Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. Anon

At the weekend had a spin on a folder in a bike race and also a 40 mile ride out into Blackpool. I met Sam (SamBam if you follow @Raphaj's or @RaphaCondor 's twitter), Briggsy's girlfriend who is well fun and totally cool. She has only been cycling for 6 weeks and she's properly good at it.
Wednesday evewas a 53 minute cyclo-cross race. First of the season and the first time I'd actually got on my cross bike for about 7 months.
Good ride but I lacked the technical. Won the womens race but there were only 4 of us. I want to ride my bike in mud not really interested in the result only to judge my performance.
Mud was so gross, it got everywhere, the weather was wet wet wet. But I liked it really. People always describe cross as 'Hell'.
Examples: A Sunday in Hell (film), Muddy Hell (event), Hell on Wheels (film). Its not hell, its cross and I like it that way. Happy Face, I'm glad its back.

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. You have no such accurate remembrance as you gain by riding a bicycle“

Just read that on Elcyclista's blog

I went to the Blackpool Nocturne at the weekend, I raced the Folding Bike Race, did a wee ride with Dan Craven and Benji Greenwood from the team then met up with the rest of the team after we stopped at a pub for lunch.
We had a great time underneath the lights of that strange place and it was working out to be a pretty good weekend.
THEN suddenly Deano was handing me my iPhone after he picked it off the floor. I checked my handbag and realised my recently purchase Paul Smith / Rapha Condor wallet had gone.
Gutted is not the word.
I didn't lose any cash, my cards got cancelled but I've still lost something that is so unbelievably cool. Some horrible person from Blackpool doesn't even realise what they have. I bet they threw that beautiful thing in the sea.

Long story short, A note arrived today. Inked from Paul Smith himself and in the package was a replacement.
I cannot say thank-you enough.

See that glass, that is trapping a spider. It's an ugly bugger. Small body, incredibly long gangly legs. Ergh. Makes me feel all unbalanced. I'm building up the courage to get rid of it.


Shit, shit, shit. Just knocked the glass over when I moved my bag. It's out.
Oh crap, it's loose


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Climbed up into the loft this evening. Unwrapped it from it's old blanket. Inflated the tubs. Reapplied winter oil to the chain.
Two days to go...

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Pleased I ride in a black skinsuit most of the time. I just got a prototype white bike and it is properly difficult to keep the tubing clean and I've only had it 2 days. Did the mens race at Palace and it felt good, 800g frame. Note my bad form through the corner though...

What is wrong with these ants?

So much delicious rubbish
rotting away out there
in the day
and here they are
inside

scrambling blindly over my feet
straight on toward certain death
without even a battle cry.

Stupid beasts
I am no food!

Organisers of the Tour de Bunt have finalised the course for the three stage Tour over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Stage 1 - 55km race plus 44km stage
This stage coinsides with the National Team Series Race at Darley Moor Circuit. The 55km race begins the stage and after the race the route takes the riders on a 49km loop back towards Derby taking in Denstone Hall before moving on to Salt box Truckers stop. A variation on the traditional cake and tea room stop.

Stage 2 - 140km
The longest stage of the Tour, takes places on Sunday. Riders follow the course out to the north of Derby into the lumpy Peak District before returning back towards the city centre. The loop finds three stops today the first as part of a YHA hostel the second the legendary Cat and Fiddle greets riders at the furthest point of the course at 70km and after some climbs through the peaks. On the loop back to Derby the final stop is at MonyAsh

The second-fastest runner in the world
secretly hates everyone.
As he stretches
each morning
he yells at his legs.

As he lays in bed
each evening
he prays
for the quick death
of his rival.

Then his parents would finally be proud.

I did not have a good ride at the National Crit Champs on Sunday. I slipped off the front group, stopped, then restarted. Fool. Firstly when I slipped off the front group, didn't dig in and they were gone. I don't know why I didn't dig. Its 48 hours later and I still can't understand it. I never really get fussed about these things, I move on, next race. There is no next time because the season is now over. And I'm still fussed about it because I built it up, I was riding a matching team bike, full 7900 Dura, It was in front of everyone, the team and I wanted to finish up the front. When I stopped it was long enough to get shouted at by John. Then rejoin with the dropped riders. In the back group we were lapped and the riders in the 2nd group weren't going fast enough. Katie and I dragged their sorry asrses round for the final 10 minutes. I must have finished about 10th or 11th.
I'm sorry John, after all your effort.
Next time, I've learnt my lesson. Never stop and don't just walk to the entrance of the pain cave at least go in and look around.

When watching a movie in a graveyard
make sure to keep off the grass
there are people buried beneath it
and it can upset their ghosts
if you walk across.

When cuddling on a blanket
warm, under the stars,
be sure to consider who around you
has been drinking too much, and for how long.
If you are not careful
they might vomit right next to your head
and not even say sorry.

When waking up the next morning
try and remember the most absurd things
that happened the day before
and take strong measures to repeat
and multiply them.

The man squished up next to me on the train is typing a msg on his blackberry, from what I'm trying to read it's a morning after a weekend hook up. Wanna go out for dinner type thing.

Ok now he's emailing James Mendez apparently 'Lucy's house was filthy'


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