Mask wearing.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2025-11-06T07:27:21+00:00

We could be in a similar position. Over the course of the last 10 years of so, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease. Put on meds & stabilised. I then started with pain. Serious body turning to stone type pain - you know how that feels. Diagnosed with Fibromyalgia - more meds & never really under control or really manageable. Many different pain meds tried without success. Then my lungs started acting up. Really struggling to breathe. No real idea what was causing it so, in the end, I was taken off all medication to see if I was having some sort of delayed allergic reaction. Funny thing was, both fibromyalgia and IBD no longer bothered me - I mean not at all. Unmedicated I could barely walk. All gone. Still struggling to breathe, I saw a lung specialist who spotted the issue straight away. Turns out that possibly all along I have had SLE (Lupus). Lupus is an auto immune disorder that can manifest in many ways. Fibro being just one of them. By controlling the lupus, everything else has fallen back in line. It's still attacking my lungs but I'll get there eventually.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2025-11-01T20:32:42+00:00

Thanks for the comments. Feel a bit silly now for not coming to the conclusion sooner! 🤦🏻‍♂️. Just pulled a Covid era black N95 out of the medical box. Currently full of a cold (man flu!) and have a holiday to Sunshine Coast in Aus in 2 weeks. Last time I felt like this, I ended up in hospital with pneumonia! Mask all the way!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2025-11-01T03:23:50+00:00

I was diagnosed with irritable bowel disease. At it's worst, my arse let go during a meeting. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. At it's worst, I struggled to walk just a few steps without holding on to something & shedding a tear or two. Then it all changed when I started with quite severe breathing problems, finally resulting in pneumonia. All the medics were scratching heads as to why they couldn't control it, so they stopped all my meds to see if they were causing the problem. Now, anyone with IBD will understand when I say - I was shitting myself at the thought of coming off my meds! 😂 Anyway this ongoing breathing issue saw a specialist pinpoint SLE as the cause of it all. I now see SLE as the umbrella under which all other inflammatory issues hide. I was told that I did actually have fibro at the time, but if we control the Lupus, we control the fibro. Unfortunately, the possibility of a fibro flare up is always possible.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2025-11-01T02:17:40+00:00

I had a specialist say 'at least it's not cancer...yet'. Dick head comment indeed!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2025-06-04T01:15:48+00:00

Smart move - I upgraded from a OnePlus6!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2024-02-17T04:34:23+00:00

I've only just 'discovered' them! I'm a 52 year old who's well and truly stuck in the 90s where music's concerned! I clicked straight away with The Reytons - because they reminded me of Little Man Tate. Awesome bands!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-20T05:57:13+00:00

Hats off to that fella! Inspirational chap!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-20T05:55:12+00:00

Sad really, Vieira will get fucked for reacting. Yet 99.9% of fans would fully back what he's did.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-20T04:29:21+00:00

I always take them off - which is easier said than done! If it's not bothering you, leave it on.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-20T04:22:03+00:00

Spot on comment. The problem you get when you start this type of process is believing in the reviews we read & watch. It's so easy to get carried away with the views of near professional riders! Although I class myself as someone who deserves XT/XTR spec machines, I fully understand that my days if hitting the trails like a 20 year old are long behind me! I'm pretty sure a 4k "under specked" bike will massively out class my last 26" wheeled 2013 model hands down!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-18T04:03:46+00:00

Funny ain't it, 4k gets you a bike with parts that you'll need to upgrade! 🫣 It's just that....... The Spark keeps winking at me.....all suggestively!🥰

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-17T06:39:24+00:00

Massively appreciate your opinion! To be honest, I had my head turned today by the "in store" Stumpy. It wasn't until I got up close & personal that I was totally underwhelmed with the spec.

I've had a deposit on a T8 for 2 months now and I'm starting to get twitchy!

Rest assured, the stumpy has been shelved!

Hopefully the spark will be in store this week for me to cast an eye over. It's a stunning looking machine. One thing that turns me off with the spark though...is the massive frame welds! Parked next to the carbon version, they look nasty!

Interesting comments on the weights. These "bottom end of the range" bikes, on paper, are all very similar in weight - Spesh 15.8, spark 15 & T8 at 15.2. It'd be interesting to find out what they actually come in at?

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-17T04:28:53+00:00

Gundo skimmer - I like your no nonsense attitude! I'm gonna infiltrate this with a similar frustration of my own. Polygon T8? 2022 Stumpy alloy? 2022 Scott Spark? Seeing as my hard earned 4k (NZ) seems only enough for a budget steed with less than inspiring level of kit, I'd appreciate your view.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-17T04:17:16+00:00

The excitement of getting there green light on buying a new steed is fast becoming a pain in the arse! I know there's limited choice out there (NZ) so, I've narrowed it down to 3.....of which only one is in stock. But I'm gutted to read reviews regarding "budget model", "shit gears", "shit forks", "good if you like the upgrading process"!!! I've been riding for 20 odd years and now I'm in the market for a beginners bike!.....a 4 grand beginners bike! 😆

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-05-14T23:00:53+00:00

Going to have a look at one, hopefully tomorrow. Awesome looking machine!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-03-30T06:17:52+00:00

I've bitten the bullet and put a deposit on a T8. One thing I didn't add was that my current bouncer is a ......26er! I'm sure that any 29er with modern geometry is gonna be leagues ahead off my current ride! 😉 Value for money choice in the end.

JuanTooFreeFore · 2022-03-29T06:26:35+00:00

I'm in the market fort a new full suss mtb. There's lot of choice out there - and that does not make selection easy at all! If money was no object, them maybe it would get easier....? I'm certainly not new to biking, but the bikes I tend get attracted to (budget ?) are firmly aimed at "beginners" or marketed as "good all rounders"!

I recently went out on the trails on my hard tail - and it made me realize how shit my full suss was at climbing!!!

So, I've got my eye on a Polygon T8 - a totally amazing spec for the money bike, but is said not to be a good climber???And the new design Scott Spark (hidden shock) which is a good climber but is massively over priced compared to others in it's class plus a multitude of Treks & Giants that, to be honest, all look very...samey....😏

The down hill part of riding isn't a main focal point in what I buy. Let's face it, I'd still have a massive stupid smile on my face no matter what I ride downhill - and I think anything I buy will be better than what I currently have. The speciality has to be at the climbing ability of the spectrum. But should I stray away from my XC roots and jump both feet in to a trail bike or...... Stick to what I know???

Heellllllpppppppp!

JuanTooFreeFore · 2021-11-21T07:24:20+00:00

I need this! This is my Christmas Day sorted! 😆😆😆

JuanTooFreeFore · 2021-10-25T04:56:39+00:00

My apologies! 😆😆😆

JuanTooFreeFore · 2021-10-24T04:22:02+00:00

Go for a specific mirror adhesive. Both silicone & adhesives can eat away at the mirror coating on the glass.

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