Mid-Cheshire

OK, so you could do a nice big section of the PBW and then leave it near Buxton to head west over the moors to Macclesfield Forest and into Cheshire. Not sure what you’d do from there though 🙂

Pennine Bridleway

205 miles. Pick a stretch. The Mary Townley loop is on the Pennine Bridleway but you don’t have to do that bit.

Sometimes music gets played on the radio months in advance of it being released. By the time you can actually buy it, the risk is you’re actually bored of it already.

This, I fear, is the way it’s going with me and Top Gear.

UPDATE:

Really really happy with the 1 Series 😀 Cruises the motorways comfortably and efficiently and is a joy on the windy B roads; it turns-in so effortlessly. Once out of 1st gear it is quite free-revving and much more refined than previous clattery diesels I’ve had. It pulls much more consistently across the rev range than a lot of diesels that have an obvious turbo sweet spot. First gear and idling is unmistakably diesel-like but I can live with that.

On the down sides the acceleration is not *quite* as brisk as I would like; there’s no huge turbo-shove that a lot of 2 litre turbo diesels have. I sometimes wish the engine was a bit more raucous sounding, but that’s just the ex-Boxster owner in me missing that flat six sound. Also, at speed on bumpy B-roads the body control isn’t quite as tight and refined as I’d like, not helped by the steering being a little lighter than my preference.

Overall impressions are ace though. I look at it admiringly and can’t wait for opportunities to have a drive.

in case I get attacked by doggers in wolf masks brandishing cucumbers

😯

I’ve checked my schedule; I can come after all 😆

you can spend abit of time and not much more buying proper tested kit with proven brands for not much more in Sale bins/online.

Therein lies the problem. People will always be strapped for time and Aldi’s “one-stop (small) shop” model serves such people very well.

Most people on here have, I expect, ridden more than one bike or driven more than one car. Some bikes/cars feel better than others, even though they are quite simply tools ultimately doing the same job. Whilst there may be tangible elements that dictate that “feel”, what we’re talking about is user experience. Some people – myself included – care about that experience with a tool that they are sat at for several hours a day, be that the wheel of a car or the keyboard and trackpad of a computer. I’d have more money in the bank if I didn’t care about the user experience 😆

Great stuff. He and his wife are lovely people and I must confess I was just trying to shove some potential customers his way 🙂 They’re cyclists running holiday accommodation in Bulgaria rather than a cycle guiding firm. I do hope I can get out there myself one day.

It’s illogical, and this frustrates me greatly.

this is wrong-headed!

People aren’t logical and “right-headed”(whatever that means 😆 ). People regularly buy based on first impressions and “feel”, not to mention peer reviews.

My first impression of a Mac was a joy after many years of Windows – sorry, non-Apple – PC use and I didn’t have a hugely unpleasant time with Windows – sorry, non-Apple – PCs. It’s less night and day now that I’ve uncovered some of the weaknesses in Apple’s software and OS (and I should stress I have found no weaknesses in their hardware) but few of us have the time or energy to do such exhaustive testing before buying. That’s why we start STW threads instead 🙂

I suppose Ford tyres…are also rubbish?

That actually demonstrates the opposite of your argument quite well. If someone buys a Ford and it has crap tyres on it, their experience of that purchase will be a bad one. *Some* people might twig it is the tyres at fault rather than the car and may do something about it, but by this stage most people’s first impression will already be made.

And that is why Apple have their fanbois; the first impression is a very very good one.

You can buy the cheap threaded rod set ups on eBay or make yourself one for similar money

I have a homemade headset press you can borrow.

😆 I see now

The more interesting observation for me is that Outlook on Mac is missing some genuinely useful features compared to Outlook on Windows, which is a shame.

Also, comparing Word to Pages, is like comparing an Pong to Witcher 3.

I wish I knew what that means 😆

I use Macs and Windows machines. Some things I prefer Windows for and some things are better on a Mac, but I’ve yet to use any Windows machines that comes anywhere near the genuinely ace multi-gesture trackpad on a Mac and find it fascinating to watch people using touch screens on laptops when (IMHO) the trackpad is a much better interface for a laptop.

For the record I think Word, Outlook and Excel on Windows are better than Word, Outlook and Excel on a Mac and definitely better than Pages, Mail and Numbers. I also prefer Windows Explorer to Mac Finder (I think I need to spend a few hours getting to grips with the Finder ‘cos in several years of using Macs I still find it a slow and cumbersome way to find/navigate files and folders on the Mac). Conversely Safari on a Mac is a much better experience than anything Microsoft have produced for browsing the web, but I’ve not yet used Edge/Win 10. I could go on but in summary I’d say Macs are ace for reasons that relate to hardware quality and “user experience” rather than out and out function.

For me the Aldi model is not just about price, although that’s what got me in there in the first place, all those years ago.

What Aldi have done well is build a retail model that can compete with online. Prices are competitive, the quality is pretty good on the whole and the varying special offer stock means that people keep coming back to browse to see what’s new in store. If they stocked everything they sell all the time, the stores would be huge and a large part of their charm and appeal would be lost (I’m looking at you Tesco).

They manage to sell a huge range of quality stuff in a small space at a good price.

That said, the cycling gear is OK rather than great. I use Aldi for hats, gloves, arm/leg warmers etc but I don’t like the cut of their shorts and tops and would prefer to spend a bit more for a higher quality club top and shorts.

[EDIT] – I agree that not everything is a good price though, but that’s a business model all shops use. Bring ’em in with the bargains and let them go home with something with a good markup.

The weekend. I like my job, but I don’t half look forward to Friday when I walk out of the office.

Longer term I’ve got a long weekend of riding in the Highlands and Torridon coming up and a week of relaxation (and possible riding!) in Spain after Easter.

I did have a week in the Alps to look forward to this Summer, but those plans got shelved when the car needed replacing 🙁

The trackpad is the only one I’ve ever used on a laptop which I can genuinely use instead of a mouse

true. I’d go as far as saying it’s considerably better than a mouse.

A good friend of mine – Warren – moved to Bulgaria a few years ago and does some riding out there as well as having accommodation. He might be able to help.

Hotnitsa Velos on Facebook[/url]

Odyssey Gate webpage

Quick thought for OP: you could perhaps keep the macbook for home / everyday use and get a cheap chromebook for portability? I’m considering the same thing even though my MBP is working fine after a wee upgrade.

Possibly interesting anecdote. I have a Chromebook which was bought as a “pub laptop” i.e. a cheap and cheerful bit of kit that I don’t worry about being damaged or stolen. I also have a 12″ Macbook, which is very much NOT cheap and cheerful. I will sing the praises of the Chromebook quite happily, but it’s not a patch on the Macbook when it comes to the simple joy of using a well designed tool.

Onzadog yes. I’m sure Mojo or the other one whose name escapes me (I think he’s called Simon and is on here) may be able to work some magic. The thing to note is that if your shock is due for a service – and you wouldn’t normally do this yourself – the PUSH tune is reasonable value.

I have a 6 and a 6+ both can be used one handed.

You have a giants’ hand!

I’ve got a Fox factory CDT which I’m pretty underwhelmed with, how much is a push tune?

Click here

Is this as easy as it sounds in the vids? Take air out, unscrew can and remove the spacer?

Yes, it is that easy, but you do need to be careful not to introduce contaminants at this point (*ahem*) 😳

I really rate the PUSH tune. I had a Fox CTD from 2013, which I was never really happy with. Despite fitting the biggest spacer and messing around with sag I still found it used the travel way too easily and was very unsupportive. Also if I wanted to load the suspension for a jump, there was very little “pop” in the rebound and the bike tended to just soak up my efforts to use the suspension to my advantage.

I explained all this to TFTuned and they sent back a shock that addressed all these problems. The shock needed a service so I thought it was pretty cost effective too. I wish I’d done it sooner to be honest.

Hats off to their customer service too. Top notch.

There’s some truth in what I say Drac, you know there is 🙂

I prefer the shape of the 5S to the 6

This. I hope the rumours are true and Apple do release a newer, smaller phone. I have an iPhone 6 and once the novelty of a new, shiny thing wore off I realised it wasn’t as good to use as an iPhone 5. I hope we also see a return to smart phones being designed to be genuinely one-handed devices rather than just getting bigger/thinner screens.

Oh, and whilst you’re at it Apple, how about making a phone that isn’t so slippy you daren’t pick it up without rubber gloves on?

Had some recent problems with my internet that were down to a fault in the internal extension from the master socket. Despite taking a bit longer than ideal to resolve, I can’t complain about BT’s customer service. They were polite, attentive and eventually sorted the problem. The one chink in the armour was the engineer turning up early and on a day I asked them not to because I wouldn’t be in. Fortunately my wife was in.

@kerley, from your link:

All non-flammable compressed gases are prohibited e.g. air bags; scuba tanks, carbon dioxide; fire extinguishers; neon and nitrogen

Shocks contain compressed gas. Even if you let the air out of the main chamber, the negative spring still contains compressed gas. I told my local post office it was a shock and they were OK, but is your average post office teller really qualified to understand and interpret these regulations consistently? More significantly, will them saying “OK” make the blindest bit of difference if someone else in a sorting office decides to confiscate your shock?

Based on their website I think Royal Mail are quite within their rights to confiscate your shock if they are so inclined.

Physics (as all science) is simply an observation of the natural environment around us, and tries to use the knowledge gained in order to better understand the world around us (i realise this is an overly-simplistic view, but i think it fits the context). Therefore, Theoretical Physics simply extends those models to try and rationalise the parts of the natural world we don’t yet understand. I can sort of see how this is related to fiction, however it is ultimately using facts to try and understand more facts.

I’m no physicist, scientist or academic either, but I’ve always understood things like theoretical physics to be very much about hypothesizing new ideas and then seeking facts to prove or disprove them. The fiction becomes fact. Science at the cutting edge isn’t simply about joining the factual dots and requires imagination.

I like his style and it comes through in his non SciFi work (he dropped the M for that)

I’ve read The Wasp Factory, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was about 😆

I dunno how you can ignore problems.

The serious answer to that is cost. I know I need to replace the hub bearings, headset and bottom bracket on my road bike, but I’m skint at the mo’.

The bearings in my road bike are sounding more graunchy than my knackered old knees…I’ll get another season out of them 😆

I’ve dipped in and out of this thread so apologies if I’ve missed the context. I just thought it interesting that Mike’s images he posted above were of Iain M Banks novels. Am I correct in thinking these are sci-fi? I think some people – me included – really struggle to engage with sci-fi books and maybe that’s what some people associate with “fiction” as opposed to fiction being the simple opposite of fact. There have been exceptions, notably the Dark Materials trilogy, but that’s not traditional science fiction I suppose.

I do agree with several comments that a lot of fiction is just fact waiting to happen.

Is saving an few extra quid worth more to you than the possibility – however slight – that your shock may disappear in some Royal Mail sorting office never to be seen again? I took the risk and it paid off but not everyone has been so fortunate. It’s probably more likely to happen than winning the lottery so I guess it depends how much you fancy your chances 🙂

Is the peace of mind worth spending a bit more money on?

Whilst I have little sympathy about the bikers having to pay for parking, I do have some sympathy that they will be limited to a 2 hour maximum stay. I assume the council’s objective is not just to make money from parking but to “encourage” a faster turnover of visitors on the frontage.

Overall though, council budgets are being slashed and some important services are being lost. If DCC can make some money out of this that goes back into fixing potholes on the roads, surely the bikers would be happy to give up an extra £2 when they visit. It’s not even a beer token!

I used Royal Mail and the shock got there OK, but I did spend a couple of nervous days wondering it if the parcel would be confiscated. Next time I’ll pay a little extra for TF Tuned to pick it up.

You like this watch and you have a missus? Well played sir!

😆

That watch reminds me of a flip-up Phantom Menace watch I bought for about £3 (for reasons that now elude me).

It depends if you have the luxury of being able to do the work whilst living elsewhere. We did, and the one thing I wish we’d done is take the horrible 60s dado rails off and replastered the lounge/dining room/stairs. It’s all one space so to do so now would he hugely disruptive.

Agree with plumbing and wiring though. We had a new boiler fitted before we moved in.

We’ve had a new kitchen, garage conversion and new bathroom since living in the house and my advice would be that as long as you have somewhere to escape the mess, you can do an awful lot whilst living at the house.

Strawberries and black pepper.

+1

Engineer been on site. The extension was “dodgy”. Hopefully all now sorted. Fingers crossed (again).