Mississippi Bullfrog

My wife bought me a pair for Christmas. I am very impressed with them. Very comfortable, easy to ride in, I've been on a couple of journeys when it's been below freezing to a venue 25 miles away and my fingers weren't feeling chilly by the time I got there. The cuff is generous and fits over my jacket sleeve much better than my summer gloves.

I spend a lot of time taking old cars to bits, so lots of seized things to play with. My usual approach is to dab some PlusGas onto whatever is stuck - most of the time that works by itself. If it doesn't I dab a bit more and then spray with WD40. WD40 is a disperant so it drives the PlusGas into whatever is seized. There have been very few things which haven't yielded to that approach. For rounded bolts there are a variety of methods but don't overlook the grip drive sockets and spanners B&Q sell. They don't get good reviews but my guess is the people using them think they are rachet drives or use them on the wrong sized nuts. They have small cams which grip the head rather than 'flats' as conventional sockets/spanners. I've had a few mangled heads that these have got out with a bit of care.

Bookshop ? Maybe bodyshop ? Not that bodyshop but auto bodyshop Yup - damn autocorrect on my tablet. When I was searching to match paint our local bodyshop gave me the address of their paint supplier. Brilliant guys. Last time I was in a chap came in with a panel off an old MGB that had been resprayed years back so there was no chance of matching the paint by the codes. They just scanned it with their hand held gizmo and mixed up the paint for him. The match is perfect.

Our local auto paint supplier has a handy gizmo that scans the paint and gives them the 'recipe' to match it. I use them when trying to match classic cars, 40 year old paint doesn't match the original specification so they make it up by the tin for me. They ought to be able to mix some and put in a rattle can if you want it that way. Ask your local independent bookshop where the nearest auto paint specialist is.

I pine for the days when this kind of thread bears fruit, of course it can all go pear shaped or even bananas very quickly, but with a heart of oak your true forum member will prevail. Sadly modern sensitivities render to ash many such jocular exchanges, but we’ll leave that for the monkeys to puzzle out. In the meantime it’s plane to see that yew have a great sense of fun, which elder folks have in plenty.

I remember travelling up and down the A34 from my student days - horrible road. Years ago I cycled Lands End to John O'Groats to raise funds for a new school - it cost us about £3million - and we had some days we just had to ride on major routes as it was the only option. Those days were a horrible experience. Lorry drivers were great, real professionals. I think I became genetically disposed to hate BMW drivers during that trip.

Oops, autocorrect and a tablet keypad produces some unexpected outcomes.

I came across a cyclist riding along the A55 in N Wales last month. I'd never dream of cycling down a dual carriageway that's national speed limit, that's just plain ridiculous.

RST textiles for all year. Red Route jeans and a leather jacket for really hot days and shorter journeys.

Slightly irrelevant but somewhere in my classic car files is the chemical composition of Redex which is long and complicated but basically it's the same as the stuff you can buy to clean gummed up hydraulic lifters, which is quite good news 'cos that stuff actually works.

A battery showing 11.8v at rest will collapse as soon as any load is put on it. They ought to show above 12.5v - it doesn't sound a lot of difference but measure the voltage when you hit the starter button. Hopefully your new battery will sort it.

Going over manhole covers - yep, you're right to be wary. They provide no grip and are often badly maintained. That one comment alone suggests part of the problem is that you aren't using positioning right, which gets you into all sort of issues and then riding becomes unpleasant and sometimes downright scary. You really shouldn't need to be riding over manhole covers at all. Then you get those nasty lines of smooth tarmac they use on the edge of repairs, those are worth avoiding as well. Of course, if you're riding only in the dark you stand less chance of seeing all these things, so less opportunity to develop an awareness of how road position either helps or hinders your confidence. Pulling in to allow cars to pass is linked to this - you're putting yourself in more danger by being dominated by other traffic rather than you asserting your presence on the road. It is a state of mind and it's important when you are the most vulnerable part of the equation. Pulling in also means you are being reactive rather than proactive, you'll end up riding on bits of the road in a poor position where you really don't want to be. I think part of that may be down to riding habits you've got into over the years which are increasingly defensive. Having an off doesn't help so it's a vicious circle. Being aware of a junction, slowing down, adopting a different position to make yourself more visible and give you more options is all part of riding. Risk is there, it's how you handle it that makes the difference. I think you need a mentor / tutor who takes you seriously and addresses the issues you've developed. I also think you'd benefit from riding something a bit bigger - they handle better, they've got better brakes, are more visible, tend not to get pushed about by motorists as much. Plus it will make you think from scratch and address some the habits you may have gotten into which are making riding scary. I'd start by contacting a few riding schools and talking to them, you'll soon know if they're listening and taking you seriously. Not everyone who can pass the qualifications to be an instructor is actually able to teach people so look around. You're paying for it so get someone who listens to you.

Sounds like crud in the fuel system to me. If it's been laid up a long time it might even just be moisture in there - and old trick used to be to add some meths to the tank, water won't mix with petrol but it will mix with meths, then the resulting water/meths emulsion will mix with petrol. Or there's something floating about in there which needs flushing out. If you think it's flooded just crank the throttle fully open with the choke off.

In my experience it doesn't matter what mobile you go for, their best use is to prop up the legs of a beehive stand to level it off, and android seem to work just as well as the apple stuff.

Yes you can, you can pay an extra premium to take out cover for the helmet and leathers / riding gear, it was a bit costly when I looked at it ...... in hindsight though ...... not half as costly as new helmet Hindsight is a marvelous thing. But in the long run any kind of claim tends to bump up the ransom, sorry, I mean premium. So you probably haven't really lost out.

Basically you've answered the question yourself - get on it and practice. Just get it into your head that leaving the clutch alone gives you more control. Start slow - like learning anything - you need to develop muscle memory so it becomes instinctive.

Didn't realise you'd bought them online - I can't bring myself to buy riding kit online, I have to try it on.

The twit who thought it would be a good idea to replace the sugar fondant pack in one of my beehives without donning the bee suit. I'll be quick. They won't notice. I'll be fine - they're not too active right now. Oh bugger, bugger, bugger - OW!

Respect may be earned but in the it has to be given. You can do everything possible to earn respect and still not receive it.

My experience is that new boots can be uncomfortable until you've worn them in. To be honest the most uncomfortable ones I had from new turned into the pair that I was most comfortable in once I'd worn them in. Which makes buying new boots a bit interesting.

If you have a battery that's below 10v some chargers won't touch them. You can buy an intelligent charger, or a cheaper option is a simple plug charger for gell cells. I have a 400MA one that has resurrected many dead batteries. Handy to use over long lay up periods as well.

Don't use bearing grease on brake components, you want red grease for rubber seals.

Steering lock. Plus mine has an alarm which mean that if anyone touches it I'll know about it and I'm only a few yards away.

I know that bridge on the A483 - it can be proper scary when the wind is really blowing. Best not to get blown over the side of the bridge as it's a long way down. The trick is to head for the pie shop at Corwen, get a bit of ballast on board and you're fine on the way back.