It's breezy

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.