Best hope Gatland tries half the Welsh players in the wrong position too…just to give you a chance!

Only joking they did enough to win….France and Ireland was a far better game entertainment wise….Can’t see England beating either TBH

Perfect day tomorrow will be Penmachno in the morning followed by a tidy Welsh victory…heres hoping!

Like AVDAVE2 I had a custom Fuquay built up 16/17 yrs ago, I wanted a Serrota Tmax but was £1200 for frame and Rockshox and had a few non uk friendly features.

Greg built me exactly what I wanted in Columbus Max OR with Pace RC 35s for about £800 and it was awesome…still enjoy riding it now on fast singletrack can’t see me ever selling it…in fact toying with idea of speccing it back to how it was as got some old skool bits…XT thumbies, Nuke-proof screw on rear hub, Grafton cranks in the loft

Just the fact that it’s your bike and nobody else will have one exactly the same is the nice part!

Not been cornering hard has he?….still got little moulding bits and outside edges are mint….”one slow straight ride with a heavy/powerful rider” might have been more accurate :D

What did you pay?…if buttons hang on to them…they are the only grippy version so longevity is worth sacrificing for grip…standard MK’s are hopeless!

Crellins started wussing already…just the Saturday ride!

Nah I thought the “Race Team” that adorned our T shirts was a bit of a grand title

Back to work slacker!

Hows the training going for the Mega….should be practicing in this snow!

GW its down to perspective I suppose, trust me they seem a lot better when you are down the front…never watch bands from the bar always a bit detatched

Saw the Sex Pistols in Manchester from a corporate box…yawn!…I’m sure if I’d been at the front I would have appreciated them a lot more!

B.A.Nana…..you’ve missed so much, not like they sold out in 86, did some awesome tours around Thunder&Consolation and Impurity. **** TEXAS is good but at least SlimTubing’s got time to listen to HIGH and EIGHT now

Clogs went years ago…also went mouldy in loft…still got a ton of Tshirts though

Gig highlights would be Reading festival..”we were singing in the rain” (as it rained) and probably their smallest gig Thecla sp? a boat in Bristol docks…wierd seeing a band underwater about 2 years ago…Also remember seeing them in their first ever gig under a Labour govt…pleased Justin…even though I recall he thought Tony Blair had too many teeth!

XC Keith…family shouldn’t stop you they only play a couple of times a year…beg a pass…you’ll love it plus get down the front for 2hours workout equivalent to doing the Marin I reckon!

Sufr…Getting on in business applies even more so to the arts/creative media arena….good luck learning, I’d love to but something ie biking would have to slip! As work stupid hours and have 2 kids

When’s the last time you saw them Slim?…they just get better! Seen them twice in last 2 yrs awesome…crowd as mad as ever…battered and bruised afterwards…seen them a few(lost count TBH) times over last 21 yrs too!

Top tip get a foot long bit of copper pipe 28mm? the fatter stuff anyway saw 2 slits in one end (divide circle in 4) if viewed end on, flare them out slightly works well as pressure spreads evenly….hope that makes sense?

Sorry are you stuck in the 70’s? Its not like that anymore.

What bit?…2nd jobs? …occaisional fires?…help me out cos I know a fireman who runs a building company….and saw lots of them on the news during the strikes with 2nd jobs.

Also interviewed an individual highly placed in a local brigade who told me there were only a fraction of the number of fires to deal with there used to be….so I’m confused

Things have gone pretty badly for the Police…not seen them on strike!

bruneep nice split standard there. calling someone for being a teacher and its’ their job they knew what they were siging up to then highlighting your paltry 2week summer break

Yep can’t argue with that…Firemen knew what the wages were when they signed up too!…..cracks me up when you saw them all moaning they needed a 2nd job to survive…….how many full time jobs actually give you enough free time to run a building company in your spare time?

Fire service job ads are massively oversubscribed if you don’t want to play pool, darts etc for a living, with the occaisional fire to deal with, move along…plenty out there would take your place!

Ernie…Wales is a Nation, with a now thriving language…I’m a very proud Welshman and one of my biggest regrets is not learning the language as a child. I accept that some for whom Welsh is a first language and used almost exclusively then struggle with exams etc in English but I would counter that with the fact that in North Wales at least fluency is a major plus in business….

As for that old tripe about the Welsh speaking English until outsiders walk in the pub its bollox…if it’s their first language it’s what they use simple as that…..

As for getting far away…we see folk from all over at our local trail centres…seem happy to keep coming and are always made welcome!

Take it very steady…I googled loads before going for mine and saw some right horror stories…it will hurt a bit more soon when bruising comes out and the itching is a pain. stiches got a bit infected but squeezed pus out (sorry it’s lunchtime) and was ok, I ran a bit after 5/6 days biked after 8 and had no issues…bedroom action a lot sooner!

Ribble Hacks are fine…about £120 for frame and carbon forks….not worried about stacking it on ice or mud….2 sliding sideways events on Friday cos of slurry on lanes. built up they are great VFM I reckon

Shreck when was the last time a premiership footballer failed a drugs test?…just cos accusations like that can be made to dissappear by the liberal application of funds doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur.

Nickc agree violence is down over the worst excesses of previous years but Cardiff is a nicer place on rugby days than footie days…better vibe and I know which ones the police prefer

As I said the threat of violence can be enough to make the general public (not just Mail readers) uneasy on their own streets

He’d probably just had a hard time off racist footie fans…joking fella!

Absolutely the right thing…transit/car/take-away load of mates is a real possibility, reminds me of when I was a student in stoke 3 lads in a transit asked me where a nightclub was…..I explained they acted(I think) thick and asked me to get into the back of the van and show them the way!…I politely declined!

Saying that when a smackhead had a go at me and the mrs recently I squared up to him and shoved him off but I was cornered pretty much and he’d been heckling me for ages so was obvious what was on his mind…..didn’t stop the mrs from blaming me …she said I should have walked away…women eh?

Nickc I do and don’t…the “sorry sir” reference was actually from Gavin Henson pretty recently

As for a “Couple of points” it’s 3 actually or possibly a lineout in a good attacking position which can be worth 7 points!

Plenty (too many) games of rugby are won or lost on penalties these days for your arguement to be valid..it’s simply a lack of respect in football exacerbated by refs being scared to send off players

Litter people can live with..it’s violent and threatening behaviour that spoils peoples day!

Good point Juan I think it boils down to respect…any game where a 20stone prop accepts a sin-bin and says “sorry sir” to a 5ft ref has to influence its fans

Thankfully it’s mostly free from racism and fans can sit side by side with the opposition and win or lose the post game atmosphere is always friendly

I’m with Captain F too….the game itself can be enjoyable to watch, but has a very clear ugly side to it… The refs should MTFU and have a zero tolerance policy on swearing, abuse, mobbing refs, managers openly questioning decisions and diving/acting. By all means have a video ref for questionable goals/fouls etc but the players should accept they have influence over kids watching and their behaviour should set a good example

RudeBoy how can you say it’s not the fault of football when it’s football that provides the platform, the publicity/celebrity, access to nightclubs etc and most of all the wealth to get themselves into these situations?

Where else can people who are still kids effectively be on incomes most people can only dream of…they lack the common sense and maturity needed to handle the fame and fortune and offer some very cynical Women/tabloid journalists a soft target.

Drug tests wise…I don’t think they are tested anything like as much as cyclists. I can’t see how a sport that generates that level of income based on performance hasn’t cottoned onto EPO etc…Operation Puorto sp? unearthed atheletes, swimmers, tennis players, football players and cyclists…cyclists got named and shamed the rest was hushed up and quickly closed down…Why?…it’s all down to the money and power in the game

English football players…infact all football players seem to fail very few drug tests…of any description…..my cynical head says they either aren’t tested enough or they get tipped off about them in advance… too much power and money in the game to risk losing a player for 2 yrs

Spear tackles..can be an accident depends on how low you go in….I’ll see your spear tackle and raise you Two footed leg breakers?

As for the Wonder dust…the English players are under a lot of pressure to perform…..6 nations round the corner and judging by recent results they need all the performance enhancing stimulants they can get!

Re working class….where I come from it’s THE game of the working class!

Shreck…Re that game… rugby players don’t try to break/brake!! necks they are mostly the result of scrums collapsing…eye gouging is dying out but proper punchups… do flare up! at least it’s not not girly handbags, spitting,acting/diving, swearing at refs and the general lack of respect that just because you earn an obscene amount and your boss will back you up, you think you can get away with.

I know which one I’d rather my kids watch!

Agree with Nickc…my MT 500s feel wrong….feel like they need pulling up all the time…no they are not too big either as they are tight on my big boned (honest!) frame. The other slightly odd thing about them is at the bottom of the legs the gripper seems to flare slightly so seems baggier than the lycra which just looks wierd!

Got some old castelli ones that are ace though.

Slight hijack but how do people find XO compares…mine seems very sloppy, looks ace and light as hell but I think the lifespan seems less than Shimano

Whyte E5…last yrs model for Circa £2ish k would seem to fit the bill…not biased at all but love mine…light enough for climbs descends better than me…and bearings last very well…14stone lump not touched them in 20 months(not like friends with intense/Santa cruz). Oh and it doesn’t fill up with water on rides like some Vpp exotica…

I thought there was a delayed duty increase that came into force recently….was due ages ago but coincided with record highs for oil prices..so was put on hold. Govt could have slipped it in on a manic news day ie Obama’s housemove? Ring any bells….or did I dream it all?

Bought a Giant bike for my 5yr old at Xmas got a FREE proper pedal spanner and half tidy muti tool too…I was very impressed!

Had the jelly sweets a few times too!

Bike was really well built too…very little set up needed….and no I don’t have shares/work for them!

TKMax had Merrell base layers in 66%Merino last week for £16 bought one as it looked a bargain seems to work really well, nicer feel than Hellys and washing well so far

Hope this helps

ps Chester shop