learningtofly

On 18/01/2021 at 17:27, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Is @learningtofly still about?

Yes, but I've been otherwise engaged trying to plan for a new venture (seeing as my existing one has been stuffed by COVID). Trying to keep an eye on what's going on, though, and thanks for asking 

Just to play devil's advocate, I ride a Thruxton (with clip-ons) and don't have any wrist discomfort at all after riding for long periods in stop/start London traffic. I think you'd definitely need to test ride the bike, though, as much depends on individual ergonomics.

45 minutes ago, MarkW said:

I was going to respond to this very interesting question, but in light of current evidence I am too much of a knob for anything I say about photography to be worth a damn.

 

I took the kids to Yorkshire Sculpture Park today to try out the cameras they got for Christmas, and grabbed my trusty old Nikon FM2 as I headed out of the front door. I keep it permanently loaded with Tri-X in case I ever get the call from McCullin asking me to cover the latest military conflict because he's too busy photographing bowls of fruit and dead pheasants, or whatever it is he gets up to these days. Anyway, pausing only to check that the green filter was screwed on and that I had enough ammo for a full day's action I chucked it in my bag and headed off.

 

There were only four or five shots taken on the film that was already in the camera, and I got some cracking shots on the last 30 or so frames. I wound it back, opened the door and out popped a roll of Velvia. God alone knows what that was doing in there, but they'll look lovely, won't they - shot at 400 with a green filter. £18 a roll, too...

 

Bugger. Maybe a pro lab could salvage it if they know in advance what you did?

10 minutes ago, Ian Frog said:

Just North of Kettering these days.

I can quite often be found at the Super Sausage on the A5 near Towcester or any other hostelry.

I can be flexible.

Cheers

Ian

Maybe a post-lockdown plan, then. Can't argue with Super Sausage.

16 minutes ago, Ian Frog said:

Defoe !!!!!!

Do you think the children (Admin) will be capable of arranging something ?

I am assuming the country returns to something resembling normality.

I am well up for something like that.

The ZRX community used to use Medbourne as it is fairly central but I am sure there are lots of options.

How does Easter sound?

Cheers

Ian

Very unlikely, Ian, but I suppose there's a very slim chance of being proved wrong 

Medbourne around Easter sounds like a decent option.

Edit: You can't be very far from me, actually - I'm close to St Albans.

55 minutes ago, Callumrayb said:

Ok now I'm even more confused. The bar end mirrors came and they don't fit. Here's a pic of what it looks like

Well, given that a very quick search threw up the mirror below ("Genuine KTM Duke Genuine 64112940000 Bar End Mirror Motorcycle Replacement Part"), it looks like you just bought the wrong one.

Well, we might just be a bunch of rambling knobbers but I'd be up for a rally 

Ordered. Come on, @dynax, stop messing about on social media and do some work!!!

I'd actually love one of these for having a bit of fun/popping out to the shops on. 

1 minute ago, Stu said:

Nothing to do with sponsorship or lack of! 

 

Its to try and get you lot talking about bikes and not some of the drivel they do speak  

I fear you're fighting a losing battle but good luck (you'll need it) 

On 21/12/2020 at 08:33, XTreme said:

The equivalent Dago usually has a walking stick or something!

Not cool.

I've always loved this video, which kind of epitomises my spiritual biking world - far more so than sports bikes and race leathers, anyway.

Their statement:

Bell is the most famous name in the motorcycle apparel arena. The company invented the open-face helmet as we know it today. They then invented the full-face helmet, and then the off-road helmet. But the path that Bell is now taking with its retro collection is not one we want to accompany them down. 

Bell is all about style; and whilst we still offer some of the coolest gear on the planet, we are no longer prepared to put form ahead of function. There’s nothing wrong with Bell’s helmets, but these days, even though you might have to pay a bit more, there are helmets that are nicer to wear and that are, let’s say, better performing from a functionality standpoint.

We’ve worked with the Bell ever since it re-launched the Custom 500 back into the European market, so we didn’t take this step lightly but, simply put, Bell is no longer really our kind of brand.

Now we have been running a helmet Sale across our range of brands for a while now, in order to move on colourways and styles that were not being continued into 2021. But we’ve decided to increase our discount on Bell to a frankly ridiculous figure of 40%. Now this is our buying price, so with free P&P, we are actually losing money on every helmet we sell. That hurts, but they will serve no purpose taking up space on our shelves.

Personally I can't wear Bell helmets anyway, although I love their retro ranges in terms of style. I have to say, though, that I really admire Motolegends stance on this, and - with my recent very positive buying experience with them - they're right up there on my list of top retailers.

3 minutes ago, XTreme said:

 

At 66 not so well I'd imagine.......what about you?

Haha - same!

On 23/12/2020 at 15:04, XTreme said:

 

Doing so well for far.....but it's when the adrenaline wears off that it sometimes kicks in!

What a drama queen. God knows how you'd handle manual labour!

Well, we're not eating until mid-afternoon, I've already cleaned and tidied the house, Bea will be doing the cooking, no guests for a while yet... so I'm going to jump on the bike!

1 hour ago, geofferz said:

Happy Christmas chaps! I'll be hitting the slopes soon, very nontraditional Christmas with no family or gifts! Just how I like it. 

Is "hitting the slopes" a euphemism?

Seasons greetings, everyone, and have the best day possible tomorrow. 

42 minutes ago, raesewell said:

It is with great pride I accept the award of TOTY and I wasn’t even trying.

I suppose I could just let the Genie out of the bottle and really take pride in my new job for the next year,

I was trying far too hard to be polite, I mean I didn’t call anybody a phuquing brain dead ar$wipe that should learn to spell before communicating through a medium that relies on writing. I also wasn’t too picky about people not knowing the difference between

Two, too and to

Where, were and we’re

There, their and they’re, etcetera.

 

So I could try much harder over the next year, which may even get me banned or I could just let the ignorant be blissful. I think what I will probably do is instead of calling anyone a brain dead seenut I’ll just say “nice post”

So when this post gets lost in the annuls of time only a few of you will know what I really mean and the rest will think I’m being nice.

 

As for my prize, donate it to the charity of your choice.

 

Have the best Christmas you can in these difficult times.

Nice won.

Nice one, @fastbob, although I'm a tad surprised that @learningtofly wasn't nominated this year. Great member*.

*Errr, not in a smutty way. Although I've had no complaints.

4 minutes ago, MarkW said:

The Bronica looks nice - wouldn't mind one of those myself! Never had a TLR either, although I came close to having a dalliance with one after watching a Vivian Maier documentary.

I do love my 645 though!

 

654 was/is a wonderful format, and both the Mamiya and Bronica systems were solidly built and superbly functional. I had a spell shooting weddings and a bit of commercial stuff, and it made everything affordable for those of that that could only dream of Hasselblad.

TLR's are a bit of an anachronism now, of course, but the beauty of them (IMO) was the way in which they forced you to approach every image as if it was a military manoeuvre. The absolute antithesis of point & shoot.

On 16/12/2020 at 13:01, MarkW said:

Same here: I've got a 5D mk III, but as it spends all its life in fully manual mode all the fancy bells and whistles are completely wasted on me! I still use my first SLR - an Olympus OM20 I got in 1986 - but my weapon of choice is usually a medium format Mamiya 645.

I was a Bronica man. Started on a Yashica-Mat, though!

Some good reads in this series, Stu - will be coming back to it for sure.

6 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

Open the map and just click "My Location" then all will be revealed I am going to do a seperate guide for that as you have to be careful not to use exact locations so I will be including a disclaimer  

Got you - just needed to update my address to the nearest pub! Not many members on there actually, no wonder I'm always riding on my tod!

Indiecentally, I can't seem to add a member marker at the moment - the option is greyed out.