I see that I have not posted a blog since Jan 2013, Two and a half years! Shame on me. The truth is, when I started this site I enjoyed doing it but at times it has become a bit of a chore. In fact, I did consider closing it down for a while but I am getting up to 2000 page views per month so some folk out there must be interested. The strange thing is that in the 4 years (almost) since I started, I have only had 3 comments from my readers.
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This morning, as I look out of the window I can see a clear blue sky for the first time in a couple of weeks. There is a penalty to pay though, it is freezing hard and looks set to continue all day. Due to the recent snow I have not been out as often as I would have liked and for the first time since I retired I have been bored with having nothing to do. I cant even potter in the garage because of the cold and you can only watch so much TV. I have managed a couple of short rides out and also a stroll around the sea front. This, together with my daily shopping trips have stopped me from stagnating completely but I cant wait for the weather to break so I can get back to normal.
I started this blog 1 year ago and at that time I set myself four challenges.
No 1 was to cycle the C2C, starting at St Bees but finishing at Whitby. This was achieved late in May and I enjoyed every single mile of it. No 2 I hoped to climb at least one big mountain. Unfortunately for one reason or another I failed to do this. However, in my defence I have climbed about 166.855 ft on the bike. If my maths are correct I think that is somewhere in the order of 31 1/2 miles so I don't feel too disappointed. No 3 was to reduce my weight to under 13 stone ! Well, I failed to do this too. I seem to hover around the 13st 7lb mark and to be honest, I feel quite comfortable with that so what the hell....... No 4 My target mileage for the year was 2000 miles, I know that is not a great deal by some standards but to me it was a lot more than I have done for 40 years or so. I was chuffed to bits when I stormed past the 2000 mark back in September so I immediately raised it by another 1000. unfortunately I am going to fall short by about 350 miles which is a little disappointing but is better than I expected 12 months ago. One thing that I have noticed is that I have not had many rides over 25 miles or so which means that much of my cycling is over the same roads time and again with very little in the way of variations, perhaps next year I will try to go a little further afield from time to time. All in all I am satisfied with what I have achieved over the year and look forward to new challenges in 2013. At the moment about the only challenge is to ride 100 miles in a day and John and I are already talking about it. another possibility is to enter some kind of sponsored event, possibly the Great North Ride, but that will be decided later. My target for the year was origionaly 2000 miles. This I managed to achieve by late September, I then increased it to 3000 miles. As it turned out, this was a little ambitious as I fell short by 360.9 miles. Target 3000.0 miles Achieved 2639.1 .. Shortfall 360.9 .. Is that the way to the loo? In my opinion Christmas is over-commercialised in this day and age. from every quarter people are bombarded with advertising for the latest 'must have' items many of which , once bought, are put away in a drawer and never again see the light of day. I am of the opinion that we are losing sight of the what Xmas is all about. When I look back over the years at Christmas in my childhood it was a magic time for my sister and myself. On Xmas Eve, we would be encouraged to shout up the chimney to Santa and tell him what we would like before going up to bed. Only then would Mam and Dad put up the decorations so that when my sister and I came tip toeing down the stairs (usually at three o'clock in the morning) it was like entering fairyland. We would rip off the wrapping paper, some of which had been saved from the previous year, and then gallop upstairs with our new toys shouting "Santa's been" A few years on and I had children of my own and it wasn't until then that I realised how much pleasure my parents had in making Xmas special for my sister and myself. Unfortunately, my work as a taxi driver meant that I would be working well into the early hours or even all night on some occasions and sad to say the whole of the festive season became something of a chore. By the time I retired I actually began to dread Christmas coming as it meant nothing more to me than 12 hours or more of solid graft. Almost everyone I picked up were in the holiday spirit and to be honest some of them showed their appreciation and were generous with their tips, but as the night wore on most of my passengers were nothing more than louts arguing about the fare or trying to provoke me into a fight'. This is my third Xmas since retirement and dare I say it, For once I am actually looking forward to it. The only thing is that two members of my family are having medical problems at the moment and I heard the other day that an old childhood mate has similar problems in his family too. My thoughts are with them all. This post has not developed the way it was intended and I almost deleted and started again. May I wish anyone who reads this peace and contentment wherever you may be . Bridleway through woodland at Egton. When it gets around to this time of year it is easy to ask ones self, "where did the summer go?" It only seems like yesterday when we were eagerly awaiting the start of spring and the opportunity to shed our winter woollies once again. The thing I look out for is the first hint of green in the hawthorn hedges and the first primroses shining from the undergrowth, then before I know it, it is warm enough to simply wear shorts & shirt or lay in the sun while eating a packed lunch when on a hike or a bike ride over the hills and far away. When this happens, I know that summer has arrived and will last for ever, but of course it never dos'e' All too soon the vibrant colours of spring begin to fade, nights begin to draw in again, crops are harvested and before you know it, the first cool nip is in the air. Autumn has arrived. This is my favourite time of the year, I love to ramble through woodland and enjoy the reds and yellows of the foliage, smell the scent given off by damp vegetation or wade ankle deep through rustling leaves always on the lookout for mushrooms or juicy brambles. All too soon after that the cold damp dark days of winter set in and the whole cycle starts over again. This is a time for looking back over the year and for me it has been a good one. I am still enjoying my retirement and my cycling, although I have not been out rambling as often as I would have liked. The highlight of the year for me was cycling the coast to coast and thus fulfilling one of my ambitions. I would have liked to climb a mountain this year but I feel it is not likely now but there is always next year I suppose. At the beginning of the year I set myself a target to cycle 2000 miles before the years end. Well, I am pleased to be able to say that I completed that a few weeks ago so I upgraded the target to 3000. As long as the weather holds I should just about be able to achieve this. Another plus for me is the fact that in the last two or three months I have had the pleasure of riding with other people a bit more and this has added a different dimension to my cycling although I still enjoy riding solo. There are still two months left of 2012 but already I am looking forward to 2013. The bad run of luck continues with my Hugh Porter road bike, fortunately it is nothing serious. I had a visit from the puncture fairy the other day and when I took off the offending tyre and examined it closely I found it to be perished. I was a little surprised because when inflated it looked perfectly OK. I checked the other and that was exactly the same so I ordered a pair off e bay. As usual I had to buy from the budget end of the market and bought a pair of DSI tyres & tubes for 15 quid. Obviously I can't say how good (or bad) they are yet but they look OK and no doubt, time will tell.
Last week I went walking for a change (See walks 2012 & look at 'John Cross & John Bonds sheep house'). This is an area where I spent a lot of time with my family when they were growing up so it was a walk down memory lane for me. It is surprising how different everything now looks. Part of the walk is through forestry commission land and some areas have been harvested while some other parts which I remember being planted now have trees reaching maturity. The biggest change to me is how overgrown thing now look. Before the foot and mouth epidemic a few years back there were many more sheep roaming around the area and consequently there were large areas of close cropped grass. now these same areas are full of weeds, bracken and even young trees have self seeded. I have mixed feelings about it all. One side of me would like to see it as it was, but I can also see that it must now be better for wildlife. I have not been out on the bike much over the last couple of weeks or so. Last week I was away visiting family and this week I have had a visit from my sister who lives in Canada. This morning I intended to go for a few miles to loosen up a little but it is absolutely pouring down outside so loosening up will have to be put on hold.
I had a little bad luck with my 'classic' bike last time I had it out. I went for a run to Danby Beacon with two friends but when we reached Glaisdale I was concious that one of the pedals felt 'wrong'. I stopped to examine it and discovered that it had become loose and the thread had been damaged. I had to return home on the train and the following day I took it to the LBS and had a new chainwheel & cranks fitted. I took the bike for an 18 mile run, and averaged about 13mph which is a considerable improvement on my other bike. The terrain in my area is quite hilly so I was quite happy with the improvement. In a few weeks time I am going to do a sponsored ride to Scarborough and back in aid of the local football club. I think John will be there too so it might be fun. For a while now I have had a hankering for a road bike. I began watching auction sites and the hankering developed into a desire and then almost reached the 'must have' stage. The tipping point came I think when my mate announced that he had bought himself a new road bike and at that point I began to look more seriously what was available. After a lot of consideration, my choice came down to either a Decathalon Triban 3 or looking for a vintage bike. Most of the bikes I saw were either too expensive for me, or needed too much work. The rest were just crap and I found myself leaning more and more to a the Decathlon, Modern bikes don't exactly set my pulse racing so I held off a little longer, but eventually I was on the verge of going to see the Decathlon and would probably have bought one. I came across the bike in the photo while browsing through the Gum Tree auction site and as it was only in Teesside I decided to go and have a look. It is a Hugh Porter and thought to be about 40 years old. For its age seemed to be in quite good condition so after a quick whizz around the block and a little haggling (not one of my strong points,) the bike was loaded into Johns van and brought back to Whitby where I gave it a better going over. It seems to have been restored at some point in its life and in all honesty it is not exactly a first class job, but I still think it is worth what I paid and look forward to using it. Of course at the first opportunity I went out for a spin and it handled like a thoroughbred. It does need a little work in the short term and the frame may need to be refurbish at some stage,but I think that may be a job for the next owner whoever that may be. All I am going to do is enjoy it while I can. I know very litte about Hugh Porter bikes other than they were produced by Woodrup Cycles. the frame number looks like 4426. Well, I seem to be getting out a bit more again, The weather has picked up a bit after a long spell of wind & rain. Last weekend, John and I had a couple of nights camping in Northumberland and while there we had a ride out to Holy Island and I managed my first 50 miler for many a long year. I have cycled a number of 40 something' s on a number of occasions but the big 50 has eluded me until now.
John is now in Whitby for the summer and we plan to have a few rides out including a possible circumnavigation of the North York Moors, which should be good. I have also had a couple of rides out with a local cyclist, Malcolm. This in itself was interesting as it gave me a chance to compare my performance against a more experienced cyclist. The first outing with Malcolm I was little disappointed with my performance as I felt that I was having to work a little harder to stay with him. I may have been having an off day though. Having said that, it was still an enjoyable ride out. Yesterday, I went out with him again for a couple of hours, John came along and Malcolm brought along three of his friends. It was the first time since my late teens that I have ridden with a group and I must say it was great. It was nice to be able to chat with different people while riding and I felt that riding in a group had the advantage of giving us a greater presence on the road, consequently, motorists seemed to give us a little more respect, which made things a little safer. I had also forgotten things like the sound of tyres on the road, and how pleasant it is to be part of a line of bike sailing along country lanes. Today will be a day of relaxation for me as I am celebrating my 67th birthday. 1579.7 Down 420.3 to go Well, as the title suggests I think that I have found my motivation. I'm not exactly sure what it is though but it is getting me out again. Since my last post, I have been out a few times, not very far but at least I am moving again. One ride was just a run along the cycle way to Hawsker and returned via some farm lanes and then along Whitby Laithes to Abbey Plain. While there I was looking for something to photograph and was approached by a young man who was one of a party of what I think were Japanese students (or possibly Chinese). He asked if I could tell him what the old market cross was for and I began to tell him that there was once a village in the vicinity etc and before I knew it I was acting as an unoficial guide to the party and hopefully I didn't give too many wrong answers. I was quite suprised how polite and respectfull these people were and I quite enjoyed the experience. The following day my ride took me through the village of Dunsley where after a stiff climb from Sandsend, I sat on a bench on the green for a while doing nothing more than enjoy the tranquility.Shortly afterwards a land rover drawing a large trailer stopped nearby. The driver went over to a nearby farmyard and peace returned to the scene. After a few minutes, I heard a hissing sound and turned around to see where it was coming from when there was an almighty 'BANG' as one of the tyres on the trailor blew completely off the rim. I fully expected to see people looking out to see what was going on but not a curtain moved. Eventualy the driver reapeared and when I showed him his tyre he was totaly unconcerned and said he thought the noise was his neighbour shooting crows. So much for peace and tranqility. Yesterday I went Out for a slightly longer ride and made my way to Aislaby and then on to Egton. At first I was feeling a bit stiff and was not moving as freely as I would wish but gradually I loosened up and began to make better time. By the time I was passing through Ugthorpe I was fair rattling along and noticed that my average speed was 12.1 mph which was the best yet for this particular ride. Just as I was congratulating myself, I thought I heard a voice but when I looked around there was nobody to be seen. I heard the voice again and a young woman on a road bike flew past me. The shame of it ! a slip of a lass had left we standing. I put a little more effort into pedalling and managed to stay a few yards behind untill we reached Lythe and began to descend Lythe Bank. This was where my humiliation was completed, I gave it everything I had intending at least to keep pace with her but in spite of me laying into the bends at around 40.mph I was slowly falling back and by the time we reached Sandsend all I was good for was to slowly ride along the seafront gasping for breath. Ah well, lesson learned I suppose.
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AuthorJust an old fart but young at heart Archives
June 2015
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