Nothing New There Then

L and the boys claim to come home from their morning walk with a thin layer of snow on them. Where did they find that? I didn’t get any, which was perhaps a good thing as I was on the bike... on slick tyres. At least I didn’t get a puncture today, although I have developed some irritating noise on my front wheel that I can’t track down.

It proved to be a very good call to cycle because the A52 shut was this morning. An overturned vehicle or something like that. So I probably wouldn’t have arrived before mid-morning had I driven or got the bus. The only problem with that was that all the traffic displaced from the A52 was on my route instead, which meant a fair amount of weaving in and out of it. Smiling and waving at the frustrated motorists of course as I overtook them.

Here’s a nice photo.



So where’s that then? Austria? France? Switzerland? USA?

Nope.

Cairngorm Mountain in Scotland last weekend. We’ll be up there soon, not actually at Cairngorm but it’s looking like it’s worth a day trip.

Note however, the train track on the left of the photo. The track is submerged under the snow about three quarters of the way up. So no train running, which is a problem they’ve had all season. The building of the horrendously expensive and loss making railway has been a complete disaster from day one. A gondola would have had no such problems.

As I come to cycle home I see that my rear tyre has gone soft. Oh dear. I did use a repaired tube, perhaps it wasn’t a very good repair. I pump it up and thankfully it stays up.

MD’s a bit lippy at dog class again, so nothing new there then.

Way To Go

As I check the news this morning I’m really surprised not to see a resignation at Derby County following a performance like yesterdays. I’m not saying I wish him to go but he really did look like he had given up and had no idea whatsoever on how to improve things out there.

The temperature is above freezing today and we have a thaw of sorts. So we both run, separately of course. I do 9.5km and it was quite a pleasant. The ground was actually very runnable, provided you aren’t required to try and stop quickly on the icy surface. Then when I get home, after a quick break, I go around the park again, this time hurling a couple of little yellow balls into the melting snow with two dogs in hot pursuit. Well more of an ambling lukewarm pursuit in Doggo’s case.

Then later on we hit the gym, so that I can do the bike ride that the weather doesn’t really permit. I do 15km at 90rpm which makes the legs burn a bit. In fact I have to walk on the treadmill to loosen up afterwards before crashing in the cafe to wait for L, who opts to lengthen her stay on the weights. Frankly I think I’ve done enough today.

Where once it was a little lad in a flat cap pushing his bike up the cobbled hill to deliver his Hovis now it’ll be no other than World and Olympic champ Victoria Pendleton, who has signed a deal with Hovis to recreate the famous advert from the 1970s. Now no messing around Victoria, we know you can get up that hill without getting off and pushing.



Then, as it’s my brother’s birthday, we head over to his place for a curry night but mainly to try and beat his seven-year-old on the wii. Much to the amazement of all of us, even my mother gets on the balance board and has a go at the downhill skiing. She even sneaks in ahead of the seven-year-old. Ha. Way to go Mum. My father loves it so much I can already see what’ll be top of his birthday list.