I saw this and thought I had a few more than one. Just counted up and scared myself. No wonder its crowded in the shed! Time for a clear out! 10 bikes and 8 frames. Varying from carbon road and full suss through fixed and single speed to vintage steel for L’Erorica. Could get down to three but one is self abuse.

Just slip mine in. Find it very satisfactory. Mind you never had a problem when I had a cardboard box either. I do regular trips flights to Holland with a carbon 29er or carbon road bike and have had no issues. Suppose it will all be bent to bug….ery in a fortnights time.

You’re right and my son likes watches so it might be a way to continue the tradition, as I do still have my grandfather’s pocket watch (given to him on his retirement)

Nice story. My Mum bought Dad a Seamaster in about 1970 for some v special occasion. She gave it to me when he died and I wore it most of the time. On the day I didn’t of course some scrot broke into the house and stole a variety of stuff. I bet they didn’t know what they’d got and dumped it cause it had a crappy leather strap. Thought about replacing it but haven’t cause it wouldn’t be his and they haven’t done they restrained simple style since I could afford one. Maybe when I retire….

Just got one cause of work stuff that couldn’t do on iPad. lovely and really enjoying it, but unless you need the capacity then its an expensive toy.

Plan some special lunches building up to the last day. For that I’d have it delivered by a delicious lady in a french maids uniform and served on a special table with champagne. Don’t settle for a pint and bag of crisps down the local!

Yes, so don’t let food get in the way of your meals.

Walnut whips. Even the eating of them is decadent!

We had one when I was a kid. Lovely temperament and stunning looking dog. BUT don’t get one. They have an insatiable appetite. No that’s appetites! First the amount of exercise required is enormous. 10 mile a day and they will just be warming up. If they don’t get it they will run to fat. This is because they eat. Anything! They break into fridges, cupboards, dustbins, and their fabulous sense of smell identifies any possible source of edible material. Our neighbours thought they were lovely looking and got two. They have aged considerably and the kit ken is a fortress. Ours wasn’t noisy but the two next door bay when bored or smell food they can’t get at.
Adore them from a distance is the best option.

Several interesting characters in ours. Great auntie was reputedly the first women to drive in England. Think it may have been the first woman to get a driving licence in reality. Grandfather looked after part of George Bernard Shaws will to do with the promotion of phonetic spelling. And one who I wished I’d met was a great uncle who was a tailor who was conscripted during the First World War. On the troop ship to Gallipoli he won a fortune at cards. Wrote home proclaiming his winnings (all in IOUs I imagine) telling family to buy a shop and house. They did and he duly arrived home alive. He was so taken with his luck of winning at cards and coming out of the war alive he lost interest in the business which had been established and gambled it all away.

As a cyclist I hate it when people buy me kit or equipment. I inevitably take it back. Not quite the right fit. Wrong size fitment etc. BUT I do appreciate the effort so the Park toilet and BBQ is just the right note. Books are a good bet and one for people of my era age (50ish) that I’m enjoying is Field of Fire by Jeff Connor. About the ANC team.

After a lifetime of civil service salary I went self employed three years ago and the best thing I did was talk to a little old man who looked like he came out of a Dickens novel. He started me thinking correctly. He set me on a course of behaviour rather than looking at the situation retrospectively. He has saved me a fortune in several ways. Basically, if I do things as I go along it reduces my/his costs and helps plan to avoid costs penalties. Find one who doesn’t blind you with technicalities but helps you understand what the implications of actions are. I’m not at all numerate but I’ve enjoyed feeling in control and its in no small way to my dwarf.

Kona – was with for most of that. But the dogs has already met with a crossbow related accident.

Fixed steel road bike, geared titanium road bike, single speed steel hard tail Kona for the snow. Sheds getting crowded with everything else.

Our whole roof is flat. We bought the place as a wreck and replaced the original asphalt with a rubber sheet (the baby oil was an optional extra) and increased the insulation while we had the chance. When I say replaced I mean there was nothing to replace! It was just the felt sheet over 18mm ply and 12mm of expanded polystyrene. So I be looking very carefully at what you’re getting. Ours was built in 1976 so check.It has made a world of difference both in summer and winter.

Theres nothing to be afraid of as has been said above and its always the flashings edges to wall that give issues. So the problem the OP describes should be sortable easily.

Ours is single story and the other factor that might come as a surprise is the noise. Cats/birds can sound like elephants and heavy rain can sound like your camping. It initially was alarming but we now love it. Makes us feel the building has a character.

As a junior in the seventies I used to clip onto the back of two chain gangs that went through our area. One was led by Hugh Porter and one by Les West. Both were tolerant of people joining as long as there was no disruption of the pace and flow. I was never there long enough to do either. Various others other the year. The single factor I’d comment on is the smooth application of power. Nothing flash, calm extreme power.

It is important to be there and to be in line with the person you are remembering. 30 years ago I remember having a conversation with my dad about people being thought badly of because they didn’t wear black shoes at works funerals. It was discussed and agreed that after his funeral we would all go for a country walk and therefore wear what was appropriate for that.

Thirty years with single vision lenses of varying types. Always hated glasses as they interfered with an active life. So getting to the condition that my optician described as “receding youth” was difficult. I was wearing lenses for distance and then reading glasses on top of them for close work. I hated it. So we discussed and decided to try multifocal lenses. They are strange and disorientating for a while. The trick is to stop thinking and trying to focus. It will come. However they are not perfect. Due to the way in which you only look through part of the lense for the different focal lengths it means that you don’t get as much light into your eye. This means that in dark conditions reading can (sometimes) still require a backup from glasses.
In practice I have occasionally gone back to single vision as an emergency backup (on camping or racing trips) and I really miss the multi focals. They make everyday life so much easier.
With regard to your optician – lenses do take some getting used to and people react differently according to mine. He has said lets try this or that to me as well. Its not as straightforward as glasses. I’d persist if I were you. The benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Where are you organic? Not to offer any constructive help but to include you in my mapping of strategic woodpiles. Mcmoonter has an army lurking north of the border and stoner has a division or two. As evidenced on here there are several battalions about and I’ll currently list you as a skirmishing group. I may up grade to company strength when have intelligence of you new build.

Sorry to put a damper on it but… my dad went to the bottom of the garden on the day he retired and burnt all his ties. I think a fair few regard them as a symbol of repression like he did. I’m all for doing things differently and supporting craft/art products but…..

I work in loads of different settings from banks to Whitehall and schools are the only places where ties are work on a day to day basis. So survey at the gates and try not to get arrested.

This is real mans work! none of that shed building nonsense! My Scalextric was about 67/68 vintage. I remember the cars had actual steering. Must go and get my sons set out now!

Is this start of shed wars? Power play between Mcmoonter, Footflaps and Stoner could leave the country north of Watford peppered with structures full of combustable material. Are they preparing for when Scotland shuts off the oil pipeline?
Is Mcmoonter going to become rich beyond his wildest dreams when he starts to smuggle logs south?
Or given the substantial nature of Footflaps bunker is he just preparing a haven from the ensuing fire storm when the tinder dry stores ignite in the blistering heat of summer?

Nice approach to rear suspension, and of course it’s lighter than the standard model.

Time limited offer, and of course there are other kits available.

I want to see what he was sitting on. I think it was an internally fitted spike cause there wasn’t much lateral movement showing.

Its been obvious for generations.

without photos it didn’t happen Pook

We are about £100 more than that. On what sounds like a similar system. I’m really interested to know what others get as we have ours on a flat roof and not at the best angle to the sun. Think they get longer exposure that compensates for the less efficient ray contact. Was thinking about raising them if the generation is way out.

Since its lost forget about it and …….. get someone to take your points. I suggest your wife as you obviously have a strong, honest and faithful relationship.

What tyres for Tuscany thread soon then?

My wife has started shouting at them!

Ski, I’d like some as well if they’re reasonable lengths please. ( and the line of people waiting outside your house isn’t too long). 2 foot type lengths is what I’d really be grateful for. Failing that how about becoming your wholesaler/agent?

Got my first this week. Got through 2 chains already! Mind you the two 6″ trunks hid 24″ diameter roots. Bloody amazing. Sharpening is bloody tedious! Can see the addictive power of this machine though.

With our*Dead Certs” club we pick a good body each and put them in a hat for a random draw. Always a fine balance between choosing a real hell raising crocker that someone else might pull out and choosing an old war horse who should be getting into a slow decline.

Castro a good call but I do like the Gove option. Surely someone will bump him off soon.

We need a list of who got what….

I was made redundant about three years ago and was luckily enough not to have to chase every job. Mrs W was working and while we had to draw our horns in we took a decision to set up a consulting business and only apply for jobs that I really wanted. Rejected by all four I did including the one interview (which was for a job on 1/3 of my last salary) .

Everything has turned out well but it was 18 months before any real money started rolling in. That was a long time and it would have very easy to slip into feeling depressed. And there were times when it came close I think. The things that saved me were a positive partner and a structure to life.

Make sure you always talk. It made us brutally honest with each other. That has made us really strong (not that it was bad before).
The points about rejection and routine are important. Plan things (like you would in a job) It may only be to go to Costa to look at the yummy mummies but find things to give you structure. I went jogging each morning. Hated it but made me get up with the wife when she went to work. Put your rides in as diary and if you put in 3 hrs do 3 hrs whatever. Don’t get used to bailing.

I made sure that every day I made sure I did something work related, for the house (a meal or cleaning) so that there was a contribution visible to your partner and then do something physical. Any day when I dropped one of these things it felt odd. The proportions don’t matter but doing it is.

Good luck and keep positive and perspective.

In a word “Easily”. Go you know you want it. We will all be jealous.

Just made myself busy tomorrow. Those land rovers look tempting anof vehicles on the drive…… but where is the telephone bid number? And I’m sure those boxes are stuffed full of 10 speed chains.

Not got photos, but in Bewdley there is a passage called the Gob and in Wollaston there is the famous Bell End.