's lazy type cycling is fine, but just not for me.
i like to earn my rewards.

I like being rewarded without effort. Seriously, I like the challenge of a climb, but I prefer looning downhill. If I can do that all day and then chat to mates on the lift on the way back up, great. Skiers realised this long ago 😀

Wow! Is this thread still going? Are we still at the stage where we all agree that driver/rider training is good and that driving/riding slower is safer (except TJ)?

{EDIT} ooops, forgot the smiley
😉

Yay. Gold star to DezB. Fixed!!

I cancelled the set-up Wizard and it created a new pref file. Job done 😀

Although that bit at the bottom about a corrupt pref file looks interesting

tried that, but now iTunes won't even start 😐

{EDIT} – tell a lie – it's asking me to set it all up again!

DezB – it is not between songs it is within a song

ehfht – what is an iFixer?

Most of the 'rules' and 'etiquette' are just common courtesy that has built up to keepo everyone safe and happing riding in a fast paced group.

Most
😉

I remember thinking of joining the Buxton CC. I took one look at their website and decided against it. All I could see was timetrial this and race that. That's not why I ride. If it had said "come out for a nice pootle on the quiet lanes of the Peak District with some like-minded souls" I may have been tempted 😆

toppling over backwards while trying to show off

…whilst young kids watch and laugh on their bargain bucket bikes…who then go on to show you how it's done

I was also put off joining a road riding club

That doesn't appeal to me at all. I read something recently about the etiquette of road riding in a group. All those unwritten rules put me off ever going out riding with a club. I'm a bit of a cruiser on my road bike. I'll work up a sweat but for me it's as much about the views and the fresh air as anything else.

the guys who ride stupidly fast will still do so despite the speed limits

…and if they keep getting caught by cameras and fined maybe they would slow down. Isn't that the point? I got caught by an unmarked car some years ago on the M74. I was doing an average of 92mph on a clear road in good conditions. Even the copper acknowledged the good conditions, but "had to" fine me.

Regardless of my skill level and assessment of road conditions, I have not driven like that since for fear of more points and more fines. Maybe one day I would have been in a nasty accident had I continued

I would like to see mandatory retesting for all classes of driver every few years and make testing much much harder.

Now I do agree with that

the chap who wrote the classic North Wales guidebook, Paul somebody, died soloing on a VS

Paul Williams, at Froggatt.

I find these "speed kills. Discuss" threads fascinating (even tho' I can't be bothered to read all of this one). I don't think anyone could disagree with observations on skill level v likelihood of crashing, but how anyone can argue that reducing speed limits won't reduce {EDIT} the severity of {EDIT} accidents is beyond me.

Either way, if they raise a bit of revenue for whoever then fine with me also. My objection to them – as pointed out above – is the impact they have on the landscape.

I drive fairly fast on the open road BTW

Apologies if someone has pointed this out already. Forget the safety angle, those cameras on the Cat and Fiddle and Congleton road and just damn ugly and ruin a beautiful area of countryside. I can't believe they were approved.

just pick whatever you fancy at the time

Do you never get stuck trying to decide? I was staring out of the window for a good few minutes last night before I decided on the road bike. Didn't regret it and was joined by a barn owl and a fox half way round. I HATE sharing the roads with cars and am fortunate that there are a lot of quiet country lanes with big views where I live…and some big(ish) climbs 8)