Cycling t-shirt

Just couldn't resist this t-shirt.  What's not to love.

Travels with the camera

Flowers on the banks of Loch Venachar

Busy weekend

We've just had a bank holiday weekend, and I managed to pack a fair bit into it.  Out on the bike on Saturday afternoon to watch the Glasgow Uni boat race on the Clyde, before mini golf with the karate club on Saturday night. 

The Largs food festival on Sunday was really good, although I missed out on the free tastings of wine, whisky and beer, as I was in the drivers seat :-(

Yesterday, we headed to Braehead for a wee bit, before going out to Pollok park on the bikes, and then finished up with a wee spot of gardening while the weather was still good.  Good to play with the new lawnmower too, and it's a lot easier to use than the old Flymo, which to be honest gave me a sore back whenever I used it (old age).

Running again

Over the weekend, I managed to get out for my first run this year.
I’ve been really lazy, and got the “can’t be arsed” stage, as it seemed like a huge wall was up between me and running, but on Saturday night, I left out the running gear, and on Sunday morning I got up and went out.  I have to admit I almost didn’t as it was raining, but I thought “Sod it.” and went anyway.

At 7.00am, I pretty much had Pollok estate to myself, and only saw another 3 or 4 people running.  I’m really lucky to have this park literally on my doorstep, and sometimes I take it for granted.

The rain was soon forgotten (I have always had a problem setting out in the rain.  I don’t mind it starting once I’m out, but seeing it rain before I set off makes it hard for me to get out the door) and I was quickly just enjoying the run and the “me” time.

As I haven’t run in about six months, I took it easy, and just did a wee loop that comes in at just under 5.5k.  A nice wee easy pace too.

Thighs were a bit achey the next day, but in a good way.  I also felt really good for the rest of the day.  That’s one of the things I love about running.  I always feel better about myself and life in general when I’m running.  My wife thinks I’m a lot happier a person and more positive when I run, so it does have benefits for mental well-being as well as physical health benefits.

Anyway, here’s a wee pic from a few years ago when I was a member of Bellahouston Road Runners (when I get back up to speed, I plan to re-join).  I’m the one in the purple vest.

 

 

As true today as it was in 1939

"If you who own the things people must have could understand this, you might preserve yourself.  If you could seperate causes from results, if you could know that Pain, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin, were results, not causes, you might survive.  But that you cannont know.  For the quality of owning forces you forever into "I, " and cuts you off forever from the "we."

John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath

meh

The weather has again taken a turn for the worse.  After having a couple of glorious weeks of sunshine (admittedly it was still cool) it's back to rain, hail and even snow.

meh

On the plus side, I'm psyched up for getting back out running again.  Got some new kit to inspire me, and I'm good to go.  But being a bit of a wimp, I'll wait for the weather to clear up at least a little.  

And here it is......

Heading out for the first run

Rest time

Almost there

So I checked out two bikes, the Genesis Croix de Fer, and the Cannondale CAADX Sora, and went with the Cannondale.
The Cannondale comes in a 61 while the Genesis maxes out at 58, and to be honest, while the Genesis was a really nice bike to ride, the Cannondale, while also being a nice ride, is just (for me at 6' 4") that much more comfy, and hey, if a bike isn't comfy, I'm not going to enjoy riding it.

I've done all the paperwork for the Cycle2Work scheme, and got the voucher, so, this Thursday, a mere 2 days from now, I'm picking up my new bike.

*happy dance*

Bike update

I've got a test ride on a Cannondale CAADX Sora disc, on Friday.  Then when the Cycle 2 Work kicks in (should be next week), I apply to the scheme, get the voucher, and pick up the bike.
Woo hoo!

In other news, I got my nose pierced (nostril).  Been thinking about this for God knows how long, and finally though "Well, I'm not getting any younger, better just go for it".
It was surprisingly easy to get done, just a wee nip as the needle went in, and then my eye watered a little.
Healing was been fine so far, with no problems (touch wood).

The great clearout of 2015 is still ongoing, with a dvd blitz planned for the weekend, in which I'll get rid of all the movies that in reality I probably won't watch again, or at least not often enough to justify shelf space, when I can get them from LoveFilm if I want in the future.

And that is the current state of play.

It's been a while

Dunno why I've not been posting more regularly, but here's a wee update.

I AM getting a second bike.  I'm 99% certain it's going to be a cross.  The hybrid has had a rack and panniers added and is going to be used for trips to the shops instead of the car, and for going out at a more leisurely pace when I'm out with Karen, as her "sit up and beg" type bike isn't designed for anything more that that sort of speed.

The second bike will be used for a speedier commute, and if I go on any longer rides.  That's the plan at any rate.

meh

Scunnered, fed up, pissed off, and loaded with the cold to boot.
Thank fck it's Friday.

Guitar lesson tomorrow was cancelled. Tried to re-schedule, but a clash of other things meant it's now just cancelled and normal service will be resumed next week.  Just as well really since I've got the lurgi. Hopefully it'll clear up for badminton on Sunday, otherwise I'll get gubbed.

Getting really hacked off....

with self centred people who are only interested in themselves, and their own sense of self worth.
People who think that the place will crumble and grind to a halt without them, that ask you something, yet don't listen to you when you answer.

Fuck them.  Fuck them all.

Thoughts on the clearout

I've posted before about my neverending clearout, and yesterday had a moment of clarity.  I'd recently bought some ebooks for my kindle, and got an email from Amazon saying that they were giving me a voucher for a free ebook as a result of my recent purchases.  There were about six books to choose from, but the only one I'd have had any interest in was Stardust by Neil Gaimen, which I already own.  I took it anyway.
This meant I could now pass on/sell/trade my dead tree edition of the same book.  Which got me thinking "Get rid of all of them except the signed one" - Smoke and Mirrors in case your interested - and replace them with ebooks.
This makes sense, as it clears up space, and lets someone else get pleasure from the physical books.  I've already done this with Terry Pratchet's books.  I've twice now, cleared out all the TP books I had, under the reasoning that, although I love them, I need space, and let's face it, they'll never go out of print, so I can replace them anytime.  This is currently happening, as my reading pattern lately is one serious book, one TP for light relief.  This works really well, and I'm getting to enjoy TP all over again.  I think once I'm done with the Song of Ice and Fire books, I'll start replacing the Gaiman books with ebooks and clear up more space.

I love my ebook reader, and while I do like a physical book, there simply isn't the space on the shelves to keep buying on not clear out.

The Dalai Llama once said that accumulating "things" isn't a problem in itself, it's when you form an attachment that won't allow you to let go, that's when there's a problem.  This is my chance to downsize and still have an extensive library, albeit in electronic form.

Obviously I'll be keeping some books, and there will always be the odd purchase.  But I plan to make about 90% of my reading, on the kindle.

Wild

Just before Christmas I was doing some random browsing in Waterstones, and came across Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  After reading the blurb I thought "Yeah, this sounds pretty good, I'll give it a go", and today at lunchtime, I finished it.

You know how every once in a while you get a book so good that you don't want it to end?  Well for me this is one of those books.  This is one that despite my ongoing/never ending clearout, I'll be keeping.  Other books that I've felt the same about are Born to Run, Into the Wild, & The Kite Runner.  Strange that considering how much I love SF and Fantasy, I can't think off-hand of any books in those genres that I wouldn't consider ditching if it came to it.

Anyway, if you have a love of the outdoors/adventure and want a really good read, this tale of one woman's voyage of self discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail, is one I'd recommend.

Reviewing the resolutions

Last year I wrote some resolutions down for this year, and posted them online.

I'm pleasantly surprised with what I managed to do.

1. Have a clearout and stop buying stuff I don't need. - The clearout has been ongoing (and still is).  So yeah.  As for not buying stuff, I think I've bought very little this year.  

2. Run again. For fun - Yes, I did manage this.  I've been running at least twice a week, and did a 5k and a 10k to gauge how I was coming along, and was pleasantly surprised with the results.  Still managing to not re-join a club, so I'm managing to keep it a pleasurable activity, and not get obsessive like I was in the past.

3. Go climbing again. - I've bouldered a few times.  We have a small wall at work now, so I've just used that the odd lunchtime.  Found that while it's pretty fun, it was obviously the company of the people I climbed with that I enjoyed more than the challenge of climbing itself.

4. Stop buying overpriced coffee.  Buy good coffee and make it myself - Managed this one easily.

5. Cycle to work as often as the weather allows. - Done it in spades.  The weather hasn't even been an issue unless there's a really strong wind.  The only day I haven't been cycling is a Tuesday, when I have karate after work, and I run the 5 1/2 miles to work instead.

6. Do another munro - Now I didn't do a munro, but I did do a fair few smaller hills, so I'm sort of claiming that one.....sort of.

So overall, I managed to pretty much nail my resolutions.  Now I need to (a) keep it up, and (b) come up with more for next year.

Avoiding getting lardy over winter

The weather lately hasn't been great for using the bike to commute to work.  The rain isn't an issue - someone went and invented waterproofs to deal with that - it's the wind.  Gusts threatening to blow you under a bus, or a headwind where you basically are peddling to stay still, are not much fun, so with one eye on the weather forecasts, the cycling has been reigned in a fair bit.

I've not managed to get out running much either.  My excuse being that when I get up in the morning, Pollok park is pitch black.  Same when I get home from work.  I've now got a wee headtorch that I actually bought as a second light when cycling through the park, but it can double up for running as well.

With the ever looming threat of becoming a couch potato again, I re-joined the gym, which being in my work, is really handy.  Oh, and I get a decent discount for being staff.  So while running on the treadmill isn't my location of choice, it's better than nothing.  The fact I have a locker in the gym and always keep some running gear in it, means I can get in a wee run up at Sighthill Park, or along the canal to Firhill at lunchtimes, if the weather is ok.

I spoke to one of the fitness instructors about getting a programme made up, and he's come up with three different routines, which is perfect, as I'm planning to go in three times a week. The first in muscles, upper and lower body, which is great, as all my exercise is lower, so I need to do some upper body work.
Next is cardio, so I won't loose out over the winter, and have breathing issues etc when I get out to run properly.
Finally something which will help with karate, a core session.

He's also recommended some classes to compliment the above - insanity, circuits, and spin - which I'll have a look at and give a go.  I also think I'll see if there's a yoga class that fits in with the time I'll have available.

On a roll

So, fixing the tv meant I could take an old crt tv to the recycling plant, along with two old BT Homehubs - that BT claim they can't recycle - so that's cleared a bit of space, especially in the spare room when the tv I fixed had been taking up floor space.

Next to get a going over was my books.  I basically had a quick look and on first glance, books I knew I wouldn't read again went in a bag.  This included a wee pile of Ken MacLeod and Iain M Banks.  I have kept a couple of books by both, as they're signed.  The rest now have a new home with a friend, who also got some Alistair Reynolds.

I've since decided that the China Mieville books can go as well, except for the one he signed and dedicated for me when I met him at a convention in London.  The rest WILL be replaced, but on the Kindle.

Clive Barker took a pounding as well.  All my Barker books (again apart from one signed one) are now in a bag and waiting to go to the charity shop.  Again, these may be replaced at some point by Kindle versions.

Initially, getting rid of books was hard.  I'm a hoarder, and I love the look of a shelf full of books, but seriously, keeping them for the sake of having them, when I know I probably will never read them again, is just plain daft.  The best thing to do is pass them on and let others get the pleasure from them that I got.

Broken broadband and knackered tv's

A while back our Samsung tv started switching itself off and on when you initially switched it on.  Gradually the problem got worse.  From a few seconds of on/off/on/off to minutes, before finally staying off.  So, my wife went out and got us a new (non-Samsung) tv.

We hadn't got rid of the old one yet, as we weren't going near the recycling plant, which was fortunate, as a friend told us they had had the same problem, as had a lot of people, and help was online.
One Google search later, and it appeared that this was a worldwide issue.  In the States, it appears that the company were offering repairs, but no so in Europe.  Help though was at hand.  On youTube there are literally hundreds of people posting videos of what components need replace (only four capacitors).  Having worked in electronics when I first left school, I'm a dab hand with a soldering iron, so problem components identified, and out they came.  Replacements were ordered, and last night I popped them back in, and RESULT.  The tv is once again working.

Then there's broadband.  Last week I got a new phone.   At home I tried to connect it to the wifi network with no joy, so took it back to the shop, where it connected to their wifi no problem.  I tried the guest network in work, and you guessed it, it connected to that too.
Back home and the laptop seemed to be not connecting either.  So I tried the netbook with the same predictable result. So, I called BT.  Over an hour on the phone, and they told me the hub wasn't faulty, but my laptop.  I asked how they explained  the fact that my phone and netbook weren't connecting either, and apparently they were obviously faulty as well.
This wasn't explaining the fact that the network map showed that my laptop WAS connecting to the hub, but the hun was not connecting to the internet.
I demanded a replacement hub, and they proceeded to tell me how much it would cost.  I pointed out that it was going to be a free replacement, as I was out of contract, and wasn't going to pay for something that I could get free just by simply switching provider.  Suddenly my free replacement was going to be in the post next working day.

I set it up this morning, and surprise surprise, it works.  And yet according to BT it was laptop that was at fault....

The lesson for today is, if you KNOW what the fault is don't be fooled by a someone from a call centre who is reading from a script.

(Not) the new bike

A combination of factors mean there's no new bike for the moment.  The main factors were, (a) there were two bikes I fancied.  Both had exclusive distribution deals with a major chain.  So in I popped.  There were none in stock, the advice was "Decide what one you want.  Order the biggest frame size, and we'll get it in."

Erm.....no.  Would you buy a car without a test drive?

So I went looking again, and found another that I liked, although it wasn't a cyclocross, but a road bike.....decisions......

Back in the major chain for something unrelated, and I got talking to one of the guys, who explained that there was a stock issue with one of the bikes, and the other was so new he hadn't seen it yet, but he could get both bikes in, in my size, so I could compare them and decide if either was for me. (see the difference a decent sales person can make?) So now I have a real dilemma.  Do I still want a cyclocross - and if so, which one - or do I go for the road bike?

If there's one thing worse than no choice, it's too much choice, so I've put the decision on hold until I'm 100% sure what I want.

To put it in perspective, I was initially intending to get a mtb for off-road fun and games, so you'll see why I'm not prepared to rush into things.

As for my current bike?  It just got a free service courtesy of Dr Bike, and is running like a dream.

Cycling

Looks like I may be about to buy another bike.  I blame the invention of the Cycle to Work schemes.
Since I already have a hybrid (a Giant Escape M1), I'm looking at cyclocross bikes.  Speedier commute, and still able to do rough tracks and mud.  It's a win/win.