Ali C

Ok just went to look, we’re not going to put an offer in... it needs too much work. It needs a complete overhaul inside and needs some roof work done. The garage is old and full of holes and has an asbestos roof which would need professionally pulling down and disposal and a new one built. The basements I was looking forward to would’ve made great storage space for bikes and parts but were no good for a workshop or much practical use as they had very limited headroom. shame really as the location is great and I really liked the view as it’s on a hill and looks directly out onto Cathkin Braes mountain bike trails (although Jane doesn’t like it as it also looks out onto Castlemilk estate which is a real rough area). If the house was ~30k cheaper then we’d be willing to put an offer in but not at the price it is. pictures of the basements included Edit: since coming home I’ve been searching again, I’ve taken a closer look at a house I’ve previously swiped past (mainly because I’ve been greedy and wanted something bigger but also because I thought it would be too far out of town for Jane and doesn’t have a local train station for her to use to get to work, she seems to like it more than I thought though). It's the same price as the house we saw today but doesn't look like it needs much (if any) work doing so I’ll book a viewing, it’s been on the market since November so I’m a little suspicious of why it’s not been sold but we’ll have to wait and see. It’s two bedroom end of terrace, no basement but it does describe having a decent floored loft which I’d happily accept instead. The main selling point to me is a rather large garden at the back which backs up against fields so the view is nice (it’s at a top of a hill) not a south facing garden though but beggars can’t be choosers. Having grown up with fields and hills I have been finding living in a busy city pretty challenging (and depressing at times) so being more out in the country would be really nice. Only two bedroom but they’re bigger rooms, the garden does give scope to a decent sized extension for the future though. Another bonus is it’s right next to Cathkin Trails so no more driving there. The main downside is its more isolated (though only 5 mins away from where we looked today, just straight up to the top of the hill) in Carmonnuck which is the last “village” within the Glasgow district so no big shops or train stations, being at the top of the hill means there’s zero street but I figured unless I live close to the centre of Glasgow I’ll probably be driving to ride street anyway (plus I wouldn't have to drive to get to Cathkin). No off-street parking either but definitely room to include it with some work. I’ll report back once I’ve seen it.

Jane doesn't like the idea of any kind of dungeon so I'm thinking a pit of some kind instead. Related, got a viewing booked for 2:15 today

No pictures of the basements unfortunately. two bike dungeons

Ok so an update: Jane phoned the mortgage advisor and they spent the call going through everything, turns out we have a mortgage in principle application being processed right now... it’s taking a bit longer because we’re both self employed but the advisor says that’s standard and they’re confident it’s going to be confirmed soon. It’s looking to be for a decent enough amount that combined with our (admittedly large) deposit we can afford to at least put an offer in on that house. That’s providing we like it, we’ll book a viewing ASAP and take a look (I really need to see what’s going on with those basements). We suspect that it’ll end up going out of our budget judging by other house prices in the area but we hope that being first time buyers with no chain and the fact it needs redecorating we can persuade them to sell it to us. I’ll update after a viewing if it happens

It's actually listed as a 4 bedroom (not how I'd have it) and it's semi detached rather than terraced...good luck

I'm frustrated. Still no mortgage in principle sorted and a perfect house has just come onto the market. It's exactly in the area we want, close to two parks and Cathkin MTB centre, good access to the motorway to GTF out of the city, it's a three bed terrace with detached garage, it's got a big enough garden for a nice workshop in the back, off street parking in the front and even has a bonus of two (no idea why two) basements which is something I really want but accepted I probably wouldn't get. It also has a loft which I'm really keen on having. It's at the top end of the potential loan we were told about but with how long that's taking to secure I'm not holding my breath we'll get that much. We REALLY want to go look at it but there's no point without knowing our budget...so annoying with how perfect it would be for us

Jane spoke to the mortgage advisor today, they said because we’re both self employed it’s difficult to get a loan which is frustrating... some will flat out not even consider you if you’re self employed no matter how much you earn which is crazy! Surly someone who’s successfully self employed for years is more in inclined to put the work in to make sure the business succeeds than someone who works at McDonald’s (as an example) who could be fired at a moments notice? Anyway, they did find two banks willing to give us a mortgage with the biggest one being Barclays who said they could do a 90-100k loan... this hasn’t been confirmed yet so could go up in smoke but it’s some hope at least.

Hex

I'm now officially out of the flat I shared with Danny and Duncan for the past 7 years, as much as that place sucked (rotting floors, uninterested landlord, 4 flights of stairs and no lift, busy traffic and rough area) it was sad to see it go. I'm currently staying at Jane's mum's house, it's a small two bedroom place but they've been really accommodating. It's still quite a change up from having a 4 bedroom flat to myself like I've had this last year with Danny and Duncan escaping the city for lockdown. Jane has a call with a mortgage advisor later, we've sent in all our numbers and are waiting to see what kind of loan we can get. It's quite nerve wrecking as we're not exactly prime candidates for the best loan with us both being self employed and not big earners and myself never had finance or a loan before so my credit score isn't the best it could be. The only plus is I have saved a decent amount last year plus my parents have given us some money towards a deposit which will be a massive help. I've been looking at what's available and it doesn't fill me with hope. I don't really mind having a smaller place but all the cheaper houses are so depressing and in such shit areas, I'd hate to live in a house/location that I hated. Fingers crossed for a decent loan and a house I actually like.

Glasgow is a stupid city where everything is made of granite or metal and gets slippery when wet, why can’t they use concrete like normal cities and allow us trials riders to ride in all conditions?? Grrr

I’m just waiting on my accountant to get my taxes finished and then I can send my figures off to the mortgage advisor. pretty nervous as I don’t earn much and neither does Jane (especially with the recent lockdowns) and we’re both self employed with average credit ratings (I’ve never had a credit card, loan or any finance other than my phone...annoyingly saving up to actually afford stuff has bitten me in the arse). The last mortgage advisor who we gave some really rough figures to said it’d be a stretch to get a 60k mortgage. That’s pretty depressing as that really means we could only afford to live in some pretty shitty areas and in a small house, a real downgrade from what I’m in now. The good news is my parents said they’d help me with some money towards a deposit so we’ll see how that effects things...I guess getting on the property ladder no matter how shitty will help for future mortgages so it might be a case of sucking it up and taking a less than ideal place and look towards moving again when we can.

Jane’s Ivermectin turned up in the post the other day, she’s hoping she won’t have to use it but will if she ever rests positive.

I honestly don’t know how Danny (and others) can ride with vertical levers... it puts my entire body weight on my thumb area on my hand and when on the front wheel it’s very uncomfortable. i run mine closer to 45 degrees or maybe even flatter, it changes my weight to be fully supported by my hand which feels much better for impacts etc

I don't fully know her opinion of it, my understanding is that she thinks they have our best interest at heart and adverse effects are certainly not guaranteed but from all the positive results she's read about Ivermectin she'd rather use that than a rushed out drug, even if it's had all the money in the world thrown at it.

I think that’s the key, I don’t trust the government at all... they’ve proven to be liars, make shit decisions, appoint lunatics in high power positions etc. not sure what her plan is, I’m assuming only taking it if she gets sick

How is it contradictory? She’s following her own advice from the research she’s done and avoiding an unproven drug (in the long term) for one that’s proven safe.

The virus has actually muted a few times, it’s not that unusual for it to do that... the government are leaning heavily on this story though to try and get people to listen to them. Without a scare tactic the public would probably just ignore instructions and carry on with Christmas as usual, it takes something more serious to make people skip their Christmas traditions and playing on the mutation story (which isn’t necessarily false) is a good way to get people to pay attention. whether it’s a good or bad thing for the government to do is up for debate but the mutation isn’t perhaps as serious as they’re making out (yet).

I’m certainly not taking any vaccine that doesn’t have solid history. Jane has ordered some Ivermectin from abroad, whether it’ll clear customs we’ll have to see

The issue is the government are both dodgy in having invested interest in certain companies involving COVID (ppe contracts etc) AND having to listen to the WHO which aren’t exactly that great. The reason why these scientists are getting silenced is because places like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have protect people and not allow misinformation to be spread...currently the WHO are a few months behind the latest findings...either because they’re crap or overly cautious which means even if these scientists are correct it’s not what the WHO are currently agreeing with so it’s classed as misinformation and silenced. Jane says that Ivermectin has been successful in peer verified hospital tests and has been rolled out into legitimate treatment plans in certain countries (I forget the name of the plans, “ivec” or “iban” or something like that). It just seems first world countries either have way more corrupt governments willing to sacrifice people to give their pals businesses lucrative contracts or have to be seen to be doing the right thing by following WHO guidelines...neither of which is ideal for us.

I can’t give a real opinion as I personally haven’t looked into it myself, I’m just going from what Jane has told me. She’s extremely rational and not into conspiracies at all and I trust her opinion on all things scientific and she’s pretty hyped on the research she’s read.

I think it depends where you look. Scientific data can be super bias, perhaps funded by people with invested interest in a certain result etc. there’s a lot of chaff to filter out before you find true honest peer reviewed data i can’t find (or pretend to fully be able to understand) the academic research that Jane was reading but from her reaction it was pretty clear that it was doing something! There was one test done in a hospital where they split the medical workers (500 of them I think) 50/50 and gave half no drugs and half Ivermectin. The half with no drugs developed over 200 cases of COVID and the half with Ivermectin developed 7 (there was a lot more info, I’m really simplifying this as it’s not my expertise) and that was just one test, there’s been others that have also had positive results. now perhaps this vaccine the government is better than no drug and would even up the test results but it’s still a rushed out drug with zero history... the other has been around since the 80s and is proven safe (the developers got Nobel prizes).

Ivermectin is the drug

David Portnoy’s rant Ok so that’s America so slightly different but I agree that it seems crazy to blanket ban everyone from working when some clearly are less risk than others. yeah I know it’s easier to blanket ban than to go though every business individually but people are loosing their lively hood when there’s no need... it’s like banning everyone from a swimming pool because a couple of people can’t swim. Jane is a massage therapist and has gone to ridiculous lengths to make her work environment safe (people commented on how well the clinic was being run) and hasn’t had a single case out of hundreds of clients yet she’s had to shut and put her livelihood at huge risk, it’s unknown whether she’ll have a clinic to go back to. Zero scientific proof she needs to shut yet here we are. Schools stayed open, Greggs stayed open , the KFC near me that had six reported cases is open yet she has to shut. the real blow is the osteopath business next door can stay open because it’s a “vital” service. I also find it crazy that there IS an already commonly available drug that’s proven to prevent COVID but the government won’t use it because they’re committed to lining the pockets of their friends companies and try and develop a new vaccine (which has zero test history for side effects, long term health etc). third world countries are using the readily available drug (I forget its name) because they don’t have the budget to develop a new one and ironically it’ll help them a lot more than the situation we’re in. Scientists are trying to get the word out but are being silenced, tweets deleted, YouTube videos being taken down etc because it doesn’t comply with what the WHO are saying, these are the same people who have been three steps ahead of the WHO all year... it’s about time they are listened to. This is all information Jane has told me so I’m a little foggy on the exact details but she’s great at researching academic papers, she was a biomedical scientist and is able to have some grasp on the medical world so this isn’t some tin hat stuff, the government HAVE a proven vaccine with years of history so we know exactly what the long term effects are but just won’t use it! Crazy!

I was also going to mention Rowan’s video and music combos, they were class but seeing as that’s been covered, I’m going to mention Andy Ts Vincent Hermance in Colorado (2?) video with Arcade Fire and possibly Modest Mouse? I remember those being watched on repeat, the riding was the best I’d seen and the music helps the hype... so good!

I don’t personally know anyone but I have seen a couple online. I would be surprised if riders could really tell 3mm difference in a rims width especially at street pressure (I know I can’t, it’s 1.5mm on each side lol) so I wouldn’t be put off with them being 38mm rather than 35