Cycling UK Forum

I try to leave the UK with a good stock of Jordans’ Frusli bars – never found anything comparable on the continent. When those run out, pains au chocolat or pains au raisins are full of quick calories, and universally available in France. Perhaps not the healthiest thing, but French people seem to survive.

French immigration is just a wee man in a hut in Dover. If he tried to check everyone’s hotel bookings and bank statements, most of Kent would come to a standstill.

The thing about “stiff neck from drops” is that it depends how you use them. I like my bike much better since I changed the bars to drops, but how often do I actually ride on the drops? I used to think it was ‘not very often’, but I’ve realised it’s more like ‘practically never’, and looking at other riders, I suspect that’s not unusual. What I like is the wide range of hand positions possible on the tops/hoods/etc., and with a short stem, I still have a quite upright position. I’m old, no athlete, and never get a stiff neck. And bear in mind that there are drop bars specifically designed for mountain bikes.

It’s worth noting the use of the words ‘may’ and might’. They reserve the right to, but in my experience the last couple of years (UK passport, Dover) they stamp your passport with no questions asked. If people are understandably, but unnecessarily, apprehensive, would it be worth compiling a list (in too-good-to-lose maybe) of people’s experiences at other points of entry?

Sheets of plywood (but not sheets of plasterboard), threads on plumbing fittings, bicycle chain pitch. Square studs on socket wrenches? What else is still universally sized in imperial units?

plancashire wrote: ↑10 Apr 2024, 8:43pm Sash windows that rattle and let draughts through - oohh!

Haha – sash windows are simply the victim of their own superb design. If they’re rattly and draughty, it’s likely because they’re well over a century old (maybe two), and haven’t needed replacing. They worked well when they were new, and modern timber sash windows are fully capable of complying with today’s stringent building regulations. (I know, I’ve made them.)

Like that day when I started in German-speaking Villach, rode to Romance-speaking Tarvisio for lunch, and finished the day in Slavic-speaking Kranska Gora. I’m sure there are other places where you could do something similar, but would the lunch be as good?

Closer inspection, after two punctures, found two tiny slivers of glass - <3mm long - embedded in the thickness of the tyre - I wonder if there are others. I think the tyre owes me nothing, and is now duly pensioned off.

I’ve found it a useful rule of thumb that the number of OS kilometre grid squares I plan to pass through will be about the number of miles I’ll ride.

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑5 Apr 2024, 8:10pm "Just had a puncture" isn't much reason to bin a tyre. A puncture every day could be.

Thanks, but I know that. My concern is whether, on this particular occasion, the thinness of the tyre might be a significant contributory factor.
I put a new tube in, and had another (slow) puncture within ten miles, so clearly something amiss with the tyre - despite what I thought was a fairly thorough fingering of the inside for hazards. New tyre now ordered.

It’s a fairly old tyre, and as it’s a slick, I can’t see how much the tread has worn. And I’ve just had a puncture. My calliper tells me that where the rubber meets the road it’s about 3mm thick, or a fraction less – which I would think was reasonably meaty, but perhaps I’m wrong? Still good to go, or time to bin it?

I bought this a couple of months back.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394801369533 ... 3367248580
Very happy with it. I don't know how big a Pixel 7a is though.

Last couple of times I’ve taken the ferry from Dover (2022, 2023), it’s been perfectly straightforward – passport stamped, no questions asked. I imagine they 'reserve the right' to check on you, but choose not to.

I rode across from France to Ferrara eighteen months ago, and don’t recall any issues with road quality (on 38mm tyres IIRC).
Don’t miss Ferrara – small but delightful world heritage city centre, not too touristy, more good restaurants than you could shake a stick at, and the most bicycle-y place I’ve ever seen.

MrsHJ wrote: ↑20 Mar 2024, 11:31am Measurements are here- non rigid (so not a box) and 135x85x30.

"Travelling between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany
You can take your bike on board our European routes. It must be disassembled, including wheels, and stored in a non-rigid cover no larger than 135x85x30 cm."

Those dimensions seem to refer to routes on the continent.

"Bikes between London and Paris
Your bike will need to be disassembled and stored in a bike box/bag."

Eurostar's help page doesn't specify dimensions for London-Paris, but I believe they are much more restricitve.