Rant

Whilst I'd be inclined to agree, I can't think of another Law that is enforced in such a manner!?

After the experience at a previous address where the letters are a flat out lie about wanting to know if we don't need one so they can stop writing. I'm not engaging in a response in the hope that once they've been they'll mark us as not requiring one.

The tone and nature makes me a bit militant about it. I'll be nice when they show up though.

It took about 7 years of me getting those letters before someone turned up at the door. He asked me if I had a TV, I said no, he said thanks, and left. Two years later they started again.
I have a license now since they made it necessary for i-player.

We've had a missed call card already. Not been here that long, broadband only arrived on the street 2 weeks ago. I live in London that's bonkers I know!

I've been getting really fucked off with people using what must be mountain bike lights for commuting. I can't see fucking anything when riding behind a mini bloody Sun.

I hate that, too. Without wishing to state the blindingly obvious, bike lights have got way too bright. I got a new one the other day and the lowest lumen count they had was 250. I was happy when I found one with 80 lumens somewhere else.

When you say 'riding behind', are you talking specifically about rear lights? I always try to get ahead of them. I don't find that problem too bad in London, but I can't ride behind blinding rear lights on overnighters. I can't see anything but a red (possibly flashing) barrier.

I reviewed a bag full of lights a couple of years ago. The "Urban 850" (£120) comes with the warning: "Never look directly at light. Eye injury can result". Now they make an "Urban 1000". I have tried shielding my eyes and wobbling across the road when light like this come at me at night - they don't go away.
Not surprisingly the German regulations require controlled beams that don't dazzle. Blindingly obvious.

Stupid fucking plastic Shimano external BB adapter! £5 to buy a replacement so I can remove the BB. What was the point in changing the diameter of the BB cups?

Get 26" they said, it will be available everywhere around the world they said. Well not anymore cause 584 is all the hype right now. Everywhere. fuuuuuuuuuuuu

Thanks to the British Gas engineer who decided to traipse dogshit all over our living room rugs (all three of them somehow) and stink the place up. If you're going into peoples houses all day surely checking your fucking feet or wiping them on a matt is standard practice?

Our 10 month old is really going to like playing on the wooden floors while we get them cleaned.

It feels like the Lobster’s tinkering is reaching a plateau. The bike rides so smoothly, and everything works just as intended. Yet even perfectly functional parts can sometimes still be a bother when you’re this close to perfection.
•
Sometimes it’s a performance issue, sometimes it’s aesthetic, and sometimes it’s just because the part just doesn’t really live up to the expectations of the rest of the build.
•
This week I finally got the front derailleur sorted, and it’s such a joy. But that deserves a post of its own. Short version: goodbye Mirage 9, and hello 105 5800. What a hilarious mish-mash.
•
A friend had a pair of XTR WaffleTech™️ rotors and I was not entirely happy with the admittedly just fine M7000 IceTechs, so that’s a change that ended up saving 50 grams in addition to looking pretty sweet.
•
There’s another post coming about tire and fender decisions, as the 35mm @compasscycle Bon Jon Pass were too big to run with Honjos and one was too far along in its life cycle to go tubeless. So, @simworksusa Volummy 32s are on and set up tubeless real easy.
•
Another recent addition is the bar bag from @farsiksply, a simple and stylish take on the so-hot-right-now burrito bag that’s made by a long time friend in Victoria, BC, and keeps things nice and clean.
•
What’s left that’s still kinda bugging me is the basic FSA headset that came with the bike when I picked it up, and the Soma seat clamp that I pulled out of the bins here as the one that came on the bike was truly bad.
•
The cool thing about having a completely fresh build is my motivation to get out and ride is at a high point. It’s super nice to have a bike that fits perfectly, rides smooth, and has a flawless drivetrain.

Something really annoys me about the above post. I can't quite figure out what it is. I think it's something to do with the more-money-than-sense profligacy of replacing something as piddlingly small as a seat clamp or headset for aesthetic reasons, but simultaneously equivocating about replacing wear items ("this tyre was too old to be used tubeless" - well just fucking use a tube or buy a new one then). And all wrapped in semi-mystical #influencer marketing language.

Grr. I still like the bike though

Edit: maybe it's also the feeling that he's turning non-issues into problems that demand an entire paragraph of justification and wavering, when in most cases "it works better" is a good enough reason to replace something. Maybe it's that they come across like the wine-tasting-experts of the cycling world, with the same susceptibility to marketing, fashion, conflation of price with quality, etc.

Ikea.

On a Bank Holiday Saturday?

Any day. Ever. But especially on a bank holiday Saturday. Got in last night around 1am having driven about 7 hours straight from a job. Woken up by Mrs PMSYOA at 7 (kipped on the couch so as not to wake baby CYOA).

"We have to go ikea before [total stranger] comes around on Tuesday. We don't have enough throws. Get dressed."

terrifying words. (not joking)

"We don't have enough throws. Get dressed."

I hate furnishing shopping esp throws blankets cushions soft things that make the room look nice 😲

"too far along in its lifecycle" FFS

I that from Instagram?

Yep. foundinthemountains (should have known they'd annoy me from that username)

Deleted. Bikes are stupidly expensive, that's my rant.

Try another bike shop £200 for pads, bleed and hoses sounds excessive

I’m sat in a car park.

It’s the Haskins car park in Ferndown.

I was nearby today doing some filming. I started filming at 7. To get from my home in Devon I set my alarm for 2:45 am to arrive in time to set up for a 7 call. Awful driving weather in pitch black etc with a car laden down with 300kg kit and about that again in CYOA.

I wrapped at 4 having had a total 15 minutes of break to get a sandwich from m&s and got in the car in front of he client and started the engine. No joy. I tried again and it clung on so I reversed out of my spot but as I reversed the revs dropped and it died. Right in front of my now awkward looking clients. I turn the key and gun it and it pops into a bit of life but I have to keep the accelerator pressed to keep the revs up. I just want to get around the corner. I do that and am onto a road. I keep going but it’s making some weird as fuck shuddering. I come to a roundabout and know that if I stop it’s going to die then and there so I slow and Rev and slow and rev all the way to it and when there’s a gap I gun through.

I’m now driving along a B road with a few cars around. I’m struggling to get beyond 40. I come to a red light. I have to stop so I put it in park and just when I’m about to rev, it seems to rev itself. I join in. Eventually I crawl away, foot down, barely firing, build back up to 40.

I’ve long since realised there’s no way it’s going to get to Devon so I look for somewhere safe that’s not obstructing traffic. I spy Haskins.

AA.

AA arrive.

I’m not on relay you say?

We’ll lets look and see if we can fix it.

Initial diagnosis a throttle board(?) needs cleaning.

Nope.

Computer diagnosis. Fault in crankshaft position sensor. Currently the engine does start. He Resets the sensor and clears the fault. Revealing the sensor itself is fried and the engine doesn’t start.

He tries to see if a Ford Focus CPS would fit. We have a Kia and it does not.

He tries cleaning the sensor with sandpaper and spraying some black stuff on it.

Nada.

He says it’s fucked.

The options are ordering a part in Bournemouth to repair tomorrow. I’m interested but also have 40 grands worth of video gear in the back. Alternatively I upgrade to relay for 285.20 including mileage home.

I accept.

Sensing the tears forming he offers to drop me off at the marks and spencer where I got the same sandwich again.

Now I’m waiting until 9 for a recovery truck.

Oh and I’m supposed to be up here in Ferndown again on Monday to film the second part.

Fucking hell, what a shitter! Spank the £285 on a cheap hotel and a few beers in Bournemouth and sort it out tomorrow. That's my (undoubtedly bad) advice.

I’m literally a few miles away if you want a thermos of coffee or a hug

Really kind. A very nice old German guy has just turned up with a massive lorry and loaded me in a flash. Homeward bound

And now the garage are saying an ECU pin is broken and it's basically a write-off. It was fine according to the AA guy on Friday when it was dropped off there. Did they break it? Who. Fucking. Knows.

I don’t own a TV.
I filled out a declaration to state I didn’t need a licence but was informed I was, in all probability, a liar and I might still be investigated. Can’t wait for them to turn up on my doorstep.
I shall tell them I have a telly in every room and only watch the BBC. That I livestream the programs to global audiences via my web servers. That I now receive a healthy income from former licence-holders happy with my discounted BBC service. Then just before they try to have me arrested I shall ask them why they believed me given that they were at my doorstep on the pretext of me being a liar?