We are heading there mid-Oct. Been plenty of times in the spring but never autumn. I’m expecting 18-20 deg with possible cloud/rain.

If you want somewhere similar but better weather , accessible and with good riding then the Canaries should fit the bill.

I wrote the following statement n UK Bouldering forum a year ago on their long-running Dupuytren’s thread. 12 months later all is still good.

I thought that the following info might be useful to some folks as I had the full fasciectomy last week.

I have had a Dupytrens contracture on my left hand for as long as I can remember, probably since my early 30s which was 20 years ago. It was pulling my ring finger in at the MCP joint and got to the point that I couldn’t hand jam as I couldn’t get my hand in the crack in the first place.

12 or 13 years ago I had the needle fasciotomy which was quick and easy with good results, but the contracture returned with a year or 2. As I had pretty much stopped climbing by then I just ignored it.

My wife is an upper limb orthopaedic anaesthetist, so she and her surgeon see hundreds of Dupytrens and kept a vague eye on it along with the occasional look at it from a friendly surgeon in social settings. Although it never bothered me in the slightest (cycling, photography, computer stuff), once it reached about 70-80° contracture they (wife / surgeon) decided it would be better to sort it before skin grafts were required.

I then saw the surgeon ‘officially’ through the NHS, got into the system and scheduled an autumn op last week. This involved turning up at the hospital at 7am, having a general anaesthetic and a block (could just have had a block, but I decided I had no wish to witness the carnage) and home by 1pm.

One long, zig-zag cut and 30 stitches later, my hand lays flat again and I have had zero pain from the op. I had a plaster splint for 5 days which was a bit tedious but now I just have some plasters and tubi-grip to protect it with a splint to wear at night. The stitches will dissolve in a couple of weeks at which point I need to massage it with moisturiser.

It’ll be another month before I can ride outside, but I will be on the turbo once the stitches have gone and it’s safe to get the wound wet. I’d imagine that it would be at least that long before climbing too, if not longer.

For those of you who have seen Pod’s UKC article, my contracture was considerably worse than his, and the surgeons cut longer (albeit I only had one contracture).

Early days, but seems successful so far.

Deleted due to formatting buggeration.

Size large (@186cm) here, Topstone carbon 3, 2x GRX.

Carbon wheels, carbon seat post 45mm tyres and Redshift upgrades, love it.

My mum used to make back in the seventies, but she called them Wellington Squares. And yes, usually a pretty safe choice (from a culinary point of view rather than from a diabetic one).

It’s a real shame for Oscar that his first win came like that. It has to have been the flattest, least excitable first win celebration ever.

Easy in hindsight, but possibly Oscar should have said ‘nah, thanks, but I’m good with second’ and then enjoyed his first win properly later in the year.

Verstappen never misses a chance to demonstrate his gracelessness and lack of class.

Bloody meeting at 10km to go. WhatsApps suggested something dramatic had happened so scrambled to find a catchup.

S4C had it first, so watched the whole thing with commentary from what sounded elves. I really thought he was too boxed in with 500 to go.

Just brilliant.

Cup of tea. Rank when less than ‘quite hot’.

But coffee is ok any temperature. Weird.

Cheers, some good sounding options.

Oh, and bonus points if I can copy and paste my existing spreadsheets into it with formulas, which Sheets doesn’t seem to allow.

@jhpbk sorry, I’ve only just seen your kind offer.

I bought one from PC Specialist as suggested by @dyna-ti. Guy on the phone was helpful and the build was £1800, delivered in 7 days.

The AI noise reduction process that took my old PC 40 minutes now takes 8 seconds, so I am a happy boy.

Saw an osprey flying over Sheffield yesterday.

The Sheffield peregrines webcam is good to watch too.

https://peregrine.sites.sheffield.ac.uk

In rough order of frequency on the feeders

Coal tits
Blue tits
Goldfinches
H Sparrows
Siskins
Dunnocks
Greenfinches
Chaffinches
Robins
Starlings
Long-tailed tits
Magpies
Nuthatches
Great spotted woodpecker

Very fussy indeed – I gave up on peanuts and niger seed, they won’t touch fat balls but love fat blocks(?!), demolish sunflower hearts and will do mixed seeds if pushed.

I’ve cycled a lot in all 3 places.

Gran Canaria is much better than Tenerife – more variety of terrain and bigger choice of roads and routes. Fewer, less obvious cafes than Mallorca on both islands, but there are sufficient.

Mallorca is better than both, but weather could be mixed in April.

Bike hire shouldn’t be an issue on either island, but check where the shops are (Freemotion) before you book your hotel.

Thanks. I’ve cancelled my Chillblast order so I’ll have a look at those other sites.

peterno51
Full Member
What is the commute engine that the software you want to run is using?

you say AI commute take an age on your current computer and seconds on your mates mac, are you comparing exactly the same software and input deck?

Same raw files from same cameras trying to use Lightroom anti-noise AI, so identical operation.

If it flies, floats or, erm, provides ‘emotional support’, rent it.

Thanks, I’ll have a look into those suggestions.

“Is there any particular reason you’re not just buying an off-the-shelf box? I’d have thought that the criteria for photo editing wouldn’t be much more than sufficient RAM and a high-end screen.”

You are probably right, but I’d like at least 32 GB RAM, possible 64 GB, at least 6 TB SSD with space for more (I currently have 4 TB of images) and the ability to run 3 screens. Plus all the associated graphics cards and motherboards to make that lot run properly.

My current Chillblast PC is 10 years old and has been upgraded a few times but is really struggling to run some of the Lightroom AI functions and flatly refuses Photoshop. It takes 40 minutes to run an AI function that a pal can run in a few seconds with a top end Mac. I’d like this next PC to last a similar time.

Looking at Dell XPS (for example) I don’t think I get what I need / want even on the most expensive model. My Chillblast spec was £1800. But lots of this might be based on ignorance, hence needing someone to help me through the options, which Chillblast provided.

Marvellous. I don’t care if you nicked it from Twitter.

Not Twitter, I suspect it’s older than that!

A slightly repurposed Tim Vine joke I think perhaps.

The consequences need to be more severe.

Put the meat on the top shelf, then the steaks will be too high.

Please be very careful about disrupting the swallows (easy for me to say when it’s not my property being shat on) – swallows, martins and swifts are really struggling for nesting sites these days with a resulting decline in their populations.

There may well be a local swift or swallow group around you that could advise on how to best site any replacement boxes you want to put up to maximise the chances of success.

If your commute is tarmac-based, then have a look at the new Hutchinson Challenger tubeless. They do a 32mm version, and it is very durable, with lots of rubber and puncture protection, but pretty comfy and fast too. Very easy to set up tubeless as well, which is a bonus.

That’s definitely a, err, unique touring bike choice, but jolly good effort!

The dogs sound dire – someone I know bailed from the trans-continental after 1700km ‘cos he could take the stress of the dog attacks anymore, so you did well.

Thanks all, that makes sense. My googling failed me.

My car is liable, Euro 5 diesel.

And the return flight is late night, so don’t fancy piddling about with trains before a long drive.

Cheers.

The DB value calculation for lifetime allowance is quite simple.

20x annual payout + any lump sum value.

Although as lifetime allowance has been sacked off, it doesn’t matter now.

I’ve got a Redshift stem on my Topstone, and bar rotation was a concern of mine.

I can honestly say I’ve never noticed it at all, whether on the drops or the hoods.

I’ve a pair of Gorewear Goretex shorts that I wear over long bibs if I really have to go out in the rain. Makes a huge difference in warmth, dryness and comfort without impeding pedalling at all. They are quite slim fitting too, so don’t flap about.

Definitely – there are a few shops at by the Galzigbahn that will store your skis and boots for a fee, or if you rent from them some do it for free I think.

If the runs home are in poor condition or very busy, just get the lift down, lots of folk do that to avoid the hassle.

Visit the Krazy Kangaroo / Mooservert at least once, but getting served is a pain as it is so busy. There are other decent bars around the bottom of the Galzig for apres ski / lunch.

Have fun, it’s great.

My favourite resort.

It really depends exactly what you mean by ‘intermediate’. If you can happily ski all blue runs in any conditions, and get down reds then you will find plenty to do. It definitely isn’t ideal for beginners though.

It is quite a spread out area, especially now they have added Warth – you will have to be happy to ski (and navigate) quickly to visit everywhere on skis, but taking the bus is a great option to get access to different areas.

FTP of 4w/kg.

Merino wool, especially base layers used for activity.

In a previous job I tested a lot of base layers, merino wool was consistently terrible: quickly shapeless, took ages to dry, didn’t wick moisture away very well. And twice the price.

I have lots in a drawer, only worn for lounging around at home.

Jesus. Where are you guys riding?

I’ve ridden 10,000km+ per year for as long as I can remember and I have never seen a cyclist (or a car) go through a red light.

Is this a London thing?

If I’m carrying my gear on my bike, and riding mostly off-road, but staying in hostels/pubs/travelogues etc, is it still bikepacking?

If not, then what is the name for it?

Sensible.

Fortnum and Mason Hickory Smoked Nuts. 
Or Sainsbury’s Finest Truffle Cheddar cheese on toast. Makes a great omelette too.

I’ve always used electrical tape – maybe cheaper, stretchier tape would better to mould to the transition? And do it somewhere warm rather than a cold garage so the tape is more malleable, or use a hairdryer while doing it. (edit – on the tape, not yourself).

The reviews are extremely positive, with the only sticking point being that everything is done through the screen, but at least it sounds like it is very well executed.

Unfortunately, everything is going that way.

Has anyone had a look at, sat in or driven the new EX30 yet? No where local has one. 

It’s either that or the MG4 I think. Not needed until June, but I don’t know how long they might take. 

900m of tarmac to Blacka, 1km to Limb valley for me in Sheffield, so I’d say that was pretty doorstep.

To be fair, even if you lived in the city centre you would only have 3km of flat road to get to the parks which lead all the way out to the Peak. To the north is Greno etc and there are good gravel trails to the east and south.

Sheffield has the advantage of not being part of a big conurbation in the way that most larger cities are.

West Sheffield for access to the Peak – I can’t remember the last time I put my MTB in the car. North Sheff if you like Wharncliffe style riding. And you can head out north or east for some decent gravel loops.

Added bonus that the sandy soil drains reasonably quickly (not at the moment though!).

BBA boxes – we’ve done dozens of trips, short haul and long haul with both the older style and the new style boxes, plus lent them to friends.  Never had a problem.

if you have discs or integrated cabling through the stem, then definitely get the newer box, but check it’ll fit in your car, it’s a big bugger.