A quiet day......thank goodness

Despite having to go into London for a meeting - my monthly review with Richard Monk, Cycle Officer for Colchester, the day has been pretty quiet and thank goodness, not so frantic as days of late!
Again my cycling has been thwarted by the rain and the turbo trainer will see more action later today. Note to self: Dig out Pete Read's Black Book for turbo workouts, I think it's going to be a wet winter and I may just have to refer to it more and more......?
Apparently you can download it for free - see here. You never know you may just need it too.....?

It's been a long day....

.....and it's not quite over. I started work this morning at 7am. I've been going through and assessing the applications for the Swindon role.

Boy, would I not want to do this on a regular basis - I'm totally spent and I'm really looking forward to making the last few phone calls to advise the successful candidates, that they are invited to spend a day in Swindon with me next Friday!

I had hoped to get out on the bike this afternoon - but that just ain't gonna happen! Maybe it will be another turbo session - to be honest, a large glass of white whilst reading the new edition of Cycle appeals more...!

Oh well, the weekend stretches before us all and fingers crossed it will be a dry one.

Have a good one whatever you are doing?

Beginner cyclists' and how NOT to treat them....!

Out riding my bike today. I was in wind down mode after a busy morning in front of the PC, when 2 cyclists' came wanging passed me. Not one to miss out on an opportunity of a tow - I jumped on the back.
It became apparent that the guy at the front was a regular cyclist and his buddy was in fact a beginner - brand new bike, saddle way too low and a grimace on his face suggesting he wasn't enjoying the experience! I followed for a while until they turned right - uphill for about 2 miles.
This poor chap, still hanging on for grim life shouted to his mate........
" Oh no, not Nagshill, I'll never make it up there, my legs are killing me already." This statement was totally dismissed and up they went.

This is, how NOT to treat a new cyclist - apart from anything else, winter riding is all about base miles and keeping the heart-rate low in readyness for the summer rides.
So Mr. Regular Cyclist, do your friend a favour - instead of trying to show how great and fast you are up those Chiltern hills, spend 5 minutes helping him sort out his position on his bike. No wonder his legs hurt and you never know he may just find that cycling is a pleasurable experience.

It IS winter... isn't it......?

Declaring the winter season is upon us is, a little hit and miss - the met office states that it starts in December and ends in February. But for me, it's when the trees at the end of my road are stripped bear of their leaves - well, apart from the odd tenacious leaf hanging on in there. These trees are like huge broccoli florets in the spring and summer and it's shame to see them stripped of all their leaves.
Winter also sees the roads covered in mud and flints that have been washed down from the verges - I'm so pleased with the tyres on my fixie, hundreds of miles covered and not 1 p******e! (so far?).
Riding out today, wrapped up in all my warm clothing - I passed another cyclist who was still in shorts, no gloves, but he did have a long sleeve jersey on....? I don't know whether he had been caught out - saw the sun was shining and thought he'd be OK, or that he was hanging onto the hope of summer and autumn. Brrr, he must have been cold - hopefully the next time I see him, he'll be appropriately attired, either that or his winter riding will be miserable......?

Off to Bimingham (again!)

I seem to be spending a lot of my time in Birmingham of late and it's playing havoc with my cycling.....! Though I had a very productive day with Karen Carter - my opposite number from 'oop' north. We have thrashed out a plan of action of how we market the Cycle Champion packages after the funding runs out in 2012. With work commencing almost immediately on that, the 'to do' list is immense - but exciting work nonetheless.
By the time I had got home it was dark and there was only one option - to dust off the turbo trainer again! So, whilst watching some trashy TV, I cycled for an hour or so - it's amazing how time flies when you're watching the Australian soaps.....!

The hard option...!

... And so the rain continues to fall. With back to back meetings in Reading this morning and not wanting to turn up looking like a damp flannel - I decided to leave the bike at the office and take the hard option and walk, with a rather large umbrella, into the centre of Reading. Jumping the bus was not an option as the traffic was at a standstill.

After 6 miles of walking, I realised that wearing cycling shoes was not a good idea , I certainly felt I'd had a workout....!

The meetings went well - Mark was introduced to the Transport Department in the Civic offices and we then had a site meeting at the BMX track at Waterloo Meadows.

Since the launch, the track has seen lots of action and we were discussing the maintenance requirements for the next 12 months or so. All positive news and hope to get Mark riding the track very soon....?

Like a bullet....!

Today has been one of those days - woke up early to find the rain hammering down, so decided to cycle into Reading when it had eased off (around 10:30) Only to get into the office and to find the 3pm meeting had been cancelled and that there were serious IT issues. So without the ability to email, I reverted to the old fashion method of calling people - well it makes a change.....!
The sun appeared mid- afternoon and this was my sign to exit stage left and cycle home.
The journey home was very pleasant and was without incidents until I got to Marlow.....
Riding through the busy high street, my front tyre ran over a small stone - I had put 120 psi of pressure in them the night before. The stone pinged off like a bullet and hit the door of a brand new Mercedes......!

The noise was awful and startled a few pedestrians. I then had this dilemma - do I stop and wait around for the owner or do I cycle on? This mental debate went on for a while and I took the decision to ride on - it's happened to me when I've been driving and there's little you can do. Though admittedly the offending car is usually going faster and in the opposite direction. Did I do the right thing?

Hmmm? What would you have done......?