DidNotSendIt

I quite clearly heard his friend say "There it is". Yet he still hit it anyway

I haven't ridden there yet. Last time i was there i checked in with Freeride Madeira but they were fully booked. That said, my ability level is blues/reds (Afan is my usual haunt - Blue Scar, Y Wal, Penhydd, Whites Level - for reference) and they seemed to be happy i'd be fine from my recollection. If your missus is inclined to 'give it a go' (in terms of attutude) if it is a little more challenging than she's used to, i think she should be fine. Drop Freeride an email; despite not being able to fit me in, they were very helpful nonetheless. If your concern is that it's not challenging enough for you, i wouldn't worry about it. Madeira is a stunning island and a day (or a few) riding trails there would be an amazing experience, even if it's not as challenging as you're usually accustomed to. That said, i'm pretty sure they've got some gnar if you want it. I definitely would have been back in 2020 to try and ride. If, you know... Great weather, great food and lush tropical surroundings. You couldn't ask for more. Oh, what's that? You are asking for more? You want the most obscure object you can think of with Christiano Ronaldo's name and/or face arbitrarily put on it? Done. Tick. Next. Suck it. We win.

"Yesh well, as you can probably guesh from my accshent, i'm Shpanish-Egypshan. Although a lot of people confushe my accshent for Shcottish and Russhian, even though they shound nothing alike".

@pbuser2299: "This one has a degree in medeival poetry of Britain" "That is pretty specialised"

I'm aware that brands tend to send out the top-spec model for reviews in order to show the bike in the best possible light. I also understand reviewers can only review what they've been given so no disrespect to PB. But when you're specifically marketing something as a budget bike that performs way above its pricetag... this feels kinda sneaky. I'm very much in favour of budget options, since this is my price range. But if you're going to do it, stand behind it. We all know we're not getting an S-Works ride at this price. But we still want to know what sort of ride we do get for the money. Merely being inexpensive is not enough - you can make a cheaper version of anything; the *value* in a budget option is if it performs well.

@deadlyhifi: Please stop with these terrible puns. I'm getting solenoid with them.

Always fancied visiting Azires after seeing it on Endless Summer II. I've been to nearby Madeira a few times - one of my favourite places in the world (that i've been to at least). Yet to ride there though. Was planning to go last year. But, you know...

"Pull up at the last second!" *mutters under breath* "f**king tell me what to do"

@mikekazimer: Dance off. It's the only way. 5 songs each over the course of the series. Multi-discipline dance styles, including the all-important 'freestyle'. Live stream. Warner and Claudio commentate. Drinking rules: Drink every time Warner says 'this man'. Drink every time Warner sets up a talking point and Claudio leaves him hanging.

@JustinVP: I'm very sorry to hear that. From what i've heard, the addiction indeed incredibly difficult to kick. Given how big the casino industry is on your side of the pond, i imagine it holds a lot of political influence which helps them resist legislation. I believe there are some ongoing reviews of the gambling industry here. Betting is quite common here but i don't think there's a strong enough culture that would result in major public pushback on any tightening of regulations. It's the online casinos and gaming that concern me the most. Particularly the way it's advertised - like the example in my comment above where they blatantly and purposely target time-poor mums that miss their social circle. I mean alcohol adverts are mostly nonsense - good looking trendy people doing stuff that nobody ever really does. But imagine if an alcohol brand blatantly and puposely targeted people they considered predisposed to addiction problems!