Drooper

Did you go over the Old Largs Road? That a great route, and one I'll need to take again when I get my bike fitness back.

A lot of sportives are a bit of a rip-off to be honest. This is one of the main reasons I've not entered any this year. Not being the club type, I do find they help to motivate me to ride at times when I might not bother otherwise as I've got a target to work towards, but I don't think they should be any more than £30. I appreciate that there can be a lot of organisation involved, and that a lot of the stewards and people who provide the feed stops volunteer - and also that most have a charity element - but, even then, when they creep up to 50 notes a pop and beyond, they become a bit exclusive and that puts me off. Anyhoo, I really enjoyed getting back out today despite the technical glitches. It doesn't take much to catch the cycling bug anew, though 20+ degree temperatures and sunshine certainly helps!

Managed to free off the seized mech using shredder oil from the office . It had welded solid with what looks like gritting salt from the roads. It was piss-poor of me not to at least give it a rinse after I last used the bike, though I didn't anticipate leaving it languishing in the shed for so long. Blatant neglect, and I'm probably fortunate that there isn't a cruelty wummin for bikes, or I'd have been reported. So, I now have an (almost) freely moving front mech, but couldn't set it up properly - not least because my bald dome was getting frazzled by the sun as I fannied about with it. Unfortunately, the cable cap also dislodged and the bloody thing started to unravel, so I've set it up so I can get home (hopefully!) and do a propoer repair that will most likely include a replacement cable. ETA: all sorted (I think....), and no new cable required. I also treated the bike to the full spa and beauty treatment - the missus is at work so wasn't around to get jealous

Thanks pal. I'm away out to have a tinker over lunch (nice day for it if nothing else....).

Brought the bike in this morning as planned, and realised (only about half-way through the commute) that my front mech is goosed - most likely seized up or lacking any cable tension after weeks of neglect. The chain is stuck on the big ring at the front, so, unless I can sort it out later, I don't think I'll be getting home on it as there is no way on this earth that I'm getting up the hill to home in the big ring. If push come comes to shove, I could manually shift the chain down to the smaller ring, but I reckon it will rub badly on the mech unless I free it off somehow. What a pain in the arse. I had taken the bike out for a brief check of tyre pressures, brakes, lube etc. last night, but we had visistors round, so it was a very quick once-over. Ah well, no -one ever said it was going to be easy getting back into it, but I had assumed it would be the man, not the machine, that would provie to be the weak link.

I've finally managed to liberate the bike from the depths of my shed, having had to pile all manner of crap in there in preparation for the delivery of my new, mighty Man Shed that arrived last week. Like NBB, I've had pretty severe back problems and have getting regular physiotherapy, but it is time to get back in the saddle. I'll doing the work commute on Tuesday, then hopefully getting back out on a regular basis. It has been a long time coming, and I'm looking forward to it!

Is that your personal valuation of the player?

Are they dead yet?

As with all new initiatives, I believe this would require a pilot project, and I am willing to put myself out there (for the greater good, of course) and volunteer for this. My accountant will be in touch.

FFS Seriously?

I would suggest that the spirit of the UDHR is such that a failure to adhere to this principle would render a person likely to surrender any right to reasonably expect respect, if not human rights (and therein lies the distinction). Edit for clarification.

Factually incorrect. Are you aware of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? I'm sure you are, but for the benefit of those who aren't: Article 1.All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. I suspect Thatcher logged off right there.

Since when did the simple act of being a human being warrant respect? People are generally judged by their actions, and this is how it should be. She was consistently dismissive of others, vicious in the pursuit of her ideology, largely regardless of the consequences for the most vulnerable, and refused to accept her own limitiations. Respect has to earned, and Thatcher had no interest in earning the respect of those who, in her eyes, were merely an irritation and obstacles, as she sought to further her crusade. Tramp the dirt down, indeed.

I'm guessing you've not made anyone in way over two years.

There's always a down side....

GIRFUY

I reckon he's thrown himself under his lawnmower #

That would have been quite clever if intentional.

Bitter? I'm skipping with glee.

I could probably oblige just now.

I think folk can become a bit enslaved in the technology and trying to constanty push for bigger and better things (whether that's all the latest kit or their own performance) and miss the bigger picture sometimes. Its like anything else, I reckon the trick it to get the balance right. There's no right or wrong about it, to be fair, and it can take a while to get the blance right (I'm still striving for it....).

Or alternatively, you can just enjoy riding?

Cheers - its a bummer right enough. I hope you're also on the mend soon, mate. Funnily enough, I've never really found that cycling causes or exacerbates the problems I have from time to time. The herniated disc thing is brutal, though, and I couldn't even have contemplated slinging a leg over the bike. My late father-in-law (who used to race and was still riding into his late 60s) had chronic pack pain, but, again, cycling never seemed to aggravate it. I think it is sitting at a bloody desk and driving that are at the root of my problems.