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You'll always have the fear - after seven years as a freelancer, I still get the fear - so in the end, you just have to accept that the fear will always be there and get on with things.

Last time I was on the forum properly, I'd just been made redundant, had ended a long-term relationship and was fighting my old employers in an Employment Tribunal. In the years that followed I did a ton of personal photography work, which culminated in me deciding at the last minute to join my best friend and sleep in the back of his van while shooting him riding bikes in the Alps. That got me working with Cyclist, who I've worked for over the past three years, as well as some other cool people. Last year I started writing as well, and had a piece in the Ride Journal, before I started working for Tinkoff, and then this season, doing PR for Sagan.

I earnt a really decent salary when I had my desk job - about four times as much as I do now - but I'm so, so much happier now, even during the quiet times when I'm panicking about the amount of work coming in. I miss not owning my own home, and hate that I can't afford to do the things I want to do, but what's the alternative? I'd be working more than 40hr weeks and I'd never be able to do anything else - 50 weeks a year so I can go on holiday for two weeks? Fuck that.

In the end, nobody gives a shit about you, so you may as well do something you love, or at least helps you pay the bills so you can do the things you do love more. Long time dead and everything...

I remember talking to you years ago about those work problems, @dancing james - awesome to hear you not only got through it all, but are considerably happier now too...

On eBay now, in case anyone's interested...

Hi there,

Been a while since I've been on the site - lots of life changes. Would be nice to catch up with a few old friends though, if they're still around...

In the meantime, I'm selling my Bowman Pilgrims frame and fork. It's a 56cm and is in the teal blue colour. It's a disc frame and has full internal cable routing, 7005 main frame and tapered carbon fork. It's a less well-known company, but there were loads of these on the last TCR and can say it's a great frame to ride - snappy and fast, but comfortable for all day riding. It'll take bigger tyres, but it won't take the 35s that Bowman say it will - I found the max was a 30c and even then you've got to pick and choose. The rear isn't a problem, but the forks are quite tight.

Only selling because it's too small for me.

Frame is in excellent condition - I've used protective tape on all of the usual rub points (even where I'd normally get heel rub on the chainstays) so frame is excellent all round. On the top tube, there is some slight shine in the middle where my thighs have polished the matt paint a bit, but that's all there is to report.

The forks are the only part there's any real 'damage'. When I ran some slightly more nobbly tyres in some mud, they ended up rubbing against the fork because of the mud, grit and lack of clearance. You can see from the photo that it's rubbed through the paint and a little of carbon. I rode it for a year after that happened without any ill effects but it's an 'at your own risk' kind of thing. I personally don't think it's too bad, but your view may differ.

Happy to answer any questions. Lots of information on the Bowman website, but I can give you any real world information.

Looking for £400 or near offer. Collect from Brighton or can post for £15. I'm in town a fair bit, but it's not always practical to bring a frame with me.

...thanks for mentioning me, when I had fuck all to do with this feud that's ongoing...

Wha...? Oh you mean...? Those thinly veiled snipes are a bitch aren't they?

mooks, I like Bella too, but clearly others have the right not to see things in the same light.

Like you, and Teenslain, I stand up for people that I think are okay. I think it's understood that you will champion Bella's right to be treated with some civility. But please don't overlfow that feeling into any negativity against VeeVee or even Lil. Whether they like her or not is their perogative.

People cannot be changed except they make the decision from within. You can only put your views out there, and hope others concur.

If you're going to complain about personal comments being made about other members, wouldn't it be a good idea to refrain from making them yourself?

Ok... So you didn't spot that my post was in response to VeeVee saying that *she *thought *Isabella *was strange?

My point is that you may well have your opinions about someone, but you should generally leave them to their own devices. Like her or not, Isabella's done nothing to warrant the ill treatment she's received.

Err, no, that's what you're saying mooks, you quoted what Andy's saying - which is pretty clear unless you're a bit dim.

It's called 'reading between the lines'.

Forum member makes assertions that Epifania was insulting other female members of the site, then fails/refuses to provide evidence of this.

In which case, forum member's assertions hold absolutely no water...

..Right.

Got something to say?

Don't get all fucking sanctimonious with me. I don't have the time or the inclination to find evidence for you, nor access to the PMs sent. As I've said elsewhere, I saw with my own eyes the upset Bella caused.

Btw, this is the internet not a scientific journal. I'm not sure you've noticed that.

So what you're saying then is that you're either unwilling, or more likely, unable to provide evidence that justifies either your opinion towards her, or the treatment of her?

VeeVee, I've always found you a bit strange to be honest, but I generally live and let live!

For most of the time I've been a member of this site I haven't lived in London. I don't go to the forum drinks because I don't have much interest in the social side of this site. I've been on a few rides and met up with a few people through buying and selling on the site. That's fine with me - and that's all some people want from this place.

I didn't come here to make friends - so I have no qualms about making enemies - and my friendship with Isabella is more important than this site, hence my speaking out. I personally know Isabella extremely well, and know that the way she's being portrayed by some members is a huge injustice - it's mean-spirited and entirely wrong.

The major issue for me is that there's no rationale for why people have been saying and posting the things that they have. In her time on the forum, Isabella has been perfectly nice. She's got involved in discussions, been respectful and supportive of many people, and has never been antagonistic or aggressive.

My initial post was a challenge for people to identify some kind of behaviour that would justify the way she's being treated. So far all I'm hearing is umming, ahhing and hearsay. I think that says it all.

I'm sorry but I don't have time to sift through this forum finding evidence for you. I saw what I saw and stand by my earlier comments. I count the recipient of the Bella/Epifania/Donut! crap as a friend, as I'm sure many others on here do, and saw how annoyed/pissed off she was with it on a regular basis.

To make out Bella/Epifania is some poor innocent in all this is, quite frankly, bullshit. I, for one, am glad she's gone, assuming she actually exists.

So you're more than happy to make accusations, but you're not so quick to evidence your claims? How very big of you.

Hilarious, don't be so fucking pompous

Oh come on now - for once someone actually calls someone on the shit they're spouting and their response is to post a picture of a puppy and put the thread on ignore? Not exactly adult behaviour now is it?

But E****/B*** doesn't exist... Does she/he? Redundant debate IMO...

Meh... puts thread on ignore

And with that, you've totally undermined your position - just like I knew you would. When confronted with a rational discussion, you go and do the internet equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and singing. You're running away - somebody confronts you and like any bully, you shit your pants and run. You pathetic little child.

All this posturing and you've just proved you're totally full of shit...

I personally don't see that - and I've been on the car thread from the start. Granted there are a lot of people who don't like the idea of a thread on cars - especially given the stuff we have to put up with on the roads most days - but I genuinely haven't encountered anything like that.

If that's the case, I would genuinely like to see how that's come about - I'm the kind of guy who likes to find the root cause and then work on ways of improving the situation, instead of letting things just fester.

That said though, I think a lot of things have happened on this forum that people attribute to certain members who in actuality had nothing to do with them. Some people may want to consider this in future...

iirc, "bellezza" was deleted as an account and she returned as "epifania"

True - that account was deleted at her own request, but even so, she behaved no differently under that handle than she has done under 'Epifania'.

The root of the problem appears to be hearsay, speculation and to be frank, outright lies - not a scrap of cold, hard fact anywhere. The clear absence of any hard evidence - no actually - any evidence at all - of Epifania being aggressive/vindictive/whiney or otherwise would surely prove this?

People seem to forget that Epifania and her 'friends' made some pretty nasty comments against other people on here. I know one forum member who was quite aggreived with some of the comments directed towards her, many of them via private messages.

Funny how that's been forgotten.

Like I've just said in the other thread - evidence? You can't just throw around vague assertions like that.

http://www.londonfgss.com/post1117203-1113.html

Get off your high horse.

Eh?

Funny how this kind of thing wasn't said when the girl in question was insulting other forum members who are female eh?

Well this is your chance to post it - it's why I posted after all. I can draw on countless posts, be it from the 'Guido' thread, 'I hate...', the 'for sale' threads that evidence what I'm saying - you can't put forward some vague assertion that 'something happened sometime' and not support it with evidence - this is how we got into this situation in the first place.

People on here can act like total pricks at times, and more often than not they get what they deserve - someone either calls them on it or they get reported/banned/a stern talking to or whatever.

Following someone around on a forum and attacking their posts and their character when they've nothing to warrant that sort of behaviour is totally unjustified - and to carry on doing it even when they've left the site is just pathetic.

"very serious cases"

what like links to child porn, racist/nazi propaganda, baby eating, death threats etc?
or people calling people cuntz on an internet forum?

let me know so i can readjust my moral compass accordingly

Not being able to appreciate or understand someone's experiences doesn't justify your dismissal of them.

I thought that the banning was the last resort only for very serious cases.

Would you say that a continued, unwarranted and unjustified campaign of vitriol against a member who won't even come on the forum anymore because of the abuse she received doesn't come under the category of a 'serious case'?

Mooks most of this animosity I believe started because a thread started by wiganwill, "car appreciation" to get talk and photo's of cars out of another thread probably names and faces, or current projects, became Epifania's stomping ground. Being on a cycling forum and not cycling/owning a bike and yet participating fully and freely in the car thread wasn't liked by everyone. So animosity occurred and kept on occurring. Until we got the rolling maul of dislike and petulance you see before you.

Pistanator is a little terrier who won't let go, that is admirable in some cases, and in this case not. He wouldn't let it lie and so he got turned away for it. But this forum was never for the faint of heart. In the great scheme of things that he has said on this issue it was pretty mild but it was the wrong time and the wrong thread.

But it is nice to see those who like him, met him and are friends with him come to his defence publicly rather than privately, whether he deserved it or not. When Pisti rants about the grasses, he rants abut the private/secret reporting/pm's that served to lay the ground work for the final coup de grace. The act of commenting or reporting is private so, with comments only the commenter and the commented on, know what was said, and with reporting only the reporter and velocio know who/what is said. But this does create a certain climate of chinese whispers, finger pointing and he said /she said. What you are now seeing in relation to Pisti's banning is a reaction against that. A desire for the internet version of say it to my face. If you have any issue with what I have written speak to me about it, obviously in this case I'm assuming there was some personal communication and it didn't go that well...Yeah Pisti has to take responsibility, but so does everyone else who pressed the button to report him. Rather than just say velocio had enough, and he got what he deserved.

But the bullying and the name calling, the "bundle" mentality is ingrained in this forum, its what makes it fun and what makes it not fun. When those who don't know or only have a passing knowledge of any situation/issue, jump on with yet another joking reference, or stir the water for their own amusement. Equally they are the ones who if you want to report someone or draw a line in the sand are the ones that need to be pulled into some sort of civil line. But they are not, in this case pisti gets the hammer blow and everyone else gets to move onto something else.

I appreciate the time you've taken to post this Corny - I wish the other people posting here would either follow your example or just piss off if all they're going to do is post pictures of puppies.

One of the things I should point out is that Isabella was an active member on the site (as 'Bellezza') for months before the car appreciation thread started. Be that as it may, there are hundreds of people on here who actively post in threads that aren't cycling related - often restricting themselves only to those threads - and they haven't come in for similar abuse. I personally only tend to post in the photography, coffee, car appreciation and F1 threads - and I haven't experienced the abuse Epifania has. As time's gone on, I've noticed she posted less and less in the cycling-related threads, presumably because of the abuse she was experiencing. The car appreciation thread was clearly a safe haven.

I can tell you for a fact that she does cycle - and has done since she joined the site. It may not be in the commutenger/fakenger way that a lot of people on here generally tend to do, but then, when I first joined I was driving to work, and people didn't seem to see that as a problem. I can refer you to a few members who don't ride to work, as well as another who managed to rack up thousands of posts before even buying a bike... (you know who you are - and you're one of the most active antagonists. Have a word with yourself...)

The reporting/PM-ing/e-mailing I can't really talk about - there have been times when I've reported posts or threads, but am more than willing to be open about it. I haven't been active in months now, but I would have reported Pistanator's post on the 'Guido's' [sic] thread because it was vile and unjustified. I'm glad that others chose to do so. There is no PM-ing or e-mailing behind the scenes - I'm acting of my own accord here because someone is experiencing what I consider to be a level of abuse totally inconsistent with their actions either on or off the forum.

I'm lucky enough to call Isabella a close personal friend. I say 'lucky' because she's the most compassionate, caring, polite and giving person I've ever met. She's quietly supported a lot of people on this forum through some very tough times - myself included - with no thought for herself. She doesn't deserve the treatment she's been getting - and I don't appreciate it when people seem to think it's funny to rip into someone in such an aggressive manner.

I'm all for the banter on the site - it's one of the reasons I liked the place so much when I joined: lots of 'racist', the whole 'WAC' sticker story, the 'HTFU' ethos - it's what set this place apart - but when people started making things personal, and with no justification for it whatsoever, that got my back up. Some of the stuff posted has been vitriolic - I mean really, really nasty. No one deserves that.

I've been calm, considered and rational with my appeal for people to reconsider their actions. I hope you'll do the same in return.

Now that things have taken a more rational slant, I feel I can speak rationally without being swamped in puns...

Throughout all this, I've never understood the animosity towards 'Epifania'. People talk about a three-way feud between Donut!, Pistanator and her, but I've never seen her be anything but polite, respectful and totally evasive when it comes to any kind of conflict. I see a two-way feud, where Pistanator uses Epifania to rile Donut!, but in no way have I ever seen her be antagonistic or aggressive in any way. If I'm mistaken, maybe someone can show me how?

In recent months, I've witnessed some personal attacks by a number of members that are either directly and unashamedly aimed at her, or are so thinly veiled as to be left in no doubt as to the target. As I asked in the other thread, what has she done to deserve this? She doesn't even post on the site anymore, yet still this stuff's going on - and why? Have people really, as Ashe has suggested, sunk so low as to attack someone in some misguided attempt to make them feel good about themselves? Are your lives really that sad?

This isn't 'just a bit of fun' or 'just the internet innit' - there's genuine, yet unjustified, hatred oozing out of these threads and posts and it permeates the rest of the forum in a way that can't be avoided by clicking 'ignore'.

I fully expect this post to get lost in a flood of namecalling, puns or pisstaking, but I'm hoping the people responsible will respect my rational approach and respond in kind - that or show themselves to be the pathetic bullies I've come to see them as. Maybe you can prove me wrong?

I think David's decision was the right one and I don't think that you should continue his bullying...

Could not agree more...

Simple question - what has she ever done to you?

In the time that I've been a member of this forum (almost two years), I've never seen "the lady in question" be anything other than respectful, polite, courteous and friendly. To be on the receiving end of such disgusting vitriol in recent months - especially when for the past two months she hasn't even posted anything - is absolutely unacceptable.

What the hell is wrong with you people? It's pathetic and cowardly - and totally unjustified.

This is a real person, with real feelings. You lot make me feel sick to my stomach.

I have a Krups Pro Aroma filter coffee maker up for grabs - 10 cup jug, warmer plate, brushed metal finish...

I did have it in the office, but since a coffee shop opened opposite I have barely used it. Having now been made redundant, it's just sat in the spare room looking sad.

In all honesty it's been used maybe 5 times, so is practically 'as new'.

Looking for £25 but open to offers. Collection from E3, but willing to post for a little extra.