StreetCowboy

I took a walk round the bike shops to see what they had in stock. The most positive suggestion I got was from the Giant shop, who offered to sell me my old shopping bike - with different mudguards (less prone to vibration stress failure) and the same pedals that suffered a failure within two years, and my choice of basket, rack, panniers and stand. The parking at my temporary apartment is not very secure, and I need to check the office on Monday.

I’ve been winding down and winding up my life in Malaysia, in preparation for moving onto another life as a Consultant, in foreign climes. So I’ve been disposing of all my bikes, culminating in passing over the shopping bike to my buddy the night before my flight

I f you can't beat about the bush, you shouldn't beat at all. I recently went to the Bank in Hong Kong, and the Bank was an upstanding edifice of traditional, trustworthy reliability, and I could not fault them. I went for a drink, and times have changed, things are different, but people are doing their best. I did my best.

Better too soon than too late.

Even if you complain, no-one listens, so you might as well not bother

Young, or prematurely aged?

You can’t call it a mid life crisis until you’ve survived a good time past it

If it’s a monologue, it’s a waste of time - no-one - not even themselves - listens to someone ranting. If it’s an inner dialogue - that might be more constructive Aye ye sey that noo, but ye ne’er listne, dae ye? Back in the day, I walked amongst them, and I was surprised that Americans (specifically USAns) believed their own stories.

That’ll be a bummer if you don’t die first

Because so many people comment about on them. Thanks for doing your bit to keep GG No. 1

Some of the skinflints are not idiots. We might owe some impecunious posters who are worth more than $10 per month.

Normally I big up the highlight of the Sporting Calendar - the FIE World Snail Racing Grand Prix, but it coincided with The Calcutta Cup, so I didn’t want to distract anyone - we need all the support we can get! I’m not sure how much impact there is on the result, watching the replay, drinking Irn Bru and shouting at the TV, but I’ll give it my best shot tomorrow. As usual, the Snail Racing was end-end drama (strictly speaking, centre-circle to rim drama) as you can see for yourselves in the attached photos

I’d been meaning to go to the bank for some years now, to try and prove that I was me. They wouldn’t believe me over the phone, and I consistently failed their security questions, so I thought “If I turn up in person, they can see by the evidence of their own eyes that I am me”. And while I was about it, I thought I’d go for a bike ride with V, who has been a couple of years in Hong Kong now. We rented bikes from a shop in Tai Wai - the bike lanes in the New Territories are fantastic, snaking all over - Tai Wai - Tai Po - Sheung Shi and the way we took, our to Tai Mei Tuk and Plover Cove reservoir. All sorts of cyclists, from kiddies and young families to guys on Time Trial bikes. And the old-fashioned four-wheel two-abreast pedal cycles. So you can’t go too fast - strictly speaking, you can easily go too fast without exerting yourself. The bikes were fairly ordinary Giant hybrids - they had mountain bikes and road bikes available too - and mine had a squeaking front brake disc and pretty ineffectual rear brake, but ok for the flat paths involved. We stopped for Pad Thai at Tai Mei Tuk on the way home - those Thai restaurants were not new when I lived nearby twenty years ago, before the bike lanes.

Flatulence is more of a hobby than a fetish.

I read his posts because they are different, and thought-out. I regret reading the abuse that he receives. It’s interesting to read opinions that are different from your own, when they are clearly expressed; it is less interesting to read offensive and abusive opinions, even when they are widely held.