We have a Labradoodle, amazing dog, great with the kids will play all day, couldn’t wish for a better dog. But my goodness does he shed!!!!!!! Only the woolly poodle coasts don’t shed.

If non shedding was the key I’d look at a Border terrier, or those suggested above.

Cougar, nice one thank you, I’m clearly an eejit!! 😉

That ad drives me nuts, when I click to close it I end up opening the ad behind the X…..

Transition Smuggler? Or a Camber maybe?

QE is great when dry, except when you bin it on the chalk!! I’ve had some truly miserable rides up there in the rain too
Though!!

I like riding a FS bike even in winter gloop! , I found that the key for me was riding with the right amount of travel, I had a 140/140 bike but had more fun on a HT, I also had a 100/100 f/s very XC, I found when I mucked about with the shorter travel bike shorter stem, dropper post wider bars I found the right balance for me, fast forward a few years and I had a decision between a Transition Scout, and Smuggler, being honest I ruled out the patrol, and based on what and where I ride, and my skill bottle level 😉 , QECP, Swinley, Afan two three times a year, I went with the smuggler, is a great bike enough sus to dig me out of trouble but I still feel like I’m working as I ride?

In short I’d be careful not to drag about more travel than you’d need, but From what I gather Bird are good for demos why don’t you take both out again and see what floats your boat?

Turns on a dime though…….

Legend!

True Flash….tastes good though!! 🙂

^^ love it!! 😆

I’ll bet! It looks fast standing still enjoy mate!!

That road frame is stunning mate!

It’s a 59! LoL custom CX is on my bucket list! As for the stem three years off the bike makes slaming the stem for looks just not worth the discomfort!! 😆

As for hot cross buns……gotta be done!

Cool I’ll go back to manual I think! Thanks all!!

Still not playing!!! Driving me nuts!! LoL oh well maybe a beer will help!

I can get it into connect no bother just not into Strava from there…..

Did it last night! First time using it. Previously it was an upload to Garmin and then transfer across jobbie.

My Edge 500 is updated, must be s setting somewhere, but the privacy is all open… It’s mildly irritating!! 😉

Looks good so far! I like the colour!

Really sad news.

XL 26″ Epic.

HT or FS? Wheel size preference?

£650 29er stumpy frame?

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Stumpjumper-FSR-Comp-Evo-29-Frame-10833-92-0.html

I’m thinking of…wait for it hang in there ok……adding me extra ring to the front so having two rings on the cranks…..not three though that’s crazy speak…..

Nope…I always dress…… 😯

Eh….for those of us in the cheap seats……why would it matter if the earth was flat??

I don’t, as I don’t have any, and I’d need a prescription set.
But I’m in the if it works then why not! We so times take ourselves too seriously, taking our eyes off the fact we ride bikes around the woods!!

I can see that you may be perceived as trying a bit too hard to be fashionable though…but then I just think meh, get on with my ride and think of cake on the hills!!

Well got both elect tape, and gorilla tape here so will try to inflate and the see…. 😕

Swinley it is for sure then thanks all!….eh are the trails well marked obvious?

Cool, I’ll give Swimley a bash! Prob leaving at 2 ish Weeksey, sprongs to pick up from school! If you see a fat bloke on a orange transition say hello! 😉

Yes isopropyl mega clean cloth, it’s an anodised rim, maybe that’s it…..pulled dead tight but when moving my tape and rim holding hand, it slips. Bleeping infuriating!!!!

Brand spanking mate…opened it today.

Hello, I’ve been there. Great career, amazing wife, kids etc,.

But it all became too much, it creeps up..longer hours more work when you get home, working weekends, holidays, constant phone calls emails etc etc. I ended up sleeping in my car on site ( huge disaster I was running the Recovery operation) that was my longest break 4 hours sleep in my car in the 72 I’d been up, more and more work coming at you more time in my office. My good day was 14 hours in work plus travel time two hours door to door and that was getting home early.

All the time, my professional reviews are exemplary, I’m top of the tree, but I’ll end up at the side of the road crying as I can’t think straight. But I get strong, man up and get going…but you start to slide lose perspective I would be distant,snappy, vacant couldn’t make a decision at home ( I could sort a complex work problem but not decide what to have for tea). I remember once standing in the supermarket thinking I was going to vomit as it was so noisy so many people, my wife called me on the phone and asked what I was doing I said shopping she asked for what and I looked in my basket and had no idea what was in there…..I had to read the labels of the things I saw I didn’t know what they were

I kept working though, feeling like a failure for not coping, I d let everyone down if I stopped admitted weakness, how embarrassing to dothat…I need a job after all….. Again all my reviews perfect, top marks.

All the time my wife is saying Im not myself, we need to see the GP, I need a break, But I kept going why do I see the GP…I’m not stressed or depressed or mentally ill!! I can’t cook a meal now…can’t work out the order to put things in the oven but I’m fine..just tired…look at my last review from work I’m nailing it….

But I can’t cope…..I need an out now how can I get out….if I lose or leave my job how do we cope….what a failure Ill be….what a thing to be seen to to be able to cope…so I started to have dark thoughts…a lot….maybe an accident…I’m out…but well insured kids mortgage wife all secure then….not my family having a failure for a Dad or husband…..

Can’t sleep. My head is full…a huge jumble of thoughts and anxiety…its spinning can’t sleep at all my mind is so so busy. I’ve got no perspective any more…losing the TV remote is as bad as the house burning down….work is going good though…

I did this for a year getting worse…losing contact with my mates stopped riding…all I did was work…I can still remember explaining to my wife that I won’t be home for Christmas as this issue needs sorting I need To run the job ( I’m in the utilities industry so you can image no Gas or Electricity or water for 100,000 people will make the news… I can still hear her crying but trying not to so as not to put me under more pressure….( but I can’t see how awful it is for her… No perspective outside the in my heads too busy go so much to do,) but I have to fix this that’s what I do….) I can’t tell you how shot I feel now about this… 🙁

But hugs keep going so do I getting worse… But all I do is work….

Finally I take time off a week in the summer family holiday but I ….can’t relax….but need to do the family holiday, I’ll pick up email calls and such you know… From time to time…ok most of the day…but it needs sorting…and if I do this one last thing that might let me relax you know??

So I’m in a pub…lunch time its busy my heads spinning now so much going on more problems at work to sort now, even though I’m on holiday…trying to order food but I can’t remember what to do what to order I pick two things off the menu for the kids on the bar …anything for my wife…and for me….I pick what the bloke stood next to me at the bar just ordered..( didn’t even like what it is, but I couldn’t decide what to have…I needed this task done… Got to get this out of my head)

That was it for me….it clicked maybe what my wife’s saying is true…maybe Im not right…maybe killing myself because I can’t cope isn’t right for a person to feel……I can’t be a failure in if work is saying Im really good…..and they happily tell you you’re not believe me.

So I went to the GP…..and was honest…sat sobbing in a room with the Doctor……who listened……and helped me see over a few weeks of going back I wasn’t right, I wasn’t me, I wasn’t a failure, I was broken, sick tired rung out…

I took my bike out after the first session with the GP having got a two week note off work….had a great ride then got a flat…no bother I can change a tube in the dark easy!! You know I sat on a log and cried again for about an hour…as I didn’t know where to start…how to open my QR…..even though I’ve done 100’s of flats….walked back to the car and finally just mentally crashed.

It took me six months to get my head straight enough to go back to work, to learn to be kind to myself…take a break say no to things to know I wasn’t a failure..that my wife and kid alive me and couldn’t care what I do…they want and need me as you need you wife because they like be me and me being around.

The funny thing…work was shocked….as we’re all of my team my manager etc couldn’t believe I was broken….Id kept all the plates spinning….

This may be too long to read…..and she may never read it but…..

She is not a failure,
She is sick,
She will get better,
It will take time, ( like any other injury will take time) you break your leg…you do t nip out for a run the following week do you!!! But people think a week off and you’re grand when it’s your head…stupid isn’t it!!

She needs to learn to be kind to herself, mindfulness was the best thing I ever found it stopped my mind spinning and still does, more so that any medication I was given at the start….I know though the combination of both was the key.

And finally…..Take the Tablets if offered by the GP! What’s happens is she’s been pushed too hard too long, her brain reacts by pumping in all the chemicals we need to fight and thrive under pressure…but we can’t and were never designed to live with these chemicals for months weeks years…all the tablets do is rebalance that chemical structure …while you’re body rebalances on its own and you can eventually slowly slowly come off them.

My heart goes out to you both mate….I’ve been there as have my family.
But she can and will get better..I promise…the first step take take time off work and see the GP is the hardest. But it right thing to do…she won’t believe this but Work will keep going with out her..even if she’s worried it won’t!!!!!.

I’m two years don’t the line now…new job (same business) great relationship with my boys and wife, my perspective sorted, I know my warning signs….Im on the right work life balance track….but sill still slip back to wanting to take too much on start to work more etc…but I’m mindful of that as is my wife and she will tap me up!!!

I’m even a success in my job….I always always was…

Good luck mate.

Love the pics!!

Well it all looks very well, but the chain will never stay on with those who front rings, ( have you read any of the press?) plus that huge added weight to the bike of said rings. Have you considered how you’ll ever get up shill wil out an extended cassette?? So you’ve got a bike thats only good for the flat non bumpy trails….. Best give it to me fella……

Love it!!

When do we start to ask Questions??

id find it hard to see past a patrol.

Cooke’s face didnt fit at BC, which is a shame as she was an awesome rider, told it straight, and was clean. But like everything you need to fit in the clique to achieve.

Cycling has a history of celebrating those who don’t deserve it, Simpson is a great example of this.

As for Milliar, I read his first book, and I liked it, but the more I see of him in the press etc I think this sums him up very well!

kingkongsfinger – Member
comes across when presenting tv program’s and in interviews as a driveling, pompous, arrogant weapons grade bell end.

Order came in very late in last week, so they’ve been shipped to the LBS’s as far as I know.

Blimey that’s slacker than a slack thing! 😯

Won’t the super slack head angle effectively shorten the reach and therefore negate the longer TT to a certain extent?

I e got Nobby Nics on mine, similar riding, Singletrack, bridle way, road repeat! Great all rounder I’ve found.

I’m in the pad wear camp, my BB7’s could do a set of pads in a couple of rides down to virtually nothing on the stopping power. As has been said they don’t self just so you do have to keep and eye on them, but even so I found they would only last so long.

Similar issue to you in the way home from a ride pulled brakes and kept going towards a round about! 😯 foot down and luckily I stopped!!

Got a hope system later that week! Now really reliable, and the pads last much longer. The advantage being I didn’t need to change my running gear as my preferred stuff is Campag.