Category: Words

This time of year is much the same as ever. Lots to do, not much time to do it in and shifting priorities with the added excitement of the change in weather bring out all kinds of respiratory ailments. I’m feeling almost human again now. Certainly well enough to put the road bike to good use for the 20 minute return home journey from Stockport Audi.

The car has needed to be booked in for it’s 80k service for a while and with one thing or another it’s taken time to fit it in. With hindsight the fact that they managed to fit me in for this morning when I phoned yesterday, probably wasn’t a good sign, but I lived in hope that at least one of the three local Audi dealers must be okay (Macclesfield had already been a big disappointment).

So I dropped the car off rode home and then returned for the advised 12.30 pick up. Was it ready? Non. Ended up having to wait for 30 minutes until the service manager could see me. Then found out they hadn’t changed the four wheel drive oil or filter. Why? Because time is tight on a Saturday. WTF! Why have you booked me in knowing the type of car I have and the work involved in giving it a 80k service on a day you don’t have time to do it? Then discover it’s still not ready. Why? Because they’re still cleaning it. FFS! Another 30 minutes of my life elapses before it’s ready.

As I drive home fuming at another poor experience at the hands of Brits playing at being Germans. Don’t bother you’re clearly rubbish and don’t understand customer care. Why did everyone else get offered teas and coffees whilst they waited? Why was the only thing they had to read one copy of the Telegraph? There wasn’t even any promotional material. Even the Audenshaw Bodyshop has a copy of the brochures for each model.

Absolute rubbish! I’m sure the head of technical at Audi AG wouldn’t be impressed at the lackadaisical attitude towards the maintenance of the legendary Quattro drive system either. I decide some music is needed to distract my testosterone fuelled annoyance, only to discover not one of the radio stations available is actually playing any music.

I don’t want to listen to some mong talking about how massively exciting his life is. i do not want to listen to their opinions on football, ice cream or fashion. I definitely do not want to know that someone last night left a half eaten kebab on a doorstep to greet someone this morning. Gordon Ramsay’s Bleep-O-Fucking-Meter had nothing on the language that followed that discovery. Cocks!

Like death and taxes, Freshers’ Flu is unavoidable at this time of the year. It’s the result of working at a University here in the UK and lot’s of people arriving from all over the world with a payload of biological weapons that they release into the air. The question is never  whether you will get it, rather how badly and for how long and if you’re really unlucky, how many times.

The name of course isn’t necessary reflective of the actual conditions. Freshers’ Flu ranges from full on “can’t get out of bed and being sick” Influenza that lasts days to Bad Colds and Throat and Chest Infections. Malt whiskey, proper honey and lots of lemons plus Ibuprofen are the weapons of choice in the current conflict. Round one seems to be over (I’m hoping it doesn’t return).

It’s been crazy this last few days. I rode into work on Monday and have been walking to and from work ever since. It’s just a mad time of the year with so much happening that takes people out of the office and to sites all over the City.  With careful route planning it’s easier to end up nearer home that the office at the end of the day, making a walk home an easy option.

This morning I tried a change of tack and ended up taking the bus. It’ll be the last time. Stagecoach have pushed their prices up to £1.30 now, a 20% fare increase for the same route (on which they have a monopoly) since the end of the last academic term in June. It wouldn’t have been so bad but the bus driver was an obnoxious cock who made me feel like rearranging his teeth with my bare knuckles.

Yesterday on the walk into work I had a falling out with the chap in the local post office, to the extent I’ve made a complaint about him. I get to ride home tonight and I’m now convinced that riding to bikes is the least stressful, the fastest and healthiest way to get to work.

A little while ago Chipps mentioned in an off the cuff remark that the Singletrack team had used a photo of me in the special magazine they’d run to mark ten years of Mountain Mayhem. This evening I finally managed to get my hands on a copy. Due to various commitments this summer I wasn’t able to make the event this year and missed all the fun.

Mark Alker’s shot is really rather good! Definitely one of the best shots I’ve ever had taken of me and I’m stoked it was chosen and captures me flying the flag for Indy Fab and Singletrack.

One of the guys in the office has been playing around with this visual relationship tool for websites. No one I’ve spoken to can see any real use for it, but it sure looks pretty.

Working again this weekend so I’m sat in front of a computer most of the time, but I’d rather be out riding. That said I did do a bit of gardening yesterday, so it’s not all about going squared eyed. It’s been said before, but this photo by HunkyMaleCyclist sums it up – Steve Peat Rocks:

More from Fort William and results…

There should probably be a rule about posting after a few drinks. It’s 9.30pm and I’ve just come home from work. Since 6.30pm work has consisted of talking to colleagues over a buffet dinner, which degenerated into rumour mongering and work based story telling. The amusement in this was that it included some shocking revelations about high ranking individuals. These emerged after over several large glasses of wine whilst we helped do our bit to support South African wine growing.

Anyway Eurobike  is on and Chipps and a load of journos are there. The Germans are getting hot under the collar about making  machine aluminium components that may break at any given time if you don’t weight less than 65kg – but they probably don’t stipulate that on the packaging.

It has come to my attention that Chillmeister isn’t dead just incredibly slack at updating his website. Probably because a) He has too many and b) because he is spending time with his beautiful wife and their boys.

I was on call all day Saturday so effectively a prisoner in my own home. Plans to go riding on Sunday were scuppered by Manchester being in semi-light all day under a gloomy cloud of grey that as well as setting a dull depressing tone outside sent a downwards drizzle of rain throughout most of the day. Add to this that it was autumnal cold, made for a weekend spent indoors when I’d rather have been outdoors.

Woke up this morning to find that it was no warmer, but that the sun was shining. In fact it’s great riding weather. Of course, I am riding today. To the office, my desk and sitting in work. Typical. Of course some sensible people were in Scotland riding bikes this weekend and will probably be coming back shortly to say how great it was.

I found this fairly cool map the other day when surfing over at The Serif.

I’d challenge someone to have a go at doing this for somewhere else. Topological maps like these are some of the more difficult cartographic documents to produce. They only provide information specific to their purpose. With the unnecessary detail stripped out, no scale or definition of distance or direction, they maybe no more than reference tools. What works on trains and buses as a navigation aid however, doesn’t necessarily make a good driving aid. This maybe because in general people find it hard to translate the position of places on such maps to their real world positions.

I’ve been playing around with some logos recently, partly because it’s time to order some more stickers, but also just to get to grips with Illustrator a bit more. Here’s the end results so far:

 

Here’s a couple of links that have been interesting finds over the last few days. First a series of bike and related videos over at I make death look interesting. Then there’s the techy work that have produced a graphical representation of the Internet. It’s only when you view the original image in full 4,000×4,000 pixel size available as a link at the bottom of the page, that you realise it’s not so beautiful closeup.

I’ve been riding bikes to get places, be it school, college, university or work for a long time. Probably over 20 years now in all weathers, all times of day and night and all over the UK. It’s still great and I love it, even if I do curse under my breath sometimes when it’s cold and wet. In all that time my favourite commute is still the Wymondham to Norwich run.

So many options. Cane it along the old A11 with tri-bars on for extra speed cutting through the early morning air with fields on either side and passing Kett’s Oak or taking a longer more interesting route through Intwood and East Carleton. 10 miles(ish), best time door to door a long 22. It rocked. I miss it (sometimes).

Getting home in 10 minutes is ace.