Not a very good day on the bike really. It was meant to be a relaxed reintroduction to mountainbike racing after ages off the sport but it turned out to be 20 minutes racing then a trip to Fairfield hospital via Mountain Rescue Land Rover and an ambulance.
Complicated feelings just now and I need to go back tomorrow to find out if the broken collarbone needs to be pinned. Continue reading “Broken left collarbone and 7 lug stitches”
Lovely time last week in Woolacombe with our old Gloucestershire mates the Greenwoods. So great to go away and have such fun with people who make life so uncomplicated for us with our semi demanding 11 month-old. Continue reading “Easter week in Woolacombe”
Elsie, Olly, Lily and Simon having a bit of fun on Saturday… Continue reading “Quick video of some fun in the park”
A very proud pushy dad here… Lily did her first running race this evening at Marl Pitts – the junior event in the Liver Hill fell race. She was so excited – so was I. The course for juniors was (I’m guessing..) about a mile and a quarter – out-and-back – and pretty much uphill all the way out. Continue reading “Lily-Livered… Lily does the U11s Liver Hill fell race”
God what a great feeling that is. Sooooo flipping ace to have a bit more daylight this evening – and twinned with a bit of sunshine it’s made it feel like the first big spring day. Continue reading “First weekend of spring”
Had the great pleasure of building up my new bike from Wheelbase on Wednesday night. Just waiting for a slighly nicer day than today to take it for a spin… it’s light, as it looks, and I’m sure it’s going to handle as well as it looks. Decided to stay with the compact chainset for now til the big crits start in the mid summer time. I might as well use those generously twiddly gears for the ridiculously hilly Fred Whitton wide in May. It also needs another 2cm ont he stem – it’s a bit shorter than my last frame – but that’s on order. Continue reading “Cannondale Six Carbon – my lovely new bike”
Had a nice chilled weekend really. Didn’t do too much. Elsie’s making us restrict our expectations a bit at the moment so relaxed, homey time is good. Mother’s day entailed a big roast, a quiet trip to the shops at Bolton and a play in the field with the dog and the girls.
Saturday was special too in a similarly laid back way. Lily’s been looking after a teddy bear from school for the week, and doing a pretty enthusiastic job of it. When she complete’s Millie’s diary tomorrow, I think she should mention a 5 mile cycle into Ramsbottom and back (Teddy Millie was in Lily’s doll backpack). A lovely way to start a Saturday. I also managed the third enjoyable but shortish Mountain Bike excursion in a week – this time round the back of the windmills on Whittle Pike.
It may not mean that much to any non-cycling people out there, but seing Mark Cavendish win today’s Milan – San Remo has an enormous impact on me. For the first time in my life, I have seen a Brit win a classic cycle race.
Just had the sad but inevitable news that my brother’s dog – Dileas – has had to be put to sleep after a slow decline over the last few months. He was a lovely dog and with a very special nature – he was a companion with me on a few runs – sometimes just him and me in the days before we got Elvis – and particularly gentle with children. Continue reading “Dileas – an old friend moves on.”
Tim Gould’s three-peaks-specific interviews are hard to come by on the web – the era of his doiminance pre-dated the digital age, but this page of interviews from rouleur magazine gives three in one – two dominant winners Gould and Jobb, and a seasoned and respected ‘name’ of cycling Keith Bontrager.
Read the article here.
My favourite quote is from Rob Jebb, whose tale he told at the 2008 Three Peaks podium still makes me giggle…
When I was about 14 I was watching the race at the summit of Ingleborough on my bike, supporting Fergy, when Tim Gould came running towards me with a bent wheel. He noticed I was on my bike and asked for me my wheel. I said no, as I didn’t know how I would have got home with a bent wheel. As Tim ran on he was swearing at me for not having given him the wheel – I didn’t really think anything of this but the marshals on the summit were not impressed that a Peugeot professional swore at a youngster and reported him the organiser, John. John made Tim write a letter of apology, which I’ve kept to this day. In the letter, he said that he hoped the incident would not deter me from riding the Three Peaks in the future!
Had a lovely time this weekend with our old mates Andrew and Denise in Ripple, near Upton on Severn. The catalyst for going down there was an invitation from Andrew to come and run in the Forest of Deal half marathon, so it meant that it was a weekend of fun, leisure, and food, but also one of fitness payback. Continue reading “A weekend in Ripple and a trip to the Forest of Dean”
Three great photos ‘from the archives’ here from Flickr – all from a user called Fleming2009 (I think I should know what the first name is but it’s been on the tip of my tongue for ages!)