It's back for the first time this year I've ridden everywhere this week doing errands, no fun yet but that's for the weekend, just enjoying the feeling of it all clicking and actually feeling quite good everytime I ride, about time!   Read the rest of the entry...

I rode bikes for fun, on Saturday for the first day since November, I'm not sure why it's taken so long for it to happen to be honest, I guess Christmas drinking, beer festivals and the coldest winter for thirty years all played some part. I guess being slack may have been a contributory factor as well, last week I decided to not commute to see if that might enthuse me again, it did as well as the prospect of riding a new bike. A touch of a hangover and squally rain showers the precursor of the big storm ruled out Saturday morning, then the calm before the storm arrived about 2pm, I did some bike preparation, and left about an hour later. Spot on 20 miles at an average of 11mph, not too shabby for a cross ride in grim conditions. Bikes really are ace.   Read the rest of the entry...

I've been to the Orient beer festival and now I'm rammed fuck yeah ;0)   Read the rest of the entry...

It's lovely I might take some pictures of it, or I might just taunt you with tellimng you all how ace it is. My new cross bike is ace, posting pictures is too much effort so I've decided on the latter option, it fits just right and goes like a dream! A huge thankyou to Rob for chauffering me about the East Midlands to collect it and suggesting a stunning real ale pub for lunch, days don't get much better. Oh go on then.... [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Hmmm lovely, looks nicer in the sun though!"][/caption]   Read the rest of the entry...

Is this the most perfect beer ever brewed I believe so, it's like drinking pink grapefruit juice with kind of a really nice beery taste as well it's just great. Only one barrel left apparently, looks like that's my Sunday afternoon sorted then. It has to be said that beer seems to be the only thing that's made this winter even vaguely bearable. I find it strange that as my life seems to last less and less time, winter this year seems to have gone on forever. We should be up at 8-9c we're still at 5c I'm stil in winter gloves it sucks .   Read the rest of the entry...

Not ridden again, can't find the motivation or the want to ride at the moment, I did at least ride to pick my train tickets up on Saturday which is something. I'd planned to ride today but getting up to grey just killed the idea straight off. I don't think commuting is helping I seem to spend my time on a bike damp, cold, covered in road grime and that's with mudguards. I think the last time I actually enjoyed, really enjoyed riding a bike was in November last year, which is a bit worrying really, since then it's just seemed like two wheeled misery. Still time is only wasted if you've not enjoyed your time, eating reheated home made enchilada's and refried beans and watching cross racing isn't a bad way to spend a winter Sunday. I should probably stop feeling guilty about not riding as it's not making things any better, I'm rather suspecting that the worry of an impendinf flat purchase is maybe weighing large as well, I'm just hoping it all comes off so I don't have to drag bikes up and down stairs and that I can clean them in my garden...   Read the rest of the entry...

January has past and it's warming up felt the first heat of the sun this year today, although the temperature dropped away considerably as the afternoon wore on. Still I managed everything I wanted to do today, bike cleaned train tickets purchased, bike component emergencies averted thanks to Timmy at Sideways, he really is like the bike superhero.   Read the rest of the entry...

No not daft puppetry pigs a description of tonights commute home. It was clear as a bell today and lung burningly cold, when I finished work I wondered what the chances were of me making it home before darkness proper. A clear run down fleet street and the attempt was good to go a large gear pushed, and gaps and lights pushed all the way through hackney, more than my fair share of amber gambling and tight squeezes and just one kerb hop to escape trouble saw me reach Leabridge road. From then on it was just head down big ring punishment in the bike lane all the way along to my turn off, a rat run up a hill and through the village to the flat as I turned to look west the last vestiges of pink and orange were still visible, success,  the elation of the nights pulling out was short lived as the exertions began to tell. Into the warmth and everything seems just right the first really hard commute of the year with perhaps the biggest reward, what a brilliant end to a day at work, bikes are really truly marvelous things.   Read the rest of the entry...

I had quiate an early start yesterday and went out for  ride with Lea Valley CC, it wasthe slow group all very friendly, but it's actually confirmed that despite almost a month off my bike due to snow and bitterly cold weather I'm still a lot fitter than I actully give myself credit for. A really nice group of people though and I also learnt a nice way out to the back roads I like to use in Essex for solo rides, which is both easy to remember and not as nasty as some of the other ways I've gone. We called in at the excellent Hoghill Circuit, it's about 40 minutes away from home so just the right distance for me to get too for any cx races next season which is excellent, good cheap coffee as well, well filter and 70p a cup nice cake too although I didn't indulge. We minced about so long outside that my legs turned blue so after a bit of a pootle I shot off of the front to head home. I got lots of nice cheese in the groceries this week so after a shower I headed out to grab a baguette and ...  Read the rest of the entry...

Four days worth of commuting and a club run albeit a short one planned for Saturday, that's sounding a bit like the Family Fortunes "bing" to that question. I'm also feeling less like a fatty as well which is nice, oh and I don't feel quite so unwell when I start pushing the big gear on the way in to work. I've had a proper trip to the dentists as well this week some tooth hacking surgery required soon, that's going to smart no doubt. Interestingly my new dentist has loads of fancy high tech bits like a digital X Ray machine, which is proper cool, you can see exactly how knackered your teeth are which isn't quite so much fun.   Read the rest of the entry...