Oops – an unintentional innuendo! Sorry!

Best thread on STW for ages :)

cheers guys! All of you are being great sports … there’s some very nice looking bod’s out there :) keep ’em coming

Another A. Driver didn’t look for a cyclist, pulled out a side turning straight into my path – cue a slide over the bonnet, bounce off the windscreen, and a brisk slither off the front of the bonnet to the road in front of the car. Don’t exactly recall what parts of me hit where, but the dr in a&e waved my damaged helmet in front of me and noted that was the reason I was able to go home that night rather than have a long stay curtusy of the nhs.

More experience of ‘stinky stuff to roll in’ top trumps (that’s the dog rolling in it not me!). There’s a clear hierachy:

dried sheep shit …
fresh cow pats …
ripe fox poo … (getting really stinky now)
but best of all – rotten salmon carcass … tops anything else :)

oh – if you see someone new pedaling round Deganwy next week say hi.

Cheers all!

Kevevs – I’m afraid I’ll be at work this Friday, but do sometimes get some flexi time. If it’s ok, I’ll drop you a line after I’ve moved and have finished unpacking boxes etc and see if you’re heading out for another ride at some point.

Ah – push / climbs – my favourite! Thanks all for advice / invites / general welcome.

Elf – yes, well remembered! I dithered for ages, but in the end couldn’t leave the mountains or the sea, so now really glad to be living in north Wales (even though the weather was utterly shite on Sunday – but hey I guess that’s what climbing walls are for)

Diolch yn fawr pawb :)

will definately check out mbnw after I’ve moved, and check out the route up Drum – and cheers for the cafe / chippie recommendations!

A couple of friends who know the area had mentioned Deganwy has a reputation for being a bit posh – don’t think this applies to the house I’m moving into (which is more bijou than mansion) nor me :)

hopefully catch up with some of you at some point

Simon – thanks for the invite, if I’m around that weekend I’ll try and join you – although your reputation for photos / girls preceeds you :)

Russel – many thanks for the link. I’m guessing that rides etc are arranged via the forum? Have you been out with them?

mmm … aside from agreeing with Kevevs that maybe it's just time for a ride (might wait til Sunday in wales when it might have stopped raining!) …

Anyway, does anyone really think that these cuts, and in particular the scale and speed of them, will actually lead to a more efficient public sector, and that those services that society depends on will be better delivered (whether that is by the public sector or private companies or by charities)? With a more gradual approach, and lesser cuts, we could have had the opportunity to tackle some of the real issues of inefficiencies and overspending, whilst retaining a reasonable level of services. As someone who works within a government agency, I know that efficiency and productivity have gone totally down the pan since the election due to the fact that the public sector can no longer proceed with planned work, that far too many staff have been diverted into working on the cuts / end of organisations / mergers etc, and the freeze on recruitment has stiffled the innovation and fresh ideas that often comes with new staff. Instead you have a stressed, demotivated workforce that is being frustrated by being unable to do the jobs were are paid for. I chose to work in the public sector as I believe that there are services that society needs that are not 'profitable' soshould be delivered by the state and not the private sector. I work hard, do extra hours, and feel accountable forensuring that public money is spent as wisely and efficiently as possible, and so does the majority of people I work with. If I really thought that the current cuts would lead to better public services I would support it, but I'm afraid I don't – do you?

Ruddy – thanks! that's a really good idea, I never considered existing holiday cottages owners, but obviously some of them have numerous cottages as a business – would probably be worth sending them the details direct.

Thanks for the suggestions – I'll have a word with the estate agents and ask them to add some of these points to the property details.

Hadn't thought about an ad in the outdoorsy magazines – really good idea! Will look into costs etc.

Saxabar – will send you details and will put this in the classifieds.

Must admit, this has made me think how much I love living here, so gutted to be leaving, but job changes make it a neccessity :(

Elaine I'm only 5' as well, and tested a lot of road bikes. The one that had the best fit was the specialized dolce, 48cm frame (they do an even smaller 44cm as well, but that was slightly too small for me) comes in a range of different specs to suit your budget. I got mine last year and love it! Even got into the drop bars thingie so much that I now have a cross bike as well (another tiny specialized – a 48cm tricross, not as perfect a fit as the dolce, especially re things like crank length and brake reach, but a good enough fit, and loads of fun)

At 5' you don't have to have 650 wheels, and I'd avoid it if you can as it's harder to find inner tubes etc. Make sure you get short cranks (preferably 165), narrow bars, and check the reach to the brakes when you're in the drops. Some people say you can have problems with toe overlap with small framed bikes, but I don't have a problem – short cranks and small feet make this not an issue.

Go get one, you won't regret it :)

mmm … interesting thread given the reality of my day today …

Public sector worker (so obviously as wasteful, lazy fecker!) – but not always a 'profit' in this area of work so has to be done by the useless public sector (who else would want to put in paths for disabled people, or protect biodiversity). highlights of today's news – pay freeze for at least 2 yrs but expected to extend to 5 yrs – this was no surprise and is accepted as our contribution, also accepted that to make ourselves more useful we'll end up working more unpaid hours to get everything done, but the absolute corker was the likelihood of 40% cut in budget therefore leading to a 40% cut in staff … The private sector is not going to be able to pick up this much slack – there is going to be a hugenumber of experienced people unemployed. This is the reality, not the slight reduction in individual's personal income from VAT etc, but the massive rise there is about to be in unemployment. 20% of the population is employed in the public sector and 25% of them will be made redundant. Plus the 25% reduction will slash public services – all of this is not going to be picked up by the private sector.

The budget has just been the start, it is going to get much worse

To begin with, not much difference – kept my job as the organisation went for voluntary redundancies (and I didn't volunteer!). Was more concerned about my partner who worked in the private sector.

Now it's beginning to bite – total external recruitment freeze means I can't bring in the trained specialist staff that are needed to do essential work, desperate rush to try to get work contracts out before a total budget freeze on programme money, working longer hours to cover for lack of experienced staff. But there is much worse to come, knowing that the 'best' outcome would be to be given the choice of personally taking a percentage paycut in order to try to protect the jobs of people in my team (and no, I'm not well paid so this would hit hard).

But overall, the worse effect at the moment is the increased stress and anxiety that this has brought. It's been combined with my partner ending our relationship, and having to sell the house and move. Knowing that I have to bear all the financial costs of living now on one income, makes the stress of potential redundancy and pay cuts seem pretty terrifying.

So, I guess, it started with a 2, currently at about a 5, heading rapidly towards the upper figures :(

But hey, according to general opinion us layabouts / wasters in the public sector deserve it don't we ….

"we now have a culture of greed , we want scandanavian levels of services with american levels of taxation, it just isnt possible"

Totally agree!

In the end, the percentage of our income that people in the UK contribute towards 'public goods' is lower than in many Europena countries, in particular the Scandanavian countries. And yet, it would appear that the majority of people are purely motivated by there personal need to keep more money to themselves than to contribute a realistic amount to the services that society needs. Obviously, too many peope would prefer to have a new kitchen or expensive holiday every few years than help support the vulnerable, or the environment, or infrastructure etc

boriselbrus and Rio – cheers, interesting stuff (and nothing beats a good graph!)

mmm … as you make clear the difference between spending and income is substantial. However, although my inital comment was not entirely correct, the bailing out the banking system did cause a substantial increase in public spending. The breakdown of spending by government department makes interesting reading –

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/may/17/uk-public-spending-departments-money-cuts#zoomed-picture

Looking at the breakdown of expenditure by department shows a range of percentage increases and decreases depending on department, but the one that really stands out is the Treasury which had a jaw-dropping 49891% increase between 2008 and 2009!!! The majority of this massivive expenditure went on proping up the banks and economy, a whopping £85.5 million got spent just on this!

So instead, those departments which didn't have a massive increase in spending, and many of which were actually decreasing expenditure, will now be hit with huge cuts to compensate.

Most of the above rants just confirm my belief that this is going to turn into a horrific situation for many people and their families, and often the most vulnerable. Everyone rants on about 'frontline services' but rarely have a clue what these are, or more importantly what wouldn't be counted as 'frontline'. Others just gleefully go on about cut this, cut that, forgetting that behind those suggestions there are real people, with families, who would face redundancy and the possible loss of homes etc

As has been said, there seems to be very little acceptance of:
– the fact that actually bailing out the banks and responding to the global economic breakdown 'caused' this situation, not an overspending public sector of Labour
– the making cuts to the public sector hits the private sector hard – my budget (which I fully expect to be cut) currently supports approximately 5 full-time private sector workers – losing these contracts will mean a huge number of private sector workers will loose their jobs
– the knock on effect of making so many people redundant will hit the wider economy far more than in the last few years – especially retail / service sector and housing.
– these 'cuts' affect real people, and is already causing a huge amount of stress and anxiety

So no, this isn't great, and our delightful new PM's suggestion that 'public good' services could be provided by the private sector is b*llocks

mmm … +1 to TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR, Keva etc

Of course being chased by a dog is scary and threatening, but there is a difference between an owner who deliberately lets their dog do this (in which case get exceeding angry at the owner); and a dog that might have escaped accidently and is then defending its patch (which sounds like the case with the OP if he has ridden up that way before without any problems). I can't see any need in taking enjoyment if the dogs suffers or dies.

Using violence against any animal is only acceptable in order to defend yourself in an immediate situation. If your child is knocked over by a dog running, then of course you're justified in being angry at it's owner – but kicking the dog with steel-toe capped boots and throwing it down the lane is unacceptable unless this the only option in order to defend your child? If not, then in my opinion violence against animals is unacceptable unless in immediate self-defence, as it is against humans.

Are animals 'more' important than humans? No … they are equally as important in terms of having a right to not be subjected to abuse or unneccessary violence. And on balance, attacks and abuse on dogs / cats etc by humans far exceeds that of attacks by dogs on people (maybe a trip down to the RSPCA will give you an idea of the deliberate abuse that animals suffer at the hands of humans)

Joined the cause :) Totally agree that it is unfair to force people to ride on an unsafe road when the prom really is wide enough to accomodate both easily. Given that there is meant to be a lot of effort to encourage more people to cycle, then the ban on the prom is even less defensible.

*thread hijack* …
however, many of the back roads up in Snowdonia offer some of the best road riding (virtually traffic free / stunning scenery etc) – does anyone fancy meeting up for a ride now and again? I'm not really a roadie racer, so the 'road club runs' probably aren't my thing, but if anyone fancies a 'mountain bikers type road ride' (ie stop for a blether now and again, admire the view, end at the pub :) Let me know
… *end of hijack*

… or even have somewhere that will be available to rent at some point in the summer?

LOL :)

Thanks, that's sorted out the 'life plan' for now (although as an ENFP I believe I have a tendancy to over-plan, procrastinate, and otherwise d*ck around for far too long before ever coming to a decision about anything!)

Autism scale score = 6

Personality type: "Extrovert Intuitive Feeler Perceiving"
ENFP

… which I think is the same as Talkemada … in which case we'd better never meet up … or maybe we'd just get on perfectly in a overly talkative, understanding, slightly too senstive kinda way :)

Cheers everyone – great to have so much feedback and information about all 3 places. (I was a bit worried for a while that I might have started a north v south Wales debate – both are fab in their different ways!) For various reasons, mainly work related, Shrewsbury is looking the most likely place that I'll move to (although I also have the girl's perogative to change my mind if preferred!)

So, now that I'm a bit more specific, and am trying to have a look at what the housing options are, does anyone have any info on what areas in Shrewsbury to consider and which (if any) to avoid. Would be keen on finding somewhere within walking / cycling distance of the station, with some 'greenery' on the doorstep, but not too far out or isolated (oh, and not likely to flood!). Thanks for all the info on bike clubs / groups, and offers to meet up for a ride. Would definately like to sample the riding when I head over for a weekend at some point.

Cheers

Hi Munqe-chick I'm actually down working in Cardiff at the moment … sun is shining and found a fab italian place for dinner last night. But I have a bit of a concern that moving from an isolated mountain to a bit city would be a bit too much. Do you have any recommendations about where in / around Cardiff would be a good place to live? (safe / socialable / easy access / doorstep biking or walking?)

I don't have to leave Caernarfon, but can work anywhere in / near to various locations in north, mid or south wales, and was looking for somewhere with good train connections, as well as some more social groups / activities etc.

Oh … and stupid dogs with socks are still fab :)

Wow – thanks for all the replies everyone! It sounds as though they're all great places in their different ways :)

At the moment I live up in the mountains west of Caernarfon – stunningly beautiful spot, but with the end of the relationship the house has to be sold (if anyone wants a fully renovated old welsh cottage …). But it has meant that I've realised that at this point in my life it would be positive to move somewhere where there are a few more people(not hard as at the moment my only neighbours are sheep and welsh mountain ponies!)

I think I'll take the advice to spend some weekends in each of the places – i already know Conwy reasonably well and the Carneddi is one of my favourite biking places (and it's nice to hear that some of you guys live over there and it's not all just over 70's!). I go to Shrewsbury and Cardiff a lot for work, so know and like the town / city centres, but have never biked / hiked around there so I think a few weekend visits will be called for.

Cheers all for your responses – makes me feel that there will be some positive things to look forward to in the future.

Should be no problem – I have a 300-400 yr old cottage – no foundations, built with rubble stone (about 3 foot thick) with a standard mortgage from the Skipton BS. I don't remember any queries about the building standard – it is listed correctly as stone build with a slate roof. Also not been a problem with buildings insurance (again standard cover with M&S).

Get a full structural survey (I think this was a requirement of the mortgage). Check for any indication of subsidence, damp etc, but generally accept that you a re buying a very old house – this means that (a) it's stood for this long and its unlikely to fall down, (b) all old houses come with 'issues' – they weren't built to meet today's living standards and you have to be prepared to accomodate that.

hey flatback – your life is mirroring mine :( My partner has just ended our relationship after nearly 16 years, and I'm going through all the same thoughts and feeling as you. Sometimes it seems like a tidal wave of pain so that the most I can do is just try and endure it for now. I don't feel 'positives' at the moment, but I am appreciating the good – support from family and friends, simple things like cuddling the dog and waking up to the sun shining. And working really hard to take action that will help – so trying to eat well and get as much sleep as I can, getting out of the house, and just went on a 3 day cycle tour (sorry road-based!) round north wales with a friend. I didn't escape from how I was feeling, but it took away some of the raw pain.

Take care of yourself. I'm just working of getting through one day at a time at them moment, and trying not to get too scared or worried about the future (thinking about spending the rest of my life alone or with some other than my partner seems absolutely awful). I also trying to make sure I do at least one thing that feels 'good' each day, no matter how small that might be. (and as you say weight loss really helps on the bike!)

Just seen this post – nothing useful to add as I don't live in the area, but I just wanted to say that I hope he's OK as he's a fantastic chap who was incredibly generous and helpful when I was coming down to ride in the Quantocks.

By the sound of things, hopefully he's out there walking away in his own world without realising that anyone is worrying.

Bit of an update from me – had a really difficult time until probably mid-January. After having thought I was beginning to manage it with reduced hours at work etc, we then got the builders in at the start of November, which took away any possibility of having a rest in the afternoon and added loads of stress. this was made much worse by the really bad weather we had up here in the mountains with storm force winds and torrential rain for about 6 weeks. The end result was exhaustion, but worse of all really bad anxiety attacks and not being able to cope with anything.

Really glad now that things have stablised, and I feel optimistic and have some energy again. Have started bouldering at my local climbing wall, which I've really enjoyed as it's sociable and you can do as much or as little as you like. The difficulty I've found with continuing to mountain bike is that I no longer have anyone to ride with as I can't keep up. Oh, and I've got into some non-competative road biking, so am now planning sunny tours in france for the summer.

I've no idea if this means I'll be on a steady upward trajectory from now on, or whether I'll continue with ups and downs. But right now it's one hell of a relief to be feeling ok again :)

It has certainly made me consider making some changes in my life to try and reduce stress and exhaustion. We can't control everything (like the weather!), but I've been learning that it's OK to think 'actually I want some parts of my life to be easier', and that doesn't mean you're weak or anything. So, for those of you who are struggling, if there are aspects of your life that you can alter, even if it takes a while to do so, then make sure you do so that you can start enjoying yourself where you can!

cheers all … I think I'll probably be getting one as from what you've all said it will complement what I already have (a desktop pc, large and heavy work laptop and a DSLR)

Key question now is to (a) get one now – in which case should it it be the 3G or the 3GS, or (b) wait for the 4G upgrade that a few of you have mentioned?

oh … and has anyone used the camera – any good?

Thanks all for the info …

It would seem that there's a concensus that it isn't that good as a mtb gps (good points re the waterproofing) – but would it work for road cycling / car driving navigation?

It would also seem that although it can open doc's etc, that it's not so good for doing more than a quick scan – is that due to the screen / keyboard size?

What about internet use? – would you use it for hanging out on STW for example :)

memory map info: http://www.memory-map.co.uk/iphone/

either swim or a spin class … get back to the office feeling a hell of a lot better :)

You're right crazy legs – the most important thing is that they are now looking at the issue and trying to do something about it. I think the survey is a bit mixed though about whether it is for 'women who currently ride', or 'women who have never ridden'. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this (like mountain monkey I left my details so I hope they keep us posted).

Maybe it would be good to invite some women from a (probably European!) country where a lot of women do cycle over to the UK to see if they can shed some light on what the differences are? Cos the issue of very few women cycling actually isn't the case in the majority of Eurpoean countries – it's a particularly UK thing!

Actually I did notice one thing last night – 'Climber' magazine's front cover was of a woman, and had almost an equal number of images of women throughout – I think picked up the pile of biking / cycling magazines that lurk around our house and found the most any of them had was 2 (small) pictures of women biking or cycling … mmmm … why is this? And could this increased media profile be one of the reasons why the BMC found in their last survey that the biggest increase in climbing participation was by women (which takes away all the arguements about women not doing outdoor pursuits because it's risky / wet / time committing etc)?

cheers all for the replies. Definately knocking Chester out of the running!

Looks as though the peaks area might be an option – maybe New Mills, Hayfield or Glossop. Alternatively, shuffle a bit further round Manchester and head for Calderdale (where we used to live) or see if a job will miraculously appear in north wales rather than manchester so we could remain over here …

ah … sorry, should have said not in a big city! More small town / village. And I guess by 'doorstep' I meant 'can ride on off-road from house' kinda thing. New Mills sounds more like what we'd be looking for – we were wondering what it's like round that part of the Peak.

Also considered in / around Chester if anyone knows that area?

aah … someone has mentioned my pet hate! Why is it that as a woman whenever anyone brings a baby into the office I'm supposed to join everyone else cooing and clucking over it! Why does everyone do that? (or expect everyone to be interested in their new baby photo that they e-mail round!)

I'm not interested, I think baby's are really quite unattractive, and I'm find it rather annoying that there is a very definate expectation that I'm supposed to coo! I happen to really like dogs, but I don't expect everyone to coo over photo's of a new puppy, and I certain;y wouldn't e-mail said pic's round the entire office (even though puppy's are way cuter than babies!)

There is a culture of 'children are wonderful' that you are expected to comply with, and it's often frowned upon to say 'actually I don't have children becuase I really don't like them'.

Interesting topic (as it alwas seems to get some people a wee bit het up!). I don't have kids, and have never wanted them. And to counter what seems to be the accepted view of 'women and their biological clock', I'm female and now 42. I'm perfectly happy for my friends who have had children when they wanted them, and sad for those who want children but can't have them. There are a few things that do annoy me though:
– the repeated comments all through my late 20's and early 30's of 'you'll change your mind when you get older and want children' (despite me being quite clear in my views of definately not wanting them!) – erm why is wanting children deemed the most likely or acceptable option?
– parents who have an expectation that relatives will be on hand for free baby-sitting, and then feel resentment about you 'not helping' when you don't want to look after their children. In my view, if you decide you want to have children it it is your responsibility – if others wish to offer to help then that is great, but don't expect others who have not choosen to have children to look after yours.

And I don't consider either those with children or those without children to be selfish, it is just a metter of choice.