Missed my first flight of my life late on Thursday due to really bad traffic on M25 so was ready to bail on a trip to Cork to catch up with the rest of the family who were already there. Spent 3.5hrs doing a 90min trip slowly realising it would be tight, then realising it wasn’t worth turning off to airport and just carried on up M11 to see my parents for the evening.

Mrs P bought a 7:45 flight for Friday morning so set off from rainy Stansted to arrive in sunny Cork, bit of shopping, lunch out in a pizza place in the sun watching the world go by and then a RIB trip with some of the extended family and a couple of Murphy’s to top it all off.

A bloody lovely day after a crappy week and a rubbish Thursday!

A surveyor only becomes involved if a dispute arises (if you don’t reply to a notice or you dissent on the form. You can do your own Schedule of Condition but unless it is agreed by your neighbour in writing it is not worth much.

The guy doing the work is liable for paying for a surveyor or both if you want your own, but either way an engineer should be designing the new foundations and should have considered your wall/founds. If not a surveyor should ask the question as they are sort of “working on behalf of the wall”.

if you are concerned speak to a surveyor local to you. Generally they will advise for free prior to appointment. Look up surveyors on The Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors or Pyamus and Thisbe Society (or give me a shout if down in Brighton!!)

I’ll be at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the Munster v Crusaders game this afternoon. Both teams missing their best players but should still be a top day out. There were a few Crusaders fans on our flight last night but the stadium will be very red. Forecast also not for thick Munster rain/mist so should be able to see the whole  pitch which makes a change!

Living room door handle. Part of the mechanism sheared off and it came off in my hand. When I took it off yesterday it was full of bits or shattered steel and iron fillings so bought another few to replace all the ones downstairs so no one gets locked in anywhere. 

Will there be blood and gore later in the series

Boxing circuits again tonight. Glad it’s only once a week!

Been steadily ticking the days off with the odd jog/turbo/circuits during the week.

Yesterday I did 8km run in the morning and a load of walking in London to go to a museum and to my bro’s house for the rugby. Clocked up 23k steps!!

Out today with the kids shopping at Oxford Circus so clocked another 12k steps.

Got ikea tomorrow on the way home so will try and do a gentle turbo as it’s circuits on Tuesday and my legs are wrecked as I don’t normally walk much more than 5k steps a day.

Mentally it’s starting to get a bit wearing having to think a few days ahead so I can get recovery in but I’m certainly noticing physical benefits of weight loss and more energy.

SCW is still living off 2003 rugby. He has very little of use to offer the analysis

1 hr of boxing circuits today. Tmrw will be a relaxed day!

Just done a 30min turbo session. Sweaty mess

I’ve got some Geoff’s on my Kona Unit. Run with a 3” front tyre I’m quite enjoying it and hadn’t noticed it being overly stiff. The hand position feels very wrong for anything technical, I much prefer a normal bar for that so they remind me to try anything stupid.

I use the unit for the South Downs so gravelly type riding, just with a really big front tyre.

2hrs on the single speed today. Can’t stop eating but feel like I’ve worked hard for it. Toad in the hole for tea and it doesn’t stand a chance

My Hope XC tech wheels with Pro4s are about 1.8kg if that helps at all

I use them on my gravel bike as they are unfashionably narrow at 19.5mm internal and not too heavy. You could run lighter narrower or lighter tyres but yours are pretty skinny already.

The last steel forks I weighed (Bombtrack ones) were over 1.6kg and I was eyeing up carbon ones at about 1kg lighter before I sold the bike. My Fox 32s were only about 250g lighter than the steel forks!

It’s a good looking bike but 29lbs does sound heavy. Maybe all the weight is in the bar ends??

Not checked in for a while. Day 15 was a fail. Really annoyed with myself but just couldn’t get past a mental block. Was really down, got through a tough day at work and just couldn’t haul my ass off the sofa. Picked it back up and been going solidly since but I know I’m out for this year. 

Been mixing up circuits, jogging, turbo sessions, etc but annoyingly it seems like I can run and ride but can’t walk because of a dodgy knee so gentle days are hard. Managed another 5km run and was another 30s faster than last time. 

This morning managed an 8km run in just over 50mins which is the furthest I have run since 2007!!

Can’t get over the amount of sweating I am doing with all this😳 I’m constantly drinking water to try and catch up. Also dropped about 1kg so far. Getting a lot closer to my pre operation weight but also much fitter all round. 

I am liking what this is doing to me

I took a job, realised it wasn’t for me after 3 weeks but my contract said 3 month notice period for me and a week for them during probation. Got it down to about 6 weeks but was on my notice period longer than under my own free will!!!

Day 4 ended up being a 5km as it felt ok. Got lost a fair few times but covered 5km in 28.50. First time I’ve had a go at 5km since a knee operation last year so delighted to be under 30mins. Was at 25mins pre op with plenty of training and not getting lost so sub 25 seems gettable if I can lose weight and not get lost!

Day 5 was 1hr of boxing circuits 🤢🤢

Gentle turbo session tonight

Day 1 was a 15km relaxed ride on the South Downs

Day 2 was 30mins on the treadmill.

Tonight I’ll be out doing a gentle run in the real world. Not sure I have a full 30mins running so aiming for 3.5km run followed by walking to make up the time

I’ve got DMR Verso pedals on which allow me to pick and choose between 5:10 flats for more adventurous off road bits or ones that end in the pub or commuting or clip in for longer easier rides. Also<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”> slightly depends on a sore knee.

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It’s nice to have options

6 smoked glass mugs. The ones teachers used to use.

Forecast isnt great with showers next 2 days according to Google so having 400 on the board and a quick bowl last night doesn’t seem like the worst idea.

I have just got myself some prime 38mm deep carbon wheels and my bike is considerably faster whilst sat outside the cafe than it used to be. Fact.

I’m selling my medium Segment as my knees need more comfort. I put it on the classifieds but no idea if it’s still there.

If not it’s here:

https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/3553851/

Agreed but it’s a starting point if wondering about the capabilities of an engineer.
There reaches a point where on the job experience is more important than letters but as the title is not protected there is no other way to identify. No doubt your unchartered friend would be able to pass if it was a requirement for the job.

Timp CEng MIStructE (below average tent designer)

I’d also recommend checking letters and qualifications of engineers. It’s not a requirement to be qualified to submit calls to building control, and having the letters doesn’t automatically make a decent engineer but it does go some way. Also some companies use the Institution of Civil or Structural Engineers when they shouldn’t.

Timp CEng MIStructE ;)

Got a ’14 Mazda 6 in October. The 2l petrol one.

It’s massive. A standard car park space is 2.4×4.8 and the car is just over 4.8m long which is a bit longer than a T4 and t’s also the same width as a T4.

But I really like it. Boot is big and my PPE/work gear only takes up a corner. Handles well enough. I find the seats comfy. Kids like it and find the back comfy.

I am quite a big fan of Flobots ditty, Hamdlebars

Don’t forget the rattling DMR pedals

Currently in week 3 post surgery. Had a lateral tear tidied up, some cysts removed from the Hoffa fat pad and some micro fractures done to back of the knee cap. Was told I should be back to normal within 6 weeks

There has been a reasonable amount of secondary bleeding from the fat pad work so I am still hobbling around and struggling to sleep. Desperate to get on with the physio as I know it’s key but don’t yet have the flexibility due to the swelling. Hoping long term it’ll be good but it’s not always great from the outset post surgery.

I use the DMR Versa which is a Vault on one side (super grippy flat pedal) and SPD on the other.

Expensive but very grippy on the flat side.

Ti qr skewers on my steel gravel/cx bike. For weight saving obviously

Missed last night’s ride but I should get a photo of my “new” bike with your Moxie. It’s pretty far away from your Moxie on the SSpectrum

Main aim was for a sub 25 parkrun. Attempted my first one ever on Saturday and made about 5-600m before pulling up with a torn calf muscle. Back to the drawing board…

Pretty frustrating having done a reasonable amount of training and was feeling pretty good in general, but on the day I was 50:50 about doing it (due to lack of enthusiasm rather than injury worries). I wasn’t going faster than I have been before, no real reason that I can tell that it went pop, but it’s pretty sore.

Up to 7km today. Don’t get how you guys can run further! Was absolute toast by the end 😃

George Kruis to retire at end of season in Japan and commit to business. No RWC return 😞

Found some Original Source soap at the weekend, but not the minty one. They do a lavender and an orangey one. Bought the orangey one to try.

Thanks for the tips above though.

I haven’t run for about 10years due to various injuries and other training stuff to be getting on with, but it’s reached the point where my daughter is in the cross country team and I can’t face being a dad cycling while she runs next to me.

So I bought some mega expensive running shoes and logged into the Garmin couch to 5km run with a hope to be able to do a 5km on March 12. I am lucky enough that we have a treadmill at home so I’ve been doing it all on that, but somehow after my last run I recalibrated so by the time I finished my 4.8km run on the watch is done 7.1km on the treadmill. I’m not breaking records but I’m pretty pleased to be this far in without breaking down and to be able to run for 55mins without stopping. Gonna be sore in the morning (already sore!), but going to bed pretty pleased with myself.

Wife doesn’t give a crap so come on here to “brag” 😂

I would be more worried about the septic tank, like how old it is, size and capacity, has it been serviced/emptied, how easy is it to empty etc and is it an actual septic tank or sewage treatment plant (there was a change in the rules in 2020)

As above cracks can be fixed pretty easily but this is an ongoing cost

Probably the 2 worst ones from my commuting in London

First was commuting home on a Friday eveneing after work, pubs spilling out onto the streets with well oiled workers, I stopped at the lights heading south past The Swan in Stockwell. Set off when the lights changed and got halfway across the junction honking out the saddle when my chain snapped and I smashed my balls straight into the back of the stem and then caught a pedal into the back of my leg whilst uncliping. Had to try and get to the pavement past the bit that was fenced off before I could try and assess any injury with unsympathetic drivers tooting while I was in the middle of the junction. Was very worried I may have split something within my shorts so had to rummage in my shorts in front of the pub. Luckily I was only bleeding from the back of my leg so I was able to waddle the remaining 1.5 miles home to lie down for the rest of the evening with carefully applied ice.

Second was hitting cooking oil on the road. Thought it was water so just cycled straight through before going down like a sack of sh!t at about 20mph. I ended up with my head under the front of a car coming the other way who had stopped to wait to let me past. I was about 30cm from the tyre. Had he not stopped, I am pretty sure I would have been done for. As I got up, shaken and slightly confused as to what had happened, a lady following me hit the oil and came off, and while I was helping her up off the ground another man came through and whilst calling out to see if we were OK came down too. Somehow all riders were fine with only minor rips to clothing.

Yes @chevychase. I don’t ride anything over 32mm dia stones as I follow the Udden 1914 grain scale at which point they become defined as very fine boulders, and I immediately swap to my “boulder bike”…

In total disagreement with the above post, I just tried out some DMR Versas earlier this week and they are great. I only tried the flat side, but with 6 replaceable pins on that side, they are perfectly grippy with 5:10s. I wasn’t “rad to the max” as it was on my gravel bike, but there were no slipped pedals. and foot felt almost as secure as with my vaults. I am assuming that the spd will clip in and hold me so will be as adequate as any other

They hang vertically so it is either slide back for the flat side or forward for the spd so they are pretty intuitive after a couple of minutes.

I spent ages looking for a decent pair of dual sided so that I could clip in for longer rides, but still go the long way to the pub in more normal shoes. I tried the clip in plates which transform an spd pedal to a dual sided, but the inherent play in the cleat meant although there was plenty of grip, it felt awful.

https://www.dmrbikes.com/Catalogue/Pedals/VERSA/VERSA

They are expensive, but you can shop around and get them for under £100