Applespider

I asked Mum to pick me up a set at her closest branch in Scotland and stick them in the post :-$ Very very easy to install. They just click onto your spokes - press one end on, put some slight pressure on the middle to hold first end in place and then click the other end into place. It took me less than 10 minutes to do both wheels - and it only took that long since I was debating whether to attempt a pattern or not. I may be in a Lidl this weekend (so if you'd like me to keep my eyes peeled for another set, I can do)

I didn't go in the end. Decided it was probably just going to be too busy to get a decent ride in. karter, you need (for the rest of this year apparently) to be a registered user of the Boris bikes and get a keyring token. They cost ?3 and you order one when you register online. You can get the token loaded with a one day access, a week's access or a year's access but the access doesn't start until you first unlock a bike with it. Once you've started the access period, any 30 minute journey is free (and you can do multiple 29min journeys). If you go over 30 minutes on any one journey, you get charged a usage fee which starts off fairly reasonable (?1 for up to an hour) and then escalates to discourage people getting and keeping a bike for a full day. If you lose the bike or damage it, you pay out (they have your credit card number) but your access fee does include insurance in case you cause any damage. I have my token but haven't used it yet - I've always had my own bike with me when I've been in the zone for now. On a more fun note, I did put the light up straws from Lidl on the bike this weekend and cycled home in the dark. V cool - and, more pleasingly, I did feel like I got more room from drivers when they were merging from side roads.

I've used CS7 (from Stockwell to Colliers Wood) a few times. It did make the journey much quicker - since cars aren't allowed to park/stop on them so there's less filtering in and out of the main traffic flow. For the most part though, it is just the bus lane. The blue is a horrendous colour though - it's much harder to see any ruts/dips in the road surface. Having it go over Dog Kennel Hill can't be a good idea though. What puts me off doing DKH regularly on the bike (read - at all) is the thought of having a bus up my tail while having to maintain speed. Much better to find a route going round it if at all possible. There is another proposed route from Lewisham to Victoria which I'm wondering would cross this one at Camberwell? Not sure it's really going to bring cash into Lordship Lane though - unless you also add in more bike stands. I'm guessing it's primary function will be for commuters who aren't likely to be looking to stop en route. And yes, there are a minority of inconsiderate muppets who use the roads whether on two wheels, four wheels, eight wheels or no wheels. All the rest of us can do is follow the rules and hope they don't get in our paths.

Seriously? Why not? Never asked, never been asked? So... sell the date you'd like to go on... where, what, when?

My aunt has an apartment out there but I've never been. From what she says, it's a bit of a pain to get to since direct flights are limited to non-existent and parts of it are a bit of a building site. But... it is quiet, sunny and warm if you just want to chill.

I had a similar experience while at Indiana Jones at the Horniman last week - managed to get two giant bites to the back of the leg that sound similar. Sadly I have no answers to your questions but wanted to let you know that you're not suffering alone...

Yup... it was me in the park earlier :)-D I can't swear they've tightened it up (since didn't see them do it) BUT it's definitely a lot harder than it was last month and I haven't had any holidays to weaken on. You used to see people get on it and row for a while... now, I've rarely seen anyone stick at it for longer than about 30 seconds or 20 pulls. It's definitely more strength than cardio now!

bil, I'll let you into a secret - there are ways around the biggest hills here that mean you don't have to go up them on a bike. I go from near the Horniman to Victoria (via Brixton) every day and the only hill that I hit (where I have to drop a few gears) is on the return journey when I come back up the one at the Horniman. :)-D

The other thing that a good company should do is offer to help strip the packaging off so that you can check what you're signing for and then offer to take all the cardboard/plastic away with them. Admittedly I do work for John Lewis but even without the delivery driver knowing that, I once had a problem with a sofa that was just (i.e. a cm) too wide to go round a corner on the stairs. They, quite straightfaced, offered to take out a window and pulley it up to the second floor... Instead, I asked them to take it back and ordered a slightly smaller version.

They just click on - the straw has a split in one side that you push onto the spoke and it clicks into place. They do have to be rounded spokes rather than flat ones. Not sure which ones will have them - they went on sale on Thursday. I asked someone closer to a Lidl to pick some up for me. On another note, anyone going to the Skyride this weekend? Is it worth a jaunt into town?

Speaking of being lit up like a Christmas tree, I've just picked up some cool spoke reflectors Lidl are selling packs of them for ?4.99 (on Amazon, similar ones are ?15 with delivery) - during the day, they just look like grey straws on your spokes but at night, they reflect - and from some videos online that I've spotted, really make the wheels glow. Now to figure out the pattern to use to get a similar effect!

Love my iPhone. I'd had a Sony Ericsson touchscreen before that I wasn't particularly keen on but technology has moved on and the iPhone touchscreen is far more responsive. Can you go to a store and play with either of them? All the apps for the iPhone also really extend it and make it more useful.

While it's unlikely we'll find hundreds of discarded handbags around, some description might help bring this to mind if someone does spot a flash of red/black/sequins/lime etc

My freebie one from Apple showed up last week. You can still order a free one from Apple directly. Just download the free case app onto your iPhone and follow the instructions. I think they took their official bumpers off sale while they were starting the free case shipping

Nah... because mine are rarely folded in the drawer and still end up with holes there. I initially thought it was my jeans button/zip too until I spotted one of the little blighters. I have also had holes on the back though and at the shoulder so perhaps it was just luck the first few times that they got the same spot.

Hmm... even if the sloes are in private gardens, it may be worthwhile knocking on the doors and asking if you'd be able to pick them since lots of fruit in gardens does end up going to waste. You could always offer them some sloe gin once you've made it in payment...

Yes... me too. But since it rarely seems to get the preferred response, I wonder how well known it actually is. I was told that in mainland Europe, it's different - that they have to put their hand straight up instead which sounds awkward. I confess to rarely using it myself though - if I'm having to stop quickly enough to feel the need to warn the driver behind me, then I probably also want to be using the front brake which I can't do if my arm is 'indicating'

I'm sure indicators would just be one more thing to get nicked :'( but it would make sense. There are times (wet, windy, bad road surface) where I'd much rather keep both hands on the handlebars than take one off to signal... a little button/switch to just flick on the indicators would be much much easier. A brake light would be handy too. I wonder how many motorists/cyclists actually know what the 'slowing down' signal is. Edit - and who knew - they're already on the market

Yes - I wasn't overwhelmed by it. The outside area with all the cafes and restaurants was OK although pretty much just chains. The upmarket part with the high-end shops and the champagne bar looks impressive - the rest of it could be any shopping mall just on a bigger scale. I wasn't keen on the lack of light. I have a pal who lives nearby who loves it though - has joined the gym there, goes to the cinema and rarely goes into the West End now - to shop at least!

Well... I'd rather not have fallen off but since it is bloody sore, I'd rather it look the part down the pub! :)-D

There were sloes on One Tree Hill a few years ago - I haven't checked more recently. I second the idea of damson gin if you can't find sloes to pick

I've stayed at the Bellagio - amazing! And New York, New York - OK. O at the Bellagio is absolutely amazing to watch - my jaw was dropping through most of it. Especially if you get good seats at ground level. I'd booked Bellagio on a deal through Opodo and the O tickets online weren't great but I called the concierge there before I left - and he arranged for me to get seats within 4 rows of the front since I was a guest in the hotel. Whichever hotel you choose will probably be able to do that for their home show at a minimum. Didn't end up spending that much time in the casino on either trip - it was more a 'we should try some tables' rather than a burning need. Bear in mind that all the hotels have attractions to get guests into the casino (from exhibitions and concerts to malls and rollercoasters) The Stratosphere coaster is a bit tame but the ride where you think you're going off the edge is quite fun. Just down from the Stratosphere is a hotel with a great coaster too - the NYNY one was all right but nothing special. Try to find a trip to the South Rim of the Canyon rather than the West which is where most of them go. The first time I went, we went to the West where you get the helicopter to the bottom and it was cool but I didn't really feel I'd got a sense of the scale of the place. Turns out that you're not allowed to take helicopters to the bottom of the Canyon proper so you're just outside the National Park when they do it. If you go to the South Rim, it's a longer plane ride over more of the Canyon. Then you do the helicopter ride across it - at one of the widest points, you don't drop into it - but you do fly at rim level. You get some time at the Rim too (no barriers) and I felt like I had more appreciation for the scale of it. There is a South Rim Tour where you can spend a night in a teepee near the Rim but since I was going in December with snow on the ground that sounded a little chilly! He might be too 'old' for Excalibur but just wandering round the Luxor, the Venetian is fun since you have to suspend your disbelief that someone has gone to such extremes. I couldn't live in Vegas but it's a fun place to spend a few days every so often. Have an amazingly good time!

Ladymuck Wrote: >the last time I got > knocked off my bike, although I was in pain, I > assumed that any injury was minor - turned out > that I had sustained a hairline fracture to my > hip. Yikes! My swelling is going down... the bruise is coming out, it's going to be a corker! I've read one of the theories for making the cycle superhighways blue was that they should be considered the equivalent of a motorway for bikes - and that signage is blue. Speaking of signage - green roadsigns for drivers indicate primary routes which you can have in the city. I wonder if this was one reason why the cycle superhighways weren't kept green like the other cycleroutes since two sets of green signs along the road might have been confusing. Since we don't have any motorways near the superhighways, drivers shouldn't get led astray by cycling blue signs? I also heard that the original shade of blue chosen wasn't Barclays blue but once they came on board, they changed it. Someone on a cycling forum said that one of the early sections near Balham was repainted after the announcement in a different shade. Not sure if they're easier to see at night but the particular shade makes it difficult to see flaws/ruts in the roadsurface - I've only cycled CS7 a couple of times but eesh, bits of it were bumpy and unexpectedly so since hadn't spotted them in advance.

Came off my bike today unintentionally for the first time since I was about 5! Was coming along the cycle path at Vauxhall (the straight that runs alongside the pavement on the south side) before going onto South Lambeth Rd. There was a drunk man, clutching his beer can, standing in the middle of 'my' lane so I slowed down and prepared to go round him... at which point, he decided to move and stumbled back into my new path so I braked, swerved and ended up on the ground. He was fine but kept trying to cuddle me to check I was OK which was less than pleasant while I was trying to re-attach the 'rain rim' of my helmet and set off again. And I'm going to have a killer bruise on my shin just down from the kneecap which obviously banged into part of the bike - it was slightly swollen by the time I got home and is v tender to the touch. Ah well... could have been worse - better to have to swerve and fall off avoiding a pedestrian while you're not that close to traffic!

Sorry. Ours came back on around 3.30am We didn't get any info from phone lines either. Are you using the 08000280247 number? It was just luck that we found the workers and asked Have had a look on their website but can't see a list of outages or responses listed