Category: Words

It’s a New Year and whilst I am looking forward to what is ahead at the moment things are far from rosy in the rothar.com headquarters. Here’s a cool fly through of a large part of the Valais region in Switzerland from You Tube. Talking of which I am not sure Bono and the boys would above of the George W Bush take on the classic Sunday Bloody Sunday. Speaking of which, this was posted by Nick at the other place. Nice.

I have decided that Cateye Stadiums are evil. This decision is based on the ability of the ballast to really scratch the hell out of expensive paintwork. Fortunately rothar.com stickers are the right shade of black and size to cover up light user ineptitude. It’s also partly based on the fact that they’re so bright. Any Scotchlite fabric ahead of you lights up like a Christams tree. I guess that means they can see you coming?

All considered however commuting is ace. I must admit I have become a bit of a centre line rider. Having danced with death on too many occassions riding in the gutter I now feel it’s better to ride the centre line to over take traffic and avoid being killed by people travelling in the same direction as you or turning left across you (trying to squeeze you out). the only thing to watch out for is on coming traffic. The stadium (not aimed at them) seems to let them know I’m inbound. The only problem with this technique are the loons trying to do u turns without signalling.

here. There are more pictures here too.

From: Tyrrell
Subject: These are great !!!!!!!

MIKE Hallett on Sky Sports discussing snooker during a match where Steve Davis kept missing easy pots “Stephen Hendry jumps on Steve Davis’s misses every chance he gets.”

MICHAEL Buerk watching Phillipa Forrester cuddle up to a male astronomer for warmth during BBC1’s UKeclipse coverage remarked: “They seem cold out there, they’re rubbing each other and he’s only come in his shorts.”

STEVE Ryder covering the USMasters: “Ballesteros felt much better today after a 69.”

Ken Brown commentating on golfer Nick Faldo and his caddie Fanny Sunneson lining-up shots at the Scottish Open: “Some weeks Nick likes to use Fanny, other weeks he prefers to do it by himself.”

JACK Burnicle was talking about Colin Edward’s tyre choice on World Superbike racing: “Colin had a hard on in practice earlier, and I bet he wished he had a hard on now.”

WINNING Post’s Stewart Machin commentating on jockey Tony McCoy’s formidable lead: “Tony has a quick look between his legs and likes what he sees.”

ROSS King discussing relays with champion runner Phil Redmond: “Well Phil, tell us about your amazing third leg.”

DURING the 1989 British Masters golf tournament, the commentator observed:”Notices are appearing at courses telling golfers not to lick their balls on the green.”

CLAIR Frisby talking about a jumbo hot dog on Look North said: “There’s nothing like a big hot sausage inside you on a cold night like this.”

JAMES Allen interviewing Ralf Schumacher at a Grand Prix, asked: “What does it feel like being rammed up the backside by Barrichello?”

THE new stand at Doncasterrace course took Brough Scott’s breath away…”My word,” he said. “Look at that magnificent erection.”

WILLIE Carson was telling Claire Balding how jockeys prepare for a big race when he said: “They usually have four or five dreams a night about coming from different positions.”

USPGA Commentator – “One of the reasons Arnie (Arnold Palmer) is playing so well is that, before each tee shot, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them…. Oh my god! What have I just said?”

David Coleman at the Montreal Olympics – “And there goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class.”

Metro Radio – “Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they’ve got eleven Dicks on the field.”

Harry Carpenter at the Oxford-Cambridge boat race 1977 – “Ah, isn’t that nice. The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the Cox of the Oxfordcrew.”

Ted Walsh- Horse Racing Commentator – “This is really a lovely horse. I once rode her mother.”

New ZealandRugbyCommentator – “Andrew Mehrtens loves it when Daryl Gibson comes inside of him.”

Pat Glenn- Weightlifting commentator – “And this is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning and it was amazing!”

(non sports) Chris Tarrant discussing the first Who wants to be a Millionaire winner Judith Keppel on This Morning: “She was practising fastest finger first by herself in bed last night.”

I think because it’s Christmas and the Ski Season is here I have been thinking about some one I met once who was a real character. One of those people you only meet once, but always remember. John Wilhelmsson (aka Swedish John) was a close friend of my mate  Chris Thorne. He was tragically killed in late February 2006. He was an extremely talented skier and photographer. Check out his memorial website to remember some of his great work. Chris Patient sums him up:

I first met John in Zermatt in the early 90s. I was impressed by his fast and fearless skiing. He could throw progressive manoeuvres with very little air and he would seek out the sickest cliff drops. As a skier, he was ahead of his time. Furthermore, his skiing buddy was a snowboarder, which for me – a confirmed ‘old schooler’ – seemed to open my mind a little.

John Wilhelmsson soon became my top ski model. He was my first front cover, and he was always full of ideas and new energy. Together, we had many memorable powder days (exploring Zermatt’s off-piste and shooting photos) in the early days before fat skis came in.          One day, John told me he was going to jump a huge ice cliff whether or not I photographed it. I was worried about the jump especially when I saw how flat the landing was. But John was undeterred. I shall never forget seeing him hurtling through over 18 metres of space and landing on his back. I never did get the photo published, and John sustained internal injury as a result. I think he calmed down after that.

Today, John continues to show a skier’s enthusiasm and a sense for the unusual now that he has joined the ranks as a lense man. For me, he is not only a briliant photographer, but a friend and confidante and a continued source of inspiration.

It be Crimbo. Time to kick back and relax with a nice cold one or two. Lots of interesting stuff on the t’internet to look at too, including the fact that some crazy Americans will really try and blend anything…

From: Mike
Subject: IT and Management

A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below.

He descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.?

The woman below replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”

“You must be in IT,” said the balloonist.

“I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”

The woman below responded, “You must be in Management.”

“I am”, replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air.

You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems.

The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my f******g fault.”

New bike time, but this one isn’t mine. Tyrrell’s been persuaded that a singlespeed is not only the ideal winter bike, but also the ideal commuter and is now the proud owner of a rather shiny and very red Voodoo Wanga thanks to the help of Tim at Sideways Cycles.

It’s been built up with various bits out of the bits box and is set so it can move over to discs in the long term and have some bouncy forks fitted if necessary. Yes it does have an exceptionally long stem, but that was all that was kicking around when we built it up. It’d probably look a lot more in proportion with a nice little 100mm effort.

Riding bouncy and burly motorbikes across muddy fields and jumps always looks so tempting and easy on Tv and Video. Clearly all is not what it seems. This gives new meaning to the term skidmarks. Thanks to Katie for the link.

In other news Andrea has a new job and is moving to Calgary. Living right next to the Rockies can’t be bad at all…

I must admit that at the end of last week I wasn’t very well. A combination of being worn out and a nasty bug in circulation took me out for two days and most of a third was spent slowly recovering. At least the weather was fairly stunning and there was no rain on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, although all Saturday night and Sunday there was a storm and torrential downpours. Guess which day I went riding.

On Saturday night my beautiful girlfriend suggested that we go skating. It is with authority that I can say that ice skating rocks. The centre of Manchester, the infamous Piccadilly Gardens, has been transformed into a winter sports arena (okay they’ve built a temporary artificial ice rink). Whilst queuing it was interesting to see a substantial list of prohibited things. No skating under the infleunce of drink or drugs. No skating in chains of more then two people. Clearly as there was no mention of using mobiles whilst skating, there were people txting and buggering about with camera phones whilst trying not to fall over and take people out with flailing limbs. Not that some people needed much of an excuse to do a Cristiano Ronaldo. In the space of 60 minutes on ice four people were stretchered, wheeled or carried off the ice…

Then on Sunday it was up at 6am. Shortly afterwards I drove to pick Tyrrell up only to get there and upon loading his bike into the car to realise that I’d forgotten my lid. After which we had to drive home to pick it up before getting beck on route and heading up to Ambleside in the Lake District. It was my first proper ride in the Lakes and it was with some of my friends from the Alps over the summer, including the infamous Shoebomber. It was Epic, with riding pretty much from dawn to dusk and it was fantastic to check out the trails with some people who really know the area. It became clear that riding with the hood of a snowboarding jacket up was a definite advantage for avoiding the curse of drips of cold water down the back of the neck. It was more important to keep warm and to be honest I didn’t care if I looked like a tit.

Finishing off with the descent down Loughrigg Terrace was a great end to the day. Even wading through Rydal Water turned out to be a distinctly warmer experience (despite the waste deep water) than we’d been expecting. The trip home saw us all stop off at the Hawkshead Brewery, which has recently relocated to Staverly, for a fine beer. It’s a handy place to go because it’s on the way home and the beer is great!

If you’ve ever been called “Outdoorzy,” Welcome Home – That’s the opening line from a new website that has been setup for people who prefer life in the big wide open spaces of the world. Outdoorzy.com is a one-stop-shop for any outdoor enthusiast and it’s community lets you search for people with similar interests near you. The site let’s you setup a profile and upload images a bit like Flickr, biut the key difference is being able to post trip reports, gear reviews, upcoming events and more.

I found out about the site after being contacted by Wade, the driving force behind the initiative. I think the appeal behind this is that it is not just a mountain biking site, but a truly cross-discipline website. So from a trails users perspective, there is a lot of scope for discussion about trail access and rights. I think it could be a real asset for proactive IMBA members. Wade said:

Hi, I’m dropping a line to “outdoor” bloggers far and near about our site, so I thought I’d give you a shout as well. I checked rothar.com out today and like the posts. Your post yesterday was especially relevant to me. I commute to work a few days a week and have been wondering what some people do about the clothing situation in particular.

Anyway, back to our site. Basically it’s a social networking site for outdoor enthusiasts. You can post/read; reviews, trip reports, gear lists, forum quetions/answers, etc. on a plethora of outdoor activities. Mostly people from the states and Canada so far, but we have a few members in the UK and elsewhere around the globe. We’re trying to build the community, and in these first 6 weeks the site has been live we’ve been gaining members quickly.

Thanks for taking a look, and thanks for the posting on commuting. I need to work on the details of my commute to get it down to a science.

Wade
Outdoorzy.com

I’m in. It looks good to me. Check it out. This is blatantly stolen from the Singletrack website, but it’s important to support the Mountain Rescue people. The Edale Mountain Resuce Team need some help.

Due to redevelopment at Lafarge Cement Works close to Hope, Derbyshire, Edale Mountain Rescue Team have relocated their existing base which was housed in a bay of the existing maintenance workshop into temporary accommodation elsewhere on the site, whilst the maintenance workshop is refurbished to provide office accommodation for Lafarge.

Lafarge have provided three bays of the same building which are being converted into a purpose built rescue and training centre for the team. This new facility should be operational by Easter 2006. Lafarge have been very generous with their support but the team still needs to find £150, 000 by December 2007 to pay for the construction work and fitting out.

The team attends a hundred incidents each year, helping climbers, walkers, mountain bikers and tourists in distress. Incidents occur on many well know areas, Kinder Scout, Losehill, Win Hill, the Derwent Moors, Stanage, Burbage and Froggatt to name a few of the more frequent locations. The team is a charitable organisation, funded entirely by public donation and consists of 50 volunteers who turn out at all times of the day and night to help those in trouble.

If you would like to contribute to the appeal please send donations to the Team Chairman Neil Roden at Edale Mountain Rescue Team, PO Box 6490, Bakewell, DE45 1XR.

Well recently it’s been a while since I managed to forget something in regards to riding into work. The curse of the daily bike commuter is forgetting some vital item that makes the day a work a complete disaster. Until wonders of modern urban design like Canada’s Velo City, become a reality, riding to work involves getting all hot and sweaty at best and getting soaked to the bone and cold at the worst. Commuting in work clothes, especially if that is office wear (shirt, tie, shoes, trousers) just isn’t an option.

As a result hardened riders will have a stash of goodies to make sure they’re not going to suffer the same fate twice. This may involve a bike lock which lives at bike racks. A towel and wash kit, with an emergency pair of pants and socks and a shirt and tie which live in a desk drawer and a pair of shoes in permanent residence under the desk. So after discussing it with some friends here’s a list of the worst things to forget when commuting:

Underwear. Not too bad I suppose as you can always go commando. It gets worse if you managed to break the fly on your trousers or split the seat of your pants on the same day.

Socks. This is particularly bad when you wear business attire.

Shirt. Sitting in stinky merino top all day is not good. Especially when you’re..um…’cuddly’ and the top is a tight fit.

Trousers. A serious omission as 3/4 bibs are not a good look for the office. As Al has described, it is “hard enough to deal with the fallout and ignomony of a pantless day without the ridicule of my smug pant wearing chums”.

Shoes. Clanking round the office in damp cycling shoes is not a good look. Veterans of the Art of the Commute will have strategically stowed a pair that live under the desk. How these can migrate and end up at home is the subject of much debate.

Security ID, swipecard or keys to Work. Worst if you have to open up or are first in. Unpleasant if you have to prove your identity to Security, but at least not so bad as having to go all the way home again.

Keys to Home. The frustration of knowing all day at work that you have locked yourself out. Significantly worse if a) no one else has a set of keys and b) your neighbours call the police thinking your breaking in.

Lights. Quite how you managed this sometimes surprises me. Frequently it’s that day after a night ride or the day after you had to go home before it became dark and so didn’t fit the lights in the morning. I’m not sure if it’s better to have an urban homewards journey where you have to dice with traffic or a rural one where you have to dice with unlit roads. At least in the former case, Scotchlite suddenly becomes the best thing ever. Must remember to eat more carrots.

Food and means to buy food on the same day. This in combination is quite horrible.Deoderant. It’s bad when there is no shower at work. A day without a chemical shower is unbearable.

Towel. Then doing the Mr Bean Limbo dance round the towel machine and hoping no one walks in on you

Family. Forgetting you’re picking your daughter up, then remembering when you’ve 20 mins to do a 40 min commute and having to redline it when you’re broken because you’ve already forgotten to bring any food/means of getting food that day. This can be can be quite bad.

State of Repair. For example, forgetting that your tyres don’t grip on wet leaf-goo slicked descents or that your tyres are shagged and cunningly also forgetting a spare tube and or pump.

You’re a Target. Remember you are virtually invisible to car drivers. Also remember that drivers forget you ever existed the instant their vehicle is alongside you.

Thanks to Jenn, Andy P, Piers, Marty, Alex, Bill, Gavin, Stu N, Simon and Alec.