Monday Morning Blues
Monday mornings don't usually phase me but today was the exception. I didn't have a great weekend - I spent a lot of time working due to a client deciding on Thursday that they wanted a big chunk of their new site ready for view by today. Great. Still, I took some time off to watch the Manchester derby match, hoping that United would come good and cheer me up but unfortunately they lost 3-1. To add insult to injury the Arse won 7-0 against Boro. Now I have a client haggling over the price of some design work meaning I may have to drop the already discounted price. Grrr. I then went for a ride and is chucked it down with rain. I need a drink but it's only 13:24.
2006 Ride No. 5
As mentioned above I went out this morning for a ride. I hadn't had the best start to the week so thought a nice ride would blow the cobwebs away. There was a bit of blue sky so I hopped on the bike. As soon as my bum touched the saddle, it started to rain. I figured it was only a light drizzle and I could cope with that. By the time I'd got across town it was full-on, soak-you-to-the-skin rain. I pushed on regardless and went up Leckhampton Hill the usual way, stopping at the ruins to take a picture.
I then went across the top and down Sandy Lane which was a massive mistake. Someone had been up there in a big mud-churning device making the trail horrid to ride. Halfway down, as both eyes filled with mud, I remembered that I had some clear glasses I could have worn to protect my eyes but they were in the drawer at home. Bugger.
By the time I got home I was so muddy that after I had hosed the bike down, I hosed myself down. It was freezing. My neighbours must think I am mad. Oh, the sun came out as I got in the shower. What is it with the Bike Gods? Why do they hate me?
Ride Distance: 9.58 miles
Year Total: 47.3 miles
Love that big picture, makes me think I didn’t make the best of my time whilst in Cheltenham. However cycling used to kill me so I would never make it there. I remember going to yours when you moved and just went across town, it nearly killed me :p
Talking of good w/ends pop over to my site and have a read about mine, quality
January 16th, 2006 at 3:57 pmI know what the “big mud-churning device” was - when I was up there last weekend there were some people doing 4×4 trials in heavily modded landys. Not your slow, measured trials either. It was more like charging up things full throttle, all wheels spinning, knocking down trees, tearing great big chunks out of the landscape and generally messing the place up.
Anybody who thinks horses and bikers cause massive erosion should look at the mess these peeps leave behind them.
January 16th, 2006 at 4:17 pmBar stewards. Your comment has reminded me to dig out my glasses - I thought I had clear lenses but it turns out the closest I have are the low-vis/hi-contrast ones. They’ll do if they stop my eyes filling with cack.
January 16th, 2006 at 4:23 pmFit a crud catcher too, they’re helpful.
The other thing I’ve seen a few times recently is cutting up an old inner tube and zip-tying a section of it between the crown and brace of the fork (between the stanchions). Looks a bit odd, but it (along with the crud catcher) stops a lot of the crap that flies upwards/forwards from the wheel hitting you in the face. It’s cheap too
January 16th, 2006 at 4:29 pmI’m not sure a Crud Catcher will fit my bike with its odd shape frame.
I’ll see how I get on with the glasses - yellow lenses might freak me out a bit though!
January 16th, 2006 at 4:33 pmIt should do - the top of a crud catcher is flat, as is the bottom of your frame. You might need to play around with the placement a bit and you’d need some flinking long zip ties to go around that massive top tube/girder/RSJ
January 16th, 2006 at 5:21 pmI might have to put a crud catcher on until the mud dries out a bit (even though I hate the way they look) as I got a couple of blobs of mud in my eye riding with Matt on Saturday.
January 16th, 2006 at 5:37 pmOnly a couple!? You clearly weren’t going quick enough
January 16th, 2006 at 10:40 pmI think I’ll see how I get on with the glasses first - I like the idea of looking like a space cadet (while puffing and wheezing my way up the hills)
January 17th, 2006 at 9:17 amI really like that cropped picture of the water drop.
Have you got an uncropped one in a tif?
January 18th, 2006 at 8:57 amSorry mate, I don’t. To be honest the picture wasn’t that great due to the very low light and the fact that the Ixus isn’t the worlds best camera. Once I had shrunk the image to fit on here it looked semi-decent but the original was pretty ropey so I binned it.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:31 amSandy Lane Has to be done in the wet for maximum enjoyment, the faster you go, ironically the less slippery it is, because you just clear all of the rocks…but when you go really fast, a hell of a lot of mud gets right in your face…even formula one style tearoff goggle shields wont save you.
March 21st, 2006 at 2:46 pmSandy Lane is getting less scary as the year dries out. Plus, having a pair of glasses makes a really big difference! It’s surprising how much more confident you feel when you can actually see where you are going!
March 21st, 2006 at 3:12 pm