One agent – more looks desperate on rightmove and primelocation. Get three valuations, pick the middle one. Accept 7% less than the asking price. We sold our house in six weeks in April. Still looking for a new one!

Oh and avoid Hamptons – their strategy is to pitch with an over-valuation to secure business and then get the seller to chip away at the price.

Realistically priced houses will sell.

Trek MT20, Hotrock 20, Kona, Islabike Wait for the 20″. We went up 4″ at a time – 12, 16, 20, 24 then a 26. You started on a 14, which would leave a 18 (there are some around but nothing from the big players.

I went with the Trek MT20 because it was the first decent Al framed bike at the time, it has dual-drilled cranks and a very adjustable stem. My 10 yo can still ride it (but rides his 24″ Kona normally).

B&M Toplight mounted securely to a Topeak MTX seatpost rack. Cateyes for the kids bikes mounted to the seatposts.

cufflink box

You call the local authorities who send round the pest control officer (ratcatcher). Free for domestic properties. Had one come several times. First time my wife asked how to remove it humanely. This was met with a withering look!

Seal skins, then overshoes. You’ll need the thin ones…

Deuter Race EXP. Mine takes a laptop, shirt, underwear and some tools. It might be a struggle to fit running shoes. I keep shoes and a suit at work. The back system is superb – it disappears when wearing it. The vented straps work. It also has a fluorescent rain cover built in, which took me a while to discover.

As for jacket, you will get wet on the inside or wet on the outside. I like a gilet which leaves the back vented. Yesterday’s commute left me with a dry back. A full rain jacket will not breath and you will always be soaked.

One plus point for the Taxi over the Hamax, you may not notice, but the profile is set back at the head level so that it can accommodate a helmet when baby is sat back. I found this a huge improvement over the seat-tube mounted seat I used on my single bike (tandem had very low seat tube so not an option). I also forgot to mention that I added front low-riders to carry panniers.

Rhode Gear Taxi on a Blackburn rack. Still have mine, although squeezing the 10 yo into the seat may be problematic. Great piece of kit. It sat on the back of the kiddyback tandem for several years. Never felt the need for reclining. When they sleep, they sleep. Simples. For helmets, I bought the baby Bell.

Bought a Kink Whip at the Cycle Show. Ex demo, 25% off, signed by the Kink riders. It’s for the boys (honest), but is light, rides beautifully and I will be trying it at the park when the kids aren’t around. It’s a bit small for me really (20.5″). Oh and I fell off my Airnimal on a ramp playing on Saturday evening with the boys.

Never had one as a child…Boys want to take it to Swinley.

How old are the kids? We live in the road next to Legoland and have annual passes. Assuming that they are tall enough…

Arrive at 9:30. Admission is early

Take a picnic, food is expensive
Ignore the train and turn RIGHT at entrance then walk down the hill past Viking falls…Walk to the bottom and ride the dragon roller coaster first. Work your way back up

Pirate falls is over-rated but you can fit five in if the kids are small. the see-saw pirate ship ride is excellent and has a short queue.

You will get wet on the Viking ride but at the end of the day there is no queue so save the wet rides to last and take spare clothes

Some of the extra stuff is worth watching/doing. The show is pretty good. Building at the technical explorers centre is excellent and the guides are always happy to see you.

You won’t get into the laser quest Egyptian ride unless you go straight there. The smaller ride next to it is pretty good for small kids.

Avoid the spider ride if you get dizzy easily!

Build a huge tower in the large tent of lego by miniworld.

The queue out isn’t as bad as it seems, wave if you see a yellow tandem!

I ride these[/url].
Best of both worlds?

Just bought a 14″ Kona Blast Deluxe for my 13yo. I think at 9, he’ll be a little too small unless he’s been on the milk. My 10yo rides a 12″ Kona Hula, which is a great bike. But to be honest, a Trek 220 or Specialized Hardrock 24″ will serve just as well.

If you want the Blast, give Rutland Cycles a call, it’s not cheap, but is £300 off!

Fly somewhere a month’s ride away. Ride home. Italy would be my choice. Then over the alps.

How’s your winding technique? Lie over the shoulder and rub the back is a good start, but to really get the wind out (both ends) I used to sit son on lap, one hand on tummy and perform slow baby sit ups. Seemed to reach the air pockets other methods failed to reach.

And sadly, it’s a question of DTFU, went about five years without proper sleep… You’ll get used to it.

Did something similar when I was 10; a friend pulled me off my Raleigh Tomahawk (remember them?) when he caught a brake cable, and a bolt holding the seat took a large chunk out of my leg (at least the bike and I separated). The scar is still impressive thirty plus years on.

Bought my used Kona Unit for £350 and would recommend a new one to anybody. I love mine. If it were 26″ I’d buy a Genesis IO. I like the alfine hub on my Airnimal, despite spending an hour cursing at trying to reattach the shifter to the hub last night, and would buy an IOID if gears are your thing (or you like the option of them).

You would not be disappointed by either bike.

Andyhilton – if it were 17.5″ I’d have bought it by now!

Subscribed – was informed I would only receive issue 2. Cancelled, issue 1 arrived in post. Rather like it – at least is#s not full of “buy this, no this…”

If you fold the seats up, can you lock through any of the locking points for the seats? Friend’s Honda Civic was great. Rear seats fold back as well as forward, then I locked the bike to the underneath of the seat.

come on, you built that for yourself!

Have the same worry – just bought a nice BMX and a new Kona, can’t face them taking the new shiny to school. Need to muddy them first!

My day job… putting new drugs into people…Please don’t start on Northwick Park, the fall out from what was a reckless study by a small biotech, is still being felt daily.

There are good scientific reasons for a vaccine study for meningitis in universities. All those susceptibles coming together gives epidemics at the start of each new year. One often sees media reports of a death at this time of year.

Bacterial meningitis is driven my Neisseria menigitides and Haemophilus influenza and Streptoccocus pneumoniae. Vaccines for these are normally small segments of the bacterial coat, given to boost your immune system for when (if?) it sees the real thing. they are a good thing (TM).

I’d enter in a shot because there will be plenty of supporting data to show that the test vaccine (and of course the licensed vaccine) will promote an appropriate immune response with an acceptable safety profile. £30 is not much, but if it’s Hib, you may be too old to have been vaccinated in the past, so you will benefit from the trial on either treatment. They want to show that their bacterial coat (antigen) is at least as good as the marketed vaccine (which is now standard in the UK) and need to find a population with high enough incidence to test this (hence universities).

Still think it’s not worth £30?

Covert – that’s exactly what I’m experiencing. I’m looking for a Mazda 6 diesel estate

I assume that’s the new one? If not run away or get a petrol. trust me Mazda’s first common-rail diesel engine was a nightmare. Mine managed 125K over 4 years before blowing the turbo and destroying the big end bearings. The lease company paid for the new turbo (£2K) then wrote the car off three weeks later for the want of a new engine.

Had S44BDR for a Saab that I never bought. The Saab Doctor garage was not interested when I came to sell it so eventually I let it lapse. Also wanted S22OOT for my father who shoots 22…

Some replies:

I was adjusting the curvature to fit a 651 wheel, and it snapped – also snapped off the small extension guard that fits under the bridge. I was not impressed for £25. Also I frequently have to remove them for racing duties, and the zip-tie is a pain, as is the nasty elastic loops around the stays. If you fit them in October and remove them in May, you may as well buy normal guards and P clips.

By contrast, I normally remove the SKS guards just to put the bike in the car. I wouldn’t think of doing this for the cruds. My bike has no paint to rub. 8)

As for coverage, As long as my back is dryish, I’m happy, and I was happy on Friday in 2hrs of rain… I’ll be buying another set, unless Crud have a spare stay.

Left the house at 7AM yesterday for a 40 mile ride to work in the rain. It never stopped raining but I enjoyed every minute. I also had a lift home.

Do it.

Race blades every time! Snapped the stay on my sons crud guards whilst re-fitting them. Removal is a pain because they are zip-tied to the brake.

Race blades by contrast are beautifully designed, removed in seconds and work just as well. I rode 40 miles with mine yesterday. Just wish I’d bought the same for son1. I’ll be replacing his cruds with SKS.

You get what you pay for – except for the cruds, which I think are HUGELY overpriced compared with the blades, from a manufacturing perspective.

PS get black – they look classier and match the tyres.

Mulberry, holds eight cards plus notes. £50 in the factory outlet in Bicester. I try and keep it out of the back pocket when cycling to avoid moisture. I suspect the need to hold coins is not doing much for longevity. “What’s in your wallet?”

If it’s cosmetic then teenage years, monthly disposables. If it’s necessary for huge prescription, then monthly non-removeables are a possibility. I suspect the former. Your optician will advise.

Rode into town (twice) on the tandem. The taught my boys to ride on the rollers…

This one by Remington. Accept no imitation. It does spray the clippings around a bit if left too long between shearing

Reviewed here (And more expensive too).

+1 for the decathlon, just bought these[/url] and am pleased with them so far. No orange though.

First one fell over a lot, second hardly at all. After the third visit to AandE in six months, you can expect a call to check “everything is alright”. After a fourth, expect a visit. My friend’s son broke two arms and a leg in a year…That was several visits.

Anyone who has ever had to hold down a toddler to have their head superglued back together will no how strong they can be. Often they will stich without anesthetic because it is less traumatic. He’s sat behind me doing his homework now. After an off on the way to school and road rash to prove it, nothing changes!

Cobra alcohol free gave me one of the worst hangovers I can remember. Whatever chemicals are in it disagreed with me. Becks is my first choice if alcohol free, a passable attempt.

One unit infrequently is not going to result in medical complications (unless you have cirrhosis or hepatitis). If one leads to another… abstention I’m afraid.

I subscribed, was told that my first edition will be 0002 next March. So I’ve cancelled already! Would have stayed a subscriber with a full set too.

So get them up on ebay…

B17 on my singlespeed. Has always been comfortable on every bike, even in jeans. Team Pro is much stiffer and was never comfy on any road bike but perfect on my brompton. Countess with springs for my wife, but I rode 3K miles on that to bed it in, was also comfy from the start.

like many others, a B17 often needs no extra padding. Choose a brown one with big rivets.

My other saddle is a Flite and I have two, in fact I just polished up my 1987 version with finest black show polish this very evening.

Google Chrome Independent add is is your friend

My Great Grandfather's "sister" turned out to be his mother, and she worked at the local manor house as a maid. We have never kept the fact that my father died when I was six from our sons, and they know that their grandfather is not my father.

+1 for ginger beard. Had mine since Jan. Get a Remington beard trimmer. I keep mine at a designer stubble-like 3-4, sometimes longer.

Hmm, perhaps your 5yo doesn't sleep at night

.

I'm afraid he's a well-adjusted teenager now 8). Curiously, Son2 slept 8+ hours a night from three weeks old, and we never needed the respite care in the same way.

10 months old is too young unless they see grandparents weekly and are totally use to them

Nonsense. My sister has spent two months in hospital and her 10 month old has been at the in-laws since the operation and won't be back for at least a few more whilst she recovers. The older three children are now back at home after a very mixed up school holiday. But children are far more adaptable than you might think.