Ive got a van and time on my hands – what do you actually need ?

Its what you make of it. That applies to almost anywhere. Ive lived in 5 different countries and each had good / bad points. Have a good think about the things you like here in the UK and try to imagine if they will exist in Australia. Then do the same for the bad things.

You really need to find out what you want / like / hope for and try to see if Australia will meet these. Or are you just dreaming about something that dosent actually exist. Dont forget, your views will be different to your Wifes once your there should you go.

Things will be different if you go there for a defined short lenght of time – say 2 or 3 years. That way you know you will come back and can put up with the bad things quite differently to if you actually go for good. Dont burn your bridges.

Something crawled up you bum while you were asleep and has started to breed.

Go on line and print out the news artical about that old chap that killed a motorcyclist recently, I think he got four years. He was basically too old to drive and ended up killing someone. Give the artical to your old man to read before he ends up in a similar situation.

Do something now, you may regret it later. His feelings will count for nothing if he kills / injures someone or himself.

Im sure he offered advice to you when you were young that you found hard to take, but it was the best advice.

Whatever you do, do it quick. Dont drag it out as that makes the pain last longer. My parents divorced and I was quite glad rather than put up with the arguments etc. Kids are not stupid – they know right from wrong and can read between the lines.

On the bright side, the value of houses is low, interest rates are low. You may be able to buy her out cheaper now than last year.

Check out Fathers for Justice, they may be able to recommend a suitable solicitor.

anagallis_arvensis, I would suggest that its almost impossible not to pass some opinion on people. Especially in an A&E dept such as that shown. The fact that people do work there is outstanding, Id ignor their opinions and let them get on with a job that most people would not do for double the money.

When you end up in A&E having fallen off your bike some may say you shouldnt be so stupid, but what will actually happen is some Dr will fix you up and let you go on your way. They will do this whatever opinion they hold.

Sadly, stupid people believe adverts. Live is hard enough for stupid people without this sort of thing adding to their woes.

I would sell if it was me. I want money to ride my bike, pay my bills and enjoy life without needing a job. Life is far too short for lofty ideas to do otherwise.

Good marketing made customers all feel good about buying, thats marketing, your a bit naive if you take it all too seriously. You spend your money to make yourself feel good. They take your money to spend on stuff that makes them feel good. Its called business.

If your still upset, well there is now an opening in the market for a feel good drinks company.

If only I had a high powered rifle with telescopic sights – then Id clear up the streets. *switches browser to ebay and roots around the wardrobe for batman costume*

Great vid, I need to get over there and give it a go.

People will believe anything – some people still believe in god FFS. Im not surprised people belive these daft conspiricy theories. It seems the more daft the more people believe.

Sometimes it requires a bit of effort and intelligence to figure out the facts and science – sadly this is too much for most people, so they believe the lies that suit them, rather than the truth, which may be inconvienent or difficult to swallow.

I weigh 90kg, ride a FS and use 35 – 40 psi. Never had a pinch flat. Tyres are Kenda Blue Grove or Trail Rakers for the winter.

OK, enough now. For those the like him sit back and enjoy his leadership.

For those that cant stand him, sit back and enjoy his leadership.

Its a win win situation, now, since the sun is shining – get out on your bike and enjoy it while it lasts. You never know, it may start to snow again.

People really need to wake up. Kids will fight with stickes and toy guns and whatever their imagination comes up with. They then learn about conflict, arguing, debate, reconcilliation, friends, getting hurt and so on. If you educate them well they will learn well.

Leave them to bash each other a bit, dont wrap them in cotton wool and take toy guns from them. But I do think free and easy access to pron will have lasting consequences we may regret later.

I still dont think the public should be allowed to vote – they vote for reasons that have little to do with running the city / country / economy whatever.

A panel of experts with good track records should choose someone.

Its like seeing the doctory, you seek his advice, you dont tell him what drugs you reckon you should have because they sound good, or the advert was good, or they come in a blue packet or were made in the UK.

Actually I think Boris is so laughable I would be surprised if the Torys were happy to have him in the headlines. I bet Cameron is crapping it every time Boris opens his mouth.

But what acutally depresses me more is the fact that he was voted in. That either means Ken was worse or the public are not fit to vote. Its the latter I reckon.

You could have asked for a threesome :)

Go for it, if not for the comfort then just for the fun of winding up those that think its wrong.

Mass produced ones will be made where its cheap, boutique handmade specials will be made close to home where shipping / spares / customer support matter more.

As we continue to out source our less skilled jobs we get large sectors of the working population with no chance of employment. They vote, so you end up with governments bailing out dying industies – like the UK car industry. Rather than re-training and re-educating. The other likely outcome is more protectionism.

Doomed then really.

Lots of labour intensive jobs have left the west for the east because wage costs here are higher. Its not rocket science

If workers push for better conditions / rights / health & safety / etc etc then the cost goes up. But the public still expects a bargin so what does the factory owner do to stay in business ?

This does mean that the poor in the east can now begin down the economic road from subsistance farmer to factory slave to middle class worker – just as many in India did in the last couple of decades. Sooner or later we will run out of cheap third world labour.

Well, given all the houses and all the estate agents Id say 0.9 percent is small enough to be:
a) a rounding issue
b) too small to count
c) within the range of normal errors

So really the headline should have read – house prices stay still.

Maybe the muslims have it right. More shags, but all in the family.

Im not surprised. I dont know how any medium to large bike maker can make a profit if their frames are not made in the Far East.

Given that most people who vote own a house and meaure their worth in life by the increasing value of their house, anything that keeps prices high is a vote winner. I dont see any government doing anything to make it easier for first time buyers.

All the gov wants to do now is get back to the days of growth and rising house prices. All banks want to do is make money and market share – they will attempt to do this whateve the restrictions forced on them.

Face it, if you were offered a bounus in the hundreds of thousands youd work damm hard to get it, if you didnt someone else would soon be along to do your job.

So soon it will be back to normal.

How would the coppers go about stopping the theft I wonder ? Bobbies on the beat wont do it. Any coppers around to give us an insight ?

No, no, no. Its the church of single speed trying to convert you.

Time for a new frame then :)

Poor bloke – must be bored sh*gging sheep then.

Shall we start STW fight club then ? No bombers allowed though.

Last fight I had was back in the early 90’s. Ended up in the nick after that. The police doctor came along in the early hours of the morning to see why I was covered in blood and noticed my bleeding lip. So two coppers escorted me to the hospital for some stitches which the nurse put in – without any anethsetic.

When I went to work on the Monday I told my boss the stitches were due to being hit with a squash racket in a game.

Id be worried now of loosing my temper and doing some serious damage.

As police fail to get peoples bikes back, people dont bother reporting them as stolen. This results in the level of measured crime dropping. This means the police hit their targets.

So it pays them not to try to meet thier targets just so they can meet them.

Clever isnt it.

Can you all please shut up and go and ride your bikes – the sun is shining and the trails are dry.

If you cant do that at least tell me why Phonetic isnt spelt with an ‘F’

Haveing so much to loose makes cheating more attractive.

Its called marketing. Same with cars and mpg or 0-60 times. All rubish.

With motorcycles they weigh them with no petrol, oil or water in. In the real world none weigh the same as the advert / spec.

One motorcycle mag tired telling it like it was and Yamaha told them they would never get a test bike from them again. They published Yamahas letter to piss them off.

Makes me think of Pulp Fiction – remember the gimp scene ?

If there is no gap and you tighten the bolts up you will just stretch the bolts. They will then fail and you will fall off. The gap is there for a reason.

I found riding with people fitter than me helped the most. On my own it was too easy to stop, or slow down.

Well you could get yourself a pedal powered cooker, that way if you want a nice Sunday Roast you have to expend energy to get it.

Perhaps they should supply bikes at supermarkets, or a jogging track. Then they could print the number of mins of excercise required for each fatty snack they sell. That sort of education may help some.

Those that still ignore it can be put down like unwanted pets.

Yes Gary_M, but they are not on this forum :)