The thorny problem of August

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Mandragora

Senior Member
So the birds have left their nests and the farmers can get to work ripping to shreds cutting back the hedges - and it was the sound of flails, ripped thorn bushes and splitting wood shards that greeted me when I woke up this morning:cry:.

We've swept the lane that leads out onto the main road, but with just a few days till we leave for three weeks' cycling (and sunbathing, gossiping, reading and dozing) in France I've decided to leave it for now. I know it has to be done, and I'll appreciate it once all the puncturous little blighters have been dispersed by the wind and passing vehicles, but it's one of the annual downsides of living in the middle of nowhere. I might be the only cyclist on these boards today hoping for a REALLY blowy couple of days so that everything that's in the hedges gets good and blown out and is well out of my way by the time I come back.
 

screenman

Squire
Slime or Stans, it is what they were made for.
 
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Mandragora

Senior Member
I think you both might be over-estimating my level of technical know-how and my bicycle-related resources.

I have two choices - my ancient mountain bike (still sporting an original front tyre after ten years and a smooth 'Kevlar' (?) rear tyre because I use it on the turbo trainer) or my new 'best' bike, a Specialised Vita that I got for my last birthday that I'm so protective of it's not even coming to France with me next week to be used on 'pistes cyclable' because I'd have to take it on 400m of forest route to get it to the tarmac. Slime and stains are something I associate with having to change nappies. Schwalbe Marathon Extremes sound exciting, though I could be convinced they were a chocolate treat if I hadn't come across them in this context. :blush: Give me another year, and I'm sure I'll be right out there with you all, confidently changing punctures, or possibly not even needing to!
 
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