Bike for Sale

 

Bike review

From our guest reviewer, 'Mark' Chin:
Specialized Stumpjumper - "For the first week it was wonderful, very stiff, suspension just right, gave me that edge when descending as it soaked up the terrain. Unfortunately, in the second week, it 'deadened' the trail, leaving me unfulfilled. This may be because I progressed from a basic to an expert level in the space of four hours of riding, but I blame the bike. So, 'No Thanks' Specialized, I'll stick with the Sanderson hardtail I have just got!"

It's me, not you

Without wishing to sound like an old codger, it does seem like London has got more violent of late. People always bang on about how safe things were in the old days (unless you're being nailed to the floor of the Blind Beggar or being kicked to death or whatever else) but I really have noticed in the last year much more intended or actual violence than before. Why? Have I changed the enlightened social circle that I used to flutter within to a bunch of thugs? Probably not. Sunday afternoons no longer involve popping round to an acquaintance's house, to find him slumped in front of the television, covered in a fine dusting of coke. Nor have I fired any guns recently. But on the other hand I've had:

• Two drunk blokes attempt to set about me on Tottenham Court Road - ok, they were too drunk to stand, let alone have a stand-up brawl, so perhaps that doesn't count
• Riding back through Brixton in between two blokes lobbing wine bottles at each other
• The barman in the Marlborough Head try to pick a fight with one of his customers
• A white-wine drinking Ant-or-Dec lookalike standing on the shoe of my friend in the pub, and when she pointed this out, retorting "I've got a lot more malice than that in me"
• Four people of indeterminate gender having a blazing row while standing round a baby in its pushchair including (but not limited to) a fat old drunk waving his walking stick, a bloke with his backpack straps on both shoulders punching somebody in the face and running off, and then coming back to hurl abuse, and a confused looking baby. And the police, but no pepper spray

Now, I haven't been much involved in many of these, but they all seem to be happening when I'm around. Could it just be the mere fact of my smug presence which is getting under people's skin, and reducing them to violence? Or should I have told the midget that despite looking like a hobbit, he didn't need to speak like one?

Bike review

From our guest reviewer, 'Mark' Chin:
Evil DOC Hardtail - "For the first week it was lovely; you really get to enjoy every bump and lump on the trail, the compliant steel frame having just enough 'give' to feel zingy but controlled. Unfortunately, in the second week, it felt far too unforgiving and alive, leaving me aching and tired. This may be because I progressed from a basic to an expert level in the space of four hours of riding, but I blame the bike. So, 'No Thanks' Evil, I'll stick with the Specialized Stumpjumper I have
just got!"

What dat mean?

Human personality traits which can be reliably measured by any of a number of rating scales, show a considerable heritable component. The tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ) is one such instrument and was designed by Cloninger to measure four distinct domains of temperament — Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence and Persistence — that are hypothesized to be based on distinct neurochemical and genetic substrates. Cloninger proposed that individual variations in the Novelty Seeking trait are mediated by genetic variability in dopamine transmission. Individuals who score higher than average on the TPQ Novelty Seeking scale are characterized as impulsive, exploratory, fickle, excitable, quick-tempered and extravagant, whereas those who score lower than average tend to be reflective, rigid, loyal, stoic, slow-tempered and frugal. We now show that higher than average Novelty Seeking test scores in a group of 124 unrelated individuals are significantly associated with a particular exonic polymorphism, the 7 repeat allele in the locus for the D4 dopamine receptor gene (D4DR). The association of high Novelty Seeking and the 7-repeat allele was independent of ethnicity, sex or age of the subjects. This work, together with the accompanying confirmations in this issue, provides the first replicated association between a specific genetic locus involved in neuro-transmission and a normal personality trait.