TalkTalk really is crap. I am sort of connected but the wireless keeps dropping out and the plug in modem takes three computer restarts before it figures out who I am.
I just thought I'd get that in. Oh there it goes again.
The next thing is of course the weather. Very windy and wet but not cold is the best way to describe it. It still hasn't dropped much into single figures but I'm sure it will ere long.
The wind and rain are more of an issue. November's a good month for storms and floods and it seems like all of Cumbria copped it this week and is now a large lake. It's slightly better darn sarf in that there are no floods yet.
I recommenced training this week with a couple of easy rides and a couple of tempo rides. The latter included one ride of 3hrs through the Mendips and yes, it was a bit blowy. My climbing's suffered in the last month but my average speed wasn't too bad: 29km/h. More or less what I was doing in late January this year over a similar loop at similar intensity.
The plan is to build it up through Dec/Jan/Feb, including a nice three week break in Oz. Simple. Although I hear it's 42 degrees in Sydney at the moment - not really good riding weather. You just can't win these days.
Speaking of not winning... did you know that if you're a bloke, binge drinking (defined as anything more than a thimbleful of low alcohol beer these days) will help you avoid getting coronary heart disease? Yes you'll probably get another type of heart disease and rot your brain into the bargain but at least you'll have done your best to reduce one risk.
As elfin safety teaches us, life is about reducing the risks to one's health, ie not dying. Where that leaves cycling I don't know. Was the wind today risky? Yep. Was I confident I could manage the risk, having done so many times before? Yep. Did I choose a less risky route, was I appropriately attired and did I use lights? Yep. There we go, one dynamic risk assessment.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Southgate and Rugby (league)
Oh 'tis fun to be back online permanently again. It's a terrible time-wasting addiction, worse than television. I curse TalkTalk thrice over.
As I haven't been riding much of late, I left the house on foot today. The quest was to see the new Southgate shopping centre in downtown Bath. Despite nearly exploding a year ago, Phase I was opened the other day and I wanted to see what the hype was about.
Southgate, Phase I. Luckily it didn't explode, or where would all those shoppers go?
Southgate, Phase I. 200 seats!
Southgate, Phase I
It doesn't look too bad, as far as shopping centres go. It's been built using sandstone cladding imported from Italy to give it that authentic ye olde Bath look. But in any case it's better than what used to be there, a hideous shopping mall constructed in the post-war period after Bath got bombed.
That said, I felt the powers that be could have been a bit more inventive. Why make it the same as the rest of Bath? Which - as an Australian couple on tour pointed out to me last year - looks like a collection of Masterton homes.
My idea could have been incorporated and would definitely have spiced things up. What this city needs is a statue of a jolly good dictator, like Joe Stalin.
But no, conservatism reigned. Their loss, I say.
Speaking of television, which I was at the start, I turned it on last weekend. And lo! Australia was playing against England in a Rugby League fixture. Probably on account of me being raised in Sydney, I think League is a much better game than Rugby Union because it doesn't get bogged down by a massive scrum every time someone gets tackled. That sort of talk is sacrilege in these 'ere parts and nearly got me excommunicated from Bath.
What I liked about this particular game is that not only did Australia win 26-16, a large number of the Aussies had beards. This reminded me of the good ol' days, and gave rise to the sort of nostalgia that you need to get through a slow Saturday afternoon.
Finally, I was fortunate enough to travel to Manchester last weekend for a free lunch at the Track World Cup. It took us 9hrs to get there and back and we saw three hours of racing (good). This was the result:
Andy Gale (the designated driver and one of our web developers), Simon Withers (C+ tech ed) and Dave Sayer (another of our web developers) sample the delights of a free lunch at the Manchester velodrome while contemplating the drive back to Bath.
As I haven't been riding much of late, I left the house on foot today. The quest was to see the new Southgate shopping centre in downtown Bath. Despite nearly exploding a year ago, Phase I was opened the other day and I wanted to see what the hype was about.
Southgate, Phase I. Luckily it didn't explode, or where would all those shoppers go?
Southgate, Phase I. 200 seats!
Southgate, Phase IIt doesn't look too bad, as far as shopping centres go. It's been built using sandstone cladding imported from Italy to give it that authentic ye olde Bath look. But in any case it's better than what used to be there, a hideous shopping mall constructed in the post-war period after Bath got bombed.
That said, I felt the powers that be could have been a bit more inventive. Why make it the same as the rest of Bath? Which - as an Australian couple on tour pointed out to me last year - looks like a collection of Masterton homes.
My idea could have been incorporated and would definitely have spiced things up. What this city needs is a statue of a jolly good dictator, like Joe Stalin.
But no, conservatism reigned. Their loss, I say.
Speaking of television, which I was at the start, I turned it on last weekend. And lo! Australia was playing against England in a Rugby League fixture. Probably on account of me being raised in Sydney, I think League is a much better game than Rugby Union because it doesn't get bogged down by a massive scrum every time someone gets tackled. That sort of talk is sacrilege in these 'ere parts and nearly got me excommunicated from Bath.
What I liked about this particular game is that not only did Australia win 26-16, a large number of the Aussies had beards. This reminded me of the good ol' days, and gave rise to the sort of nostalgia that you need to get through a slow Saturday afternoon.
Finally, I was fortunate enough to travel to Manchester last weekend for a free lunch at the Track World Cup. It took us 9hrs to get there and back and we saw three hours of racing (good). This was the result:
Andy Gale (the designated driver and one of our web developers), Simon Withers (C+ tech ed) and Dave Sayer (another of our web developers) sample the delights of a free lunch at the Manchester velodrome while contemplating the drive back to Bath.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
