Ali C

yeah that was pretty interesting, seems pro riders either get very little wage or a really big one with not much in-between which echoes my thoughts I had.

upstairs neighbours snoring EVERY night is driving me mad!

I've held off voicing my opinion because I feel it doesn't quite sit with the general population but we're all friends here...I'm holding off from having any vaccine for as long as possible. Now I don't consider myself a foil hat type...I think the vaccine is PROBABLY ok BUT as Andy has stated, it IS experimental treatment (by definition that's what it is). The government has stated you are unable to have any reimbursements for any negative effects from taking the vaccine. This means if you are allergic or any other negative discoveries are made from long term use (impotence, future offspring negative effects etc) you can't possibly sue or otherwise get any reimbursement. I don't blame others for taking the vaccine and I'm certainly not an anti-vaxxer, I just don't feel comfortable taking something that hasn't had the same long term tests done that other (older) vaccines have. I don't want it to be another Thalidomide scandal where a drug was passed on as being safe (in that case for pregnant women) only later to discover that it caused devastating defects with the babies. So that's a pass from me

so here's a theory. Bitcoin was brought to existence by a Chinese company/person. The recent crash was brought about by a Chinese compay. China are buying up gold, it gives them protection against inflation The west are selling their gold and more and more people/companies are buying up Crypto Tin foil hat moment...what if this is a long play strategy from China to dupe the world into buying into a format that they can control all the while building up their reserves of gold and fiat currency. Once the world has become more dependant on crypto they can crash it and become the most powerful country in the world?

I mean the rod that's being held by the pinch bolt, the big one up and left of the one you circled...I probably should've called the stopper rod a separate name

to complicate things I use a different technique which I find can potentially give more tension (to the point of breaking it so be careful). 1. With the chain still on undo the pinch bolt that holds the steel rod 2. use a small screwdriver or anything thin that fits between the rod and the tensioner and use it to lever the rod around (see diagram) 3. when desired tension is achieved, re-tighten the pinch bolt 4. ride and forget about Ben's version

I tried a Fidlock but it rattled when riding and the noise annoyed me enough to not want to use it again...was it just mine or does yours have any rattle too?

I see dogecoin is doing well...so well Crypto.com has crashed, it’s funny what effect people’s Twitter posts have on things like this (Elon musk). I’m intrigued to see where my dogecoin ends up.

Jane is deep into the world of trading, FX and currencies and listens to a lot of podcasts from Peter Schiff... he has some strong views on crypto currencies which are quite interesting, worth looking into what he says (whether you agree with him or not).

Speaking of PB, Jane and I saw a house we wanted to view but got put off by the process of booking. I’m not much of a fan of talking on a phone so I like to do an online booking, PB had me sign up to their site and jump through a few hoops before I could actually do the booking and in the end I couldn’t be bothered any more (the house wasn’t really something we were seriously considering anyway). compare that with Right Move where I booked a viewing within seconds of starting the process. I certainly wouldn’t use PB if I was wanting to sell Edit: while I’m commenting I’ll update my situation... NO HOUSES in our budget anywhere we’d consider living, the market is dead and prices are insane right now. We may not need to buy though...sadly Jane’s 93 year old auntie is at deaths door with cancer. It’s obviously devastating for the family and there’s a lot of caring going on but Jane is on the will as the executor so will have to sort out the funeral and house (amongst other jobs). Now her Auntie has a 2 bed detached bungalow (but the rooms are huge) with a garage and gardens, it’s a lovely house and in a well off area although much further out than I’d have hoped... Jane has mentioned talking to the family about buying their shares and living there ourselves, it really depends on how many people are named in the will and what their thoughts are. Will keep you posted

I'm getting involved for sure!

it'll be fine, I think that's more a warning not to use them on tubular rims than hookless, I know a few riders who use them on hookless rims with no issues

wanna make trials popular? Speed trials is where it's at

How long have you been riding? I’m probably going to disappoint you with my opinion but I think it’s just a case of practicing more. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a step down in size of moves and working on your technique... the more you do something the more muscle memory you’ll get and the more it’ll come naturally. If you’re seizing up it suggests you’re not quite ready just yet so just take your time.

Just a step but I don’t want to live in a shithole either

I’m on 22-18 with 175s (or maybe 170, I can’t remember) and I find it slightly too light, I’d happily keep the ratio the same but I would like to try 165mm cranks but they’re next to impossible to find with the rest of the requirements I need in a set of cranks

Ok, our offer got rejected. Our 183k offer (3k over the home report evaluation) was the lowest offer they got. We didn’t get the exact figures but they hinted that the accepted offer was ~240k! That’s 60k over the houses value, people are crazy! the hunt continues, I’m getting pretty eager to get out of this house, it’s no fun living with the in-laws and the upstairs neighbors suck, the teenage lad thinks he’s a gangster and plays shit rap whenever he’s in and smokes weed which stinks out this house too and him Mum snores like a jackhammer every night from 9pm onwards... I’m not sure how much more I can take

that front pivot!

We actually got shown the house by the vendor and did our best to charm them haha. We were the first people to view it and they admitted that by the time more and more people view it they’ll be less and less excited so we got to talk to them at the best point lol

just found out that my (to be) brother-in-laws partners parents also went to look at the house and I think have put an offer in they recently sold their house for over 400k so can just buy it outright. I'd be pretty pissed if they got it. Apparently they heard that someone has put in a stupidly large offer, not sure how true this is but it's looking less and less likely we'll get it.

We decided we liked the house so much we put in an extra 3k over the home report evaluation...we’re conscious that we don’t want to add to the already insane house price bubble.The house IS a 180k house, once we start getting into 185k+ then it’s getting sketchy and more likely to lose money when we ever want to sell it. The estate agent said they’ve had seven offers on it since yesterday (we were the first to view it) and they’ll close it on Monday. So the good news is it IS still on the market, they haven’t had an offer they couldn’t refuse but I’m so nervous! I’m really hoping that they think we’re good match, I doubt we’ll be the highest offer but we’ve no strings attached being first time buyers and can make the sale quick and easy for them (they’re moving south so HAVE to sell it sooner rather than later). They seemed to like the idea of the house going to someone local who knows the area. we both REALLY want this house (I especially do as there’s another velosolutions pumptrack being built a 5 mins ride away from it) so this will be a nervous wait

viewed the house today, we both love it and will be putting an offer in. Fingers crossed no-one else goes crazy and puts in a 200k offer or something!

This is on the market for £170k but the home report suggested it’s worth £180 so that’s more what we’d be expecting to offer... that’s our absolute max but it doesn’t need any work which saves us sinking money into a new kitchen etc. that’s weird, surly once they’ve had the paperwork done etc star happens to you after the keys have been handed over different matter?

The house I had mentioned previously in Camunnock (not the dungeon sex pit one) has accepted an offer, shame. But the good news is another house has just appeared and it ticks a lot of boxes! Its in a perfect location, not quite the nice fields like last time but it is sandwiched between two parks and while it might not have the views it’s still very easy to escape and be in the woods. It’s also still a rideable distance from Cathkin which is nice. It’s very close (just down the street) to Jane’s brothers house and a 5 min walk to her mums which is something Jane was keen on. The house itself is a two bedroom semi with off street parking (on a very quiet street anyway) and a decent sized garden. The house doesn’t seem to need any work doing and even the way it’s currently decorated/painted actually suites our taste. The home report didn’t flag anything up either. No basement but it does have a loft which is nice. We’ve booked a viewing for tomorrow, it’s still lived in and we’ll be shown by the owners. The advantage of being in Scotland is that the owners have a much bigger say in who actually buys the house, in England (and Wales?) the agent will just choose the highest offer but up here the owners can accept a lower one if they think they will be a better buyer. This house is at the top of our budget but it looks to be worth it, we’ll take a look and try and make a good impression

congrats Mark! I know what you mean about it feeling crazy to commit so much (money and future living) on a place you've only seen twice. I take months to decide whether I want to commit £500 on a new camera let alone £100k+ on a house in an area you've never lived in before. I'm sure you'll love it though, I've rented all my life and I hate the restrictions imposed, plus I find it hard to swallow to pay more in rent to pay off someone elses mortgage than paying less to pay my own off AND have more space. Sure there's a bit more risk but I still think it's worth it. Speaking of second houses and junk, that's starting to become a real issue in Scotland and the islands. Take Skye for example...the locals who have lived there for generations are being priced out because wealthy Elnglish (and Scottish to be fair) are paying way over the usual prices. Jane has some elderly relatives on Skye (both mid 90s) and they've always had neighbours nearby they could rely on if they had issues. Now all their neighbours have sold up and moved because they could get great money for their houses and the new owners just have them as a holiday home and use it just a few days a year leaving them empty the rest of the time. This means her relatives are a lot more isolated than they used to be, the other side effect is that local businesses are struggling because the population is reducing. It's a bit shit.