another weeks report!

Wed 28th February

Used the car today, which was a good move, since the weather was atrocious in the afternoon

Monthly Retrospective
Best Time
out 0:50 mins. back 0:54 mins. "Ahh, but surely it's best round trip time that counts?" I hear you say.

Cumulative average speed
8.7 mph (that's depressing)

Max Speed
40.1 mph (blimey!)

Favourite Energy bar (so far).
The Kelloggs Optivita was quite nice. In-depth review notes may follow, depending on how nerdy I feel.

Worst incident
White Van man started to come out from junction on left then anchored on when he saw me, literally 3-4 yards away.
No impact, but could have been a Pete-shaped dent in the side of his van. A bit unsettling.
I gave him a look that was intended to be "withering", but was probably more like "man sucking a pickled onion"

Weight lost since New Year's Day: a mere 2 lbs

Do I feel fitter? Nope.

Tuesday 27th Feb.
Despite bad weather forecast, determined to stick to training regime.

When I leave the house, it's raining, but where's the wind that was forecast? Neighbour offers me a lift to work. Very kind, but that would hardly help with getting fit.

I find out where the wind is when I get up the big hill. It's on the tops and "in yer face".

Rain gets steadily worse. My "Mind's-iPod" auto-selects "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush (out on the wild and windy moors...) Battle on through the rain, and it gets even worse. "Wrath of the Rain" by Horslips is now playing.

Not only is it in yer face, it's cold rain. Nothing like an Ice Cold Shower in the morning to wake you up? Well this is shutting me down.

It gets worse. Soon I'll be singing "High Water Blues" by Bob Dylan (or Charley Patton, if I knew how his version went)

No birdsong in evidence, nothing but the rain and the wind.

Then coming down off the tops into the needle-stinging wet stuff, a little lamb sheltering against a stone gate-post bleats at me as I go past. Keep going - if you stop you could die out here. But, if you don't stop the lamb might die. How are you going to live with yourself at work today - or for the rest of your life, if you don't do something about this "pure wee mite"?

After a quarter of a mile of soul searching, turn round, cycle back up the hill,
and sure enough it's still there, bleating at me. I pick it up and cradle it against my yellow Altura jacket. It's warm, it's breathing and so am I.

Look over wall: here's a ewe looking back at the two of us, making motherly noises. Trouble is she's already got one (maybe she’s had twins). Nevertheless, I figure the lamb will be better off that side of the wall than this, and gently lower it over the gate.

Occupants of field seem slightly happier (cold and rain notwithstanding),
so I get on my cycle and continue my journey. Lamb can't have been more than one week old. Yes, (Scottish pun alert!!), one "wee-cold" lamb.

It gets colder and rainier - but there's a little warm glow inside (Poetic licence). Actually I'm just happy to get to work with all my extremities intact, though when the feeling starts to come back to the thumbs, they sting like mad.

Wring everything out, have a long shower to warm up, during which I suppress the thought that the lamb will end up on someone's plate anyway, and go desk.

Time in (sorry, I refuse to divulge 'cos it's too depressing).

Polaris-fleecy-ear-warmer-thingy has been re-instated this week (folly to even think of doffing it).

Mon 26th Feb

Monday morning and I couldn't face the "Big Hill". Oxenhope is at the head of the valley, so only one way out of the village doesn't involve a climb.
That way leads to Keighley, and we don't want to go there. Not today, anyway.

So the alternative to the "Big Hill" is the "Big Hillock". This goes past the Dog and Gun, which cyclesport afficiandos will recognise as a severe climb in days gone by on the Milk Race.

So it's not that easy (but then again, I haven't just cycled 90 miles as the professionals would probably have done when they tackled it).

Apart from the fact that it's not that much less hilly than my usual route, there are two other reasons for not going this way every day.
1) the embarrassment factor of being passed by my son Matthew and his mates in the car on his way to school (since I don't need the car, he has use of it).
2) the traffic. It takes the sense of fun and freedom away being passed by all those vehicles.
Of course I can play "I eye with my Zefal Spy, something beginning with J". "Juggernaut!" "Correct!"

Yes, it's a good test for the rear view mirror. Since he arrived, my little Spy has had a brief period of undercover work hanging from my handlebar grip. (I wasn't prepared to let him stick his neck out on the bar ends). Unfortunately his transmissions were regularly being intercepted by codename "Glove" who has since been exposed as a double agent.

His cover blown, Zefal has since been recalled to the safety of the English village of Middleton Crossbar. From there, he enjoys an almost uninterrupted view. All I need now is for someone to invent the perspex seat pillar and for glass thighs to become available on the NHS and "Johhny Nash is your uncle" so to speak.

This morning's head-music "This boy has broke down" by the Corrs (or possibly Phil Lynott).

Time in (not normal route, plus following wind) 0:50mins. Can't be bad.

Time back 1:01 not bad either.