Cheers Kryton57, will pass that on. Good to hear the gaffa tape pro-bodge worked! Yours was the second bar I had fixed on the saturday morning with pro-bodge gaffa tape. The other fella had his bike detach from the top clamp of his rear bike rack on the way to the race, but the wheel straps held on, so it was being dragged with the bar dragging on the road. Anyway, the bar was shorter on one side and bit tatty so we tidied it up with the pro-bodge gaffa tape.

Top ride abingham! We were rooting for you on your awesome singlespeed. I can’t remember if there were more singlespeeders, but your stooge was distinctive and easily the best looking bike there. Yeah, a few punchy but short climbs, but overall I thought it felt like one of the better courses and like the ones from around 2012 + and before they got shorter. Everyone liked it pretty much.

Yeah, great weekend! Good to catch up Kryton57 and well done to you and your son – top result. I was on pit duty and also managed my first ride this year, one practice lap with my son. Obviously I was dropped everywhere.. Anyway, I am now motivated to return to regular riding, try and get some bike fitness back and will see if I can pull together a team 24 for next year.

I think for a first go with the new organisers, they did a decent job and it was a really good weekend. I know there are a few bits and pieces to tweak, but overall, its great to have this event back.

Yeah, we won’t pay off our mortgage so definitely downsizing/ relocating is needed for us to retire. Somewhere hilly with access to trails and crags.

I mistook an actual earthquake  for the macerator running before. The building was shaking/ rumbling a bit and it went on for a while, but I was too sleepy to realise what was happening.  Not that a macercator can shake a building, but I was in a sleepy stupor.

So any plant/equipment in your building?

We are going to downsize, move back north and then dirtbag it around Europe as much as possible. Bivvy/ cheap campsites, minimum cost climbing/biking. Crack on like we are 20 again, and on the same shoestring budget…. hopefully. Pensions, hmmm …not so good. Might look at what singletrackmind has done re vanguard or similar.

Umm, unless  I have missed something, how is the red box of keys and sex toys going to remain secured to something in a hotel room/ vehicle / gig venue  to stop someone walking off with it? Or does it go in a hotel safe?

What Houns said, re get checked. Cheese overload otherwise….mmmm.

Ear stuff can mess you a bit. Eg labyrinthitis, but when I get that I am dizzy, not wired back to front/goofy.

Yes, just read it. Good work!

Re theft tracking, what’s the point though? Are you really going to get a mob of mates together and go after it? Would the police go after an airtag location?

Yeah, the Gut Fender will fit to anything as it’s just a flat piece of plastic with some folds.

I had a flying mouthful of coo plop a while ago. Can confirm it tastes sharp, acidic and generally not good. Was then made worse when I went to rinse it all out, but my bottle was also covered. So for explosive coverage, sheer volume and high chance of a face splat/mouthful, I am rating cow pats as no.2.  Dog is no.1.

Good to hear it wasn’t me recently mucking my lot up. BT sent a new hub and I had huge issues reconnecting everything and keeping them from disconnecting. Tbh I gave up and started listening to old records instead… but luckily Mrs Yak persevered and it all works… Apps look different too.

So my advice is dust down the old turntable, get the vinyl out then wait for someone more competent to fix it.

The one thing that doesn’t work now is the pause/play button on each speaker. If I press that the speaker disconnects, so I have put a post-it note over the button with ‘NO’ on it. Have to turn on/off via the app.

No phone, so primary school age, 5-10 I guess? That was nip 2 doors down to the shop for a pint of milk , not go for out for a ride leaving them alone age for me.

But yeah, bitd in the 80s, I walked to infants and junior school without parents, came in from junior school alone often, but only to get my bike and go to the bmx track with lots of other kids. My folks would usually go out running longish distances every morning so we’d be alone then, but asleep when they went out. Just got up, poured a bowl of some cereal and got on with being late for school.

11ish or so and with phones should there be any issues. It’s the age they walk without parents to school, friends houses, the park etc anyway, so all they need to do in addition is not burn the house down.

Accu will likely have what you need. Usually a good enough supply of non standard bolts etc there.

Cod liver oil. The proper stuff, not the ‘cheating’ capsules.  You have to taste it.

Those kits on ABD and other places work ok.  Some other folk might suggest toothpaste… but the key is UV protection after to slow down the time the cloudiness again.

A panasonic something. Ours pre-dates everything and still works just fine. Well it’s needed a new blade in that time but nothing else.

Litre bottles of 99.9% stuff from ebay. I buy a few at a go and it lasts a decent length of time.

I don’t think it’s that available locally apart from b&q or similar.

Best wishes and good that you got into hospital promptly. Hope you feel better soon.

I would say no if you are nearer Portsmouth. It’s still pretty big and you can check stock beforehand anyway. If something in particular isn’t suitable and you need to go more ‘premium’, then there is Snow and Rock / Cotswolds nearby at Port Solent. OR also massive, the Go Outdoors at Basingstoke?

Bolts almost fully undone is my usual method. But it’s not something that needs doing regularly so unless you are regular saddle masher (sounds painful!) then its only occasional faff.

Yeah, ^ priorite a droit is a thing in villages/ towns still. Don’t be shocked when it happens.

Have a great trip!

F1 hotels are basic but fine for just getting some kip. Make sure you have your crit air sticker on for France. It comes quickly so order today. Not sure what the other countries need for windscreen-stickers.

Tags are handy for tolls, but I have always had a passenger so less hassle for RHD.

Garda – there are campsites in places like Riva del Garda, but it’s busy. A nice nearby quieter alternative would be Arco. Arco is lovely anyway by comparison and a bit inland, hence less busy.

Driving in Italy is a little hairy, but you will get used to it. Driving in France is far easier than driving in the UK. I haven’t driven in Germany though.

Not had issues with supermarket fuel.

Don’t speed.

Tell him if he comes and collects the car ASAP you’ll write him a prescription for some really strong painkillers

Yeah, this. Mega painkillers ftw… and getting the car moved.

Well the Rok might be all well and good…. but look at La Pavoni ^!  Will make your morning coffee production like a scene from a Fellini film…. awesome.

Accident. Not at all your fault. You did all the right things after the accident and now he is the best place for all the right medical care.

or am I right in thinking that the chlorine will have mostly evaporated/lost its ‘zing’ by now?

My punter level understanding is that the level of chlorine already in tap water can be reduced by leaving the water to stand open to the air. I have done this (1 day or so) and nothing died in the pond. But you have gone the other way and added more chlorine. Might just take longer to stand open which you may have already done? Might need another method of dechlorination – adding a product for the purpose?

Have a good one! Great part of the world….. but have also had dodgy crag practice going on there before. I remember working a route there and with no warning/shout loose rocks and an ab rope appears and the descending team seemed annoyed at me that I could possibly be on a route that coincided with their descent. Awesome place, somehow attracts entitled idiots. Campsite seemed full of naked blokes too for some reason.

Got any plans for Buoux? That was my favourite crag near Marseille bitd.

A big esky is best. Second best will be Coleman’s etc … as I suspect eskys are not that available in the UK.

Yeah love Arran whisky. The peated Machrie Moor Cask one in particular…mmmmm.

Ah well. There were some dodgy third round scores so was fair to remove them all. Mine was all legit… but gone now.

Well  yeah, always reverse in. Usually I do that, then return with a full trolley of shopping and unable to get anywhere near the boot. Win/lose.

And yeah, it’s shop around time for insurance now. Been with Tesco for years as they were cheap, but not this year so moved on to…. (can’t remember…. whatever was top of the comparison list with a known breakdown bunch added in).

Hello Lucy. Fwiw, Mrs Yak tends to do a lot of riding in non-bib shorts as she says they are comfier and better for pee-stops. They all have a wide soft waistband and decent pad. 7mesh, Ale, Rapha usually, whichever is cheaper at the time.

Good luck to Amanda and thanks for the great work.  Welcome and good luck to James!

Well you could go in all guns blazing and tell them how it is. OR the other approach is a little bit of constructive feedback, but mostly a keep the doors open/ bridges unburnt exercise…as hard as that may be. Depends how big your work/industry sector is. Does everyone know everyone? In my world,  the first option would be bad.

A climbing mate had this. He paid to go private on this due to the wait as his job involves rope access and other safety critical stuff at height.  Anyway, the op went very well and he has full movement and is back climbing at a high level again.

Well the frame is fine, the bb held fine as there was plenty of thread left. I would just go, ‘pfft’, put a new one in and crack on.  No point worrying over the ‘what ifs’.

I would go for synthetic in your position as it will be humid and whatever levels of care/ airing/ etc you would expect to do, kids will get nowhere near that. My son has a 2 season Rab something that my parents bought for him one Christmas. It’s been ideal for everything from cold uk camps, dossing on floors, hot summer camps..and is small and light.

Edit – it’s a  Rab Ignition 2.