Friday Thread

[Mad Ax 9329]

Hey everybody!  It's Friday again!  Well, at least, I think it is, I always get confused on these Bank Holiday weeks.  It doesn't feel like I've done a full week at work yet.  Because technically I haven't.  Even though it's Friday.  I think.

What's everybody up to?

Nothing too exciting for me.

Friday - work until around 2pm, then panic-tidy the kitchen that I've been putting off all week, marinade some chicken for kebabs later, then head out for a walk.  It's been a very wet week here and probably going to rain all afternoon, but I haven't had a proper walk for a few weeks so I need to get out.  Back home in time for kebabs, beers and some time in the studio.

Saturday - Workshop Saturday, because the wife wanted to take the child out somewhere.  Up at the crack of dawn for some admin, then spend the day in the workshop.  I'm mid-way through various projects for Revival, but seem to keep stalling on things so I need to push through and actually tick some items off instead of kicking them down the road.  I can probably get the ball diff in the SRB re-release, adjust the deck position on the Superlight, make an anti-squat plate, and have a proper tidy-up, if nothing else is doable.  I'm putting off various bodywork jobs until the better weather (maybe, eventually, possibly) arrives, but I might have to at least start on the prepwork so I can make the most of what's looking like the 1 or 2 days of spring that we'll get this year.

Evening - do stuff in the studio, probably.  Maybe even put on a daft film and cut out the Supershot body.

Sunday - daddy/daughter day.  Probably persuade her to help me tidy the place up a bit, as it's like living in a junk yard right now, then taking her to a classmate's birthday party.  Those July and August holidays have a lot to answer for, as it's birthday parties every weekend for the next few weeks.  It's a stop-and-drop, so I get 90 minutes to myself, but doubt I'll get much done, maybe just go for a short walk.

Home to cook some dinner and make sure everything's ready for the return to school on Monday.

Evening - probably stream a film and see if there's any indoor prep work I can do to try to clear off some of these Revival list items.

Have yourselves a fantastic weekend everybody  

[Elbowloh 1129]

Was son's 4th birthday on Monday and tomorrow is his dinosaur-themed birthday party. Have a forest school leader doing a dinosaur trail for him and 14 friends, followed by lunch and cake. 

Then Sunday we have another 4th birthday party to go to. These are all from our NCT group, so we have 6 parties over the next 3 weeks.

[berman 5315]

On 4/9/2023 at 7:10 PM, FoxShot said:

i stopped doing biking when Mum was Diagnosed with Cancer, and Dad with Dementia at the same exact time. 

I used to do some serious stuff on my bikes. Morzine, Chatel Bike Park, Morgins, Fort William, Glentress, Bike Park Wales, Afan Argoed as well as lots of decent singletrack stuff round surrey where i live with my mate. His mum was diagnosed terminal within weeks of my mum. We decided to look after our parents, and nut put ourselves at risk. I have broken a few bones, and have some screws in me

Ironically, was Mum who got me back into RC 

Sorry to hear that about your mum, Dad, and friends mum. That's awful news ☹️

I've heard of some of those places in the UK as I watch a lot of stuff on YouTube. We have some cool places over here in NZ, but I'm a far cry from doing back flips off the likes of Crankworks etc. I can slam into tree stumps and yeet myself off cliffs and down banks lol, pretty good at that. I did a 40k basic ride last weekend. Thinking about going into Redwoods this weekend.

10 hours ago, Elbowloh said:

Was son's 4th birthday on Monday and tomorrow is his dinosaur-themed birthday party. Have a forest school leader doing a dinosaur trail for him and 14 friends, followed by lunch and cake. 

Then Sunday we have another 4th birthday party to go to. These are all from our NCT group, so we have 6 parties over the next 3 weeks.

Happy birthday to the little dude! My daughters was on Easter Sunday and my sons was the Tuesday before. Nothing more fun than making your kids birthday special 😊

[Mad Ax 9329]

12 hours ago, Elbowloh said:

Have a forest school leader doing a dinosaur trail for him and 14 friends, followed by lunch and cake. 

Wow, that sounds amazing.  Especially the bit about the cake.

[Willy iine 18806]

For me.. took today (Friday) off work and finished my Optima MID, got my hair cut, and went out riding on my e-bike.  Had a great time today.

I decided to order a new pair of MTB Freerider shoes by Five Ten (Addidas).  While my e-bike is a commuter bike, I have a pair of flat MTB pedals installed with metal pegs for extra grip.  The places I ride my bike can get pretty bumpy (and wet) and last thing I need is my foot slipping off the pedals, so.    Hope to have the pair sometime next week.  

 

Saturday.. I plan to pull out my STI for some weekend driving after early am house chores.  We are expecting freezing weather late Sunday into Monday so I need to put my jerry rigged box with plant heated back on my lawn sprinkler backflow valve and exposed metal piping just in case.  Besides that, I plan to make a clear bra template for my GR Supra's rocker panels.  Then relax in my music room late afternoon, watch TV before calling it.  

 

Sunday.. given weather is not ideal, I plan to install the clear bra on my Supra in my garage and then take my e-bike out for a nice ride.  Then maybe start my Scorpion build, or just relax and stream a movie in my piano lounge with snacks in the afternoon.. then rest is a rubber stamp of Saturday.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!  

[berman 5315]

19 hours ago, Willy iine said:

I decided to order a new pair of MTB Freerider shoes by Five Ten (Addidas).  While my e-bike is a commuter bike, I have a pair of flat MTB pedals installed with metal pegs for extra grip.  The places I ride my bike can get pretty bumpy (and wet) and last thing I need is my foot slipping off the pedals, so.    Hope to have the pair sometime next week. 

 

I'm in the same boat as you, looking at some proprietary shoes for my bike, and some new pedals. I still have the plastic fantastic ones on mine and have been looking at either nylon ones with metal screws/studs, or alloy ones with the same.

Just apprehensive as I had an off going too fast down a grade 5 trail (the trails here aren't colors, they are graded 1-6) and went down a long bit that was basically clay, couldn't stop, lost control, and hit a tree stump and went over the handlebars and down a cliff 😄 luckily the moss stopped my bike going to the bottom and a tree stopped me haha. But I took some skin off my calf, and I've always thought if I had decent pedals it would've done far more damage. 😄

So I am looking at a pair of Ride Concepts (subliminally because they have 'RC' on the side? 🤔) shoes and some Crankbrothers or Spank or Raceface (haven't decided yet) pedals.

I feel like this new hobby could get addictive.

Also started selling some of my rc stuff and a lot of things I've accumulated, to downsize, free up some space, money etc. Then you get distracted sorting through stuff you're thinking of selling, making sure it all works etc... 😄

 

[Elbowloh 1129]

I just use SPD pedals across all my bikes (road and MTB) so I can use the same shoes or boots with either. SPD are also easier to walk in than most 'proper' road bike systems.

[TurboRSR 356]

38 minutes ago, berman said:

I'm in the same boat as you, looking at some proprietary shoes for my bike, and some new pedals. I still have the plastic fantastic ones on mine and have been looking at either nylon ones with metal screws/studs, or alloy ones with the same.

Just apprehensive as I had an off going too fast down a grade 5 trail (the trails here aren't colors, they are graded 1-6) and went down a long bit that was basically clay, couldn't stop, lost control, and hit a tree stump and went over the handlebars and down a cliff 😄 luckily the moss stopped my bike going to the bottom and a tree stopped me haha. But I took some skin off my calf, and I've always thought if I had decent pedals it would've done far more damage. 😄

So I am looking at a pair of Ride Concepts (subliminally because they have 'RC' on the side? 🤔) shoes and some Crankbrothers or Spank or Raceface (haven't decided yet) pedals.

I can recommend DMR Vault pedals, have been riding the "Brendog" signature model for some years now. 

[Willy iine 18806]

On my e-bike (Vado 4.0), I had my son install a pair of Look Trail Roc which are basic alloy flat pedal with metal pegs.   They grip very well for my use.  I'm just a casual rider taking in the scenery and enjoying the outdoors.  

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/specialized-turbo-vado-40-2022

My son works at a bike shop part time and he is into road bikes.  He has a Specialized CF road bike which is like their mid-teir model.. but at $6k for a teen that's a pretty pricy bike.  He did buy with his own money so I give him that..not that he has any expenses or food he needs to pays for since he's still a kid..  He has been modding it frequently.  

He is getting a mountain bike this summer he said..  okay.. so why does he get to buy fun things when I'm stuck paying his college tuition driving junk cars..  

[BuggyDad 4478]

Well, I didn't expect a clips vs flats debate on here! I ride mtb SPDs on everything too (I'm mostly a mountain biker, road only occasionally), but half my riding mates ride flats (and five tens are the shoe of choice there) so whenever anyone asks me I kind of dodge it with a "one's not better than the other" type answer, even though myself I am firmly a clipped in rider. 

[BuggyDad 4478]

6 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

 driving junk cars..  

I dread to think what your garage is going to look like after he's finished college! 

[Willy iine 18806]

4 minutes ago, BuggyDad said:

I dread to think what your garage is going to look like after he's finished college! 

Yeah, probably just a bunch of rust buckets!    

[Elbowloh 1129]

32 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

On my e-bike (Vado 4.0), I had my son install a pair of Look Trail Roc which are basic alloy flat pedal with metal pegs.   They grip very well for my use.  I'm just a casual rider taking in the scenery and enjoying the outdoors.  

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/specialized-turbo-vado-40-2022

My son works at a bike shop part time and he is into road bikes.  He has a Specialized CF road bike which is like their mid-teir model.. but at $6k for a teen that's a pretty pricy bike.  He did buy with his own money so I give him that..not that he has any expenses or food he needs to pays for since he's still a kid..  He has been modding it frequently.  

He is getting a mountain bike this summer he said..  okay.. so why does he get to buy fun things when I'm stuck paying his college tuition driving junk cars..  

The cost of bikes has risen exponentially in recent years. I built my own road 'best' bike up a few years back for about £2200 for the frame and all the parts (got them all in sales). The a fully built bike of the same spec would have been about £3k. Now a similar spec bike would be about £7k. Just the wheels I have, bought for about £450 then, nowadays the exact same ones are over £1100. It's getting really unaffordable.

[Willy iine 18806]

37 minutes ago, Elbowloh said:

The cost of bikes has risen exponentially in recent years. I built my own road 'best' bike up a few years back for about £2200 for the frame and all the parts (got them all in sales). The a fully built bike of the same spec would have been about £3k. Now a similar spec bike would be about £7k. Just the wheels I have, bought for about £450 then, nowadays the exact same ones are over £1100. It's getting really unaffordable.

I see..  yeah, I remember my kid saying his one road bike wheel costed more than my one 19" BBS CH-R on my Golf-R..    I will stick to RC car wheels.. 

[berman 5315]

Haha sorry guys, probably just going to get nylon/composite flats. Clipless is something I may look into at a later date. Decided to stick to nylon because if anodised alloy ones get knocked about they will look naff or the pins get bent they are harder to get out, and I like that nylon ones have locknuts, and nylon are cheaper to throw away if I want to replace them. 

Went out to the next city over yesterday, massive bike park compared to my local, like 10 times the size at least. Had fun, had another bail haha, but was awesome and want to go back asap. 

 

[Willy iine 18806]

@berman nice pictures.  Speaking if which, I got my MTB shoes the other day.  

[berman 5315]

3 hours ago, Willy iine said:

@berman nice pictures.  Speaking if which, I got my MTB shoes the other day.  

Thanks, would love to get some action shots/videos, might have to see if my gopro still works. Those shoes look pretty fancy! 😍 

[Mad Ax 9329]

It's Friday at last, team!  Anybody up to anything exciting this weekend?

It feels like it's been a horribly long week, it seems like it should have been Friday two days ago.  However Friday is here at last, I'm home, it's very quiet (although I have just remembered I left my Teams status on Appear Offline, which might explain that) and if nothing goes wrong, it's a downhill run into the weekend.

Friday - finish around 3pm, then probably do a little DIY while I wait for a friend to arrive.  He's one of my bestest buddies in the whole wide world, I met him at a Tamiyaclub meet over 15 years ago, he's not really RC-ing much any more but we still meet up now and again.  He might be stopping late for a takeaway and a game of Cards Against Humanity, if not I'll cook something from the freezer and catch a film with the wife.

Saturday - Workshop Saturday again.  My FR4 sheet arrived for my Hotshot chassis build, so I'll spend most of the day with a dust mask on.  I think it's doable to get the bulk of it cut before close of play.  Also waiting on some new axle shafts for the SRB Superlight (reasons to be disclosed when I get around to updating that thread) which will come with a Bonus Gift attached - eyes peeled on the Postman Brought Me thread when it hopefully turns up later.  I'm thinking of calling it "Project Remorse" since that's what I've been feeling ever since I typed my PIN into the card machine.

Evening - pizzas from the freezer, cold beverages, warm studio.

Sunday - daddy/daughter day, another birthday party to break up the day.  I think I'm allowed to drop-kick her through the door and run.  Weather forecast is English with a chance of Westcountry, so I'll probably spend the rest of the day indoors pretending to enjoy playing shop and wondering how early is acceptable to hypnotise her with the iPad.

Evening - cooking some sausage and tomato thing from a cheap eats book.  I'll probably swamp mine in hot sauce, reheat it in the micro and enjoy it with a beer and a film once the rest of the family are abed.

Have a fantastic one everybody  

[Elbowloh 1129]

9 hours ago, Willy iine said:

@berman nice pictures.  Speaking if which, I got my MTB shoes the other day.  

A bit different to mine

 

[Willy iine 18806]

@Elbowloh Yeah, I only causally ride my commuter e-bike on bike trails and residential areas so mine is more like walking shoes.    I only wear causal clothing too, just jeans/pants and shirt, no shorts or anything athletic at all..  I'm those older middle aged guys with partially sagging belly and don't want to kid myself wearing tight biker suits and stuff and sickening the public.   lol

So for me, yet another boring weekend, which is perfect.  

Friday.. WFH, got a meeting in a bit, but otherwise a pretty slow day expected work wise.  I think I better take my daily driver for a wash..it is filthy dirty.

If temps hold, I plan to go riding on my e-bike this afternoon, then watch TV in the evening.  RC wise, I need to swap sensor wire on my latest Optima MID as the cable I am using is temporary and too long.  I can't seem to find where my 130-140mm cable went.. I might've accidentally used it on another car.. ordered more last night.  I might take the new Scorpion out for a quick drive outside.

Saturday.. after early morning house chores, I plan to take my 1:1 Golf-R for a spin given weather is okay.  Otherwise I think I'm going to start the Kyosho Beetle body.. I have serval bodies on order so I plan to do at least one factory livery in maybe white instead of yellow.  Then relax in my music room later afternoon, followed by watching TV before calling it.

Sunday.. basically a repeat of Saturday.   

Have a great weekend everyone! 

[Elbowloh 1129]

@Willy iinewhen i first started cycling I said i'd never wear lycra, but gave in and my god, once you try it you never want to go back! 

 

I've got yet another 4th birthday to attend tomorrow with my boy. It's all due to the NCT antenatal group we were in. So 8 couples all having kids within a couple of months of each other. We've (well mostly the mums) have stayed in touch so we've got all these parties to go to. 2 last weekend (including my boys), one this weekend and then I think 3 more (others we can't make).

Would love to find time over the weekend to do more on the Durga build or more on doing up my shed/office, but know it's not going to happen!

[berman 5315]

Friday/Saturday: This was last night, I have my kids this weekend. My mum picks them up from school, and I meet up with them after work. It's miserable weather Friday and Saturday, so we might be inside watching movies and playing games today (Saturday), will take them out to the library as they have a Lego room there for the kids, and then go to the supermarket and get some popcorn and we are going to make home made pizzas tonight for tea tonight. 

Sunday: is meant to be fine, so we will go to the park, get some lunch and then they get dropped at their mother's at 3pm. Hopefully I will go back, get my MTB and go for a ride Sunday arvo, because I'm hanging out for a ride 🚲, might go pick up some new pedals if the kids haven't bled me dry 😄

Edit:

Their mum didn't pack any shoes for my son, so took them clothes shopping and got them some bits an pieces and him some shoes/sneakers/trainers. Conveniently, 🤣 the bike shop happens to be next door, so I got myself some pedals and new grips, since my old ones are nearly worn flat 

 

[Mad Ax 9329]

On 4/21/2023 at 2:55 PM, Elbowloh said:

It's all due to the NCT antenatal group we were in

We had the same.  Around 4 of us dads became great mates.  One of them was already into RC planes, after seeing my big rigs he bought a truck and came to some truck meets, then traded it for a TRX-4 and has come to some of the national events with me.

Another one had dreams of following in his fathers footsteps and becoming a racing driver, so the 4 of us would sometimes meet up at his workshop to strip out a Mini Cooper S and fit race parts.

We all did a lot of stuff together back in those pre-school days - I have fond memories of all of us with kids watching the monster trucks at Truckfest, and cooking breakfast in my camper at the safari park.

Then the pandemic stopped us meeting up, and now all the kids go to different schools, so we don't do so much, but it was fab while it lasted - it definitely makes those early years much more enjoyable  

[Mad Ax 9329]

It's Friday, thank goodness!  It's been another crazy week here at House Ax, I keep on thinking we'll get back to some sort of routine after the Easter holidays, but with yet more inset days, bank holidays, special coronation events, and the child being sent home sick from school, it'll probably be half term again before normality is resumed.

So, this weekend!  Totally non-standard one for me, in fact I'll be glad when it's over...

Friday - WFH this morning.  I usually do extra hours on Mon and Tue so I can finish early on Friday, but my daughter was ill, so I took family leave.  Obviously I can't do extra hours on family leave, so I don't have to work longer today.

Also my wife is away until tomorrow night, so I can't do my usual Friday walk, as I have to pick my daughter up at 5pm.  So maybe I'd get an hour or two to myself?  Well, no, this week they're doing a coronation party after school, so I have to be at the school at 3pm.  This is the kind of event that really sets off my social anxiety, and my daughter has reached the age where she knows about it and thinks she can use it to her advantage.

Back home for tea, will make myself one of my special barbecue chillis since the wife is away and eat myself into a food coma while watching a film.

Saturday - chill out with the daughter and tidy the house.  I suffered a random chilli mayo explosion last night (brand new packet, been in the cupboard for a month, still got 5 months date on it, unscrewed the lid to remove the seal and it literally went with a bang, absolutely covered my clothes, the kitchen cupboards, worktop, ceiling, it went up inside one of the cupboards and covered loads of food packets...  Haven't got time to clean it today, so I expect I'll give the kitchen a deep clean tomorrow - it's been a few years since it had one.

Eve - probably more chilli while I wait for the wife to come home.  Probably not the happy reunion I expect it'll be, as a letter arrived from the DWP regarding a disabled friend whose finances she looks after, and it looks like bad news, so we'll probably have to go back to court to get his payments reinstated again.  Which is really, really going to make my wife happy...

Sunday - it was supposed to be Workshop Sunday, but a friend of mine wants to buy a 3-wheeled motorcycle (a Peugeot Metropolis), and he has complex PTSD and can't handle that kind of interaction, so he has given me the task of acquiring it for him.  So, I'll be driving to Manchester on Sunday to look it over, which is a 4+ hour drive.  I enjoy a good road trip, but I think it'll be 4 hours of non-stop motorway.

I was looking for something I could do up that way to make the journey worthwhile - the model shops are shut, so I won't be doing any impulse buying.  There's a rather nice King Hauler with trailer for sale up in Preston, but that's another hour in the wrong direction, it means taking money out of savings, and I only really need it for the body and axles - the rest will end up in the parts bin - and I don't have time to start on it for another 12 months at least.  So probably best to pass it by.

The good news is that the Iconic Cup is racing at Broxtowe on Sunday, it's probably about an hour from Manchester to Broxtowe, so I'll call in there for an hour or so to catch up with mates and break up the journey.  The route home goes through some of my favourite roads, and depending on time and weather I might stop off somewhere for a walk, a nice meal, or just to look around some of these places I drive past every other month.

Evening - beer and unhealthy foods and try to forget I exist for a while.

Monday - it was supposed to be a DIY day, but since I'll spend Saturday on deep cleaning and Sunday on the road, I think I'll be more than ready for some serious downtime.  If the weather's nice then I'll take the family out somewhere, if it's bad (as the forecast suggests) then I don't know, I'd like a day in the workshop but my wife might need some support if this DWP letter is genuine bad news.

Whatever happens, I hope you all have fab weekends and I'll catch you on the flipside  

[Elbowloh 1129]

Have a week off next week, so this evening we're off to a holiday in  Pembrokeshire. Got a trip to Skomer lined up to  see the puffins and also a dolphin watching boat trip from Nequay. 

Taking the DF03 to have a rag around the cottage that we're staying in.