Nearly there...ing

Odo = 38.6 Miles in 5 days. Longest Trip = 15 Miles. Max Speed in trip = 27.1 mph.

Grazes = 3. Cars annoyed = 40. Annoying cars = 35. MTBs overtaken = 8.

Fear of inbox = 100%.

I, Parent

Apart from the 3 day sojourn to Devon, where M&D helped out, it's been me & Flo against the world rain for the past week.

We did a lot, but here's some highlights.

Playmobil: Pirates vs Horses (and ubiquitous Fairy)

We went to look at the stream at the bottom of the lane...apparently it's now a lake (as are the fields either side of the road..."it's a beach!", Flo declared)

This here is the infamous "Leopard Cake". Sure, it might look like a shop bought, white, cat cake with added spots (by Grandad & Flo) but I can assure you, this is a leopard cake. I told Flo we'd have a cake when she was 1 metre tall. She is 1 metre tall. She wanted a leopard.

Hell'a'Yella!

Moar Yella....and proof it didn't always rain.

Uncle Joe provided an iconic t-shirt for Flo and awesome nehru type hippy shirt for me!

Flo was so excited to get into the wetsuit and in the water that nobody noticed it was on backwards...

And then we came home and fished for rubbish in the park....

and RAN!

Rage Against The Harmonica

Should have got the video started sooner, but I was laughing too much....Tek, this one's for you...

Flo "adds something" to RATM!

5 from 500

Kneeewww!

Yep. This is the 495th post!

Flo and I are off to Devon later this week, so I'll maybe throw up some pictures and with a fair wind and a bit of luck I'll hit 500 just the other side of my 35th birthday.

Unless Flo kills me.

Looks more like sleep than death.

Flo found a pile of comics in my room and asked to look at "the magazines"...she likes the Freak Brothers best....attagirl!

Peace out y'all!

My New Best Mate & Favourite Enemy

Cycled to work and back today. Mainly because it's Friday and I had this cunning plan to be logged in, ready and working by 7am so I could leave (feasibly) at 3pm...It worked! Mainly because I woke up at 5, sorted myself out, did the uphill and had a quick shower at work...oh, and I turned only the lights for my "pod" on and listened to the overfill beep on the coffee machine until the aircon (hoho!) came on at 7:30.

After a day filled with subduing french panic (i think), trying to figure out where to put the Romanians and some funky XSLT/Queuing tech, meeting some other (unrelated) Romanians and the fantastic Mr Sked offering to post a load of PC parts, I cycled home on a different (and somewhat randomly chosen route). A good route!

Only one significant uphill, which is thankfully shallow (ish) and short. Loads of flat (as flat as it gets in Bristol), and some mental downhills...during the best/steepest of which the recent vague squeaking from the stem manifested itself in a complete 360 of the bars. Very disconcerting suddenly having to brake using the heel of your hand, especially at speed*.

Luckily, there was a Halfords at the bottom of the hill so I picked up some Allen (Hex) Keys and sorted that mother out. Also raised seat 1/2 inch for greater leverage....What did I learn? High single gears == wrenching with the arms!!

Unfortunately while I was cycling in a more sane and relaxed manner round some of the local streets a van came hooning round a corner (blindsided by parked vehicles, mind) and almost took me off (thanks ears! you work great!!) and I smacked my knee right in the "dead spot" as I viciously swung left to avoid him...not being able to use one leg is not good on a bike and thus I slowly dropped onto the pavement. Saving myself (though not my dignity) by stamping out my numb, collapsing, left leg at the last minute and getting rammed in the arse by my seat...

Not so sure about getting clip style pedals/shoes now...

There are no pictures today, I'm too busy swearing at traffic!


* According to CardioTrainer on the G2 my top speed was 42mph. I don't trust it, so lets say it was 35mph at this point....very very steep & just the right kind amount of swoopy! No traffic...I must get one of those computery things....

Baboo & Biscuits

Apparently, Flo wanted to send me a picture about some biscuits or something....


Thanks Baboo!

PS. Yes I did cycle to work this morning. Yes it was 8 miles. Yes it was mostly upwards. Yes I did it in about 1 hour. Yes I am fucking mental.

Pony Games

Nope. Not some new kind of kink I'm into...

...or maybe it is...

The Steed* by virtue of the fact that it has no stupid dérailleur to go whirr-clickety-clackity-whirr-dzzz-clack and that it has skinny, slick tyres making minimal contact with the tarmac (not also, inflated to 105 psi!) is virtually silent. Seriously, the only sound is a faint buzz from the tyres...and me panting for breath.

This has led to me developing a new "game". Hooning it down the cyclepath surprising the day-glo commuters on their 'mountain bikes' from behind and hoping to hear a "tsk tsk"...I started out ringing my bell (honestly!), but the fucker broke on me. Then I tried shouting "On yer left!", but that just resulted in them looking round and wobbling into my path...

Surprising them is much more fun!

Hoping for no rain tomorrow morning as I'm planning to do the entire route to work, which is about 7 or 8 miles. Approximately 2/3 of which is uphill...

...then we'll see who's laughing**.

The ride home should be awesome (again, assuming no rain...it'd be like trying to ride a single ice skate)...and a cold, cold beer awaits at the end of it.




*Look Skeddy, you're just going to have to live with it...it's a steel horse I ride! ;-)
** Clue: It wont be me.

Das Boot

Nooooooooo Daaaaaddddyyyy-uuh!

A Psalm of Life

I recommend you read that poem (I think it's Longfellow...though I might be confusing it with someone else), anyway it was a bit heavy going to transcribe here I thought...and, well...I just wanted to mention one of the (many, many, many) things I am thankful to Luc for:

Being able to swear properly in French. And I mean stun your mother to death profanity!* I blush when I explain some of these phrases to my English colleagues.

You're still a crazy french connard!

RIP.


* Seriously not joking, the 1st time I used Luc's favourite phrase on a parisien taxi driver, he literally turned into the friendliest, most helpful cabbie I have ever had in Paris. And that says something!!