Was in Wales for the weekend, at a “Robot Space Pirate from the Future” party.
Rather a lot of driving, but it was a great party, and included this free sunset.
Monthly Archives: July 2016
[Commute] 12 miles since my last crash
During this post the author details his latest mishap and the resulting rapid horizontal realignment that followed. However in order to abate your worries I can categorically state that I’m fine and not badly injured. The bike is barely damaged at all.
So that being said what happened.. well I was not even a mile from home when I cross a small section of shared space before I turn left and join the main road. Picture if you will a small road that used a long time ago to be a rat run, that cyclists are still allowed to use to get to the old T junction.
On the junction is some pedestrian lights (technically a Toucan crossing) that allow cyclists to cross the road. No idea why actually as there isn’t a cycle path on the other side of the road. My plan is to turn left, and as I approached the pedestrianised section I watched the lights change to give pedestrian (and cyclists) priority.
I’m heading left so I plot a path between the pedestrians, not going too fast as I’m not unsociable, into the clear road.. it’s clear because the busy traffic is stopped at the lights. So I turn in and start planning to get back up to speed..
Then things go bad so very quickly, my nice wide empty road now contains a dust cart going the wrong way. The dust cart was doing a big swinging maneuver so it could reverse into a service road on the other side of the street. The driver had anticipated that anyone would be coming the other way as the traffic lights were red.
I hit the brakes knowing that as I’m currently cornering it will only be a matter of time before I lose it and hit the deck. That seemed a better option than hitting the oncoming dust cart.
As a result I have some road rash on my elbow and a large bruise on my hip. Which is just the extra aches that I didn’t need after yesterday’s excursion. Anyway apart from being annoyed at myself and a bit fragile, nothing much to report.. will need to patch up the handlebar tape, but that is it for damage to the bike.
See I’m fine.. nothing to worry about. Could have been worse, if I had hit him I doubt that I would have managed to damage his paint work.
[Push] Hot, hard running..
Last night was the hottest of the year so far topping out at 30+ centigrade, it was also the night I was taking part in the Chase Corporate Challenge. A 5.6km run in London’s Battersea Park.
This was not a great combination, what made it worse was the total lack to training I had attempted in preparation for the event. I think that I have been out for 4 runs since last year’s event and knit June of them has been in the last 6 months. Which makes me uniquely unprepared.
With training I have managed the course in sub 26 minutes, this year I think it was more like 32. (The results have yet to be announced so I am yet to learn exactly how bad I did.
That may sound a harsh appraisal, I knew it was going to be hard work with my minimal ^dw non existent training and that it was going to be hot. So I was hoping for sub 30 minutes.
What I got was one of the most brutality hard runs that I have ever attempted. Which means that I should be pleased that I ran all the way and completed the course. Did I mention that it was hot. On quite a lot of the course there was no escaping the direct sunlight and the reflected heat from the tarmac paths.
I suffered.
This annoyed me, and is reminding me that I am unfit.. I should be getting out and running more ^dw at all and my cycle miles have been way down. Last month I cycled 300~ miles, which is about half what I have been used to..* I normally rely on my cycling fitness to give me a base to work from. I’m over weight and I can’t even do a full pull up..
This annoyance resulted in what should have been an easy cycle ride home to stretch the legs out and loosen them up after the run. Into a head down full gas cramp inducing race, which means that today I am a bundle of tight achy muscles.
However hopefully it will give me some impetus to get training and do better next year.
* A few years back I nearly cleared 800 miles in 4 weeks.. I missed that target by 2, and was so fatigued that I couldn’t be bothered to cycle around the block a few times to make up the missing distance. But that is another matter..
[Film] Lion King
Finally watched Lion King,Yes I had managed to get till now without seeing it.
Not sure that I understand what the fuss was about, it was an ok Disney movie, but not as good as the Pixar offerings, which clearly explains why Disney bought them.
I enjoyed it, but don’t feel like that was missing anything.
[Culture] Science fiction double feature
Last night I took my nieces* out to see “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Watford Colosseum. What made this even more brilliant was that neither of them had any clue what they were in for. They hadn’t watched the film**, listened to the sound track or even read the Wikipedia page.
So they were both really cold going in.
It was a good production with Hale (of Pace) as the narrator, the rest I hadn’t heard of. They did suffer a technical problem with a curtain late in the second half, but the audience was in good form and spent most of the time singing the time warp and doing Mexican waves.
I have seen better productions but not for some time, and really it is the kind of feel good show that is always a good night out.
Not sure how long it will before my nieces talk to me again however.
I think that makes it a successful weekend. #eviluncle
* Well two of them..
** Which is the best order, you want to see it live before you watch the film.
[Holiday] Rest as hard as you like..
So a short while ago I was away on holiday.. it was very nice to have a change of scene and to learn how to fall off while attempting to windsurf.
Seems like so very long ago now.
[Happy] It’s been a while
1) Had a sneaky I’m working from home lie in.
2) Finally taken the empty gas cylinder down to the recycling place do it is no longer cluttering up the shed.
3) H took me out to dinner.. Gyoza yum!
[Tech] The future is cardboard
I’ve just tried Google Cardboard Virtual Reality..
It was a bit blurry but very interesting..
The video was of the O2 and Greenwich Peninsula, and how it might look in 20 years time..
Apparently there will be huge very narrow snaking walkways that propel people along, and the cable cars will just go into a cloud and vanish..
Strange things to look forward to..
Will now download the cardboard app and try a few more VR experances.
The biggest disappointment in the experience was having to type Greenwich Peninsula into a web browser to find the video they wanted, I suggested that they should have a QR code.
[Update] The even better suggestion from a friend was a wi-Fi hot-spot that only served the correct page. They were so close with this vision of the future, and yet so far away.