omm prep.

there's been a few kit changes since the rab. lemoncello has been substituted with whisky, the cryptic crossword swapped for the quick. we've decided to take an ipod loaded with david sedaris short stories and old desert island discs. could be a lovely relaxing weekend. also, i've been trialing a new training regime that involves no running what so ever.

numb toes

once on the ledge josh made it look easy. once i got on the ledge i made it look very difficult indeed. teetering 20ft* above the very small and thin looking bouldering mats, my right leg jittering about, i cursed the fact that i'd not been climbing in over a year and had therefore lost all bottle. talked and helped down by james and the others, slightly embarrassed but eager for more. such a shame that the alpkit 'big shakeout' bouldering session was only for the morning, i was just getting used to the numb toes and scraped fingers.

right, i'm off to source a bouldering mat and a spotter, my local playground just got bigger. looks like even more fun is going to be had at the 'shakeout' over the weekend, go check it out!

*may have been 4ft

i.am.a.plonker.

serves me right for all the 'new commuter' teasing. to cut a short story even shorter, i 'won' a bike from ebay. dreams of steel fixed commuting have been crushed due to inadvertently spending £53 on a child's bike. it is lovely though and i'm unsure what to do now.

i could still go down the fixed route but i really wanted a bike with 700cc wheels. i doubt there'll be much advantage over my current commuter. so, today's plea, does anyone have an old steel frame/bike suitable for singlespeed/fixed, rack and mudguard mounts going cheap or willing to swap for a similar yet smaller bike?!!

*essay completed with 5hrs to spare and another lovely sunrise witnessed on friday morning.

procrastination with honors...

it's that time. again. essay deadline is friday. just about to start working nights, finish saturday morning. so far i have baked the worlds flattest banana cake, gone through the sky+ box and deleted all the old 'simpsons' episodes....any good ideas regarding current hot topics for public health/social policy welcome. there is a quiet panic in the air. at least half of my commute will be in daylight for a change.

*collecting new bike on saturday.

some day a rain will come....

it's just me and the taxi drivers sharing the road at the moment. late nights and early mornings. sharing the sunrises and racing (but mainly missing) the sunsets. the pre dawn drivers seem to cruise zen like between junctions. the post pub, pre club drivers are much more jittery. swapping lanes, accelerating between light changes, a seemingly pointless rush.

leaving extra time for easy spinning in the morning, i know i'll be looking east watching the colours melting into one another. the balmy mornings hanging on to the mist, riding through pockets of cool. some evenings i remember to actually pedal, pushing hard on the hills and even harder on the downs. legs whirling outta control. past the balti houses, beer gardens and isolated industrial estates. the retail parks become home to the mopeds and boy racers. everyone has a hobby. home to crumpets and chocolate milk, ready to repeat.

*i've just 'won' a new commuter. watch this space