Carla, my wife, lover, friend, life-partner, significant other, training partner, co-driver, manager, consultant, massuese, fabulous cook celebrates her birthday today.
We’ve just got back from a Birthday ride. It’s a beautiful day here in France. Carla set a cracking pace all the way around our 35km loop.
We’ve got a bottle of champers, and some super nosh for later.
Happy Birthday Carla xxx
SB 🙂
Merry Christmas to you all!!!
Off out on the bike now. L8trs yeah? 🙂
A Friday night deep in the heart of the Haute Vienne. More than 200 cyclists and friends are gathered for the prize ceremony for the 2008 season. There’s roadies, and mountain bikers, national champions, regional champions, young stars of the future, and old veterans who are still kicking ass! At the end of the ceremony all the winners are called up on stage for a group photo. Right there in amongst them, standing proud, there is an Englisman. Yep, an old veteran mountain biker with a dodgy shoulder. He’s won the VTT Challenge Competition. 🙂
11 November 2008 will be the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day…. the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning — the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.
Take a ride through any French town or village, and there’ll be a monument, or memorial to those lost in the First World War. Stop and read the names, and you’ll see that a lot of families lost more than one. Yet the French equivalent of the poppy, the paper cornflower whose blue colour recalls the French sky-blue uniforms, is rarely seen in the buttonholes of television presenters or politicians, and it is almost impossible to find one on sale.
Every year, a dwindling number of first world war veterans attend the Arc de Triomphe wreath-laying ceremony but this year none of the surviving 15 Frenchmen – aged between 105 and 109 – are well enough to take part.
Well, I’ll be doing my tiny bit tomorrow…. sporting a flower and a ribbon. Lest we forget.
You know what it’s like. Trying to get some form. Taking the nasty medicine that is hard training. Coming back from rides with aching legs, sore back, head done in. But you just know it’s got to be done. This is when you pay for the good days.
Like yesterday, working hard, going nowhere, can’t seem to get on top of the gear, off the pace, behind schedule, headwind all the way around, chewin’ on the handlebars. Big races coming up, want to do well. If it was easy it wouldn’t be worth doing would it? Plus, the pleasure and satisfaction will be directly proportional to the pain and dis-satifaction I have right now. Push on! 🙂
Yep, it was my first real break, I was fourteen at the time, crashed my bike! Some things don’t change eh? Anyway, actually, it was a motorbike, a scrambler, a 250 Cotton works frame with leading-link forks around a 250cc Villiers engine. I used to thrash about on it over Puxton which was an old gravel pit.
We used to time each other around a circuit. On this particular day I was going like a nutter, got slightly more airborne than I should have, and stacked it. Broke my right wrist, easy diagnosis as I could see it was broke. After a few weeks in plaster the doctors decided it wasn’t healing so they were gonna plate it. I spent the next few weeks with my arm in plaster up past my elbow. Now, here’s the funny, strange but true bit…… because I couldn’t bend my elbow I couldn’t wipe my bum! Couldn’t reach see, so had to teach myself to wipe left handed. To this day, as a right-handed person I still wipe left-handed! 🙂 Can you imagine what a stroke of luck that was when years later I broke my right shoulder?
Talking of years later, Puxton got built on, the playground of my youth gone forever.
Had a new x-ray taken down at St Junien hospital yesterday, followed by a consultation with the doctor. It’s healing well, but it’ll need a lot more time. Have a look at the x-ray yourself, see if you can see the progress.
I’m wearing a strap that holds my shoulders back tight. I asked if i could have a spare one so that one could get washed while i wear the other (like on the turbo or something!). He took a look at the one I already have, decided it wasn’t tight enough, so gave me a new one and strapped my shoulders back tighter than ever! Next visit – two weeks hence.
BTW – I ain’t feeling sorry for myself over this. No one forces me to ride a bike, I do it ‘cos I want to. I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity. I’m happy with my lot. 🙂
Would you like to ride with the ROCC? Well this Saturday you’ll have the chance. It’s the ‘Rochechouart Olympic Club Cyclo’ half day velo sortie. There’ll be different length circuits to choose from ranging for 35km up to 100km, with ravitalments (food stops) enroute. All are welcome, the pace is friendly, you’ll be riding through some beautiful countryside, with some fabulous company, so why not come and join us?
Meet at the ‘Maison de Temps Libre’ in Rochechouart on Saturday 28th June at 13:30, for a 14:00 start. Helmets compulsory.
See you there? C’est ROCC’n’Rouler! oui? 🙂
Carla has her picture in the local paper. Following the first place of the Haute Vienne at the nationals at Mazamet a local reporter showed up at the Ronde des Sangliers VTT rando. Carla had her picture taken, and had a short interview (in French). The article describes her as “La charmante britannique Carla Bennett!”. I think i’d agree with that! 🙂
Got some new shoes courtesy of Pearce Cycles and Specialized. They look fabulous, I’m loving the ‘Boa rotary and Powerzone lacing systems’, very easy to use and adjust. They feel very light, so I weighed them. They’re 379g (size 45), that’s some 50g lighter than my old ones. Mind you, my old ones, which have been and still are brilliant, might be holding a little moisture from Sunday’s damp outing.
Fitting the cleats – It can be difficult getting the cleats set up on new shoes, but I’m lucky in as much as I’m staying with the same manufacturer, so all I have to do is copy the setup from my old ones. Also i’m lucky in that I just set the cleats in the middle of the slot, in the middle of the shoe, and don’t suffer any problems. I’m so average innit? However, I do feel more comfy with my left foot turned out slightly more than my right foot. I dunno why.
To help me line my cleats up I use a 12mm spanner. It fits just nice on the back of a Shimano cleat making alignment and micro-adjustments easier. I can see where the end of the spanner is on the old shoe, and set the new one up the same. Simple. I use a little Copaslip anti-sieze grease on the threads of the bolts.
New Shoes tip – Whenever I get new biking shoes I always phase them in. So I’ll wear them on a couple of recovery rides first, then shorter training sessions and so on. I’ll do this over a period of about a month. Legs with a lot of miles in them don’t like change, even small ones.
Scrimpers tip – Shimano cleats are the same for left and right, but once fitted they don’t wear the same. When the cleats start to wear and feel a little sloppy in the pedals I take them off and swap them over, left for right. It’s easy to do because they fit in exactly the same place, and you get more wear for your pair!