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Looks almost as though you could get it to wring it's own neck if you kept turning it.

Holy crap!
I just did a strip and clean of everything on my bike and found that my chain is way longer than it should be.
20 links measure 260mm.

Is that enough to have worn my sprocket and chainring significantly?

I have ridden about 900 miles on it since April and was hoping to replace the chain, chainring, bottom bracket, cranks and sprocket as soon as winter is over, in about March. Thing is I will probably cover about 700 more miles in snow up until March. I really didn't expect the chain to be in such bad shape after 900 (dirty)city miles.

What is the best solution - just replace the chain now and hope that the wear on the sprocket is not too much for the new chain or do you think the chain will last through the winter and I can bin the lot in March?

I don't want to replace everything now as it would only get trashed by the winter and if I had to replace the chainring I have to do everything as the chainring and cranks are in one piece.

Agreed, I'm not sure what the owners feel they get from it. I would feel guilty the whole time.

Has anybody tried using car wax to protect bike parts from rust caused by salt? Saw some in the shop and thought that maybe I could use it on the frame and worst affected parts like the wheel nuts and pedals.
What do you think? Worth a try or waste of time?

Parrot win......but song fail. It is better than the original.

YouTube - [ORIGINAL] Parrot Sings Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

[ame="http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81227909/"]Double Dream Hands! Video[/ame]

I have two that need extracting as they are growing forward and pushing all my lower teeth forward. It is sometimes very uncomfortable. I have been meaning to do it for over 6 months, but I know that I will have to take unpaid time off work as the dentist said I will not be able to speak easily for a week. Also she said that she couldn't do both at the same time as it is too much.
Every time I have holiday I don't do it cause I don't want to spend my holiday in pain.
I know it is stupid, but I can't stop procrastinating over it.
If there was ever a HTFU moment it is now.

That is what I am riding on at the moment.
My only issues are when the paths are not cleared at all and the only 'path' is a one foot wide compressed strip of snow. You hit one foot print wrong and it send a wheel into the deep stuf and knocks you off.
The other is uncleared roads that have had cars go down them. Absolute guaratee of falling off on some roads.

My favourite description of winter riding -

"If you like the environment, you will have the opportunity to meet mother nature’s capricious side; perhaps you will enjoy it. It is similar to the way your girlfriend is most sexy when she calls you a dickhead and throws something at you."

http://www.thefader.com/2010/12/14/how-to-ride-a-bike-notes-on-winter-cycling-from-russia/2/

I need some better overshoes.
I have some cheap decathlon ones, but I find that whenever you put your foot down, the toe part flips over your shoes, which then get filled with snow. Repeat more than once and you get toes that freeze together. Those pro ventura ones look nice.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=klecinska+wroclaw&sll=45.614037,20.874023&sspn=21.274268,39.331055&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Kleci%C5%84ska,+Wroc%C5%82aw,+Dolno%C5%9Bl%C4%85skie,+Poland&ll=51.113518,16.970315&spn=0.009658,0.019205&t=h&z=16

In theory I can ride on that road, as the limit is 60kph but drivers do tend to go over 100 and it is a very dangerous overpass that that not only turns right at the summit but also has a juction at the top. Just crossing the junction at the top takes balls as it is completely blind.

Strangely enough the other one is mounted about two feet higher. Probably ran out of sign post pole.
I was thinking of turning it so that it was side on and it wouldn't protrude into the lane, but then I thought that in the snow, I would be the lucky bugger that slipped one the ice and cleaved my head in two.

Anybody got a recipe for a really meaty gravy from scratch?
Being an ex-pat I don't have access to instant gravy and I am making steak pies.
This batch is going to be ok as I had a bit of bisto in the cupboard to supplement it but I want more for Christmas and will have to do it with basic ingredients.

I have some reduced beef stock, some marrow fat(Not sure if I should use this or use it for roasties) what else should I put into it? I guess I will thicken with potato starch or flour.

How do I get it to taste like pie shop pies without gravy granules!

And of course it is double fail as the sign is the wrong way round as the footpath is on the left and the cycle path on the right!

My local council very kindly marked this cycle path with a sign just below head height. I'm pretty sure that one day it will take me out, so keep your eyes out in the rider down thread.........

I saw a guy last week riding through 4 inches of snow with a full set of car rims balanced on his rack. Fuck knows how he did it as I was having trouble riding with no load.
I had to do a double take to be sure that I really saw what I though I saw.

I would say that according to the behaviour I see every day that his riding is tame.
I'm sure I'm not the only one not in London - If you can find a video of where you live, post it!

Oh, and I don't condone his cycling - plenty of riding through pedestrianised areas etc.

I know most people on here commute in London, but some commute in other cities. It would be nice to see where people are commuting and I would love to make a video of my town but I don't have a camera, but this guy made a couple of some of my routes, This one in fact starts outside my work.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AOW75#p/u

Cobbles are a bastard - no matter how many times you fall on them, they always know how to get you one more time. My town is full of cobbles, my usual cause of a fall is that there are bricks missing in places leaving a nice sized hole to avoid. When it is wet........

I want!
I noticed that there are many similar looking locks at a similar price - Does this one stand out form the others? I see that this one has an 'intelligent sensor' which doesn't go off if you want to unlock it.

What do you think is a doable gear ratio in thick snow?
I haven't changed from my usual 75 and it is killing me. If I make it through the winter I'm going to be able to pull a truck in spring. Is 65 more realistic?

Anybod having issues with frozen locks?
I have a cable for my front and the padlock is easy to defrost with one of those lock deicers, but my kryptonite evo is a bugger.
It freezes inside the mechanism and the spray doesn't seem to spread further than the lock.
Don't really fancy carrying a thermos round.I can imagine if I poured hot water on and then rode home in -15 the lock would be a block of ice when I get back! I nearly broke my teeth on a frozen snickers this morning and now I'm having a semi frozen banana!

Crap, we got more snow now - I hate fresh snow on top of old snow - you can't see the hidden suprises underneath!