rather have a Duster

Citroen do interesting things but that is terrible!

cynic – not even. It just has longer paragraphs and posher tottie but underneath its the same rhetoric.

Was a good paper once and useful to counteract the rasher gruniad editorials. Without this balance the guardian is last man standing as the only mildly intelligent broadsheet and a monopoly does nobody any favours

You know I think I genuinely detest this type of hobbiest politician far more than a bona fide benefit scrounger

Her website is ludicrous with absolutely no real information or cv of any kind. One might suppose from this that other than 1 year as a district councilor and a brief stint running an unnamed, undescribed and unaccounted for small business, she has absolutely no qualifications for her current role….aptly illustrated by the way she is performing in it.

Mates of mine came out to visit me in various ski resorts and always slept in their Mondeo estate. How they got it up the various snowbound passes defies logic but just goes to show how good driving and an unwavering belief that you will do it goes a long way!

Got buried under 2m of snow in Andorra and took 2 days to dig the car out

-15 or so in Italy one year and they were just fine. Good bags, plenty of karrimat and an extra duvet from local supermarket.

If its truly cold (-10 or below) probably best not to drink too much booze (not that it stopped them…)

Will the numberplates be made of steel or can I have titanium or carbon?

Anyway…

“Sussex’s Katy Bourne (Conservative) has made a fellow local Tory to be her Deputy PCC, rejecting outright a recommendation from the local Police & Crime Panel – which held the confirmation hearing – that Steve Waight should not be appointed. According to a ‘not for publication’ minute of the meeting acquired by this blog, the Panel was concerned that there was “no information to explain the nature of the [£45,000 p.a.] role,” and that the nominee did not have “the requisite level of personal independence.”

Katy ignored these findings, refused to publish them and went ahead with the appointment. Three cheers for democratic reforms to policing!

Saved me buying a new track pump….

cool thanks – I’ll go and have a play!

Valve is from 2001 so reasonably old?

How would I know the valve is still OK?

More chance of getting trails on the moon than Ashdown. I live a few miles away and have been chased by a ranger in his truck for riding my mtb on a tarmac road through the forest. There are two bridle ways through it which are not governed by the absurd local bylaw which prevents cycling and I’ve been rudely challenged by horseriders, walkers and forest rangers multiple times on both of them too. There is a widely known aggressive policy against mountainbikers in the forest and I guarantee this ‘disabled wildlife photographer’ was nothing of the sort.

I would be very interested in the 3/4

where are you in UK?

Hmmm after that review….i’m out.

The little titanium remote canister stove still looks good though – something to pair with my Trangia mini for times when I am in a hurry

Every single thing I’ve bought from Altura except 1 pair of gloves has been totally rubbish

Panniers? Self detatching
Clothes? Self destructing

I think the only reason the gloves lasted is because I didn’t use them for cycling!

Sorry, forgot

Wonga Profits

Virgin Rail Profits

Tesco Profits

Private Equity profits

I could really imagine a harassed dad getting that film delivered by amazon by accident, sticking it in the machine at a kids party without looking and then going back into the kitchen to prepare the food…..

….coming back in and they are all singing ‘let it goooooo’ as Dan dangles off a chairlift…

meh

its a sugar rush of a film – sweet and easy to digest but no long term nutrition. Like a bag of sweets kids want to watch it again and again but when the bags finished they will be sick of it.

My children have watched it about 10 times but will probably not bother again – Mary Poppins gets watched year in year out and they still watch Brave (a far more accomplished film) from behind the sofa during the bear fight

As an aside I’m also sick of the princess culture which seems to have invaded everything to the point that its that or nothing for 4-8 year old girls.

SDW in a day?
SDW double?

However I still think the best bike related challenge I’ve ever heard of was the Boris Bike up Ventoux

Depends how young you are – I did the C2C offroad in my early 20’s with a 30 litre rucksack but my 40 year old back wouldn’t cope with that now

OP – the Hydrapack Jolla is £40 at Merlin. I’ve got one and its massive, easily big enough for a 1 nighter though I only half fill mine and stick the rest in an Ocelot frame bag

Sunn Modular S1 29er at CRC ? – pretty unbeatable spec for the price

Rev solo air 120mm
X7/X9
Ti railed saddle
all up weight 11.8kg
and more importantly comes in a 20.5″ for your taller gentleman

The essence here is the method. Dropping a couch on your foot is a stupid thing to do, totally avoidable and thus your mate is a plonker and laughing like a drain is the correct response.

However as someone said, a climbing accident is not generally suitable material for pisstaking

Same with biking accidents – Falling over sideways at traffic lights in spds and breaking your arm is funny, the same injury caused by a car knocking you off isn’t. I’m not sure the fairer sex get this.

Whoever is responsible for the cycle infrastructure in the New Forest should be ashamed of themselves. It has been created with no thought whatsoever for the service users – none of the paths link up properly without crossing dangerous roads, leading onto them or simply ending, the surfaces are completely unsuitable with loose chippings and thick gravel and there is no infrastructure at all for numbers of bikes to be parked outside pubs, shops etc. Instead they have pandered to the car driver making the whole place noisy, smelly and unsafe. Family walking and cycling groups should be the bedrock of this national resource and to see it in the state it is now brings me truly low. We live an hour away and it would be perfect for a weekend camp – we don’t visit anymore though as its just too frustrating and dangerous to cycle there in a family group. Its clear the only visitors they want are the expensive car type who drive up to a pub, have a quick wander 100m to look at some ponies, eat an overpriced meal and stay in a rubbish but expensive hotel, do the same the next day and roar off in a cloud of diesel

If you get a pan to commute you might as well be driving a car. Same with a Range Rover (sorry GS1200)

Don’t even think about them as a newbie they are big, wide and unwieldy, Perfect for a world trip but try picking one up when you drop it on the third exit from your local Tesco roundabout.

The Transalp and Versys are your ideal starting point or as someone pointed out the SV650 if you have less budget.

Kit is expensive but you don’t need Rukka and £140 gloves to start with (or at all) – my Richa gloves were £30 and are fine for winter commuting especially with heated grips. Helmets are expensive so budget at least 150-200. I can recommend the Shark Vision R but only if it fits your head shape. A cheaper jacket can always be combined with a rain suit on really bad days.

Just ride like everyone is out to knock you off and you’ll be fine

Eat more cake

I’ve just bust my Cube XC Pro on the chainstay but it was 12 years old so I reckon that doesn’t count

After years of commuting I would always use bags on the bike somewhere if possible. Framebags are great but don’t detatch easily – panniers are really the best option by far. Altura Dryline 20 is a good choice

But Aldi don’t.

Lewes store had everything in all sizes at 3pm today – obviously people have too much money round here…..

Just got back and tried the socks and top – both seem pretty good to me with the top being slightly short in the arms which is fine for a base layer – can’t stand baggy sleeves getting caught up in my cuffs or getting soggy with rain driven in and a nice drop hem at the back

The balaclava is very gimpish VERY.

Merino base top, Waterproof socks, gimp balaclava and winter gloves for me. The tops, jackets and leggings all looked a bit naff and badly designed

Yep – this is very usual with Evans. Happened to me several times so I don’t bother anymore

Sunn Tzar s2 @ CRC?

I bought a Hydrapak Jolla in the Merlin sale for #50 – I see they are now 40 which is a bargain I reckon. A bit flimsy but huge, very stable and with an infinite number of pockets and features. Good bladder too.

Bought an Aberlour 10 as it had ten quid off at Tesco and put the money saved into a vintage port!

I also noticed that the Welsh Madeira Whisky was down by 6 quid so I think I’ll go back and get that tomorrow…

Not really an expert – like Old Pulteney and Talisker but happy to try anything really

+1 for the Aldi watch. Has 4 modes with customizable screens so you can easily set it up for multiple sports – I have mine set up for Road, Mountainbiking, Yotting and hiking

All the info you need except OS coordinates and £65!

They sell on ebay as Runtastic

Totally ethical.

You haven’t withdrawn multiple offers all over the shop
Nobody has spent any money yet
No timescale for exchange and completion

View and then decide but let the agent know what you are doing and why.

Unethical is pulling out the day before exchange without so much as an apology which happened to us after we had spent out on survey, mortgage arrangement fees and even measured and ordered flooring

aaaand its a troll.

Rockhopper, I’m in the same position as you. Have a TV linked to Bluray and catch up services. Aerial is blanked off at the wall Live TV is a waste of time (except the tour which I watch at a mates)

Has been like this for 3 years

They actually came round but unfortunately I was out – I was really looking forward to letting them in, sitting them down at my kitchen table in front of the various letters they sent and then asking them politely why they thought it was appropriate to demand money from me with menaces

Drive slower when approaching your house and tell them not to throw stones

Every BB I’ve had since square taper (so about 50 then….)

Hope Vision 1: rubbish mount kept falling forwards, even on gentle commutes.

Exposure Flare: Crap design keeps getting knocked sideways, can’t be adjusted up or down and the rubber band broke after 2 weeks, switch broke after 4 weeks. Also uses the worlds most expensive batteries

Formula disc brakes: Off or On sir?

Smartphones

Hazard perception my arris

People saying this have clearly never cycle commuted in London or Manchester etc

I passed literally thousands of pedestrians on my old 2 mile commute from London Bridge station to the office and hundreds of bikes. Traditional hazard perception where you look ahead and isolate a potential hazard goes out the window and you just have to be hyper aware that immediate braking or turning may be required at any time
Collisions between peds and cyclists happened every day on Cannon St – mostly at low speed and g99% the fault of the ped – it was always the same – because the line of cars was at a standstill stretching in front of them they didn’t think to look behind before crossing and just broke out of the crowd onto the road.

But how did he replace the poster………?