Shyheels

She certainly does "snug" very well... She does it with some style and class too. I quite like the overall look, which sort of surprises me

I don't think there is any escaping him - not really. If he really wants you, he'll get you. Evasion is futile...

Wicking and ventilation is indeed key. I have spent a lot of money over the years on "breathable" jackets ever since I bought the first generation Goretex back in the 70s. I gave the latest generation now. Still, the secret to its "breathability" are its pit zips which I keep unzipped as a matter of routine. I find I do not really miss padding on my cycling shorts - I use unpadded ones and have gone on some extremely long and arduous treks this way with no problem. And by long I am talking thousands of miles. Lycra does breathe - I will give it that. I just dislike the form hugging quality of it. My PVC jeans are skinny in style, but not Lycra tight.

Sounds pretty much like a lightning strike in terms of bad luck. I have had a couple of brushes with catastrophe, but I prefer to put them behind me and out of mind.

It would make for an interesting look, that's for sure, but I have a feeling you would get horribly hot, horribly quickly. I am not a Lycra wearer on my bicycle, but I gave noticed the superficial similarity of the fit of my Topshop PVC jeans to cycle wear. As I say, it would make for an interesting effect, but utterly unbreathable. I hate to think how sweaty one would become in just a couple of miles. I don't own any shiny neoprene-like leggings or faux leather skinny jeans, just my PVC jeans so I can't make other comparisons, but I am guessing those materials would be equally warming. I have seen some pairs that look nice, but I have not sprung for any... Funnily, although I like my PVC jeans a lot, I would not wear Lycra. I did try Lycra cycling shorts once, but they just weren't me. I could see the advantages, in cycling, and I did use for a while some Gore winter cycling tights which were excellent. But they were insulated and only for winter.

Indeed. I don't do the ponies. It seems the horses I follow like to follow other horses.

As a longstanding backgammon player - and not a bad one either - I am happy playing the odds, especially when they are heavily in my favour. I mitigate by being watchful and making sure I earn from every experience, take precautions, be alert and read the board constantly. For me cycling is a part of living. I couldn't not be out and about cruising the countryside on nice smooth bitumen - or as smooth as you're ever likely to get, anyway!

Well, good luck with it! 650B is a great touring size.

Horses have minds of their own- bicycles do precisely what I want them to. And they are much less intimidating than horses! Cycling in Britain us safe enough, especially if you stick to the lanes and you can go mighty long distances on the lanes. Sure, things can happen, but then things can happen to you anywhere, and in any way - more people are killed or injured in accidents around the home than while they are riding bicycles. And far more die in motor vehicle accidents, even when you look at it on proportional basis (accidents or fatalities per million miles cycled/driven)

I think you will find it is not possible to convert a bicycle from 26" to 27.5 tyres (650B). The frame and fork just won't allow it. I would just ride your bike. And with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, forget about flats. And for me, I need to decide whether to revisit Topshop while they still have their black vinyl Moto Jamie jeans jeans with 30" waists in stock or just stick with the (now) looser 32"!

Not at all embarrassing - I am quite pleased at the smaller waistline even if it means requiring new jeans. I am thinking PVC jeans need to be fairly snug fitting...

Evidently the guy was not the romantic type. I am not into the fetish aspect of things at all. But boho-chic or naughty-but-nice can be very fetching if done stylishly with with subtlety. On the subject of PVC jeans I may have to go back to Topshop for yet another pair. I have been actively losing weight and now - or at least very soon - could probably manage their (admittedly stretchy) 30 inch waist.

Bicycle touring has much to recommend it. I have toured all over the world and know no better way to get about and see the countryside. Britain and The Continent are both especially rich in possibilities.

Old backs don't fare too well either. Or old knees. Or old shoulders with damaged tendons from old injuries. Growing old is not for the faint of heart, says I who has just had yet another birthday. On the other hand, I have beheld, with these rheumy eyes, a very, very old lady - must have been well into her eighties - striding elegantly across the parking lot with what must have been four inch stilettos. She couldn't have been five feet tall either. She was immaculately dressed, not expensively - she did not look wealthy at all - but everything neat and in place and walking extremely fluidly in her heels. More fluidly than a lot of octogenarians walk full-stop! Quite a remarkable lady, whoever she was. Probably had worn heels for over seventy years.

There is such a thing as overwork...

Good thinking

Belgium sounds a bit like those tinpot African countries where the officials at the border dream up ways of fleecing foreigners who try to enter. Or like those dodgy town or county sheriffs in states like Georgia who loved to pull over cars with northern tags and then drawl out something like: you in a heap o' trouble, Yankee. We respect the law here in Leviticus County and you got dirt on your license plate. I'm guessing five hundred dollars with of dirt, unless you want to spend the next six months pushing a broom around the courthouse...what was that you said? The holidays with the husband and wife team sound like a great way of finding out if canal boats were going to be for you.

One would think that in the big friendly family that is the EU - supposedly - there shouldn't be those sorts of issues.

She certainly has the legs for the look!

I think she looks quite nice!

The fashions themselves may not be elegant, but she carries them off with panache, or so I feel, and gives them elegance

I wonder if canal boats are cheaper on the continent - both in terms of purchase cost and upkeep? They do seem like an interesting option if one wanted to spend a year exploring Europe.

She comes across as elegant if idiosyncratic to me, and I quite like idiosyncratic!

When I used to work in Antarctica, up in the high mountains there, I had fourteen stilettos on each boot! They were not terribly high, but they were certainly meaningful and gave a wonderful grip on a slippery surface!

Yes, those are extremely high heels - about the very limit, I would, say of what its would be possible to wear and even then only if your were very experienced and had a high degree of flexibility and strength in your feet and ankles. Walking casually in those, and looking graceful, is am impressive feat, to be sure.