Mike Wrightson

I would love to say yes, but I will need a LOT of training before being able to ride 120 miles a day for 5 days in a row. Something to consider for 2014 though

Ah, I did wonder how it worked out... Still want to do it

£127 for a team of 4, so £35 or so each. If you are a British Cycling member, you get 15% off until the 14th Jan. Spectators get in for free. You can do it solo for £170 (someone is already signed up for a solo ride... eeek!)

Are you mad enough to have a go at this: http://www.thesilverstone24.com/ Yep, a 24 hour cycle race round the Silverstone GP circuit. It can be done individually ( ) or as a team of up to 4 riders. I'm in

Skoda might miss a trick by not doing a vRS, though I suppose they are selling more than they can make of the standard cars as it is. I would be tempted into a VW dealership for an UP! GT if I can afford one. We shall see...

Don't forget, VW are going to use a turbocharged version of the 1.0 triple in the Up! GT. 109bhp, 0-60 in 8.5 sec and still able to do 60+ mpg. Am I hoping for too much that Skoda produce a Citigo vRS with that engine?

I have the Bridgestones too, they were OK. Proper winter tyres would have been better though.

I think tyres back then were quite a bit narrower too which helps. But the speed thing is correct, you can drive too slowly for snow and ice as well as too fast. If you go too slow, you have to use too low a gear, then you get too much wheelspin, you slow down more, and grind to a halt. Keeping the speed higher, allowing the use of a higher gear, and keeping all inputs as smooth as possible, works well and you can make good progress. Just remember to look a looooong way ahead. I've been on an icy road with the Citigo now and it coped well even with the standard tyres. Far better than the Fabia with its 205 wide rubber.

Sounds good to me.

Whatever the reason it's been this way for 10 years or more on Skodas. Previously I've just left them switched on permanently and it never did them any harm.

Same OS for me.

Sorry Liam, I use a Mac primarily and When I got my car, I tried the Navigon Fresh software for it and it wouldn't log in with the same error that you have quoted. I updated mine on a Windows laptop that I have. I'll re-test the Mac software and see if anything has changed.

I'll have a look into the Acer Revos. I do want to keep this running as a Windows PC running Win7 or Win8, though another option would be a Mac Mini. I don't need a DVD drive in it as I have a PS3 for Bluray and DVD playing. I shoud be able to build something fairly cheaply, though the case will be bigger, my only worry is noise and having the audio through the HDMI. It also looks like I don't need THAT much of a CPU. Right now, the laptop is doing a decent job, even streaming video wirelessly from iTunes on my Mac, it's just that it could be even better if I could use 1080p

To balance it out, there were loads of other cyclists in the background of the programme, just quietly getting on with it and being sensible. They wore the right clothing, had lights etc. etc. I think that some of the more loony cyclists don't drive. If they did they may realise how hard it is to see a dark object from inside a car at night. I do, so I make sure I can be seen. I also think that a lot more car drivers should try cycling ina town a few times to see what it's like from the other side. If the programme suggests that cycling is the most dangerous thing in the world, it really isn't... as long as you are sensible. My commute to work has never been any more eventful than this: (it takes 20mins, but it would be REALLY boring to watch it all) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GrZ1h8aygc&list=UU9KWFB7bShUmvQW829WKsww&index=4

Having just got myself a new 1080p TV, I hooked up the cheap laptop I have to it on HDMI and now I'm sitting in the lounge typing this on Brisky in a more comfy chair. It's just better. However, the lappy will only output in 720p and struggles to play very high res video full screen, so I am looking to build myself a media centre PC for the lounge. It's clear I need some more horsepower than this lappy, but I'm also doing it on a budget. I need a smallish case, likely a micro ATX motherboard and a graphics card with HDMI output. Would be goog if it's quiet too, I don't want another hovercraft sitting next to the TV like my gaming rig is All spec suggestions are welcome.

It's true, they wouldn't. The same mechanisms that catch cars and motorcycles would nab them too. However, since license plates are only required for motorised vehicles, bikes will never need one. They are still vehicles though, and road rules apply. The ideal patrol in cities seems to be the Police cyclists, there should be more of them about IMHO. For me, the lawyer cyclist, the old taxi driver and the lorry driver talked a lot of sense. The "vigilante" cyclists not so much. There seems to be an element of almost looking for trouble so it can be filmed on the helmet cam. I sometimes wear mine, but I feel that if I wear it all the time I might start behaving like that, so I don't bother any more. Also, even though they don't weigh much, they aren't the most comfortable things to have hanging off your helmet.

Indeed. Quite disturbing in places, Cynthia is quite an inspiration though, shocking as the CCTV footage of her daughters death was. It was good watching both sides looking at incidents, a lot of agreement in most cases. But I am REALLY glad I don't have to cycle in London, it looks like a complete nightmare! I'll stick to the quiet North thanks very much

Ultimately if they can't sort it, you can reject the car. You have to give them a reasonable chance to fix the car, 3 attempts is usually right. Hopefully it's something like a seal that's not fitted correctly or a drain hole that is blocked.

Well, you can't take it with you

We were quite surprised. The cars had been polished and waxed the evening before, don't know if that had something to do with it?

From a while back, but.. 100_0053.JPG by Entropy1971, on Flickr 100_0051.JPG by Entropy1971, on Flickr

Haha! Excellent

That really makes the achievement worthy IMO. And facing the same opponent who had beaten him at Wimbledon in the final, only this time he destroyed him on the same court as before. I think it's going be be a very close vote this year.

*must not laugh* cough *really must not laugh* *no I really must not*

I passed another one on the way home tonight. No lights and on the pavement. At least he had a (dirty) yellow jacket on I suppose. Brrr, it's getting chilly out there, and -3C tommorrow on the forecast I'm just trying to get fitter and I am really feeling the benefits of the last 3 months, should have started riding again 10 years ago TBH. At least Carlisle isn't a massively busy place, somewhere like London would really make me nervous. I despair when I see some of the utter stupidity that some cyclists come up with, but I feel more sorry for the driver that may end up killing them because of it :( Take the rider that pieman encountered: ride in the lane that takes you where you want to go FFS! That way drivers know what you want to do! Sigh. I'd probably have honked him too.