GVA he’s a really good early season rider and has a good amount mental strength to get in a break and plan well

EDIT: check out the velon website for live rider data

…..gets job as Corbyn policy advisor

If I could post pics I would show hundred pics of Embleton Bay in all weathers, beautiful place and The Greys in the village is a cracking pub. My mate lives there and I love getting up that way.

Being patient with any muscle injury is a key component of recovery….the worst news for any rider cos we is impatient by nature and wanna go faster and ride all the time.

Back extensions work for me for my lower back issues, I have trapezium problems as well and a damaged rotator cuff muscle from a road crash last july (broken shoulder and scaphoid to boot)

I’ve avoided as much chemical help as possible but last few weeks for no reason I can see I’ve been in agony and no amount of my planned stretches that usually fix things are working, so I am back on gabapentin. I had tramadol and something else (began with F) from doc but drove me nuts after 2 days. I got this from doc about a year ago when my neck and trapezium flared.

Posture is a big thing, sitting or driving can exacerbate my issues, I need to walk during day as much as I can (dog is ok with this)

I have thought about a tens machine for my neck area, be interested to hear how useful they are

Lots of smaller breweries opening there own bars around the north east now which is great to see.

Bummer is I’m coeliac so a bit limited, but Hadrian & Border brewery have opened a great pub in Gateshead near the high level bridge and they have a cracking pint Grainger Ale which is GF. Thankfully that gets picked up by a load of pubs now, so one has started hitting the town again with his dancing shoes on.

I have (I do, I really do…) to buy quite a bit in online or make detours whilst at work to breweries to pick up decent GF beer.

Went to Oundle recently to the Nene Valley Brewery, some fantastic beers and all GF.
Westerham Brewery in Kent are really good as well, Wold Top near Scarborough and Hambletons near Ripon.

home made mozzarella stuffed turkey meatballs and pasta later

washed down with some Nene Valley Brewery big bang theory

listening to the dog snore

Rock bottom basic virgin media offering and netflix.

EDIT: and I still dont get my moneys worth.

Watching it now.

Oh boy…

My last company had a head office member of staff named Bucky Banjo.
Met somebody through work recently called Ahed Nijar if you say it quickly…

Always enjoy Huey or Cerys on the weekend mornings, really enjoyed Henry Rollins last couple of weeks. JCC is wonderful to listen to so is Iggy. Thats what I like about 6music the variety.

I love 6music but this is a great thing happening.

I can listen all day except 4-7, Lammo could drive me to dig my own grave with a fork with 2 prongs.

Back in the day I used to hate the fawning sycophantic stuff from Edith Bowman and Jo Whiley, every one hit wonder band they introduced onto Radio 1 was made to sound like the bloody Beatles.

If your staying at Kielder try a night at the observatory, you need to book but with a decent sky its something else

70’s Gateshead we had the coal waggon, milk man (not many of them left), the bread van (cakes loaves and biscuits) rag and bone man (jam jars used to get collected for some reason and old newspapers, perhaps recycling has always been around?) the pop man was always a treat

Cycling around the centre of Amsterdam is like no other bike ride you’ve been on. I’ve done it twice and found myself to be the worst rider ever! watching women cycle in heels with a business suit on talking on the phone with a kid sitting on the handle bars freaked me out, don’t bother with hand signals just turn, cobbles everywhere and the tram tracks!
Have fun its great

I ditched all my Virgin sports package when I got made redundant 12 months ago and havent felt the desire to pay £60 a month to get it back, so this is great especially for the classics etc.

Happy New Year to you to, cheers for that Crashtestmonkey!

Bargain

Ticking off some riding i’ve been gonna do for years and not got round to, booked campsites for the van already.
A new bathroom for the house (middle aged shout out right there!)
Some great trips with my new job
Our dogs first birthday (invites have been sent, sorry we couldnt fit you all in)
10 day tour of scotland in the campervan
The rugby season ending without the falcons being in a relegation battle

edit: finishing this rather nice bottle of wine (malbec from argentina)

I can be identified by my STW mouse mat on the desk at home which has had more coffee and tea spilt on it than I have drunk over the years.

+1 stickers good

The elimination race is always the exciting event but so much happened in that race. Hansen dropped a right bollock, felt Cav had the race sewn up but for that panicky move up the inside.
Top racing

2 years ago much searching and adjusted budgets we picked up a T25 Westy Joker. Imported from Germany 6 years ago it had 190k kms. Now got 203k but has taken us all over Europe twice and done a stack of weekend trips round the UK. Love it to bits, never missed a beat. Heading up to Inverness in August for a wedding. Been pretty good for biking day trips as well

Its the new HS2 route markings.

Your about to become a railway siding

Or your all getting water meters

I came off the road bike on Sunday afternoon and after a long, bloody, rain swept ride home decided the elbow was a bit to painful for my liking. A trip to A&E left me in a cast as a precaution as my wrist and scaphoid area were painful to the touch. Glass removed from elbow and a big nappy pad on my butt cheek. Cant feel anything now in the wrist area but bloody hell the shoulder muscles and arse cheek are sore.
Cast off this Friday hopefully for another x-ray to say all is well. Just started working again a month ago so this couldn’t have come at worse time.

Wife wants the bikes all on ebay.

Started out great, picked out our new pooch at the Dogs Trust after our dog died 8 weeks ago. Had some beers Friday with some friends.
Today 20 miles into a great road day it rained and I wiped out big style, 19 mile limp home with a bent cage and rear mech hanger.

3 hours in A&E later a fractured scaphoid

That looks great fun and the location is perfect. Slow pace of the cricket and the quick flow of bikes on dirt!

Most politicians, just to watch them change the vote on disabled benefits allowances.

Middle lane huggers (although, the new middle lane is now lane 3 on these ‘smart’ motorways’)

My local councils cycle lane designer, it will only help his vision on what is safe and what is suicidal. Certainly it cant get any worse.

Rupert Murdoch, providing the stick is the size of a tree trunk

1mile currently.
Over the years this has varied between 1 mile and 404 (according to google)

I read yesterday that Farage’s brokerage company was in liquidation.
Also saw quoted his salary for being an MEP IIRC £6200 a month which is paid in euro’s so after the currency fluctuation last Friday he actually ended up with a pay rise as such

Big thanks to Jameso, Pinnacle Bikes and Evans Gateshead for great customer service and support with my Arkose recently.

Looking forward to riding again this weekend.

My plans are staying fluid with every glance at the weather forecast! I have got until Thursday night planned and then depending which way this weather is going I may head north or south from Maastricht. I may yet again have to abandon my hopes of riding the Arrenberg forest cobbles :cry:

Jameso ygm, cheers

Jameso, The back wheel just had a hub service at my local Evans shop. If I could post a pic it might be easier to describe, but the frame has literally worn away on the cassette side, grove worn in from the QR spring.

Atlas, please tell me that will have changed in the next week or so!

I have a 2014 arkose 3, has anybody else had any probs with the rear dropouts on the drive train side? I have severe wear on this side, the back wheel is no longer stable under the slightest pressure from the pedals.
Had a torturous time getting home on Tuesday night, the wheel was jumping into the seat stays. I’ve not been able to speak to Evans locally (phones always busy) any fixes for worn drop outs?

Heading to Belgium as well, on Saturday staying 10 miles from Antwerp initially (very flat, stayed there last year) then heading to a place near Maastricht,ill be hitting 3 countries in a ride as the borders are all very close.
Going further south into France at Charlville and then back north towards Wallers to try my hand at the cobbles around the Arrenburg.

Just sat and watched all the ‘demo’ videos on salesforce.com, it was like an episode of the apprentice.

Nobody is in same office, so no drain on the internet connection.

I shall investigate their websites for costs and offerings.

Kenny Dalglish
Viv Richards
Daley Thompson

For younger STW’s there will be much more choice due to tv coverage, ‘back in my day’ 3-4 tv channels, papers mostly did sport seasonally and of course no women heroes cos women’s sport was only invented in 2014 when some cyclists did stuff, although having written that now I am thinking that Tessa sanderson the javelin thrower was a big name in the early 80’s.

I’ve stopped at broadings farm just outside Whitby, about a 15 min walk into town. Child is grown up so I dont recall any clamber for a park, but there was plenty of familys camping and the shower block was top notch

2kg bag for a £1 at Wilko, half of it in the dishwasher. Job done!

cheers

I’m off shopping for salt!

Cheers gang