T-man picked up his new Stumpy yesterday. After the ceremonial disposal of reflectors, adjusting of gubbins and kitting out with parts and accessories, he left Harry’s a very happy bloke.
First ride in the UK and it was down to me to show him the commuter route from Manchester to Altrincham. Through the Uni Campus, Whitworth Park, Alexandra Park, Broughton Park, Southern Cemetary, Chorlton Water Park, River Mersey to Hardy Farm, over the bridge, Sale Water Park, over the motorway bridge (the only climb on the route) through Sale and onto the canal by the Bridge Pub and then it was then just a case of straight lining it into the heart of Altrincham. It’s about 14km as the crow flies so in an offroad guise it’s probably closer to 16km.
After reaching familiar territory, it was time to head home and after two and a bit hours on the bike it felt like I’d been on a proper ride and no mistake. The Ti Deluxe was flying and it was a great ride. I was a bit jealous of the longer distance commuting potential, but after dealing with the headwind back up the canal, I think I might actually be quite happy with my own ride in each day. I’m sure I’ll find a few opportunities to do the long route home over the coming months.
Once home it was a rapid turn around and into the S to fly back to pick Tyrrell up and continue onwards to London village for a bit of a business perk. Tickets for the England vs Ireland match at Twickenham. We made it (just), ended up getting a little bit chilly in the stands, but watched an ace game with a crunching (and disappointing) finish drom an excellent viewpoint in the stands. After the match we discovered that we’d manged to get bargain parking at the Twickenham Waitrose in the region of 23p and hour and as we drove back and saw signs advertising Rugby parking for between £10 and £25 we couldn’t help but feel smug.
Geoff Kabush’s antics are now part of a regular Cyclingnews feature. For 2006 the popular Canadian mountain bike racer will once again be bringing us his unique slant on the racing scene in his diary as he campaigns the NORBA circuit for Team Maxxis. Catch up with the larger than life Canadian here.
Check out this BBC video of a skier taking part in the Red Bull freeride comp on the Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps. Jani Pogacar survived being caught up in a massive avalanche as he began his descent, but managed to ski out of trouble.
R O T H A R . C O M 