We’ve faffed about with various brands and styles but have always struggled with one large chamber

We now have this one Coleman Comfort Double

The ability to tweak the air pressures separately is great – and if the other person moves you don’t get bounced all over the place. Works for us up to the usual camping type sleep.. (Does ANYONE truly get a good nights sleep when camping?)

TM

Any time anybody mentions Katusha on the TdF coverage, my wife says “Bless you!”.This may well cost her dearly.

ha!

I *think* I might be annoying my wife whenever Bardet is mentioned and immediately start singing this

TM

* Except for last but one camp when I got very drunk and about 3am thought had located the top of the bottle. A rapidly warming sleeping bag soon sobered me to the fact that it was actually the plastic handle I was peeing through. The warmth didn’t last long. Much cursing and tent-emptying shenanigans at 3:05am. Launderette at 7am. Not the best.

That’s a a great story – oh we can laugh now…

Someone I know was camping with a small baby and woke up desperate for a wee. Rather than get up they remembered a pack of nappies was next to them. Light Bulb! nappy opened and placed in the right place (whilst still in sleeping bag). Started ok but then the realisation hit that baby nappies don’t have that much capacity for liquid absorption…

TM

2 weeks under canvas (polyester) planned for August – we had a week last year in North Wales.

For us its the change of pace and routine that’s the fun. There’s a certain amount of physical work involved, but I love living outdoors (temporarily).

Physically it can be a lot of work – I think you need to be a little bit of a gear-head (i.e. loving the kit side of things) to enjoy it.

In these times of instant everything – its good to make it all a bit simpler.

Our more recent trips have been focused around large Geocaching events, so its been really social. Folks dropping around to the tent – impromptu drinks/meals, shared purpose on the campsite.

Its easy to focus on how hard it is to go for a wee, or how tired you get, or where the hell did I put the headtorch, but for me the enjoyment of just being outside all the time is fab

TM

Modern airbeam style tents are pretty fantastic now- but come at a price.

Pretty much twice the price compared to a poled equivalent
Increase in pack size and weight

If speed of getting the tent up is really important, or you ever need to put the tent up on your own, and you can afford it then they are great

We have a smallish car and as my 7 year old daughter tells me “We’re not lazy daddy!” so have poled equivalent …

TM

V40 CC owner here for a year and a bit.

Got the sippy sippy D2 model – got a displayed 72mph on the first long run, normally hit mid to high 50mpg.

Pros
Really great seats. comfy.
Fab toys, great stereo, classy layout and a quality feel

Cons
The boot is small – but you should know that before you buy anyway. We’ve been camping in it and have roofbars for the odd occasion when we need more space. The reality is the car runs around lightly loaded for a large part of the time.
Not a cheap car

Flew business on Emirates A380 to Singapore in March with work.

Got in at 11pm after 17 hour journey, then presenting to the Customer at 0900 the next day. Very grateful for the extra comfort as a result.

Its really very, very pleasant. Some fabulous food – a quite delicious chicken biryani, amongst lots of highlights. Emirates Firts has the onboard shower, a bigger telly and a private “cabin” as per that vid linked above.

Not sure I’d ever pay for it with my own money – especially as Emirates economy is pretty good.

TM

I’m sure you’re all desperate to learn how this ended up :)

I bought a kit online whihc included some cleaner and a syringe with some endcaps for a few quid. Had lots of fun pulling and pushing fluid through thr printhead yesterday – and fixed! now printing like new . yay

ah ok. how did you get the syringe to attach to the print head? did you use a needle?

Thanks
TM

yes its all about what you like and personal preference – we have a trip-happy 6 year old and that door would not work for her. Definitely go and see before you buy.

oh and awards ? I think if you search around you can probably find an award for any manufacturer… e.g. best inflatable tents – Kampa[/url]

That Coleman door is very very silly – our local camping shop hates it with a passion – they won’t even sell that kind of Coleman tent. It means there’s a massive step into the tent, like 18 inches at one end.

Their blackout bedrooms are properly dark too – expect to need a torch to find stuff even in the day!

We went for the Kampa Hayling 6. They do an airbeam version (and there’s a 4 person model) but you do pay a huge premium for the air versions. We’re also worried about pack size (small car) and air tents are big old lumps.

Here’s the Hayling 6 – flat floor to the bedrooms and lots of light.

TM

Riding rubbish, it’s really flat and boring and there’s no Singletrack in Friston or Stanmer.

Though there is a school of thought amongst the locals that a 160mm gnarrpoon will be faster than a 100mm HT.

Or some weirdy belt drive singlespeed nonsense. And the people are peculiar and say things “We wunt be druv”.

Just got an S7 edge (former s5 user here). Unlocked from Hong Kong.

So far so awesome. its really, really lovely. Feels a quality iteration from the s5. If you like and get the Samsung UI then definitely worth playing with.

TM

it depends what you’re offering.I Freecycled a computer and ONLY asked for groups who were in need of a PC. Went to a scout group in the end.

Likewise my now unused Hifi – our local college now have it for their music students to use :)

Mind you, currently got some baby stuff on Freecycle that I can’t wait to ditch to a good home..

TM

3 miles either way, day in, day out. Commuting to London a bit so its 3 or 4 days a week normally.

Big hill at the end, drag a child up it on a tagalong.

Wakes me up nicely…

TM

The Bees is a quality book – really clever!

Indeed. I started it expecting some overly poetic hippy nonsense but its so well written that you slowly get immersed.

TM

wasn’t expecting much from this but was really impressed. Highly original.

I still miss the Night Circus. One for the dreamers.

TM

oh and if you are going to do the Disney thing once in your lifetime, save up and go to Florida.

The Disney estate is 67 sq miles – the size of Greater Manchester – the scale is breathtaking.

TM

Does it REALLY have to be Disney?

If not, then there’s a whole number of other European theme parks who would gratefully receive your Euros. What the alternatives lack in Disney-ness they make up with original attractions, great service and more reasonable prices (on the whole).

A few from the top of my head

Europa park, Germany – in my view the best theme park in Europe by miles. Flights direct to Baden Baden, and short bus ride in.

Parc Asterix, France – huge and wonderful. The full Gallic park.

Plopsaland (don’t laugh) – smaller and a few dotted about France/Belgium.

Toverland, Holland – easier than you think to get to from normal Channel ports. Mostly indoor but amazing outdoor rides too.

TM

done – great cause

TM

I downloaded the app on Android at the weekend and got a £20 voucher for my first use. Even with surge pricing the airport run we did was cheaper than standard cab…

TM

ah yes we had this fun one day.

Start with GP – if its well wedged (the nut my daughter had in the ear was) he may not touch it.

We ended up in A&E – they tried increasingly intrusive things. Ended up with a metal hook going in there (a Doctor did this) and hoiking it out. If that didn’t work then it would needed to be done under a general.

Using “gentle suction” was utterly useless – would be fine if you had a small piece of dry tissue in there – not man enough for anything else.

best of luck

TM

Stunning ride in today. Golden light on golden leaves.

TM

I have just got one of these

Osprey Radial 34

Ventilated back, pockets a plenty.

So far, so brilliant. very very well thought through. Quite long but manageable.
I use it everyday and will use at weekends for trips too.

TM

I work in IT related field and have taken on a more project management oriented role, so thought a decent qualification will be useful, even if only for the CV.

Useful for what? Doing your job or planning the next job move?

Not meant as a criticism, more a suggestion that you’re clear on your motives as they will influence the choice…
TM

We’ve done a couple of holidays in Denmark and Sweden – plus I’ve had monthly trips with work to Malmo for the last 3 years.

You’re unlikely to see brown porsches and odd detectives – you are likely to see a fabulous place to visit.

A few ideas

Copenhagen – Tivoli – Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disneyland. Its a classy theme park. Wonderful at night/Christmas.

Copenhagen – the Blue Planet Aquarium – brand new, huge, fabulous. Probably busy and buy tickets in advance so you don’t have to queue.

Malmo – the museum is surprisingly ace. looks dated from the outside but great inside.

Both – bikes! we hired a Cargo/box bike and our 3 year old loved riding in it. Brilliant way of getting around. See how mass bike transit should be done…

TM

Anyway, given the state of funding I’m not sure Sustrans will be about in their current form for much longer.

Yes, things have changed. Feels to me like its a critical time for Sustrans – the original driver (The £40M lottery funding) has been spent and the NCN as a whole is a mature network now. Malcolm Shepherd (former Sustrans CEO) has retired and I get the sense that there’s some head scratching now about exactly what Sustrans is aiming to do. We’ve got a new CEO formerly of TfL (Xavier Brice) who I’m sure will want to make a difference and develop a new direction. Funding will be a massive challenge – there have been some shake ups internally already and my guess is there’s more to come. Its anyone’s guess what the new steady state will look like.

TM

haha a fun read this thread.

I commute home up a fairly evil road climb (14% at the steepest part) – often with a 6 year on a tagalong attached.

On the whole car drivers are respectful as I chug my way up the hill at 6pm. (as I try and encourage the 6 year old to DO SOME PEDALLING!)

One day as I am on the steepest part – I hear vigorous shouting clearly directed at us. Can’t hear the details due to the noise of the cars.

Ignore it and keep on trucking. At the top of the hill I make it past the queueing cars (past the car that yelled at me) and cross the road. Meanwhile the offending car zooms past with the window open.

Bracing myself for round 2 of abuse – here it comes

“Brilliant effort – well done – keep going!!”

They’d been trying to encourage me all along – a positive heckle. Really made my day and reminded me that people notice us cyclists out there trying to do things differently.

TM

had this in quite a nice foodie pub we go to. Mentioned it to the staff who looked a bit blank. Wrote a balanced review on Tripadvisor whihc the boss got to see and got a nice thank you reply. They won’t know unless you tell them!
TM

How can a man in his forties attend a yoga class without everyone in the room automatically assuming he is some kind of lecherous sex perv?

This is a real barrier to entry as far as I am concerned.

Depends on the class. I went to a gents only Pilates class for years. I bet there’s blokes only yoga if that bothers you. If you really want to go you’ll find a way.

TM

The pilates class I’ve been doing for the past 6 months or so is great for core strength, not so much for flexibility. Given the comments above I’d say yoga is probably better for this, but it depends massively on the instructor.

agree with all this. Try a few classes as you won’t get a true picture with one instructor. Work out what you want too – why do you want to be more flexible?

TM

Pilates for me – weekly is good. I get in the groove and find myself watching TV waving my legs about/stretching by habit (humans are such habitual creatures!). Really helps unwind my back and get everything straight again.

Wife does yoga and I am put off by the snippets I get from the class e.g. such classics as “its better to eat small animals (e.g. chicken) than large animals (e.g. beef) as (wait for it) small animals are by virtue of their size easier to digest.” She seems to enjoy it – if you have a busy life an hour of “you time” is wonderfully de-stressing – regardless of what you are doing…

TM

caterham self assembly

“It can take anywhere between 80 – 100 hours to build your own Caterham and you will need specialist equipment to assist you.”

I can imagine it will be a lovely way to spend time with your dad. Especially if you’re both mechanically minded.
They have a technical helpline which you’ll probably need to use (so say friends of mine who have been there).

Caterham owner of 8 years – miss it terribly.

TM

p.s. the top gear cars were prebuilt and taken apart again before the challenge I understand.

Interesting.

My daughter (aged 6 ish) apparently takes part in superhero training whilst she is asleep.

She’s almost done Level 1. Up next is level 2 which is all about animal rescues.

Creative things aren’t they?

TM

The guy in his 60s running the polling station this morning seemed a good sort. I suggested I’d like to do “ride thru” vote on my bike and he actually thought that would be fun. Sadly I had already left my bike outside!

We have a predominantly Tory council with an active Green councillor or two. Lots of local stuff happening here meaning our local political situation is quite interesting (Redhill, Surrey).

There’s a new prospective councillor who recently starting running the local cafe in our park. He;s getting married in August and is putting on a music festival for residents. I think he’ll do well as he seems to have a genuine vested interest in making Redhill a better place.

TM

Quick update – The Muddy@ngels will be heading out to the first Trailtrax [/url] event on the 24th Apr. They will be doing the rest of the events too

If you’re there do say hello!

TM

Oh and if you were desirous thereof to support these ladies in their quest, you might consider going here and bunging a few quid for Macmillian.

Muddy@ngels fund raising for Macmillan #forjenn

TM

Atera Strada User for 5 years now.

Like anything there’s pros and cons

Pros
Really well designed
Very easy to put bikes on and off
With a little bit of padding, 3 bikes quite straightforward.
Service support from roofbox.co.uk is excellent

Cons

The rack shows it is locked in place by a small green button being in the upright position. This can get into a state where the rack looks like its locked up, but its not and slides down when you’re moving. If you are a pillock and forget to check this means you can suddenly be scraping the rack along the road. the good news is all this does is remove some material from the bottom bar – I have in my incompetence done this twice and have had NO bike damage at all. This may have changed in later models

The handles holding the uprights in position can go brittle with age. All adjustable with an allen key, but something to look out for after 3 + years

The mechanism is exposed so gets all the road salt in it. I have carefully ignored doing anything with mine with the result that its a bit sticky now. The rack doesn’t slide as smoothly as it did (bear in mind its 5 years old and has been well used!). taking on and off the towbar can be fiddly now (blissfully easy when new). Regardless, its still working v well.

We are going to renew it at some point – looking something that can take a box as an alternative/additional to bikes but would definitely look at one again

TM