JD™

I swear by Skinz, personally. Not tried much else, because they do the job well.

That was great to watch, loved it.

When he went to sell the bike yesterday I messaged him to ask how much he needed so that I could set up a similar go fund me page. Obviously didn't get a response, but saw it when he put it out this afternoon. I think it was about 22 minutes and it was about £290, and I was pretty excited about it even at that level. I went to donate and realised I'd left my card in the pub. By the time I got home from getting that it was over 10 grand. Absolutely crazy.

It's been an emotional weekend so far anyway, but this has very nearly made me into a f**king mess. https://gofundme.com/55fm3jb6 i can't imagine how it must feel to be that man right now. If I try to imagine, I guess he underestimates massively how many lives he's touched by being good on a bike. Man's a legend, and he deserves every penny towards his rehab.

"No offence, some of my best friends are marmite miners." The only reasonable exit from that situation.

Personally I'm glad that f**ker and his whore had their date with 'mysterious' destiny. Edit: Shit, forgot to log into my own account.

Nice Ross, just looked like fun.

Never even contemplated changing my background to be honest.

YAY. That's been one of those first world problems for a few weeks!

She ended up asking for something anyway, so that's bought. Also meant I could request something back, which I was going to buy myself. Trap avoided

Is Rockingham super slippery as a track in general? Looks like those other cars were really struggling while you were both going at the same speeds sideways... What great fun that must've been!

That last one... :O

Anyone buying a TV now and not aiming for 4k is making a mistake in my opinion. I'm in that boat myself as it happens, having bought into 1080p as soon as I could. Now that TV is a good 8 years old or so and at the end of its life, so the only logical choice is 4K to future proof.

You only need to worry about you. Send your own email. "You pay me $x. I sell y bikes at an average of $z. At a markup of a% I'm creating a return of $b, without including the workshop work." No-one else will fight for your job. If the gaps on the shop floor are what bothers them, fill them. Don't be so efficient with the space, or whatever it needs. In the next episode, I'll teach everyone how to suck eggs.

If you're more effective for the business, it won't be hard for you to prove that. Show them the return you get them from the investment they make in you, simple. If they go the other way then either they're stupid or you're deluded.

I probably wouldn't have filled out this survey, until I read @lifes-a-trial being a complete and utter knob jockey. Deluded, too. £20 has more value to the kids you're describing than it does to us older riders, so if anything they're more likely to take the survey. As it happens, if I get drawn for the £20 I'll find some way of donating it to someone here in the form of a little video comp or something. Even though £20 would be a shit prize, especially compared to the comps we've had for Mars bars in the past...

Awesome, thanks. Got eBook and will dig in. Thanks @Pete.M as well.

Personally that looks like the sort of place I'd love to ride if I had the skills, so I'm not really sure where you're coming from Flipp. Danny has the funding behind him to go ride places most of the industry don't get to ride, and part of the 'trade-off' of that is to allow it to be more accessible to a wider market so that the backers don't lose money. Do you want to go and make the same video over and over? I doubt it, and I don't think that Danny is being dragged kicking and screaming to Gran Canaria to ride on some awesome terrain. Plus, there were some bangers in that video. I put it on the projector, and Mrs D enjoyed it too which is something I can't do with most 'normal' videos. I can enjoy the technical side of the riding, she can enjoy the nice views and the seeming impossibility of it. Personally I'd like to see more of the top riders with this sort of vision and funding, not less. That's the beauty of opinions though. Definitely started writing this planning not to rant, certainly not meant that way. I also know you're as stubborn as I am, so I'm also not looking to change your mind.

Anyone (probably looking mainly at you @Adam@TartyBikes) got any recommendations on books/resources about suspension and race setup and the like? I fancy using any time off I get over the festive break to learn some completely useless (to me, at the moment) theory.

I'm in. You heard it here first, or second depending on who you are. Nice bike dude.

Love your ball bag, Grandad. Confusion comes from which way to use it, like "make sure you love your ball bag" or "I love your ball bag".

Only if you want to wait 6 months for them to make one to fit ;)

I think Ali and Stan had a lot to do with showing the early signs of what was possible in the 2010 road trip vid, but Flipp has just been taking it crazy far. Great vid as always, ridiculous self deprecation as always.

Best thing so far about getting married is that I don't have to do any thinking about Christmas presents. Hayley takes care of all of that, I just have to wrap them. Luckily I don't even have to think about one for her this year either, because we've decided not to bother and put the cash towards flying out to NZ to see my sister.