Cycling UK Forum

Thanks - agreed, residential sound logical then. So the trick is to choose the exact spot - certainly wouldn't want to upset locals. It'd probably need to be a village.

I was reluctant to put out a plea on a public forum for a cycle friendly driveway in case it attracted a fake - or is that me being over cautious? The nearest I got was calling a couple of 'Cyclists Welcome' B+Bs - one had no spare space and the other cited insurance worries (more an excuse than a reason I guess?).

Another one I'm hoping you good people can help with ...........

When I have to drive to start point of a weekend tour, I'm pondering how to choose a parking spot. Residential area, rural layby, Nat Park carpark? What's more secure for a couple of days and nights?

And as much as I'd love to take the train, sadly it ain't an option with a tandem, at least not on the route planned this time around.

Any general tips much appreciated.

Last time I went cycle camping - 30 years ago - we often just picked out a likely field, got the farmer's permission, and asked where his nearest tap was. Never got turned down, and most were really friendly.

Does this still work well today, or have times moved on? It's Yorkshire we're headed to.

Thanks!

It's mostly shortish fitness/social rides, but with a fair bit on mucky country lanes.

Thanks for the ideas so far - keep the votes coming

I've just fitted 25mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres to new DT 465 rims - wow, what a brute to get on! (Reasons nicely explained in CJ's letter in the latest 'Cycle'.) I'll maybe see their life out, now I've paid for them and got them fitted, but will then change to something easier. What do you guys reckon are the best alternatives for a 25mm tyre, with high puncture resistance (I know it'll never be as good as the marathon plus) and durable to keep long-term costs down?

Thanks!

Just wondering what you guys think is a reasonable 'usable lifetime' for an aluminium frame? Warranties I've found go up to 5yrs, but obviously it'd pretty safe to run it longer than that before binning it. But how much longer?

And ditto carbon forks, which mostly have just a 1yr warranty. I've seen all the discussion on catastrophic failures, so no need to go there - again just a realistic no. yrs/miles before binning them, assuming I treat them good of course?

TIA!

I was a bit surprised yesterday that the local Bikeability trainer told my son's class that they needed to check the 'date of manufacture' on their helments, and "should" get new ones if they're more than 3 years old - got me going on a good old rant to my son, that did! Is this really necessary, or have the trainers been duped by helment manufacturers who just want to increase their profits by getting people to dump a piece of kit that's pretty much as good as it was when new? Is there some genuinely independent info on this somewhere?

Thanks for the feedback so far.

A bit more detail needed then .........

Yeh, I know what you mean about "adopting an even more assertive position" - and that's exactly what I do. My worry is for less experienced cyclists, like my kids when they go to secondary school in a couple of years time (maybe to start with they can use the narrow pavement, but that can't and won't last). I'd say 20% of motorists wait until I'm past, 60% carry on but slow down, and 20% aggressively carry on at the same speed. Gets a bit wearing when it happens everyday - and several times a day along my whole route.

- It's already a 20mph zone - but generally ignored.
- Speed cushions were recently put in, but are worse than useless, and my guess is that alternative humps would only help if they're severe enough to stop most drivers using the road at all.
- There's no obvious preferred direction for the rat-runners.
- It's already a controlled parking zone, and it wouldn't work to reduce the no. of spaces (fine by me, but will need support from neighbours!).

I'm sceptical that "pointing radars at drivers with advisory chats" would make a difference - they do that occasionally with parking on zig zags at the school round the corner, but when the officers are gone the next day nothing's changed

I doubt central white lines would increase speeds cos there are enough parked cars at all times down the whole road (on either both or one side). And it's not a long road (400m with two 45deg bends).

Any more ideas?

Thanks a lot!

There's an ongoing problem in our road - where there are cars parked on both sides then oncoming cars and vans force cyclists too close into the parked cars rather than being bothered to hang back until the cyclist has passed (sound familiar?). Although it's a residential road, it gets used a lot as rat-run, especially during rush hour.

I'm wondering if marking a dashed white line all the way down the middle of the road might encourage drivers to be more considerate or slower, as it'd at least be clear they're partly on the wrong side of the road. Has anyone seen this added into a residential street? Might it work? Or any other ideas for layout changes? We're in discussion with the local councillor at the moment, so there's a chance to change things.

Thanks!

Just wondering what the cheapest (but effective) electrolyte drink I can buy is? Or can I even make one?

I dehydrate big time when it gets warm, with real bad headaches. As a good old fashioned guy I used to just drink water, until trying Nuun tablets last summer. Then happily drank 3 litres on a long ride without peeing it out, and no headache to boot. Will probably stick to Nuun's for refills during rides, but maybe there's another option to keep at home? Drew a blank comparing prices on Wiggle.

Thanks folks!

Dreaming of some warm weather ........

Thanks for the tips, guys, and the welcome, Patrick - could spend all day browsing here ...

I did wonder if white might be a bit much with the dirt, but didn't think of getting arrested - Hmmm. Anyway, I'll ask the dumb(?) question - Why lycra? I'd reckon ventilation (ie. baggy) is key to staying cool in summer (and so to be avoided in winter)? And also that'd be worse for bib shorts?

A bit more web searching, and I've found these Altura baggies as a possible:
http://www.ctcshop.com/product.jsp;jses ... tyle=24121
or Cannondale baggies:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=11841

Both have more ventilation , but also more layers

I'm after some summer cycle shorts (Yeh, I know, not the best time of year, but maybe Santa'll help out ....), but web searching has drawn a blank so far. As I suffer in the heat, I reckon a pale colour would help a lot (cream/ white??). Maybe also a loose fit rather than lycra, but am guessing that avoiding the heat absorption of the black norm would more important. And of course, made for long use in the saddle.

Any ideas for something that fits the bill, or not too far off?

Thanks a lot!