</prepares witty riposte, then thinks better of it> 😆

I want to like the Fiesta ST, I really do. It hovered on the edge of my shortlist when looking for a new car but I just couldn’t get excited by the shape. I’ve had Fords and I admire Fords, but I do find them a bit lacklustre in the looks and cabin departments. Definitely a head rather than heart purchase for me. I’d love to drive the ST though.

fortunately not bikebuoy. The garage have been pretty good at keeping me informed.

@monkeysfeet I went for black with red sport seats. It looks MINT and so much more interesting than the standard interior. It winked at me as soon as I opened the door 🙂

Mildly gutted. My excitement at picking up the 1 Series today will have to be tempered until tomorrow due to them not being able to get all the prep finished today 🙁

think he needs to go explore some new roads…..

^this. One of the reasons I love road riding is because there are still lanes within striking distance of home that I’ve not yet explored. My from-the-door mountain biking tends to be the same bits over and over again (they are good bits though 🙂 )

Post the link up and let others try. It may not be a Sky issue per se; it may be your wi-fi setup. If other people are having the same problem it might give you some leads.

It’s one of the last remaining hold-outs of real bravery

😆

Swift Sport is last of a dying breed. Get one whilst you can. In a couple of years they will either disappear or will be fitted with a turbo.

Forget my suggestions then

I can highly recommend CushCase: cheap, cheerful, effective but (mine at least is) well made. For a more sophisticated look try Snugg cases. I have one for my Macbook and love it. The former is a velcro closure (which is a bit noisy), the latter is magnetic

+1 for the Swift Sport. I’ve always wanted one and always assumed they were as close to a go kart as a “normal” car can get (excluding the Elise, natch). The only reason I’ve not got one is that they’re just too small to fit a bike in the back (actual owners may disagree, but having owned the bigger Suzuki SX4, I can’t believe the Swift fits a bike in the boot).

That said I test drove a Focus with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine the other day and was very impressed. The Fiesta Ecoboost could be just the ticket and it definitely worth a test drive.

Of all mountain bikes, the Preston is definitely one that is love or hate. Those who hate it probably wouldn’t take it off you for free, but those that love it – and I’m sure there must be a few out there – will probably spend some serious dosh on it.

As v666ern alludes to, just check what the prices are on eBay.

prezet they’re back online again now. I suspect they were simply transferring the hosting of the site to someone under the control of Wiggle rather than CRC, hence the brief downtime.

I think this is a good thing. It’s one less website for me to look at when buying something. It’s not like CRC and Wiggle are the only options. I also buy from BikeDiscount, Evans, JE James, Merlin and Wheelies depending on what I need, who has it in stock and what it costs (and of course how quickly I need it). One less option to look at would help.

😆

It occurs to me that the OP should be asking the wife if she thinks he is being an ungrateful sod. Even if the OP got a consensus on here, is it really relevant?

OP, bear in mind there *could* be good creche facilities at Centre Parcs 😉

<wanders into thread, sees OP’s list of suggested films, realises this is not the thread for him>

Give me a shout if we move off comic book recommendations and onto some decent films 😉

Having children. Lifting (heavy) babies in and out of cots, up and down stairs and giving older brothers piggy banks works wonders for my core strength, although I’m hardly rippling with a six pack. Holding the little one out at arms’ length with a straight back is also a good one.

So somehow I’ve ended up with 2 non holiday holidays in succession.

Hmm, I’m no psychologist but this is the internet so here goes…

Whilst I have sympathy for your situation, if the idea of a weekend with your wife and new(ish) born child at CentreParcs and 2 weeks in Denmark with the in-laws is that horrific, you really do need to have some open, honest and frank conversations with your wife. It sounds like you have many years of unhappiness and resentment building up otherwise.

</melodrama>

PS I’m happy to say I’m not speaking from experience.

I’ve not read pages 2 – 4 but Cougar has it about right:

The missus has booked a holiday she, presumably, knows the OP won’t like. Which is a shitty thing to do straight out of the gate. She then dresses it up as his 40th birthday present, which is doubly shit.

The OP expresses his disinterest / disappointment, surely the only sensible, rational thing to do next is to cancel it and use the money to book something different that they’ll both enjoy?

Of course – as fasthaggis suggests – this could be an elaborate surprise birthday party that is now on a fast track to being ruined 😆

Showaddywaddy. My parents took me when I was a nipper.

My first gig without parents was 808 State at the GMex, with N-Joi and the Sugarcubes supporting them. Bjork was screechingly awful but everything else was great.

Deposit paid on a 62 plate 118d. Picking it up Thursday 🙂

Cannock isn’t really a “big day out” trail centre though. If you have a local to guide you round the off-piste you could probably fill a day, but as someone said above, you can do the Monkey Trail and Follow the Dog in under 2 hours (more if you like to stop). That said, if you like sessioning jumps and stuff, Stile Cop can keep you busy for a few hours, more if you know where to look 😉

I was initially gobsmacked by this and then, after reading Apple’s explanation, I moved to mildly unimpressed. Flashheart sums it up well, suggesting to me that as far as Apple is concerned this was an oversight and someone thought up a handy way of explaining it away as an undocumented feature,

I’ve done my apprenticeship on bone-shaking fully rigid bikes and I still ride a fully rigid SS from time to time. I just think a full susser is a better tool for Cannock especially if the OP is thinking of hitting Stile Cop. There’s some big jumps up there.

@richard I measured up a Mini Clubman and the boot wasn’t really big enough for my bike bag. Also, even my wife – who very much likes them – admitted it didn’t really suit me.

I think the Cactus is a great looking car in its own unique way. My heart wants something a touch sportier though.

There is a section at Cannock called “Pain in the Hardtail” (or something like that). This may give you some clues as to which bike you should take. Now before the hand-wringing “you-can-ride-it-on-a-hardtail” brigade chip in I will say that of course you can ride it on a hard tail. You can ride it on a rigid single speed if you’re keen. However it’s not all bike park smooth and groomed like some modern trail centres are. It’s pebbly and rough in places; not so rough you need suspension, but rough enough that you’ll need to be out of the saddle on a hardtail to not get too battered.

As for braking bumps, they are prevalent. Cannock does have quite a few berms of various sizes and you’d have to be going really really slow on the approach to not need any braking, or a riding God. Unfortunately too many people leave it too late to brake and the bumps get bigger and bigger.

It is a fab trail centre and worth a visit, but a 6 hour round trip from Portsmouth sounds a bit keen when there are so many other arguably better locations to ride that are similar distance or nearer.

Saw this whilst browsing. Very VERY nice. My favourite current sports car at any price.

Did a load of car shopping today with tape measure for the boot and lots of sitting, prodding and perusing which helped dismiss a few models. I kept coming back to the 118d. Got a few more to try tomorrow but definitely narrowed it down a bit now.

Does it have to be newish, as in less than 5 years old?

Yes, but only in the sense that I need to be adding select criteria not removing them 😆

If you are thinking practicality

I’m not. We have a superbly practical (big) family car already. As long as it has 4-5 seats and I can fit my bike in the boot with the seats down I don’t need much more practicality. I realise that gives me a huge range to pick from and this is half my challenge.

Been looking at them too, but they’re quite an expensive way of owning a Beemer.

The 1 Series has a pretty good load space to be honest. It’s definitely an important consideration.

You need an Smax.

No I don’t. The other car is a Sharan.

lol it’s funny this. My head is swimming with different ideas for cars. I don’t know why asking on here would improve that situation 😆

FWIW the car I want is a BMW 1 Series 118 or 120d, automatic and with xDrive, but even second hand models are a bit steep.

solamanda do you mean the old shape or the old old shape? I had a 56 plate Civic CDTi and loved the practicality but the unpredictable turbo lag was something I never grew accustomed to.

Don’t even think about a Juke if you have kids, they are laughably small inside.

I’ve sat in one. I thought the boot looked quite practical for a small car and, whilst I couldn’t physically sit upright in the back, it will typically only need to carry kids to school and back and won’t get used for family journeys (we have an MPV for that).

Funnily enough that was another one on my short long list Rich.

How many miles do you expect to drive a year?

12,000

Do you want fast or just normal?

Depends who’s measuring 🙂 Having been lucky enough to own and drive an Elise and a Boxster, I can safely say I don’t need faster than that, but I’d certainly prefer something below 9s 0-60mph. How it feels to drive rather than out and out speed it arguably more important.

^what is it? (other than a Merc)

No lunchtime inspiration for me?