Tomm

Nah, I can't do 50" taps (not just yet ) but I still massively prefer the little things. I know what you mean though, when some people reach a "decent" standard of the simple stuff they will try and branch out and learn different things.

Yeah, everyone comes up short occasionally. I might come up short on a 32" backwheel, whereas Vince will do the same on a 52". Whereas if it's on the top or side of the tube (or in the tube...) you'll do well to hit it whoever you are.

Definite;y worth a go, but don't put in your correct phone number unless you want loads of phone calls from insurance companies trying to get your business.

There is surely a conflict of interest there, though? What if Domonique is making enough money and he just wants his son to do well? Stranger things have happened.

Lastminute.com? Last year we got an all-inclusive deal to Austria in the summer for £200, pretty damn cheap if you can get the timing right.

Sounds like you did the right thing. Worth it in the long run, it won't feel bad for too long and then you'll realise what you did was clever

You can get a 1.5l bladder and tube for £15, although the brand escapes me. And just stick that in any old bag. The Camelback bags always seemed a bit expensive to me.

But the 30D only just came out...

I'm sure that said 10 days yesterday Just from looking at the features you can see and speculating, people have said that it'll either be a new model above the D70 but below the D200, or just upgrade to the D70. So either way, not particularly "budget". Unless it's a hardcore replacement to the D50, in which case "ooooh".

It's a shame they don't make a slightly more expensive but good walk-around lens that is maybe in between the 18-55 and the 17-85 pricewise. Cos the kit lens gets such bad reviews, but there's not really a better alternative without spending a fair amount.

I think unless you're spending £50+ a month, then contract is way more expensive. It is more convinient though and you get a sparkly new phone every year. I would stay PAYG if you can, just top up from your debit card or whatever

Is the lens any different apart from being quieter and maybe slightly quicker at focussing?

Yours for £90 inc all the jazz that comes with it, 256 CF card and postage? How does that sound? Although the flash doesn't work and neither does the metering, so it only works in manual mode. Which is all because I snapped a cable inside it when I took it apart to fix a problem with the shutter (which I incidentally fixed very well ). Might be fixable by Canon, but it won't be cheap (£150 at least I've been told). But it is still capable of taking good pics, I will post some up that I've taken in the state that it's in now, later. It could well be the kit lens but I think you'll find most SLR lenses are like that! The kit lens will be autofocus, not sure if that one is. They are only very slightly different in price - I guess because silver is less common than black. They're both the same though. And yeah, black looks nicer. Jessops sell the 350D in silver (more expensive) with the USM lens, which is different to the normal one, though.

With an SLR you're kinda buying into the lens mount. Ie if you buy a Canon, you'll always have plenty of Canon/sigma/Tamron lenses to choose from, and it's easy to find second-hand lenses. Nikon are pretty similar, not quite as many. Whereas Olympus and Pentax who make some decent cameras are fairly difficult to get lenses for. So if you want any kind of upgrade-ability, I would definitely go either Canon or Nikon. If you don't really care about upgrading the lenses, feel free to get something else, but that's a bit silly and you may as well just buy a high-end "prosumer" camera (I.e. non-SLR). Like Chris said - take your pick between the 350D and the D50. But at the moment, the D50 is under £400, and the 350D is £475 ish at the cheapest places, so that's a fair difference. I don't particularly like the 350D (it's just too small) but I think it's probably worth the extra £75 if YOU think it's nicer. Get it with the kit lens. You only save a few quid by not getting the lens so it's worth getting even if you replace it - keep it as a spare P.S. Jessops will price match the internet for digital SLRs. Go to www.cameras2u.com, find the price and stick it to Jessops. They WILL match it if it's in stock and in the UK (No Hong Kong imports). EDIT: Cameras2u is part of the Jessops chain. EDIT2: If you want to buy a semi-working 300D with the 18-55 lens going very cheap, let me know!

I believe it's the first, although I guess they might do them in batches - so when you phone up they put you on a list to get the line upgraded by a different person (a technician or whatever). So technically it could take no time at all, but realistically it might take a while.

Why would you do that? I don't get it. Is there something nice to see in Iraq?

It's a testament to his rehabilitation that I never realised he was one-footed. You'd never know from looking at him ride!

I once did a one-handed x-up crankflip no-footer. You can sit on the back tyre (stock only I guess) and do it, just. Looks stupid though, and I wouldn't dare go anywhere near a drop with it

I was just a bit confused by the route through Finland, but I guess it kinda makes sense Those roads look knarly, dude. Wouldn't really wanna get stuck out there... I'd love to see if anyone takes the Iran route Do you know which one Tom is doing?

But I won't spoil the fun. It's magic

Some of those pictures are really nice. Who took them?

What are all those other flags? 6 weeks is ages... He must be 10-15% of the way there by now (as the crow flies)? Those roads must be terrible

Krisboats makes a good point. On the other hand, blackmail sounds pretty good from where you are at the moment

Anyone else get a bit annoyed at calling trials "stunts"? Makes it sound like something 8 year old scallies do.

Isn't it a bit disturbing that those pubes are grey