Cycling UK Forum

arnsider wrote:One problem with mobile phones and driving is the fact that employers, managers and despatchers make calls to their mobile staff regardless of what the staff are doing. They are as much of a danger as the idiots that take their calls.

Prior to retirement I was an operational engineer for a regional electricity company. For a brief period of time senior management issued an edict “Engine on, phone off”. Very commendable I hear you say. The only problem was two minutes after setting off on an hours journey to a remote location, changed circumstances could require you to go in the opposite direction. The result would be an additional 2 hours travelling time to the revised location. If the new location was for supply restoration after a fault the phone off policy was nonsense.

Jdsk wrote:There's a vast amount on this in the archives and some very different opinions and preferences.

Would you rather remove the old lubricant with a solvent or with water and a surfactant (detergent)?

Jonathan

Perhaps I should have delved in the archives first! I’ve never tried using detergent but find the solvent wipes quick, convenient & effective

I’ve exhausted my stock of power industry cleaner/degreasing wipes. I can probably source a similar product but at almost £100 for a similar sized large bucket! I did buy some wipes from Toolstation? but the material is too shiny and they don’t ‘grab’ the chain. Can anyone recommend a product for degreasing (cleaning off the muck) the chain in this way?

It’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind although I still carry a phone in my pocket! Probably too late to worry about it now (age 72) but for kids starting out in life perhaps a more serious concern. In the early days of mobile phones my company supplied ‘screened cases’ although I can’t imagine that they were particularly effective, the phone still functioned for starters!

Although cyclists seem to be at the top of the ‘hate list’, caravans, horses & tractors come in for some flack too. You never hear motorists complaining that horse riders “don’t pay road tax”!

I booked for my booster which I had last week. I arrived 30 mins before my allotted time & joined the queue of many people who just came without booking. 30 mins later I had moved up the queue & ended up having the jab at my appointment time! Why did I bother to book?

My haemoglobin level has been consistently low (12.6 g/DL) for at least 10 years and for all I know I was born that way. When it was first ‘noticed’ my GP (nurse practitioner actually) suggested it could be due to the exertion of cycling. I had recently started serious cycling at that time. I have sometimes wondered if my cycling performance would improve with a higher haemoglobin level but as I have what I regard as a good balanced diet there is probably no sensible way to raise that level. I am 72 & recently received an ‘ok’ from the biennial poo stick exercise.

Tiggertoo wrote:It is interesting that the Peak Tours 14 day route skips Plymouth and goes from LA to Fowey, to Mortonhampstead, to Street then onto Monmouth.

Actual route around Plymouth

FWIW (not a lot I hear some say) I rode the Peak Tours 14 day LEJOG route in May. I thought the routes chosen were superb & the overall organisation excellent. I have no vested interest!

MikeF wrote:That's good you can now have your wife and daughter to help. If you haven't a booklet you can can look on the website https://prostatecanceruk.org, but you should have been given information to make a choice. Presumably you understand the Gleason scale. Your description wasn't clear but maybe you meant your cancer is on one side of your prostate? Anti androgen treatment would not be good if you are very active. You need to discuss these things with your oncology consultant. Radiation therapy may not be that simple either depending on your condition.

I underwent hormone treatment (HT) & radiotherapy 2 years ago & whilst HT (anti androgen treatment) has its effects, I believe that being active & continuing that activity as best you can is the best way of warding off the effects of the treatment. I found that to be the case for me

One of my bikes has ‘electronic’ di2 shifting. As I have arthritis in my left hand it makes life easier & less painful. It came in handy a few years back when my left hand was heavily bandaged following a mishap when I wouldn’t have coped with the effort needed for a conventional front shifter. On the downside it was a brain teaser several years ago when it had the symptoms of an expired battery which turned to be electronic failure within the battery mount. Needless to say I replaced the battery first. Also both derailleurs are now unobtainable so if one fails both have to be replaced together with the rear wheel (as that is 10sp only). Those parts alone would cost more than the value of the bike!

It’s a amazing how a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist can generate so many responses!

pedalsheep wrote:Has anyone tried this - as recommended in the most recent edition of 'Cycle' magazine and today's 'Cycleclips'? Seemed like a good idea but when I tried it with a fairly substantial pair of nail clippers they promptly broke!

I’ve always used electrical cable side cutters. They seem to work on the smallest of cable ties

I had my RT sessions during March 2020 following diagnosis with a Gleason score of 7 (3+4). My HT continued for a further 6 months after RT & in April this year my psa was 0.7 It was unchanged at 0.7 in September. I mentioned to my consultant that this figure seemed high to me compared to other men at a similar stage. His reply was that no 2 men are the same & we all have different size prostates. He also discharged me to the hospital’s remote monitoring service. I’m not bothered by this as the consultant service has been remote as a result of the pandemic. If I have any problems or major concerns I will shout from the rooftop! I usually get up once in the night for a wee but this mainly due to my disturbed sleep pattern, I have no issues during the day. Good luck to you (& to me too!)

Mick F wrote:Mary had a little lamb,
She also had a bear,

................. we all know the rest!

Mary had a little lamb,
She kept it in her pocket,
& every time that it got out,
The bulldog used to …………