Well whilst I've not been out on the bike for ages, I have been doing a bit of inpromptu fundraising. It was the Halloween party at the local last night. Fancy dress 1st prize £30 straight to Dogs for the Disabled!

Worth all the latex and the conacts to create the unzipped undead.

Cake, cake and more cake

A huge thank you to all at the support office this week who proved their cake eating prowess by raising over £70 for the cycle ride!! at 50p a slice that was a lot of cake.
Thank you also to everyone who baked, clearly we are a talented bunch :-)

Some cycling training definitely needed now to burn off some calories!
Jen

Bute it or shoot it?

Riding home yesterday my steed went lame. I was flying down a hill out to westham. There is a man-hole cover which I know isn't flush with the road surface. But as I got level with it a van was overtaking me so I couldn't take my usual avoiding action and swing out to go around it.

Thump...thump (add that one to the list of things that hurt on a road bike especially at 17mph.. ouch!) but carried on OK. Got the 10 miles or so home but cycling up the high street in Ninfield I happened to look down to see the front wheel changing shape once every revolution.

I got home had a closer look and saw this. Thankfully the wheel and rim itself is OK. But there is a distinct "s"-bend in the tyre. Not quite sure if this is safe to leave so I've done some googling. On the various fora it sounds like in the words of one respondant " if there is anything you wanted to say to that tyre, you better say it now!" With other mentions of high speed blow-outs going down steep hills, and there's plenty of those round here, I think she's had it. I will take the wheel off tomorrow and toddle off to Halfords for some advice on whether it is salvagable but I doubt it. I should also ask if the inner tube needs replacing I suppose. I've looked at the prices of new tyres of this sort on-line and found one for £17.50. But I guess I should change both so that'll be 35 quid. This charitable cycling thing ain't turning out to be cheap you know. But then neither would coming off at high speed going down Earlsdown as your tyre explodes as the road bears right up to Three cups corner.

Hey ho that's me grounded for a few days. Shame I'll jsut have to visit the Blacksmiths Inn tomorrow and partake of Rugby and the Grand Prix instead. Or I could go to the gym........nah!

Worth it

There have been mornings over the last few weeks when, smashed from the arms of Morpheus
by the alarm at some un-godly hour on a day when I cycle to work, I look at the darkness and mist outside and shiver under the duvet searching for an excuse to stay in bed that extra hour and just drive to work. Yesterday was one of those days.

With the shortening days the mornings are certainly darker. Soon it will be too dark and dangerous to ride to work (even with the cloak of much hi visibility) and I will be settling for gym work and "spinning calsses" rather than risk my neck. I will then try to do more road work at weekends/days off during the day weather permitting.

Unfortunately I couldn't think of a lame enough excuse to not get up. Not even a hangover! So I dragged my kit on and let "Rumer" puppy out for her early morning wee in the garden. I must say even she has been looking at me with disdain on the darker mornings. Her eyes questioning my sanity, yawning on her slow bimble to the gravel path outside the backdoor. Grudgingly she squats and then shuffles back to her crate in the kitchen curled up with her teddy.

I clambered onto the bike, engaged the pedal clamps of death and set off. On the way through the next village along, "Hooe" there are some beautiful views across the Pevensey marshes towards Bexhill and the Sea beyond. On mornings like this just as dawn is breaking it is quite mystical. I thought I would stop and take some shots on my phone and share them with you.

It makes the transition from bed to Mr B's steam, sauna and more importantly the first coffee of the day a bit more gentle.