Stormy Weather

[Nick Armstrong]

It's looking deadly, stay safe S-A. Unless you're sporting cyclocross tyres with the bike handling skills to match, caution is the better part of valour. There are times when you just have to admit defeat. I've been down on the ice enough times to know better, a bang on the hip can bring on bursitis which can be hard to shake off and of course there's much worse.

OK today cycling through the centre on well cleared roads, but side-roads looked lethal...

[Anna]

The thought of incurring a puncture (much commoner in winter) and a two-hour walk back!

As a non-cyclist, why on earth would punctures be more common in the Winter? Does the air in your tyres freeze or does the cold perish the rubber?

[Serial_Apologist]

As a non-cyclist, why on earth would punctures be more common in the Winter? Does the air in your tyres freeze or does the cold perish the rubber?

Roads tend to be wet in the winter, Anna - it's hard enough then to see road markings, let alone the mass of broken glass awaiting the unwary!

[Nick Armstrong]

Roads tend to be wet in the winter, Anna - it's hard enough then to see road markings, let alone the mass of broken glass awaiting the unwary!

It is amazing how much broken glass there is on London roads. "Gin Lane" revellers regularly receive a blast of Anglo-Saxon in their absence from the puffing Caliban as the remains of a glass or bottle are narrowly avoided!! That said, my Schwalbe 'Marathon Plus' tyres are amazingly puncture-proof: I recommend to all. http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...hon-plus-10686

Fate duty tempted....

[Serial_Apologist]

It is amazing how much broken glass there is on London roads. "Gin Lane" revellers regularly receive a blast of Anglo-Saxon in their absence from the puffing Caliban as the remains of a glass or bottle are narrowly avoided!! That said, my Schwalbe 'Marathon Plus' tyres are amazingly puncture-proof: I recommend to all. http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...hon-plus-10686

Fate duty tempted....

If I do ever buy a bike to replace the nicked one, it too'll have thick tyres.

[Anna]

Why should people throw empty bottles of gin into the gutters of London? Are we back to the days of Hogarth?
Anyway, thanks both, I now know more about thick layers of springy rubber protection than I would have previously thought possible!!

[Serial_Apologist]

Why should people throw empty bottles of gin into the gutters of London? Are we back to the days of Hogarth?
Anyway, thanks both, I now know more about thick layers of springy rubber protection than I would have previously thought possible!!

And the subject has been inflated out of all proportion!

[Nick Armstrong]

Why should people throw empty bottles of gin into the gutters of London? Are we back to the days of Hogarth?
Anyway, thanks both, I now know more about thick layers of springy rubber protection than I would have previously thought possible!!

You know it makes sense!

Can't be too careful, Anna

As for glass: drunken tw*ts are sadly not confined to Hogarth's etchings!

[Serial_Apologist]

In fact it all comes down to pump and circumstance!

[mangerton]

In fact it all comes down to pump and circumstance!

What a fascinating discussion! I shall not add a tir-ade , but I would say that it has been known for it to get cold enough in Scotland for air in tyres to freeze. The great freeze of 1963 was such a year, and for several weeks I had to walk to school as a result.

My Positive Note tonight is home made chicken and stuffing from my freezer, with peas and roast spuds not from the frrezer. Not quite up to Anna's standards, perhaps, but good enough to be going on with.

[Anna]

My Positive Note tonight is home made chicken and stuffing from my freezer, with peas and roast spuds not from the frrezer. Not quite up to Anna's standards, perhaps, but good enough to be going on with.

Actually mangerton .... I always land up with a disaster with pheasant except if chucked into a casserole, so I'd be very grateful for your recipe for this troublesome fowl!

[BBMmk2]

Next time phone my parents i would ask my mother or as MrsBBM has just mentioned the BBC should solve that for you!!

[mangerton]

Actually mangerton .... I always land up with a disaster with pheasant except if chucked into a casserole, so I'd be very grateful for your recipe for this troublesome fowl!

Well, basically, ensure it's well-oiled or covered in bacon, place in roasting tray, lightly cover with foil, and put it in the oven at about 150° C. Then watch it like a hawk (sorry!) especially if it's in miss m's oven, which is infamous for its ferocity. They really don't take long to cook - 30 minutes or so. Ensure juices are clear. You know the drill.

[Serial_Apologist]

Snow has begun falling here, increasing by the minute, with temperature back down to zero, having climbed above for the first time in 5 days - thus unfortunately putting the kybosh on my night out tonight.

[BBMmk2]

We were supposed to only have light snow flurries!! Look at it!