Category: Words

Update time because I need a break from what I’m supposed to be doing. There’s a bit of news too. Firstly, Keith Bontrager has put a few words together to describe his efforts in this years Three Peaks Cyclocross race. They’ve been up on the Cyclingnews site for a while now, but here’s the link.

Jed has procured his new ride and Alps bike. I think he was intimidated by the IF prospect and has sensibly opted for some classic Ti in the form of a rather svelte looking Merlin Oreas. Seeing as Nige and Jam are probably also taking similarly fantastic bits of expensive metal, it looks like the Trans Alp bike isn’t decided just yet… Jed has also been ribbing me about SITS too. Third time lucky is the quest, but this 24hr business as a pair is fairly hardcore stuff. I’m game. Just need to sort out food and drinking on some big rides in the UK first.

Outside of the UK, Macpuppy has been finding some sweet trails. Don’t click if the last lot were too painful. yip groof wuff awooooooooooooo indeed.

Crazy dude Nathan Rennie has been busting himself up trying to get in the Guiness Book of Records. Nathan was gunning for the World Record in terms of long jumps and was towed in by a motorbike at 96 km/hr (60 mph) into this monster ramp. He managed to hold onto his Santa Cruz V10 for the 121 feet from the take off ramp to landing. He flat landed the front wheel and “blew up” three quarters of the way down the landing ramp. Nathan separated his shoulder and smashed his prized Troy Lee full face helmet, as well as sustaining cuts and bruising to most of his body. So that’s a repeat on the cards then…

Tyrell sent in this link to Supercycling. It’s a South African Equivalent to Cyclingnews. There’s a lot on there including details of the forth coming XTERRA race. I’m not sure Ned Overend will be contending, but in any case it looks sure to be a great race. It’s a damn sight warmer in SA this time of year than it is here thats for sure.

Don’t steal bikes from people is the simple message here. Ahearne Cycles were featured in the latest edition of Dirt Rag and the man behind beautifully crafted bike parts can be tracked down here. The Spaceman Bicycle Flask holster is clearly inspired genius.

The Sexmidget has some photos from his trip to the Alps here. Snow and no sunshine in these shots from June. Catch up with Cyclenaut here – she’s still working on the road in the US for Trek. The Coogle is broken (hand again) – his website’s here. The Samuri hasn’t been having much luck with his opticians then… Finally Tim’s the proud owner of a bike shop with a sorted website. No need for a stock listing that needs constantly updating. He’s even got a shop blog…

Finally here’s a couple of Apple Mac links. First of all I can’t help thinking that this will look crap once it has all the necessary wires plugged in. The Mcmac site on the other hand is just plain cheeky. Front row has indeed left the iMac and works just as well on any other OSX10.4 Apple. All you need to do now is find a way to get the remote control to work…

Mid week posts aren’t really looking like a likelihood until some point next month so you’ve been warned. The best bit of news from the world of rothar.com is that the Trans Alp bike is built up and ready to rock. Welcome Indy Fab #3 – photos are here. It’s taken a while to get the build to this stage and I’m still waiting for one of the new SDG Bel Air RL saddles and some more Candy Ti pedals – in the mean time the Singlespeed’s been pilfered for bits.

Havind departed Scotlandshire and headed over to the land of the French, the Macpuppy has just reported in:

From: Macpuppy
Subject: A commute of two tails…

Bonjour smellee British peeps,

Rumour has it that the common wolf was hunted out of existance and hasn’t been sighted in the Vercors national park for over 30 years but ‘le Daupine post’ reported this week that although no sightings have yet been confirmed rumours of howling, barking and pawprints are circulating amongst shepherds in the high pastures …… methinks Mushers been out exploring !

But that’s beside the point, I was going to tell you about my first true commute to my new desk.

After a week of un-seasonal sunshine, warm winds, high temperatures and settling in to the new environment, I finally pulled the skinny tyred machine out of it’s bag and headed for work at 8am yesterday. The sky was still crystal blue, the temperature was dropping and the weather looked set to turn nasty so I thought I’d better get this done before it becomes impossible until the spring.

Now I’m no roadie …. but on the strength of this first descent – 26Km, 35mins, -2800ft, a few bends and two rows of fly spattered teeth – I could be converted. It’s a strange feeling hurtling at 45mph towards a hairpin looking down at 18mm tyres with pathetic wee brake pads when your used to the stopping power of Mono M4’s working through 63mm Weirwolfs but somehow we always manage to get round the bend and blast out the other side before grabbing the levers as the next hairpin approached. Near the bottom a car stutters out of a driveway onto the road ahead and we seamlessly drift to the other side of the road and pass before the driver scrabbles for third gear. Ooof that was fun and the flat section at the bottom of the hill is probably still as far as the old commute in Edinburgh was.

Lunch came and went, e-mail was read and sent, meetings endured, coffee inhaled, brief snippets of bad French – the weathers still solid blue but as 4.30pm approaches monster black clouds suddenly tower over the Vercors and all hope of getting home dry is gone.

I’ve been worrying about this first ride home all week, not because it’s long or steep or long AND steep for a long long way but because there are no street lights for 20Km of it and every time I’ve driven up it it’s full of loons dirfting and cutting corners and I’ve never seen a cyclist ride it in the dark. Strangely the French, those people who live on their bikes don’t seem to keep riding when it get’s dark and cold. They put their bikes away for months !

So I headed off out into the rain – soaked to the skin in the first couple of Kms but feeling good. 15mins later I’m at the bottom of the climb and the end of the streetlights and the inky blackness swallows evarything except the 12Watts worth of Lumi spot dancing up the road in front of me. My thoughts drift back to the loons in the cars are they going to see me in time ?

Well I have 3 rear lights deployed, 2 flashers, 1 steady and one of them is on my helmet, so if they do push me off the side of the mountain my tombstone can at least testify that I tried to warn them off …. it seems to work as every car that comes up behind me flashes it’s lights to let me know they are there and then pulls over to the wrong side of the road to overtake, they even slow right down and wait patiently on the bends – how cool is that ? One bloke comes alongside, rolls down his window and jabbers at me in some strange tounge – he’s pointing frantically at the tailgate of his car with one hand, fag in the other and steering round the bends with his teeth (still on the wrong side of the road) there’s a bike rack on the back so I guess he’s offering a lift, I politely decline and get back to the job in hand.

It’s tipping buckets, the Lumi’s are now trying to punch holes in thick cloud and one of my tail lights has drowned but I’m no longer worried about the cars so settle into the climb and suddenly realise something wierd has happened. I’m sitting in the saddle spinning and continue to do so for mile after kilometer after mile ….. eh but as you know I only ever climb out of the saddle !!!! Mind bending stuff for sure but 25Km, 1hr 20mins +2800ft and 2billion gallons of rain later I’m in the village home and ‘dry’ :o)

Merde !!!! ….. I forgot the last Kilometer and bonk :o( …. but that’s what roadies do, not hairy ersed mountainbikers ?????? Schecht the world is swimming before me, someone has stolen my legs and I’m cold and wasted. Five whole minutes to cover the last click but I get there and stuff shortbread down my face as fast as possible. Another five minutes later and I’m thinking about heading back to the office to retrieve the pen I left on my desk :o) At least I now know ‘the bonk’ is just a 10 minute roadie thing.

I’ve just ordered a Lumicycle tail-light and a spare battery …. now looking forward to heading back to work on Monday and surfing for a Garmin USB cable for the GPS so I can download the tracklog for you all to enjoy.

What tyres for Alpine hairpins ??????

Ohhhh. How jealous? Sounds like a great way to start and end the day. He’s going to be getting seriously fit with that bad boy on the schedule everyday.

Meanwhile IMBA and CTC have agreed to disagree over the clauses prevenning byway claims by motorised vehicle users. CTC regards any restriction of motor vehicles as being good for cyclists, while IMBA recognises that if groups like the TRF are prevented from making claims, then some thousands of potential routes will be lost – as no other group has the capability to fill the gap. IMBA has written to Minister Jim Knight to warn him of this consequence, noting that the more important task is to manage vehicular byways so that routes are not trashed by inconsiderate and unsustainable use.

Went North to the Lake District yesterday for a bit of walking and fresh air. It wasn’t a fantastic day weather wise, but the rain kept at bay until we were in the car on the way back. The light was as always an uncertain factor, but the beauty of the autumn colours in the Lakes was no disappointment. Photos are up here.

right click and save as here
for the video (130mb)

Truls from Norway posted a link to the great video above and I thought I’d share it here, because it looks ace. Each summer Truls and his mates arrange an informal get-together for readers at terrengsykkel.no. which is a bit like the Norwegian version of Bikemagic as far as I can tell. I registered with them in a bid to try and get more european IF owners signed up to the Owners’ Club. Apparenetly they’ve been doing these mini festivals for the last three years at a ski resort kalled Skeikampen. This year 80 readers spent three days on marevellous trails in the Norwegian mountains.

The team at Cyclingnews have managed to get their hands on some Spinner Aeris forks. Yep they’re light and costly and totally impractical for someone like me…

The Cyclingnews Mountain Bike pages also have details of the 2006 Temple to Temple. This is a race following the path of the ancient Mayans more than one and a half thousand years ago, it’s the world’s first bike race/tour linking the great temples of Lubaantun to Caracol, Belize. The race/tour kicks off January 29th, 2006, and runs until 4th of February, 2006. The 7 day, 750 km race takes challengers on and off road through rugged mountains, steaming jungle, caves, local villages, and Mayan ruins!

Dave Barter has been busy over at Phased. Looks like I now have some more trivia related to my birthday:

In 1939, Tommy Godwin entered the golden book of cycling as the greatest long distance rider in the world. He rode 75,065 miles in a single year to set an endurance riding record that will never be beaten. On October 26th 1939, Tommy rode into Trafalgar Square, having completed 62,658 miles, gaining the record with two months to spare. That wasn’t enough. He rode on through the winter to complete an astounding 75,065 miles in the year. Still that was not enough; in May 1940 after five hundred days of riding he secured the 100,000 mile record as well. Tommy dismounted his bike and spent weeks learning how to walk again before going off to war. More…

I’m not sure there is anything new over at Temple ov thee Lemur, but the Visible Mars Bar Project is a fairly good summary pf the weirdness involved.

It was my birthday yesterday. Lots of great presents including Lamb: Remixed. I didn’t even know it was out. It’s a great album though and I’m well pleased to be listening to it.

I’ve also had some good feedback:

From: Hans Kellner
Subject: Nice Site

Found your site through some twisted google trekking. But it’s a nice find with some good stuff.

Cheers!

Hans

I don’t share the same photographic talent as some, but I enjoy looking at other people good photos and trying to improve my shots.

I’m on holiday. A bit of time off to get things back to normal on the home front. It’s hard to believe that I moved house almost two months ago and I’m still unpacking and finding homes for things. I upgraded the memory in the PowerMac too. Doubled it up and have to say there is absolutely no noticeable difference. I guess there’s no point getting any more then.

The last month has been a bit of a shocker on the rider front. Touch wood, I’ve been lucky, but chatting to the guys in the bike shop on Saturday it turns out that 3 people have been knocked off and killed or badly injured in recent weeks including Norfolk rider Zak Carr who was a customer in Harry’s when he was in town and Emma Davies who suffered a broken back after her run in with a car. With Chilly’s close shave and other interesting moments, it’s a big reminder that this is a dangerous time of the year to be out there on the roads.

I thought I should also give a heads up to Robin Sharman, who now does a great job of keeping people interested in bikes and riding and racing as he works in Harry Halls. Robin made some great breaks and had some top results this year including making the British Squad for the Worlds. Asked about the inclusion of Robin Sharman, manager John Herety agreed that Robin’s ride on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain was one of a number of factors in him being picked.

Robin currently leads the Premier Calendar and the GB Manager added “he’s also been consistent all year and having been on our under 23 program in the past we know what he is capable of. Robin gives 110 per cent and we had very good feedback from Roger during the stage he was away with Robin.” One thing is for sure, next season he’ll be gunning for more victories.

This is just in

From: Tyrrell
Subject: Giving it up

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.

The man took out his wallet, extracted 10 dollars & asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead?”

“No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless man replied.

“Will you use it to gamble instead of buying food?” the man asked.

“No, I don’t gamble,” the homeless man said. “I need everything I can get just to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?” the man asked.

“Are you NUTS!” replied the homeless man. “I haven’t played golf in 20 years!”

“Will you spend the money on a woman in the red light district instead of food?” the man asked.

“What disease would I get for ten lousy bucks?” exclaimed the homeless man.

“Well,” said the man, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”

The homeless man was astounded. “Won’t your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The man replied, “That’s okay. I just want her to see what a man looks like who has given up beer, gambling, golf & sex.”

I think I can expect some grief over that one. This one is from Kate

From: Kate
Subject: Inner Peace

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me.

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.

The article read: “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish off all the things you have started”. So I looked round the house to see all the things I had started and hadn’t finished …and before leaving the house this morning I finished off:

A bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, the Baileys, three Bacardi Breezers, the Jack Daniels, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a Box of chocolates.

You have no idea how bloody good I feel. Pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace…

I’m on holiday. A bit of time off to get things back to normal on the home front. It’s hard to believe that I moved house almost two months ago and I’m still unpacking and finding homes for things. I upgraded the memory in the PowerMac too. Doubled it up and have to say there is absolutely no noticeable difference. I guess there’s no point getting any more then.

The last month has been a bit of a shocker on the rider front. Touch wood, I’ve been lucky, but chatting to the guys in the bike shop on Saturday it turns out that 3 people have been knocked off and killed or badly injured in recent weeks including Norfolk rider Zak Carr who was a customer in Harry’s when he was in town and Emma Davies who suffered a broken back after her run in with a car. With Chilly’s close shave and other interesting moments, it’s a big reminder that this is a dangerous time of the year to be out there on the roads.

I thought I should also give a heads up to Robin Sharman, who now does a great job of keeping people interested in bikes and riding and racing as he works in Harry Halls. Robin made some great breaks and had some top results this year including making the British Squad for the Worlds. Asked about the inclusion of Robin Sharman, manager John Herety agreed that Robin’s ride on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain was one of a number of factors in him being picked.

Robin currently leads the Premier Calendar and the GB Manager added “he’s also been consistent all year and having been on our under 23 program in the past we know what he is capable of. Robin gives 110 per cent and we had very good feedback from Roger during the stage he was away with Robin.” One thing is for sure, next season he’ll be gunning for more victories.

This is just in

From: Tyrrell
Subject: Giving it up

A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.

The man took out his wallet, extracted 10 dollars & asked, “If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead?”

“No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” the homeless man replied.

“Will you use it to gamble instead of buying food?” the man asked.

“No, I don’t gamble,” the homeless man said. “I need everything I can get just to stay alive.”

“Will you spend this on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?” the man asked.

“Are you NUTS!” replied the homeless man. “I haven’t played golf in 20 years!”

“Will you spend the money on a woman in the red light district instead of food?” the man asked.

“What disease would I get for ten lousy bucks?” exclaimed the homeless man.

“Well,” said the man, “I’m not going to give you the money. Instead, I’m going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”

The homeless man was astounded. “Won’t your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I’m dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting.”

The man replied, “That’s okay. I just want her to see what a man looks like who has given up beer, gambling, golf & sex.”

I think I can expect some grief over that one. This one is from Kate

From: Kate
Subject: Inner Peace

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me.

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.

The article read: “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish off all the things you have started”. So I looked round the house to see all the things I had started and hadn’t finished …and before leaving the house this morning I finished off:

A bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, the Baileys, three Bacardi Breezers, the Jack Daniels, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a Box of chocolates.

You have no idea how bloody good I feel. Pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace…

So the leaves are turning and the Howies Autumn catalogue has arrived. I guess summer is finally over. Howies have to be my favourite clothing company, but I’m not sure I know where they’re going. It used to pretty clear in the past, lots of nice stuff made out of environmentally sustainable materials like organic cotton and merino wool with natural dyes and socially responsible manufacturing. It’s not the cheapest, but it lasts well, it’s made well and you can have a reasonably clear conscience about buying Howies stuff.

The problem is they’re now doing lots of stuff made out of polyesters and other synthetic materials. Now while many of these are potentially sourced from recycled plastics, at the end of the day you can’t help thinking that you’d be better off with a nice bit of wool or cotton. How about silk? Any ways what it’s made out of is less of an issue than the fact they keep harping on about consumer debt and then sending out catalogues to people tempting them to buy the latest lovely things and add to the £1 million of additional consumer debt that Brits run up every four minutes. It’s a tricky one. Live, buy, consume, die?

Talking of such catch phrases the Designers Republic team have been busy. There’s a great new video they’ve produced for Citizen Bird. Check it out here – it’s part of a Coca Cola sponsored initiative.

So I’m feeling quite lucky to be alive after this little incident. Slow depressurization and then catastrophic failure at 80mph. Tasty. The advantage of low pro tyres is that you don’t loose too much control. So that’s another pair of Eagle F1’s then…

IMBA UK have redeveloped their site. I have to say I thought it was better before, but hey who am I to mention such things. I didn’t step up to get involved and the new site will feature: A revised “Routes” section, including a new Challenge Trails section with an interactive map giving links to appropriate websites and soon there will be a Paypal facility for merchandise and subscriptions.

Here’s an important notice that all riders need to get involved with and behind to support:

From: IMBA UK
Subject: MTB Byway campaign

MPs will be voting on the Natural England & Rural Communities Bill (NERC) on 11th October.

We can help influence MP’s to amend the Bill to allow mountainbikers to claim Restricted Byways (used to be RUPPs). The Rosedale case, and two recent Public Enquiry rulings have shown that the law discriminates against cyclists wishing to claim new routes after 20 years of uncontested use. IMBA is working with CTC to persuade Ministers to modify a clause in section 6 of the Bill to confirm that cyclists can claim Restricted Byways.

As time is short, the easiest option is to go here and “Open Up New Rights of Way for Off-Road Cycling” and click on “Join Campaign” and then “Lobby your MP”. Then just type in your postcode into the box under “Recognise My Right of Way” and the job is done. Alternatively, a more personal method is to send your own e mail to your MP. Go to this site and type your postcode into the “Postcode Search” box and then click on the subsequent e mail link. A sample letter can be found at the end of this mailing. Let us know of any responses.

And finally get behind the IMBA International Report Card. Yes it’s that time of year again. Last year, voters from the UK gave the Forestry Commission in Scotland a great confidence boost by voting Scotland the best international destination – so your vote does count! If you wish to record your vote for England, Scotland and Wales then you will have to do this on different days – only one vote per day.

So the first ever Independent Fabrication Owners’ Club in association with rothar.com invitational is fully booked. Organised in conjunction with the wonderful Mary Kirkbride from Ride the Alps, riders Jed Southwood, Nige Harris and Jam Price will be joining me and a handful of other people for a summer epic in the high alps next summer Chamonix to Zermatt over a week in a fully supported epic adventure. It’s going to be great and then there’s the extra riding we want to fit in too. So all we need to do now is persuade Jed to get an IF so he doesn’t fit left out…

One person who’s not feeling left out is Wee Ben, who’s riding like a bit of a legend up north of the border.

From: Benjammin
Subject: Westcoast100

ey up,

Hows it going?

I’m doing pretty good, fitting into country life pretty well, enjoying the more relaxing slow pace – its all good.

Got myself a litlle van (m reg renault extra) which is sweet, you can get two downhill bikes in it easy (with the wheels in – bonus for bolt through owners), so i’ve kinda been jetting about in that since i got it. First up was checking out my mates trails in inverness (glen urquhart bike park), which are dope, the bike park is well good with a whistler style jump box, a little road gap thing and loads of north shore skinny’s. There’s also a secret trail if you’re in the know – which is such good fun, steep, rooty, rocky and slidy. And it boasts (i kid not i’ve seen it) a 30 foot gully gap (gap being easily 25 foot down onto rocks), which i didn’t do. Nae chance.

check out pinkbike put ‘glen urquhart‘ into location, i think, on the photo page and its mostly there.

Went to the fort bill world cup too which was great fun, saw my old mate rich, aka cunny, (see the newest dirt – he’s the ugly one doing the road trip) and saw peaty win which was pretty special, he was the last man on the hill and the crowd went nuts.

Anyway, we’re off to innerleithen in about a week for the next uplift, soooo looking forward to that new dh course it looks like fun.

Any way i’ll get some photo’s up soon (the site doesnt like mac’s, and my pc’s dead), you’ll have to bare with me though.

laters dude

Anyway there were a few who wanted to be involved but couldn’t quite make it, so I’m proposing a multi day Trans-Wales Epic sometime around Easter next year. The usual suspects are all invited. More details soon, but it’ll probably be a variation on the IMBA UK route.

Loads of mountain bike stuff out at the shows, including lots of carbontastic stuff from Specialized and a new Trek Madone Mountain Bike, the 9.9 Hardtail. So all those people who said the hardtail was dead a few years ago will be gutted to hear that if anything the hardtail is definitely still alive and now fighting the substantial full suspension market with the latest composite materials, but they’re far from the do everything bikes of ten years ago. These latest bikes from the big players are 100% cross country racers – you’ll not find the downhillers racing these bikes. If you want something that’s an evolution of bikes from back in the day check out the Surly Pugsly. 10 Psi tyre pressures anyone?

So here’s a great bit of PR, but for who? Not all news is good news that’s for sure. Finally, do you know anyone from Northern Ireland?

Freshers Flu has taken me down and my computer has a virus:

Dear Receiver

Bejaisus! You have just received an Irish Virus. Since we are not so technologically advanced in Ireland, this is a manual virus.

Please delete all the files on your hard disc and send this mail to everyone you know.

That’d be grand.

Tanx, Paddy O’Hacker

So after a year and a half off the bike David Millar is now looking at a return to racing. With Armstrong’s departure the peloton next year is going to be an interesting spectacle and Millar will be an interesting addition into the pick and mix of possible stage winners in the big races.

David Millar, whose two-year doping suspension ends in June 2006, is looking to come back as soon as possible. After rumours began that he was in touch with a number of teams, including Quick.Step, Liberty Seguros and Illes Balears, it looks like he has found a place at Saunier Duval-Prodir. Team manager Mauro Gianetti said over the weekend that the team was preparing to sign Millar. “As far as we’re concerned, the deal is perfect. The contract can be signed within the next few days,” he said, adding that it was possible Millar could even ride in the 2006 Tour de France, which starts nine days after his suspension ends (Cyclingnews).

The Sexmidget has been busy in Wales.

This looks like a fairly good place to start this update.

From: The Darwin Awards
Subject: Surprise Attack Surprise

(3 January 2005, St. Maurice, Switzerland) It was the first week of a weapons refresher course, and Swiss Army Grenadier Detachment 20/5 had just finished training with live ammunition. The shooting instructor ordered the soldiers to secure their weapons for a break.

The 24-year-old second lieutenant, in charge of this detachment, decided this would be a good time to demonstrate a knife attack on a soldier. Wielding his bayonet, he leaped toward one of his men, achieving complete surprise.

But earlier that week, the soldiers had been drilled to release the safety catch and ready their guns for firing in the shortest possible time. The surprised soldier, seeing his lieutenant leaping toward him with a knife, snapped off a shot to protect himself from the attack.

The lesson could not have been more successful: the soldier had saved himself and protected the rest of the detachment from a surprise attack. The lieutenant might have wished to commend his soldier on his quick action and accurate marksmanship. Unfortunately, he had been killed with one shot.

Normally I’d talk bikes here, but most of the stuff I’ve been looking at recently has nowt to do with bikes at all so it’s not a particularly bike orientated post at all. Well apart from the fact the best saddles in the world just got even better – check out the Bel Air RL. So I guess that’s the saddle for the new IF sorted then. Oops guess I let that one out of the bag eh?

The Independent Fabrication family has grown and there’s a shiny new addition to the collection. If I was like the characters in Dear Wendy I’d probably have names for them all but I don’t. At the end of the day they’re bikes. Very nice bikes, but not as valuable as people and especially someone you really love and care about. Bikes can always be replaced, people can’t be. Anyway this particular new bike is still languishing in a fairly big cardboard box awaiting some fairly fundamental components to bring it to life, pictures will follow when it lives.

I read this a while back and it sounds like a pretty good idea. How many times do you wish you could watch that show you missed when you were late back from biking at the weekend:

From: Steve Malone, MacUser
Subject: BBC to offer legal free downloads of TV shows

The BBC is to allow British online users to legally download TV and radio programmes from the Internet up to seven days after their transmission. The announcement was made by Mark Thompson, the BBC Director General, in a speech at the Edinburgh Festival over the weekend.

Under the plans announced by Thompson, it is hoped that the new service called MyBBCPlayer will be launched next year. In addition to recently broadcast material, the BBC also hopes to include more of its archive online as downloads as well.

With some programmes, the BBC may go one step further. As well as offering downloads at the same time they are broadcast, some shows may even become available online before they appear on TV. In a pilot, the BBC Three comedy The Mighty Boosh has appeared on the Internet before TV. The corporation says that the comedy Titty Bang Bang, the sitcom ‘Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and the Johnny Vegas vehicle ‘Ideal’ will be made available on the Internet first.

The BBC has already trialled a service of radio programmes and was surprised when it put the Beethoven symphonies online and received over 600,000 downloads.

The programmes are to be limited to British online users – who finance the corporation through their licences only. The BBC says it has gone to some lengths to ensure that Internet users from the US and elsewhere do not get a free ride.

The move is likely to infuriate online purists who will say the point of the Internet is to allow access to content from anywhere in the world. However, the BBC is looking for additional ways to add value to the licence as the government is currently scrutinising the licence system as part of the charter renewal process.

That said, the move is also likely to inflame those who say that the BBC will be encouraging the so-called ‘digital divide’ of those licence payers who will benefit by having a broadband connection and those who do not.

And Finally

From: Mike T
Subject: A Little Chuckle

A Jelly Baby walks into a bar and starts talking to a smartie. After a few beers the Smartie says “Ere, a bunch of us are heading to that new club, fancy tagging along?”

The Jelly Baby says “No mate, I’m a soft centre, I always end up getting my head kicked in”

“So?”, Smartie says. “Don’t worry about it, I’m a bit of a hard case, I’ll look after you”

Jelly Baby thinks about it for a minute and says “Fair enough, as long as you’ll look after me”, and off they go. After a few more beers in the club, three Lockets walk in. As soon as he sees them, Smartie hides under the table.

The Lockets take one look at jelly Baby and start kicking him, breaking cola bottles over his little jelly head, lamping him with little sugary chairs, and generally having a laugh. After a while they get bored and walk out.

Jelly Baby pulls his battered Jelly Baby body over to the table and wipes up his Jelly Baby blood. He turns to Smartie and says “I thought you were going to look after me!” “I was!” says Smartie,” But them Lockets are f**king menthol”