Toffer – get a freesat box then? Just unhook the sky lead and whack it into your new box? Unless they discount your deal again to your satisfaction of course.

You can definitely get down the side of the mountain railway on the east (ish) side of the resoviour. I remember doing it a couple of years ago. Bit of a climb up from there but you gradually loop back around to the cycle route that leads onto the high grounds above talybont resoviour. We then followed the high line gravel and black sludge route down to talybont resoviour. Fun but muddy and slippery were my main memories of the ride…….

Yea, that’ll be about right. I’d like to meet that man and shake his hand.

Too ethereal.

Bombers

Ctrl-alt-delete

Dark peak

Lumens

Whole new meaning to a “what shoe” thread.

Sometimes I really, really hate you. Not in a vicious, nasty way. Just in a healthy “I am right to be insanely jealous and justifiably hateful” way. Good work. Basterd.

Interesting responses, I’ve enjoyed reading them all. I suppose I hadn’t considered the strength requirements properly, especially the upper body and was just thinking about the relative lack of pedalling and what % difference being stronger at that “bit” would have.

I think that to rubbish the idea of a larger pool of participants naturally leading to a raising of overall standards is a mistake. Someone mentioned football earlier on and it’s a relevant point. Without the, relatively, huge amount of people “trying it” you would be much more likely to have a lot of people who would be genuinely amazing at it never finding that out. Indeed many would probably end up just being full time **** instead of pro footballing ****. Which would be a shame (if you like that type of thing).

It’s an interesting position though. To say that Rachel Athertons is able to win the WC at say 95% risk/potential just raises further questions to me. Surely they’re aware of this? Surely Manon is aware of this? If you were sat on the start line thinking “right, if I just go as fast as I actually can, I’ll win because I know that no one else is properly maxing it” you would wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t the realisation of this also naturally push every women that wants to win to start upping their game and pushing harder out of their comfort zones? Or are we saying that Rachel can win at 95% and no one else is good enough to make her need to push any harder and we’re back to the size of the talent pool again?

Excellent points also raised about the course design that I hadn’t considered. That’s not right either is it? I mean how would you fancy being at the top of your class competing for a WC and having to ride a course that’s been designed in such a way that you can’t possibly make the gaps etc? Someone mentioned the golf tee position. It’s not undo able is it? A section that the men take and a section that the women take parallel to an “unmake able ” feature? Or would that be an insult or further hinder “development”. Having said that, if a 110 meter female hurdler turned up at the Olympics to find that the hurdles had been enlarged for the enjoyment of the crowd and to further challenge the men and she now couldn’t clear them she’d quite reasonably be a bit narked……….

Anyway, cheers for the comments and ideas – good stuff

Bugger. I’d have bloody had it……………

I’m on my third MTB in probably 7 years since I discovered it. First was a giant boulder off freeads that I took round cwmcarn on my first ever MTB and went through a set of new (rim) rear brake pads in just one loop. Quickly realised that I was “into it” and bought a banshee frame that I built up. Totally the wrong size and just basically shit. Bought a second hand GT five which, whilst old now, is still waaaaaaaay more bike than I’ll ever need. Yes, I’m sure the new stuff is considerably “better” in most conceivable ways but I don’t need it. I reckon the key is to just not try that new version and be happy, as I am, with what you’ve got. Course if you’ve enough money to make Soloman blush then I guess it’s not really an issue.

To sum up: is the new 911 better than last years 911? Technically, yes. Do you, yes you, need that extra % of marginal “betterness”? Probably not.

Def Asda for me. 2 sets for the 2 cars in the past 6 months and they’ve been the best for both price and service. Not a fan of the shops but they’re doing a good job on the tyres imo.

Indeed. Enjoyed that. Nice work sir.

Thanks for all the replies. I’m not trying to wriggle out of anything but, tbh and imo, a policeman would most certainly not have bothered to pull me over given the road, speed and conditions. 34 or 35 – what’s the difference? Well, 1 is within the tolerance that the ACPO advise and 1 is not. That’s a pretty significant difference I think.

Thanks again.

Miles

It’s a tricky one. We did the maths and then considered how stressful it’d be trying to get to and from work in time to collect plus the consideration of the length of time we’d have to leave them at the nursery to be able to do full time jobs and just thought it wasn’t worth the meagre amount that’d actually be left over. In th end it just made more sense for my wife to jack her job in and provide what I consider to be athe massive positive influence on the kis of being a full time mum. Wasn’t easy but financially it really wouldn’t have made a massive amount of difference. I’d have loved to be the stay at home dad but at the time our earnings were quite different from each other. I worked my arse off at work. She worked her arse of doing everything else. Kids are at school now. She’s retrained to do something she really loves. All good.

Triban 3 here. Raceblade guards and planners no problem. Plus I’m not that bothered if it gets ruined by all year commutes. The wheels are a bit week and the saddle, for me, was shocking but other than that very happy.

Born and bred in Manchester. Spent a fair amount of time in and around Leeds. Moved to Cardiff 15 years ago and wouldn’t go back to either of the others. As others have said – if you like to ride and/or spend any quality time in/at the sea, it’s the only choice of the three. You’ll also have a massive amount of fun trying to work out what the **** half the population are saying for a year or two.

In all honesty, probably. Having said that, it’ll depend a lot upon your expectations, the weather, the surf obviously etc. I’ve only ever known one person stand up first time out so if you’re happy riding some waves on your stomach and maybe, MAYBE having a stab at standing then, like me when i started out, you’ll still love it. Course if you live nowhere near the water It could be a huge mistake if you get hooked. I used to regularly see two guys from the Midlands at my local S. Wales break. Turns out it was their local break too. Just a mere 2 hours away………….

Walking between shower and bathroom – forgot towel. Daughter (9) “daddy, I really don’t think you should walk around naked………..while there are other people……….ALIVE!”. Harsh.

Good luck. PAC code btw (port authorisation code) is what you’re after. A PUK Coe is for phone unlocking.

Small but v important distinction. Hth

I’d be very tempted by a kaffenbak or similar if I had your budget. I manage just fine on a triban 3 with race blades (longs) and rack and panniers. I’ve 2 decent base layers, an Altura waterproof set and a couple of decent, comfy, pairs of shorts. Literally all the rest of my kit is Aldi special. All year round commute presents no problem once I changed the fairly dreadful oem tyres and brake pads. Not too cold last winter or this so far but I don’t see me “needing” anything else.

Right, Clarke or salmon then. Cheers, I’ll have a look. But scary on the downhill stretch these OEM onces tbh…….

Fair play. I can’t even manage a proper f chord……..

Sofa sofa here too. Twice actually. Good value for product and quality.

Oohh, years ago, 3 R1’s and a Blade – Manchester to Alicante in 1 trip. Literally flat out for an entire day – just mental. At one point I glanced, very briefly, in the mirror. Just happened to be the exact moment a car indicates to pull out a mlie or so down the road. Mate in front rolls off the throttle and sits up. I look back and pass him by about an inch, at 170+. One inch further to the left and we’re dead. No question. Wierdly, what I really remember is that past 170 ish with chin on tank it all goes kind of cartoony fast and sort of sucks you in. I left a day early and cruised, relatively, back.

Also worth noting that the 5c isn’t just available in 8gb flavour.

Pretty sure I can tell you exactly what will happen here. You’ll end up with two contracts running simultaneously. Firstly because, form what you’ve said, you haven’t got a pac form Orange and therefore you haven’t cancelled or set notice for cancellation with them. Secondly, mobiles direct or whoever, will get paid way more for a new connection than an upgrade so that’s almost certainly what you’ll get. Not the end of the worry though as long as you were definitely with orange and not ee previously (ignore what it said on your screen – who was your contract with when you signed it?) you’ll just end up paying two contracts for a month.

Oh, and its port authorisation code btw. I also very much doubt that the checkbox will work. Youre cancelling your conntract. No way any network is going to allow that to happen without direct contact with you.

Yep, its bollocks alright. Typical sales stuff im afraid. Just be aware that you wont be able.to port orange to orange so check which network mobiles direct are selling you onto. Interestingly though, you can port orange to EE.

He DJ’d the opening night of a friends club in Manchester many moons ago. I was sat behind him on the stage marvelling at his skills/vinyl collection when he turned around and asked if I’d mind sharing the joint id just been handed. Passing Rich that smoke remains one my giddiest moments. Not sure if that’s sad or not but hey ho 😀

As did every other provider before them. Retail price index – always in the small print I’m afraid. They have the best network, that’s not up for debate really especially with 4G taken into account. Speed checker indicates that it’s quicker than my fibre broadband which is impressive. However, I’d check with someone in your area for reall world coverage. Every provider is terrible if you are in their poor coverage areas.

Is used to sell these things. IME they’re not great in comparison to fixed line broadband but if you haven’t got a choice…..Obviously the first thing to consider is your network signal strength as without a good one it’ll just be massively frustrating in terms of usability. I’d also question whether you actually need a separate device. Why can’t you just use your phone as a hotspot as mentioned above? I don’t know what your current contract/allowances are but it might be more cost effective to up your current contract to give enough allowance rather than take out an additional line purely for MBB use. When I’m away from home I tether my ipad to my phone and, even on 3G, in a good signal area it’s quick enough to stream sky etc without a hitch.

Sorry but had to comment on that Thurso vid. Spectacular wave and at least twice as big as I’d feel comfortable with!

I have the old 3 in red and a mate has the 5. Really like them both. The 3 has weak wheels and a shocking saddle but decent overall for the cash. IMO you get a lot for your money at decathlon and as long as you don’t “need” a brand on your frame you’ll do just fine with the 5 either old or new.

Why not just switch providers to one who does carry the z1 compact or go via a 3rd party? It’s a 4g phone as we’ll so EE worth considering.

It’s guff I’m afraid mate. The 4g signal runs off the same mast as the 2g/3G and the coverage area is the same. You may have better coverage if your upgraded phone happens to have a more effective Ariel but that has zero to do with the strength of a 4g signal. You really should get 4g if it’s available though. It’s barely more expensive and massively more usable. When you have signal, obviously.

Maybe don’t watch it with the missus though…….

Only one mention for Californication? I started watching it again from the start after breaking bad withdrawal. It still manages to be entertaining, clever, scary and moving the second time around. Probably my favourite alongside BB.

I moved from Manchester to Cardiff. Don’t do it. There is nothing to see here. Move along.

As above – you need to read the T&C’s. The Orange example (for example) was to do with a clause relating to Retail Price Index rises. If the RPI (general retail averaged costs) goes up more than (from memory) 2.2%, Orange can increase your line rental by the same amount. Probably something similar in your small print. For the record, everyone else had already put their prices up on the back of RPI increases at least a year before Orange did.

Honestly though? Virgin wouldn’t do it if they couldn’t – not worth it.

Usually I blank this sort of thing but on this occasion – acknowledgement of the passing of an iconic influence is appropriate. RIP

Can i cut to the chase? All (to avoid any argumentsets just use android as an example) smartphones DO the same thing (in the same way that a £400 windows 7 laptop does the same as a £600 windows laptop.)

One will do the same things better than the.other. All you need to avoid is a phone that tries to do more than its hardware can handle. If you buy a really cheap one itll be shite. And frustrating. And just shite.

As a minimum id be looking at sort of Xperia E level. Go cheaper than that and itll end up in the bin out of annoyance.

Hth

Massive catchment area tbh – even Cardiff is only 35 mins away.

If you’re feeling flush I can also highly recommend this place – access to BPW and the Beacons

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