He was staying at the Marriot Hale when he first arrived, I was on a course there for 6 weeks, he was a really sound lad down to earth…he was gutted his miders wouldn't let him go out round the pubs with us :wink:.."there will be women there?"….his main concern!

Devolved government…what would be their plans re that I suppose..Plaid looking to take charge of more issues here eg Policing, also arguably greater issues with health, deprivation &infrastrucure than a lot of England, Main issue is what right do the TV cahannels have to restrict the debate to three parties?..Lib dems were written off by many pundits a month ago!…now looking at their best result ever?

I was really worried about you fella…thought you were talking a big field event!…that would be like a first time MTBer kicking off on a black run!

Best advice would be try and do a club run or chaingang before hand..Let them know its your first clubride too!

as for the race itself..steady riding no dramatic braking or direction changes without checking first…and sit in the bunch..its easy to get carried away and charge off the front/ chase down breakaways….let somebody else do it for your first event…good luck!

Juan..you are right mate …"classic foreigners nicking our jobs" line trotted out, Gordon prob thought she was a bigot so said so…agree may have done better if he'd stuck to his guns rather than apologising though!

Did sommat similar myself, filling in customer contact details about a bike purchase, they'd left the shop, I was head down writing out the address and mentioned to my mate "gasworks lane that sounds nice eh?"…only to look up there they were with a question for me 8O

Juan keep up it's Mrs Brown now!

Mine has an intermittant fault..vent wont open to blow air to clear the windscreen twice when ive taken it to auto electricians it worked perfectly :cry:.. other times it wont work for weeks…wierd huh?

"Catch me if you can lardy as I pass!" :wink: Nah…"Usually Dig in Fella"…used on Sunday on the Marin…..but I'm friendly and talk to all cyclists :lol:

Completed and good luck…not a bad attempt though agree sometimes I wake up knackered cos the kids wear me out and the current economic climate causes more stress than my riding can negate!

How can you call this spam Soobalias?…It's research…ie finding out stuff, in this case about our sport…I'm in the industry so always happy to help…it's 5 minutes of your time not donating a kidney!

Camping toughens you up H :wink:….flew round the local loop in 2hrs last night..so dry its ace..need to plan travelling for sat ASAP

Hmmm £22 worth of winning scratchcards I've not cashed in, fire extinguisher,Alarm beer mat, broken cycle computer,old cycling weekly, mountain of reciepts old cassete walkman, leftfield, Dido and trainspotting cds and a letter from the DVLA telling me my driving licence now only lasts 3 yrs and I can't drive 7.5t trucks any more….

Ginster I'm sure he will buy some more tyres before then…and matching grips…such a tart he missed out on a night ride last night just because he'd not seen his mrs for a fortnight!

Was on a stretch of new cycle path by Mostyn last night…stuck a lovely new bridge on it…must have cost a mint…not yet opened so I cycled about 75 yards around it to the road pavement to cross the stream it bridges…made me wonder how much cheaper that option would have been?..who says councils waste money?

Nant Y Arian would be a deffo fella, Beast at CYB is my preferred trail there…tough choice between those two as my fave Trail centre trail…NYA doesn't feel like one though! Penmachno over the Marin…Llandegla would be my last choice…although if you ride it at least you'll enjoy the peripherals!

Mate uses a saris bones on his without any drama

Silver E5 with Aspens…loving them..It will be dry warm and sunny…I hope!

Nuuns tabs seem good just started using them 2 rides no cramps and no ill effects so try them out!

Bit yucky round Siabod today thanks…I'll take dusty trails please!…just getting used to that big yellow thing!

Yep I use them…100 plus notes shorts worth looking after properly

Um I use this stuff..not sure of capacity (4ft tall cylinder) but on 3rd in 12 yrs so I'm not in a rush to get back on mains gas :wink:

Don simon…I live in N E Wales …call the hillbillies Gogs all the time!…just like they call me a Taff… I keep them enthralled with tales of strange 3 laned roads and mains gas…beyond some of them :wink:

ps I married one so am qualified to comment!

Seconded re pressure to breast feed…mrs is quite petite…gave birth to a 9lb starving lump, she was in surgery post birth and despite trying really hard for a couple of days couldn't cope with it…daughter had a bottle of SMA and it was a big relief..happy baby happy mum…some of her mates acted like we were abusing our nipper :cry: going on about her development…one of mrs childhood friends(most vociferous about breast feeding) said how much better her daughter would do because of it…our daughter who is 18months younger at 8 towers over this kid and has far better physical development…makes us chuckle everytime we see them together!..I know breast is best..in most circumstances but don't stress out mums at a very vulnerable time!

"Contented little baby book" was good…kids should come with a manual..come on everything else you get that you need to look after for 20yrs plus does!

rather than sleep now I reckon cinema, meals out with the Mrs now cos you'll miss out on those for a while!

Good luck and it's not that tough…..and the 2nd one is way easier! :lol:

Hi Fella…can I get the lads one please…mate was unable to enter as stuck on a roof that day…mailed you :lol:

A4 has been ace for me 52 plate but put 100k on it in last 4 yrs so up to 200k (miles) now..touch wood been great! Been across france a couple of times and does over 300miles on £30, takes 2 mtbs in the back with just the front wheels off…I'll be after another one when/if it dies!…Volvos are for grandads not dads!

Molgrips it's supposed to be possible to ride pretty much off road all the way up to Caernarfon…have you seen Dave Buchanons Welsh C2C route? 328Km 11,178m ascent, we are planning a jaunt down to Cardiff following this route this summer…may take a little longer than Daves 22hrs 49 mins though :wink:

Used to be some fun stuff round Castell Coch…many moons ago!

Munque chick…errmm was getting misty eyed about pulling students and slamdancing in Rich Bitch and the Square Club mostly :lol:

Biking was excellent up in the valleys though as well….hours of fun following your nose and making up routes as I went along!

Don't get me wrong I love it up here and have comparable riding and a great bunch of mates to ride with in VC Melyd…but I'll always be a valley boy at heart!

Sea in Cardiff is close fella…just not so nice for barbies in the bay!

It's great…can't remember the last time it rained in N Wales…paddock where Mrs T keeps pony is so dry the ground is cracking…what tyres for dusty trails? :lol:

As an exiled Taff, living 20 mins from Conway I can see Pigfaces point, does get a bit rammed up here in the summer but the riding is ace and the Gogs are ok just take a bit of getting used to :wink: no really good shopping centres if you like your retail therapy though as Landudno and Chester are both limited. Outdoorswise it really is a stunning part of the world though.

Shrewsbury is a nice enough town, done a lot of good road riding round there but was pretty limited shops wise and not exactly rugged countryside round there….bit short on coastline too!

Cardiff…(gets all misty eyed about mis-spent youth)brilliant city, loads going on, great coastline, fantastic riding wild and trailcentres… and friendly natives in the valleys around!..I still only feel I'm home as I pass the Brecon Beacons :cry:

Yep know a fair bit about them, email in profile for specifics.

Difficulty is mortgages usually,not many lenders keen (especially at the mo) but you have summed it up, buy a chunk (25/50/75%)pay rent on remainder, option to staircase (buy bigger%)or sometimes sell% back if times get hard!

Is a cheaper option than buying 100% and more flexible, and assuming house prices rise you are investing in your chunk of the property which is better than renting.

Usually Housing associations offer them and they tend to be pretty upright and honest (ones we've worked for!)

Don't go into the woods alone….those badgers are scary! :lol:

Yep that woods bit was a puzzler…glad I did it as was really fun…that climb up after it was a killer though. I really enjoyed the route…classic XC feel like Nant Y Arian in places. Sunburn was unexpected though!..5hrs 34 for me for 70k…biggest off roadride since the diabetes started so was happy with that!

Suncream defo….I got cooked at Builth yesterday…arms smarting today fella…H wussed out :cry:

bearings/bushes lasted no time on my mates…probably the issue fella!

Hey fella they are transferable to the other events in the series… according to the bumpf on mine…come to the one next month…can't promise the weather will be as good mind :lol:

It's the NA box on the far right you need fella :lol:

Dont forget these have to cover a very broad spectrum of sports, a lot of these will be using facilities that need assessing.

Yep research can cost a lot but how else do you decide what needs changing?Just be glad the Govt can be arsed to put money into sport in the current climate

I got my face sunburnt on Saturday in North Wales….orrible wet snow and gales today!

I just tell em I'm only still alive due to blood transfusions…therefore if I'd been a JW I wouldn't be stood talking to them…and my cute kids(their words) wouldn't have been born!

Couple of twins being brought up locally without their mum…died cos refused blood after childbirth couple of years ago…feel very sorry their dad thought sticking to his beliefs was more important than letting them grow up with a mum :cry:

I can do 2/3 hr loops from the house…not everybody else can! but got no issues with driving to CYB, NYA Marin or Penmachno…variety is great…can't be arsed with all that pious shite…get 2 bikes in the car and 50mpg plus..so not personally too worried!

Interviewed a fire chief a while ago, predicted big changes as there just aren't many fires anymore!..reckoned that it's more PR stuff these days!

The smoke alarm campaigns, drop in numbers smoking and decline in chip-pan use have all contributed to fewer house fires

Get a sparrowhawk taking sparrows in my back garden now and then…when you are nearby its like a jet going past!..really makes you jump.