April Fools

I almost fell for this one.. Partly because it's more believeable than the rest, and partly because it came in at 5pm.. except that of course that's still prior to midday in Canadia. Bah.


New VNV album

Edit: Erm.. Apparently it's not an april fool's joke. There really is a new VNV album about to come out. I thought SimRonan was just making it up; not just spoofing it as he does every other day of the year.

Bike guru wanted

Hmm. I'm thinking of getting a bicycle for commuting to/from work, with the aim of improving my fitness.
Bikes are rather expensive here (no surprise).
I had a look instore, and found that something that seems nice to me (who knows little about these things) can be bought for about 200-300 quid. I'm not quite sure what the significant differences actually are, once you go over 200 pounds. Presumably stuff is changing for the better as the prices skyrocket up to £3000, but I presume a 199.99 bike would do the trick?
I had a look online, and this Falcon looked decent too, for about the same price as things (name forgotten, maybe Marin?) in the store on Grey's Inn Road. What do you, who know more about bikes, think?

Also, if anyone has an hour free tomorrow, I'm planning on visiting a couple of stores with a view to purchase; if anyone who knows about such things would like to come with me, just name your store (within Zone 1 or 2 preferably) and i'll pop along and buy you a coffee/beer for your assisstance in bike-selection. :)

Note: Things I sort-of know about bikes, of both varieties: Rotating mass should be lightweight, eg. wheels and cranks and pedals. Light frame is good too. Suspension is probably a bit of a novelty more than anything else, for road/commuting use, I think? Aluminium alloy frames are lightweight and not significantly expensive, so good to get. Right/Wrong?

(I apologise in advance for the inevitable month after month of rain that will be guaranteed to occur if i *do* get a bicycle. I might ride my motorbike in all-weather, but I can't see myself cycling to work on a pushbike in heavy waterproof leathers.)