Goofy

Ok, so is Goofy a dog or what? Mickey is a mouse, Donald is a duck, Chip and Dale are chipmunks, Pluto is obviously a dog. Goofy looks like a dog, but if he is a dog, then why is he friends with Mickey? This is a giant mouse who keeps one of Goofy's cousins (Pluto) on a lead in his back garden. Surely Goofy would have words with Mickey about this?

According to Disney and I quote: "Goofy is a dog! Good-natured but not that bright, this cartoon character made his first appearance, somewhat disguised, as a member of the audience in "Mickey's Revue" (1932) Goofy was created as a human character, as opposed to Pluto, who was a pet, so he walked upright and had a speaking voice"

Well, there you go then.................

It all makes sense.......................

Have a good weekend folks and happy riding!

New Arrivals

Three brand spanking new frames came in yesterday, a 2007 Iron Horse Sunday in pink, a Commencal VIP Supreme DH 6" and a Commencal VIP Meta 5 frame. All three very cool and sought after frames.

Customers bikes

Here's a picture that David Palmer from Barton on Sea sent in of his Tig Team SL on the Penhydd trail. If you'd like to see pictures of you and your bike on the Blog, please email us at sales@merlincycles.co.uk

Shimano

We got a huge Shimano delivery yesterday. As a bike manufacturer it comes to us as unpackaged components for bike assembly. So, one box will have front hubs in, one box will have just chains, another just right hand shifters etc, etc. Essentially, its a lot of boxes and the picture does'nt really do justice to the amount of stock that needed to be put away yesterday.

Its J.P's birthday today, so off for a curry tonight!

Here's a recipe for my favourite Mattar Paneer, or to translate it Peas Cheese:

450gms /1lb shelled Mutter (green peas) 250gms / 1/2lb Paneer cheese
medium onions (chopped) 6 cloves garlic (crushed)1 tbsp grated ginger2 green chilies (chopped)250gms / 1/2 lb tomatoes (peeled and sliced)Salt To Taste 1cup curd / plain yogurt 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp coriander seeds 4 bay leaves 2 cups water 1/2 cup ghee / vegetable oil To Garnish :Garam masala powder Chopped coriander leaves


Preparation:
Make a paste by grinding together half the onions, the garlic and coriander seeds.
Heat the ghee in a frying pan and cut the paneer into 2.5-cm/1-inch cubes. Fry the paneer to a light brown and remove to drain on a plate.
Add the remaining onion and the ginger to the ghee / oil in a pan and add the bay leaves and fry until the onion is golden brown.
Add the turmeric and the paste mixture and fry until the ghee starts to separate.
Add the paneer and mutter (peas) along with the yogurt, chili, tomato and salt. Stir for 5-6 minutes over low heat.
Pour in the water and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Serve the matar paneer sprinkled with garam masala and coriander.

Serve with pilau rice or Chapatis for maximum enjoyment. Lager obviously makes an ideal companion drink.

Lupine lights sale!!

For this weekend only we are doing Lupine lights with a 15% extra discount. Just go to the lights page of the website.

Sun is shining

"Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah,

Make you wanna move your dancing feet now,

To the rescue, here I am,

Want you to know, y'all, can you understand?"

Well, looks like an Indian Summer for this weekend, so its time to make up for the miserable weather of the last few weeks. 21 degrees on Saturday and Sunday! Andy and Paul are off to Glentress, I'm off to Gisburn Forest (cold permitting) for some tame girlfriend friendly cycling, which should combine nicely with a few drinks in the Emporium in Clitheroe afterwards: http://www.theemporiumclitheroe.co.uk/

Malt 1 wins What Mountain Bike award

The Malt 1 has just won What Mountain Bike Magazine's bike of the year award for the best sub £600 bike. We've worked hard to get such a great value spec. together and we very much agree with their conclusion that "You don't need any more than this". For 2007 it will come specced with a Marzocchi MX Pro fork which makes it even better value! Pictured above is a Malt 1 in the new 13" size which is proving to be very popular with our lady customers. The Rock Lobster 853 also won 2nd place in the best £1000 hardtail category. So, thanks everyone at http://www.whatmtb.com/.

Birthday boy!

Nige is 50 today, he really doesn't look a day over 44 does he?

Still, he'll have to buy us all cakes for dinner, make mine a Vanilla Slice please Nigel.