Author Archives: essiep

Dodge showers.

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7°C, rain coming.
Venture out: under the threatening skies. A short ride can be just the thing to clear out the tail end of a snotty virus. Decision is: do I change gear to the 17t?
later: well, I went and the rain was as predicted- steadily increasing from drizzle to light rain. Cycle tracks were under an inch of water for some stretches. Water sprayed up from the front wheel onto my left foot. Why does it do that, why not both feet the same?
I got back feeling okay but with a rather cold left ankle.
24 decent miles done.

I can tell that I’m out of shape, the recovery took longer that and 24 mile ride deserved. Perhaps post-viral effects at play. In summer months, 24 miles would seem barely worth the bother of getting kitted up. The best of times, a 60 mile ride leaves no recovery after-effects either.

Eight weeks

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11°C, wind.
Very long term which finished just as my cough/cold did.
Ex Cathedra: were as good as ever on this sixth year I have been to their Christmas Carol concert. We were sitting in possibly the best seats we’ve had- some choristers even stood next to us for a couple of pieces. Their voices were so powerful, the sound was on the cusp of tinnitus.
Waiting till the day after we broke up left me devoid of the urge to doze in the show. In previous years, I have gone after work and dipped in and out of semi-sleep during the concert. That’s an interesting way to be to listen to music- you listen slightly differently.
Winter is in a mild mood now, all warm and wet.
Now for some urgent late preparation for this season of unwelcome madness. I’ll be glad when it’s over.

Emergent day.

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8°C, few showers, sun, no cycling.
Recovery: a week of undefined illness has sapped most of my energy. Now it’s lifting I can’t feel the cold, and yes I know the air has dipped below 5C. So, I spent the day recovering.
I became quite geeky later in the afternoon.
Geekiness is fuelled by a feeling. It’s a feeling with deep roots, all the way back to childhood.
With a cold like mine, any activities today had to beundemanding, so I spent time looking round Google Earth. In a few places, there are circular mountain ranges that are just too perfect a circle. With a little research, it turns out that many are impact craters. Some are as young as 3.5 million years, which doesn’t sound that old, relatively, geologically. The earth is peppered with them, though some are only detected by their gravity anomalies  One contributer has uploaded a .kml file that shows loads more. I was, by now, hooked.
And, this is where it gets geeky, I decided to see how they look in the flight simulator FSX. Some are quite clear, often a near circular lake, or an obvious crater. One, in far eastern Siberia, is not actually an impact crater but an eroded intrusive pipe (Kondyor Massif). Now it’s one of Russia’s biggest platinum mines.
kondyor_pxlr

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Penultimate

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-3.5°C, clear + hard frost.
Always the hardest week, next week we stop for Christmas.
Sudden temperature drop, a throaty cold and regular exhaustion. I feel the cold more when I haven’t ridden. Shame the conditions are possible, the virus impossible.
So zero miles to add from this week to a relatively low mileage year. I have only clocked up about 5,000 miles this year on the 3 bikes. Maybe a new year’s resolution idea there?
This morning, remaining coals in the grate still have warmth.
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Repair and ride

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7°C. Some rain, sun too.
A mending weekend: TV, laptop, bike, smoke detector, hair, shelves
TV makes a short high buzz with a few minutes of changing channel or starting a video. One web forum sort said unplug it for at least 4 hours to reset it. So far, no better, possibly getting worse.
Bike: has a new tyre to replace the one that gave trouble on Friday. It’s all shiny and clean now.
Laptop: frequently drops the internet connection. The router is okay, the desktop pc, phone and DVD player all work properly. Again, the web forums say install new network card drivers. Done, and it’s better but still cuts sometimes.
Not the best way to spend a December weekend. Cycling is the best but I have a cough and listless.
So, housemaking it is.

Twist, hiss and thump.

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4°C, NNW. brisk.
Twist: I set off 15  mins to make up for the strong wind. Not ten minutes into my ride to work, the bike grinds to a halt. The bunge cord had wrapped itself round the cogs. It took ages to pull the shredded fibres out.
Hiss: once back on the road I set a pace to pull back the lost time. Six miles later the front Tyre started to feel soft. Great, a puncture. Only a few miles from work, I decided to blow up the tyre and ride on before it goes back down.
Thump: fixed the tube at break and set off at 5. The tyre wasn’t seated properly, or so it seems. Each turn made a thump, it’s got a sort of flat spot, not the rim, the tyre.
Odd, nervous miles. Please don’t blowout.

England is dirty

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0°C, ice again.
weekend at home- too much marking to go away on adventures. This time of year uncovers what’s been hiding beneath lush grass all summer. English roads and lanes are bordered with unbroken lines of MacDonald’s packaging and mineral water bottles. Some of those water bottles have their sides pierced.

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They are always carefully pierced in the same way. Sometimes, a plastic tube remains inserted in the side. It’s a sort of bong left by local druggies. They use this to stupify themselves and then leave with their piles of litter behind.
A bit of detective work could trace them. In the discarded shopping bags, there is often a receipt, which could track the buyer.
A few years ago, someone died in a festival tent in that field. Sometimes I find foil, but never needles. Drugs.
Such is modern life.

Hospital Food

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0~4°C, clear, calm.
First ice: just runoff from fields, so I walked a few short stretches this morning. As I rode in, the moon set in the north west. The self-same moon rose on the way home. I wondered about that, does the moon set at exactly sunrise when it’s full? I bet it’s not that simple.
The ride home was colourful- I got shouted at after weaving through stationary traffic. It sounded like the guy had prepared his piece in advance:

“DO YOU LIKE HOSPITAL FOOD” He yelled on stopping at the lights. I admit to being rather puzzled by this. He shouted some more, stuff about cyclists’ reputations. No wonder…

Sounded like a prejudice affirmed. I suspect a Daily Mail reader on a rant. I had maneuvered round his car while it was boxed in by another turning right. Was I then, a scapegoat for his frustration at that sticking point on the road. Certainly I did nothing that affected his journey, there was no risk to me- both cars were stationary.