When I woke up and saw the weather this morning I didn’t think anyone would turn up, but they did! Just after we set off the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and we had a great big dirty ride.
On our return Lindsey had hot soup, hot mince pies, and hot tea waiting for us!
Thanks to everyone who came along, thanks to Lindsey for the refreshments, and thanks to Dave for letting me ride the Enduro test bike.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
At last, I’m back on my bike, and it’s official. No more furtive forrays felling guilty. It’s allowed, but there are conditions, like not falling off, or overdoing it (as if!).
So I’m born again as a cyclist, but this time into the ranks of the Singlespeeders. It’s a purer form of cycling more Zen like, more ‘at one on one’ so to speak. Just man and machine in flowing harmony, feeling more with less, effortless, efficient. Or to quote Supawal, a man ahead of his time if there ever was one, “A journey of deliverance of the second time in a child’s innocence!”.
More importantly, riding a Singlespeed stops me from slapping it in a big gear and winding it up on the descents, and tailwind bits. Having only one gear means having to work hard uphill, wrestling the bike with arms and legs. And, when it’s just too steep to climb, getting off and pushing ensures a more thorough work out. I was thinking of fitting some suspension forks, having no suspension means feeling every bump. But, this is a good thing, it stops me form going downhill fast. Maybe you should try it…you know…like if your’e goin’ downhill fast.
rallenta e amerai a lungo,
I went back to work last week. This was my first week back in the office since the end of July, and it hit me hard. Monday was fine, I’d cleared hundreds of spurious emails from my mailbox, and had my first meeting by lunchtime, it was good to be back. But as the week went on, I went downhill, backache, sore shoulders, hands, and a thumping headache combined with an overwhelming desire to sleep. By Thursday my shoulder had swollen up. I took Friday off!
On Friday I went out for a gentle bike ride along the canal towpath on my Kona singlespeed. The autumn colours against the clear blue sky were fabulous. Within 10 minutes I started to feel so much better, and by the time I reached Kinver I had completely regenerated. Why do I need to work?
Last weekend I went along to watch some of my friends and rivals competing in a League of Veteran Racing Cyclists road race. The LVRC caters for racers who are over 40 yrs old. In fact you cannot hold an LVRC licence, or take part in their races until you have had your 40th birthday! Now don’t get the wrong idea, a load of old codgers, making a spectacle of themselves in ridicolous lycra, this aint. Far from it, with ‘ex pros’, former international, and national champions riding it is intensely competitive. With the luxury of semi-retirement or even retirement some of these riders train harder now than when they were ‘pros’. Furthermore, although some of them can’t remember where they parked the car, they can remember exactly who crossed the finish line in front of who, and by how much.
Anyway, while I was taking a few pictures of the action, and shouting words of encourgement to the riders I began to notice that there was a superabundance of attractive women in the vicinity of the race finish area, and the race headquarters. Now I’ve been to veteran races before, and on sunny days before, but never noticed this phenomenon before. I started thinking that it maybe a function of me not racing. This being the case I might have to consider ‘not racing’ again ‘cos it surely beats looking at the lycra clad arses of the lads in the bunch!
see ya out there soon,
It was my 48th birthday last weekend, and it was made very special by two young ladies. Firstly I had a visit from Eleanor , who I haven’t seen for ages, and is nearly one year old now. We went for a birthday picnic, and she entertained me with her antics. She’s a little showstopper. Secondly I was given a picture by the little known, yet incredibly talented young artist, Grace Allan. How is it that some impressionist artists can say so much with so little?
The West Midland Cyclo-cross league starts this weekend. This will be the first time in about 10 years that I won’t be riding, and I am gonna miss it, it’s the filthiest, friendliest, fastest, fun you can have through the winter. I wish all the riders good luck, and I’ll be along at some of the events to give support.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deed could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood. At best, he knows the triumph of high achievement; if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
see ya out there soon,
Six weeks now since I crashed my bike, and….
Great news! I can play my guitar! OK, so I’m struggling with the Nile Rogers funky stuff, but widdly bluff is no problem. For those who don’t know, I started playing guitar when I was recovering from a bike (motorbike) crash when I was seventeen. Hmmmmm, there’s a theme here, I’m sure.
Yesterday I rode my bike again for the first time. It wasn’t easy, and I feel very sore, but it was great, up and down the road twice, about 200m of cycling bliss.
Also yesterday I was lucky enough to be taken out for the afternoon by my good friends Lyndsey and Dave Pearce. We went to see the 2004 bikes from Specialized. There was some incredible stuff on show, and I found myself earmarking thousands of imaginary pounds for my 2004 bike stable. Modern bikes, we were told, have a brain, with intelligence! Yeah, but they’re still ridden by cyclists, right?
Yesterday I saw the consultant who put my shoulder back together. Mr Cool (his real name! how cool is that!) is an amiable straight-talking Dutchman who tells it like it is. He sent me to get a new X-ray, then took a lot of time and trouble to explain to me what it showed, what I might expect, and what the next step was. I think it is incredible that there are people like Mr Cool who have the knowledge, experience and skill to cut us open, and fix us back together, when we come apart. Even more incredible, in our modern hi-tech age that they fix us back together with little more than screws and string!
Mr Cool gave me the go ahead to give my arm some light work, and I have been enjoying some firsts. Among today’s firsts I have done my trousers up, ate with a knife and fork at the same time, and held the phone to my right ear. Small steps, but progress.
At half-past six this morning I held a coat hanger as if it were handlebars, and imagined I was riding my bike. Still a way off yet, but best to practice eh?
The ‘cut’ or rather the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs about a quarter mile from where I live. I have fished in it, canoed on it, even swam in it, but most of all I have ridden my bike along it’s towpath. The best stretch, in my opinion, is the section from Wolverley to Swindon. Any off-road bike ride from ‘our’ house would almost certainly contain a section of the ‘cut’. Yet in all the years I have used, and enjoyed it I have never known much about it, until now. Thanks to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society for the following……
“The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal was an early canal, being opened throughout for traffic in May 1772. Built by the great canal engineer James Brindley, it was part of his ‘Grand Cross’, a far-sighted scheme to link the ports of Hull, Liverpool and Bristol by connecting up the rivers Mersey, Trent and Severn.The total length of the canal from Stourport to Great Haywood, its junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal, is 46 miles. The canal climbs from the River Severn, following the valleys of the River Stour and then the Smestow Brook before reaching its summit level of 340 feet at Compton near Wolverhampton. Having Crossed the water-shed of Central England, the canal then follows the Penk and the Sow valleys on its way to Great Haywood and the Trent Valley.A vast variety of goods including coal, steel and carpets were carried along the canal in commercial carrying days. This declined rapidly after the Second World War and by the 1950s, traffic had more or less ceased and the British Transport Commission gave notice that they wished to close the canal completely.
However thanks to the efforts of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society, which was formed in 1959, the canal was saved and has now become one of the major leisure waterways of the country.”
They’ve certainly done a great job as this must be one of the best preserved, and maintained sections of ‘cut’ in the country.
Took my first real shower in three weeks yesterday, and it was great! See, I’m allowed to take my sling off now, and I have some new exercises to do. So progress is good.
I’m able to get ‘out and about’ a bit now for some gentle exercise. So, naturally for me, the first place I had to go was Kinver Edge. Why? Because the countryside there is stunningly beautiful in all seasons. I never tire of being ‘on the edge’, it is a perfect place that has had a spell on me since the very first time I went there when I was 6yrs old. Yes, my love affair with Kinver has been a long-term one, and that’s the best kind.
Meanwhile, my shoulder injury is progressing well. I’m getting quite confident at the exercises I was given. I’ll be seeing the consultant again next Monday, and I can’t wait. Talking of not being able to wait, Carla and my brother Andrew can’t wait until I get back on my bike so that they can take it in turns to give me a good pasting! Pay back time!
Still working my way through the computer books except that I am now into one of the best books I have ever read. I am so impressed with Designing With Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman that I’d say it was essential reading for anyone who has anything to do with web pages.
Thanks to Zeldman I now understand the need for Tantek’s ‘box model hack’, for the ‘be nice to Opera’ rule, and why doctype switching can make such a difference. Yes, it’s “goodbye comp based, and hello rules based design”, for me from now on.
Hang on….. have I lost the plot? now where did I put my anorak?
PS.This week I have been mostly listening to the kids playing in the street. They’re having a great time!
I have taken to riding in the back seat of my car, seeing that I can’t drive, and me an’ my sling don’t fit in the front. It gives you a completely different perspective on what’s going on. I just let the wonderful Carla get on with the driving while I relax, and enjoy the ride.
Went back to hospital on monday to see the consultant, he was pleased with my progress. Removed my dressings, and took my stitches out. I’ll have a lovely scar to add to my collection. I was told that I have to wear the sling/brace for 6 weeks. After that there’s gonna be a lot of hard work to get my shoulder mobile again.
Reg Haig is out of hospital now, and making excellent progress. I reckon he’ll be back on his bike before me! Mind you he did say he was going to give the ‘off-road’ stuff a miss for a while until he gets his confidence back.
While I’m off work I’ve decided to make the most of it, and I’m working my way through some ‘heavy’ computer books. The one I’m reading at the moment might as well be called ‘cure for insomnia’, as it only takes about 20 minutes to send me to sleep.
Gave in, and watched ‘Neighbours’ today!
PS.This week I have been mostly listening to ‘Learn French’ with Michel Thomas! On CD 3 now!
