The Retirement Thread

[ColinJ]

Some people make the bad mistake of deliberately removing this superior lubricant. Don’t do this!
The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube.

What does @ColinJ think of it?

Aha - I see that I have been called in...

I have been jealously ignoring the retirement thread up until now since I am not yet officially retired, but the countdown has started! I have a blackboard in my kitchen and have written on it how much time and/or money I need to retire - 72 weeks or £12,500, whichever comes first! I update it every Friday and it is pleasing to see how quickly it is ticking down, probably helped by the wretched coronavirus situation which is turning this into a non-year which seems to be flying by...

I have a suspicion that I will finally finish some of the games apps that I have been working on and start earning some money AFTER I retire and I no longer really need it. Still, that would mean that I could enjoy a less frugal existence in my dotage. I checked the figures a few days ago and last year I got by on less than 50% of what I did in 1999 and it is getting boring having to be so careful with cash! For example, I don't like having to shop around to save £2 on a tyre when I am already buying ones that are much cheaper than what I would choose if I had more money.

Anyway, back to new chains... Perhaps there is some subtle reason why @gavroche thinks that I am an expert on them? I used to degrease and lube them but then read the advice that it was a mistake and stopped doing it. Sure enough, unlubed new chains seem to work pretty well for hundreds of kms/miles so I don't bother with lube now until a chain looks or sounds like it needs it.

 

[ColinJ]

PS Having unignored the thread, I will probably now spend the rest of this year catching up on it!

 

[Mo1959]

PS Having unignored the thread, I will probably now spend the rest of this year catching up on it!

Are you sure you really want to?

 

[gavroche]

Aha - I see that I have been called in...

I have been jealously ignoring the retirement thread up until now since I am not yet officially retired, but the countdown has started! I have a blackboard in my kitchen and have written on it how much time and/or money I need to retire - 72 weeks or £12,500, whichever comes first! I update it every Friday and it is pleasing to see how quickly it is ticking down, probably helped by the wretched coronavirus situation which is turning this into a non-year which seems to be flying by...

I have a suspicion that I will finally finish some of the games apps that I have been working on and start earning some money AFTER I retire and I no longer really need it. Still, that would mean that I could enjoy a less frugal existence in my dotage. I checked the figures a few days ago and last year I got by on less than 50% of what I did in 1999 and it is getting boring having to be so careful with cash! For example, I don't like having to shop around to save £2 on a tyre when I am already buying ones that are much cheaper than what I would choose if I had more money.

Anyway, back to new chains... Perhaps there is some subtle reason why @gavroche thinks that I am an expert on them? I used to degrease and lube them but then read the advice that it was a mistake and stopped doing it. Sure enough, unlubed new chains seem to work pretty well for hundreds of kms/miles so I don't bother with lube now until a chain looks or sounds like it needs it.

Thanks for the advice and as it conquers with @Mo1959 , I may have made a mistake in removing it then. I shall bear it in mind when my next chain is due on my other bikes, which won't be long now on my Cube I noticed.
Welcome to the retirement thread, even if some of us still do a little bit of paid work.

 

[Dave7]

Shopping in Ilfracombe done. ✔
Luncheon at the Aggi - Thai red curry, prawn & veg done. ✔
Two pints of Sharpe's 'Atlantic' pale ale done. ✔
Back home for a post prandial nap. ✔

It's tough at the top!

Life can really be a bitch.
I am just doing lunch.
Veg casserole...... all free
Chips.......all free
Bread n butter......had to buy the butter

 

[classic33]

The good news is my wife's cancer markers have gone down quite a bit with her new meds. The bad news is her white blood cell count has too. This regimen is 3 weeks on 1 off but the Dr says another week off and then blood tests to decide what is next. Don't like the weakened immune system one little bit especially in this time of Covid. Perhaps we'll go up on the mountain this afternoon so she can get in some of what the Japanese call "forest bathing". It always seem s to grant a little serenity. And, today is one of the three weekly farmers markets at which she can BS with her buds. Gotta take the joy when and where you can find it.
Recently returned my SA 3 speeds to my Surly Steamroller and my Brompton and now my Holdsworth Special is a pretty light single speed. I know the 20 or so miles of bike paths in my little town like the back of my hand and if I can't go on new rides I can ride on new versions of my old bikes. Kind of a treat. It has been in the mid 30sC with little wind but lots of smoke. Today will also be hot but windy with the wind removing most of the smoke. Good day for a ride, because at least the air is clean.

Okay, where are the Central Slips?

 

[welsh dragon]

Aha - I see that I have been called in...

I have been jealously ignoring the retirement thread up until now since I am not yet officially retired, but the countdown has started! I have a blackboard in my kitchen and have written on it how much time and/or money I need to retire - 72 weeks or £12,500, whichever comes first! I update it every Friday and it is pleasing to see how quickly it is ticking down, probably helped by the wretched coronavirus situation which is turning this into a non-year which seems to be flying by...

I have a suspicion that I will finally finish some of the games apps that I have been working on and start earning some money AFTER I retire and I no longer really need it. Still, that would mean that I could enjoy a less frugal existence in my dotage. I checked the figures a few days ago and last year I got by on less than 50% of what I did in 1999 and it is getting boring having to be so careful with cash! For example, I don't like having to shop around to save £2 on a tyre when I am already buying ones that are much cheaper than what I would choose if I had more money.

Anyway, back to new chains... Perhaps there is some subtle reason why @gavroche thinks that I am an expert on them? I used to degrease and lube them but then read the advice that it was a mistake and stopped doing it. Sure enough, unlubed new chains seem to work pretty well for hundreds of kms/miles so I don't bother with lube now until a chain looks or sounds like it needs it.

You and I are the same age.

 

[ColinJ]

I will be an honorary retiree/pensioner*** for now, then!

I have been nursing a secret ambition, which is to start paying income tax again after becoming a pensioner. Anything I can earn over the state pension would be spending money (or given to charity). PS Actually... With just a state pension and small private pension I would get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. I would like to earn enough that I wouldn't need to claim them and would be over the tax threshold.

You and I are the same age.

So you will have been caught by the same pension changes as my sister (18 months younger than me)? She had planned all her working life to retire at 60 but was then told in middle-age that she would have to work until she is 66 to get her state pension. Oh, and she won't get her work pension until 66 too, so she can pay an extra 6 years contributions. And that pension will no longer be as high as promised. And half the lump sum... She is VERY unhappy about it. She agrees that the changes are needed but thinks that they should have come in for women starting work now, not dumped on older women who don't have time to adapt. She always points out to any men who don't agree with her that women of her age often didn't get the same pay as men, didn't get the same promotions as men, and had to take career breaks to look after young kids, which men rarely did. She has had enough so she is soon going to retire on a reduced pension and manage on that through to state pension.




*** Actually, I already get a £12/week pension from a job that I did for 2 years in the 1980s. I moaned about having to pay the contributions at the time but I have already just about got them back in pension payments and if I live for another 20-odd years I will be well up.

 

[Paulus]

Does anyone fancy a new kind of saddle?

New Atlas: SmartSaddle sets out to get to the bottom of cycling discomfort.
https://newatlas.com/bicycles/smartsaddle-bicycle-saddle/

Not sure about this saddle.

 

[12boy]

What are Central Slips?

 

[BoldonLad]

Nothing wrong with a bit of variety to keep things spicy. 😂

If only

 

[welsh dragon]

I will be an honorary retiree/pensioner*** for now, then!

I have been nursing a secret ambition, which is to start paying income tax again after becoming a pensioner. Anything I can earn over the state pension would be spending money (or given to charity). PS Actually... With just a state pension and small private pension I would get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. I would like to earn enough that I wouldn't need to claim them and would be over the tax threshold.


So you will have been caught by the same pension changes as my sister (18 months younger than me)? She had planned all her working life to retire at 60 but was then told in middle-age that she would have to work until she is 66 to get her state pension. Oh, and she won't get her work pension until 66 too, so she can pay an extra 6 years contributions. And that pension will no longer be as high as promised. And half the lump sum... She is VERY unhappy about it. She agrees that the changes are needed but thinks that they should have come in for women starting work now, not dumped on older women who don't have time to adapt. She always points out to any men who don't agree with her that women of her age often didn't get the same pay as men, didn't get the same promotions as men, and had to take career breaks to look after young kids, which men rarely did. She has had enough so she is soon going to retire on a reduced pension and manage on that through to state pension.




*** Actually, I already get a £12/week pension from a job that I did for 2 years in the 1980s. I moaned about having to pay the contributions at the time but I have already just about got them back in pension payments and if I live for another 20-odd years I will be well up.

Exactly. Barstewards they are.😢 I should be getting my pension now.

 

[welsh dragon]

Had to go to town to pick my granddaughter up. There are about 6 trees down or partially down on the way to Mach so I was playing dodgems there and back. Problem is the trees are still full of leaves so high winds make them even more dangerous.

 

[gavroche]

Well, I still have not done that chain as I struggled all afternoon with the oven door. One hole refuses to line up but I will make it line up come what may. Done one side but the other side is very stubborn. I can put the screw in when on its own but when I put it through the part it secures, it won't.
Chain will be done tomorrow I say.

 

[Mo1959]

Well as much as I love the outdoors, afraid I didn’t go back out for a walk. No pleasure in being dressed from head to toe in waterproofs and trying to walk in driving rain. Hopefully tomorrow will be more pleasant.