Thursday, December 28, 2006

20 miles - excellent

90 in 6 days! What can I say.

I would show you some photos that I took on my phone but I can't find my bluetooth dongle. So apologies - they weren't that exciting anyway.

R and myself met in Westerham at 10. It was like a Sunday morning - nothing like a working day although I know of only a handful of people working these three days. We cycled up some very steep hills and after the last one which rose around 100m we were rewarded with a fantastic view of Bough Beech Reservoir where we stopped for a satsuma. I was knackered by this point but we did do 20 miles in two hours which is an improvement over the last three days.

We returned to Westerham 10 minutes over our parking time. A Traffic Warden turned up as we were loading our bikes but he was ok that even though we were over time we had bought a ticket and he clocked someone else instead who had parked without one. I have met less friendly Wardens in my time which I think is a compliment.

While I make this entry I am watching Fanny Craddock cooking for Christmas on BBC4. She's been dead for about 20 years I'd say but she seems a bit of a nazi really, a bit of an old fashioned Ramsay. I do remember her vaguely, mostly for the fact that her husband appeared on tv with her and she nagged him throughout the whole program.....not much has changed has it ;-)

R and I had our annual New Year conversation about
a) how much we hate work
b) how much we would like to give up work
c) how we say this every year
d) how we never do anything about it

Well maybe this is the year....!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Another 35 miles, 70 miles in total

Following on from my 35 miles on Christmas Eve I am pleased to announce A FURTHER 35 miles on Boxing Day! However I was pretty much zonked out afterwards and slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon (very sociable!). I completed the second batch in 3 hours and 15, a saving of 15 mins on the Christmas Eve effort. We played "Buzz" on PS2 in the evening, an excellent game I can heartily recommend.

I am still worried about how I will able to up 35 to 70 miles in one day, but I am convinced this will happen in good time. Cycling around the very rural Kent countryside is much more enjoyable than the semi rural roads I am used to just outside of SE London. Not that I fancy moving to the countryside, too much jam and Jerusalem! And everyone knows each other's business - not a good idea.

Off for an hour's easy cycling tomorrow with R. No work for another week. Fantastic.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

35 miles!

35 miles around the Sandwich area over some empty roads and lovely countryside. I am impressed with the undulating touring and fancy coming back here soon. i am also going to do the same journey for Boxing Day.
I still need to double this amount of miles and treble this over three days. But i am feeling confident about the journey as well.

More training around this area instead of SE London is called for.
And i saw these two very sad tvs today at the edge of a field. However at least they were good company for eachother. I hope they will be recycled for the good of the planet.

Merry Christmas

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Relief at last; sprouts

Finally the endless round of after work socialising has stopped and my body is thanking me for this already! Just two days till Christmas and I am already planning what I hope will be two good training sessions. Tomorrow and Christmas Day I intend to do 20 miles on each. This will allow for a larger Christmas Dinner and less feelings of guilt. Also I shall be cycling on different roads which will be a welcome change even though there will be no other attendees. R assures me that cycling tout seul is often quite pleasant as there is no need to keep op with anyone.

I was reading that the worse your sprouts taste the better they are for you in terms of anti carcinogenic properties etc. - so some comfort there then although I actually really like them on my Christmas dinner and cannot understand why the eldest (and youngest too - the revulsion of sprouts cuts across all age groups) dislikes them with an intensity unseen with any other food.

Right, now for the last minute purchases...

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

You can't milk a cow with your hands in your pants!!

My fondness for spam emails....this is from one extolling the virtues of some rubbish stock called Motion Pictures Group...read on Mcduff!!!!

........................................................................

What goes around comes around. Where there's a will, there's a relative !
Curiosity killed the cat. To kill two birds with one stone. Do unto others as you would have done to you.
Christian New Testament Pain is only weakness leaving the body. U.S. Marines proverb Power attracts the corruptible. -from Dune series, Frank Herbert
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. -- Jesus Christ He who dies with the most toys is nevertheless still dead.
Meaning: Admit it when there is some good in an adversary. You can't milk a cow with your hands in your pants. All hat and no cattle.
You need to bait the hook to catch the fish. From William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar There's no arguing with the barrel of a gun. Rolling stone gathers no moss.
Like water off a duck's back. Alternative: Treat 'im rough, you get you muff.--Ali G Alternative: Red sky at night: sailor's' delight. Red sky in the morn: sailor's be warned.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will break my spirit. The law is a jealous mistress. Professor Ferdinand Fairfax Stone, Tulane Law School, early and mid 1960s.
Possible Interpretation: Do not rush into what you do not know. You can't grease a pig so many times that he can't be greased one more time. No pain, no gain.
Think before you speak. The more you Know, the more you know you don't Know Possible Interpretation: You cannot enjoy two mutually-exclusive benefits of the same situation. Misery loves company.
Variant: Ask and ye shall receive Example: When our car ran out of gas, we were up a creek without a paddle. Alternate: If something is worth doing, someone will have already done it.
It's never too late to mend. Smile, and the world smiles with you. Cry, and you cry alone.
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. It's no use crying over spilt milk. Possible Interpretation: Women do not like the nice guys.
No man is an island In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Pain is only weakness leaving the body. US. Marines proverb People who live in glass houses have to answer the door He that lives too fast, goes to his grave too soon.
Think before you speak. Alternate Version: the ironic thing about life is that you never get out alive. Who guards the guards? Variant: Ornithological specimen of corresponding plumage congregate gregariously
Love is blind. Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.--Groucho Marx A penny saved is a penny earned Ben Franklin The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. Knowledge is power.
Kill not the goose that laid the golden egg. Well begun is half done. Purely bluster and no substance. The teacher has not taught, until the student has learned. -Winnie Parkerson, Nacogdoches County, TX

Freezing Fog

The country has frozen over with a huge drop in temperatures, freezing fog and no flights out of Heathrow. What is it with this place that we get near to zero degrees and it all goes down the pan.

My liver is taking a pounding. Roll on post Christmas when the endless rounds of lunchtime and post-work drinks will stop. Suddenly the January detox is looking appealing. I am in a constant hangover. My eldest thinks it's all a sad sign of middle age. This is not doing my fitness campaign any good.

And it's affecting my blogging - my creative juices have not even started to flow so I will stop now, an early( ish ) evening awaits.

5 days to Christmas day. I am strangely excited - not felt like this for years and I know by Boxing Day I will be wishing the whole thing to be over!

Monday, December 18, 2006

My sidebar keeps disappearing

Apparently it's because I have a link that is too long but I can't see what it is...any ideas? My sidebar is right at the bottom of the blog, if you want to know...although it only happens on certain browsers...

Cloud Interlude

some lovely clouds on this new photo sharing website - and it's free apparently. Better than Flickr, no monthly upload limit and no fee if you wanna load more than 20 photos a month. Click on the link "Cloud Interlude" above...

And while we're on the subject of clouds...check out the
CAS.org

Mmm, I love clouds, I've been bought my own membership of the CAS too.

My First Sunday with no training

I was off visiting the parents for pre-Xmas present exchange this weekend so no chance to train yesterday, the first Sunday without training for many months. I shall have to double up my efforts next week. I fully intend to go cycling on Christmas eve and / or Christmas day next weekend which will break up the whole weekend of excessive eating and drinking and will mean I won't feel guilty this year about consuming my bodyweight in food and drink over four days.

I've had my first donation to my charity website! Only £950 to go!

Friday, December 15, 2006

youngest childs morning questions

"so what is Jesus's surname??"
Me "Well he hasn't got one"
"Yes he has, it's Christ"
"I'm not sure if that's quite right"
"Yes it is and he's got another one, Emanuel."
By this time I've given up, no way can I prove anything here. I blame the school nativity play - far simpler when it was non secular! Now its Jesus this and shepherd that ;~)

Thursday, December 14, 2006

I am hungover

This is not good. I think my hangover started before I went to bed last night. And now I have struggled for 9 hours and it’s 4.30 and I’m only just feeling human again. There must be a correlation between getting older and how severe your hangover is.

 

The cause of my delicate state today is that I was out with former colleagues from a few years ago - N2 was there. He is definitely doing this ride as well and has already started his own just giving page. He is going to plug my just giving page too which is nice. We were trying to cajole other people into joining us. One of the ladies expressed a mild interest but I think she was just going through the motions. Still she may join us so watch this space.

 

N1 is now in Oz for three weeks and I’m not sure if he is going to be joining us. We shall find out in the New Year on his return.

 

I have to go. I need some strong tea. It must be strong – always. None of this “bag in for a minute and loads of milk” business.

 

My final rant is that they have introduced some sort of software which determines if you should be looking at certain websites. Hence, Beta Blogger and Gmail are now no longer allowed. Who decides all this stuff? I thought this sort of thing only happened to people in countries run by oppressive regimes?

 

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Quick Update

27 miles on Sunday. It was freezing! So cold for the first half hour and the last half out of three hours. After two hours of lovely countryside riding Me and C stopped for two chocolate bars in one go outside the most horrific newsagents/confectioners/Off License in the world in a hell hole called Stone. I told him we were never going to cycle round there again and that part of NE Kent is quite lifeless and not very picturesque - we somehow found ourselves in this area and on the road to Bluewater which was very scary - all human life in their souped up numbers's bombing it at around 70 mph across four lanes of traffic to get to shopping heaven. I gave up trying to cross the lanes and walked my bike across the road instead. We need to plan a more rural route - this was like cycling down Regent street at 5pm.

N1 is off to Oz tomorrow for three weeks and I am off to the coast this weekend so it may be a while before we are all gathered together for a ride - probably the new year. However I have fitted a bike rack to the car and intend to be cycling around the coast on Christmas Eve! Supposedly. N2 has yet to join us but has signed up apparently.

I have my photos ready for the charity website - Dr Sex on legs apparently particularly in my Borats. I'll spare you the pleasure at the moment..

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Other folks' blogs

I have two blogs I read avidly, one from Hong Kong and the other from a guy called Russell Davies, he of the Eggs Bacon Chips and Beans website. He seems to be able to blog about 10 times a day and has several sub blogs on typepad. In fact blogging seems to be his whole day's work - fantastic! I could do with some of that really. He even blogs about his job and makes it sound appealing which I am most envious of seeing as I cannot even bring myself to bore people about the drudgery of working for a city based custodian. Even now I'm falling asleep talking about it.

My Hong Kong correspondent effortlessly delivers regular updates of life on the island and all very fascinating it is too, despite appearing to work for a similar large financial global corporation as well. This is in no way written to avoid dropping down her list of blogs which appear on her blog ;-)

I need to get into some sort of creative role. I am too practical in my work and home roles. My belief is that each person is either creative or practical and that it is rare to see someone with both traits...I'd like a job in IT doing crazy or interesting bloggy things or even stuff with sites like Flickr, not one writing dull requirements documents for Banking systemzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Indecent Weather

Man, it's so windy here, although still warm. There has been reports of a tornado in NW London around Kensal Rise. Goodness, global warming has much to answer for but I don't think the weather is as dramatic as in other parts of the world.

I am hoping the weather will improve before Sunday's 35 mile extravaganza. I had enough of the wet weather last weekend and this wind will only make matters worse. Tonight is another night that would be good to have a nice warm plate of shepherds pie.

A few beers with friends last night up from the south coast. We started at The Anchor for a very agrreable pint of Guinness and then headed over the road to Waggamamas for a decent plate of tucker. I quite WM's but it's hardly authentic any more, there seems to be one on every corner in London, a bi like All Bar One (or All Bar Bland as they are known). Still they do serve a decent Japanese black beer.

The eldest has just come in from school and is telling me that at school he and his friends use Babelfish to translate English swear words into foreign languages - what has the British schooling system come to?!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Another Product to leave London town

First Guinness stops brewing here and moves it all to Dublin and then comes another blow - HP is to be made in Holland! ...unless it can be saved - help keep HP in London!

Actually I prefer ketchup myself, particularly on a bacon sandwich, and Lea And Perrins on cheese on toast. In fact I don't really like HP at all. but that's not the point is it?

I must retire now, writing about HP sauce at midnight is not a good sign.

Before I do I would just like to point out that the biggest doss in an office is offering to put up the Christmas decorations (usually in a tatty old cardboard box full of dusty old items bought from Tesco's 20 years ago including very fake looking tree). I would normally take part but just sat back and watched how several others staff members managed to stretch this chore out over a whole afternoon - the swines. Very political, you must always ensure that all desks are under at least two decs.

This was nearly my first post where I didn't mention cycling.

good night.

E-mail addresses

For everything connected with google and blogger and flickr it appears that you have to have one of "their" email addresses set up to do anything remotely connected with their services and sites. Time was when you could have one email address and set up a user id and then verify it from your one sacred email address. But not now, oh no. You must have loads of email addresses that you are never going to use or either use it to ping all the incoming mail to your lovely prized main email address.

Am I making much sense? Am I the only who longs for the days of just one email address (oh, and maybe your work email address although they are generally unsuitable to provide as an id) and hundreds of user ids?

It's all just more clutter. And all more centralisation which originally the internet was supposed to be a good antidote to. Not anymore, the big boys are taking over!

Anyway as this is a cycling blog I had better add an entry - so here goes. Briefly:
I am not going cycling till next Sunday.
But I have ordered my roof rack. Exciting.
And I do not believe I look like Borat in my shorts.
I have set up my charity giving Webpage for the NAS but the thing is I need a suitable picture of myself for it. Some wag suggested posting the Borat picture. Some people aren't funny.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Another Beastly Sunday, weather wise

On retiring on Staurday night it was horrificly windy and rainy. Sunday was worse with the rain even heavier.

I could have stayed in bed and called C to call the weekly ride off but NO - I got ready and headed over to his by 9am. N1 and N2 were not available this week. The rain still tipping down we waited until 10 drinking tea and eating the traditional marmite on toast when blue skies suddenly appeared around the NW Kent area.

Our journeys generally consist of ambling around the rural roads south west of Dartford (which are always busy), stopping at the tops of hills for a drink of water before progressing onwards. Yesterday this wa s true with the additional hurdle of negotiating the very flooded country lanes (still busy). Most drivers were quite kind but to all the tw*ts in vans, BMWs and 4 by 4's who revved up to pass us and then drove past us even faster so we got completely drenched, I hope you all rot in hell.

What is it with BMW drivers in the NW Kent area? Are they lacking in the trouser department (the male ones that is)? Do they have something to prove? I see no esteem to owning one of these wretched items - give me an Orange Camper Van any day!

Anyway we did 20 miles which was 15 less than we wanted but under the conditions I say we did pretty well. And all in two hours. I need some mudguards though, my Borats* were wet through and so were my feet. And I need a bike rack as well for the car, this project is costing me more than the GDP of a small country.

Finally I have decided to post more often to this blog as my very loyal Hong Kong correspondent is being ruthless and only plugging other blogs if they post regularly. Blimey there's only so much one can say about cycling so maybe I'll have to introduce other subjects...........



*so called because others believe that my cycling shorts resemble his green outfit - http://uk.media.movies.ign.com/media/833/833754/img_3661503.html - I don't agree myself but have gone along with this comparison