I was preparing to get married to a pain-in-the-arse wife.

After divorcing and finding a proper girlfriend, we jacked it all in to go travelling when I was 34. Best thing I ever did.
If the little trbs that my missus has recently produced have not done at least 1 world tour by the age of 26 I shall be beating them with a large stick until they go

Do it

Once I used to keep my spanky uber expensive bikes in the house.

Then I found a girlfriend
We bought a house together
She morphed into on of those wife things
A couple of those uber expensive children things have now appeared

So now I keep my bikes in the shed, but hey, it's not so much of a problem because my bikes have also morphed into cheap, unwashed, rarely ridden or maintained models 😉

V-Brakes are not man enough to stop the weight of me on that outfit. In the wet they were getting downright dangerous!

Our touring oufit is a V braked tandem – I had to used my feet to stop once on a wet NZ mountain pass!

Nice tour, Devon and cornwall are notoriously hard for touring – no really high bits, but not many flat bits either

hmmmmm now you've got me thinking I might load up the trailor and take little trb camping this weekend

At 3 months I'd be happy to take my little one in a baby bjorn for a pootle to the shops. The missus however would not be happy, so clear any purchases first! Plus if I walk then 8 bottles of ale will fit comfortably under her pram where as the bike handles poorly when they are hanging off the handlbars 😉

Another issue I have with a baby bjorn is that most contintental kids are carried on sit up and beg city bikes, while all my bikes are lower bars and stretched out, which limits the space in front of you and would effectivley have the baby looking at the floor.

Do you feel the need to wear a helmet? If you do then I'd suggest that your first born needs one too (trailers excepted), and their head control won't be good enough until 6 months ish to wear one.

If I were you I'd just wait until next spring, you'll have plenty to worry and between now and then other than bikes!

Really? We have great social night rides our area, but they really are fast paced. As in, people do get dropped. But they are great fun

Then we'll have to agree to disagree on what sociable means.
We'll have to go riding together sometime – you can drop me and I'll stop for a pint, the perfect ride for all parties!

For the record, I'll be riding the long way home in a minute and have 4 pints of pedigree with my name on at home, but this thread has made me thirsty so I might have to supplement that with a pint of Village Idiot as I go past the local micro brewery pub

Riding is sociable, drinking beer is sociable, therefore they go together.

Obviously, sociable riding is done at a different level than balls-out coughing-up-a-lung training rides, so beer is probably not appropriate there.

I did once ride with a group I didn't know who advertised their ride as "A pootle around with a pint in the pub midway". 8 people and the only one who had a pint was me! So as with many MTB things, we are sometimes better at talking about it than actually doing it!

Hungry Caterpiller's for girls

Gruffalo in our house

To be fair I don't get all that many near misses – although I count a near miss as "another coat of paint and I'd have had 'im" rather than the usual "people driving like pillocks" incidents.

That said my most recent near miss was with another cyclist – 2 abreast on a cyclepath chatting to his mate, until I shouted "CHOOSE A SIDE PLEASE"

and I always seem to get more incidents when I've been off the bike for the while and am less chilled / less observant / more optimistic about others driving skillz.

Are you free camping or stopping in Campsites?

1) water shouldn't be an issue to get it form taps, but take some iodine tablets to sterilise any water taken form rivers (tastes grim mind, but saves you from Gardia)
2) Small stove + pan + super noodles for emergencies, otherwise it's failrly easy to carry 48 hours worth of food & even scotland has shops.
3) If you stay in campsites, take your kit into the shower for a rinse. getting it dry is the challenge.
4) Lock 'em to your rack, lock bike as per normal rules
5) You've answered that yourself. The last big tour I did I used flat pedals & wore hiking boots. Nice & comfy all day plus something to walk around in.

nb I've never been to that bit of scotland so if it's local info you want then I can't help

Planet X are currently doing Alfine Pompinos for that price.
I'd buy one, but my kaffenbach is nowhere near worn out enough for me to replace it….

I was down in Cornwall at the weekend and overtook a couple of cyclists with Lands End to John O'Groats printed on their shirts and I thought "you must be bloody mental".

They are – I see them quite often going up & down the A30 when just a mile or so to either side there are some fantastic country lanes to enjoy, and they are there slogging along dodging caravans in the diesel fumes – mental.

I'd do it if I had no wife or kids who complain if I do so much as an overnight trip!

The main issue for me would be boredom, staying sober and not getting beaten up by a squaddie for being a smartarse!

Personally we go for the holiday park type of place these days, Haven, Centre parcs, that sort of thing. We make an effort to leave the snob in us at home and use it as a base to explore from. Then when the kids are bored you've always got the pools, playgrounds, beaches, forest etc on your doorstep to keep 'em occupied.

Cornwall is always good for that sort of thing but the drive down from your place will leave you wishing you'd flown & if you fly you may as well go abroad!

Islabike Rothan

Transformed me from a mountainbiker into a commuter & pootling-along-family-trails-er

I'd say no rush and use this summer to get out on the bike by yourself.
By next summer, he'll see you reaching for the shed key and decide that it's his birthright to accompany you on any trip involving bikes and will scream blue murder until you take him. Hence the only time you'll get to go out on your own will be night rides when he's already in bed!

Plus check with the Mrs – I never took my boy out until he was 9 months 'cos the mrs decided that was when I could take him out, regardless of the STW wisdom

Islabike Rothan – so good that a couple of his mates now have matching ones after their parent had seen little trb on his.

It did take few months to get the hang of it properly, now though the main disadvantage is that he can now ride faster than I can run, so he disappears into the distance and his ability to gain speed outweighs his ability to use the brakes meaning he's had a couple of good over-the-bars incidents!

Met a german chap touring South Island in NZ on one a few years ago. He had a homemade trailer attached to the seatpost for his gear and was travelling faster & further per day than us.

As for european routes, no idea!

I once bought some Carbon patches to prevent cable rub & chain slap from chipping my paintwork and they fell off after 2 rides.
My carbon frame, bars, seatpost and cranks all had to be sold as well to finance a proper metal bike with a kiddie seat, so that means I'll never be buying carbon again.

I'll be interested to see the reduction in peoples foreign travel when the Boeing Dreamliner & Airbus A350 XWB both enter service as they are basically big carbon tubes with carbon bits glued on each side.

I am the proud parent of toddlers, so after a weekend of them & their mates piddling in it I use it to water the garden.

Plus the missus is paranoid about them drowning in it if not closely supervised, so it has to be a small pool & left empty to maintain a relaxed household.

Freesat with a Humax recorder box thing for us works very well.

Bleeding brakes is easy if you know how and have the right tools. If you don't then it's a pain in the arse and will only lead to a puddle of fluid on the floor, contaminated brake pads, tears and a trip to the LBS.

I tried bleeding them (by unscrewing the bleed nipple close to the pad) but with no effect

That statement tells us you don't really know how as you've just let a load of air into the system. So I'd suggest a trip to the LBS or find a mate who knows what he's doing to lend you a blled kit & show you how

When I started running, me & the mrs went out with the local Hash house harriers.

* Plenty of company to motivate you
* Go as fast / slow as you need to
* Normally a couple of runs a week
* Plenty of contacts there that do "proper" running as well
* You get to drink beer afterwards!

They are a funny bunch mind!

Clippers? MTFU
Real men lather up and wet shave for a proper chrome dome.

I haven't paid someone else for a haircut since 1992.

Well spotted Surf-Mat. I meant the Bodinnick ferry for Polruan.

In fact now I think about it. I'd take the King Harry ferry anyway, drive around the Roseland peninsula (some nice beaches over there that lack the surf & hence crowds of the north coast) and drop into Meva for lunch before carrying on to get a late entry ticket into Eden.

My Local trails (bridleways) tend to be deep in mud in winter, deep in nettles in summer and not technically demanding enough to make it worth the hassle of spending more time cleaning than riding especially now the kids have put a strict limit on the available riding time. So rides from home are more often the road (CX) bike which is also good enough for a blast down the rdigeway if the fancy takes me.

Forgot to mention Polruan. Take the King harry car ferry across the estuary. park at top of the town and hold on tight to the kids buggy as it's a **** steep walk down to the quay

I'll second dairyland. I grew up a few miles from there, but never went until I took my own family last year. Your entrance fee includes free return trips for the week, so we went 3 times as it p1ssed down all week and they've got a good indoor soft play area!

Eden is also good for the kids

If you go to St Ives, use the Park & ride train (well signposted). It's a loverly little trip along the coast.

I'd go to Mevagissy rather than Padstow. Very similar fishing ports but Meva lacks Rick Stein and is easier for you to get to.

Don't write off a boat trip. Some of the boats that go out of Falmouth are quite big with several decks, bar, bogs etc

As for beaches – what do you want? Quiet or busy? Lifguards or not? Surf or calm sea? short drive or long drive? easy parking or walk over cliffs? Cafe or full restuarant or nothing?

60k extension – I'd consider moving out & renting for 6 months, stay out of the way and let the builders get on with making a mess £500 a month rent for 6 months will "only" add 5% to the cost of the extension

The top tube ones are good, but by design need to be smaller than the rear seats, so he'll grow out of it quick and you'll end up buying a rear seat anyway.

We've got one of these on my town bike for short trips, which little trb loves
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Leco-Leco-Multifit-Top-Tube-Mounting-Child-Seat-12571.htm
and a Co pilot Limo rear rack mounted seat on the mtb for proper rides

7280 was my score – pretty poor

Mrs trb always does the stoking – even on a 4000km / 16 week tour. I offer her the captains seat regularly, but she prefers the back. She can take more time to enjoy the view apparently.

It was great when I was 10. Mind you, that was 30 yrs ago so might of changed since then

+1

Can't wait until little trb is old enough for me to take him there, but he's only 3 at the moment so will probably be a bit rubbish on the zip wires

Clockwise = Steep as hell 30+ minute carry up Y Das, 5km easy descent down the other side.

Anti Clockwise = easy 5km climb up to Y das followed by a mental steep & rocky descent that you'll either ride down, fall down or walk.

Depends how you like your ups 'n' downs really. Last time I was there we skipped Y Das as it also had some sheet ice thrown in and was a ticket straight to casualty!
Whichever direction you decide on, at some point you'll wish you did it the other direction, so best plan a return trip now to do it the other way 😉

Other rides? get the map out, it's actually quite difficult to pick a bad route over there.

Check here for ideas http://www.mtbbreconbeacons.co.uk/

Have a dig around, various friends made sure that little trb was kitted out with :
A baby grow from Poison Spider bikes in Moab (brought back from hols)
A vest stating "My dad says your bike sucks" (printed to order I believe, so that it matched my favourite riding socks)
A bib stating "Born to Trike"

You should be able to keep mum & dad happy if you look hard enough

Bit slow to repond, but the specific adult i was thinking of had been sitting in the middle of the trail long enough to take his helmet & gloves off and fish around in his backpack for a spare buff to clean his scratched knee.

Obviously if you were semi conscious or had bones sticking out I'd cut you some slack 😉

Well if a few planks and a car boot full of topsoil / compost is too expensive then I'd just dig over a corner of the lawn (in fact that is what I did!)

Quick results, lettuce, radishes, spinach
Medium results, french beans, runner beans, carrots, onions.
Probably won't have much room left once that lot are in,
Strawberries and cherry tomatoes in pots are a favourite snack in my back garden

Washing machine engineer bloke I spoke to said Miele or Bosch – but stay away from the Bosch Classic (cheap) range as they're just re-badged Hotpoints.

Don't forget to do regular maintenance washes – a recommendation normally buried in the back of the manual, he reckoned it would have saved me that particular £100 repair bill.

Talkemada – washing machines are like bikes – the cheap ones will still wash your clothes, but the expensive ones will do it better, quieter, hopefully for longer and most importantly with more style.

Well the FC website says of Electric Blue "Never too steep though, this trail can be enjoyed by all levels of rider"
So maybe she was suckered into it and got well outside of her comfort zone. People can overreact when stressed – especially when kids are involved.

FWIW I've had similar encounters with fully grown adults sitting in the middle of red/black routes after they've taken a tumble and sustained a minor injury

nb – I take it that you stopped to check the fallen rider was OK with no injuries and offered any assistance you could? just as you would if you met a faller on a black route? 😀

Pension = savings
If you are disciplined enough to manage your own savings pot fine, if not get a pension

If your employer puts money in, get a pension, it's free money (mine puts in 10%)

Bear in mind that the Pension act 2007 introduced the "National Pension Savings Scheme" to replace the old SERPS, As far as I know this is an auto enrolment scheme for every employed person, where you will have to pay into either an accredited scheme, or into the government one. Most (all) employer schemes will be accredited. Who do you trust with your money the least? The government or a hedge fund manager?

Google it, as my details are a bit hazey from a presentation last year – blah blah blah government scheme, blah blah blah our scheme already accredited, blah blah blah – you get the picture

It's a night out like no other, that's for sure!