NickF

Hello Aido :)

Some of the info is free, for example, I am now the proud owner of an installation manual for a new GS towbar!

It's good for me!

I forgot about this one. It will be good to see everyone again.

As far as I know, we only get 95, 97 and 98 RON fuel in the UK. I don't think that anything as low as 91 is available. It might be better asking the question on the US forums here. I think that most IS drivers in the UK seem to use 95 RON (standard unleaded), but some use 97 (Super Unleaded) and 98 (Shell Optimax).

It is indeed Rob, and I agree that he is very brave! Either that, or very talented with photoshop! I have 3 cats and 2 horses. I used to have 2 ferrets and loads of stick insects. I used to sell stick insects for 10p/inch! Once, one of my ferrets escaped from its cage and came to school and bit the headmaster!

Hope you had a good one John. :D

Why can't you come Barrie? You used to make it up to the Midlands Mini Meets. I suppose it's a long way to travel now that you're getting older... :P

Yes please!

It would be a brave man who jumps out of a plane strapped to Aido!!!

Stand By Me

I doubt it. I bet he's just lying there on the sofa with a little bell that he rings when he wants a cup of coffee. :P

£50 from me

Maybe he used to have a Lexus but saw the light...

HGVs have had speed limiters since 1988 so I don't see why they haven't done it for cars. Also, trucks are limited to 56mph which is, 4mph SLOWER than the speed limit on a motorway... Work that one out ... :duh:

Last time I travelled back from Reading on a Friday evening it took me 5 hours and a trip the wrong way around the M25 to get home to Notts.

Well, that cleared that one up then...

What's a threadless headset?

Hope you get it all sorted, Pete. Do you want me to come and drive your truck for you?

I use both hands to count past five. I guess I'm ambidextrous too then!

When I've saved up some more money...

I'm not planning to do it for a living (I'm actually a software developer by trade) it's just something that I've always wanted to do. I do a bit of driving for a mate who has a few trucks, but only for a bit of light relief. At least now I can drive his big one! I am being made redundant at the end of next month though, so if I haven't found anything permanent by then, I should be able to get some agency work driving.

After a week long course, on Tuesday I passed my rigid HGV test first time. It reminded me of how stressful driving tests are, and brought back memories of my car tests when I was 17 and comparing how many minor points I had got with my friends! The whole experience taught me a few things though: 1) I suffer quite badly from nerves. 2) Driving examiners are not all miserable gits. 3) You can get SVA tests done in Nottingham 4) 5th is perhaps not the best choice of gear in which to perform a hill start. On arrival at the test centre I was really nervous, but things got off to a good start with the reversing exercise and emergency stop going to plan. After this it was off onto the streets of Nottingham. Everything was going really well until it came to the hill start when I inadvertently selected 5th gear rather than 1st. I didn't stall or roll back, but I was sure that I had failed. Thinking that I had failed calmed me down a bit, and I got chatting to the examiner, who was actually a really nice bloke despite his nickname of "The Grim Reaper" among driving instructors and the rest of the test went reasonably smoothly. When we arrived back at the test centre I was fully expecting him to give me the bad news, but he told me that I had passed. He then asked me to call my instructor over to the truck and tell him that I had failed and that I was unhappy with the examiners decision. I did this, and my instructor looked really worried. On seeing this, the examiner burst out laughing and told him that I had passed. He then asked me if I would be taking my articulated HGV test and said that if I was, to phone him up to let him know when it was, and he would make sure that he was on holiday that day!

That is so true!

People not indicating (correctly) on roundabouts... Especially annoying/dangerous when trying to pull out in anything bigger than a car.